Cheraw chronicle. [volume] (Cheraw, S.C.) 1896-2005, 1921-09-29

hounds. He has his orders, so he
says"
Dyck made an impatient gesture.
81 will not submit to his order. |
have earned my place in this island,
and | will see he does not have his
The ladies must be brought to Spanish
Town, and placed where the COVER
nor's men can protect them"
Darius Boland bowed. What you
say goes always" he remarked, "but
tell me, sir, who will take the ladies
to Spanish Town.
Dyck Calhoun frOwned. He read
the inner meaning Of Darius Boland's
words. They did not put him out of
self-cOntrol, however. 1t was not a
time to dwell on such things. 1t was
his primary duty to save the ladies'.
"Come, Boland," he said sharply. 81
shall start now. Wherever the ladies
are, we must find them. What sort of
country is it through which they
pass over there?" He pointed.
bad enough in some ways. There's
an old monastery Of the%days of the
Spaniards up there"-he pointed-"or
the ruins Of one, and 1t is a pleasant
place to rest. / doubt not they rested
there, if"
IF they reached it" remarked
Dyck with crisp infection. "Yes, they
would rest there-and it world be a
good place for ambush. for the
MaroOns, eh? It's q d--nable predica-
ment-no, you must not Come with
me! You must keep command here. "
He hastily described the course to
be followed by those Of mis- own men
who remained to defend, and then
said: "Our horses are tagged. If you
can loan US four I'll see they are well
taken care of, and are returned, in
kind or dash. I'll take three Of my
men only. and loan you three Of the
best. Well fill our knapsacks and get
away, Boland.'
A few moments later, Dyck Calhoun
and his three companions, with &guide
added by Boland, had started away up
the road which had been ridden by
Mrs. Llyn and Sheila. One thing was
clear, the MaroOns on the hill did not
know Of the absence Of Sheila end
her mother, or they wo-ld not be wait
ing. He did not like the long absence
of the ladies. 1t was ominous at such
q time.
Dyck and his small escort got away
by a road unseen from where the
Maroons were, and when well away
put their horses to canter and got
into the hills. Once in the woods. how
ever, they rode alertly, and Dyck's
eyes were everywhere. He was quick
to see bush move. to observe the
flick of branch, to catch the faintest
sound of an animal origin. He was
obsessed with anxiety, for he had n
dark fear that some i'll had happened
to the two. His blood almost dried in
his veins when he thought Of the fate
which had followed the capture of
ladies in other islands like Haiti or
Grenada. His soul revolted at it.
1t did not seem possible that these
beautiful and devoted women should
have fallen into the outrageous hands
Of savages. He vexed his soul with
torturlng thoughts. He knew the girl
was armed, and that before harm
might. come to her she would end her
own life and her mothers also; hut
suppose she was caught from behind,
and that the opportunity Of suicide
should not be hers-what then?
Yet he showed no agitation to his
followers. His eyes were, however, in
tensely busy, and every nerve was
keen to feel. He had the intense per-
ception Of a delicate plant, whose Won
derful warning can only come to
those who live close to &c lure, who
study from feeling the thousand
moods and lenses of living vegetables
and animal life. He was born hunt
er, and it was not easy to surprise
him when every nerve was aching
with premOnitiOn. He saw the marks
Of the hoofs of Sheila's and her moth
er's horses in the road, knowing them
by the freshness Of the indentations.
An hour, two hours passed, and they
then approached the monasterial ruin
Of which Boland had spoken. Here,
suddenly, Dyck dropped to the ground,
for he saw unmistakable signs of fright
or furry in the hoof-marks.
He quickly made examination, and
there were signs Of women's feet and
also bare native foot, but no signs
of struggle or disturbance. The foot
prints, both native and white, were
firmly placed, but the horses hoof-
prints showed agitation. Presently the
hoofmarkS became more composed
again. Suddenly one of Dyck's sup
pOrters exclaimed he had picked up
Il small piece Of ribbon, evidently
dropped to guide those who might
come searching. Presently another
token was found in loose bit of
buckle from q shoe. Then, suddenly,
upon the middle of the road was little
pool of blood and signs that a body
had lain in the dust.
"She shot a native here" said Dyck
to his companions morosely, yet coolly.
"There are no signs of struggle
remarked the most obServant.
"Well, we must 20 carefully mere,
for they may have been imprisoned in
the ruin. You stay here, and I'll 20
fnrMnrl I" he added with q hnnd Oh