The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-01-11
CHAPTER VIll.-Contlnued.

DO not permit the darkness to
alarm YOU" ! whisru-at softly. bend
ing down rs spoke until / could
feel her quick reLthIng against my
cheek. "Our Visitors are not likely to
remain longer than will be necessary
TO get something to eat They need
never suspect our presedce. and all
we have 10 do is 10 wait patiently
until they move on only wish
could discover something upon which
you might sit down"
Pray do not think me coward"
she answered, but have heard Of
this man LowrIe in the Federal camps.
and ! would rather die than fall into
his hands"
had heard OF him also, and Of his
outrageous treatment of women. The
memory caused me 10 clasp my hand
warmly over hers. and set my teeth
hard.
1t may not prove TO he Lowrle az
all, ] said soberiy; but all these
gentry are pretty mum alike. | fear.
However, ] promise that you shall |
never foil alive into the hands Of any |
OF their breed"
Before shn could answer me other |
thnn by slight nesting closer In the |
darkness. Bungay whispered: This |
yere hole, Cap. leads down ter the |
right, an comes out in a sort o. gully |
bout hundred feet back. Thar's
Hight 'nough ter see ter walR by alter
We turn the corner. bout ypnty
feet er so. You uns kin go on down
thar II ye'd rather follerln' Their dorgs.
but reckon as how IN STAY right
yere an sorter see how Their OIL woman
comes out
Where, where was Roderlck then?
One blast upon his bugle horn
Were worth thousaL men
II you uns like ter see q burned good
fight maybe ye better say tew-ther
oil woman is pisen If she once gifts her
dander up"
His voice was expressive Of great
expectations anu had reason to be
lieve his faith In Maria would be
justified Before any OF us, however.
had time to change on. positions we
heard the fellows come stamping
roughly into the cabin The thin slabs
which divided us scarcely muffled
their loud voices
Well, old woman" exclaimed one in
voice so gruff ms to seem almost as
sumed, pretending 10 be alone, are
you. with all those dishes sitting out
or the table; Just bee. eaten off, too
Have MT seen no strange party along ,
the road this morning. have ye?"
Nary a one" said Maria, and | Z
knew from her voice she was standing
close beside the fireplace. 9
Are you Mrs Bungay?" /,
Il reckon ! am. II it's any O. yer
business" q
Don't Git nifty. old woman. or we're |
liable to give you a Lesson In polite.
ness before VIC leave" The leader n
dropped the butt 1f his gun with a
crash on the floor Where ia the III. c
tie sneak anyhow" @
What do you want of him. g
Want him to go long with us: /,
we're hunting some parties and need S
guide. They toll us up tn. road a
bit he knew every inch o these yere |,
mountings" r
There was pause, as n Maria was O
endeavoring 10 decide as to the hon. r,
esty OF .he speaker. Her final answer b
proved the mental survey had not II
proven satisfactory. fl
wal. reckon" shI said calmly. {,
''as you uns u be more likely ter O
find him down bout Connersville e
Then whut's all these yere dirty II
dishes doing on the table," a
He'd sum Yankee officers yere; they a
lust rode on down Their trail as you
ins cum up" n,
Like hell" circulated the fellow n
With complete loss of temeer. See II
iere. old woman, we're too old birds h,
o be caught with any such chaff. a,
Ven take look aroun the old she 81
,ang anyhow, and Will. we're at II h,
ou put something on the table for me al
nd my mates TO eat" n,
The voice and manner we're rough, G,
ut was impressed with a certain nc. af
ent creeping into the mans speech m
cspeaking education. More, in spite h,
I an apparent effort TO make II so. his N
inlect was not that OF those noun. VI
Inns. 80
Even rs he uttered these last words. ~,
irowing into them threat more in he
10 tone than the language, became va
ware OF q thin ray OF light pene.
ating the seemingly : lid wall Jus,
front Of me. and bending silently
rwards could dimly distinguish the
optical head of Bungay rs he applied
10 aye 10 . small opening be had
dustricas,S made between the logs. pc