The ledger. [volume] (Gaffney City, S.C.) 1896-1907, March 08, 1907, Image 2
HORSE-SHOE ROBINSON
A TALE OF THE TORY ASCENDENCY
BY
JOHN P. KENNEDY
CHAPTER XIV.
••mething Very Like a Dream.
It v*s after midnight, and the in-
■Mtes of the woodman's cabin had
teen some hours at rest, when Mary
Wnsisrove’s sleep was disturbed by
tftr&nce and unwonted alarms. She
wwm dreaming of Authur Butler, and
■ crowd of pleasant visions flitted
•bout her Pillow when, suddenly,
eAouds darkened the world of her
dream, and images of bloodshed cans
ed her to shudder. Horrid shapes
appeared to her. marching with
idrolthy pace through her apartment,
•ad a low and smothered footfall
seemed to strike her ear like the
•eking of a death-watch. The fright
•wakened her. but when she came to
BerseM all was still. Her chamber
was at the opposite end of the cabin
from that. where Butler and Robin-
sen slept, and it was separated from
As room occupied by Lynch only
a thin Partition of hoards. The
dtar * 1 V-ht through her window fell up
on the floor, just touching, as it pass-
sd. the chair over which Mary had
hnnr her clothes, and lighting with
a doubtful and spectral light the nrom
tnent Points of the pile of garments,
hi snch manner as to give it the sem
blance of som ( . unearthly thing. Mary
•nsrrov*- had the superstition corn-
won to rustic education, and. as her
dream had already fl'lod her mind
wt f ' apprehensions sh< now trembi
nd when bcr pve fell upon what s<“ m
•d to her a visitant from another
world Poi sonu> moments she ex
serienc'd that most painful of all
ontfcrlnge. the agony of young and
•redetous minds when wrought upon
irr their horror of sireotp s in the
■dght Gradua ly. however, the truth
same to her aid. and she saw the
dreaded gVist disrobed of his terrors,
•nd changed into a familiar and harm-
lep* re^litv Tint thi« night fear was
scarcely dt-sinated before she again
board what in hep sle n bad con
jured nj* the train of disagreeable
hca''w tlm noise of footstens in the
groining room. In another instant
dh* recognized the sound of voices
•snver^ipg in a half whinner.
“Mlcha"! ” said the first voice:
‘Thimn it man. wil’ you m ver awake?
'■ousf fottrseif: it is time to be stir
#ng ”
“Wat!” exclaimed th ■ second voice,
with * loud yawn whilst at the same
•omeui the creaking of the bedstead
•nd a snllcu sound upon the floor
Showed that the simnker had risen
from i,i s couch "Is it v rii? 1 have
Inrdlv gone to bed before you are
Boro to rouse me ur What o’clock
fr it?”
“It in neat'v one.” replied Wat
Adair ‘ Arid let me tell you. you
lave no ',im> to lo®e. flugh Haber-
«4iaw 'g good ten miles off. and you
■unt be back by daylight.”
'“You might have given me anoth-
sv hmir. I think if it was onlv to
consider ov^r the right way of set-
ling about this thing Always look
Before von 'nap. that's common
•ense."
“Yon werp always a heavy-tmaded
#evi1 ” «nid yda'r: “and take as much
•Purring as a snavlned horse What
▼on tr> do with considering?
Isn’t all fixed? Jog. man. Jog. You
have a beautiful starlight: and I had
the crop ear put up in the stable last
night, that no time might be lost: so
un. and saddle, and away!”
“Well, you needn’t be so d—d
busy; don’t you see that I am get
ting ready?”
“Quiet. Mike; you talk too loud.
Take your shoes in your hand, you
can put them on when you get into
the porch.”
“There, give me my coat. Wat;
and I think I should have no object
ion to a drop before I set out It’s
raw riding of a morning. Now tell
me exactly what I am to say to Hugh
Habej-Bhaw.”
“Tell him.” replied Wat. “that we
have got. Horse Shoe Robinson and
Major Butler of the Continental army,
as snug as a pair of foxes in a bag.
and that I will let them run exactly
as seven: and—”
“Not to interrupt you. Wat.” said
th« other, “let. me ask vou a question
before vou go on. Suppose this
shouldn’t be the man? Are vou sure
of it? It wonild he a d—d unchristian
ioh to give ovep any other human be
ing to such a "«t of bloodhounds as
Hugh Habersbaw and his gang.”
“Shaw. Mike; yon are a fool!
Who. in thp name of all the imps,
con’d it be. but Major Butler!
Weren’t-we expecting him along with
Horse Shos. and just at this time?”
“It looks libHv enough ” replied
Lvnch. “So go on.”
“Tell Hugh to be read. at the
TV)f» w - (>0( ] Snrings. at the latest, by
eight o'clock. I’ll give him a game
* nlay that will sunpro bis joints for
bim. And mind me Mike, warn the
greasv cspta'n to have bis whole squad
with him: for Horse Shoe Robinson,
von know, is not to be handed by
boys: it. will be a bullfight, or I'm
mistaken.”
“The major seems to hav« - wiek
pa ev- too Wat.” said Lvnch “I
shouldn’t like much to he in his w f ay,
if b'' was angrv: these oonnerhe’Hj
a*- always in a coil roadv to strike. I
But Wat. bow if ihev don’t, ride by!
the Dogwood Soring?”
“lieave that to me: IT contrive to
g<> ns far as the forks of the road
with th m. And then, if thev don’t. |
take the right hand fork, whv you
may sav it’s for the want of mv not
knowing how to tell a lie.”
“Now Wat Adair. I don’t like to
snoii snort hut may he. vou have
never thought whether it would he
WO'U.’i while just to take t’other side,
and tell Horse Shoe the whol“ busi
ness Couldn't, we. don’t you think,
"et 3= much mnnev. and just as hon-
eaf’v. h v hoisting color with Major
Butler?”
“But I hav" thought of that and
it won’t do for two reasons. First,
t^ese Fonflnonals are on the down
hill and monev | s as scarce with
them as honeriv with the redcoats:
’ cecond the Tories have {rof «o
much the unner hand in the whole
country that I should karo mv house
burnt down and mv children thrown
ivto tbp blazp of if in less than three
da.vs if I wa= to let these fallows sMn
through my flngej-y-”
“^Vll f never knew ” «nid ’'tike
Lynch, “any piece of villanv that
hadn’t «ome good reasons to stand
by it, and that’s what makes it
"groeable to my conscience to take
a hand.”
“Why, you off scouring,” replied
' ,r at. “it is enough to make Old
Scratch laugh, to hear you talk
about conscience! There ain’t no
such a thing going in these ^vs. So
be off; I’.l look for you at daylight.”
“I’ll ride. Wat as If the devil was
on mv crunner: so good bye!"
Thp cessation of the voices, the
distant tramn of Lynch when ho had
left thp cabin, and the cautious re
treat of Wat Adair to his chamber,
told to Mary that the affair was set
tied, and the plan of treachery in
full career towards its consumma
tion.
The dia’ogue that had just passed
In the hearing of the maiden disclos
ed a plot that deeply agitated and
distress-^d her. What did It become
her to do. was the first question that
presented Itself to her refaction, as
soon as she was sufficiently self-
oossessed to turn her thoughts upon
herself. Was it In her power to
avert the impending disaster which
threatened thp lives, perhaps, of
those who had sought the hospitality
of her kinsman? Perp’exed. f”*may-
ed. and uncertain how to a< i. she
had recourse to an expedient, natural
to her education, and such as would
ap-'aar most obvious to a feeble and
guileless female: it was to tb > simp
le and faith-inspired expedient of
prayer. And now. in artless but sin
cere language, having first risen up
in her bed. and bent her hodv across
her pillow, in th« attitude of suppli
cation she fervently implored the
sunnort of heaven in her nres^nt
strait, and besought wisdom and
strength to conceive and to do that
whieh was needful for th n security
of the individuals whose peace was
threatened by this conspiracy.
“I will arise” slm said as she
finished Imr short and earnest, nray-
ep. “with the first light of ttm dawn,
and wait the coming of the strang
les from their chamber, and I will
then l)e the first, to tell them of the
snaro that is nrenared for them.”
With this resolve she endeavored to
oomnose herse'f to rest, but sleep
t'ed hep evelid . and h°r anxious
thoughts dw-elt unon and oven mag
nified the threat uied peri's. It might
be too late. sh<> reflected, to wait for
the dawn of day; Adair might b®
before her at the door of the gne°ts.
and hie constant presence might
take from her all hone of being able
to eommunicair the important sec
ret to them: it was undoubtedly her
surest course to take advantage of
the stillness of the night, whilst the
honseho’d were wrapt in sl^en and
annrise the etramrorw of their danger.
But then, how was she to malro her
way to them apartment, and arouse
them, at this hour from their slumb
ers? To what suspicions might the
attempt expose her. even form Ar
tbpr But'er himself? And. more
narticuiar’y. what would Jim Ram-
oav think- of it. if the storv should
be afterwards told to her disadvant
age?
This ’ast w'as an interrogatory
which Mary Mnsgrove was often
f ound putting to h«rse1f in winding
un a self communion. On the pre-
c ont occasion this anneal to the
'minion of John Ramsey had the op-
~o«it/> effect from that wfliich might
’•'tvo linen evnnnt'd from it tt ^uer
Schnapps Tobacco is Hade ENTIRELY from Floe Cored •
Tobacco Gown in the Piedmont Country.
The Imitation Brands Have Schnapps
Quality Only On the Outside
Of the Plug
Hundreds oi imitation brands are
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bacco. The outside of the imitation
plugs of tobacco is flue cured the same
as Schnapps, but the inside is filled
with cheap, flimsy, heavily sweetened
air cured tobacco. One chew of
Schnapps will satisfy tobacco hunger
longer than two chews of such to
bacco. The color, size and shape
of the tags, plugs and packages of
certain imitation brands of tobacco
have been made so much like
Schnapps that they have often been
icceptcd by buyers under the belief
that they were getting Schnapps.
Sufficient proof has been secured
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>rands are infringements and in vio
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claimed to be “just as good ” ag
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chewers.
If the tobacco you are chewing
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habit of expectorating, stop fooling
yourself and chew Schnapps tobacco.
Schnapps is like the tobacco chewers
formerly bought costing from 75c.
to $1.00 per pound; Schnapps is
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strictly 10c. and 15c. plugs.
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rr>-v l!"h*«
♦o
her mi
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another
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^ r*r»
ajd wt-i’nk
Lor
r>ro Vf>»-
was in
w Imitation
is the
r Sinceresf Flattery ,,
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I tended t invoke. What would John
Ramsav think—ho. tho friend of
liberty, and of Washington, the com-
i patriot of Butler and Robinson, now
toilinrr with thorn in the same c* ise!
What, would lie think, if sh > his
own Mary (and the maiden rested a
moment on this phrase), did not do
1 evervthins: in her power to save
these soldiers of independence from
the blow which treachery "-as now
aimine at them “John would have
ffood riprht to he angrv with me."
she hr athed out in a voice that
even startled herself, “if I did not
give them full warning of what I
have heard. This I am sure of. he
wi’l believe my story whatever
others- may say.”
Innocence and purity of mind are
both sword and shield in this world,
and no less inspire confidence to de
fy the malice and uncharitableness
of enemies than they s'.-engthe” the
arm to do what is right. Mary,
ther* fore, resolved to forego all
: m"indeni7 scruples and braveytoper-
' form her duty, come what might;
and having settled upon this con
clusion she impatiently awaited the
moment when she might venture
forth upon her office of humanity.
T this situation it was not long be
fore sho heard the distant footfall
of a horse’s gallon a’ong the road, in-
dloatine to her the denp”* of Ml
eh'’- 1 Lynch upon his traitorous em-
bas«v.
The time seemed to he propitious,
so Mary arose and dressed herself.
Then tripping stealthily to the door
that open d upon the perch she un
did the holt. A loud and pro’onged
croak, from the wooden hinges,
caused hr-r to shake from h°ad to
foot. She listened for a moment,
and. finding that no one stirred step,
---'d forth with the timid and falter
in" step whirh would no less have
marked the intent of the burglar,
than as now it did. th frightened
nrotion of a guardian spirit bent un
on an errand of good. Midway along
’he noroh she had to pass the win
dow of Adair’s apartment; first, the
low growl, and then the sudden bark
of th'i watch dog saluted her ear.
and made her blood run cold. The
naidon’s hand, however, soothed
him into silence: hut the nols^ had
attracted the notice of Wat Adair,
who grumh’od out a short curse from
within which was distinctly audlb’e
to Marv. She hastily tl'd to the fur
ther end of the noroh. and there
stood cowering close against the
wall, almost as mute and motion-
1 ss as a statue, scarce daring to
breathe and noised as in the act f o
run with her weight resting on one
foot, tho other rais'd from the floor.
I-> tiiis i*osition she remained during
a lop" interval of fear, until, at
length convinced that all was quiet,
she again ventured forward. The
wi- ’o v of the travellers’ chamber
i looked out from the gahlo end of the
dwel lng. and she was now immo-
diate’v before it. One of the b°ds
of the zoom she knew was placed
hosid > thi« window, and was occu
pied by either Butler or Robinson.
Tremblingly and mistrustfully, she
"ave a feebl tap with her hand
against the sash. There was no ans
wer: the se<*p within was the sleep
of Bred men and was not to be
broken by the light play of ’a maid
en’s fing*rs. She now picked up a
pebble from the ground, and with it
again essayed to wake the sleepers.
This. too. was unsuccessful. In ut-
ier hopelessness of accomplishing
her mirnose by other means, she ven
tured noon raising the sash; and
havin" done so. she thrust her head
partially Into the room as she he d
un the window frame with on® hand.
| erving out with an almost choked
voloo
“Mr. Butler! Mr. Butler! For
mercy awake!”
There was no other response but
the deep breathing of the sLep sub
dued Inma.en
“Oh! what shal’ I do?” she ex-
c’almed. as her heart great with a
violent motion “I might as we’l
call to the d -ad. Mr. Galbraith Rob-
inron! Ah me I cannot rouse them
without alarming the who’e house!
Major Butler,” she continued, laying
a particular stress upon this desig
nation of his rank. “Oh’ good sir,
awake!"
“What, do you want” muttered But
ler in a smothered and sleep stifled
voice, as ho turned himself heavily
or his pi low. like one moved by a
dream.
“Oh. heaven, sir. make no noise!
I am ashamed to tell you who I a n.”
said the terrified girl, “but I come
for your good—I have somethin" to
tell you."
“Away, away!” cried Butler. r.p°ak-
ing in his s eep. "1 will not he dis
turhed: I do not fear you. Begone!”
“Oh, sir. hear me,” entreated the
maiden, “the people in this house
know you. and they are contriving
evil against you."
“It makes no difference." muttered
the onlv half-awakened soldier. “I
will ride whore it suits me. if the
Tories were as thick as the leaves
of the trees.”
“There are people gathering to do
you harm tomorrow," continued
Mary, not suspecting the unconscious
ness of the person to whom she ad
dressed herself, “and I only came
with a word of warning to vou. I>o
not ride bv the Dogwood Soring to
morrow, nor take the right hand
road at the first forks: there are
wicked men upon that road. Have
’•our eye,” she whispered. “ mop rov
uncle Walter. Ride fast and far. be
fore you stop: and pray sir as vou
think fairly of me—Mary Mnsgrove.
sir.- th" daughter of Allen Mnsgrove,
’ho miller -oh. do not tel! mv name.
If yon knew Jbhn Ramsay, sir. I am
certain you would believe me.”
The watchdog bad grow’rxt once or
t A- ; eo during the period while Mary
snoke. and at this moment the door
of the principal room of the cabin
was heard to move slightly ajar,
and the voice of \dair. in a whisper,
reached the girl’ s ear.
“Hist. Michael! In the devil’s
name what brought, you hack? Why
do you loiter, when time is so pre
cious?”
A long, heavy, and inariculate ex
clamation. such as belongs to dis
turbed sleep, escaped from Butler.
“Father of heaven. 1 shal 1 t the
window fail with fright!” inwardly
ejaculated Mary, as she still occu
pied her uneasy station “Hush, it
is the voice of my uncle.”
There was a painful pause.
A heavy rush of wind agitated the
trees, and sweeping a ong the porch
caused some horse gear that was sus
pended against the wall to vibrate
with a 'rustling noise: the sound
pierced Mary’s ear like the ace nts
of a ghost, and her strength had well
night, failed her from faint-hearted
pc? 8.
“I thought it was Michael.” said
Adair, speaking to some one within.
“but it. is only the ratt ing of harataa
and the droaming of Drummer. Theaa
dogs have a trick of wh'ning and
growlin" in their sleep according t»
a way of their own. They say a doc
sometimes s 1 es a spirit at nlgBL
But man or devil it’s all one to all
Drummer! Sleep quiet, you aapar-
flnous. and have done wiUi roar
snoring!” HT4B
With these words, the door waa
again closed and Mary, for the *a-
mont. was re cased from sulferiac.
“Remember.” she uttered in IB*
most fear stricken tone, as sha low
ered tbe sash. “Be sure to tatoa
the left hand road at the first fork!”
“In God’s name, what is it? When*
are you?" was the exclamation hea*4
bv Mary as the window was closiag.
She did not halt for further partar
or explanation, but now hastily stala
hack, like a frightened bird towanda
its thick-et. Panting and breathleaa.
she regained her chamber, and wttBf
the utmost expedition betook hersalf
a^ain to bed. where, gratified by tBa
consciousness of having done a goa4 ^
action, and fully trusting that Bar
caution would not b> disregard#*,
she gradual!? dismissed her anxietr.
and. before the hour of dawning, kto*
fallen into a gent'o though not al
together unperturbed slumber.
(CONTINFED NEXT FRIDAY.)
Panama Canal—Erie Canal.
Machinery is digging the Pan&aka
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the shovel dug the Erie.
Machinery produces the L. & M.
Paint at 50 times )e i -s cost for labor,
thi'u if made by hand
The L. X- M. giv<*s ’he best job la
the world, beruus I. X Zinc hard
ens 1. A M White Lead and make#
L. A M. Paint wear like iron for 10
to in years.
ft onlv r quires 4 gallons of thla
cole 1 rated ’mint and ? gallons of !id-
seed Oil at CO cts per gilion, to i»aiak
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H art' defect evi t>- in L. A- M.
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Sold by Smith Hardware Co.. Galf-
n'W.
—The Gaffney Drug Go. is puskbag
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they ar- headquarters for anytbla*
wanted in the wav of medicines.
—NotJung cuts like a Carbo-Ma*-
netie.
—Chufas and Peanut seed at Oaf-
nov Drug Co.
—One 25 cents box of Grip Tablets
win end that co d in the head. ?<•
cure, no pay. Gaffney Drug Co.
N
''■N.
Dor"
fcJl ni^ht lor
neureklc ^
Sh
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nerves aind induces sleep
At 6.11 deaJers. Price 25c 50c &H0&
Dr EfcH S.SIodJv, Bostoi\,M6SS.U.S.A.
» !