Newspapers / The Mountain Scout (Taylorsville, … / Jan. 8, 1913, edition 1 / Page 6
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.mmmmmm-r ran SYNOPSIS, Major Lawrence, son of Judge Law , fence of .Virginia, whose wife was a Lee, Is sent on a perilous mission by Gen. Washington, lust after the winter at Val ley Forge. . BUguised In a British uni form Lawrence arrives within the enemy's lines. The' Major attends great fete nd saves the "Lady of - the Blended llose, from mob. He later meets the girl , . : . at a brilliant ball. Trouble is started ver a waits, and Lawrence is urged by his partner. Mistress Mortimer (The Lady ,-ot the Blended Rose), to make his escape. Lawrence is detected as a spy by Captain .. vraju or ine uriusa Army, wno agrees to a duel. . The-duel Is stopped by Grant's friends and the spy-makes a dash for liberty, swimming a river following a nar row escape. The Major arrives at the h.p of a blacksmith, who Is friendly, and knows Nte. Lady of the-. Blended Rose. Captain Grant and rangers search black- :: umith, shop In Vain for. the. spy. Law- itocb joins me minute men. - urani ana Ills train are captured by the minute men. : Lawrence Is made prisoner by an Indian ; and tuxr white men, who lock him In a ajtrons cell. Peter advises Lawrence not to attempt to escape as "some one" would Send for him. Grant's appearance adds mystery to the combination of clr cumstances. tawrence 'again meets the Lady of the Blendid Rose, who informs him that he is In her house; and that she . was in command of the party that oap- lured him. The captive is thrust Into a dark underground chamber when Captain Grant begins a search of the premises. CHAPTER XV. Continued. ;' The silence and loneliness caused "- me to become restless. 1 could not ' entirely throw off the sense of being buried alive in this dismal hole I wondered If there was any "way of 'es- ' cape, if , that secret door . was ' not locked and unlocked' only from with , out. A desire, to ascertain led' me to take candle in hand, and climb the circular staircase, examining the wall M l passed upward.-The Interior of . the chimney revealed nothings While I felt convinced there must also be a . false fireplace;6rt.tbe first' floor, so as to carry out -4he. deception,- the dim candlelight made tio revealment of Its position: ;i coulff; Judge -very "nearly where- it should appear, and 1 sound- : ed the wall thereabout carefully both above and below , without result.? Nor did any noise reach me to disclose a thinness of partition. . ... Convinced of the solidity of the wall at this spot, I .continued higher until I came to the end of the passage. To my surprise the conditions here were practically the same. Had I not en tered at this point I could never have . been ' convinced - that - ithere was t an opening. From wlthlnlt defied dis covery, for nothing . confronted my in helplessly, but for the assistance of friends without,-" no effort on my part could evdr bring release. : - Vet I went over the rough .surface again before, retracing my steps 'down to the . room below. V -Ally this ihust Tinve taken fully an hour of time, and the strain .of .'disappointment -left me tired, as though I had done a day's work.- I can "hardly- conceiw thai. I '. slept, and -yet: 4 . certainly, lost ; con sciousness, for .when I aroused myself I was. in pitch darkness.- : - " : , I felt dazed, bewildered, but as my band felt theedge ol the table I com prehended where I: was, and what had . occurred. - Groping bout, I found flint and steel, and; that, last candle. Which I forced into the candlestick. The tiny yellow flame was like a message from the gods, How' I watched it, every nerve tingling, as it burned lower and ; lower, Woijld it last until help came, or was I destined to remain, pinned up In the darkness of this ghastly .grave? 'Why; I - must have been there ; -for hours hours The burning out of the candles proved that. Surely 1 could -'It 8eemed ' as ( Though -Thosa Walla, That Lew, Roof Were" Crushing : Mra Ifthe Close,; Foul Air was .. Suffocating. ;.-;', , . .."r Moubt no longer this was trick,-a Oowardly, cruel trick! If '!-'? had been coming it wouU 1 1 te before this. The t.ty rau ; ! : " -1, and much of the b i vt. f 11 ' a partywould ha v .' ' 1 ; before this -on t a i it l jhla. WhBt em' 1 ' - i -,to prevent ppr i r . tlng'me tr ? ; 1 forced I:;!o a. diei-8? Co '1 T ' Could they C " 10 die T '' My t-..' ; Hess, ts VAX MS ADY COPYRKSHT.ACJFCLUEa & thing, even her, and cursed aloud, hat ing the echoes of my own voice. It seemed as though those walls, that low roof, were crushing me, as If the close, foul air was Buffcatlng. I recall tearing open the front of my shirt to gain easier breath. I walked about beating with bare bands the rough stone, muttering to myself words with out meaning. ' The candle had burned down until barely an Inch remained.. CHAPTER XVI. ', The Remains of Tn It must have been the shocrothus realizing suddenly how short a time remained in which I should have lighl which restored my senses. I know I stared at the dim yellow flicker dully at first, and then with a swift return ing consciousness which spurred my brain into activity. In that instant I hated, despised myself, rebelled at myl weakness. Faith in Claire Mortimer came back to me in a floodoL,regret. If she had failed, it was through no fault of hers, and I was no coward to lie there and rot without making a stern fight for life. When I was found, those who came upon my body would know that I died struggling, died as a man should, facing fate with a smile; with hands gripped In the contest. The resolution served- it was a spur to my. pride. Instantly driving away every haunting shadow of evil. Yet where should I turn? To what end should I devote my energies? It was useless to climb those stairs again. But there must be a way out."- -. I gripped the old musket as the only Instrument at hand, and began testing the walls. Three sides I rapped, re ceiving the same dead, dull response. I was In the darkest corner now, be yond the stairs, still hopelessly beat ing the gun barrel against the stone. The dim light revealed no change in the wall, formation, the same irregu lar expanse of rubble set in solid mor tar, hardened by a century of exposure to the dry atmosphere. ; Then to an Idle, listless blow there came a hollow, wooden sound, that caused the heart to leap into the throat I tried again, a foot to the left, confident my ears had. played me . false, but this time there could be no doubt there was an opening here back of a wooden .bar rier. - v ...'.-: " Half crazed by this good fortune, I caught up the inch of candle, and held it before the wall. The. dim light scarcely, served as an aid, so inge niously had the door been painted in resemblance to the mortared stone. I was compelled to sound again, inch by inch, with the gun barrel before I could determine the exact dimensions of the opening.. 'Then I could trace the slight crack where the wood was fit ted, nor could I have done this but for the warping of a board. Wild with ap prehension lest my llglii. fail before the. necessary work could be accom plished, I drew out the single-bladed knife from my pocket, and began wid ening this crack. Feverishly as I worked, this was slow of accomplish ment, yet sliver by sliver the slight aperture grew, until I wedged in the gun barrel, and pried out the plank. The , rush 'of air extinguished, the candlp, yet I cared nothing, for the air was fresh and pure, promising a clear passage. . , God, this was luck! ;. With new cour age throbbing through my veins I groped my way back to the table after flint and steel, and relit the candle fragment, shadowing .the flame with both palms as I returned to where the plank had been pressed aside,--; How ever," I found such precaution unnec essary, as there was no perceptible draft .through the passage now the opening was clear for the circulation of air.. ' There had been-two planks thick and. of hard wood composing the entrance to the tunnel, but I found It impossible to dislodge the second. ana - was ; compelled to squeeze var I way--' through the narrow twelve-incttJ opening. This was a difficult task, aa I was a man of some weight, but once accomplished I found myself In a con tracted 'passageway, not to exceed three feet in width, and perhaps five from floor to roof. Here it was appar ently as well preserved as when first constructed, probably a hundred years or more ago, the side walls faced with stone, the-roof supported by roughly hewn oak beams. I was convinced there was no great weight of earth resting' upon these, and the tunnel," which I followed without difllculty, or the discovery of any serious obstruc tion, for fifty feet, inclined steadily upward, until, in my Judgment, It must have come-within a very few feet of the surface.-' Here there occurred a sharp turn to the right, and the exca- va'iou advanced almost upon a level. Knowing" nothing of the conforma tion above, or of the. location of tmiid- in; ?, I was obliged to press, fc ard t ' ..y, conserving the faint liglit of 3 candle, and praying for a free pas . It was an experience to t" t the fj, the intense stlllpr-fi, V - -re, v . "s, cold to . i" i to Hie i r r my "heaj, a ; i of earHi : " s before s I !r-' r- , ood c A?. ALL. mis-: Jftmnr ol IMe ir.rlpr Fire' CO. 1911 nously. and bits of earth, jarred by mv nassaee. fell upon me in clods, - Al tno-oihpr it was an experience I have no desire to repeat, although t was In no actual danger for some distance. Old Mortimer had built his tunnel well, and through all the years it had held safely, except where water had soaked through, rotting the timbers. ; The canrii was shuttering with a final ef fort to remain alight when I came to th first, serious obstruction. . I . had barelv time in which to mark the na ture of the obstacle before the flame died in the socket, leaving me In, a blackness so crofound it was like a weieht. For the moment l was prac tically paralyzed by fear, my muscles imn. mv limbs trembling. et to en deavor to push forward was no more to be dreaded than to attempt retrac ing my steps. In one way there was hope; In the other none, With groping fingers I verified the situation, as that brief glance ere the candle failed had revealed it. A beam had fallen, letting down a mass of earth, but was wedged in such a way as to leave a small opening above the floor, barelv sufficient for a man to wiggle through. How far even this slight passage extended, or what worse obstruction lay hidden beyond was all conjecture. It was a mere chance in which I must risk life in hope of sav ing it I might become helplessly wedged , beneath the timbers, or any movement might precipitate upon m a mass of loosened earth. It was a horrid thought, the death of a burrow ing rat; and I dare not let my mind dwell upon the dread possibility. Slowi ly, barely advancing an Inch at a time, I began the venture, my hands blindly groping for the passage, the cold per spiration bataing my body. The far ther I penetrated amid the debris,' the greater became the terror dominating me, yet to draw back was next to Im possible. : The opening grew more con tracted; I could scarcely force myself forward, digging fingers and toes into the hard earth floor, the obstructing timber scraping my body. It was an awful, heartrending struggle, stretched out flat like a snake in the darkness, the loose earth showering me . with each movement. There was more than one support down; I had to double about to find opening; again and again I seemed to be against an unsurpas sable barrier; twice I dug through a mass of fallen dirt, once for three sol id feet, throwing the loosened earth either side of me, and pushing it back with my feet, thus utterly blocking all chance of retreat. Scarcely was this accomplished when another fall from above came, half burying head and shoulders, and compelling me to dp the work over. tTic air grew foul and. sluggish, but I was toiling for life, and dug at the debris madly, reckless of What might fall from above. Better to be crushed than to die of suffoca tion, and the very desperation with which I strove proved my salvation. For what remained of the roof held, and I struggled through into the firmer gallery beyond, faint from exhaustion, yet as. quickly, reviving in the fresher air. : I had reached the end of the pas sage before I comprehended the truth. It opened in the side of a giilley. com Jng out between tbe roots of a great tree, ', .. ;i': I was a wreck In body and mind, my face streaked with earth, my hair filled with dirt, my clothing torn and disreputable. Laboring for breath, my fingers raw and bleeding I lay there, with scarcely enough strength remain ing to keep from rolling (to the bottom of the ravine. For some moments i was incapable of either t jugbt or ac tion, every ounce of energy having been expended in that last desperate struggle. I lay panting, with eyes closed, hardly realizing that I was In deed alive. Slowly, throb by 'throb, my heart came back into regularity of beat, and my brain into command. My eyes opened, and 1 shuddered with hor- l-m as 1 VaintrntviA 41.,li A I a 1 Rng into the side of the hill. : Clineln to the tree trunk I attained my feet, still swaying from weakness, and was thus able to glance about over ; the edge of the bank, and gain some con ception of my immediate surroundings. It was early dawn, the eastern sky that shade" of pale gray which pre cedes the sun, a few, white,, fleecy clouds sailing high above, already tinged with red reflection. I must haye been in that eartlTprison since the morning of the previous day? jt seemed longer, yet even that expira tion of time proved that tfcow who had Imprisoned me there had left me to die. God! I couldn't believe that J faot of her! Clear as the evidence ap peared, I yet fought down the thought bitterly, creeping ou hands and knees over th edge of the bank, to where I could itit on the grass, and gaze about in ths growing light.' The house was to the leftan apple orchard be tween, and a low fence encloslr g a garden.- I cofeld gain but glimpsit 3 of the mansion through the intervor trees, but It was: laree.. Imnn siuare, old-fashioned house, ;,ite, with green shutters! red deserted, and ' no" ke ascended from the ney. Apparently not , I:. Jts were yet stirring, was smoke showing J'oWi Ui the right, but I had tomove before I could see the " cause clearly the smouldering remains of what mUst have been a large barn." I advanced in that direction, skirting the orchard. and a. row of negro cabins. -These were deserted,- the doors ' open, and two - of them exhibited evidences- of fire. A storehouse had its door bat tered In, a huge timber, evidently used as a ram, lying across the threshold, and ' many of the" boxes and barrete within had been smashed with axes. The ground all' about had been tram pled . by horses' ' hoofs, and only a smouldering ' fragment of the' stables remained.-;. ' ; . -. a i. v't;,;;-:' -VI -a tared about perplexed,' unable ;to decipher the meaning of ; such - de struction. i, Surely Grant Would never dare such a deed with his unarmed force. .Besides Elmhurst was the property of a loyalist, .ay! the colonel of his regiment. , Not even the mad ness of anger.would Justify so wanton an act. Whatever the mystery I could never hope to solve it loitering there; the house itself would doubtless reveal the story, and I turned In that direc tion, skirting tbe fence, yet exercising care, for there might still remain de fenders within,- behind, those green blinds, to mistake me for an enemy. I saw nothing, ' no sign of life, asI circled through the .trees of the or chard, and came out upon the grass plot facing the front Twrch, The sun was up now, and I could perceive each detail. There was a smashed window to the right, a green shutter hanging dejectedly by-ofiS" hinge; the great front door stood wide open, and the body of a dead man lay across threshold, a dark stain of blood tending across the porch floor. the ex- CHAPTER XVII. The Queen's Rangers. A bullet had. struck the 'hand rail, shattering one of the supports, and the broad steps were -scarred" and splin tered. ' The man lay face upward, his feet Inside the hallway, one side of his bead crushed in. He was roughly dressed in woolen shirt and patched smallclothes,-and wore gold hoops In his" ears, his complexion dark enough Body of a Dead Man for a mulatto, with hands seared and twisted. Surely the fellow was no soldier; he appeared more to me like one who had followed : the" sea: I stepped over his body, and glanced the length of tbe hall- The chandelier was shattered, the glajs gleaming under foot, the stair rail broken lflto a Jagged splinter,, and- a second man, shot through vthe eye, Tested half upright propped against the lower step. -'He was a sandy-bearded fellow, no better dressed than the one without, but with a belt about him, containing irfstol and4:nife. His yellow teeth protiud ing gave his ghastly features a -fiendish look. Beyond him a pair of legs stuck out from behind the staircase, c'nd in ltjng cavalry boots, and' Above ( vi rly showing, fhe green cloth f FangerS. Then Grant - wiiea this attack was : he had left tome men 1 t'i body oui ittto I - t f ! th 3 face it 1 i . 1 l - ';- d In - Th. about me into tne dismantled room, endeavoring to clear niy brain , and figure all this out. It via not so diffi cult to conceive what bad occurred, every hit, of evidence pointing to a single conclusion. Grantjhad searched the house for Eric, and discovered no signs of his presence; 4 hatever had subsequently happened J between the girl and himself, she had, not felt Jus tified- in releasing me VlUle. he and his men remained. Thtjy must have departed soon after dark, well . pro visioned, upon their long inarch toward the Delaware, leaving Eljnhurst unoc cupied except for its mistress and, ber servants. -The fact that neither the lady nor, Peter had opehed the :en trance to the secret staircase, would seem to show that the aback on the house must have followea swiftly. It had been a surprise, living those within no chance to seek for refuge. There had been a struggle at the front door; some of the assailants had achieved entrance ihrou'ph -the win dow, and that had practically ended the affair. ' But what had become off Peter? Of the girl? Who composed the attack ing party? The Indian had been de spatched, to Valley Korgfe with my memoranda; probably Petier, the Irish man, and a negro or twoj were alone left to defend the house. j -As to the identity of the marauders; I bad small doubt; their handiwork-w too nlain ly revealed, and those two dead men remained as evidence. Rough as were British and Hessian foragers, they were seldom guilty of such wanton de struction as this. Besides this was the home of a prominent loyalist, pro-, tected from despoliation by high au thority. The hellish work must have been accomplished by one or more bands of those "Pine Robbers" who in fested Monmouth county,- Infamous devils, hiding in caves among sand hills, and coming forth to plunder and rob. Pretending to be Tories, their only purpose of organization was pil lage. Even in the army the names of" their more prominent leaders were known; such as Red Fagin Debow, West and Carter, and many a tale of horror regarding their depredations had I beard told around the campfire. Lay Across the Threshold. These came back to memory as, 1 gazed about those lower rooms, dread-; ing my next discovery, half crazed to think that- Claire Mortimer might be helpless. In their ruthless grasp, i Bet ter death a thousand times than such a fate. fc I pushed forward Into the rooms of the lower floor, more than ever im pressed by their original magnificence. Now; however, they were all confusion, furniture broken and flung aside, walls hacked, . dishes smashed into frag ments. "The scene was sickening in Us. evidence of wanton hate. Yet I found no more bodies, or proof of further resistance. In what must have been Mistress Claire's' private apart raeut I stood with beatiiig heart star ing about at the ruin disclosed. ' The large closet had been swept clean, gar ments slashed with knives, and left in rags; drawers turned v de down in search after Jewels; f j very cur tains torn from the win It v a scene of Vandalism r "i vi bonds alone "would be f ;. (TO BE CONTI UATX ( FJIiDUIX Indisjnabl IniUnUnsoai Telltt ut a iflance the parcol-post mis from your lo cality to any point in the United States. A to ids con fusion artBing from ktbeuD s8tem"ot distances, Aatomatically dpterminefi pootuK required accortl iiurto weigbt and lime. Ttorec si jles, efccti lnclndina a nundsomeit-culor map of the United btat, Jnebea, and an ttluniiiium Rute Finder. Pricot(pi taga prepaid) plain jiapermap, 60 cents; cl. ih mount ed map, to coots: -wall type map, l. Urder (odaj.- PARCELS POST RATR FINDER CO., 1S Liberty St. ; - Kew Jiork City IBdak IFiriisIiing .Cheapest, prices on earth of photographic specialists. De veloping any roll film 5c. Prints ,2c and 4c. Mail your films to DepL K. PARSONS OPTICAL CO.. 244 KINQ ST., CHARLESTON, SO. CAROLINA BOYS AND GIRLS MEN AND WOMEN We want yon tb work for vs, Dd we will glw yon large connotations. Oar goods aro easy to sell. If you cannot work for us, got us a food agent, and wewlU aire you b commission on all tnelr sales. Address WORLD STANDARD MFG. COM PANY, 706 8 Street N. W Waeblugton,l. C. Engaged people are seldom aa In sane as the neighbors think they. are. As n summer tonic there is tio medicine that quite compares with OXIDINE. It not only builds up the syrtem. but taken reg ularly, prevents Malaria. Regular or Taste less formula at Druggists. Adv. - -.- One-halt the women in the "world want to get thin; the other half want to get fat. . , Burduco. Liver Powder. .. ; Nature's remedy for biliousness constipation, Indigestion and all stom ach 'diseases. .A vegetable prepara tionbetter than calomel and will not salivate. . In screw , top cans at 25o each. Burwell & Dunn Co., Mfrs., Charlotte, N. C. Adv. . Silenced. Dr. Henry Van Dyke, the distin guished clergyman, has a neat way of silencing the censorious. x At a luncheon in Princeton a cer tain bishop was being discussed, and a visitor said: "I don't like the bishop. He Is too much a man of the world to suit me." i "Quite so,'1 Or. Van Dyke retorted quickly; "but which world, this or the next?" . . .. Looking After His Bait. Daniel and Harvey, two old,' expert fishermen, were "still" fishing for trout in deep water, sitting with their backs together, when . Daniel : acci dentally fell out of the boat and went down. Harvey looked back and miss ed his companion,- who at that mo ment appeared on the surface, pipe still in his mouth, shaking his wlskers profusely. Harvey Gosh, Dan! I jest missed ye! Where ye been? - . v Dan Oh, I jes'. went down for ter see If me bait wus all right. Judga DIFFERENT MEAT. WHlle-!-We had the preacher for dinner yesterday. - - - .. i;: - Tommy We had roast beet. . . STEADY HAND. . . A 8urgeon's Hand Should Be the Flr.n. ' estofAlC "For fifteen , years I have suffered from Insomnia, indigestion and ner vousness as a result of coffee drink ing," said a surgeon the other day. (Tea is equally . injurious because it contains caffeine, the same drug found in coffee). "The dyspepsia became so bad that I had to limit myself to one cur at breakfast. - Even this caused me to lose my food soon after I ate it. ' ' "All the attendant symptoms of in-: digestion, such as heart burn, palpita tion, water brash, wakefulness or dis turbed sleep, bad taste in the mouth, nervousness, etc., were present to such, a degree as to Incapacitate me for my practice as a surgeon. :: "The result of leaving off coffee and drinking Postujawas simply "mar velous. The change was wrought forthwith, my hand steadied and my normal condition of health was re stored.'' - Name - given upon request Read the famous little book, "The Road to WellvIHe," in pkgs, "There's reason." :;' ".. " Postum now. comes In concentrated, powder form, called InBtant Postum. -It Is prepared by stirring a level tea spoon ful in a cup of hot water, adding sugar to taster and enough cream to bring the color to golden brown. " lnt:rtt . Poslum 1 la ..'on "'ent; f 's i x : eni the flavor is al- I v v . i ' ! 1 . ' :-r- n ' W UO jm fcwrt MV liT . X. r Q f - 1 1 MhrtBHiniilMft drVS A" - M HI.f,Jl,l.l.l A.t J J mkbrriNHrt. - 0 ' : H - TSlML sons, 11 lfi 5 - " 11 ' haknli Tan BUM, - 1 1 I I I, 'f - uiMuuiMiiii. f (Urns- IS
The Mountain Scout (Taylorsville, N.C.)
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Jan. 8, 1913, edition 1
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