Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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F A FIFETH ANNIVE BY F A r (Copyright, 1892, by the A SYNOPSIS. Private Mark Malone, U. S. A., eezt as a spy to Chattanooga by General .Thomas, is saved from guerillas by Souri Slack. Disguised as a countryman, Mark starts for Chattanooga with Jakey, Sw\ri's brother. Mark is to send Souri her red handkerchief if in peril. lfark and Jakey are given shelter by Laura Fain and her mother. Laura suspeets Mark is a Union soldier in disguise. He confesses that he is. Laura is a Confederate. She prevents her lover, Captain Cameron Fitz Hugh, C. S. A., from detaining Mark. Mark learns that a big Confederate army is massing at Chattanooga and planning a northward dash. He at ?empts to escape from Chattanooga. He carries Jakey in safety past the picket line and unexpectedly meets a band of Confederate deserters. He Ind Jakey are then taken prisoners. Mark is imprisoned as a spy. Jakey sends Souri's handkerchief to her by a negro. Mark, defended by Fitz Hugh, is sentenced to death. Souri receivec her handkerchief and guised as a colored girl, goes to 's -rescue. She becomes a ser rant In the jail. Souri and Mark exchange clothing, Ltd 'with a blackened face Mark pass es the guard. Bloodhounds follow him. He takes to the river. (Continued.) CHAPTER . . !ume's KEETEB. MARK stood for a moment look lng about him. There were dormer windows, which let -in the moonlight so that he would distinctly see everything In the room. Some trunks were piled in one corner, and in another some furniture. Among the latter be noticed a lounge with threadbare upholstery, and taking it In his arms. carried it, treading softly, to one of the windows at the front of the house. The room was very hot, and be raised the sash. mov ing It with great care, so as not to wnake any sound. Then he sat down on the lounge, and. looking out of the 'window began to meditate on his sit uation. While thus engaged he heard a light tap at the trap door. Opening it he sair a bundle extended by the fair band of his preserver. He took it, and ettng down the trap-Miss Fain did mot~utter-k word-he nrolled it There were complete suits of under and outer garments. the property of Miss Fain's brother. The getting off of his damp garments and donning snow white linen was a gratefuI sensation to Mark. Having put on what be needed for the night be laid himself down on thie lounge. From his window he could see the Tennessee rolling In the moonlight half a mile away. He tnought how ,much more .omfortable he was in his dry clothes ~than be had been tioating in the water. Then he beard the bark of bounids. ,They were on the water's edge, and 'e knew by the sounds that they were endeavoring to pick up the scent of his tracks. . "Bark on," he said. "When I leave this I'll take with me something to die with. I'll not be taken alive, and if [ mneet you some of you siall roll over." SThen there came an Inexpressible gratitude. .He felt thankful to Souri, tankful to Jakey, thankful to Laura Fain, thankful to his God. There was something especially engaging in Miss Fain's eff'orts on his behalf, inasmuch gsshe regarded him 'n enemy to her country. He thought of Souri in prison halting for old Triggs to discover her (eception. What would they do to her? And Jlakey? Would they Injure a mere boy? He vowed that if he should es cape and outlive the war he would find out just what had happened, and if either had been tiarshly treated he would have his revenge. Musing he fell asleep, but he soon sapke. It was past midnight-the day of his execution. He shuddered. He tried to go to sleep again, but the dreadful fate which would have been his had not Souri saved him, and on the very last evening before his intend ed execution, got into his head, and he could not drive it out. And now, were not men and bounds hunting him for ?hiles around, to drag him back to Chattanooga to that dreadful jailyard, the scaffold, the rope, the black cap? And Laura Fain, suppose she should weaken; suppose she should, after all, consider It her duty to give him up; sppose a demand should be made to search the house; suppose-a thou nd suppositions chased each other Eugh his excited braiz. He lay tossing till just before dawn, when he again fell into a troubled slumber. He was awakened by a squadron of .eavah.v naesingalninw the road. The ZSARY WAR STORY nerican Press Association). sun aad not yet risen,~ but-It was light. He could look right down on them, though they could not see him. They trotted along slowly, all looking worn and sleepy. They were evidently the men who had passed the night before, and were going back from an unsuc cessful bunt. Mark noticed the differ ent positions many of them took in or der to rest in their saddles. The sight took him back to his own troop, and he longed to be in the stirrups again with them. An officer, followed by two men, came riding back. Maybe they were coming to the house. They stopped at the gate. One of the men rode forward, dismounted and opened it. 'The officer entered and rode up to the front door. Mark's heart seemed to stop beating. He could not see what was going on below so close under his window, but presently heard the officer talking to some one on the veranda. "A Federal spy escaped last night from thattanooga, madam. -He was In the disguise of a negro girL" There was something more which was unin telligible. Then Mark heard the word "no" spoken in a voice which he thought was Mrs. Fain's. "He was tracked to the river, which he must have crossed. He probably landed a mile or two below Chattanoo ga, and we believe he is hiding some where within a few miles of this place." "You are welcome to"- Mark could not hear to what the officer was wel come, but he surmised it was to search the house. "What time did you go to bed?" The reply was inaudible. "You saw nothing till then?" "No, sir." "And everything was shut up at ten o'clock." "Yes, sir." "You are good Confederates, I reck on.", "Yes, sir; my son"- Mark could not hear the rest, except the word "army." "Well, with your permission, madam, we'll search"- The rest was lQst. In deed Mark was too terror stricken to listen with due care. He supposed the house would be ransacked. In a moment his terror was turned to a delicious sense of relief. The of ficer, after calling to the men at the gate, rode around to the negro quar ters. But there was a danger,In the search which would follow in the cabins. Daniel would remember the negro girl e had let in the night before, and would surmise that she was the person he men were looking for. Would Dan el betray him? He.thought not Dan e! gave no hint, for presently Mark saw the trio ride away to join the troop. Laura Fain had spent a night no more comfortable than Mark. The re sponsibility of a human life weighed upon her heavily. At one moment she would Dicture Mark's face, pale, hag gard, despairizig, as he would be drag ged from his hiding place. The next she was conscience stricken at the part she was playing in shielding an enemy of her cause-the cause of her brother and her lover. She heard the dogs as Mark had heard them on the river bank, and lay shivering till the baying died away in the distance. Then in the morning she saw the cavalry go by; the officer come up and talk with her mother. whom he asked the negroes to call from her bed -that he might question her about 'the presence of the spy. Laura got up herself and stood at the~ landing. listening breathless while they talked. When the man rode away she muttered a fervent "Thank God!" As .the morning brightened and it was time to rise, her fears were less. Intense, and she began to think of how she should keep her prisoner concealed from the rest of the household. How should she feed him? When her maid came up she told her that she would take her breakfast in her room, but surprised the girl by the large quan tity of food she wanted brought to her. When the breakf at came, Laura was up and dressed. SLe directed the girl to set it on a table and then sent her to the stable with a message to Daniel about her riding pony. Her maid hav ing gone, Laura took up the breakfast and carried it to the trap. In another moment she was standing on the ladder with the tray in her hand, half her body below and half in the attic, regarding a handsome fellow looking very much like a gentleman in hr- brother's clothes. He in turn was m garding what he considered a very pretty picture in the half exposed figure of a young girl holding a tray in her hands on which he knew full well was a breakfast he was hungry for. Then he took the tray and laid It on the lounge. It was the first time that Laura had seen Mark dressed becomingly. This was the man she had been instrumen tal in saving, the man she was pro tecting, the man she must exercise her wits to give an opportunity to get a_w to a land of safety from the Ealter. lt was paent t seetiwRt e was good to look upon. What a fine brow, what a resolute mouth! Those locks are golden and fittedt for a wo man's head. The eyes are heavenly blue. And all this beauty holds a soul capable of plunging into the most .frightful of dangers. And this being, so dazzling to a -young girl scarcely twenty, was in her 'power. Could she not at a word give him over to an ignominious death? And could she not by care almost cer tainly insure his freedom? He was -her slave, bound to her far more se curely than Alice, her maid, who had been given her by her father. She could order him to crawl on the floor before her, and he would hav.e to do so. She had once seen a woman enter a cage of a lion with only a slender whip in her hand, and the huge beast had obeyed her slightest motion. Mark was her lion, and she felt in ellned to give him just one touch of the whip to see what he would do. She stepped into. the room and let down the trap. "Miss Fain," Mark said, "you can not have any conception of the fervor of my gratitude. You stand between me and death-not the death of a sol dier, but of a felon. And here," point Ing to the breakfast, "you are minis tering to my wants with. your own hands." "And yet I told you not to come here." "I did not understand you so. I am sorry that you regret your kindness," he added, with almost a tremble in his voice. "I did not say that I regretted it." "But you .remind me that it Is not agreeable to you." "How can It be? You are a Yankee -a spy-and on a mission to discover the movements of our troops." "Why, then, do you not give me up?" She shrugged her shoulders. "Can I turn executioner?" "I see. I am indebted for my pres ent safety to the fact that you do not care to do an unwomanly act." "You must draw your own infer ence." "But I should like to be grateful. How can I when you tell me that you do all this for me that your white hands may not have a stain upon them?" "It is not necessary that you should feel grateful." Mark studied her face for a moment earnestly. Then his manner changed. "Miss Fain," he said, pointing, "take away the breakfast." "Why so?" she asked, startled. "I will not be under any further ob ligation. to one who acts from pride rather than sweet charity. You have saved me from the hounds and from the gallows. Were It not for you I should now be either about to mount the scaffold or have passed by this time into that land where the only hu man attribute I can imagine as fitted to be there is charity. Whether the danger is now passed from this neigh borhood I don't know bu _ going 7ogh I wil! An4a hntpae hesef ewen i ad h taph woul hav care/u4isitnin "olifeblns om. "True. H!e o?" his hSed.O O "out frmunderhsn roo."Shspk wihesl even rauhityn theap efe I ould you. aie out your itentionu mty olore yoi e!rsel."i "Itc inwthathownereha sofmumange cos,mms anin oigdont o from wat generatityns, that hassguve "your lfe beoit gs tornnie" erm now." H oe i ed "Yo tyrndersadme"Se"pk Theen mor asuthrity than bef oe fIond. h own otrlie. haosh ares neve hlave I stonen sens tddn myolored girlo." so"Itirs ttoneship oaifie hmanm peus Mir. Shen comin ready to heau them pst sheneainta has given,btseaid "Wa oyou thespriht tyanme tove do"me TRmi here aure tat wa regar up asa for youto." safety ne asked. looking up at be r quickly. "You came here unbidden and placed yourself in my hands. Do you think it proper to come and go at your pleasure?" Mark approached her, and bending low took her hand and kissed it. There was something in the act to remind her of the lion-after the training. It was scarcely more tban fifteen minutes after Souri had bid Mark godspeed when old Triggs re-entered the prison grounds, and mounting the flight of steps leading to the second story went into the jaih No one seem ed to be about the place. He entered his bedroom and found his wife dozing in her chair by the window. He asked for the colored girl, and his wife told him that she had not yet returned with the medicine. He waited, expecting every minute that she would come in. It occurred to him that perhaps the prisoner might be dead. Taking up a tallow dip he went to the room where Mark was supposed to be confined. A figure was lying in the corner. The Jailer went to it, and by means of -the candle saw what he sup posed to be the prisoner. "Yank," he said, "air y' dead?" No answer. He took hold of the figure's shoulder and shook it Still no reply. Turning Souri over he at once recog nized the face of the "mulatto girl" In an instant he saw through the ruse that bad been practiced. With out stopping to interrogate her, he rushed from the room past the sentinel at the door and out to the guardhouse. There he gave the alarm, and in a mo ment the whole guard was in motion. Sour! hoped that the sentinel at the door would join In the chase, In which event she intended to go to Jakey's room, get him out and attempt to es cape. But the soldier only went as far as the door at the head of the long staircase. Then, remembering that he would doubtless be punished for let ting one prisoner escape, and that there were several negroes in the "black hole" for him to guard, he went no farther. In five minutes-Souri heard the bark ing of hounds without. No word was sent to headquarters regarding Mark's escape till the hounds had followed the scent to the river and there lost It. Then one of the guards was sent in to report the whole affair. Being an infantryman. he was obliged to walk, which took time. Cav alry was the only arm of the service capable of following the escaped man with a chance of success, and cavalry must be ferried across the river or or dered from Dallas, on the other side, ten miles above. The latter course was chosen, and two squadrons were di rected to proceed at once, the one to throw a chain guard across the neck of ~Moccasin point, the other to scour the river bank for a distance of several miles below. Had there been any cav alry nearer, Mark would have had a very slender -chance to get away. As It was, he barely escaped one of the squadrons. About noon the provost marshal sent for Souri and Jakey with a view to gaining from them whatever he might concerning Mark's Identity and his mis sion. "Who are you?" he asked of Souri not unkindly. "Missouri Slack." "Where do you live?" "On the Anderson road, not far from ,Tasper." "And this boy?" "He's my brother." "When did you coifne from horne?" "Three days ago." "What brought you, or how did you know that the prisoner was here and In jail?" "Jakey sent me word." "How ?" "He sent me a silk hank-ercher what I give t'other un." "How did you send it, boy ?" ."Niggers." "Um." "Well, you two are pretty young to be engaged in such mischief." The officer looked at them with in terest and ye ation mingled. "What do you think 1 ought to do with you?" "Reckon y' mought gimme back my gun," said Jakey. The officer could not repress a smile. "What gun?" "Th' one yer tuk t'ot.her day." "Go and get the boy's gun, order ly," he said to a soldier on duty at the door. The gun was not- to be found then, but was recovered later, and Jakey was happy In receiving It. "Do you know what you've been do ing?" the officer resumed, addressing Souri. "You've helped a spy to escape who will doubtless carry information to the enemies of your country." Souri made no reply. She stood look ing at the officer with her big black eyes. Fortunately for her, he had a daughter about her age. Meanwhile some Tennesseeans who hailed from Jasper had been sent for, and they came in to ha1ve a look at the prisoners. Several of them recognized both Souri and Jakey, and told the marshal that they were what they pre tended. This and their youth, together with the fact that the provost marshal was not a harsh man, saved them from punishment. The officers at headquarters were too busy to meddle with such a case. The provost marshal's communication was returned with the following Indorse ment: Respectfully referred back to the prov ost marshal with authority to do with1 these prisoners as he thinks for the best interests of the service. The spy having escaped, it does not appear there is any ..easn ohold them The brother and sister were brought in again to hear what was to be their fate. Souri was aware of the enormity of her offense and expected a severe punishment. She had determined to beg the officer to send Jakey oack to his parents, then he might punish her as he liked. "Suppose I let you and your little brother go home," said the marshal, "will you go there and keep out of any interference in matters that concern the Confederacy hereafter?" "I'll go home," said SourL "Well, I reckon you'd better go," re plied the officer. Then to the gu4rd: "Send the corporal hefe." "Take these children," he said to that person when he arrived, "to the other side of the river and turn them adrift, and see that they don't get back here." Souri's heart jumped into her throat for joy. Turning her expressive eyes on the officer. she said, "Thank you." "Mr. Ossifer," said Jakey, "I thank y' fur gimmen me back my gun." A smile broke over the faces of those present The next day the brother and sister arrived at home, and great was the re joicing in Vie Slack family. (To be continued). THE LARGEST APPLE TREES. North Carolina Has the Largest in the United States, Perhaps in the World. Charlotte News. North Carolina keeps emphasizing that its place is at the head of the procession and once again kt scores as carrying the banner. This time it is in having the largest apple tree in the United States, and it is an apple tree of immense propor tions. It is on the land of Mr. W. G. Smoot, near Trap Hill, in Wilkes coun ty, and is owned by Messrs. J. B. Hor ton, of Elkins, and H. W. Horton, of North Wilkesboro. The sworn records show that the tree is 16 feet 6 inches in circumfer ence at the ground and 12 feet 6 in ches just below the first limb, making it 5 feet 5 inches in diameter at the ground and 4 feet 2 inches at the first limb, 'which is eight feet above the ground. It was 'a large tree ninety years ago, and it is known to be over a hundred years old, and it may be a hundred and fifty. It bears apples right along, the variety unknown, the people of that section calling it the "Rich Apple," because the color is a rich yellow-red striped and the flavor rich. The fruit matures in September and keeps till laite in the fall and is of medium size. Pictures of this big old apple tree have been sent to the department of agriculture and men shown in the picture standing by it look of the size of small boys. Not alone is this big tree declared to be the biggest apple tree in the United States, but it is be lieided to be the largest in the world. If cut, the stump would give room for several men to stand on it at one time, and if it was hollow and lying down an ordinary cow could walk through its length and not touch her back and sides. A man who needs the money has no time to meddle in other people's af fairs. STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, COUNTY OF NEWBERRY. By Frank M. Schumpert, Esquire, Probate Judge. WHEREAS; Robert Y. Kibler made suit to me,. to grant him letters of ad ministration of the' estate of and ef fects of Thiodore N. Kibler, THESE ARE THEREFORE to cite and admonish all and singular the' kindred and Creditors of the said Theodore N. Kibler, deceased, that they be and appear before me, in the Court of Probate, to be held at New berry, S. 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