| Show I 1 EAID ON THE STILL just thought I 1 would stop by a minute miranda 1 if to say nothing more than I 1 hoped you were all well said sirs mrs jonathan jackson to her friend sirs mrs samuel pearl take a seat elizabeth and make yourself at home its precious little conversation though thou gli one can have with ones neighbor about 9 going on in the mountains with the men folks talking nothing all the time except them revenue sharks and sirs mrs pearl looked uneasily through the window of the little sitting room that commanded a general view of the mountain road that skirted past her home like the trail of a serpent and was lost in the gloom of the cedar trees that mingling with tile the dense underbrush caught the eye on all sides hows alice asked sirs mrs pearl rather abruptly fair as can be expected elizabeth the girl dont seem to be the same creature since ike went away though the lord knows I 1 thought a great deal of the boy more so than I 1 ever let on to jonathan Jonat lian but jonathan was down on the lad all and a weak woman going to do against a strong mans elg sighed liell and mrs jonathan jackson sighed been five years now dow miranda since ike went away I 1 always wondered why he left hero here but folks cant lie be personal you know and ask questions that dont concern the them rn BI mrs rs pearl said inquisitively drawing lier her chair a few inches nearer to mrs jonathan Jonat lian jackson well elizabeth knowing you dont dollt t talk ilk about other peoples business and here 1 mrs jackson lonk looked I 1 s suspiciously its PI at her guest 1 I dont min mind d telling you of the affair ike holland you aeo r ce jonathan took out of an all orphan asylum when the boy was about 2 years 0 old id and brought him home to raise jonathan had been on a visit to nasli nash valle and thought nothing would be better than to bring the lad here a little before alice was born and the boy it seems became attached to the girl from her birth but jonathan Jonat lian aas wis proud and he be used to tell ike how lie he came to be in the family arid and that ile he owed him a great deal you know how ike grew up to manhood and how it was said bald that in those these parts there one who could stand up and fight the revenue officers like ike theres many a distillery which the lad saved by warning the owners and jonathan himself Is under obligation to the boy on oil that score but the duy day came when I 1 saw that ike thought a great deal of my girl and that she at all displeased with his attentions but jonathan was blind never seemed to see that the two were forever in each others company one day ike manlike man inan like tells jonathan he wished to marry the girl but jonathan became furious and told him he be any miserable outcast an object of charity lie ile went further he lie struck tho the lad a terrible blow that was his answer ike did not strike back I 1 heard him mutter something for alices sake bake but the lad raised hla his hand and swore that he would even up things with jonathan it if it took until judgment day then he went away and no one has ever heard beard of him since mrs jackson sighed softly to herself M mrs rs pearls eyes were wide open with surprise and she wondered how the truo true story of ikes disappearance had remained a secret so eo long getting dark miranda arid and I 1 guess I 1 had better be going up the road and mrs pearl bade her friend goodby good by the november sun was waa gradually disappearing aPpear lag behind the mountains and tle the long shadows of the falling fading sunlight cast spectral figures here and there among the trees mrs jackson then lighted the oil lamp and made ready for tile the evening supper presently the sound of a conveyance was heard in the roadway ind anil jonathan jackson and his big daughter alice alighted they lad been down to the village a ride of twenty miles over the mountain roads to provide themselves with some necessary bupp lles the news in the village jonathan inquired his wife nothing much some rome reports about the revenue officers though I 1 take much stock in fit the stories orlea st and jonathan relapsed into a moody silence the rest of the meal was eaten caten in quiet and after the dishes wore were cleared away jonathan sat comfortably by the fire and smoked his pipe as the november evenings wore becoming chilly and unpleasant after an hour had passed there was the sound of a horsem horseman nu approach approaching ling near to the house and a moment later someone knocked at the door does jonathan jackson live here inquired the newcomer my bly name Is jonathan jackson answered the master of the house what la Is your business and jonathan looked at the stranger with suspicion 1 I nm am making a journey over the mountains and would like to stay here tonight to night at least for a moment jonathan looked surprised ed then he bade the stranger enter while he went outside and put up his horse borse in the light of the room t the he stranger appeared to be a man of some come 30 years of age ile he possessed a dark beard of luxuriant growth which concealed what would have been considered it a handsome face were it bereft of its hirsute appendage the guest took his seat near the fire and kept hla his peace in a i few minutes jonathan returned and joined the family circle it appears appeals to me stran stranger ge r I 1 saw aou t today oday to o day in the tillage jonathan ventured ros possibly sibly I 1 was there the guest answered on business on business then Jon jonathan nthan was silent for a moment he aie was apparently III at ease 1 I suppose you have heard that it Is pretty dangerous traveling in these parts again ventured jonathan la Is it said the stranger and jonathan became more dIe dissatisfied satIsfIed with his way 0 of f eliciting information stranger it 11 appears to me that it might lie be bettor better that you give your name and business in traveling over these mountains jonathan spoke bluntly the strangers eyes flashed like coals of fire and then he aasNe answered red calmly my bly name is arthur smith my business was that of a or keeper of an all illicit distillery that Is until I 1 was driven out of north carolina why why tell me this jonathan asked surprised because I 1 believe I 1 am speaking with a brother probably you may be able to refer me to someone in these parts who may need my illy services we will have to see about it said the master of the house without committing himself and in a few minutes smith was nas shown to his bis room as the night was getting late the next nest morning jonathan went out early and returned soon after with sonic some of his neighbors friends smith was wag up on jonathans return and the men all held a short conference together which seemed to prove satisfactory all around the result was that the stranger arthur smith bad joined the band of illicit distillers carrying on their calling in the mountains for the present smith put up at the house of jonathan and in the evening before darkness approached 11 pro ro went up to the hatters lat tors still located in an old mill on tile bank of a rushing torrent sonic home distance up till the hie mountain which in das gone by had been used to grind their corn which grivy trivy purchased from froin the farmers on the lowlands below icelow reports had reached the mount mountaineers aln that strangers had been seen in the village at the foot of the arid and the secret stills were rarely in operation of late smith the stranger owing to the late tum in affairs alTi lra lind had plenty of spare time on his bis lands and would wander mander off alone up till the mountain road and turn ok off into the dense undergrowth to IH lie gone hours houra at a time ile he was waa a particularly reticent mail never ventured a question and anam answered er those put to him in the most laconic way imaginable once in a while when the others NN were ere not looking ill his gaze would be riveted on alice arid and mrs jackson would shrewdly smile to herself find and declare inaudibly that the girl had made a conquest one evening as darkness was coming on alice returned from froin the louse house of mrs birs pearl where she had mail made a short visit and coming suddenly around a lend bend tit in the rond road site observed two men in earnest conversation one ode ini wils IS arthur smith the other a stranger only for IL 11 moment nent did the two men seem to converse and soon the newcomer had disappeared when smith reached jonathans house it was but shortly after alice arrived lately the mountain stills had been operated more frequently than for sonic some time the reports of the revenue cers infesting the mountains had become less frequent and the stills were being operated with a greater degree of security we had better be getting up the mountain lad jonathan sald said one evening in december supper had been prepared earlier than usual for jonathans still was to be worked in the growing dusk ill follow you in halt half an hour feel rather badly today to day but believe ill be all right in a short while smith answered indifferently i iry fry ry well smith ill expect you and joja jon 44 PArted abaly some twenty minutes bad elapsed when smith left the house bouse and leisurely made ills his way toward the se cret still alice watched the stranger closely and when smith had disappeared she threw a shawl over her head there was nn an unpleasant chilline sa in the mountain air tind followed follone l in hla hie wake the old mill which concealed the 81 still till was liias some three quarters of it a mile froni from jonathans house and ns as alice proceeded on her way she occasionally call caught gh t a glimpse of the forms of strange men in the dense undergrowth going evidently in the same direction with herself once a strange tra n ge man glanced at her suspiciously but did not molest her lie ili was wag armed with a shotgun and took lier her probably for some one who was waa returning from a visit to ft a neighboring mountaineers home borne soon the girl reached the old mill in the evening twilight the dying sun sula was fast behind the mountains leaving a faint glare in its wake which lit ht up the scone scene with a soft golden goldell light smith the stranger was standing motionless in front of the mill peering anxiously now DOW and then into tho the dense undergrowth on both sides ot of the s stream which in past days had furnished the motive power tor for the now useless wheel allce alice jat jason ja son watched smith intently for a moment and then approached dimand him and laid her hand gently on his shoulder ike why do you bound like this spoke the girl softly smith gazed at his questioner in a startled way for a moment and then with an effort recovered his usual air of stolid indifference you know me alice I 1 had hoped time had wrought such a change in my nature and looks that none would recognize me you probably know why I 1 ant am here you are a revenue officer and your presence here at this moment Is to signal your men who are here on all alls sides to trap my rather and the few men who are in the still 1 I see you know all when I 1 left your fathers louse as I 1 did like a beggar and an outcast I 1 swore to ruin him if I 1 signal now to my men in the woods in a few ral minutes I 1 will have the evidence necessary to send him to the penitentiary tent iary lary and add yet if you had bad only taken my part all might have been different 11 and ike hollands voice grew soft and sad ilow how could I 1 take your part ike except by going with you and you never asked me to do that spoke the girl feelingly and would you had I 1 done so ike did not need an answer to his question in a moment he realized that lie ho the hunter of jonathan jackon I 1 was still beloved by his daughter ini in the growing darkness of the evening the two strolled back to jonathans house and the men in the woods who awaited their lenders leaders signal wondered what changes had taken place in ike I 1 hollands plans jonathan also wa was q dusl als appointed in not seeing smith at the still and after that night he never saw him there again 0 ill 0 1 I hear that alice has eloped with that young man who was sto stopping hero here sald said the irrepressible mrs birs pearl a fc few days after the events last narrated some says as lie was mas nobody other t than han ike holland though I 1 never did I 1 put ut much confidence in idle gossip 1 mrs lira pearl hall had heard beard of the alie late turn in affairs and had paid mrs birs jackson a neighborly call to sundry rumors wl ich interested her very verv much ell yes ike and alice wore were married in nashville two days ago answer answered etl joll join athans wife and what does jonathan say ruthlessly questioned mrs pearl what can ile he bay and mrs jacksons eyes snapped resentment at ill tha question iles hes got sensible at 11 last t arid and says lie he never would have given ike Il holland olland credit for such courage anyway now that he has got a son in law a revenue ho he declares lie ho is going to quit keeping a still and live an hont honest life maybe one of these days I 1 may persuade jonathan to run down to nashville with tile me but not just yet washington ewt |
