The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1908-09-25
Storyof Francis C1udde
ARomanee of Queen Mary's Reign.
BY ANIL J. WEYMAN.
CHAPTER NXIII-continued.

Then l shall be hanged" replied the
steward sullenly. There never was a
cludd hanged yet without one to keep
him company. To hear of 1t would
make my grandsire turn in his grave
out there. / dare not do it, Sir An
thony. and that is the fact. But for the
rest l will do as you bid me-"
And he had his way. But never had
evening fallen more strangely and sad
ly at Cotton before. The ain battered
drearily In the court yard. The draw
bridge, by Baldwin's order. had been
pulled up. and the planlss over the
moat In the rear removed.
They shall not steal upon us again."
he muttered. And If we must ur-
render they shall see we do 1t will
ingly."
The tenants had gone to their homes
and their wives. Only the servants re-
NAMED. They clustered, solemn and
Eorrowful, about the hearth In the great
hall, starting If a dog howled without
or a coal flew from the fire within. Sir
Anthony remained brooding in his own
COON. Petronilla sitting beside him
ilent and fearful, while Ferdinand and
Is wife moved restlessly about listen
rs to the wind. But the evening and
ne night wore peacefully away, and
a., to the surprise of everybody, did
tie next day and the next. Could the
8 leriff be going to overlook the
matter? Alas! on the third day the
toubt vas resolved. Two or three
toys. who had been sent out as scouts.
game in with news that there was q
strong watch set on the ~Ridgeway.
taat the paths through the forest were
guarded, that bodies of armed men
Were arriving in tho n%eighboring viii
ltges, and that soldiers had been de-
nlanded-or so 1t was said-from War
wick and Worcester. and even from a
place as far away as Oxford. Probably
1T was only the sheriff's prudence
which had postponed the crisis, and
now it had come. The net was drawn
all round. AS the day closed in on
Cotton and the sun set angrily among
the forest trees the boys tale, which
grew no doubt in the telling. passed
/ from one to another, and men swore
and looked out Of window, women
wept in corners. In the tower room
Sir Anthony sat awaiting the
and wondered what he could do to save
his daughter from possible rudeness.
or even hurt. at tho hands OF these
strangers.
There was one man missing from
hall and kitchen. but few in the sus-
pense noticed his absence. The fool
had heard the boys story and. unable
to remain inactive under such excite
to the rear of the house. Here he
managed to cross the moat by means
OF a plank, which he then drew over
and hid in the grass. This quietly
managed-Baldwin. be it said. a
strictly forbidden any one to leave the
house-Martin made off with a grim
chuckle toward the forest, and fol-
lowing the main track leading toward
Wootton Wawen presently came
among the trees upon a couple of SEN
tinels. They heard him, saw him dis
t1nctly n made Il rush for him, but
this was just the sport Martin liked
and the fun he had come for. His
quick ear apprised him of the danger,
| n,,j ", ~ caro11 1A ,,.-, l-.x -. A.
derwood. his hooking laugh and shrill
taunts keeping the poor men on the
shudder for the next ten minutes. Then
the uncanny accents died away, and
satisfied with his sport and the knowl-
edge he had gained the fool made for
home; AS he sped quickly across the
last field. however. he was astonished
by the sight of a dark figure in he
very act of launching his (Martin's)
plank across the moat.
"Ho, hot" the fool muttered in a
And only one! If they will come one
by one. like the plunls In the kitchen
porridge. I shall make a fine meal!"
He stood back. crouching down on
the grass. and watched the unknown,
a tall, big fellow. a formidable antag-
onist. But Martin cared nothing for
that. Had he not his long knife. as
keen as his wits when they We're at
OAhS wiz was 1lOI always. lie drew
1t out now. and under cover of the
darkness crept bearer and nearer, his
blood glowing pleasantly, though the
night was cold. How lucky it was he
had come out! He could hardly re-
strain the "Ho. ho!" which rose to his
lips. He meant to leap upon the man
on this side of the water. that there
might be no telltale traces on the
farther bank
But the stranger was too quick for
him In this. He got his bridge fixed
and began to cross before Martin could
crawl near enough. AS he crossed,
however. his feet made a slight noise
on the plank. and under cover of it
the fool rose n ran forward, then
followed him oVe with the stealthi-
ness Of a cat. And. like a cat. too,
the moment the strangers feet touched
the bank Martin sprang on him with
his knife raised-sprang on him ST.
lently. with his teeth %grinning and his
eye adanle.