Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1906-03-08

l could DO nothing, therefore, put &c
quiesce with ais good q grace as
might and wish heartily that we had
left him sleeping as soundly as Mrs.
Main and the maid, who, It appeared,
had never opened an eye throughout
the night, although the former asserted
that she had dreamed there was
thunderstorm like, adding the enclitic
familiar to her conversation.
But the situation remained to be
faced, and / guessed that we should
be confronted with 1t very shortly.
Consequently we must compose q plan
Of action, and, whatever we agreed
upon, must run no risk Of denial at
other hands. In this connection It
seemed that / must pay necessary
visit to Sercombe, *ask which for
some reason was not to my taste.
Sheppard, who had quite recovered
himself and had not vet referred in
any way to the event Of the early
morning, cordially approved my sug-
geetion.
ut will be a wise course" he de-
clared. s'And, besides, am anxious to
inspect these foreigners nearer"
Where the Greeks were lodged we
knew not, but it was evidently not at
the Woodman, for on our arrival there
the place was deserted except by the
woman who had charge Of Hoods
kitchen. She could give us little in
formation. She had not seen her mas
ter since she went to bed on the pre-
vious evening. But Captain Sercombe
had been called at 9 o'clock and had
gone out after eating hasty break
fast. There was no one else staying
in the house. Such was the informa-
ton she impaired to US, Influenced to
her frankness, had no doubt, by my
position as the big landed proprietor OF
the place. Which way had Captain
Sercombe gone? He had gone down
the roadway In the direction OF Ray
mond.
With this we had to content our
selves; but, determined at all hazards
to catch Sercombe, Sheppard and /
took the narrow lane that led down the
valley in the hope of hitting upon him.
makes an open pool Of some consider
able size upon piece Of fat land.
Here it receives few exigu0us
branches from the lower hills and
rests, as it were, in those spreading
shadows ere it narrows and spins for
the Ray. The wood was sparse about
the pool, but it was very private and
retired from the roads, and it was
quite by accident that we penetrated
the wood SO far. But here we per-
ceived through the LEAKAGE the smoke
of fires and heard the noises OF human
creatures, an uncommon feature in the
silent Gwent. Pushing through the
brushwood, we came next upon YER
liable encampment in that friendly
spot. And now we solved the riddle
which had perplexed us earlier in the
morning, for the first man my eyes fell
upon was my old acquaintance of the
squirt Here was not a camp of gyp-
sizes, but Of cutthroat Greeks!
The discovery was no sooner made
than it was confirmed by voice
sounding from my right and calling
my name in familiar tones.
"Ah, how dye do, Mr.. Greatorex?
Glad to see you. What pleasant chance
has brought you into our little village?'
The man stood before me as debonair
and well groomed as ever, his puffy
red face smiling cheerfully into mine
and his bloodshot eyes twinkling with
gayety. It seemed almost inconceivable
that this fellow was but a few hours
earlier upon the footing of a deadly
foe and earnest to rob us even of our
lives. And yet confess that even at
this juncture and after the grave
events of the siege experienced for
him what always underlay my super
fetal feelings, a genuine liking, The
impudence of the adventurer, his very
gayety, the assumption he wore that
whatever he did and however ruthless
" he pursued US he was still a vel
come acquaintance all these facts
gave a charm to his person. His be-
nightly was superb; 1t was that Of an
urbane philanthropist. He was ready
to crack Joke with you. to recount his
entertaining adventures in your ears
or to offer you his choicest cigar. He
was a man pre-eminently cast for so