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synopsis: CHAPTER I.?The scene at the opening I 6f the story is laid in the library of an ; old worn-out southern plantation, known j as the Barony. The place is to be sold, and its history and that of the owners, | Anlntorrla la tullHioot r?f I 8lon by Jonathan Crenshaw, a business man, a stranger known as Bladen, and Bob Yancy. a farmer, when Hannibal Wayne Hazard, a mysterious child .of the old southern family, makes his appearance: YatMV how he adopted the boy. CHAPTEK XI.?Nathaniel Ferris buys the Barony, but the Qnlntards deny any ! knowledge of tt?e spy. Yancy to keep | Hannibal. Captain Murrell, a friend of the Qulntards, appears and asks ques- ! tlons about the Barony. CHAPTER III.?Trouble at Scratch Hill, Taney's home, when Hannibal Is kidnaped by Dave Blount, Captain Murrell's agent Yancy overtakes Blount, gives him a thrashing and secures the boy. CHAPTER IV.?Yancy Is served with a warrant for assaulting Blount. Yancy appears before Squire Balaam, and Is discharged with costs for the plaintiff. CHAPTER V.?Betty Malroy, a friend i of the Ferrises, has an encounter with ; Captain Murrell, who fortes his attentions on her, and Is rescued by Bruce Carrlngton, who threatens to whip ths captain. CHAPTER VT.?Betty sets out for her | Tennessee home. Carrlngton takes the same stage. Yancy and Hannibal dlsap- 1 pear, with Murrell on their trail. He | overtakes them In the mountains of Tennessee. Murrell gets Yancy drunk and I stabs him in a fight that followed. Han- | nlbal escapes in a canoe. CHAPTER VII.?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 Yancy's body. Price arrested aa counterfeiter. CHAPTER IX.?Cavendish family on ' raft rescue Yancy, who Is apparently , dead. Price breaks Jail. CHAPTER X.?Betty and Carrtngton arrive at Belle Plain. CHAPTER XI.?Hannibal's rifle dls closes some startling things to the Judgst r? - Hannibal and Eetty" meet again. CHAPTER XII.?Murrell arrives In Belle Plain. Is playing for big stakes. CHAPTER XIII.?Yancy awakes from j long dreamless sleep on board the raft. I CHAPTER XIV.?Judge Price makes I startling discoveries In looking up land titles. Charley Norton, a young planter, who assists the Judge, Is mysteriously assaulted. CHAPTER XV.?Norton Informs Carrlngton that Betty has promised to marry him. Carrlngton bids Betty good-bye. Norton Is mysteriously shot CHAPTER xvi.?More iignt on aiurrell'8 plots. He plans uprising of no- 1 rroes. CHAPTER XVII.?The Judge and Hannibal visit Betty. CHAPTER XVTH.?Hetty Is told why Norton was killed and leaves Belle Plain, taking Hannibal with her. The carriage is held up in the woods. CHAPTER XXIli. The Judge Finds Allies. They were Interrupted by the opening of the door, and big Steve admit-1 ted Carrington and the two uien or whom the sheriff had spoken. "A shocking condition of affairs, Mr. Carrington!" said the judge by Vay of greeting. "Yes," said Carrington shortly. "You left these parts some time ago, I believe?" continued the judge. "The day before Norton was shot. ( I had started home for Kentucky. 1 . beard of his death when I reached Randolph on the second bluff," ex- j plained Carrington, from whose cheeks the weather-beaten bloom had faded. He rested his hand on the edge of j the desk and turned to the men who had followed him into the room. "This Is the gentleman you wish to see," he said, And stepped to one of the windows: it overlooked the terraces , where *e had said good-by to Betty ! scarcely a week before. The t\o men had paused by the door. Thoy now advanced. One was i gaunt and haggard, his face disfigured by a great red scar; the other was a shock-headed individual who moved with a shambling gait. Both carried rifles and both were dressed In coarse homespun. "Morning, 6ir," said the man with the scar. "Yancy's my name, and this gentleman 'lows he'd rather be known now as Mr. Cavendish." The judge started to his feet "Bob Yancy?" he cried. "Yes, sir, that's me." The Judge passed nimbly around the desk and shook the Scratch Hiller warmly by the hand. "Where's my nevvy, sir?? what's.alt.this about lxlm and Miss ran ODiGAL JUDGE : VXughahKester. 11! r?ll/stqat(ohs ByD.Melviu g A H 9". Trti 9Off03-MtMUt Co*P*rtr m -J Betty?" Yancy's soft drawl was sud- j aeniy eager. "Please God we'll recover him ' ( soon!" said the judge. j f By the window Carrlngton moved f Impatiently. No harm could come to the boy, but Betty?a shudder went through him. "They've stolen him." Yancy spoke with conviction. "I reckon they've started back to No'th Carolina with him?only that don't explain what's come of Miss Betty, does it?" and he dropped rather helplessly into a chair. "Bob are just getting off a sick bed. He's been powerful porely in conse- | quence of having his head laid open i 1 and then being throwed into fhe Elk j river, where I fished him out," ex- j plained Cavendish, who still contin-1 ued to regard the judge with unmixed | astonishment, first cocking his shaggy j head on one side and then on the , 1 other, hit bleached eyes narrowed to a j slit. Now and then he favored the 1 austere Mahaffy with a fieetlnc glance. He seemed intuitively to understand the comradeship of their degradation. "Mr. Cavendish fetched me here on his raft. We tied up to the sho' this I morning. It was there we met Mr. I Carrlngton?I'd knowed him slightly j back yonder in No'th Carolina," con- T tinued Yancy. "He said I'd find Han- j nibal with you. I was counting a heap ( on seeing my nevvy." r Carrington, no longer able to con-. t trol himself, swung about on his heel. "What's been done?" he asked, with ' t fierce repression. "What's going to be j done? Don't you know that every ( second is precious?" ( "I am about to conclude my lnves- "j tfgations, sir," said the Judge with dignity. j Carrlngton stepped to the door.' After all, what was there to expect of i f these men? Whatever their Interest, | It was plainly centered in the boy. He < passed out into the hall. As the door closed on him the Judge turned again to the Scratch Hliler. "Mr. Yancy, Mr. Mahaffy and I hold your nephew in the tenderest regardJj he has been our constant companion ever since you were lost to him. id this crisis you may rely upon us; we are committed to his recovery, no matter what it involves." The Judge's tone was one of unalterable resolution. "I reckon you-all have been mighty good and kind to him," said Yancy huskily. "We have endeavored to be, Mr. Yaucy?indeed I had formed the resolution legally to adopt him should you not come to claim him. I should have given him my name, and made him my heir. His education has already begun under my supervision," and the judge, remembering the high use to j which he had dedicated one of Pegloe's trade labels, fairly glowed with Dhilanthropic fervor. "Think of that!" murmured Yancy j softly. He was deeply moved. So was i Mr. Cavendish, who was gifted with a wealth of ready sympathy. He thrust out a hardened hand to the judge. "Shake!" he said. "You're a heap better than you look." A thin ripple of laughter escaped MahafTy, but the judge accepted Chills and Fever's proffered hand. He understood that here was a simple genuine 6oul. "Price, isn't it important for us to know why Mr. Yancy thinks the boy has been taken back to North Caro- | Una?" said Mahaffy. "Just what kin is Hannibal to you, Mr. Yancy?" asked the judge resuming his seat. " irlntlw onoolflnir ho ain't nnna. , OH MV V..M V -www That be come to live with me Is alt owing to Mr. Crenshaw, who's a good man when left to himself, but he'a got a wife, so a body may say he never is left to himself," b*gan Yancy; and then briefly ke told Worr of Uf woman and the child much as he had told it to Bladen at the Barony the1 day of General Quintard's funeral. The judge, his back to the light and hi9 face in shadow, rested his left elbow on the desk and with his chin sunk in his palm, followed the Scratch Hlller's narrative with the closest attention. "And General Quintard never saw him?never manifested any Interest In him?" the words came slowlv from he Judge's Hps; he seemed Jown something that rose In h ;hroat, "Poor little lad!" he mi ;ered, and again, "Poor little lad!" "Never once, sir. He told tl slaves to keep him out of his slgt iVe-all wondered, fo' you know ho ilggers will talk. We thought mayl le was some kin to the Quintard jut we couldn't figure out how. Tl )ld general never had but one chi md she had been dead fo' years. Tl :hild couldn't have been hers no-how fancy paused. The Judge drummed idly on tl lesk. "What implacable hate?what ir< pride!" he murmured, and swept h land across his eyes. Absorbed ai iloof, he was busy with his though hat spanned the waste of years rears that seemed to glide before hi n review, each bitter with its hideoi nemorieB of shame and defeat. Th< torn the smoke of these lost battl 'merged the lonely figure of the chi is he had seen him that June nigt /.nil liI, II I (WS "Poor Little Lad!" He Muttered. lis ponderous arm stiffened where ested on the desk, he straightened i n his chair and his face assumed 1 :ustomary expression of battered di lity, while a smile at once wistful ai ender hovered about his Hps. "One other question," he said. "U 11 this man Murrell appeared y< lad no trouble with Bladen? w; :onteirt that you should keep tl :hlld?your right to Hannibal w lever challenged?" "Never, sir. All my troubles bcgi ibout that time." "Murrell belongs in these partJ mid the judge. "I'd admire fo' to meet him," sa fancy quietly. The Judge grinned. "I place my professional services rour disposal," he said. "Yours is ;lear case of felonious assault." "No, it ain't, sir?I look at It this vays; it's a clear case of my glvli lim the damndest sort of a body bei ng!" "Sir," said the judge, "I'll hold yo lat while you are about it!" Hicks had taken his time in i sponding to the judge's summons, b low his step sounded in the hall ai hrowing open the door he enter he room. Whether consciously lot he had acquired something of th turly, forbidding manner which w iharacteristic of his employer. A cu lod of the head was his only gre< ng. "Will you sit down?" asked tl udge. Hicks signified by anoth novement of the bead that he wou idt. "This is a very dreadful btf iess!" began the judge softly. "Ain't It?" agreed Hicks. "Wh rou got to say to me?" he addi letulantly. "Have you started to drag tl jayou?" asked the Judge. Hie lodded. "That was your idea?" su rested the judge. "No, it wa'n't," objected Hie! juickly. "But I said she had be< **tin' like she was plumb distract iver since Charley Norton got shot"How?" inquired the judge, archil lis eyebrows. Hicks was plainly d: urbed by the question. "Sort of out of her head. Mr. Wa leen it, too?" "Ho spoke of it?" "Yes, sir; him and me discussed ogether." The judge regarded Hicks long ai ntently and in silence. His magnl :ent mind was at work. If Betty h( ieen distraught he had not observi my sign of it the previous day. iVare were better Informed as to hi rue mental state why had he chos< his time to go to Memphis? "I suppose Mr. Ware asked you ceep an eye on Miss Malroy while 1 vas away from home?" said the judg ticks, suspicious of the drift of h [uestioning. made no answer. "I su lose you told the house servants i ceep her under observation?" contl led the judge. "I don't talk to no niggers," repll< -licks, "except to give 'em my c lers." . "Well, did you give them that c I ^ n tie | I 1 They interlock and overlap ei in I hardest driving rain or snow cannot I Won't pulsate or rattle in wind| last as long as the building, and nev m Sold by Cheraw Hardware LIS es | der?" Id | "No, I didn't." it j The sudden and hurried entrance of I big Steve brought the Judge's exarnpD inatlon of Mr. Hicks to a standstill. "Mas'r, you know dat 'ar coachman / George?the big black fellow dat to"" ' you Into town las' ever.tn'? I Jes' been : down at Shanty Hill whar Mllly, his ? wife, Is carryln' on something scagif dalous 'cause George ain't never come s= home!" Steve was laboring under int * .. * K..? fh? i leust; cAi'iit'iucuij uuc uc iguuicu ?.uw , ^ presence of the overseer ^and ad- 1 f' dressed himself to Slocura Price. '? "Well, what of that?" cried Hicks j ^ quickly. 'Thar warn't no George, mind you, | 3 Mas'r, but dar was his team In de j ]' stable this mo'hlng and lookln' mighty i nigh done up with hard driving." Jf "Yes," Interrupted Hicks uneasily; I { "put a pair of lines in a nigger's j hands and he'll run any team off Its ; legs!" "An' the kerriage all scratched up j i from bein' thrashed thpough the 1 !?j bushes," added Steve. 1 j "There's a nigger for you!" said Hicks. "She took the rascal out of the field, dressed him like he was a it gentleman and pampered him up, and now first chance he gets he runs off!" ,8 "Ah!" said the Judge softly. "Then, you knew this?" "Of course I knew?wa'n't it my business to know? I reckon he was off skylarking, and when he'd seen n" the mess he'd made, the trilling fool a8 took to the woods. Well, he catches It when I lay hands on him!" a? "Do you know when and under what circumstances the team was stabled, Mr. Hicks?" Inquired the Judge. ? "No, I don't, but I reckon it must '* have been long after dark," said Hicks unwillingly. "I seen to the feeding Just after sundown like I always do, then I went to supper," Hicks vouchsafed to explain. "And no one saw or heard the team a drive in?" "Not as I know of," said Hicks. "a" "Mas'r Ca'lngton's done gone off to ng get a pack of dawgs?he 'lows hit's I might' Important to find what's come of George," said Steve. iir Hicks started violently at this piece of news. "I reckon he'll have to travel a u right smart distance to find a pack of II dogs," he muttered. "I don't know of e none this side of Colonel Bates' down 0T. below Glrard." a The Judge, was lost in thought He permitted an Interval of silence to elapse In which Hicks' glance slid round In a furtive circle. "When did Mr. Ware set out for e Memphis?" asked the Judge at length. "Early yesterday. He goes there pretty often on business." I "You talked .vlth Mr. Ware before he left?" Hicks shook his head. "Did at he speak of Miss Malroy?" Hicks ed Bhook his head. "Did you see her during the afternoon?" "No?maybe you think these nlgLro i ... . , _ Igers am t enougn 10 Keep a mau muring?" said Hicks uneasily and with a scowl. The judge noticed both the ks uneasiness and the scowl. sn "I should imagine they would absorb every moment of your time, Mr. Hicks." he agreed affably. ** "A man's got to be a hog for work ?" to hold a Job like mine," said Hicks re iff ir ? FORK er jt ?n J J| TWO 5 ROOM HO * I THY LOCALITY to J H. L. P ich other in such a way that the I sift under them. I toraie. They're also fixe-proof, will I er need repairs. I Sliirmlir Pn P.liorQW .S f! Ut VU. UllVI u II t . w > sourly. "But It came to your notice that Miss Malroy has been in a disturbed v mental state ever since Mr. Norton's , murder? I am interested in this point, Mr. Hicks, because your experience is ' so entirely at variance with my own. It was my privilege to see and speak ' with her yesterday afternoon; I was profoundly impressed by her naturalness and composure." The judge smiled, then he leaned forward across the desk. "What were you doing up here early this morning?hasn't a hog for work like you got any business of his own at that hour?" The judge's tone was suddenly offensive. "Look here, what right have you got to try and pump me?" cried Hicks. For no discernible reason Mr. Cavendish spat on his palms. "Mr. Hicks," said the judge, urbane and gracious, "I believe in frankness." "Sure," agreed Hicks, mollilied by the judge's altered tone. 'Therefore I do not hesitate to say that I consider you a damned scoundrel!" concluded the judge. Mr. Cavendish, accepting the judge's ultimatum as something which must debar Hicks from all further consideration, and being, as he was, exceedingly active and energetic by nature, if one passed over the various forms of gainful industry, uttered a loud whoop and threw himself on the overseer. There was a brier struggle and Hicks went down with the Earl of Lambeth astride of him; then from his boot leg that knightly soul flashed . a horn-handled tickler of formidable dimensions. The judge, Yancy and Mahaffy, sprang from their chairs. Mr. Mahaffy was plainly shocked aCTfie sp?C?= tacle of Mr. Cavendish's lawless violence. Yancy was disturbed, too, but not by the moral aspects of the caffe; V?a T*rr*n ful qa tr\ hnw hio frianH'a uc nno uuuwt4ui ud vv -v? u.w - - v act would appeal to the judge. He need not have been distressed on that score, since the judge's one Idea was to profit by It. With his hands on his knees he was now bending above the two men. "What do you want to know, judge?" cried Cavendish, panting from bis exertions. "I'll learn this parrot to talk up!" "Hicks," said the judge, "It Is In your power to tell us a few things we are here to find out." Hicks looked up into the judge's face and closed Continued on page 3 C. S. Lynch REAL &STAT5 Gheraw. S. G. Votan very special Tea Coed any and everyway Exquisite when iced Exclusive Agents: HORTON' & HEXDRIX CO. i } E N T i USES?HEAL- | ?IN TOWN. C OWE. I