Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-02-16
we'll preserve his perpendicularity, or

we'll preserve his perpendicularity, o'
straight line of march, he had sew
eral times been tripped up by the root!
of trees, or by rocks and briers In nj:
path. Exhausted, at length, and puz'
zled by the stupefaction Of his owr
brain, as well as by the surrounding
darkness, he sat down at the foot OF
tree, determined to wait the return Of
the hunting party. His faithful ano
congenial Beauty" not less pursy and
short -winded than himself, and moi
more savage or surly in disposition
now couched upon his launches imme'
diately between his masters legs; and
here this pair of beastly friends re-
mained, silent and mutually soothec
by their own companionship. During
this interval the person who bore the
fire, followed by one Of the marksmen
crept slowly forward to the vicinity OF
the spot where the captain had seated
himself. The lapse of time had proved
too much for Habershaw's vigilance
and he had at length, with his head
resting against the trunk Of the tree
fallen into a drunken slumber. The
short crack Of rife at hand, and
the yell of his dog awakened him. He
started upon his feet with sudden sur
prise, and stepping one pace forward
stumbled and fell over the dead body
of his favorite Beauty, who lay beneath
him weltering in blood. The shot was
followed by rush Of the hunter up to
the spot: it was Gideon Blake.
Buck or doe, 1t Is my shot!" cried
Gideon, as he halted Immediately be-
side Habershaw.
May all the devils blast you, Gideon
Blake!" thundered out the incensed
captain. You have sought my life
you numbering wolf, and your bullet
has killed Beauty"
II shot at the eyes of what thought
a deer" returned Blake. you were a
fool, Hugh Habershaw, to bring a dog
into such place"
my poor dog! my brave dog! Beau
ty was worth ten thousand such bast-
ard Williams as you! And to have him
killed! May the devil feast upon your
soul this. night, Gideon Blake! Go!
and account for your wickedness.
Take that, snake! blackhearted Whig
and rebel! and be thankful that you
didn't come to your end by the help of
hemp!" and in this gust of passion he
struck his knife into the bosom Of the
trooper, who groaned. staggered, and
fell.
At this moment the person bearing
the fire, hearing the groan Of his COM
rade, rushed up to the spot and seized
Habershaw's arm, just as the monster
was raising the fallen man to repeat
the blow.
Damn him! see what he has done!"
exclaimed the captain, as he lifted up
the dead body of the dog so as to
show in the light the wound inflicted
by the ball between the eyes; this
poor, faithful dumb beast was worth
a hundred such. hellhounds as he!"
II am murdered" said the wounded
man: II am murdered in cold blood"
The noise at this place brought to-
gether the rest of the hunters. who
were now returning with the buck
thrown across a horse that had been
led by one Of the party. Blake's wound
was examined by them and some linen
applied to staunch the blood. The man
had tainted, but 1t was not ascertained
whether the stab was mortal. Haber-
show stood sullenly looking on during
the examination, and finding that life
had not instantly fled, he coolly wiped
his knife and restored 1t to his girdle.
1.-THE fellow has no idea of dying"
he said with visible concern, land has
got no more than he deserves. He will
live to be hung yet Take him to quar-
ters."
Make hurdle for him." said one of
the bystanders. and, accordingly, two
men cut a few branches from the
neighboring wood, and twisting them
together, soon constructed litter upon
which they were able to bear the body
Of the wounded hunter to the rendez-
vous. The others, scarcely uttering a
word as they marched along, followed
slowly with the buck, and in half an
hour the troop was once more assem-
bled under the chestnut.
~
contented silence amongst the whole
crew, that was only broken b. the
groans Of the wounded trooper. UL2h-
sionally there was a slight outburst ,f
a sharper scream. indicating so1e sue
den increase of pain, from Gideon
Blake, assailed their earp Then there
were low and muttere6 curses pro-
nounced by Habershaw, in a tone that
showed his apprehension Of some
vengeance against himself; and these
imprecations were mingled with hints
Of the disloyalty of the trooper, and
charges Of a pretended purpose to be-
tray his fellow soldiers, evidently in
sinuated by the captain to excuse his
act of violence. Then he approached
the sick man and felt his pulse, and ex-
amined his wound, and pronounced the
hurt to be trifling. 1T will do him
good" he said, with affected uncon-
Germ, "and teach him to be more true
to his comrades hereafter" But still
the fate Of the man was manifestly
doubtful, ard the rising evaporation
Of the troop became every instant more
open. Alarmed and faint-hearted al
symptoms Of discomfort, Habershaw at
last called the men into a circle and
made them &. speech, in which he ex-
pressed his sorrow for the act he had
committed, endeavored to excuse HIM
self by the plea Of passion at the loss
Of his dog, and finally, perceiving that
these excuses did not satisfy his hear
ers, acknowledged his drunken condi-
ton and his unconsciousness OF the
deed he had done until the horrible
consequences of it were before his
eyes. Here Peppercorn interposed IN
his favor, alleging that he had exam
ined the wound, and that, in his opin-
ion, the troopers life was not in dan