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CHARLOTTE DAILY OBSERVER, APRIL ?G, 1003. ( II U U II II. II II THAEL " I J) tAt last on Mid: - " ' : "1 . 7 i ll Nil U.e- - & ' f jt;- !;' J r - t t .. SS.NO JM03LE." HE (Copyright, 190S, by The New Yorlc Herald Co. AH Rights Reerved.V "We nut have our revenue. I will avenre him I" . ' Iona laid a particular etreas on the j pronoun, and, aa she apoke to herself, she tluag up her head "with a reso- lute- gesture.-" Che fully shared --her fathcr'e feeling. Indeed, there waa not a man or. 'woman belonging to the clan oC the MacShanly who would not have wlMingly risked hla or her life in order to avenge their young jeaaera oeatn. . Brave.; and open-heated Malcolm, the only son and heir of the mighty laird .of MacShanly. had not healtat- ed to accept the Invitation' of hla neighbor, the Laird of Doneldhu, to come o hiscaatle and discuss matters relative to. some boundary land. .. True, Anffus Doneldhu had an evil ". repute. His-cruelty and violence had roused a feeling of hate In many' ' heart. Still the trusting youn man did not believe him capable of base treachery, r, M alcolm did not live to, find out. that he had been mistaken. A blow struck ' from behind ' had l . .brought that young Ufa to an end.- . i ,- Angus knew that his victim's fath 1 r, that all hi elan, would rise In arms to avenge his death, but be on ly laughed contemptuously!. ' Who .J"" could storm' hla stronghold f ""It 'was Impregnable, not only because . man fcad , buUtfitfgltJeavy waOiaJbut alao . fef pause Mature had" surrounded the high rock on which It was built . 'by an Impetuous rivulet impossible to. ford and when the drawbridge was . raised -Angus tDoneldhu could well afford-, to laugh at the threats of his enemies. .... ; .-'-. . Iona knew -well the difficulties that "such an enterprise presented, but her blood "was up, and no difficulty daunt ed her. Tet she had felt that morn ing sorely . perplexed and dismayed when-- her-tfather had unfolded' hia plan via her, .for to strengthen, his forces -he had ailed a youn and powerful neighbor, Robert of Ronuk, - and asked his help. The day when Robert would bring to him the token ". of the death of his cowardly foe, that . day Robert would become the hus . : band of Iona, hi beautiful daughter. . heiress of hla splendid domaina "I can't I can't marry him!" the - girl repeated vehemently. "Oh. .It . Is cruej of my fat her 1 . Ha' knows I .. . cannot ever become a loving wlfie to . Robert. hat I have already given my heart to Duncan, and because he Is -r- poorhe refuses to listen to his suit. - And now what shall I do if Robert , kills 'Angus and cornea to claim my 4 handt . Can I refuse to pay . thia U debt of gratitude? No, t must avenge ;v my brother and thus be released from the pledge that ny father has taken." It was sunset when Iona slipped out of her father's castle and walked , quickly away. The road was ,4ong to the trystin; place, the wood behind the hUl where she frequently - met - Duncan. Brave and upright, the young Master of Glenry had won the respect even of his foes, but he was very poor, and - when he had asked h Laird of MacShanly tor ; his . daughter's hand ha - had met with a ' 6urt refusal. - j , However, tho girl had promised to r trtuf to him. and "aa ofun a they dared they met In the shadow or' the pine trees by the rushing burn. Duncan was already there, end h!& heart beat mora strongly as saw outlined against the blue sky the slim v flguro of his betrothed bride. 6he walked rapidly, with Jthe graceful. . swinging stride of the mountaineer. The sun caught here and there the ITERRVPTED "DOST TflplT TOJLY.."D3VE. ME narrow yellow stripes of her dark tar tan and shone., on the buckle that gathered her kilt V- But he flaw only the dark flashing eyes and red lips that parted with a mill when she caught sight of him Whan they' were atanuing side by side aha eagerly told him her -sad tale- how her father had promised her to anotner. ; "Bay no more," . he Interrupted. 'Doa thou truly love me?" "Oh,; Duncan, thou knowest it sure ly." And Iona raised her beautiful eyes and gased at him so lovingly that ha bant find softly kissed the white, pure forehead. ----- r , "."Then, dearest, have no, fear. Do you .think that If thy brother's mur derer should fall by my hand thy father should listen to me more kind- irV ; : . . - . "He surely would!" ' r "Then I must succeed. I must do !t!";. - v "But, think, Duncan;" ahe nervous ly Interrupted. "Think of all the men that Robert Donuk can muster! His. clan la so powerful! Though, powerful as . he may toe, ha will not succeed In obtaining- my dove.", aba added, "And L too, will try to help thee. . I am ready Cor anything." . "If thou art thus resolved nothing can part us. Our-love will triumph over all obstacles," Duncan passion- . Night was coming. The mountains were still bathed In. a golden light, and the hard rocks threw back the bright rays. The soft purpe car pet of heather glistened, but the sun no longer shone on Che valley, . Then It disappeared 4ehind the bills' and all grow dartc ' "" ; - It was only then that Iona and Duncan regretfully parted, Ha soon disappeared In the wood and she re traced her steps toward her father's hOme..- ' ; '.:' r. ' ' V. The moon had risen and she .was able to aee aome way off. Suddenly ahe noticed a bent flguro almost crouching on the ground. ' The girl stopped and gased attentively. Who could it be? Iona. was not easily frightened 'and sho softly walked for ward. Then she recognized an old gypsy woman,, well known in that neighborhood, fikined In mysterious lores, oho was reputed to be a witch and regarded with a mixture of hat and awe. .. Once her Ufa had been threatened,' and It was only through Iena'a Intercession that she had caped -unhurt. Like all gyve lea. she never forgot either a rood deed or an Insult. he became devoted to the daughter of MaoShanly and from her tha girl learned many useful feme dies. ... .; v.:- . , , 6he was gathering herbs when Io na drew near, and gently touched her 1 OB in snouiaer. What are you doing, granny?" she! asked. "Are you concocting some new, remedial?" , - t, .: . i The eld woman started, but when eh recognised who It waa who spoke to her her stem feature slightly re laxed. , - : -. "Tea tady. 1 am gathering herb," she laughed shortly, . then . added: nVhen cnen are powerful and In good health, tha poor gypey woman is m aufted and hounded, but wnen dis ease coma they call her back and are too glad to obtain her he!p." . ."And who i in and needing thy skill?" th girl asked.' "There ara srreral alok' men In th eastl of Doneldhu. I am to' go tber , to-morrow, night . and - tend thra." , . "Men of lh clan of Doneldhu," .'. f aha jreathleasly repeated, "and you will be admitted in the castle?" She scarcely listened to the gyp sy's affirmative reply. She was quiv ering with excitement. The idea that had flashed through her mind was a wild one,' the danger was great, but waa ahe not resolved to run any risk rather than become the wife of Robert of . the man whom honor and gratitude would force her to mar ry If he succeeded In avenging her orotnera deatn 7 And In her -brave, resolute heart the thought took root and grew strong as ma oark pinea that sprung up on th mountain. .- ' " e Day after day the situation remain ed unchanged, and the men in the rocky fastnesses of Doneldhu fretted and fumed. They were "closely surrounded by th soldiers of Ronuk, who knew how flopmea an assault was, but that tho provisions of tha besieged must some day fall them. - Urged by hunger and impatience they would make some desperate attempt .to break througa th circle of Iron that bound them, and there would come the chance of the brave but wily and cunning laird of Ronuk. The besieged knew that, and. were accordingly angry and Ill-tempered. Some men were gathered In the caa tie' courtyard, and, weary of th en forced idleness; had begun to discuss th situation. , "I wonder what our lord means to do. As a rule he quickly makes up hla mind, but now he lets the day ro by and doea- not attempt any thing." ' -- "Is he . not 111?", queried another. One hardly ever sees htm. ' He re mains alone, brooding in his rooms." -' " mW certainly very much alter ed." th man- hesitated, -then - sank til voice to a whisper "the blood he ha shed lies heavy on his soul. He did not kill MacShanly In fair light, but In the banqueting; hall, stabbed htm In tha back. ,It la said that hi ghost returns every night to curs Doneldhu. and . when the ahadowa have fallen he does not dare to rest anywhere, but wanders alone all over the castle hark, what la this?" A pibroch ranr out from beyond the rushing burn, and when th pipe had . ceased playing a - wild slogan was heard. . , . ' ' "There are new foes," said an Id man. . "It I not tho war cry of Ro- ttuJc It is that of the-clan-of-Olenryr the clan mo powerful In past days and that haa almost ceased to exist. It was considered as destroyed. now they have no land and no power. Their chief Is a young and reckless ly brave man. True, he has few followers, but he may . neverthaieas J prove a tough foe.' isa, . a m. . : niiei tn those worda they all remained silent as the shades . irtit rati , ., I of night began to fall. "There jroee the witch," said a man as an old bent figure noiselessly cross ed, tha courtyard., then wss swallowed up In the darkness. : "Horrid thing! I wish I could wTln: her old neck!" "Her herb and mixtures can cur many disease. She is usefuL" - "David ha not ford VfquJif for the disagreeable ; surprise ahe gav him," laughed on f hi compan ions. .. ' :. '- -'? ': "What happnd?" , Ha had been railing the "witch about her hunched up.flgur and say Ins; that probably th b-utr of th face made up for It. but that h kept It so Jealously concealed that tt t waa difficult to Judge. 6o aajinjr, h tried to lift her shawl. What do you think she did? With a wild ges ture she drew out her knife and al most plunged 1tln hla breast. He said that he could see her eyes glit tering like those of the Evil One him self." - ' "I don't believe that she is a crea ture of flesh and blood," David sol emnly rejoined. "So It Is no hm to fight her with ordinary weapons." In the meanwhile the subject of their conversation had crept away. . She slipped out of the castlo by a small dour and found herself on the rocks bounded on alt side by the rushing torrent' Then her figure suddenly straight ened and ahe bounded lightly. from rock to rock aa tar 'as she dared to venture. Stopping, she uttered a plaintive cry similar to that Xf th deer call inj his mate In the wlnterboond woods. Another cry waa heard, this time coming from the bank. Then a fig ure emerged, hardly perceptible, how ever, in the night. "Iona. my darling." The voice rose softly above the rush of the water, and the girl thrilled as she heard it ,and forgot the danger. "Duncan!" she called back; then suddenly her joy was darkened by fear, and she went on anxiously: "Are you really ready? Ia there no danger that the rope should break ?" "No, dearest. Going down these rocks will be an easy matter. To climb again to the heights where you stand will be more dltftcult, but you will warn and direct me from above." "Tea. I will. But take care; take care, for my sake." he had no time to add more. He had already begun to descend; a few minutes after he was at the foot of the rock.' Suddenly Iona saw a light gleaming In the castle. fihe listen ed and heard heavy footstepe. Should she be seen there she would be im mediately snspectd. "Stay there do not more," aha aaid la, a low voice to Duncan. "Some one la coming, but I will return." Hastily turning around Iona re entered the castle shut the door, then fled up the narrow staircase of 'the turret. She stopped only at the summit, and crouched down In the darkest corner. : She anxiously wondered who It might be, for very seldom came any one In that part of the castle. A faint light glimmered, then a man be gan to ascend the winding staircase. He held a torch In his hand and she could well distinguish his features. The blood seemed to freeze In her veins aa ahe recognised the Laird of Doneldhu, her brother' murderer. Holding her breath, she shrank still further back against the wall. Heavy clouds veiled the sky and the night was dark. Doneldhu drew near, yet saw not her. HI brow was gloomy, his stern features even more foreboding than usual. But the bloodhound that followed at hi heela scented the presence of a stranger, and, springing forward, snarled angrily. "Who Is there?" cried Doneldhu, starting. It was Impossible to escape discov ery. Boldly Iona stopped forward. "Who art thou?" h asked, half In amazement, half in fear. Then the girl sallowed the heavy shawl that concealed her features to drop and, drawing herself - to her- full height, gazed fearlessly In his face. ' "Say not that thou dost not recog nise me. Thy cheek haa paled. Thou hast heard th cry of thy conscience, the cry of tha blood which thou hast hed I have come to - aveng roy brother's death." All the blood had now left Don eldhu' face.and he-cowered "before her. ' The man who had never feared any danger trembled a his eye hret tho dark flashing eye so similar to those of hi victim. Was It not the dead who had ris en te curse him? Was not that vole the voice of Fat itself? Relentless, bending forward so near that he could feet her breath on his face, Iona spoke again.'. . - "I have come 1o kill theef . !Thy last hour-ha struck, murderer!" With a quick gesture ah put Jier hand on , her. knife, then started in dismay. -The shsath was empty and iTif waa weaponless!! . Her gesture broke th spell that seemed to bind Doneldhu and, spring ing forward, he lifted his handt using the torch he held as a weapon. ' The- girl felt the flame- on her, but with desperate energy ah caught-hold of th torch and wrenched It out of his hand. J. i Then ahe leaned out of the embras ure and allowed the full glar of th light to fall on Dbneldhu. "Kill him, Duncan!" she called, out. "Kilt him! Kill him!" - "What, what art thou doing?" Don eldhu cried In amazement, rushing to the embrasure. "Curse thee! Be si lent!. "Or",. ;: ? ,. He did not finish hi aentenc. On instant later h staggered and. with out a cry,' fell. . Then the girl saw an arrow buried In hla breast and one blood stain on his vest. : - . Still h stared ohi, hardly believing her own eye thar Jthe mighty laird so feared and powerful, . Indeed lay dead before her. -- "I have avenged thy brother, and thou shalt be mine, Iona! Com, com to me!" , ' . -.. . ; At the sound of hi voice th girl recovered v Jlltle of. her. presence of t mind. -Ph realized that should any of Doneldhu's me a find her she .was lost. She must instantly escape, and taking with her some token of their foe' d'-aih. return to her fatner. . : Bending over the lifeless body, ah seised tbe gory shirt and stripped a lrg piece out of It. , . - - ? the shuddered as her hand touched the. warm moisture, bat. conquering her disgust, thrust It under her shawl and- quickly ran down. i She was soon standing on th rocks, the torrent beat at her feet, she' sna the foam glimmer, then made 04: the dark silhouette of Duncan. But then she was obliged to halt. How would she b able to lot herself down to the ledge upon which he stood? She dared not return to the Inhabited part of tbe castle to fetch some ropes. r Aa sh wa hesitating what to do Duncan quickly, took off hla plaid and stretched it open.. "Jump In!" he cried. In plte of her bravery Iona wav ered. The dark waters dashed with an angry roar on the rocks; she saw the streak of white foam, and. fasci nated, jumped not. "Quick, every minute lost la prec ious!" urged Duncan. "Have no fear; I will save thee!" Then the girl, with an effort, refus ed to think of the danger, and, her eyes fixed on Duncan, jumped. She felt herself caught In his arms and knew that she was safe. One long kiss, then sh drew her self away, "We must hasten to leava this place. The men of Doneldhu may soon learn their lord's death." "We will go to thy father, and now that I have avenged thy brother I will claim thee as my promised bride." "Take this," whispered Iona, and with a shudder ahe gave him the blood-stained shirt of Doneldhu. "When my father sees this he will refuse thee nothing." The night was dark and a strong wind was blowing. Unpercelved they hurried off. and soon had left' behind them the glimmering fires of Ronuk's camp. They .-won left the glen, but when they had reached the loch's side the weather changed completely. The wind dropped, and from the water arose a heavy mist. They were soon surrounded, by the fog and hnd n, 1 ..' m , . i ..-t . i i ', - tt-'. , - - . . . .- 4 4 - ! . ( to grope forward with b uncertain ate pa : ' . - ' , They did not dare to stop, for they wished to be already far when tha sun rose, but they often lost their way. Where was the loch? Where were th hills? Nothing was vis ible. - . .. . At last they found themselves stop ped by a torrent , L.. -----4- "Walt here a minute." said Dgncan. will go and see whether-1 cant And a place where we can ford If In spite of her strength Iona waa beginning to feel very tired, and sh wearily sat down.' - Soon h started up, thinking ah heard Duncan catling her. and took soma few step forward. Suddenly shs missed th ground, felt tber was f) an abysa yawning fn front of her, lost her balance and fell forward. ' Down she went, crashing through branches, wildly clutching at every thing her hand touched, yet unable to atop herself, then with a dull thud fell at then bottom. For a while she lay dizzy, almost unconscious. At last, slowly she be gan to realise what had happened. She had been standing on the high, overshelvtng banks of the loch, when she suddenly slipped. As she thought of Duncan she loudly called out hla name and shuddered aa ahe tteard th echo repeat it. No, some one might be lurking near; she must not attract notice, oht what If she had lost Duncan? With suden fear ahe sprang to her feet and attempted to scramble up. But an impassable wall aeemed to be standing before her; she could not see, but only feel, and the obstacle seemed Insuperable. "I must try at another place," she thought and hurried on. All at one she felt her feet sink In the soft slime and the cold water on them. She hastily - drew back and ran In the other direction. But there large trees stopped any further progress. The -branches struck her as she attempted to force her way through. An Invisible hand seemed to grasp her dress. She violently turned round and saw that It was only the creepers that had fallen on her. She could distinguish nothing. A wall of darkness stood before her that she could not pierce. She knew not where to fly, and a horrible fear took hold of her. With outstretched hands, stumbling and falling on loose bits of rock, shu ran on, nut as 11 in a nigntmare. Iona felt that she could make no headway, but ever turned round aa in a magic circle. For many a weary hour ahe struggled on, panting, exhausted. At last sho could walk no more, and sank on the -ground. 4 11 ' " .: 1 , ' . 0 '.V "Oh. 'Duncan ;" ah ohbed. wher art thou? Where art thou?" When she awoke from her heavy torpor, half swoon, half sleep. It wa daylight. . Th fog. had lifted, the sky waa clear, and, looking around, sh saw two men walking toward her. She hastily sprang to her feet In' dis may aa ah recognised the tartan of Ronuk' enen. - . "Who art thoat' rld on eyeing her supkously . - Iona hesitated, bot recognizing the Impesaibtlty of a disguise, replied, quietly: - "I am th daughter of th Laird of MacShanly. "1 hav lost my way In the fog and wandered all night." . Without making any reply th two men began to whisper to on another. 'Thou must be tired, lady. Our master, th Laird of Honuk. Is en- -cam pea not far from her. Come, and he will offer thee food -and abetter.". "I thank thee," the Tglrl replied. -quickly.- "for thy kind offer, but my father must be anxious, and, I would fain return to hlm." - - "No, thou art pale and faint. That cannot be. Come, and my master will help thee to return home." (To b contlaued next week. NOT TO BE BEES CNTIL 123. Tardy Care of tho Declaration of In dependence The Fading r parch ment Locked In a State Department 6fe Along With the Original Copy of the Constitution of the United State -A Mythical Permit. Washington Correspondence Kevr ; York Sun. , ' A message from th Whit House a few week ago announced that tha President had given - a permit to a man who wanted to see with hla owa eye th original copy of the Declara tion of Independence, or what Is left of it - -, , - ,: -. The permit, however, must have ' died a-born In", for it did not further materialize. If that permit had been issued and had been presented at tha Department of State It would have ennbled Its holder to tiave the first, vrew of the Declaration of Independ ence that has been had sine th - spring of 108. No On has seen the document ror . five years. It la locked up in a aaf In the library of the Stat Depart ment and not even th officials of that department get It out to look 'at It Even before 1903 it had been kept In the safe, but it was often brought out for admiring citizens to acrutl- nlze and to exclaim over. Bine if oj the light of day has not fallen on it There had been too much light of' ; day before that. In fact there bad ' bevn too much of a good many things; ; too much folding, too much rolling. ': too much' handling and. alas! . too : much stealing of it immortal lan guage by a press copying operation resorted to In 1J0. This was tried aa a meana of se curing a facsimile copy. It waa good enough for the ropy, but It wa pow- . erful bad on th original, for It re- suited In transferring to th copy th Ink which belonged on the 'old parch- . ment Itself. Not content with swiping Its Ink, the government put th doc ument up on exhibition In a nice -bright light so that visitors could de- ' cipher the traces of Ink which re mained. For thirty years th Declaration of Independence hung In the light and the longer tt hung there the more necessary the light became for th . Ink that waa left grew paler and pal er until It was hard to make out any of the signatures excegt th big black nam of John Hancock. Finally it -. beram evident that If anything ex cept the parchment was to be left the document would have to b kept In . the dark. 60 it went Into retirement in th safe, being brought out only upon 1. ; ' -, iv, . . .' . . ' -t- , . I - special requests. In 1101 the lat John Hay. - then Secretary of Stat, appointed a co to rn ft t d examine th condition of the Declaration and to . recommend what should bo dona to preserve It The committee found It creased and bereft of its ink. but they wr "pleas ed to find no evidence of mould or other disintegrating agents." They recommended that th document be kept dark and dry. and their recom mendation haa been, religiously fol lowed. - Th original parchment waa photo graphed In HIS and again fn JI01. Th committee recommended that it b photographed again, from time to time. Th present Indication are that It will not be seen until perhaps A another twenty years ha gone by and the ttm come, in lit I, for taking another photoa-ra ph. - In th safe with th Declaration et Independence repose' also the origi nal copy of the constitution of th United ettr It Is not on -eMtt tlon. but If doubt a to Its Tl-ir , continue to grow U may he fr ed to set such fears at rent. There Is nothlnj the -matter th constitution, that Is to e with the document ItseK. 1 Is all" rtfht. the provM -- c far a the writing g: e.. T; up In the aafe to j-r-- m ! th' fat of the Declare '..on.-
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
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April 26, 1908, edition 2
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