The Yale expositor., 1914-12-03
CHAPTER IV-Continued.

CHAPTER lV-Contlnued.
He sauntered down the road. but,
when he had passed out of vision, he
turned sharply into the woods, and
began climbing. His steps carried him
to the rift in the ridge where the white
oak stood sentinel over the watch
tower Of rock. AS he came over the
edge from one side his bare feet max
ing no sound, he saw Sally sitting
there, with her hands resting on the
moss and her eyes deeply troubled
She was gazing fixedly ahead and her
lips were trembling. At once Sam
sons face grew black. Some one had
been making Sally unhappy. Then he
saw beyond her a standing figure,
which the tree trunk had hitherto con-
cealed 1t was the loose-knitted figure
of young Tamarack Spicer.
"In course" Spicer was saying, I'VE
don't low Samson shot Jesse Purvy,
but them Hollmans II spiclon him, an
l heered just now tibet them dawgs
was trackin straight up hyar from the
mouth of Misery. They'll git hyar
against shutdown"
Samson leaped violently forward.
With one hand he roughly seized his
cousins shoulder and wheeled him
about.
"Shet up" he commanded. What
d-n fool stuff hev We been tellin'
Sally?"
For an instant the two clansmen
stood fronting each other. Samson's
face was set and wrathful. Tamarack' S
was surly and snarling. "Hain't l got
a license ter tell Sally the news?" he
demanded
Nobody hain't got no license" re-
torted the younger man in the quiet
of cold anger, ter tell Sally nothin'
thetll fret her"
'She air bound ter know hit all
pretty soon. Them dawgs-"
Didn't tell We ter shet up?" Sam
son clenched his fists, and took step
forward. EFF we opens yore mouth
again, I'm a-goin' ter smash hit. Now,
git!"
Tamarack Spicers face blackened,
and his teeth showed His right hand
swept to his left arm-pit. Outwardly
he seemed weaponless, but Samson
knew that concealed beneath the
hickory shirt was a holster, worn
mountain fashion.
What air ye a-reachin' after,
Tam'rack?" he inquired, his lips twist.
ing in amusement
"Thet's my business"
well, git hit out-or git out yeself
afore throws we often the cliff"
Sally showed no symptoms of alarm
Her confidence in her hero was abso,
Lutte. The boy lifted his hand, and
pointed off down the path. Slowly
and with incoherent muttering, Spicer
took himself away. Then only did
Sally rise. She came over, and laid a
hand on Samson's shoulder. In her
blue eyes, the tears were yelling.
Samson" she whispered, "ef they're
after ye, come ter my house. | kin
hide we out. Why didn't We tell me
Jesse Jurvey'd done been shot?"
Hit faint nothin' ter fret about
Sally" he assured her. He spoke
awkwardly, for he had been trained to
regard emotion as unmanly. Thar
hain't no danger"
She gazed searchingly into his eyes
and then, with a short sob, threw hel
arms around him, and buried her face
on his shoulder.
"Ef anything happens ter we, Sam
son." she said, brokenly, "hitT jes
kill me. / couldn't live withouten We
Samson jest couldn't do hitl"
The boy took her in his arms, anC
pressed her close. His eyes were gaz
ing off over her bent head, and his lip
twitched He drew his features int
a scowl, because that was the only ex
preston with which he could safe
guard his feelings. His voice wa
husky.
81 reckon, Sally" he said, 81 couldn'
live withouten you, neither"
The party of men who had started
at morning from Jesse Purdy's stor,
had spent hard day. The roads fol
lowed creek-beds, crossing and re
crossing waterways in a fashion tina
gave the bloodhounds a hundred bal
fling difficulties. Often, their nose
lost the trail, which had at first beef
so surely taken. Often, they circle
and whined, and halted in perplexity
but each time they came to a poin
where, at the end, one OF them agai
raised his muzzle skyward, and CAV
voice.
Toward evening, they were workin
up Misery along a course less broker
The party halted for a moments res
and, as the bottle was passed, the ma
from Lexington, who had brought tn
dogs and stayed to conduct the chas
put a question:
What do you call this creekT