Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-10-17
CHAPTER vI--continued,

, IN my mind-to escape from the house
as quickly as possible, to attain Pete's
cart at the edge of the woods, and be
several miles up the river, hidden
away In some covert before daylight.
leaving no trail behind. 1t would prove
decidedly to our advantage If I was
not seen or recognized. The very mys'
tery, the bewilderment as to who had
so viciously attacked the gambler and
then spirited away the girl, woulf
serve to facilitate our escape.
II stopped and removed pistol from
KIrby'si. pocket, dropping 1t, together
with. such ammunition as could find,
into one of my own. The man by this
time was breathing heavily, although
his eyes remained closed. and he still
lay exactly as he had fallen. w..
'rKeep Jour own weapon" ! com.
mandad ,ier. "Hide 1t away In your
dress, Now come with ne.p ~. /.
She ebsyed. uttering no word Of OBJ
lection, and stepping after me through
the open window onto the narrow bal
cony without. / reached up and drew
down the shade. leaving us In COM
parative darkness. The night was
soundless and our eyes, straining to
pierce. the black void, wereS unable to
detect any movement. -
"You see nothingf"' / whispered,
touching her hand in encouragement.
''No evidence of guard anywherea"
'"No-the others must still be out
in front waiting" ~.S
: There were only thesfour Of them,
thenjnt s'rs - o.: '' ''sts' w.
$50 understood. ! was told they
came up the river in a small keelboat,
operated by an engine, and that they
anticipated no resistance. The engi-
neer was left to watch the boat and
be,ready to depart downstream. at any
moment" rt@' ~.
Good; that leaves US clear pas
sage. Now j am going to drop to the
ground 1t Is not far below. Cap you
make 1t alonef"
81 have done so many time"
We attained the solid earth almost
together and in silence. J..
'"Now let me guide you," she sug-
gested, as Ishesitated. II know every
inch of the>way about here. Where Is
the negro waitingf" ~
'At the edge Of the wood where the
wagon road ends, beyond the slave
quarters"
"Yes, ] know; it will be safer for
us to go around the garden" -
She fitted forward, sure-footed,
confident, and followed as rapidly as
possible through the darkness, barely
keeping her dim figure in sight. Our
feet stumbled over the ruts Of a road,
and / seemed to vaguely recognize the
spot as familiar. Yes, away off yon-
der was the distant gleam Of the river
rejecting the stars. This must be the
very place where Pete and I had part
ed, but-where had the fellow gone?
.Here is where he was directed to
watt I explained hurriedly. Il am
sure I am not mistaken in the spot"
,"Yet he is not here, and there Is
no sign of him.. You left no other
instructions except for him to remain
until your return?"
II think not-oh, yes, did tell him
II you women came without me he was
to drive you at once to the boat and
leave me to follow the best way 1
could. Do you suppose 1t possible the
others reached here and he has gone
away with them?"
She stood silent and I stroye by
peering about to discover some marks
of guidance, only to learn the USE
,lessness Of the effort. Even a slight
advance brought no result, and it was
with some difficulty even succeeded
In locating her again in the darkness
indeed, only the sound Of her voice
made me aware of her immediate pres
ence.
1.-THE negro's boat is some distance
away, Is 1t not?"
"EOur miles, over the worst road I
ever travelled" A sudden remembrance
swept into my mind, bringing with it
inspiration.
"Have you ever visited the mouth OF
Saunders creek? You havel How
far away is that from here?"
.NOt more than half mile; 1t en-
tiers the river just below the Land
Ing"
"And, If I understood you rightly"
! urged eagerly, "you said that these
fellows left their keelbOat there; that
it had been rigged up to run by steam,
and had no guard aboard except the
engineer; you are sure Of this"
"That was what the man who talked
to me first said-the deputy sheriff.
He boasted that they had the only
keelboat on the river equipped with
an engine and had come up from st.
Louis in two hours. You-you think
we could use that?"
''It seems to be all that is left us.
I intend to make the effort, anyway.
You had better show me the road"
1 followed her closely, mere
shadow, as she silently led the way
along the edge of the wood and back
of the negro quarters. felt confident
90 ha;py ohio cofoly t0 onDrOqph the