Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1931-07-03

II have had enough of the sea- ne
said. 1.-THE thought of 1t makes me
i'll. Let us take our chances In the
great greenwood.Y
boy, / like yer courage" Amos
answered. "As the toad said when
the harrow was goin' over him, We're
in an unfortunate position But ]
reckon wen get through. We must
travel close. Let me be captain.
Never use a weapon or speak loud
without my orders II We put penny's
value on yer life. Well push on be-
yond the end O. this path and lie up
for the night"
1t was very dark but Amos seemed
to have cats eyes in the night. Rob
ert followed close behind him. When
they stopped again Amos cut some
boughs for a bed and they lay down,
back to back, under a blanket.
wen pig together right here till
daylight" said the pioneer.
Now Todkill was, in shrewdness,
man of thousand. He had fatherly
interest in the handsome boy who lay
beside him-the son of gentleman
with untold wealth in his background.
In his devotion there was touch
of the love of the dog for his master.
He did not know whether the boy
had been lying with woman or not.
If he had, Amos thought none the
less of him. After all, in his view, 1t
was a trifling matter. He knew only
that, when coming to the house for
instructions late in the evening, Rob-
ert had told him that, forthwith, he
must be taken away. Naturally he
knew that some kind of deviltry was
in the wind. AS to its kind Robert
had said nothing. Amos would not
have ventured to ask even If he had
not been pleased with his own lack OF
knowledge. Samp had given him his
first inkling of the truth. OF course
Samp had lied for the purpose OF
trapping Robert with the notion that
there was no danger for him in re-
turning to Boston. Else why was he
so eager to get Robert? If William
was convicted Of what use was Rob
ert's testimony? The story of VIII
liam's conviction was made out OF
whole cloth. He would attend to his
own affairs and do no babbling.
These reflections Of Amos Todkill
are set down in his diary with full
report of Samp's sayings.
ontrld xxyrfta hQd the
diary habit. Todkill was methodical
man. In the service of his wise friend,
Capt. John Smith, he had learned
many crafts. He had been above all
an expert tree-climber. He carried a
pencil and blank books wherein his
maps are drawn in sections and notes
made regarding them. Also some ac-
count Of the adventures of each day
are set down. On sundry pages, terse-
" and wildly, he has indicated his
mental reactions. Before they slept
that night Robert asked:
what did the constable say to
your"
'Only that he was after you. He
was like a lathered horse near the
water pail. Came aboard thirsty and
the drink crossed him. The poor old
hitchcock! He shot his granny. Got
slowed. / left him asleep in the tap
room"
Did he speak of Mabel Hartley?"
the young man asked.
Amos OWNED the meaning Of this
query and answered: "She is in
prison. 1 reckon 1 know now why
we've had a solemn look in yer eye.
They'll keep her locked up till they
get their hands on you. If you have
been shakin' her skirts. keep away,
or they'll hang the two O. ye They're
as hard as rocks. If We have any feelin'
for the wench stay away from there.
She's safe till they get We. When
the excitement has blowed over we
can see how things look. The main
thing now is to keep alive. There's
some O. the great men who are ag'in'
this law. They'll kill it in time"
Robert did much thinking that night
and in the nights and days that fol-
lowed. Every day he tells in his
diary of a sense of WEAKNESS and the
need Of sleep.
At daylight they went on travelling
by compass. They came soon to a
freshet in a valley where they sat
down to eat with water to help their
food on its way. The weather ia
vored them, being still warm and
clear. At the top of high ridge
Amos climbed tree with his book
and pencil to get the lay of the land
and to look for Indian signs. He
noted the position Of mountains, lakes,
ponds and rivers. Coming down he
said: There's an Indian village about
two miles north O. here. We got to
step careful now and keep our eyes
peeled. There are two big mountain
peaks, one due north and one long
way to west'ard. 1 reckon its shadow
touches the big lake. A great fresh
water river is about ten mile ahead"
(To BE CoNTINUED)