Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1906-01-05
CHAPTER xLIx.-contlnued.

$50 far, so good" quoth Dick. Then
to the old black, who a stood by,
saucer-eyed and speechless, the while.
Anthony, do o be as big a numb
skull as you were born TO be, and hold
these redcoat gentlemen In palaver Till
we can win out at the back.
The old majordomo nodded his good
will, but now ms slow wit came In
play. We've done it now said L.
THE horses will go out as they came
I'm or not at all. Had you forgotten the
stair at the back2"
Judge for yourselves, my dears, IL
this were the time, place or crisis for
a man 10 fling himself upon the hall
settle, grip his ribs and laugh like any
lack-wit. Yet this is what Richard
Jennifer did.
IT was in the very midst OF his gust Of
ill-timed merriment, while the horses
We're nosing nifty at their strange sur
~roundings, and the hoof troke OF the
redcoat troop could be plainly heard on
the gravel of the avenue, that |
CHANGED to lift my eyes to the stair.
There, looking down upon us with
speechless establishment in the blue
gray eyes, stood our dear lady.
Another instant and she was with us.
stamping her foot and crying: Mon
Dieu. what is this? Are you gone
mad, both OF your"
Dicks answer was another burst OF
laughter, loud enough, you would
think, to be heard by those beyond the
door.
Behold four witless brute beasts.
Mistress Madge-two horses and two
asses" he said. And then to old An
,thony: open the door, Tony, and in
wife the gentlemen In"
But Margery was before him. All,
NV Haa re- a mans wit ia 1iLa a match
lock, fizzing n suffering it's way
noisily to find the powder whilst the
enemy hath time TO ride up and sabar
the musketeer; but a woman's is like
the spark in a finder box-a quick
snip OF flint and steel and you have
your fire. In a flash my lady had torn
down the heavy curtains from an inner
doorway and was carpeting q horse
path for us TO the rear.
Quick" she cried; lead them gent
ly, for the love of heaven!"
She went before us. padding the way
with whatever came first 10 hand. rugs,
curtains, table coverings. and know
not what besides; and by the time the
British troopers were hammering at the
outer door, we were deep within. the old
mansion and had made Shift TO drag
the unwilling horses by one and two
step descents to a room half under and
nan OltHoI RIOuilu, NilItn served as Il
sort OF ante-dungeon to the wine cell
lar.
Here / thought we might be safe for
the moment, but not SO my lady. Call
ing Dick TO hep her-in all the firece
haste of il / marked that she called TO
Dick and not to me-she unlocked and
opened the door TO the wine vault. and
in a trice we w and the luckless
horses were safely jailed in pitchy
darkness, with the stout oaken door
slammed behind us, the bolt shot in the
lock, and the key withdrawn. as we
could see by the spot of light which
came through the keyhole.
Richard was the first to break the
~grave-like silence Of our dungeon.
Lord" said he; did ever you see
such sharp wit work in all your adj
ventures? What a soldiers wife she'd
make!'
l smiled at that. being safe to smile
in the darkness. For was she not a
soldiers wife? l Rugged that saying
as we cling to the thing that is slipping
from US. True, l was here to give her
freely over to another and a better
soldier; but while she was mine l would
claim her. In my heart, at least.
The excitement OF the narrow escape
somewhat overpast, we sat long on the
edge Of a wine bin. specializing In whis-
pers as to what would befall, and lis
tening yainly for h footsteps which
would forecast our release or our cap
ture by the enemy. But when no
sounds. threatening or encouraging,
came from the upperworld, we CROPPED
about till we found the cellar candle,
lighted IL with flint and steel and tin
der-box, m took a survey of our Jail.
Twas the same old cavernous wine
vault of my youthful remembrance,
such an one as has not its mate in all
Carolina TO this good day, as / firmly
believe. MY fathers hobby was to-
build for all eternity: and this stone
athedral crypt h a store room for a
country gentleman's table stock OF
wines.
Dick held the candle aloft and
scanned the bottle racks. lone SO great
ly depleted rs they might have been,
had any hand but that close listed one
OF Gilbert Stairs taken the key in
charge after my father.
There Is no lack of potabies," says
my candle bearer. but. unhappiiy,
there is never so much as a dry crust
horses. I'll venture they'd give 1t all,
pint for pint. for a good feeding OF
oats"
Truly" said L: and then we fell to
stripping the straw castings from the
bottles Of madeira to give the poor
beasts a feed OF r~ye-staiks which had
grown and ripened their grain many a
year before either the sorrei or the
gray was foaled.
Having no time measure save our
own patience, Ii seemed a wear while
before we heard the key rasping In. the
lock OF u prison door.
IT'S Madge." said Dick, with a true
lovers gift of second sight; and twas
he who went to help her swing the
thick-slabbed oak.
What passed between them I did not
hear. nor want 10 hear. But when the
door was swung to and locked again l
knew we were not free TO go abroad.
Richard came back TO me in the inner
vault bearing gifts: h better part of
a boiled ham, with bread TO match. a
jug Of water from the well, and more
candles.
ave gre not to starve. but that Is our
best news. Thus FAR he said. t'Of all
the houses on our side OF the river.
lord CORVALLIS must needs pitch
upon this manor OF Appleby for his
rallying headquarters. Madge al not
guess when he and the army will be
gone, and h Is frightened sstn for
u sakes.
This was sober news. Indeed. but we
could do naught but make n best OF
IL. AS for me. ! was most anxious to
know n the good priest were at Ap-
pleby. and what OF my chance for see
tne him; hut o. this I could say no
word 20 Richard.
my lady's bounty. we slowed the horses
n <hH 4S.r&~< - 49, wnrt1tm ou&