Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-12-02
CHAPTER XV-Continued.

You belonged TO that squad killed
out yOnder?"
Yes, sch; I reckon Use the only one
whut amt ded," he stammered, sc
tongue-tied l could scarcely make out
his words. 81 wus gone after wahter,
an when them Injuns begun fer ter
yell, 1 never dun nuthin' but just run,
an hid in the BUSH"
81 understand. What is your name?'
"Asa He'll"
"Wel. Asa, suppose those were
militianen; you belonged to the coi1.
panyr
He nodded, his eyes dull }is lips
moving, as though it was an effort to
talk. Quite evidently whatever little
intellect he had ever possessed, now
refused to respond. Kennedy broke IN
impatiently.
at takes thet boy bout an hour fer
ter tell enything, Cap" he explained
grufly. 81 reckon he's skeered half
ter death in the furst place, an then
thdr's sumthin' wrong with him eny-
how. Howsumever, it's whut he seed
an heerd, Cap, thet sounds mighty
queer ter me. He sez thar wus mOre'n
fifty bucks in thet party, an that OIL
Black Hawk wus thar hisself, leadin'
'em-he done saw him."
turned, surprised at this statement,
to stare into the boys face. He half
grlnned back at me, yacantly.
sBlack Hawk! He could scarcely be
down here; what did he look like?"
Bout six feet high, reckon, with
q big hooked nose, an the Dlackest
pair O. mean eyes ever We saw. L
. reckon he didn't hav' no eyebrows, an
he wore bunch o. eagle feathers, an
q red blanket. Gosh, mister, but the
devil cudn't looR no worse'n he did"
'Wus thet him, Cap?" burst in Tim,
anXiOusly.
'It's not bad description" admit
ted, yet not convinced. II can't be-
lIeve he would be here with raiding
party. If he was, there must be some
important object in view. Is that allT
''No, 'tain't; the boy swears thar was
q white man long with 'em, feller
with short muStache, an dressed in
store clothes. He want no prisoner
nuther, but he'd gun' an talked ter
Black Hawk, most like he wus q chief
hisself. After the KILN wus all over
he wus the one whut got 'em ter 90 off
thar TO the south, the whole kit an
kaboodle."
81 don't doubt that. There have al
ways been white renegades among the
Sacs and plenty of half-breeds. If
Black Hawk, and this other fellow are
leading this band, they are after big
game somewhere, and we had better
keep out of their way. I favor sad
ding up Immediately, and travelling all
night"
$50 do l." and Tim flung half-flled
bag from his shoulder to the ground.
"But vote we eat furst. 'Tain't much,
only q few scraps found out thar;
but it's a way better then nuthin'.
Here you, Hall, give me hand, an
then We'll so out, an round up them
hOsses."
If the party Of raiding Indians,
whose foul deed we had discovered,
had departed in southerly direction,
as their trail would plainly seem to in
dicate, then our safest course would
seemingly be directed eastward up the
valley. This would give us the pro-
lection of the bluffs, and take us more
"a 4ln Ant~ifn
would be likely to cover. Within
twenty minutes we were in saddle, de-
scending the steep hillside through the
darkness, Tim walking ahead with the
lad, his horse trailing behind, and the
long rifle across his shoulder.
q 1 do not recall feeling any special
fear. In the first place was convinced
that we must already be at the eX-
treme limit of Black Hawks radius,
and that, travelling as we were east
ward, must before morning be well be-
yond any possible danger Of falling
into the hands Of his warriors. The
other pursuers I had practically dis
missed from thought. Shortly after
llg llOloS olAtNAASN - 'NiiNNS''
and could no longer uphold my weight.
On foot, with the poor beast limping
painfully behind me, I pressed on be-
side Eloise, both of US silent, too ut
terly wearied with the strain for any
attempt at speech.
The rising sun topped the summit
Of the bluff, its red rays seeming to
bridge with spans Of gossamer the lit
tie valley up which we toiled. l had
lost nry interest, and was walking dog
gedly on, with eyes bent upon the
ground, when the girl beside me cried
out suddenly, a new excitement in her
voice.
"Oh, there is q cabin! See! Over
yonder; just beyond that big oak
where the bluff turns"
Her eager face was aglow, her out
stretched hand pointing eagerly.
The logs Of which the little building
had been constructed, still in their n;l
tive bark, blended so perfectly Will
the drab hillside beyond, that for til,
moment none Of US caught the distant
OutIinpc Tim DnSSpcSpl tho EppnpS