Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-11-27

cabin.
Joe knocked at the door, calling at
the same time: Its me. Are you
here, Sally?"
The door opened an inch or two.
"Is it you, Joe?"
| November thrust his right hand
with it's deep scar ascross the back
through the aperture. You should
know that cut, Sal; you tended it"
Come in Come in"
1 followed Joe into the house and
turned to look at Sally. I saw slim
girl with gentle red brown eyes that
/ matched the red brown Of her rebel
lious hair, a small face, pale under its
weather tan, but showing line OF
milk white skin above her brows. She
was, in fact, extremely pretty, with a
kind of good looks 1 had not expect
ed and ten seconds later /, too, had
fallen under the spell of that charm,
which was all the more powerful be-
cause Sally herself was unconscious
of it.
You've been long in coming, Joe"
she said with a sudden smile. You
were away, Of course?'
AYE, just got back fore we
started for here" He looked around.
where's young DAM"
i've just got him to sleep on the
bed there" She pointed to a deer
skin curtain in the corner.
What! They been frightening
him?"
Mrs Rome looked oddly at Novem-
ber NO, but if he heard us talking
he might get scared, for the man
who's been robbing me was in this
room not six hours ago, and Danny
saw him."
November raised his eyebrows.
Huh! That's fierce!" he said. Dan
ny's rising three. amt he? He could
tell"
Nothing at all. 1t was after dark,
and the man had his face muftled.
Danny said he was real good man.
He gave him sugar from the cup
DOarQ, SalQ sally
His hands, what like was his
hands? He gave the sugar"
II thought of that but Danny says
he had mitts on. It's more'n three
weeks now since l found out the
traps were being meddled with. 1t
was done very cunning, but 1 have
my own way of batting them, and the
thief, though he's a clever woodsman
and knows a heap, never dropped to
that. Sometimes he'd set 'em and
bait 'em like as if they were never
touched at all, and other times he'd
just make it appear as if the animal
had got itself out"
He must have left tracks," said
Joe.
Some, yes But he mostly work.
ed when snow was falling. He's cum
ming"
Did any one ever see his tracks
but you?"
Sylvester did"
How was that?" said Joe, with
sudden interest.
II came on Sylvester one evening
when 1 was trailing the robber."
Perhaps Sylvester himself was the
robber."
Mrs Rome shook her head.
1T wasn't him Joe. He couldn't
"a known l was comm on him. and
his tracks was quite different"
We'll, but tonight? You say the
thief come here tonight? What did
he do that for?" said Joe, pushing
the tobacco firmly into his pipe
| bowl.
He had a good reason" replied
Sally, with bitterness. Last Thurs
day when l was on my way back
from putting my letter under your
door l heard something rustling
through the scrub ahead of me. 1t
might have been a lynx, or it might
have been a dog, but when l come to
the trap l saw the thief had made off
that minute. for he'd been trying to
force open the trap, and when he
| heard me he wrenched hard, you bet,
| but he was bound to take care-not
to be too rough"
Good fur, you mean?"
"Good?" Sally's face flushed a soft
crimson. Good? Why, I've never
seen one to match it. 1t was black
| fox. lying dead there, but still warm,
for it had but just been killed. The
| pelt was fair in it's prime, long and
silky and glossy. You can guess, No
vember, what that meant for Danny
and me next winter, that I've been
worrying about a lot. The whooping
coughs weakened him down bad, and
| thought of the things l could get
for him while | was skinning out the
pelt." Sally's voice shook, and her
eyes filled with tears. "Oh Joe, it's
hard-hard. The skin was worth
$500 anywhere, and l come home just
singing l fixed it at once, and then,
being scared-like, l hid it in the cup
board over there behind those old
magazines. No one but Ruby knew
| lIldl lldu Sbl II. ltIl ISubS
but Mrs. Seats had her seventh yes
terday morning, and Ruby ran over to
help for awhile after she put DAN
ny to bed. The thief must have been
on the watch and seen her 60"
where's Ruby now" Joe inquir-
ed.
shes stopping the night. They
sent over to tell me-" replied Sally.
We'll. to go on, l had lynx in one
of my traps which got dragged right
down by Deerhorn pond. so l was
more than special late. Danny be-
gan at once to tell me about the man
that came in. | rushed across and
looked in the cupboard. The black
fox pelt was gone, of course"
What did Danny say about the
man."
Said he had on a big hat and a
handkerchief. He didn't speak a
word: gave Danny sugar, as l have
said. He must "a been here some
time. for he's ransacked the place