Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1907-11-15
CHAPTER XVII.
YEN ON sat still in his bunk.
"a "a LIGHT, lichtp' whispered

"A
a voice that he knew.
Hell hear ye, Mae. He's
only next door,"
whats about It? I'll slit his Jug
gler if he daurs to interfere. Heard
We .that?"
81 did. That's better!
The crafty groom was snoring where
he sat, with one eye at Granny In the
rude partition between his lair and
the saddle room. In the latter there
was as yet no light.
"An' that's better STILL" muttered
Macbeth as one was struck. "Slit his
jugglerw he repeated. with chuckle.
81 wadna think twice OF, the mosing
blackguard! Now. whaur's thae sad
dies, for my hands is freeY And his
teeth snapped on something that
cleaned between them in the light.
await bit. smell the oil. Aha,
here's one"
can here's the ither. Dinna heed
the brides. AVA we 60 afore Jar
man turns in"
Jarman was the squatter on the
creek. The hour was still short OF
midnight, and Tom. who had bounded
lightly to the floor, now stood irreso-
lutte. In the end he let the rascals go.
Their footsteps had already left the
saddle room. The groom listened and
lost them in the night. Then he felt
about for his clothes.
He was thankful he had not waylaid
the thieves at the saddle room door;
the field would have been too unequal,
the consequences perhaps too serious
for one and all. And he foresaw the
neatest triumph now. Jarman's name
had given him foregone victory, for
now he knew the way to Jarman's
ramshackle hut, and the saddles should
be back upon their pegs before morn
ing. So full was Tom Of confidence
as he dressed himself in the dark
But the thought Of betraying his COM
rades in captivity was as far from his
heart as that Of allowing his masters
saddles to be quietly stolen before his
eyes. Stolen they might be, but only
for the moment: he would call In Mac
beth and his mate to see how nice they
looked in the morning.
In a few minutes he was fully dress
ed and lodging Roberts. the night
Waterman. behind the convict huts.
No other man among them would have
found this precaution necessary, but
the groom was an unpopular character,
whom Roberts would have reported
none the less readily after winking, as
he must have done, at the theft OF the
saddles. With luck and ingenuity,
Tom managed to elude him, however,
and was soon racing down the wooded
slope where the timber was being FELL
ed, leaping the stumps as he ran ana
steering by the Southern Cross for the
southern boundary Of the farm, which
was, in fact, the creek on whose FUR
Their bank the squatter was now en-
samped.
1t was a perilously clear night. A
white moon grizzled the peeling bark
Of a small forest of red gums, and the
famous constellation burned but feebly
in the south. Tom kept his eye on 1t,
however, and, bearing slightly to his
left, struck the creek at last, out of ear
shot of the squatter's hut. Here he
paused to cool his feet In the delicious
running water. His plan was to cross
the creek and then reconnoiter the en-
emy's position from the rear. And so
well did it work out that Tom skipped
behind a friendly trunk just as the
thieves succeeded in making Jarman
hear, who now appeared with his black
gin in the mouth Of the wigwam.
New saddles2 What in thunder was
the use of new saddles, or old ones
either, to him? Where was he to stow
them in the meanwhile? Did they
want him to be landed with the swag
on his hands and Jagged all over again
to oblige pair of lubbers like them
And here Tom felt that door would
have slammed had there been one. AS
It was. the outraged Jarman came to
q pause for want Of breath, and Mac
beth got in his word at last.
Tom could not hear 1t, but 1t seemed
to make difference. 1t made the very
plainest difference in the squatter's
tone.
"What? What's that? don't believe
itw cried Jarman in one breath
'Take your oaths to 1t, will you
Well, if it's fact, it'll bear thinking
about. Said all that, did he? And yor
think he won't go and round on us
after all? WE'LL then. come inside, and
we'll talk it over. In you go, missus
! and light up"
Tom took a peep as the men followed
the black woman into the howell. They
had left the saddles outside, but Il
snatch them now was impossible. Tht
sacking that did duty for a door hat
been drawn aside and hitched to
! nail On the lighting Of candle stucl
In a bottle within some eager face wal
revealed to Tom whenever he dared II
look from behind his tree. Even If III
were not seen he would be heard. BE
sides, the party might break up at an!
moment.
So he stood where he was and lis
tened to the voices, but ceased strain
ing after the words. Then a cork pop
! ped, the voices were raised in a min
ute; in less than ten he must hear ev