The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-10-03

them. and tho rain iashed them like .
 whip The horse became nervous. and
 stumbled more than once on the vet,
 loose stones in the path. It was 90
 dark that Tankeriane could hardly see
 his hand before his face. and when he
 reached the gate of the plantation
 and alighted to open 1t, he decided to
 lead his horse through the wood until
 they reached the broader and smooth CT road beyond it. He remembered
 the quarry with the broken rail.
 He moved slowly and cautiously along the path with one hand on the reins. The trees afforded some shelter from the wind. but showers of water came from their branches as he brush ed against them. and he was drenched to the skin.
 Then suddenly the horse stop ped, and no persuasion on the part of his master could induce him to budge an inch. Threats. soft words, blows were all of no avail. The anil nal might have been turned into an image of stone.
 Tankerlane knew the ways of horses well. but in this case he could not tell whether the beast had stopped from sheer obstinacy, or from fright. or from that instinct for unseen danger winch belongs to so many of the mem bers of the animal Kingdom. He let go of the reins. and tried to light asmatch. but the wind was too strong. There 1 wes noomentary flare and splutter, and before he could see anything Of his, surroundings. he was again en- veloped in darkness.
 He stretched out both his hands. On one side he felt the wet bushes; on the other he touched nothing. He moved away from the wood cautiously, cfa hw ~k. ha, du Hnfn him. When he had taken three steps, his fingers came into contact with a
 wooden radl. And then he knew where he was.
 Tankerlane was not a expectations man, but he shivered as he felt the damp wood beneath his touch. Slowly he moved down the hill with his hand
 on the rail until he came to the end of it. Then he retraced his steps, and walked up the steep path till he came to a jagged and splintered piece of timber> Beyond thatthere was empty space. He stretched out his hand. and moving towards the wood, touch ed the gold muzzle of the horse. The
 animal had stopped exactly opposite the place where Ben Holland had gone down to his death.
 He laughed aloud as though at his own fears. He at any rate had not sent the wretched man to his doom, and had no reason to shun the spot. Then, as he stood there in the dark ness, with the wisd roaring over his head, he remembered that he had let the man die to serve his own purpose. and that the victory he had won that very morning he'd been gained by an- others crime He caught hold of the reins once more. and tried to drag his horse down the slope. But the animal still refused to move.
 He decided to leave it. and make the rest of the Journey on foot, at the same time resolving to get even with lsthe horse the next time he was astride of it. He knew we'll enough that if he got into the saddle at that moment, he could overcome the animals fear or obstinacy. But few men would have cared to undertake such . risk in the darkness. The narrow path and the precipice which bounded 1t on one
 side were enough to give pause to the boidest rider. A slip. a stumble. 6
 sudden swerve at the touch of the spur, would perhaps mean death. He gave the animal three stinging blows with the whip. and. letting go the reins, walked down the hill.
 Before he had gone more than fifty
 yards, however. he caught sight of a faint gleam of light among the trees.
 It disappeared almost instantly.
 "Poachers," said Tenkerlane to
 himself. He stopped and listened.
 There was the sound of someone nov