This eBook is produced by Juliet Sutherland Charles Franks and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading TeamIllustration His audience was fairly hanging on his wordsTHE ROSE IN THE RINGBy GEORGE BARR McCUTCHEONWITH FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLORBY A I KELLERCONTENTSBOOK ONEI THE FUGITIVEII IN THE DRESSING TENTIII DAVID ENTERS THE SAWDUST RINGIV A STRANGER APPEARS ON THE SCENEV SOMETHING ABOUT THE BRADDOCKSVI DAVID JENISONS STORYVII THE BROTHERS CRONKVIII AN INVITATION TO SUPPERIX A THIEF IN THE NIGHTX LOVE WINGS A TIMID DARTXI ARTFUL DICK GOES VISITINGXII IN WHICH MANY THINGS HAPPENXIII THE SALEBOOK TWOI THE DAUGHTER OF COLONEL GRANDII THE STRANGER AT THE HALLIII THE MAN WHO SERVED HIS TIMEIV THE DELIVERY OF A TELEGRAMV THE LOVE THAT WAS STAUNCHVI DOORSTEPSVII TOM BRADDOCKS PROMISEVIII COLONEL GRAND AND THE CLONKSIX IN THE LITTLE TRIANGULAR SQUAREX THE BLACK HEADLINESILLUSTRATIONSHis audience was fairly hanging on his words _Frontispiece_It is my money cried DavidHer lips parted in amazement tremulously struggling into a smile ofwonder and unbeliefThis is the one great solitary hour in your lifeBOOK ONECHAPTER ITHE FUGITIVEThe gaunt man led the way At his heels doggedly came the two shortones fagged yet uncomplaining all of them drenched to the skin bythe chill rain that swirled through the Gap down into the nightridden valley below Sky was never so black Days of incessant stormhad left it impenetrably overcastThese men trudgedor stumbledalong the slippery road which skirtedthe mountains base Soggy unseen farm lands and gardens to theirleft Stygian forests above and to their right Ahead the fardistantwillothewisp flicker of many lights blinking in the foggy shroudThree or four miles lay between the sullen travelers and the town thatcradled itself in the lower end of the valleyNight had stolen early upon the dour spring day The tall man who ledcarried a rickety illsmelling lantern that sent its feeble rays nofarther ahead than a dozen paces it served best to reveal the face ofthe huge silver watch which frequently was drawn from its owners coatpocketEight oclockno moreand yet it seemed to these men that they hadplowed forever through the blackness of this evil night through ahundred villainous shadows by unpointed paths Mile after mile theyhad traversed almost impassable roads unwavering persistence incommand of their strength heavy stoicism their burden Few were thewords that had passed between them during all those weary miles Anoccasional oath muffled but impressive fell from the lips of one orthe other of those who followed close behind the silent imperturbableleader The tall man was as silent as the unspeakable night itselfIt was impossible to distinguish the faces of these dogged nightfarers The collars of their coats were turned up their throats weremuffled and the broad rims of their rainsoaked hats were far downover the eyes There was that about them which suggested theunresented pressure of firearms inside the dry breastpockets of longcoatsThis was an evening in the spring of 1875 and these men were forgingtheir way along a treacherous mountain road in Southwestern VirginiaA word in passing may explain the exigency which forced the travelersto the present undertaking The washing away of a bridge ten milesfarther down the valley had put an end to all thought of progress byrail for the night at least Rigid necessity compelled them toproceed in the face of the direst hardships Their mission was onewhich could not be stayed so long as they possessed legs and stouthearts Checked by the misfortune at the bridge there was nothingleft for them but to make the best of the situation they set forth onfoot across the mountain following the short but more arduous routefrom the lower to the upper valley Since three oclock in theafternoon they had been struggling along their way at times by narrowwagon roads not infrequently by trails and foot paths that made foreconomy in distanceThe tall man strode onward with never decreasing strength andconfidence his companions on the contrary were faint and sore andscowling They were not to the mountains born they came from thegentle lowlands by the seafrom broad plantations and pleasantbyways from the tidewater country He was the leader on this uglynight and yet they were the masters they followed but he led attheir bidding They had known him for less than six hours and yetthey put their lives in his hands another sunrise would doubtless seehim pass out of their thoughts forever He served the purpose of asingle night They did not know his namenor he theirs for thatmatter they took him on faith and for what he was worthfivedollarsAre those the lights of the town panted one of the masters a throbof hope in his breast The tall man paused the others came up besidehim He stretched a long arm in the direction of the twinkling lightsfar aheadYas r was all that he saidHow far demanded the other laboriouslyBout foh mileRoad get any betterYas rCan we make it by nine thinkYas rWed better be moving along Its halfpast seven nowYas rOnce more they set forward descending the slope into the lesshazardous road that wound its way into the town of S then asnow a thriving place in the uplands The ending of a deadly war notmore than ten years prior to the opening of this tale had left thispart of fair Virginia gasping for breath yet too proud to cry forhelp Virginia the richest and fairest and proudest of all theseceding states was but now finding her first moments of real hopeand relief Her fortunes had gone for the cause her hopes had sunkwith itBoth were now rising together from the slough into which they had beendriven by the ruthless Juggernaut of Conquest The panic of 73 meantlittle to the people of this fair commonwealth they had so littlethen to lose and they had lost so much The town of S towardwhich these weary travelers turned their steps was stretching out itshands to clasp Opportunity and Prosperity as those fickle commoditiesrebounded from the vainglorious North the smile was creeping backinto the haggard face of the Southland the dollars were jingling nowbecause they were no longer lonely The