Show THE LITTLE BROWN JUG I I IATI I H I KILDARE t 4 a nr MEREDITH NICIIOLSON Illuatrallonv IIy BAY WALTERS I Copyright 1908 lijf Tho ItubbiuMrrrlll Com pan 18 SYNOPSIS Thomas Arclmoro anil Henry Multio OrlsnnM Btumlilo upon IntrlKtiu when tim governors of North nnd Houth Carolina lire reported to liuvo cimrn < lai arlawotil nlllrn liltneclf with llarlmra Osbnrnp daughter of the governor of South Carolina Caro-lina while Ardmoro CHPOURPH the cause of Jprry Diingorfleld itiuishtnr of tho governor of North Carolina These two yonns Indies aro trylnR to flir tho shoes of their fathers while tho latter nrn missing miss-ing lioth states uro In a turmoil over ono ApplcwclKht nn outlaw with great political Influence Unaware of each others oth-ers position both arlwwold and Ardmoro net out to mnlto tho other prosecute Apt Ap-t plowclKlit Ardmoro organizes n bIg hunt GrlswnM also tailed tint field frank Col tins Atlanta reporter In arrested by Artl more but released to become press agent for tlio young mlllloimlrnH expedition Qrlswolds men capture Kill Applowelght CHAPTER XIII Continued Now well seo wlmtsy happened said Habersham HIlt looks almost top l easy Tho members of GrIswolds party who had been thrown round to the farther side of tho church began to appear ono at n time There was no nervousness among any of tho band a fact that Impressod GrIswold They were all risking much In this enterprise but thoy wero outwardly unperturbed and chewing their tobacco to-bacco silently whllo they awaited tho return of tho two active agents In the conspiracy who had dealt directly with Applewelght Habcrshnm counted I count-ed heads and announced all present or accounted for i Tho tall leader who had ridden tho mule was the first tQ rIse out of tho underbrush trough which he had crawled circuItously from tho rear of the church His companion followed 4 a few seconds later Wevo got Bill all tied and gagged and aslttlng of his boss drawled the leader band tho hois Is tied to tho back fence Rest V his boys thought lies gone ahead but thoy may miss him and come back Hos safe enough and of we keep away from him well bo ready to light out of tho gang scents troublo and comes back to look for Dill Youre sure hes tied up so he cant break away or yell Hes as good as dead aoottln of his boss In the thicket back thch And now said Habersham what weve got to do Is to make a run for It and land him across tho border and stick him Into a North Carolina jail whore ho rightfully belongs Tho question ques-tion Is can we do It all In ono night or had wo better lock him up somewhere some-where on this side tho lino and take another night for ItT The sheriff over i there In Klldaro Is Applowolghts cousin but well lock him up with 1 Dill to make a family party of It Wed better not try too much tonight to-night counseled GrIswold Its a big thing to have the man himself I > If It were not for tho matter of putting Ii put-ting Gov Dangerflold In a hole Id 1 favor hurrying with Applowolght to Columbia Just for tho moral effect o f It on the ueanle of South Carolina i Wed make a big killing for the n administration I ad-ministration tlmt way Uaborsham I t Yes youd make a killing all right but youd have Hill Applowolght on your hands which Gov Osborno has not until lately been anxious for replied re-plied Habersham In n low tone that was heard by no one but his old preceptor pre-ceptor Youd better get over tho Idea that were afraid of this outlaw ro r Joined Griswold The governor of North Carolina daro not call his soul L Ills own whore these hill people aro concerned j but the governor of South Carolina Is a different sort Whllo they thus stood on South t Carolina soil waiting for tho safo and t complete dispersion of the Mount Nebo congregation before seizing tho I captive they had gagged and tied at the roar of tho little church the fate were orderIng a very different tor ruination of the nights business Miss Jerry Daugorfleltl galloping iway from tho duke of Ilallyw Inkle I with no thought but to widen tho dls once between them turned oft at the first crossroad which began well enough but degenerated rapidly Into a miserable trail through which sho + was obliged to walk hor horse lo lOre she was aware of It she was In the midst of n clearing where laborer I had lately been cutting timber and aho found on tinning to mako her way out that she was qulto lost for j three trails all seemingly alike struck off Into tho forest She spoke ti aloud to tho horse to reassure herself it her-self and smiled as sro viewed the T a t grim phalanx of stumps She must however find her way back to Ards lay for there were times when Jerry Dangerlleld could be serious with her clOU though It rarely pleased her to tie serious with other people and sho 1 F v know that the time had long passed for her return to tho house She did not know then that three men had witnessed her flight from the duke or that they had taken swift vengeance upon him for his unpardonable unpardon-able conduct In the moonblanched road It was not Jerrys way to accept ac-cept misfortune tamely and after circling cir-cling tho wall of timber that shut her In In tho hopo of determining where she had entered sho chose a trail at random and plunged Into the woods Sho assumed that probably nil tho roads and paths on tho estate led moro or less directly to tho great houso or to some lodge or bungalow Sho had lost her ridingcrop In her mad flight and she broke off a switch tossing its leaves Into tho moonlight and laughing softly as thoy rained about her Suddenly ahead of her through the woods floated the sound of singing ono of those strange wavering pleux eantlqueB peculiar to tho south She rode on thinking to find help and a guide bask to Ardsloy then tho music ceased and lights now flashed faintly before her but she wont forward guardedly Im much more lest than I thought I was for I must bo away off tho es tnte she reflected She turned and rode back n few rods and dismounted qnd tied her horse to a sapling Sho was disappointed at not finding a camp of Ardmores woodcutters to whom she would unhesitatingly have confided herself but It seemed wise now to exercise caution In drawing to herself the attention of strangers She did not know that she had crossed the state line and was In South Carolina or that tho singing she had heard floated from the windows of Mount Hobo church Sho became now tho astonished witness wit-ness of a series of Incidents that occurred oc-curred so swiftly as fairly to take her breath away A tall loosely artlcu lated man camo from tho direction of ho church and walked toward her She knelt at the tree and watched ho moonlight giving hor a clear view of a rustic somewhat past middle ago whoso chief characteristics seemed too > to-o a grizzled board and long arms that swung oddly at his side Tho brim of his wool hat was turned up sharply from his forehead and sho had a glimpse of tho small keen gray eyes with which ho swept the forest before him Ho freed a horso which sho had not before notlcod and she expected him to mount and ride away to join others of tho congregation wnom sue heard making ore in a road beyond tho church Then with a quickness and deftness that baffled her eyes two men rose beside him just as he was about to mount there was no outcry and no sound of scuffling scuf-fling so quick was the descent and so perfect the understanding between the captors In a moment the man was gathered up bound and flung on his saddle She had a bettor view of him now that he was hatless though a gag had been forced Into his mouth and a handkerchief tied over his eyes so that ho presented a grotosQuo appearance appear-ance Jerry was so absorbed that she Forgot to be afraid never In her life had she witnessed anything so amazing amaz-ing as this and now to her more 0 bQ y I t tb Renewed His Efforts to Free Himself complete bewilderment tho captors aftor carefully Inspecting their work and finding It satisfactory scorned to disappear utterly from the faco of tho earth In tho woods to her left sho thought she heard a horse neIgh then sho saw shadows moving In that direction nnd again from the road sho heard the brief debate of tho two men as to the whereabouts of Dill and It struck Jerry humorously that ho would not soon soo his friends unless they came and helped him out of his predicament It may help to nn understanding of Miss Jerry Dangerflolds character If It Is recorded hero that never In hor short life had sho failed to respond to tho call of Impulse She was lost In the woods and strange men lurked about a mnn had been attacked seized and left sitting In a stato of absurd helplessness on n horso presumably pre-sumably his own and there was no guessing what dire penalty his captors cap-tors had In store for him Quiet reigned In tho neighborhood of tho church the lights had blinked out the bang of the closing shutters reassured Jerry and sho crept on her knees toward tho unconscious captive loosed his horses rein and led It rapidly rap-Idly toward her own horse a little farther back In the woods liar blindfolded blind-folded prisoner thinking his original captors were carrying him off renewed renew-ed his efforts to freo himself I Jerry gained her own saddle In tho least bit of a panic and when she had mounted and mado sure of tho Icndlngbtrap with which her prisoners prison-ers horse was provided she rode on at a rapid walk until she reached the clearing where the stumps again grimly mocked her She stopped to Mw sz < listen and heard through tho still night first ono cry and then man voices In various keys of alarm and rage Then she bent toward the prisoner pris-oner tore tho bandago from his eyes and with more difficulty freed hIm of tho gag Ho blinked and spluttered at this unexpected deliverance than blinked and spluttered afresh at seeing see-ing that his captor was a young woman wom-an who was plainly not of his world Jerry watched him wonderingly then addressed him In her most agreeable tone You wero caught tnrl tied by two men over thero by a church I BOW tbLtn and when they went off and loft you I came along and brought you with mo thinking to save your life I wont to get homo as quickly as possible pos-sible and though I do not know you and am quite suro wo never met before be-fore I hope you will kindly guide me to Ardsley and thereby ronJer mo a servIce I shall always deeply appreciate appre-ciate Mr Bill Applowelght alias Poteet was well hardened to the shocks of time but tho pleasantvoiced girl coolly sitting her horse and holding his own lank steed by a strap was the most amazing human being that had yet dawned on his horizon He was not stupid but Jerrys manner of speech had baffled more sophisticated minds than Applowelghts and the sweet sincerity of her tone and hor frank countenance hallowed an It was by tho moonlight wrought In the outlaws out-laws mind n befuddlement not wholly unlike that which had possessed the wits of many young gallants south of the Potomac who had laid slego to Jerry Dangerflelds heart nut the I cries behind them were more pronounced I nounced and Applowelght was nothing noth-ing If not a man of action Take these things offn mo he commanded fiercely and Ill see y safe to Ardsloy Not In tho least replied Jerry who was herself not unmindful of the voices behind You will kindly tell mo the way and I will accommodate my pace to that of your own somewhat some-what illnourished beast And as theres a mob looking for you back there all ready to hang you to one of these noble forest treosI advise you to use more haste and less caution cau-tion In pointing tho way Applowelght lifted his head and took his bearing Then ho nodded toward to-ward ono of tho three trails which had so baffled Jerry when first she broke Into the clearing Theto tho nIghest said Apple weight and wed better gut Sho set the pace at a trot and was relieved In a few minutes to pass ono or two landmarks which she remembered remem-bered from her flight through the woods As they splashed through the brook sho had forded sho was qulto confident that tho captlvo was playIng play-Ing her no trick but that in due course she should strike the highroad high-road to Ardsley which she abandoned to throw off the duke of Dallywlnkle It was now ton oclock and the moon was sinking behind the forest trees Jerry took advantage of an occasional straight strip of road to go forward at a gallop but these stretches did not offer frequently and the two riders kept pretty steadily to a smart trot An they walked their horses through a bit of sand the prisoner spoke Who air yu little gal T Jerry turned In the saddle BO that Applewelght enjoyed a full view of her faco I am perfectly willing to tell you my name but first It would be more courteous for you to tell me yours particularly as I am delivering you from a band of outlaws who undoubtedly undoubt-edly Intended to do you harm He laughed a curious chuckling laugh Ho had ceased to struggle at his bonds but seemed resigned to his strango fate He had not answered Jerrys question and had no intention of doing so Tho sudden attack at tho church had aroused all his cunning cun-ning Applewolght alias Poteet was an old wolf and knew well tho ways of the trapper but the bold attempt to kidnap him was a new feature or the gallic as heretofore played along the border He did not make It out nor was he wholly satisfied with tho girls explanation of her presence In that outoftheway place Ho had several times called out dl rectlons as they crossed other paths In tho forest nnd they now reached the main trunk road of tho estate Tho red bungalow Jerry know w snot s-not far away Hpr prisoner spoko again TO nn CONTINUED |