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/ SYNOPSIS.' CHAPTER I.?The scene at the openlnf I ef the story is laid in the library of an j old worn-out southern plantation, known as the Barony. The place is to be sold, I and its history and that of the owners, ! the Qulntards, is the subject of discus- | slon by Jonathan Crenshaw, a business man, a stranger known as Bladen, and ! Bob Taney, a farmer, when Hannibal Wayne Hazard a mysterious child of the old southern family, makes his ap- j pearance. Yam? tow* how ho adopted the boy. CHAPTEK II.?Nathaniel Ferris buys the Barony, but the Qulntards deny any knowledge of the aoy. Yancy to keep Hannibal. Captain Murrell, a friend of the Qulntards, appears and asks questions about the Barony. CHAPTER in.?Trouble at Scratch Hill, Taney's home, when Hannibal Is kidnaped by Dave Blount, Captain Murrell's agent Taney overtakes Blount, gives him a thrashing and secures tha boy. CHAPTER IV.?Taney Is served with a warrant for assaulting Blount Taney appears before Squire Balaam, and Is discharged with costs for the plaintiff. CHAPTER V.-Betty Malroy, a friend ! Of the Ferrises, has an encounter with } Captain Murrell, who forces his atten- j tlons on her, and is rescued by Bruce ! Carrlngton, who thredten* to whip tha I captain. CHAPTER VT.?Betty sets out for her Tennessee home. Carrlngton takes the same stage. Taney and Hannibal disappear, with Murrell on their trail. He overtakes them in the mountains of Tennessee. Murrell gets Taney drunk and stabs htm in a light that followed. Han- ' nlbal escapes In a canoe. CHAPTER Vn.?Hannibal arrives at the home of Judge Slocum Price. CHAPTER VIII.?The Judge recognizes In the boy, the grandson of an old time friend. Murrell arrives at Judge's home. Hannibal hears of the finding of Tancy'e body. Price arrested as counterfeiter. CHAPTER IX.?Cavendish family on raft rescue Taney, who la apparently dead. Price breaks Jail. CHAPTER X.?Betty and Carrlngtoa arrive ut jDtue r-itun. CHAPTER XI.?Hannibal's rifle dlsu closes some startling things to the Judge. ! A^^Iannlba^ and Betty meet_agaln. Mun-ell arrives In Belle Plain. Is playing for big stakes. CHAPTER XIII.?Taney awakes from long dreamless Bleep on board the raft. CHAPTER XIV.?Judge Price makes i startling discoveries In looking up land | titles. Charley Norton, a young planter, i who assists the Judge, is mysteriously as- I saulted. CHAPTER XV.?Norton Informs Carrlngton that Betty has promised to marry him, Carrlngton bids Betty good-bye. Norton Is mysteriously shot. CHAPTER XVI.?More light on Murrell's plots. He plans uprising of negroes. CHAPTER XVTI.?The Judge and Hannlbal visit BeUjr. CHAPTER XVm.-Betty Is told why I Norton was killed and leaves Belle Plain, taking Hannibal with her. The carriage Is held up In the woods. The Judge Meets the Situation. ' The Judge's and Mr. Mahaffy's cele- ' bration of the former's rehabilitated credit had occupied the shank of the evening, the small hours of the night,, j and that part of the succeeding day which the southwest described as soon In the morning; and as the stone Jug. In which were garnered the spoils of the highly confidential but entirely misleading conversation which the Judge had held with Mr. Pegloe alter his return from Belle Plain, lost in weight, it might have been observed that he and Mr. MahalTy seemed to gain In that nice sense of equity which , should form the basis of all human relations. The judge watched Mr. Ma- 1 haffy, and Mr. Mahaffy watched the Judge, each trustfully placing the reg-! ulatlon of his private conduct in the hands of his friend, as the one most likely to be affected by the rectitude of his acts. Probably so extensive a consumption of Mr. Pegloe's corn whisky had ; never been accomplished with great- j er highmindedness. They honorably . split the last glass, the judge scorning to set up any technical claim to it as his exclusive property; then he stared f at Mahaffy, while MahafTy, dark-1 - ? " Li l Ji kn/tlr I vlsagea ana lorDioaius, duuou u?,k i at him. The Judge sighed deeply. He took ! tip the Jug and Inverted It A stray \ drop or bo fell langtrldly Into his glass. ( "Try squeezing it. Price," said Ma- ( haffy. j The Judge shook the Jug, it gave forth an empty sound, and be sighed again; he attempted to peer into it closing one watery eye as he tilted it toward the light. "I wonder no Yankee has ever j THE I 0D1GAL RIDGE VXughanKester. i r?zi/st%atms By D.Meiviu 1 ** rf $/< COMAArtr K "Try 8queezlng It, Price," Said Mahaffy. thought to Invent a jug with a glass bottom," he observed. "What for?" asked Mahaffy. "You astonish me, Solomon," exclaimed the judge. "Coming as you do from that section which invented the wooden nutmeg, and an eight-day clock that has been known to run as much as four or five hours at a stretch. I am aware the Yankees are an Ingenious people; I wonder none of 'em ever thought of a jug with a glass bottom, so that when a body holds It up to the light he can see at a glance whether It Is empty or not. Do you reckon Pegioe has sufficient confidence to- fill the jug again for . us?" V ) But Makoffy's expression Indicated no great confidence In Mr. Pegioe's confidence. "Credit" began the judge, "is pro verblally shy; still It may Esmetimes be increased, like ite A.dscleijiOf tbe body and the mental ft4cultles/*>y Judicious use. I've always regarded. Pegloe's as a cheap mind. I K*pe 1 have done him an Injustice." put on his hat, and tucking tbe Jug under his arm went from tlw-fcadse. Ten or fifteen mffhites elapsed. Mahaffy considered this a good sign; it didn't take long to say no, he reflected. Another ten or fifteen elapsed. Mahaffy lost heart. Then there came a hasty step beyond the door, it was thrown violently open, and the Judge precipitated himself into the room. A glance showed Mahaffy that be was laboring under intense excitement. "Solomon, I bring shocking news. God knows what the next few hours : may reveal!" cried the judge, mopping his brow. "Miss Malroy his disanneared from Belle Plain, and Han nlbal has gone with her!" "Where have they gone?" asked Mahaffy, and his long jaw dropped. "Would to God I had an answer ready for that question, Solomon!" answered the Judge, with a melancholy shake of the nead. He gazed down on his friend with an air of large tolerance. "I am going to lielle | Plain, but you are too drunk. Sleep j It off, Solomon, and join me when j your brain Is clear and your legs Bteady." Mahaffy jerked out an oath, and I lifting himself off his chair, stood ' erect. He snatched up his hat. "Stuff your pistols Into your pock- j ets, and come on, Price!" he said, and stalked toward the door. He flitted up the street, and the 4nHerr\ nnffo/1 a rt/1 nantoH in hla nrnlto JUUftg |li?u%WU ?u They gained the edge of the village without speech. "There is mystery and rascality here!" said the Judge. "What do you know, Price, and where did you hear this?" Mahaffy shot the question back over his shoul* der. "At Pegloe's; the Belle Plain overseer bad just fetched the news into town." Again they were silent, all their | energies being absorbed by the physl-1 cal exertion they were making. The J road danced before their burning j eyes, it seemed to be uncoiling Itself j serpent-wise with hideous undulations, j Mr. Mahaf!y_ waa_ conscious that the Judge," or whom "he caugfiF a"6lurre3 vision now at his light side, now at his left, was laboring painfully In the heat and dust, the breath whistling from between his parched lips. "You're Just ripe for apoplexy, Price!" he snarled, moderating hia pace. "Go on," eald the Judge, with stolid I resolution. Two miles out of the village they came to a roadside spring; here they paused for an Instant. MahaXTy ecooped up handfuls of the dear water and sucked It greedily. The Judge dropped on his stomach and buried his face in the tiny pool, gulping up great thirsty swallows. After a long breathless instant he stood erect, with drops of moisture clinging to his nose and eyebrows. Mahaffy was a < dozen paces down the road, hurrying k forward again with relentless vigor. The Judge shuffled after him. The tracks they left in the dust crossed and re-crossed the road, but presently the slanting lines of their advance e+f-airrtitanari the ludge gained and held a fixed place at Mahaffy's right, a step or so In the rear. His opulent fancy began to deal with the situation. "If anything happens to the child, the man responsible for It would better never been born?I'll pursue him with undiminished energy from this moment forth!" be panted. "What could happen to him, Price?" asked Mahaffy. "God knows, poor little lad!" "Will you shut up!" cried Mahaffy saragely. "Solomon!" "Why do you go building on that Idea? Why should any one harm him ?what earthly purpose?" "I tell you, Solomon, we are the pivotal point In a vast circle of crime. This is a blow at me?this Is revenge, sir, neither more nor less! They have struck at me through the boy, It Is as plain as day." "What did the overseer say?" "Just that they found Miss Malroy gone from Belle Plain this morning, and the boy with her." "This is like you, Price! How do you know they haven't spent the night at some neighbor's?" "The nearest neighbor Is five or six miles distant, ^llss Malroy and Hannibal were seen along about dusk in the grounds at Belle Plain; do you mean to tell me you consider It likely that they set out on foot at that hour, and without a word to any one, to make a visit?" inquired the Judge; but Mahaffy did not contend for this print. "What are you going to do first, V^re?" f ? gTr - "Have a look over the grounds, and tnlk with the slaves." i "Where's the brother?wasn't he at Belle Plain last night?" "It seems he went to Memphis yesterday." They plodded forward in silence; " ?- *noaA/? hv DOW &DG 106/ weio paoocu \jj some man on horseback whose destination was the same as their own, and then at last they caught sight of Belle Plain In Its grove of trees. CHAPTER XXII. The Judge Takes Charge. All work on the plantation had stopped, and the hundreds of slaves? i men, women and children?were gath. ered about the bouse. Among these ; moved the members of the dominant < race. The Judge would have attached 1 himself to the first group, but he heard a whispered question, and the answer: "Miss Malroy's lawyer." Clearly It was not for him to mix ' with these outsiders, these curiosity ' seekers. He crossed the lawn to the house, and mounted the steps. In the J doorway was big Steve, while groups of men stood about in the hall, the hum of busy purposeless talk pervad- i lng the place. The Judge frowned. 1 This was all wrong. i "Has Mr. Ware returned from Mem phis?" he asked of Steve. 1 "No, sah; not yet" 'Then show me into the library," 1 said the judge with bland authority, ( surrendering his hat to the butler. "Come along, Mahaffy!" he added. < They entered the library, and the judge motioned Steve to close the / door. "Now, boy, you'll kindly ask I those people to withdraw?you may say It is Judge Price's orders. Allow no one to enter the house unless they , have business with me, or as I send for them?you understand? After you have cleared the house, you may bring me a decanter of corn whisky? stop a bit?you may ask the sherlfl to step here." "Yes, sah." And Steve withdrew. The Judge drew an easy-chair up to the flat-topped desk that stood In the center of the foom, and seated himself. "Are you going to make this the excuse for another drunk, Price? It so, I feel the greatest contempt for you," said Mahaffy sternly. The Judge winced at this. "You have made a regrettable choice of words, Solomon," he urged CORTRIC giniiniaiiMM are as good as n< never needed re B mZtWm need attention of rVffljjnffr El cept an occasional I Storm-proof Fire-proc Don't buy that roof for the new 5 until you have examined the Cort Sold by Cheraw Hardware < gently. "Where's your feeling for the boyf , j "Here!" said the Judge, with an elo-J j quent gesture, resting Ms band on nis , heart. 3 "If you let -whisky alone, I'll believe you; otherwise what I have said must ( stand." The door opened, and the sheriff , slouched into the room. He was chew* t lng a long wheat straw, and his whole j appearance was one of troubled weakr ness. | "Morning," he said briefly. "Sit down, sheriff," and the Judge ( indicated a meek seat for the oflicial ] In a distant corner. "Have you learned 1 anything?" he asked. The sheriff shook his head. "What you turning all these neigh- j bors out"of doors for?" he questioned. "Wa. don't want people tracking in j and out the house, sheriff. Important , evidence may be destroyed. I propose examining the slaves first?does that ( meet with your approval?" "Oh, I've talked with them; they don't know nothing," said the sheriff "No one don't know nothing." "Please God, we may yet put our fingers on some villain who does?" 1 said the judge. Outside it was noised about that Judge Price had taken matters in hand?be was the old fellow who had 1 been warned to keep his mouth shut, and who had never stopped talking ' since. A crowd collected beyond the library windows and feasted its eyes ] on the back of this hero's bald head. ] One by one the house servants were i ushered into the Judge's presence. ] First he Interrogated little Steve, who < had gone to Miss Betty's door that j morning to rouse her, as was his cus- j tom/Tioxt he examined HettyTHfiMl* j then the cook, and various house serr. ants, who had nothing especial to tell, ] but told it at considerable length; and \ lastly big Steve. "Stop a bit," the Judge suddenly In- i terrupted the butler in the midst of 1 his narrative. "Does the overseer al- j ways come up to the bouse the first j thing in the morning?' i "Why, not exactly, sab, but he come < up this mo'ning, sah. He was talking < to me at the back of the house, when the women run out with the word that ] Missy was done gone away." J "He joined in the search?" i "Yes, sah." < "When wae Miss Malroy seen last?" 1 asked the judge. "She and the young gemman you fotched heah were seen in the gyar- den along about sundown. I seen then) , myself." | "They had had supper?" "Yes, sah." "Who sleeps here?" "Just little Steve and three of the ( women; they sleeps at the back of the house, sah." "No sounds were heard during the night?" "No, sah." "I'll see the overseer?what's his name??Hicks? Suppose you go for him!" said the judge, addressing the sheriff. The sheriff was gone from the room j onlv a few moments, and returned with the information that Hicks was down at the bayou, which was to be dragged. "Why?" inquired the. Judge. I .... [TWO 5 ROOM HOI THY LOCALITY H. L. P t mx metal 111 I shingles t on ag? |?g||g w, and have HjjW|i^aWnmy :pairs? never any kind, ex- p H I coat of paint. ^Da^Baa[Aa?a >f Lightning-proof 1 ' building, or re-roof the old, I right Metal Shingles. I ^ supply co. cheraw, s .c "Hicks says' Miss Malroy's been actng mighty queer ever since Charley Norton was shot?distracted like! He says he noticed it, and that Tom Ware loticed it." "How does he explain the boy's die appearance: "He reckons she throwed herself In, md the boy tried to drag her out, Ilka ie naturally would, and got drawed In." "Humph! I'll trouble Mr. Hlcka to step here," said the judge quietly. 'There's Mr. Carrlngton and & couple of strangers outside who've been asking about Miss Malroy and the boy; seems like the strangers knowed her and him back yonder In No'th Carolina," said the sheriff as ha turned away. , "I'll see them." The sheriff went from the room and'the?Judge dismissed the servants. "Well, what do you think, Price?" asked Mahaffy anxiously when they were alone. "Rubbish! Take my word for 'It, Solomon, this blow Is leveled at me. I have been too forward In my attempts to suppress the carnival ot , crime that Is raging through west / Tennessee. You'll observe that Miss Malroy disappeared at a moment when the public is disposed to think she has retained me as her legal adriser; probably she will be set at liberty when she agrees to drop the matter of Norton's murder. As for the boy, they'll use him to compel my alienee and Inaction." The judge took i long breath. "Yet there remains one point where the boy Is concerned that completely baffles me. It we knew lufjt a little more of his ^ntecedentt Mahaffy was clearly not Impressed by the vague generalities in which the judge was dealing. 'There you go, Price, as usual, trying to convince yourself that you are the center of everything!" he said, In i tone of much exasperation. "Let'e ?et down to business! What does this man Hicks mean by hinting at suicide? You saw Miss Malroy yester* layr "You have put your finger on a point of some significance," said the ludge. "She bore evidence of the shock and loss she had sustained; islde from that she was quite as she las always been." 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