The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1905-05-11
CHAPTER XXI

80 no lued MS aSSallantS were more
tnan q chance couple Of Cornish troop
ara But now seeing the glow of the
burning charcoal on my face, he fell to
speaking calmly.
food sirs. the game Is yours, with
care. Slid! but you hold pretty hand
III only you know how to play it"
Where is she?" again asked.
For answer, he looked seaward, where
the sloop's lantern lay like a floating
star on the black waters.
What" cried I. Mistress Della in
that sloop! And who is with her. prayY
Why, Elack Dick, to begin with-and
Reuben Gedges-and Jeremy Toy"
"AH the knaves left In the pack
heaven help herr 1 muttered, as looked
toward the light, and my heart beat heav-
lily. Heaven help her!" I said again,
and, turning, spied a grin on the cap
tain's face.
Under Providence" answered he.
your unworthy servant may suffice. But
what Is my reward to be"
Your neck" said 1, eft I can save It
when you are led before the Cornish cap
tains"
That's fair enough. So listen. These
few months the lady has been shut in
Bristol keep. whittier, by the advice Of
our employer, we conveyed her back safe
and sound This same employer
A dirty rogue, whom you may as well
call BY his name-Hannibal Tingcomb.'
Right, young sir; a very dirty rogue
and niggardly-I hate a mean rascal.
Well, fearing her second escape from that
prison, and being hand in glove with the
Parliament men, he gets her or board a
70 h. Ds,,to t,c~ ho
time when he knows the Earl OF SIAM
ford Is to march and crush the Cornish
men. For escort she has THE three COM
rades Of mine that I named, and the
captain Of the sloop has orders to cruise
along the coast hereabouts till he gets
news Of the battle"
Which you were just about to give
him." cried I, suddenly enlightened.
Right again. Twas pretty scheme;
for. dye see, if all went well with the
Earl OF Stamford, the Kings law would
be wiped out in Cornwall, and Master
Tingcomb might snap his thumb thereat
30, In that case, Mistress Della was to be
brought ashore here and taken to him to
serve as he fancied. But if the day
should go against us-as it has-she was
to sail to the Virginias with the sloop,
and there be sold as a slave"
was scarce able to refrain from blow
Ing his brains out. $50 you were to fol-
low the Eari's army and work the sig
mails. Which are they" For a quick
resolve had come into my head, and
was casting about to put it into execu-
ton.
"a green light If we won; II not, red
light, to warn the sloop away"
picked up the packet that had drop
ped from his hand when first / sprang at
him. 1t was burst abroad, and brown
powder trickling from 1t about the ledge.
This was the red light--to be sprin-
killed. on the burning charcoal, j supposeT
The fellow nodded. At the same mo-
ment Billy (who as yet had not spoken a
word, and, Of course, understood moth
ing) thrust into my hand another packet
that he had found stuck in d corner
against the rock.
Now. tell me-in case the rebels won,
where was the landing to be nader
I'm the cove below here-where the
road leads down."
AYE, the road where the wagon
stood"
Captain Luke Settle blink'd his eyes at
this; but nodded after q moment.
"And how many would escort her."
BE caught my drift and laughed softly.
II begin to love you, for you play the
game very proper and soundly. Reuben,
Jeremy and Black Dick alone are in the
plot; so why should more escort her"
Before 1 could get my sentence out,
Billy Pottery broke in with a voice like
q trumpet
AS folks go, Jack, be a humorous
man. But sittin' here, an ponderin' this
way an that, says, in my deaf an at
ficted style, why not shoot the ugly
rogue, if mirth, indeed, be your object?'
For to wait till an uglier comes to this
untraveId spot is superiority"
How to explain matters to Billy was
more than could tell; but in moment
he himself supplied the means. For the
rocks here were Of some kind Of slate,
very hard, but scaly; and finding two
pieces, large and a small, he handed
them to me, bawling that was to write
made shift to scribble few words. See
ing his eyes twinkle as he read, / stood
mp.
The charcoal by this time was a glow
ing mass Of red; and threw 30 clear q
light on Us that l feared the crew on
board the sloop might see our forms and
suspect luclE OlSduNS ouL INC ldQ'
tern still hung steadily; so signing to
Billy to drag our prisoner behind a tam.
arisx bush. / open'd the second packet
and poured some of the powder into my
hand. 1t was composed Of tiny crystals
yellow and faky. tore the packet wide
open and shook out the powder on the
Goals.
instantly there came a Dense choking
vapor md a vivid green flare that turned
the rocks, the sky and our faces to 9
xhastly brilliance. For two minutes, a
least, this unnatural light lasted. A,
soon a. it died away and the fumes clear
ed looked seaward.
The lantern on the Sloop was movinj
In answer to the signal Three times i
was lifted and lowered. and then In tn,
stiffness heard voices calling and sool
after the regular splash of oars.
There was no time 70 be lost Pulling
the captain to his feet, we scrambled 81
the gully and out at the top and across
the fields as fast as our legs would tax,
us. Molly came to my call and trottet
beside me-the captain following SOM
PAGES behind and Billy last, to keep ,
safe watch on his movements.
At the gate, however, where we turnet
into the road, tethered the mare, les
the sound Of her hoofs should betray u
and down toward the sea we Melted til