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"Heaps de mattab, Miss Sunshine, heaps, I dun met tip wid mo' dan fo'tj bushels o' trubble! I'ze news for yo' !" ** Yon-yon met som? one wbo told yen about Mr, Kenton?'* "For shore t Dat Cap'an Wyle lie tc yo*! Mars Kenton be dun git away arter dat battle, 'long wid Steve Bray? ton. " "Thank God!" she whispered aa she raised her clasped hands to the bright stars in the winter sky. "But dar's trubble, Miss Sunshine heaps o' trubble! Dey was tryin to git ober yere when some gorillas reckoned . dey was Yankee spies an dun shotted Mars Kenton. He hain't dead, but he's bad hort, an he's lyin in the bresh an rocks down yere 'boat a mile. I met dat Steve Brayton, an be dun tole me all'boat it." "Boyal Kenton wounded-badly burt and lying in the brash this winter's night!" moaned Marian as she grasped Uncle Ben by the arm. "Hist dar!" he cautioned. "We mustn't woke up de miss a s or dat Bax? ter woman. Kow, den, yo' be brave. Yo's got to be! Steve Brayton he dun said I was to bring back blankets an bandages an sun thin to eat We mast step around mighty softly an pick 'em up!" "And I will go back with yon! God grant that his life may be spared!" "Hash, chile! Yo' can't go wid me tonight, bat tomorrer. Dat's what Steve Brayton don said. When I git back dar, 1*11 see Mars Kenton wid my own eyes, an I'll tell him all 'bout yo. an 111 stay right dar all night an nuss him." "Ob, Uncle Ben, but I feel that 1 must go to irim" "Hush! Yo' jess git all dem tings what I spoke of packed up fur me as quick as yo' kin an let me go back! If yo'want dem gorillas to finish Mars Kenton, yo* jest make a fuss so dat Mrs. Baxter will open dem big ears o' hern an find ont de news!" CHAPTER XXIII. As was stated in a previous chapter, Captain Wyle's company, along with others, had been returned to the valley and placed under the orders of General Im boden. Ike Baxter and the others captured atKernstown had rejoined the company when exchanged. Ike felt more than ever that Royal Kenton was an enemy he must get rid of, and Cap? tain Wyle encouraged this feeling in various ways, though never openly and directly committing himself. On two occasions Ike had been granted leave of absence to visit bis wife. Both times fae had met ber secretly. The spirit which animated this bum? ble twain will surprise only those who have never encountered the "poor whites" of the south. Nine out of ten of. the bloody and long continued feuds we read of in southern communities begin among the poor and ignorant. The cause is generally of trifling char? acter. The "poor white" may be hum? bled by the law, but outside of the courtroom he bates with an intensity hard to realize. He is persistent, cun? ning, merciless. Ike C.:xter bad never had an ambition in bis life up to the .hour he enlisted. He could barely read and write, was naturally lazy and in? different and felt np pride in anything except the fact that he was "better than a nigger." When be found that cor? porals and sergeants were looked up to and respected, there came a queer feel? ing in his heart. He could not credit it at first, but Captain Wyle aided him In his mental struggle. The day came when Ike had an ambition and a burn? ing desire. It was to be a corporal or sergeant. In his wild dreams of glory he did not stop there. He determined to go higber and become a lieutenant or captain. As soon as be was given to understand that Royal Kenton stood in bis way it was but natural with one of his nature to determine to remove the obstacle by any means possible. Before tbe war the "Yankee," both as a man and as the representative of a section of the republic, had few friends in the south. He was supposed to be hostile to ell southern "institutions." The more ignorant the southerner the more heartily be hated and despised the citizen of the north. He believed what the fire eating politicians pretended to believe and often asserted. The John Brown raid upon slavery in Virginia and the events in "Bleeding Kansas" served to intensify the sectional hate of the "poor whites." Th ns it was that ike Baxter, picking np his crumbs of history and bis bits of information on current events at the doors of the livery stable or around the stove of the bar? room, was something of a local cham? pion in the matter of Yankee hating. If Kenton had not stood between him and military glory, he would still have felt a bitterness toward him as a man born in the north. Uncle Ben's cautious ap? proach to the house cn this night had reference only to Mrs. Baxter. There was another man stealing through the . darkness and making a noiseless ap? proach at the same time-Ike Baxter. Neither Uncle Ben nor Marian Percy caught a sight of him, but he noticed their every movement and drew his own conclusions. Tb? gun which the old man bad been told to secure was in his room in the little house. He had de? parted from Rest Haven without being seen or his absence noted by tb? wom? an, but his return aroused her, and her sharp eyes were upon him as he carried away the firearm and loaded himself with the bundles Marian bad prepared and brought to the door. Sh? was dress RIGHTO I894 BY AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION. ' lng to follow him as he disappeared down the highway, having a dim sus? picion of the state of affairs, when Ike knocked at her window and was admit? ted. In less than a minute he had re? lated what he saw outside, and she had told him of Uncle Ben taking the gun. " Whar's he un bound fur?" queried Ike. "Dunno, but sunthin's happened sum whar I Yo* mnst foller him !" "Has that Yankee bin yere?" "No, but the gal's hearn news, fur shore! Reckon be un may be ly in out around yere sum whar, and the nigger's takin out stuff to bim! Git right arter be un. Ike, and if yo' find the Yankee go'n tell Captain Wyle and hev him cum with his critter company!" "I'll do better'n that!" grimly le plied the man as be stepped ont into the night. ' * If I find that Yankee around yere, I'll put a bullet into him fust and tell Captain Wyle next!" Uncle Ben had only a few hundred yards the start, and the man on his trail soon lessened the distance until he could bear the old man's footsteps and make ont a shadowy form through the darkness. There seemed nothing more certain than that he would follow on and uncover the hiding place of the fu? gitives. For nearly three-quarters of a mile the slave messenger bad but one idea-to return to Steve Brayton as fast as possible. He was hurrying along when a sudden thought flashed throngh bis brain, and he instinctively stepped aside and halted to listen. "Hew do I know but what dat wom? an dun heard me git de gun an is fol lerin me?" be whispered to himself. "She'd do it! She's powerful wicked, she am! An m ebbe some mo' of dem gorillas am waitin long yere to grab me an giy me anodder whippin!" He was listening as well as whisper? ing, and after a mir ire he heard the sounds of footsteps coming down the road. He drew back into the deeper shadow of the high bank, dropped his bundles, and taking a firm grip of his gun be mentally resolved to make a fight for it if he was overhauled by the same crowd as before. A few seconds later be realized that only one person was approaching. The footfalls were too heavy for a woman. He had jost decided this point when a man loomed up in the darkness before him and halt? ed almost within arm's length to mat? ter: "Drat my hide, but has that ole nig? ger left the road an giv me the slip? i beard be un only a minit ago, but him's dun gone now!" It was Ike Baxter of coarse. He stood peering and listening for half a minute and then growled: 4'I orter hev ron he un right down an made him show me the way! Now the cussed Yankee may git away from me! No, he won't though! I'll nant over every foot of this country but what I'll find him an hev his scalp!" Uncle Ben did not recognize the man at all, as it bad been many months since he had heard Ike Baxter's voice. It was instantly plain to bim. however, that the man was a determined enemy and was seeking Royal Kenton's life. Ike took three cr four steps forward and stopped again to listen. Noiselessly and with such a feeling as he had never experienced before Uncle Ben clubbed his gun, took one silent step forward Uncle Ben clubbed his gun. and next instant brought the heavy stock down ' upon Ike's head and felled him to the earth. The man sank down without a cry or groan, and after wait? ing half a minute the old man gasped out: "May de good Lawd dun fnrgiveme, but I had to do it fur Miss Sunshine's sake!" He picked up his bundles and has? tened on and 10 minutes later was tell? ing Steve Brayton what had happened. "Glad of it!" replied the latter. "Reckon I orter go up thar and make shore he's dead, fur I sorter think his name are ike Baxter. Hain't got no time, though-not jest now. This way. Uncle Ben." They passed between two great bowl? ders which had fallen from the bank above, followed a ravine into the hills for about 200 feet, and after a climb up the right hand bank found the hiding place among tho rocks. There was a small fire burning against a great bowl? der, and on a bed of leaves and branch? es lay Royal Kenton with a bullet wound in the calf of the right leg. It was a bit of good luck for him in the midst of adversity that the bullet had passed clear through without touching the bone. It was a painful and tem? porarily disabling wound, and he had lost much of his strength before tho bleeding could be checked, but he was inclined to make light of the situation as Brayton and Uncle Ben appeared. The "ok! darky knew Kenton only 1 sight, bnt the sight of him lying the in that helpless condition was a cy 13 f him to throw himself down on his kne and moan out : "Fo' de Lawd an io' de Lawd, bi what am Miss Sunshine gwine to say i do when she knows dat he has bi shotted wid a dozen bombshells?" Kenton soon made the situation plai to him, and then as the two talked aboi affairs at the house Steve Braytc washed and bouuduptbe wound af res! made up a comfortable bed, arrange one of the blankets for a shelter ar saw that Kenton ate as well as talkei The adventure which Uncle Ben had c the road was felt to be anothei men?t to be guarded against. After lea vin tho house where they had taken breal fast and encountered the Confederal sergeant, they had hastened np the sid of the mountain and headed direct fe Best Haven. Within an hour they foun that a number of men were on the? trail, and two or three times during th day they were obliged to hide them selves for an hour or two. No shot were exchanged until about 5 o'clock i the evening, and then they were fire upon by three men in ambush. Ken to: was hit and fell, but he struggled u; 2nd made a run of it, with Steve Bray ton covering his retreat. Pain and los of blood finally brought the woonda man down again, and he appealed ti Steve to leave him and make bis owi escape. " Couldn't think ot it, Yank-couldn ' possibly play any sich dirt on a mai who bas font 'longside o' me so often!' was the hearty reply. "Thar was onlj three of 'em when they tust popped a tis, and I'm sartin shore thar hain't bm two now, and mebbe one o' them is wus? off than yo' ar'! I hain't been shootir. five or six times jest fur the fun of it If yo* can't walk, yo've got to be car? ried!" Heeding none of Kenton's protests,thc faithful fellow got him on his back and picked his route through scrubs and cvei rocks until he reached the spot where Uncle Ben found them. He knew it was within a mile or two of Rest Haven, and he was about starting for the honse when the old man came along. "I'll take a trot np the road and see how the nigger's dead man is," said Steve when he could do no more for Kenton. "It's myeverlastin opinyun that the chap will tern ont to be Ike Baxter, and I shan't be overly sorry if sich ar' the case. I'll hev to git the body oater the way anyhow, befo' any? body stumbles over it." In the course of 20 minutes he reached the spot, but no man, living or dead, was to be found. He made a thorough hunt, but nothing could be discovered. CHAPTER XXIV. Uncle Ben returned to the honse at midnight^n<] found Marian anxiously waiting for news. Royal Kenton had told him what to tell her, and while she was comforted in one direction she was frightened in another. If Kenton and Brayton bad been followed ever the mountains and blood had been shed, would the pursuit cease until they bad been hunted down? If the man whom Uncle Ben had struck down in the dark? ness was Ike Baxter, wouldn't his in? formation bring Captain Wyle and his company into the neighborhood at once? Provided it was not Ike Baxter at all, it certainly was an enemy of some sort, who would demand revenge. The out? look was indeed an anxious one, but they could only wait and hope. It was well for the mother that she was too ill to realize that anything un? usual was happening. The doctor bad exercised his skill to no benefit, and though permitting Marian to hope that a favorable change might occur he re? alized that the chances of recovery were veiy remote. All that long night she lay as one sleeping heavily, and but for the many distractions the daughter would have noticed that the change was for the worse. Neither Marian nor Uncle Ben had reason to suspect that Mrs. Baxter had seen or heard anything that night, but she must soon know all. The girl had determined that Kenton should be brought to the house and cared for. The thought of his rude shelter, wounded and suffering as he was on that cold winter's night, almost drove her wild. It was hardly 7 o'clock in the morning, and she had simply tasted breakfast, when she went out to Uncle Ben and said: "I am ready to go and can't wait an? other minute. We will take some more provisions, but I shall have Mr. Kenton brought to the honse." "What about dat woman?" he asked. "I don't care for her. It she doesn't like his being here, she can go." "Jest look into her room. Miss Sun? shine!" The door was ajar, while the woman herself was at the other house. There was a bloody towel on a chair, bloody water in a washbowl, spots of blood on a chair and on the floor. "It looks as if some one had sought to murder her!" exclaimed Marian as she looked about in astonishment. "I know what happened," replied Uncle Ben. "Dat pusson I knocked in? ter de middle o' last summer was lire Baxter. He was follerin me from de house. Boat of* 'em knowed what was up. He cum to arter a bit an cum yere to hev his burts looken car' of. I heard a noise 'bout daylight, an I reckon dat was when he left." "I'm glad you didn't kill him, but 1 expect Mrs. Baxter will now feel like taking revenge upon the whole house? hold. Let us be going. " Half an hour later they were chal? lenged by Steve Brayton, who had al? ready prepared breakfast for the wound? ed man and was able to report that Ken? ton had passed a comparatively comfort? able night. He met them just outside the camp, and with a wink to Uncle Ben he said to Marian. "Go right along, Miss Percy; he un's heard yo'r voice <;nd is waiting fur yo'. I want to speak a word or two to Uncle Ben." "What yo' want to spoke to me 'bout?" cautiously inquired the old man after they had walked away a few steps. "Nuthin, yo' old son of Africa!" an swered 'Steve. "Don't yo' nn know . wh.at b'longs to good manners? D' yo' I reckon that gal wants anybody around ! when she fust claps eyes on the feller j she loves like a house afire a?d is gwine to marry arter this cussed scrimmage is j over?" ! "Hu! I see!" chuckled Uncle Ben. j "Of co'se yo' sees arter I has pinted j out the way, but then yo* is only an ole nigger and can't be spected to hev any feelin's onless kicked by a mule or licked by a passel of guerrillas." Ben then told him of the discoveries made at the house and of his belief that his victim was Ike Baxter, and Steve I looked very serious as he replied: j "Then yo' kin bet we ar' in fur a red hot time! Ike Baxter will be back befo' noon with a gang at his heels, and the chances ar' that somebody will git shot!" At this moment Marian called to them, and as they entered the camp they found ber dressing Kenton's wound and preparing for his immediate removal to the house. While the raiding party had stolen the horses, as before mentioned. The girl had determined that Kenton should be brought to the house. none of the vehicles had been taken, and she argued that it would be easy for the two men to get Kenton down to the road and then convey him to the house in one of the carriages. He looked upon the phn favorably, but when she turned to Steve Brayton be said : "Beg pardon, miss, but I can't agree with yo'. Yere ar' the situation : Over thar on the other road yisterday mawn in we uns was tooken fur Yankee spies. He un's a Yank straight 'nuff, but not a spy, while I'm a purty good rebel, as the t'other side calls us. We uns bad a fuss with a fool of a Confederate, and he got help and tried to run us down. It wasn't over two miles away that I dropped one and winged another. Is that plain to yo'. Miss Percy?" "Yes." "Waal, them critters hain't goin to give it up without knowin who we ar' and all about us. We uns will hear from them today fur shore. Then thar is Ike Baxter to look out fur. Pity yo'r nigger didn't strike a leetle harder and finish him, but it seems that Ike got away. He un was probably sent to spy on yo', and yo' kin bet that Captain ! Wyle and bis critter company hain't IUT off. We shall also bear from them befo' the day's over." "Well, suppose we do?" asked Ma? rian. "Mr. Kenton has been true and loyal to Virginia and the south. He is here in Confederate uniform and has only escaped from the Federals after be? ing taken prisoner in another battle. Suppose the Confederates do come?" "That's yo'r way of lookin at it, Miss Percy," said Steve as he twirled his hat in his hands. "My way is a leetle differ ent. Captain Wyle, Ike Baxter and the rest of the crowd want revenge. If they find Mr. Kenton in yo'r house, they'll take him out and carry him off to some camp. They'll use him rough. They'll make charges. They'll stick right to him till they hev bis life. I'm not fig gerin on myself 'tall. If they don't shoot me offhand, I'll git court mar tialed and be chained up sumwbar till the eand of the war. Fact is. Miss Per? cy, I've jest about dun cut loose from this glorious old southern confederacy and gone over to the Yanks!" "Then what would you advise?" "Leave he un right yere fur awhile. We uns' got two guns and a revolver, and if the crowd comes we kin sta^d 'em off a good deal better than at the house. Meanwhile let Uncle Ben sot out j down the valley to find the Yankee sol diers and tell em what's up. If 'nuff | of 'em cum, and they cum in time, we will be all right. If not, we might as ? well say our prayers!" Both Marian and Kenton realized the situation as he presented it, and within j five minutes Uncle Ben had his instruc tions. It was believed that he would run across Federal cavalry within 10 | miles of Rest Haven. He was to ask for j General Custer, and if he found that | commander to ask him in the name of j the Percys to come at once. He was to i call at the "house and say to Mrs. Baxter j that Marian would be home within an ? hour. "And while yo' un's yere to look ont fur the patient," said Steve Brayton to the girl as the old man moved away. "I'll jest git ready fur tho call I'm ex pectin!" The camp had plenty of natural de? fense, but by moving some of the bowl? ders with a lever and using such stones as he could lift as "chinking" he had the place proof against anything but ar? tillery within an hour. While he works and Marian and Kenton plan let us fol? low Uncle Ben. He had been intrusted with a message to Mrs. Baxter, but on his arrival at the house he failed to find her. Entering her room in the "quar? ters" in his search, he found things in such disorder that he felt certain she had packed up a few articles and fled from the place. Under no other circum? stances would he have dared to look into the bedroom of the "missus" in the other house. Alarmed at the thought that she was helpless and abandoned, he ventured to intrude. She was lying with her face toward him. and the first glance brought a moan to his lips. He called to her, passed into the room, called again and finally reached out and touched the white and wasted hand resting on the cover. It was cold as ice. He pushed forward an old black hand which had served her and hers for half a century and more and laid it on her face. "Fo' de great Lawd in heaben, but do missus has dun died!" he cried aloud as he hurried from tho room with chat? tering teeth and trembling limbs. She had seemed to be sleeping when Marian left the house an boar oj isor? be?ore, : but she might have been dying then. ', The old man's first thought was to bur? j ry back to camp and tell the girl what j had occurred, but as he moved away he j checked himself aud muttered: "Jest wait now till we figger a leetle. ; De good Lawd has dun tooken de missus ! away, an my ole heart's ready to break ? wid sorrow, but I mustn't give up to de j feelin. Dar's Miss Sunshine, an dar's ! Mars Kenton an dat soger Steve, dey's j all alive an in danger. If I tole Miss I Sunshine, she couldn't dc nuffin now j 'cept to wing her hands an cry. No, I S won't go back dar! I'll hurry up an ! find dem Yankees an tell 'em to cum as ! quick as dey km!" f?e had turned about in his tracks when he heard a great clatter up the road, and next minute he was surround? ed by about 20 mounted men. Some were in uniform, and among these he noticed one with his head bandaged and at once identified bim as Ike Baxter. There were others in citizens' dress, and while he was wonderiDg who they might ' be one of them laughingly exclaimed: "Hello, yo' old son of satan! How does yo' un feel after the lickin yo got last night?" There was a sergeant in command of the squad, but Ike Baxter appeared to direct operations. He at first drew bis saber as if to give the old negro a cut, bat checking himself he said : "Now, men, look.ali ve! Some of yo* ons search the boase, and drag oat that cussed Yankee and Steve Brayton, and the rest of us will drive a stake and find a chain and some firewood! I'm goin to burn this old nigger alive fur tryin to kill me last night!" - CHAPTER XXV. Although surprised and confounded by the sadden turn of events, Uncle Ben did not entirely lose his head. When he heard the men cryiog out for revenge and looked into their pitiless faces, he felt that his last hour had come. And j yet the devotion of the old slave was I never better illustrated than in what i followed. As a portion of the crowd j started for the house, no doubt fully ex I pecting to find Kenton there, the old ! man shouted at the top of his voice: "Cum back yere-cum back! Yo' kin kill me if yo' wants to, but fur God's sakedoan' put yo'r feet in dat house!" "What's the matter?" asked one as i the gang came to a halt. "De ole missus am lyin in dar dead I an all alone, an it hain't fitten dat yo' I should go in!" j "Whar's that Yankee? Whar's the gal? Whar's Steve Brayton?" was shouted at him. ! "Dun gone-all dan gone!" be an ! swered. "It's jest like I tole yo'-no I body in dar but de dead missus!" "Goon, go on!" yelled Ike Baxter, I "bat look ont far yo'selves! The ball crowd of 'em ar' in thar, and they'll likely make a fight fur it!" The men cautiously entered the house, firearms held ready for instant use, but at the end of seven or eight minutes they came out to report that '4 the cussed old nigger" bad told the truth. "Dead, eh?" exclaimed Ike Baxter as they told of the corpse cn the bed. "Waal, I*ni goin to burn the house jest the same, though m ebbe some of yo' uns will lug the body outdoors fust. Time 'nuff fur that after we git through with this old nigger. Run he un up to that post! Now, then, chain him there! Yo' old black devil, but I'll make yo' 9uffer fur the rap yo' giv me last night! I'm gom to begin at yo'r chin and skin yo' cl'ar down to yo'r heels! After yo've bin skim we'll build a fire around yo' and roast what's left!" He went to his saddle for a rawhide, one he had seemingly brought along for the occasion. When he returned with it, Uncle Ben was stripped of coat and vest and his shirt torn away from hi3 shoul? ders. They were going to take his life, not mercifully, as one kills a savage beast by a bullet through the heart or brain, but they would torture him for hours perhaps. He could not fail to re? alize this, but he did not beg for mercy. He simply shut his eyes and prayed God to give him strength to endure every? thing for the sake of these in hiding down the road. He would be asked to betray them. His refusal would bring other tortures, but he would refuse. "Now, then, yo' black bound, whar ar' the rest of the folks?" demanded Ike Baxter as he walked up to Uncle Ben and flourished the cruel whip. "Aye, he knows the exact spot whar they ar' hidin, and he's got to tell!" shouted two or three in the crowd. "Of co'se he knows, and I'll nev it outer he un mighty qui ck !" replied Ike. "I'm goin to give yo' a powerful lickin, ? ole man, fur the way yo' banged me last j night, but I'll make it a leetle easier if 1 yo'll tell whar they all is hid away." "I has nutbin to say." quietly re? plied the old man as he looked about him. j "What! Yo' won't tell me?" "Give it to him! Cut his hide into ! strings!" yelled the crowd. Ike responded by striking Uncle Ben I about 20 blows across the bare back, j ; Each blow raised a welt, and as each ! one fell the victim strained and tugged j j at his lashings. Uncle Ben had been j j whipped the night before, but that was ? more in the nature of an assault or an ! attack by armed men. For the first j time in his life he had been tied up and ; his back bared. He felt the shame and indignity almost as much as the blows, j "Yo' kin see what brung on this yere | war," said Ike as he paused for breath. : "Them air Yankees was tellin our nig? gers that they was jest as good as thar : i masters. Yere's a case of it right yere. If he'd bin my nigger, he'd hev bin as humble as pumpkin pie, but the Percys, I who hev allus bin half Yankee them selves, brung him up to think he un was j as good as anybody!" "Hurry up. Give he un some more!" ; : yelled the crowd. "Thar hain't no rush about it," re- i plied Ike as he flourished the whip. "Ii want to make it last as long as I kin. j It's a dod gasted pity we hain't got 13 i ' or 20 other niggers yere to look on and ! take warnin by his fate. I've allus itched to lick a nigger, but never had j tho chance befo'. Af yo' goin to tell me, yo' infernal old imp,"whar that Yankee is hidin out?" Uncle Ben sim? ply shook his head. "Yo' hain't, eh*r" screamed Ike. "Then everybody stand back, far I'm goin-I'm goin to make the blood fly all over the yard!" "Stop!" Ike bad his arm raised for a blow when a figure passed bim and halted beside Cncle Ben. That fignre had pushed its way into the circle unheard and unseen. Everybody stared in as ** StopPf she. cried. tonishmeDt, and for half a minute not a word was said. _ lt. was Marian J?ercy. She was known by sight to at least half of the gang, and the others at once iden? tified ber as "the gal" they had expect? ed to find in the house. Let us go back a little. When Uncle Ben left the camp among tile rocks, she had intended to follow bim within an hour. It had been settled that Kenton must remain where he was until a force of Federals was brought to the rese?e or until it was known that he was in no peril from the Confederates. While it was hoped that Uncle Ben's mission would be suc? cessful all realized the chances of its failure. Both armies were scouting and raiding up and down and across. A hamlet or crossroads or bridge held by the Federals one day would be in posses? sion of the Confederates on the next, and vice versa. Uncle Ben might en? counter a troop of Federal cavalry and bring them to the rese?e, or he might be picked up by a Confederate troop or a gang of guerrilla? and sent off some? where to work on fortifications. "Mebbe the Yanks will come fust, and inebbe the Confederates, " replied Steve Brayton wben appealed to for bis opinion. "It's goin tote nip and tuck, I reckon, bat with the chances a leetle in favor of the Confederates. Kin I make bold to offer som* advioe:** "Why, certainly," answered Marian and Kenton in the same breath. "Then let Miss Percy head for home to once. We can't tell what may be bappenin thar cr what's goin to happen yere. She's a Percy and a good Comed? era te, and nobody'll dare disturb the house. Them blamed guenillas which follered ns yesterday may open fire yere any minit, and once they do she can't git away." The advice was full of wisdom, and Marian prepared to start at once. ' ' Got any we 'pins in the boase ? ' ' asked Steve as she was ready. "No." "Kin yo* shoot a pistol?" "Of course.' T have been sony that I left mine behind ns in Winchester." "Then take this revolver. It's a big un, but I guess yo' kin handle it. Bein yo' ar' a southern gal, no southern man orter trouble yo*, but yo* can't al lus tell what may happen. If wuss comes to wuss, bullets will count fur mo' than words." Kenton advised her to take it, and Brayton assisted her down to the high? way and said as he left her: "Yo' may hear some shootin np this way doorin the day, but don't be narv ns about it and don't run any risks to cum and see what the trubble is. " ?TO BE CONTINUED.] 1 Lord Crewe'? Collection. Lord Crewe once, on the occasion of some charitable entertainment, leaned up against a corridor wall, fast asleep, with bis hat in his hand. Some wild young men started dropping coppers and half crowns into the hat until the chink? ing awakened him, when, with gay hu? mor, he pocketed all the silver and pelt? ed his impertinent benefactors with the pence.-London Million. She Said: Let's Try Hood's And It Helped Them Both Livor Troubles-Dyspepsia 29 Yrs* "C. I. Hood & Co., Lowell, Mass.: "Gentlemen:-My husband ant I have been taking Hood's Sarsaparilla, and I can truly say it has helped us both. My husband had Lumbago Rheumatism. so that he could not stand up straight, and went around half bent over. He had to have a cane to help himself out ot his chair. He had taken so much medicine that wc were discouraged. But I read so much about Hood's Sarsaparilla, 1 said. Let's try it. My husband has improved a great deal. His back is mach better, and his eye?, which have troubled him & great deal, also seem better. Hood's Sarsaparilla h&s given him a good appetite. I have had liver trouble Hood's^Cures and dyspepsia 20 years, but since I have been toking Hood's Sarsaparilla my side is better, and I also have a good appetite. My complexion is also much improved. We have only taken four bottles, and are well pleased with it" MB. and Mas. JAMES COX, Centreville, Wisconsin. Hood's Pills are prompt and efficient, yet easy in action. Sold by all druggists. 25c