The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1908-09-24
Storyof Francis Cludde
A Romance Of Queen Mary's Reign.
BY TAME ]. wEYMAN
CHAPTER xx1n-continued.
BY sTANLEY J. wEyMAN.

aCHAPTER AA1Il-Continueu.
"Then / shall be hanged replied the
steward sullenly. There never was O
Guide hanged yet without n to keep
Hirn company. To hear OF 1t would
make my grapdsire turn In his grave
out there. 1 dare not do II. Sir An
thory. and that Is the fact. But for the
rest / will do as you bid me-" d,
And he had his way. But never had
evening fallen more strangely n sad,
1y at Cotton before. The rain pattered
drearily in the court yard. Tho draw
bridge, by Baldwin's order, had been
pulled up. and the planks over the
faoat In the rear 49,
They shall not steal upon us again"
no muttered. And if we must sur
render they shall see we do II VIII
ingiy."
@The tenants had rome to their homes
and their wives. Only the servants re-
NAMED. They clustered, solemn and
e0rrowful. about the hearth In the great
han. starting IL a dog howled without
or o coal flew from the fire within. Sir
Anthony remained brooding In his own
ynom, Petronilla sitting beside him
Iient and fearful. while Ferdinand ana
: tSls wife moved restlessly about listen
ing to the Wind. But the evening and
tae night wore peacefully away and
as, to the surprise of everybody, did
TIE next day and the next. Could the
eaerlff be going to overlook the
Ttatter? Alas! on the third day the
kSoubt was resolved. Two or three
hoys, who had been sent out as scouts,
name In with news that there was a
&trong watch set on the .-Ridgeway,
NtAat the paths through the forest were
Rnarded, that bodies OF armed men
We're arriving In the neighboring VII
blges, and that soldiers had been de-
Yr~sanded-or so it was said-from War
wick and Worcester. and even from a
3piace as far away as Oxford. Probably
III was only the sheriff's prudence
(which had postponed the crisis, and
arow 1t had come. The net was drawn
bail round. AS the day closed In on
Motion and tho sun set angrily among
1.-THE forest trees the boys tale, which
9grew no doubt I'm the telling, passed
from one1to another, and men swore
and looked out OF window. and women
6aWept In corners, In the tower room
y Sir Anthony SUIT awaiting h summons
{ ard wondered what he could do to save
t.tis daughter from possible rudeness,
AsVr even hurt, at the hands OF these
4 strangers.
There. was one man missing from
ShalI ard Kitchen, but few in the sus-
elpensa noticed HE absence. The fool
had heard the boys story and. unable
40 remain inactive unde such excite
atnent. he presently stole off In the dusk
fsto the rear of the house, Here he
n managed to cross the moat by means
Nf a plank, which he then drew over
and hid In the grass. Tiisw duietly
sgnianhgedTBaldwin, be 1t said, had
,astrictly forbidden any one to leave the
house--Afartin made Off with aAgrim
chuckle toward the forest. and fol-
Wootton Wawen presently came
among the trees 6pon a couple Of SEN
Y tineis. They heard hln, saw him dis
gunctly and made q rush for him, but
this was Just the sport Martin liked
and the f1h he had come for. His
quick a apprtsed him Of tie danger,
Sand in a second he was l0stsin the un-
Norwood. his hooking laugh and shrilt
taunts keeping theapoor men on the
shuddcr Tor the q ten minutes, Then
I,the uncqnny accents died away and
" satisfied. with his sport and the lSnowl-
edge he had gained the fool made for
home. As he sped quickly across the
last field, however, he was astonished
by the sight or a. dark figure in the
plank deroAs tie moat
"Hos hoss the fool mufterSd IN a
,sfierce 5undertone. THAT Is 1t, is 1T ?
And only onel IL they win come one
By one. like the plunis in the kitchen
4porridge, I shah make o fine meal!"
He stood back, c~roucEing down on
the grass, and watched thee ur4known,
his eyes glittering. The stranger was
q tan, big fellow, q formidable .antag-
onlst. Bot Martin cared nothing for
that. Had he not his long Knife, as
9ikeelsaS his Wits when they were at
shorIe. which was not always. He drew
1T cut ROW, and under cover OF the
,darknesS crept nearer hnd nearer, his
blood glowing pleasantly. though the
night was cold. How lucky 1t was he
had come outl He could hardly res
strain the "Ho, hot.gwhich rose to his
lips. He meant to leap upon the man
on this side OF the water, that there
might be no teHtale 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 nea enough. AS he crossed,
: however, his feet made a slight noise
on the plank. and under v OF II
the fool rose and ran forward, then
, followed him over with the STEALTH
ness of a cat. And. like a cat, too,
h moment the strangers feet touched
h bank Martin sprang on him with
his knife ra~ised--sprang on him ST.
lentiy. with his teeth grinning and his
\ eyes afiame.