Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

THE PRODIGAL . JUDGE ) \?y V?UGHAflKJESTEI^. /ui'STQwioHs ByAMeiviu "She'll be tent down river tonight, ?mid Murrell "Captain," began Slosson, who up to this bed token no part In the con variation, "when are you going to eroaa to t'other aide of the bayouT" "Boon." replied Murrell. Bloaaon laug bei 1 didn't know but you'd clean for? got the Clan'a business. I want to aak another question?but first I want to aay that no one thinks higher or more frequent of the ladlea than Just me. I'm genuinely fond of 'em, and !>? never lifted my band ag'ln 'em gsoept In kindness." Mr. Slosson looked at Ware with an exceedingly virtuous expression of <x>untenance. Ho continued: "To' orders are that we're to allp out of this a little afore midnight, but suppose there s a bitch ?here's the lady knowing what she knows and ber*'* the boy knowing what be knowa. ' There can be no hitch," rasped out Murreil arrogantly. "I never knew a speculation that couldn't go wrong; and by rights we anould have got away last night." "Well, wboae fault la it you didn't?" demanded Murrell. 'In a manner it were mine, but the ark got on a sandbank as we were fetching It In and It t ?k us the whole damn night to get clear." "Wall?" prompted Murrell, with a sullen frown. "Suppose they get abut of that no? tion of theirs that the lady a done drowned herself, suppose they take to Weiching the riverT Or suppose the whole damn bottom drops out of this deal? What then? The lady, good lacking aa abo is, knows enough to make want Tennessee mighty on healthy for some of us. I say, sup? pose It'a a flash In the pan and you have to crowd the distance in be? tween you and this part of the world, yo< cant tell me you 11 have any use for her then." 81o8son paused Ira preeelvely "And hero's Mr. Waro fooling bad, feeling like hall," be re? asoned. "Him and mo don't want to bo loft In no trap with you gone God only knowa where." "Ml aond a man to take charge of Use keel boat. I can't rlak any more of your bungling. Joe." That's all right, but you don't an* ewer my question." persisted 81osson, with admirable tensclty of purpose "What Is your question, Joe?" "A lot can happen between this and midnight?" ?'If things go wrong with us there'll ho a blase at the head of the bayou; Does that satbfy you?" "And what then?" Murrell hesitated "What about the girl?" Insisted Slosson, dragging him bsck to the point at isaua oetween them. "As a saan I wouldn't lift my hand ag in no good looking woman except, like I ?aid. In kindness; but she can't Be turned loose; she knows too much. What's the word, Captain?you Bay at!" be urged. He made a gesture of appeal to Ware. "Look for the light; better still, look for the man I'll send." And with this Murrell would have turned away, but Slosson detained him. "Who U ho be?" "Some fellow who knows the river." vnd if it's the light9" asked the tavern-keeper In u hoarse undertone. Again be looked toward Ware, who, dry lipped and ashen, was regarding aim steadfastly Ulance met glance, for a brief Instant they looked into each other's eyes and then ?he hand Slosson had rested on Murrell* shoulder dropped at his side. CHAPTER XXI. The Judge Meets the Situation. The Judge a and Mr Mahaffy's cele? bration of the former's rehabilitated credit bad occupied the shank ot the evening, the small hours of the night, and that part of the succeeding day which the southwest described as sooo la the morning; and s-t rt <? uone Jug, In whlrh were garner? d tag BPOitl <d saw blffctj nhlenttil but entirely misleading gosjrsiasllni which Iba Judge I id at l I HI Mr i'. ||oa ait.t his return fiom Heile I'laln. lout lit weight. It might have been observed that he snd Mr Mahaffy se :. i t > gala In that Mag ion ho of equity whlrh should form MM basis of ail human re? lations. The Judge a itshsd Mi M haffr. and Mr Mahaffy -atchad the lodge, each trustfully phV lug the reg? ulation of his private conduct In tho hands of his friend, aa the one roost likely to be affected by the rectitude of his acts. Probably so exUnslve a consump? tion of Mr PtsjgknVl corn whisky had never been arr ,vA with great? er hlghmtndedness They honorable split the last glues, he Judge scorning to sot up any te. hr? si claim to It an his exclusive property; then he stared at Mahaffy, whl'e Mahaffy, dark vlesged and forb?d<flng, stars'* back at htm. The Judge sighed deeply- He took up the Jug and inverted It. A stray Crop or so fell languidly Into his glass. "Try squeezing it, Price," said Ma haffy. The Judge shook the Jug, It gave forth an empty sound, and he sighed again; he attempted to peer into It, closing one watery eye as ho tilted It toward the light. "I wonder no Yankee has ever Try Squeexlrg It, Price," Said Ma* haffy. thought to Invent a Jug with a glass bottom," be observed. "What for?" asked Mahaffy. "You astonish me, Solomon," ex? claimed 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 or a Jug with a glass bottom, so that when a body holds It up to the light he can see at n glance whether it Is empty or -nut. Do you reckon Pegioe has sufficient confidence to fill the Jug again for ua?" But Mahaffy's expression Indicated no great confidence In Mr. Pegloe's confidence. "Credit," began the Judge, "Is pro? verbially shy; still It may sometimes be Increased, like the muscles of the body acd the mental faculties, by Ju? dicious use. I've always regarded Pegloe's as a cheap mind. I hope 1 have done hint an Injustice." He put on his hat, and tucking the Jug under bla arm went from the house. Ten or fifteen minutes elapsed. Ma? haffy considered this a good sign; It didn't take long to say no, he reflect? ed. Another ten or fifteen elapsed. Mabaffy lost heart. Then there came a hasty step beyond the door, It waB thrown violently open, and the Judge precipitated himself Into the room. A glance showed Mahaffy that he was laboring under intense excitement. "Solomon, I bring shocking news. Uod knows what the next few hours may reveal!" cried the Judge, mop? ping his brow ' Miss Malroy his dis? appeared from Helle Plain, and Han? nibal has gone with her!" "Where have they gone?" asked Ma hpffy, and bis long Jaw dropped. "Would to God I had an answer ready for thnf question, Solomon!" answered tbe Judge, with a melan? choly shake of tbe ncad. He gazed down on his friend with an air of large tolerance. "1 am going to Hello Plain, but you are too drunk. Sleep it off. Solomon, and Join me when your brain Is clear and your legs steady." Mabaffy jerked out an oath, and lifting himself off his chair, stood erect. He snatched up his hat. "Stuff your pistols Into your pock? ets, and coiuo on, Price!" he aald, and stalked toward the door. He flitted up the street, and tho Judge puffed und panted in his wake. Tbey gained the edgo of the village without speech "There Is mystery and rascality here!*' aald the judge "What do you know, Price, and where did you hear this?' Mabaffy shot tbe question back over hla shoul? der. "At Pegloe's; the Hello Plain 0VS1 seer had Juit fetched tho news into town " Again the/ were rllent, all Unelr energies bot] g absorbed by the physi? cal exertion thoy Wars making The road dnnosd before their burning syss. It gaggiad to be uncoiling itself Strponl*WlSS *ifh hideous undulations Mr Mahaffv was conscious that the. Judge, of whom he caught a blurred vision now at his right side, now at hi* left, was lahortug painfully in the heaf and di st. the breath whistling from between his parched Mpa. "You're Just rlpo for apoplexy, Price!" be marled, moderating his p?c* "Go on," cnld the Judge, with itotia recolutlon. Two mllen out of the village they came to a roadside spring; here they ^paused for an Instant. Mahaffy scooped up Qandfuls of the clear wa? ter and sucked it greedily. The Judge cropped on Tils EiomaCu aLu "burled his face In the tiny pool, gulping up great thirsty swallows. After a long breathless instant he stood erect, with drops cf moisture clinging to his nose and eyebrows. Mahaffy was a dozen paces down the road, hurrying forward again with relentless vigor. The Judge ihuflled after him. The tracks they left in the dust crossed and re-crossed the road, but present? ly the slanting Hne9 of their advance straightened the Judge 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 situa? tion. "If anything happens to the child, the man resjonsible for It would bet? ter never been born?I'll pirsue him with undlminished energy from this moment forth!" he panted. "What cou d happen to him, Price?" asked MahaiTy. "God knows, poor little lad!" "Will you shut up!" cried Mahaffy savagely "Solomon! 1 "Why do you go building on that Idea? Why should any one harm him ?what eartt ly purpose?" "I tell yon, Solomon, we are the pivotal point In a vast circle of crime. This Is a blew at me?this is revenge, sir, neither more nor less! They have struck at m* through the boy, It Is as plain as day." "What did the overseer say?" "Just that they found Miss Malroy gone from Helle Plain this morning, and the boy with her." "This Is I ke you, Price! How do you know tu?y haven't spent the night at some neighbor's?" "The nearest neighbor is five or six miles distant;. Miss Malroy and Han? nibal were seen along about dusk in the grounds at Helle Plain; do you mean to tell me you consider it likely that they eel out on foot at that hour, and without a word to any one, to make a visit f inquired the judge; but Mahaffy did not contend for this point. "What aro you going to do first, Price?" "Have a look over the grounds, and talk with tee slaves." "Where's :he brother?wasn't he at Belle Plain last night?" "It seems he went to Memphis yes? terday." They plodded forward in silence; now and agiln they were passed by some man >n horseback whose des? tination wan the same as their own, and then at last they caught sight of Belle Plain In Its grove of trees. CHAPTER XXII. Tho Judge Takes Charge. All work on the plantation had stopped, and the hundreds of slaves? men, womet and children?were gath ered about the house. Among these moved the members of the dominant race. The Judge would have attached himself to the first group, but he heard a whispered question, and the answer; "Miss Malroy's lawyer." Clearly it was not for htm u mix with these outsiders, these curiosity seekers. Hej crossed the lawn to the house, and mounted tho steps. In the doorway was big Steve, while groups of men stood about In the hall, the hum of busy purposeless talk pervad? ing the piece. Tho judge frowned. This was all wrong. "Has Mr. Ware returned from Mem phis?" he asked of Steve. "No, sah; not yet." i "Then show me into the library," said tho judge with bland authority, surrendering his hat to tho butler. "Come along, Mahaffy!" he added. They entered the library, and the Judge motioned Steve to close the door. "Now, hoy, you'll kindly ask those people to withdraw?you may say it is Judge Price's orders. Allow no one to enter the house unless they have bflsiness with ine, or as I send for them?you understand? Alter you have cleared the house, you may bring me a decanter of corn whisky? stop a bit?you may ask the sheriff to step here." "Yes, sah." And Steve withdrew, i The judge drew an easy-chair up to the flat-topi ed desk that stood in the Center of the room, and seated him? self. "Ate you going to make this the excuso for another drunk, Price? If so, I feel the greatest contempt for you," said Mahaffy sternly Tho Judge, winced at this. "You have made a regrettable choice of words, Solomon," he urged gently. "Where's your feeling for the hoy?" "Here!" naid the judge, with an elo quent gesture, resting his hand on his haart, "If you let whisky alone, 1 11 beTievo you; otherwise w4iut I have said must itand " Tho door opened, and the Sheriff slouched into the room n<? was ( hew in;; a long wheat straw, and his whole appearance was one of troubled weak? ness. Morning," be said briefly. * "Sit d<?wn, sheriff," and Ihn Judge Indicated a meek seal for the official in a distant corner Have you learned anything?" ho naked, 'Dili, sheriff ihopJJl hi ? h. id. "What you turning all lb ose neigh? bors out of doors for?" he questioned! "We don't want people tracking In and out the house, sheriff Important evidence may be destroyed l propose examining the slaves first?-does that meet with your approval?" "Oh. Pvo talked with them; they dO0 1 know nothing." said the sheriff ?'No cue don't know not Ming " "Please God, we may yet put our fingers on some villain who does?" said the judge. Outside it was noised about that Judge Pike had taken matters in hand?he was the old fellow who had been warned to keep hi? mouth Ibut, 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 ushered Into the Judge's presence. First he interrogated little Steve, who had gone to Miss Hetty's door that morning to rouse her, as was his cus? tom. Next he examined Betty's maid; then the cook, and various house serv? ants, who had nothing especial to tell, but told it at considerable length; and lastly big Steve. "Stop a bit," the Judge suddenly In? terrupted the butler in the midst of his narrative. "Does the overseer al? ways come up to the house the tirst thing in the morning?" "Why, not exactly, sah, 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." "He Joined in the search?" "Yes, sah." "When was Miss Malroy seen last?" asked the Judge. "She and the young gemman you fotched heah were seen In the gyar den along about sundown. I seen them 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." 'TU 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 only a few moments, and returned with the Information that Hicks was down at the bayou, which was to be dragged. "Why?" inquired the judge. "Hicks says Miss Malroy's been act? ing mighty queer ever since Charley Norton was shot?distracted like! He says he noticed it, and that Tom Ware noticed it" "How does he explain the boy's dis? appearance?" "He reckons she throwed herself in, and the boy tried to drag her out, like he naturally would, and got drawed in." "Humph! I'll trouble Mr. Hicks to step here," eald the judge quietly. "There's Mr. Carrlogton and a 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 he turned away. ?TU see them." The sheriff went from the room and the judge dismissed the servants. "Well, whU do you think, Price?" asked Mahaly 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 at? tempts to suppress the carnival of 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 ad? viser; probably she will be set at lib? erty when she agrees to drop the mat? ter of Norton's murder. Ab for the "Hicks Says Miss Malroy's Been Act* ing Queer Since Charley Norton Was Shot." boy, they'll use him to compel ray si lence and Inaction." The Judge took a long breath. "Yet there remains one point where the boy is concerned that completely baffles me. If wo knew just a littlo more of his antecedents it might cause me to make a Startling and radical move." Mahaffy was clearly not impress, d by the vague generalities in which the iudg?? was dealing "There you go, Price, B8 usual, try? ing to convince yourself that you are the center of everything!" ha Bald, In a tune ol much exasperation "Let's get down I" business! What does this man Hicks mean by hinting at sui? cide? You saw Miss Malcoy yester? day?" "You have put your linger on u point of h'une significance," said the judge. 'Shu bore evidence of t he Shock and lost slm bad sustained; aside from that she was quite as she aas always been." "We'll, What dO JTOU want to see Hlckl for? What do yeu expect tc loarn from him," "I don't like his Insistence on the Idea that Miss Malroy Is mentally un balanced. It's a question of some delicacy?the law, sir, fully recog? nizes that, it seems to me he is over? anxious to account for her disappear? ance in a manner that can compro mise no one." CHAPTER XXIII. The Judge Finds Allies. They were interrupted by the Open* lng of the door, and big Steve admit? ted Carrington and the two men of whom the sheriff had spoken. "A shocking condition of affairs, Mr. Carrington!" said the judge by way of greeting. "Yes," said Carrington shortly. "You loft these parts some time ago, I believe?" continued the judge. "The day before Norton was shot. I had started home for Kentucky, l heard of his death when I reached Randolph on the second bluff," ex? plained Carrington, from whose cheeks the weather-beaten bloom had laded. He rested his hand on the edge of the desk and turned to tbe men who had followed him into the room. "This is the gentleman you wish to see," he said, and stepped to one of the win? dows; it overlooked the terraces where he had said good-by to Hetty scarcely a week before. The two men had paused by the door. They now advanced. One was gaunt and haggard, nil face disfigured by a great red scar; the other was a shocK-headed individual who moved v.'ith a shambling gait. Hoth carried rifies and both were dressed in coarse homespun. "Morning, sir." 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 uevvy, sir?? what's all this about him and Miss Hetty?" Yancy's soft drawl was sud? denly eager. "Please God we'll recover him soon!" said the judge. By the window Carrington moved impatiently. No harm could come to the boy, but Hetty?a shudder went through him. "They've stolen him." Yancy Broke 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. "Hob are just getting off a sick bed. He's been powerful porely in conse? quence of having his head laid open and then being throwed Into the Klk river, where I fished him out," ex? plained Cavendish, who still contin? ued to regard the Judge with unmixed astonishment, first cocking his shaggy head on one side and then on the other, his bleached eyes narrowed to a slit. Now and then he favored the austere Mahaffy with a fleeting glance. He 6eemed Intuitively to un? derstand the comradeship of their degradation. "Mr. Cavendish fetched me here on his raft. We tied up to the sho' this morning. It was there we met Mr. Carrington?I'd knowed him slightly back yonder in No'th Carolina," con? tinued Yancy. "He said I'd find Han? nibal with you. I was counting a heap on seeing my nevvy." Carrington, no longer able to con? trol himself, swung about on his heel. "What's been done?" he asked, with flerce repression. "What's going to be done? Don't you know that every second is precious?" "I am about to conclude my inves? tigations, sir," said the Judge with dignity. Carrington stepped to the door. After all, what was there to expect of these men? Whatever their Interest, it was plainly centered in the boy. He passed out into tbe hall. As the door closed on him the judge turned again to the Scratch Hiller. "Mr. Yancy. Mr. Mahaffy and I hold your nephew in the tenderest regard; ho has been our constant companion ever since you were lost to him. in 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 resolu? tion. "I reckon you-all have been mighty good and kind \o IflmT1 said T?ucy huskily. "We have endeavored to be, Mr. Yancy?indeed I had formed the reso? lution legally to adopt him should you not come to c'alm 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 which he had dedicated one of IVg loe'a trade labels, tairly glowed with philanthropic fervor. 'Think of that!" murmured Yancy softly. Ho was deeply moved Sc WM Mr. Cavendish, who was gifted with a wealth of ready sympathy. Ho thrust out a hi rden?*d hand to the judge. "Shako!" he said. "You re a heap better than you look." A thin ripple of laughter escaped Mabaffy, but the ludge accepted Chilli and I -'over's proffered band. Ho understood that here aas i simple genuine w>ut. "Price, Isn'l it important foi us to know v hy Mr Yancy thinks the boy has been taken back to North Caro? lina?" said Mahaffy "Just what kin la Hannibal to you, Mr. Yancy'.'" asked tho judge resum? ing his s? at. "Strictly ?peaking, he aln'l noon. That he come to live with mo is all owing to Mr. Crenshaw, who's a good man when left to himself, but he's got a wife, so a hotly may say ho never is left to himself," lagan Yancy; nud then briefly he told the story of the Woman r.nd the child nu< b I hi had udd it to Bladaaj at the Barony the day of General Quintard's funeral The judge, his back to the liglH and his face in shadow, re.-ted bi? left el how on the desk and With Iii:-1 ?hin sunk in his palm, follow. [ tin Scratch Hilter*! narrative with the ? liesest at? tention. "And General QtlffttaTd never saw him?never manifested any interest in him?'' the words came slowly from the judge's lips; bo seemed to gulp down something that rose in his throat. "Poor little lad!" he mut? tered. a:.d again? "Poor little lad!" "Never once, sir. He told the slaves to keep him out of his sight. Wa*aU wondered, fo' you know bow niggers wi ! talk. We thought maybe he was some kin to the Qulntards, but we couldn't figure out how. The old general never had but one child and she had been dead fo' years. The child couldn't have been hers nohow." Yancy paused. The judge drummed Idly on the desk "What implacable hate?what iron pride!" he murmured, and swept his hand across his eyes. Absorbed and I aloof, he was busy with his thoughts that spanned the waste of years? years that seemed to glide before him in re\iew, each bitter with Its hideous memories of shame and defeat. Then from the smoke of these lost battles emerged the lonely figure of the child as he had seen him that June night. "Poor Little Lad!" He Muttered. His ponderous arm stiffered where it rested on the desk, he straightened up in his chair and his face assumed lts| customary expression of battered dig? nity, while a smile at once wistful and tender hovered about his lips. "One othe?* question," be said. "Un? til this man Murrell appeared you had no trouble with Bladen? H<? was content that you should keep the child?your right to Hannibal was | never challenged?" I "Never, sir. All my troubles began about that time." ' Murrell belongs in these parts," eald the judge. "I'd admire fo' to meet him," said Yancy quietly. The Judge grinned. "I place my professional services at your disposal," he 6aid. "Yours is a clear case of felonious assault." "No, it ain't, sir?I look at it this-a ways; it's a clear case of my giving him the damndest sort of a body beat? ing!" "Sir," said the judge, "I'll hold your hat while you are about it!" Hicks had taken his time in re? sponding to the judge's summons, but now his 6tep sounded in the hall and throwing open the door he entered the room. Whether consciously or not he had acquired something of that surly, forbidding manner which was characteristic of his employer. A curt nod of the head was his only greet? ing. "Will you Bit down?" asked the judge. Hicks signified by another movement of the head that he would not. "This is a very dreadful busi? ness!" began the Judge eoftly. "Ain't it?" agreed Hicks. "What you got to say to me?" he added petulantly. "Have you started to drag the bayou?" asked the Judge. Hicks j n(Hl(led.fc '"Jha,t was your idea?" Bug gcsTed the judge. "No, it wan't," objected Hicks quickly. "Hut I paid she had teen actin* like she was plumb distracted ever since Charley Norton got eho*?" "How?" inquired the Judge, arching his eyebrows. Hicks was plainly dis? turbed by the question. ' Sort ot out of her head. Mr. Ware Been it, too?" "Ho spoke of it?" "Yes, sir; him and me discussed it together." The judge regarded Hicks long and intently and in silence. His magnifi? cent mind was at work. It Hetty had been distraught he bad not observed any Fign ot it the previous day. It Ware wer? better Iniormed as to her true mental state why bad he chosen this time to ^<> to Memphis? "I luppt SO Mr Ware asked you to keep an eye v.\ Miss "Malroy while ho was sway from home?" said the Judge. Illcka, suspicious of the drift ot his questioning, made no answer. "1 sup? pose you told the bouaa servauts to ki - p her under observation?" contin? ued the ^ld^o, "I den t talk to no ningers," replied Hicks, "except to give 'cm my or? ders." ?\v, ii. did you give them that or? der?" ' No. l didn't." The sudden and hurried entrance of Pi:: Steve brought the Judge's exam? ination of Mr. Hicks to a standstill "Maa'r, you know dat ar coachman 'borge the big black fellow dat too''