Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1910-03-29
CHAPTER XVI.

of the South was paraded on the court
house common in Charlotte to listen to
the reading of General Gates final or
der, the order announcing the arrival of
Major General Greene from Washing
toms headquarters to take over the
command of the field forces in the Car
oIinas
AS Margery had promised / passed
out of my garnet prison and out of door
on that memorable evening of October
IA to find the British gone from Char
lotte and the town jubilant with pa
triotic Joy
Having nothing to detain me- and
being bound in honor by the wish of
my dear lady not to follow and give
myself up to the retreating British gen.
eral. took horse and rode to Salisbury.
where had the. great good fortune to
find Dick, already breveted a captain
in Colonel Washington's command
hurrying his troop southwark TO whip
on the British withdrawal.
Here was my chanve ii drown heart
burnings in an onsweeping tide of ac-
ton, and then and there l became
gentleman volunteer in Dicks company
asking nothing of my dear lad save
that | might ride at his stirrup and
share his hazards.
Touching the hazards, there were
plenty of them in the seven weeks pre-
ceding and the month or more follow
ing our new generals coming to take
the field. as you may know in detail if
you care to follow the gallopings of
Colonel Washington's light-hors troop
tOh tha of ha icfA M
these have little or naught to do with
my tale, and 1 pass them by with the
word you will anticipate; that in all
the dashes and forays and brushes with
the enemy's foraging parties and out
posts, no British or Tory bullet could
find its billet in the man who was
enamored of death.
On a morning l woke to find let
ter pinned to the ground beside me
with an Indian scalping-knif thrust
through it. Dick was sitting by the
newly-kindled fire, nursing his knees
and most palpably waiting for me to
wake and find my missive
What is it?" l asked, eyirAg the ON
inols thing distrustfully.
lis letter, as you see inca
noola left it," Then, most surlily:
"'Tis from Madge. and to you. There
is your name on the back of It,"
At this | must needs read the letter,
with the lad looking on as If he would
eat me. Twas dated at Winnsborough,
and was brief and to the point
Monsieur:
when last we met you said the
Church might undo what the Church
had done. l have spoken to the good
Pere Matthew. and he has consented tc
write to the Holy Father at Rome But
1T is necessary that he should have
your declaration. Since the matter IL
OF your own seeking, mayhap you can
devise a way to communicate with
Pere Matthew. who is at present with
US under our borrowed roof here"
That was all. and it was signed only
with her initial. | read it through twice
and then again to gain time For Dick
was yaiting.
Tis mere formal matter of bust
ness said /, when could put him off
no longer.
Business?" he queried. the red light
of suspicion coming and going in his
eye. what business can you have
with Mistress Madge Stair, pray?"
"'Tis about-it touches the title to
Appleby Hundred" said l. equivocat-
ing as clumsily as a schoolboy in
fault ''Of course you know that the
cantiscation act of the North Carolina
Congress re-established my right ana
title to the estate?"
NO" said he; you never told me-
Tien: She writes you about this?"
About a matter touching it. as |
say"
AS you did not say" he growled:
after which a silence came and sat be-
tween us. 1 holding the open letter In
my hand and he staring gloomily at
the back of ii.
When the silence grew portentfous
told him of my design to go a-spying.
He looked me in the eye and his smile
was not pleasant &c see
You are lying most clumsiiy. Jack;
or at best YOU are telling me bnt half
the truth. You are going to see Mis-
tress Margery"
That is altogether as 1t uay hap
pen" 1 retorted. striving hard to keep
down the flame of insensate rivalry
which his accusings always kindIed in
me.
1T is not. Winnsborough is neither
London nor yet Philadelphia, that you
may miss her in the crowd. And YOU
do not mean 20 miss her"
We'll? And II do chance to see
her-what them"
Don't mad me, Jack. You should
know by this what fool she has made
of me"
IT'S your own folly" l rejoined hot
ly. You should blame neither the lady
nor the man TO whom she has given
nothing save"
Save what?" he broke in. savagely
l recoiled on the brink as l had so
many times before The months OF
waiting for the death l craved had
harder ed me.
Save thing you would value light
ly enough without her love Let us
have done with this bicl.sring; find the
colonel and ask his leave to SO with
me, II you like. Then you may do the
love-making whilst l do the spying"
No" said he; mot while YOU stand
1t upon such leg as that"
l reached across and gripped MS
hand and wrung it, shall we never
have the better of these senseless va
poi-inss2F | cried, 'Tis as you say:
can neither live sane nor die mad with
out another sight of her, Dick. and
that is the plain truth. And yet. mark
me. this next seeing of her win surely
set a thing In train tAat win make her
yours and not mine Get Your leave
and come with me on your own terms.
.Mayhap she will show you how little
she cares for me. and how much she
cares for YOU"
So this is how II came about that We
two. CARRIED as decent planters and
mounted upon the sleekest cobs the
regiment afforded. took the road for
winnsborough together on a certain
sumr.>r-fine morning in January In the
year battles, 1TSf.
= fifty miles as bird would ny u
e-,.u AZ, .-ra zir,s. ,,raIarais OF the Broad