Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1915-05-14

The evening OF Hetty Denton's wed
ding day closed in calm and beautiful.
with i white faced moon rising out of
the east like a pale bride wreathed In
a cloudy veil.
Ebenezer Flocken was pacing the
floor of his store with restless feet.
His knotted hands wrung together in
vain anger as he talked to a little.
dried up woman in a pink sunbonnet.
Il s'pose l got to believe it's true,
Mrs. Bean" he said reluctantly, but
| didn't suppose that Hetty would
treat me that way. Going to 'lope to
Greenville with Dave Gray, is she?
Well, I'm her garden, and III stop 1t,
by crickey"
you got to be jumpin' around.
then" piped Melissa Bean eagerly. Il
heard Dave tell Hetty he'd be around
there at 8 o'clock. and it's six-thutty
now"
You send Hiram Weed here to keep
store for me while ! go harness up"
growled Ebenezer, examining his old
felt hat on his g~rizzled head. when
Hetty said she was going to spend the
Ady OtCI " X COAGlnc L III 1 sup
pose she was planning to lope from
there
Mrs. Bean Uttered and hurried out
of the store to find Hiram Weed. In
the meantime Sissy Soper's round face
had mooned over the edge of the mo-
lasses barrel and he had shaken a fist
at the unconscious store keeper. Then
he, too, vanished.
Sissy Soper lived in a little house at
the edge of the village, his father was
dead and his mother took in washing.
Next to the tumbledown Soper house
was a grove of young locust trees, and
this grove was a favorite camping
place for wandering gypsies. AT this
time a a vas camping there.
They had arrived that afternoon, and
Sissy had been so occupied in watching
their movements that be had almost
forgotten Hetty's elopement. He had
known about it for several days; Dave
Gray had pressed the simpleton into
his service while making the arrange
ments. But Sissy was faithful and
could be trusted not to betray Hetty
and her lover.
What he had heard Melissa Bean
say to Ebenezer Flocken and Ebene-
zer's threats to stop the elopement had
fired Sissy's dulIed imagination to fever
heat. In his hasty departure from the
store he carried with him a large ham
and a box of crackers.
Shortly after that Sissy Soper might
have been observed in the gypsy camp,
exchanging the stolen ham and crack
ers for the loan of the big brown bear
which belonged to the caravan.
Midway between Little River and
Greenviile the road branched off to the
right. Following this right hand road
one would arrive at Greenville with
out delay. This was known as the
Short Cut road. The left hand road
or the long cut-wound along the river
bank. taking in its path scattered
farmhouses and a tiny hamlet. but
eventually arriving at Greenyille by an
unobtrusive back way through the
woods.
1t was at the cross roads that Eben-
eyer Floeken waited to intercept the
clippers. They could not escape him.
no matter which road they chose to
take.
Ebenezer carried a rawhide whip
and in one hand he brandished an
ancient horse pistol. He smiled under
his fierce mustache as he anticipated
the quick surrender of Dave Gray and
Hetty.
1t was very dark In the woods there
v where the moon flooded the cross
roads with white light. Ebenezer
stood there leaning against a white
birch sapling watching the road from
Little River. He was ~intentiy listen.
ing for the quick thud of hoofs. for. Of
course. Dave would have his black
mare. Queenie, hitched to the rubber
tired runabout. Unless Ebenezer stop
ped them before they passed out of
the road into one Of the branches the
black mare could take the clippers to
their destination. and the lovers could
laugh at him.
by crickey. I'll stop 'em If l have
to shoot ZEN in their tracksv' growled
Ebenezer ferociously as he changed
his position. His feet ached horribly.
and a particularly sensitive corn burn
ed like fire.
There came a sound. Ebenezer
Strengthened up and forgot his corns.
Is 1t was a heavy thudding sound quite
unlike the quick rat-a-pat Of Queenie's
dainty hoofs. 1t was not approaching
him from Little River way, but SEEM
ed to come from behind him.
The sound grew louder and was min
gled with the crisp cracking of under
brush, as IL some heavy body pushed
its way through the woods.
Ebenezer's scalp frightened just as if
his scanty hairs had risen In horror, as
the sound appeared to be almost at
his elbow and he distinctly heard