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TO W\ll-W fi?V/LLC ?,? CHAPTER I. Tho leaves of poplar and oak hung ?till limp, no ghost of breeze found its way down there to stir them Into movement or whisper. Banks of rhododendron, breaking Into a foam of bloom, gave the teeming cf groen and white capped waves arrested and so? lidified by some sudden paralysis of nature. Sound Itself sppearod dead, save for hashed minors that only ac? centuated the stillness of the Cumber? land forest. \ Now, aa evening sent her warning with gathering shadows that began to lurk in tho valleys, two mounted fig area made no sound either, save when a hoof splashed on a slippery surface or saddle-leather creaked under the patient scrambling of their animals. In front rode a battered mountain? eer astride a rusty, brown mule. The second figure came some yards bah tad, carefully following In tho other's wske on a mule which limped. This second mule bore a woman, rid tar astride. She was a young weman, and II just uow her slender shoulders ? drooped a little, still even In tb r droop they hinted at a gallant r "o of carriage. 1 he girl was very slender snd, t- igh convoyed by the drab mission? ary. "Good Anse" Talbott, ridlr.g astride a lame mount and sccoutered wit i saddlebags and blanket re 11, her clot ass were not of mountain calico, but of good fabric, skillfully tailored, and she carried her head erect. dubitably this was a "furriner;" a woman from the other wcrld of "down below." But who was she, and why had she come? As to that, word had pone ahead of her snd bcon duly reported to the one man who knew things hereabout; who made it a point to know things, and whose name stood aa a challenge to Innovation in the mountains. When at morrtng she had started i out from the shack town at the er.d of the rails, 'Bad Anse" Havey's In- j formers had ridden not far behind h?r I Later they had pushed iliead and re? layed their message to their chief. Saw hi.d often heard iLe name til Bad Anse tfavey. The yellow press of tae state, and oven of the uatim, waa, fond of using It. Whenever to the law-1 leea mountains came a fresh upblazing of feudal hatred and blood was let, it waa customary to say that the affair bore the earmarks of Bad Anso's In? citement Certain It wss that in his own territory this msn was overlord snd dictator. Like one of the untamable eagles that circled the windy crests of his! mountains, he had watched with eyes that could gaze unblinking into the sun all men who cane and went through the highlands where his aerie perched. Those whom he hated, un? less they, too. were of the eagle breed, tierce snd resourceful and strong of talon, could not remain there. This slender young woman, astride a amis, was coming ss the avowed outrider of s new or?er. She meant to make war on the whole fabric of Illiteracy and squalid Ignorance which lay intrenched here. Consequently her arrival would interest Bad Anse Ha vsy. Once, when they hsd stopped by a wayside mill to let their mules pant at the water trough, she had caught a scrap A conversation that was not meant for her ears; a scrap laughingly I tossed from bearded Up to bearded Hp among the hlckory-shirted loltor srs at the mill door. "Reckon thet thar's tho fotched-ln woman what alms tor start a school over on the head of Tribulation," drawled one native. "I heard tell cf her t'other day." With a somewhat derisive laugh an othor had contributed. "Mebby she hain't talked thot nro Jeck over with Bsd Anse yit. Hit mought be a right good Idee fer thet gal tor go on buck down below, waar ehe blongs at." The girl was thlnklrg of all this acw as she rode In the wake of her silent escort. In a moment of almost cringing de? spair she wished indeed that NM were "back thsr down bei >w whar sho blonged at." Then, almost fiercely, drawing bark her aching shoulders, sho cast her ayes about on the darkening MM I and raised her voice In anxious In? quiry: "How much farther do wo have to g. r The man rldlrg ahead ?d not tvn his fsce. but flur.g his answer St B> thotlcslly backward over his shoulder: "We k t r > keep rU .it on till we sjsjsjssj ter a i<*eilln'-h use. I'll etnhV fer old msn Ficteh McNssh's ealln a leeth? M <r rise of a mile fruu hyar. I low mebby he nuu&ht shelter us tin r "And If h? daaatVtt" mM he doess/t wo ve got ter rl> a** n ipsJI further." Tke sclrl cl .sc I her eyes fo? a fse> ane'.t sud pre ? ? 1 her lip let ween ter te t. At laWl * sc Men tin In the r*Mid k brrur.'*' '.?* vb m a vre* bed aatek >t L hmr ? rlay, rin ? : bj i dilapidated pa' mjp4 Ic.n-e, v...ii.i wtlfjfc Kiooa*ud a squalid and unlightcd cabin of logs. At sight of its desolation the girl's heart sank. A square hovel, window less and obviously of one room, held up a wretched lean-to that sagged drunkenly against its end. The open door was merely a patch oi greater darkness in the gray picture. Behind It loomed the mountain like a crouch? ing ColCSSUS. At first she thought it an abandoned shack, but as they drew near the stile a dark objoct lazily rose, resolving it? self into a small boy of perhaps eleven. He had been sitting hunched up there at gazo with his hands clasped around his thin knees. As he came to his feet he revealed a thin stature swallowed up in a hick? ory shirt and an overample pair of butternut trousers that had evidently come down in honorable heritage from elder brethren. His small face wore a sharp, prematurely old expression as he stood staring up at the new arri? vals and hitching at the single "gal lus" which supported the family breeches. "Airy one o' ye folks got a chaw o' terbaccy?" he demarded tersely, then added In plaintive tfternote: "I hain't had a chaw terday." "Scnny," announced the colorless mountainoer with equal succlnctnesf, "we wont ter be took in. We're be nlghted." "Ye mought ax Fletch," was the stolid reply, "only he hain't hyar. Hes airy one o' ye folks got a chaw o' terbaccy." "I den't chaw, ner drink, ner smoke," answered the horseman quietly, In the manner of one who teaches vy pre? cept. "I'm a preacher of ther Gawspel. Air ye Fletch's boy?" /'Huh-huh. Ham't thet woman got no terbaccy nuther?" Evidently, whatever otb r charac? teristics went Into this youth's na? ture, he was admirably gifted with te? nacity and singleness of purpose. Over Her Stood the Woman Who Had Been Acis.es the Stile. Juanita Holland smiled as she shook her head and replied: "I'm a woman, and I don't use tobacco." "The hell ye don't!" Tho boy paused, then added scornfully. "My mammy chaws and smokes, too?but she den't straddle no hess." After that administration cf rebuke ho deigned i ? ce more to recognize tho missionary's insistent queries, though he did so with a laconic impa? tience. "I tell ye Fletch hain't hyar." Tho bey started disgustedly away, but ;d in passing to jerk his head toward the house and added: "Ye mought ax thet woman ef ye'vo a mind ter.' Tin travelers raised their eyes and Raw a second figure standing with ha" Is en hips staring at them from tho distance. It was tho slovenly fig? ure cf a wo:r.an, clad In a colorless and shapele.-.s skirt and an equally shaneless Jacket, which hung unbelted ab tit her thick waist. As she camo slcwly forward the girl began tc tako In other details. The woman was I arefoatad and walked with a Bharn >llni: galt which mado .Tuanit'.i think of bears pachig their barred inclos ?rej In a z?o. Her face was hard and unsmiling, and the wrinkles about her < were those of anxious and lean years, hut the eyes then.selves were n.t urklnd. Htf lips were tight ejan&ped CD the stom of ? clay pipe. " El ml '. ma'am." began tho moun? taineer. "I'm Good Ans? Talbott. I r. ek : mobby yo've beerd of me. This ' v la Miss Holland from down be i w. I lowed Pleten mought let us tarry hyar till sunup." "I reckon ho nought ef he war hyar ?though we don't toiler taking in ftraa?*ra?H was tho dubious reply, ? bal ae ain't hyar." "Where air he ut?" "D ri't know. Didn't ye see him uowa the loud AS yo rid ulopg?" ??Wall, now?" drawled the mission? ary, "I hain't skeercely as well ac? quainted hyarabouts as further up Tribulation. What manner o' lookin' man air he?" "Ho don't look like nothin' much," replied his wife morosely. "He's jest an ornery-lookin* old man." "Whither did ho sot out ter go when he left hyar?" I Tho woman shook her head, then a grim flash of latent wrath broke in her eyes. "I'll Jest let ye hov the truth, stranger. Some trlflin' fellers done ea'ntered past hyar with a jug oX licker, an' thet fool Fletch hes Jest done follered 'cm off. Thet's all thar Is to hit, an' he hain't got no license tor ack thetaway nuther. I reckon I by now he's a-layin' drunk somo whars." For a moment there was silence,! through which drifted tho distant tinkle of cowbells down the creek. Beyond the crests lingered only a lemon afterglow as relict of the dead day. The brown, colorless man astride ! his mule sat stupidly looking down at tho brown, colorless woman across the stile. The waiting fcirl heard the preacher inquiring which way tho I master of tho house had gone and sumising that "mebby he'd better set out in search of him;" the words seemed to come from a great dis? tance, and her head swam giddily. Then, overcome with disgust and weariness, Juanita Holland saw the afterglow turn slowly to pale gray and then tc black, shot through with orange spots. Then she grew sud? denly indifferent to the situation, ' swayed in her saddle, and slipped J limply to the ground. Tho young woman who had come to ! conquer the mountains and carry a torch of enlightenment to their illit? eracy had fainted from discourage? ment and weariness at the end of the first day's march. ?The weariness which caused the fainting spell must have lengthened its duration, for when Juanita's lashes flickered upward again and her brain came gropingly back to consciousness she wa3 no longer by the stile. She was lying in the smothering softness of a feather bed- On her pal? ate and tongue lingered an unfamiliar, sweetish taste, while through her veins she felt the coursing of a warm glow. Over her stood the woman who had been across tho stile when she fainted, her attitude anxiously watchful. In one band she held a stone jug, and in the other a gourd dipper. So that accounted for the taste and the glow, and as Juanita took in the circum? stance she heard the high, nasal voice, p'tche.l none tho less In a tone o! kindly reinsurance. '*YcTi be bprv as a squirrel *n a lenle ipell, heney, Dont fret yoreaelf noc i Y<j war iofit plumb tuckered out. an' ye swooned. I've been a rubbin' your hands an* a-pourin' a little white licker down yore throat. Don't worrit yoreself none. We're pore folks an' we hain't got much, but I reckon we kin make out ter enjoy ye somehow." The four walls of the cabin might have been the rocky confines of a mountain cavern, so formlessly did they merge Into the impalpable and sooty murk that hung between them, obliterating all remoter outline. Only things in a narrow circle grew visible, and at the center of this lighted area was the slender figure of a girl hold I lng up a lard taper, Its radius of light yellow and flickering. As the mountain girl felt the eyes of the strange and, to her, wonderful woman from the great, unknown world on her, her own dark lashes fell timidly and the hand that held the taper trembled, while into her cheeks crent a carmine self-conscious? ness. Juanita, fcr her part, sense! in I her veins a new and subtler gl?w than that which tho moonshine whisky had quickened. The men and women of the hills had made her heartsick with their stolid and animallike coarseness. I Now she saw a slender figure in which I the lines were yet transitory between tho stralghtness of the child and tho I budding curves of womanhood. It was to such children of the hills as this that Juanlta Holland was to bring the new teachings. But even as she smiled the child?lor she seemed to be only fifteen or sixteen?surren? dered to her shyness and, thrusting tho taper into her mother's hand, shrank out of sight in some shad? owed corner of the place. Then Juanita's eyes occupied them? selves with what fragmentary details the faint light revealed. The barrel of a rifle caught the weak flare and glittered. Tho uncarpeted fbor of rudo puncheon slabs lay a thing of gaping cracks, and overhead there was a vaguo feeling of low rafters, from which hung strings of ancient and shriveled peppers and a few crinkled "hands" of "natural loaf." "Dawn," commanded the woman, "take yore fcot in your hand an' light out ter ther barn an' seo ef ye kin find Lome aigs." An Juanita watched tho door sho caught a glimpse of a slight figuro that Vanished With tho same quick noiselossness with which a beavor slips into tho water. "I reckon yo kin Jest lay thar a spoil," added tho woman, "whilst I , goes out an' sees what victual } 1 kin Bkoer up." Left alone, tho girl from Philadel? phia ran over the events of the (lay - events which seemed to smother her I under a weight of squalor and fore? boding. At length from tho road came loud shouts of drunken laughter, broken by the evident remor trances of a DOinpanlon who sought to enjoin quiot, und uy those tokens the "fi in" woman knew that tho lord of tho squalid manor was returning, and that, he was coming under convoy. Sh< shrank from a meeting with Fletcb McNash; but if she went out by the only door she knew she would have to confront him, so she lay still. Fletch was deposited in one of the split-bottom chairs by the doorstep. "I Jest went over thar ter borry a hoe," he proclaimed, "an' I met up with some fellers and thar was alb manner of freo licker. They had white licker an* bottled-in-bond licker, an: none of hit didn't cost nothin'. Them fellers jest wouldn't hardly suffer me ter come away." "An' whilst ye war a-soakin' up thet thar free licker them pertater sets was a-dryin' up waitin* ter he sot out," I came the stern wifely reminder. Between the strident voices came every now and then the softly modu? lated tones of the stranger whose words Juanita lost. Yet, somehow, whenever she heard them she felt soothed, and after each of these ut. terances the woman outside also spoke in softer tones. Whoever tho stranger was, he car? ried in his voice a reassuring quality, 00 that without having seen him tho girl felt that in his presence there was an element of strength and safeguard? ing. At last from one of the beds sho heard a scuffling sound, and a moment later a childish form opened a dcor at tho back of the cabin and slipped out into the darkness. That revealed an avenue of escape. Juanita had not known that these win dowless cabins are usually supplied with two doors, and that the ono into which the wind does not drive the weather stands open for light on win? try days. Now she, too, rose noise? lessly and went out of the close and musty room. It was quite dark out there and she could feel, rather than see, tho densely foliagcd side of the mountain that loomed upward at the back. In her brooding she lost account of time. At last she heard a voice sing out from the stile: j "I'm Jim White, an' I'm a-comin' In." A thick welcome from Fletch Mc? Nash followed, and then again silence settled. After a while, as she sat there on the rock, with her chin disconsolately in her hand snd her elbows on her knees, Juanita became conscious of footsteps and knew that someone was coming toward her. Then she caught the calm voice which had already im? pressed her?the voice of the stranger who had brought home the half-help? less householder. "T reckon we're out of earshot now, 1 ackon wa kin be*r speech here; but heed your voice nn' talk low," In the face of such >i prefaee the girl b ifa ik back In fresh panic, She had uo ?;?u tu overhear private conversa? tions. 1 She huddled back against the rock and cast an anxious glance about her for a way to escape. Pehind lay the mountain wall with its lungleliko growth, where her feet would sound an alarm of rustling branches and dis ; turbed deadwood. But the men were strolling near her, and to try to reach tho house would require crossing their path. j Then the second shadow spoke, and its voice carried beside the nasal shrillness so common to the hills tho tenseness of suppressed excitement. "Thar's liable ter be hell ternight." The girl thought that the quiet stranger laughed, though of that sho could not be certain. "I reckon ye mean concermn' Cal Douglas?" I "Thet's hit; when I rid outen Peril , thi3 afternoon ther jury had done took ; ther case, an' everybody 'lowed they'd ! find a verdict afore sundown." j "I reckon"?the taller of the two ' men answered slowly, and into his softly modulated voice crept sorae I thing of flinty finality?"I reckon I can I tell yo what that verdict's goin' to , be. Cal will como clear." I "Thet hain't ther pint," urged tho messenger excitedly. "Thet hain't why I've rid over hyar like a bat outen i hell ter cotch up with ye. I was aimin' tor fotch word over ter ther dance, but es I come by hyar I seen . yore boss hitched out thar in ther road, so I lit an' como in. I reckon yo knows thet cote an' thet jury, j Thet's yore business, but thet hain't ! all." I "Well, what's the balance of it? Talk out. What are ye aimin' to tell mc?" j "I met up with a feller in Job ; Heath's blind tiger Jest outside Peril, i He'd drunk a lot of licker an* ho got ter talking mighty loose-tongued an' free." The gill sickened a little as sho felt ' that her fours were being realized, and one hand went involuntarily up to her breast and stayed there. The young man with the shrill voice talked on impetuously. "Ever senco the trial of Cal Doupr las started good old Milt McBriar hain't been actin' like hlssolf. Him an' Brock Havey's been stoppln* at ther same hotel in Peril, an' yet Milt hain't 'peared ter bo a bearhV lie j grudge whatsoever. When ther jury was med ire Milt didn't seek ter chal? lenge fellers thet everybody know el van friends of Cal'S. Milt didn't even neck ter raise no hell when ther jedge ruled favorable ter Cal ri?bt along. This fell t what 1 talked ter "lowed i thet Milt didn't keor ef cal cam ciar." rTM.? "??ening man once more nn h a quiet laugh. "Do yc at old rattlesnake, Mill Mc 3 to stand by an not try r penitentiary kin ol mtm kin of his?" he Inquired Uy. "That's just hit." The answer came quickly end excitedly. "This feller lowed thet Old Milt aimed ter show ther world thet he couldnt git no jes ticc in a cote thet b'longed to Anse Havey, an' then he aimed ter 'tend ter his own jestice fer hisself. He lows ter hev hit homemade.'' "How is he goin' to fix it?" The question was a bit oontemp uous. "They figger thet when Cal comes clar hell rides lickcty-split, with a bunch of Havey boys, over hyar ter this dance what's a-goin' forward at ther pint. Some of Milt's fellers aims ter slip over thar, too, an' while Cal's celebratin' they aini3 ter git him ter night." "Do they?" The taller man's voice was velvety. "Well, go on. What else?" "They aims ter tell the world thet they let ther law take hit's co'se fust, but thet Bad Anse Havey makes a mockery of ther law." For a moment there was silence, and tho quiet voice commenced, iron? ically: "My God, them fellers lay a heap of deviltry up against Bad i Anse, don't they?" After a moment of silence, through which Juanita Holland was painfully conscious of the quick beat of her own heart, she heard again the unexcited voice of the tall stranger. Now it was tho capable tones of a general officer giving commands. "Did ye give warnin' in Peril?" "No?I couldn't get to speak with Cal. He was in cote?and seein' as how they didn't figger on raisin' no hell twell they git over hyar?I didn't j turn backwards. I come straight through. I 'lowed this was ther place ter fix things up." "You ride over to the dancin' party, j Get the older fellers together. Keep tho boys quiet and sober?cold sober. Watch thet old fool, Bob McGreegor. Don't spread these tidings till I get there. If Cal comes over there, tell j him to keep outen sight. Nothin' I won't break loose before midnight. That's my orders. By God Almighty, I aim to have peace hereabouts just now!" j The speaker's voice broke off and j the two men passed out of sight , around the corner of the house. CHAPTER II. The girl roso and made her way : unsteadily to the back door and let herself in. She threw herself on the '. bed and lay there, rapidly thinking. It , was obvious that her absence had not been commented upon. A few min? utes later she heard the voice of Mrs. McNash singing out: "You folks kin all come in an' eat," and found her 'f r'^vTdiv *?qipi ntakfTtg way I around to the shed addition which served jointly as kitchen and diniug-1 room. When ?he entered (lie place notch McNash was already seuieu, and sagged over his plate with tho stupid inertia of dulled senses. Juanita found herself unaccount? ably eager to seo the tall stranger whose voice had reassured her; who had appeared first as the Samaritan He Was Standing, as She Entered, a Little Back From the Hearth. ; bringing home the helpless; then as , tho man whose words gained prompt i obedience?and finally as the self ? declared advocate of peace. Ho was standing, as she entered, a little back from the hearth, with tho ; detached air of one who drops into the background or comes to the fore with '. equal readiness. She found that In appearance as in voice he bore a rough i sort of ImpressivenesB about him. In the brighter light stood tho messen? ger, a gaunt youth, In whose wild, j sharp features lurked cunning, cruelty i and endurance. Hut the other man, i who stood a head taller, fell into a pose of indolent ease which might wake instantly into power. It was a face strongly and ruggedly chiseled, but so dominated by unfal? tering pray eyes that one was apt to forget all else and carry away only a memory of dark hair?and those eyes. , Then, as they sat at table and the rirl struggled with her discomfiture ovt r each unclean detail of tho food, she raised ln r eyes from time to time always to encounter upon her the steady, appraising gaze of tho dark stranger. When they rose from the table the I stranger drew Fletch, now somewhat sobered by his meal, aside, and tin j other t:.-u retired to the chairs in tlri j doorynrd. Tin a the r;:rl from the Rasl ifUppad a way aud took up her soiitai) place on top of the stile, where sho sat thinking. At last she was conscious of a pres? ence besides her own, as of someono standing silently at her back. RatLor nervously she turned her head, and there, with one foot on the lower Btep of the stile, stood the young stranger himself. Once more their eyes met, and with a little start she dropped her own. "I kinder hate to bother ye, ma'am," said the even voice, "but I can't hardly get acrost that stile whilst ye're settin' on it." There was no note of badinage or levity In his tone, and his clear, drawn features under the moonlight were en? tirely serious. Juanita rose. "I beg your pardon," she said hastily, as she went down the stile on the far side. "That's all right, ma'am," replied tho man easily, still with a serious dignity as he, too, crossed the road. While he was untying the knot in his bridle-rein the girl stood watch? ing him. In the easy indolence of his movements was the rippling some? thing that suggested the leopard's frictionless strength. The very quality that gave this young stranger his picturesqueness and stamped him as vital and dynamic I in his manhood sprang from that wild roughness which he shared with his eagles and Dawn shared with her weedlike fowers. And yet it was I somehow as though this man, whoso j voice was so calm, whose movements J were so quiet, whose gaze was eo un arrogant, was crying out in a clarion challenge with every breath: "I am a man!" Suddenly she wondered if in him she might not find an ally. She felt very lonely. To have counsel with someone in these hills less stupidly phlegmatic than Good Anse Talbott would bring comfort and reassurance to her heart. She must cope with the I powerful resourcefulness of Bad Anse i Havey, he of the untamed ferocity and implacable cruelty and shrewd in? telligence. If some native son could share even a little of her viewpoint she would find in him a towor of strength. Perhaps he had yielded to the un? spoken appeal of the deep, rangeful eyes that were always gray, yet never twice the same gray, and the sweetly sensitive lips so tantalizlngly charm? ing, because they were fashioned for smiles and were now drooping instead. "I reckon," he said, "you find it right different, don't you?" She nodded. "But it's very beautlfv!" she added as she swept her hand u'^out in a gee-' I ture of admiration. t* u Tvho nodded at that, vcrv gravely, and almost reverently, though I at the next moment hij lauga -va.3 . short ard almost ironical. I "1 r :CKon Cod never fashioned any? thing better?nor worse,' he told her. . "When you've breathed it an' seen it an' lived it, no other place is fit to dwell in, an' yet sometimes I low that God didn't mean it to be the habita? tion of men an' women. It's cut out for eagles an* hawks an' wild things. It belongs to the winds an' storms an' bear an' deer. It puts fire into veins meant for blood, an' the only crop it raises much is hell." "You?you've been out in the other world?down below?" she questioned. "Yes; but I couldn't stay down there. I couldn't breathe, hardly. I sick? ened?an' J came back." She turned to him impulsively. "I don't know who you are," she began hurriedly, "but I know that you I brought this man home when he was I not in a condition to come alone. I know that you sent a man ahead of \ you to keep peace at the dance. I know you have a heart, and it means something?means a great deal?to feel that someone in these hills feels ! about it as I feel." She stopped suddenly, realizing that she was allowing too much appeal to 1 creep into her voice; that she had I come to fight, not to sue for favor. "I?I thought maybe you would ! help me," she finished, a little falter ; ingly. "Would you mind telling me i your name?" I He had unhitched his horse and j stood with the rein3 hanging from one hand. "It's Havey," he said slowly, "but hereabouts I've got another name that's better known. * He paused, then added with a hardened timbre of voice, as though bent on making defi? ant what would otherwise sound liko confession: "It's Bad Anse." The girl recoiled, as though under a physical shock. It seemed to her that every way she turned she was to meet staggering disappointments. Sho had spoken almost pleadingly to the man with whom sho could make no terms?the man whose arrogant power and lawless influence sho must break and paralyze before her own regime ; could lind standing-rocm in these hillo. Yet, as she looked at him standing ! there, and stiffened resolutely, sho : could say nothing except "Oh!" Into the monosyllable crept many ! things: repulsion, defiance and cha? grin for her mistake, and in recogni? tion of them all the bronzed features of the man hardened a little and into tho cool eyes snapped a sparkle of the sleeping fires she had divi led. "1 made my suggestion to the wrong man," she said steadily. "I misunder? stood you. i thought you said you wanted peace." He swung himself to the saddle again; then, as ho gathered up his reins, he turned, and in his utterance was immovable steadiness, and gla? cial coldness, together with a ring of contempt and restrained anger. "I did say that, and by God Al? mighty, I meant just what I said. I do v.ant pcaco in these mountains ?