Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1908-09-25
-THE--
Storyo Of Francis Cludde
A Romance Of Queen Mary's Reign.
BY STANLEY j. WEYMAN
BY N Y ]. WEYMAN.
CHAPTER xxII1-continued.

ALL<tI III
Then I shall be hanged" replied the
steward sullenly. There never was a
Cludde hanged yet without one to keep
him company. To hear of II would
make my grandsire turn In his grave
out there. / dare not do 1t. Sir An
thony, and hat is the face. But for the
rest | will so as you bid me"
And he had his way. But never had
evening fallen more strangely and sad
ly at Cotton before. The rain battered
drearily In the court yard. The draw
bridge. by Baldwin's order, had been
pulled up, n the planks over the
moat In the rear removed.
They shall not steal upon us again.
he muttered. And IL we must sur
render they shall see we do 1t will
ingly."
The tenants had gone to their homes
and their wives. Only the servants re-
mained. They clustered, solemn and
gorrowful, about the hearth I'm the great
hall, starting If a dog howled without
or a coal flew from the fire within. Sir
Anthony remained brooding In his own
o Petronilla sitting beside him
silent and fearful, while Ferdinand n
his wife moved restlessly about listen
ing TO the wind. But the evening and
the night wore peacefully away, and
SO, to the surprise OF everybody, did
the next day and the next. Could the
sheriff be going TO overlook the
matter? Alas! on the third day the
doubt was resolved. Two or three
boys. who had been sent out as scouts.
came In with news hat there was a
strong watch set on the Ridgeway,
that the paths through the forest were
guarded. that bodies of armed men
were arriving in the n~eighboring viii
lagos, and that soldiers had been de-
manded-or so Ii was said-from War
wick Inc Worcester, and even from a
place as far away as Oxford. Probably
1t vas only the sheriff's prudence
which had postponed the crisis, and
nov it had come. The net was drawn
ali round. AS the day closed In on
Cotton n the sun set angrily among
the forest trees the boys tale, which
grew 10 doubt in the telling, passed
from one TO another, and men swore
and looked out Of window, n women
wept in corners. In the tower room
Sir Anthony sat awaiting the summons
n wondered what he could do TO ave
his daughter from possible rudeness,
or even hurt, at the 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
20 remain inactive under such excite
ment. he presently stole off In the dusk
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 II said, had
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
uncfly and made a rush for him. but
this was just the sport Martin liked
and the fun he had come for. His
quick appraised him OF the danger.
and in a second he was lost in the un-
derwood. his hooking laugh and shrili
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 a gained the fool made for
home. AS he sped quickly across the
last field, however, he was astonished
By the sight Of a lark figure in the
VERY act of launching his (Martin's)
E,Iahk across the moat.
"Ho, ho!" the fool muttered in a
flerce undertone. That is It, Is it2
And only one! III they will come one
by one, like the plums In the kitchen
iporridge, shall make a fine meal!''
He stood back. crouching down on
the grass, and watched the unknown.
his eyes glittering. The stranger was
II tall. big fellow. a formidable antag-
onist. But Martin cared nothing for
Had he not his long knife, as
as his wits when they were at
home, which was not always. He drew
AZ out now, and under cover of the
darkness crept nearer and nearer, his
blood glowing pleasantly, though the
might IA cold. How lucky II was he
had come QUIT He could hardly re-
strain the "Ho, hoi" which rose to his
lips. He meant to leap upon the man
ON this sid OF the water, that there
might be M telltale traces on the
farther bank.
But the stranger vas too quick for
him In this. He got his bridge fxed
n began TO cross before Martin could
crawl near enough. AS he crossed.
however. his. feet made a slight noise
on the plank, n under cover OF IL
the fool rose and ran forward, then
followed him over with the STEALTH
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.
iently, With his teeth grinning and his
afame.