Marble Hill press., 1915-10-14
CHAPTER ~.
Into the Enemies Hands.

The major lay dead. with my blood.
stained revolver evidently the
weapon which had struck the blow
lying beside him. Dawn would reveal
the deed, and | would be discovered
alone In the house. Only my wakeful-
ness, my desire to investigate, had in
terfered with the complete success OF
this hideous plan. Taylor had pre-
pared himself for this emergency, had
deliberately taken the weapon for that
very purpose. Where had the fellow
gone? And what had become Of the
negro?
l stood there, lamp In one hand and
revolver in the other. staring down at
the dead face Of this man who had
once been my fathers friend Out Of
the mist floated the face of the girl.
<he girl who had waved to me in the
road. The vision brought back to me
GOODNESS and determination. l felt
through the pockets of the dead man
and found knife, keys and a roll OF
bills untouched, but not scrap Of pa
Per. On the floor, partially concealed
by one arm. was large envelope, un-
addressed, roughly torn open. 1t was
some document, then, the murderer
sought, and he had fed with 1t In his
possession.
= Intent now on my one purpose OF
discovery, my mind active and alert,
began a rapid search OF the house
The front door was fastened and
barred, proving Taylor had not left
that way. There was but one other
room on that floor, a kitchen In con.
siderable disorder. as though the serv.
ant had made no effort to complete his
work: but its outer door stood un-
aatched Sam must have gone with
the nountalneer in his hasty eight
must be equally guilty. This wa. the
only conclusion possible, and the
knowledge that was left there alone
rendered my own position precarious
ffarwood had surely never ventured
into this doubtful region without hay-
4ng soldiers within call, no doubt In
the village. who. II he failed to appear
when expected. would search for him
Before they came, and made discov-
cry of the dead body, must be safely
beyond reach If found there, no de-
fense, no asseveration OF innocence,
would ever save me from condemna.
tion. Their vengeance would be swift
and merciless.
Thinking now only OF my own es-
cape unobserved. | felt my way into
the night with my bundle. This would
be Federal territory; or If not, al.
ready, my nights ride would bring
me we'll within their lines before
dawn. slipped instantly out OF the
soiled suit Of gray and donned the i'm.
maculate blue. buckling the belt about
my waist and securely hooking the
saber. Then ! scooped out a hole in
the soft dirt and buried the old uni
form. tearing my pass into shreds.
scattering the fragments broadcast
1t was so lonely and still all about
that ] felt a return OF confidence, a
renewed courage. The house behind
me. and the stable before, were mere
outlines, scarcely dscernible through |
the gloom Once safely in the saddle, |
circled the gloom OF the house ST. |
ieutly, and followed the roadway to |
the gate
Not light cleaned In any direction |
and | could recall no other house near,
by. While II remained iu view could |
not remove my eyes from the mansion |
! had just left, or forget the dead body I,
lying there In the dark The shyiug |
of my horse at the gate caused me TO |
note the black something lying
against the post At first | deemed II |
a mere shadow, but the animal would |
not respond even to the spur. and
-dismounted better TO ascertain the
cause Of his fright The negro lay
there, dead as his master. a knife
thrust In his heart Then 1t was Tay-
Tor alone who had done the foul deed |
There was nothing could do but fee
swiftly through the night My own
position was nos far too desperate to |
permit OF my giving any alarm. OF
seeking to trace the murderer. To fall |
into Union hands would be my death |
warrant. irrespective of Harwood's
fate. and my duty lay In carrying out
the orders Of Old Jack" To allow
myself TO be captured would spoil
everything.
rode tewafd Hot Springs as rap |
tdiy as dared. watchful OF every |
deepening shadow. until came to the |
first struggling houses. These were
dark and silent. and not 90 much a.
dog barked a. I walked my horse eau
tiousiy forward toward the main
street ! saw but one dim light ttreamr
tns through an uncurtained window OF
what looked like Q Law ONCE, and
passed close enough to learn that .
group OF uen within we're playing
cards u was highly probable these
belonged to the majors escort
esssoJ The place usobserved aud rode