The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-03-01

| was almost on him and all seemed
 at an end, when shot roafed from q | thfcI<et
 With a mighty beliow the bull stum-
 bled forward and fell within ten feet of the trembling man. The Lord
 Keeper gazed stupefied at the beast. 1 which had heen struck so truly be- I tween the skull and the spine that l the bullet. which could not have im- 1 peded his career in time had 1t struck any other part of the body. had proved instantly fatal.
 A man with a short gun in his hand
 stepped out and lifted the girl She
 saw a handsome. dark face partially concealed by a black feather that l dropped from the mans bonnet. He | raised her In strong arms and placed !, her gently under a tree. The Lord 1 Keeper stepped forward to offer his i thanks. but the stranger said in a I naughty voice, stern voice: T am the | Master of Ravenswoods" and disap- peared in the woods.
 During the succeeding days the timid mind of the Lord Keeper fed on the | old fear, aggravated by the new ter- TOT of thus having met the Master of 1 Ravenswood armed in his own pre- 1 cincte. While he was in this mood d I visitor arrived who concealed under q cloak of friendship his real mission as an emissafy to win Sir William over
 to the opposition by playing on his | fears He told the Lord Keeper that I the cause of Ravenewood was already beng taken up by his friends, partic- ularly his close kinsman. the most no- I ble Marquis of Az, who was might | fly feared by the ruling party in Scot i land, and whose politics promised to end in bringing his faction into | power FOL Thoroughly alarmed now. the Lord Keeper hastily prepared meinorandums written with all his lawyers craft. in which, instead of presenting the fun 1 eral scenes as offences to be punished. he rather oceanic the advocate for young Ravenswood and his friends. These he dispatched to the Privy Coun- 1 ell with stifl more urgent private let- tefs in which he eounseled mercy and forbearance. Then, packing the copies carefully in his pouch. he ordered his retinue for a hunt. which he so di- rected that finally he and Lucy found themselves in sight of the old tower. As if to help his plan the Master of Ravenswood came galIoping up: and at the same Instant mighty flash of lightning tore over the sky and glared on the rolling sea. In the circum- stances there was no way to avoid off, fefing the hospitality Of the ruined
 
 rapidly to it's gate, much to the dis may of the single servitor, who formed the young lords sole retinue.
 "Is he clean daft?' muttered that ancient man, Caleb Baiderstone, as he hobbled down. "To bring lords and ieddies and a host of folk bahint | them and naeffing to eat. Bat deii hae me IF the family shall lose credItFe Rowing to the ground he craved his masters pafdon for having permitted all the servants of the castle to go forth to see the hunt. Then he in- duired gravely of the visitors if they would have tokay or old sack or any other rejection, and stopped only when Ravenswood turned to the Lord Keep CT and said: sir and madam, this old man forms my whole retinue. My
 neafs Of refreshing you are even more scanty than my retinue; but such as they may be you may command thein."
 The Lord Keepers chief servant had now entered, and the rest of the great train was not far behind Seeing this, Caleb hurried the guests into the hall and then ran out again and barred the great gates. flinging them shut with q crash almost In the faces of the -huntsmen.
 He thrust his head through a small window over the entrance and fn- formed the angry people that his mas ter and the guests were at their din- iaer and that the gates of Wolf's Craig never were opened at meal times. Then lie disappeared. leaving them to shout and curse, which they did with risht good will till the chief servant. who had perceived how matters stood, went to the window and told them to go to the village tavern and feast at their masters charges.
 Tt was now laundering furiously--a oircumstances which made Caleb say "fieAven be praisedr' Running to the Kitchen he waited Ter s thunderclap Of extreme force and with a sweep of his ar1Q hurled from a shelf almost all the stock of crockery that the place boastsd. Then he rushed upstairs and appeared before his master with piteo1s countenance.
 "Such a misfortune to befa' the house. and to live to sec itF' cried he, wrinKinE his hands. The thun- ders come down the kitchen, and the things are d lying here ava, there awa,-Acapons In white broth, roast kid. roasted leyeret, veal florentine. blackcocl<. plum damas. a tart, an forbye the fruit. And we hae naeth- ing left in the house fit to present for dinner. Hut will gang to Wolfs Hope and bring back dinner"
 Havenswood who had not contradict ed Caleb for fear of making the scene still more ridiculous, held out his purse, but the old seneschal said in- dlgnantiy. "Parsel Purse. indeed! trust we are no to pay for our ain" and he flung out of the room. outside he muttered: "Couldna he hae slipped it gently into my handf" and went forth to prey on the village.
 He had, unfortunately for him, quite ruined his standing among the people by fnsistlng on the ancient barouial rights of the Ravenswoods, under the cover of which he had exacted tribute till the village lawyer had led a suc- cessfuI revolt. Therefore poor Caleb saw himself reduced to strategen.
 Fortune was with him. As he came to the coopers' house he saw the la ble decked for large company. and at the fire he beheld a spit turning with a goose and two wild ducks on 1t.
 He entered hastily and began a po- lite conversation with the two women In the place. Presently a child began to cry in the next room, and both ran to see what ailed it. When they re- turned Caleb was gone and so was the spit with the wild fowl.
 Proudly he rode back to the castle and set the dinner before the guests, with A glance every now and then to upbraid his master. Then he retired to the Kitchen, where he entertained the Lord Keepers servant with tales of tila story of the Ravenwoods ana of the tribute that it was his custom to gather fran the surrounding inhab- ftautg