CHAPTER XIII
MISS DANGERFIELD TAKES A PRISONER
A dozen men carrying rifles across their saddle-bows rode away fromHabersham's farm on the outskirts of Turner Court House and struck arough trail that led a devious course over the hills. At their head rodethe guide of the expedition--a long silent man on a mule. Griswold andHabersham followed immediately behind him on horseback. Their plans hadbeen carefully arranged before they left their rendezvous, and save foran occasional brief interchange between the prosecuting attorney and thegovernor's special representative, the party jogged on in silence.Habersham's recruits were, it may be said, farmers of the border, whohad awaited for years just such an opportunity as now offered to avengethemselves upon the insolent Appleweights. Nearly every man of the partyhad some private score to settle, but they had all been sworn as specialconstables and were sobered by the knowledge that the power of the stateof South Carolina was back of them.
Thus, at the very hour that Mr. Ardmore and his lieutenants rode awayfrom the lonely anchorage of the caboose, Professor Griswold and hiscavalcade set out for Mount Nebo Church. While the master of Ardsley wasrevenging himself upon the Duke of Ballywinkle, his dearest friend,against whom he had closed the doors of his house, was losing no time insetting forth upon a mission which, if successful, would seriouslyinterfere with all Mr. Ardmore's hopes and plans. Ardmore's scarletfever telegram no longer rankled in the breast of the associateprofessor of admiralty of the University of Virginia, for Griswold knewthat no matter what might be the outcome of his effort to uphold thedignity of the sovereign state of South Carolina, his participation inany such adventure would so cover his friend with envy that he wouldhave him forever at his mercy. Thomas Ardsley deserved punishment--therewas no doubt of that, and as Professor Griswold was not more or lessthan a human being, he took comfort of the reflection.
The guide of the expedition pushed his mule forward at a fast walk,making no excuses to Griswold and Habersham for the roughness of thetrails he chose, nor troubling to give warning of sharp turns where ahorse, being less wise than a mule, tobogganed madly before finding afoothold. Occasionally a low hanging limb switched the associateprofessor sharply across the face, but his temper continued serene wherethe trail was darkest and steepest, and he found himself ignoringHabersham's occasional polite questions about the university in hiseffort to summon up in memory certain ways of Barbara Osborne whichbaffled him. He deplored the time he had given to the study of a stupidprofession like the law, when, if he had applied himself with equaldiligence to poetry, he might have made for himself a place at least ashigh in belles-lettres. In his college days he had sometimes thrummed aguitar, and there was a little song in his heart, half formed, and withonly a line or two as yet tangible, which he felt sure he could writedown on paper if it were not that the bugles summoned him to war; it wasa song of a white rose which a lover wore in his heart, through winterand summer, and it never changed, and the flight of the seasons had nomanner of effect on it.
"Check up, cain't you?" snarled the man on the mule, laying hold ofGriswold's rein; and thus halted, Griswold found that they had beencircling round a curiously symmetrical, thickly wooded hill, and hadfinally come to a clearing whence they were able to gaze far off towardthe north.
"We are almost out of bounds," said Habersham, pointing. "Over theresomewhere, across the hills, lies North Carolina. I am as thoroughlylost as you can possibly be; but these men know where they are. How faris it, Billy"--he addressed the silent guide--"to Mount Nebo?"
"About four mile, and I reckon we'd better let out a leetle now orthey'll sing the doxology before we git thar."
"What's that light away off there?" asked Habersham.
The guide paused to examine it, and the faint glow far down the valeseemed to perplex him. He spoke to one or two other natives and theyviewed the light ruminatively, as is their way.
"Thet must be on Ardmore's land," said the leader finally. "It shootsout all sorts o' ways round hyeh, and I reckon thet's about wheh RaccoonCreek cuts through."
"That's very likely," said Habersham. "I've seen the plat of whatArdmore owns on this side the border at the court house, and I rememberthat there's a long strip in Mingo County that is Ardsley land. Ardmorehas houses of one kind and another scattered all over the estate andthose lights may be from one of them. You know the place, don't you?"
"Yes; I've visited there," admitted Griswold. "But we'd better give it awide berth. The whole estate is simply infested with scarlet fever.They're quarantined."
"I guess that's a joke," said Habersham. "There's a big party on therenow, and I have seen some of the guests in Turner's within a day ortwo."
"Within how many days?" demanded Griswold, his heart sinking at thethought that Ardmore had lied to him to keep him away from Ardsley--fromArdmore's house! The thought of it really hurt him now. Could it bepossible that Ardmore had guests so distinguished that he, Griswold, wasnot worthy to make their acquaintance! He experienced a real pang as hethought that here he was, within a short ride of the home of his dearestfriend, the man whom most he loved of all men, and that he had beendenied the door of that friend's house.
"Come on!" called Habersham.
Half the company rode ahead to gain the farther side of the church; theremainder, including Griswold and Habersham, soon dismounted and tiedtheir horses out of sight of the country road which they had latterlybeen following.
"We are in plenty of time," said Habersham, looking at his watch. "Therest of the boys are closing in from the other side and they will beready for Appleweight when he finishes his devotions. We've beenstudying the old man's habits and he has a particular place where heties his horse back of the church. It's a little apart from the fencewhere most of the congregation hitch and he chose it, no doubt, becausein case of a surprise he would have plenty of room for maneuvering. Twomen are going to lay for him, seize and gag him and carry him into thewood back of the church; and then we're off across the state line tolock him up in jail at Kildare and give Governor Dangerfield the shockof his life."
"It sounds simple enough; but it won't be long before Appleweight'sfriends miss him. You must remember that they are a shrewd lot."
"We've got to take our chances. Let's hope we are as shrewd as theyare," replied Habersham.
They moved softly through the wood and presently the faint sound ofsinging reached them.
"Old Rabdick has finished his sermon and we'll know the worst in a fewminutes."
One of the party had already detached himself and crept forward towardthe church, to meet his appointed comrade in the enterprise, who was tocome in from the other side.
The clapboard church presented in the moonlight the austerest outlines,and as the men waited, a rude though unseen hand was slamming the woodenshutters that protected the windows from impious violence.
"We could do with less moon," muttered Habersham, as he and Griswoldpeered through the trees into the churchyard.
"There goes Bill Appleweight now," whispered one of the natives at hiselbow, and Griswold felt his heart-beats quicken as he watched a tallfigure silhouetted against the church and moving swiftly toward the rearof the building. At the front of the church voices sounded, as thedeparting worshipers rode or drove slowly away.
Habersham laid his hand suddenly on Griswold's arm.
"They've got him! They've nailed him! See! There! They're yanking himback into the timber. They've taken him and his horse!"
Griswold saw nothing but a momentary confusion of shadows, then perfectsilence hung over the woods behind the little church. The congregationwas slowly dispersing, riding away in little groups. Suddenly a voicecalled out in the road a hundred yards beyond the church:
"Hey there! Where's Bill?"
"Oh, he's gone long ago!" yelled another.
In a moment more the church door slammed and a last figure rode rapidlyaway.
"Now we'll see what's happened," said Habersham. "It looks almost tooeasy."
The me
mbers of Griswold's party who had been thrown round to the fartherside of the church began to appear, one at a time. There was nonervousness among any of the band--a fact that impressed Griswold. Theywere all risking much in this enterprise, but they were outwardlyunperturbed, and chewing their tobacco silently while they awaited thereturn of the two active agents in the conspiracy who had dealt directlywith Appleweight. Habersham counted heads, and announced all present oraccounted for.
The tall leader who had ridden the mule was the first to rise out of theunderbrush, through which he had crawled circuitously from the rear ofthe church. His companion followed a few seconds later.
"We've got Bill, all tied and gagged and a-settin' of his hoss," drawledthe leader, "and the hoss is tied to the back fence. Rest o' his boysthought he'd gone ahead, but they may miss him and come back. He's safeenough, and ef we keep away from him we'll be ready to light out ef thegang scents trouble and comes back to look fer Bill."
"You're sure he's tied up so he can't break away or yell?"
"He's as good as dead, a-settin' of his hoss in the thicket back theh."
"And now," said Habersham, "what we've got to do is to make a run for itand land him across the border, and stick him into a North Carolinajail, where he rightfully belongs. The question is, can we do it all inone night, or had we better lock him up somewhere on this side the lineand take another night for it? The sheriff over there in Kildare isAppleweight's cousin, but we'll lock him up with Bill, to make a familyparty of it."
"We'd better not try too much to-night," counseled Griswold. "It's a bigthing to have the man himself. If it were not for the matter of puttingGovernor Dangerfield in a hole, I'd favor hurrying with Appleweight toColumbia, just for the moral effect of it on the people of SouthCarolina. We'd make a big killing for the administration that way,Habersham."
"Yes, you'd make a killing all right, but you'd have Bill Appleweight onyour hands, which Governor Osborne has not until lately been anxiousfor," replied Habersham, in a low tone that was heard by no one but hisold preceptor.
"You'd better get over the idea that we're afraid of this outlaw,"rejoined Griswold. "The governor of North Carolina dare not call hissoul his own where these hill people are concerned; but the governor ofSouth Carolina is a different sort."
"The governor of North Carolina is filling the newspapers with his ownvirtuous intentions in the matter," remarked Habersham, "but his suddenzeal puts one upon inquiry."
"I hope you don't imply that the motives of the governor of SouthCarolina are not the worthiest?" demanded Griswold hotly.
"Most certainly not!" returned the prosecuting attorney; but a smileflitted across his face--a smile which, in the darkness, Griswold didnot see. "The two governors are very different men--wholly antipodalcharacters, in fact," and again Habersham smiled to himself.
While they thus stood on South Carolina soil, waiting for the safe andcomplete dispersion of the Mount Nebo congregation before seizing thecaptive they had gagged and tied at the rear of the little church, thefates were ordering a very different termination of the night'sbusiness.
Miss Jerry Dangerfield, galloping away from the Duke of Ballywinkle,with no thought but to widen the distance between them, turned off atthe first cross-road, which began well enough, but degenerated rapidlyinto a miserable trail, through which she was obliged to walk her horse.Before she was aware of it she was in the midst of a clearing wherelaborers had lately been cutting timber, and she found, on turning tomake her way out, that she was quite lost, for three trails, allseemingly alike, struck off into the forest. She spoke aloud to thehorse to reassure herself, and smiled as she viewed the grim phalanx ofstumps. She must, however, find her way back to Ardsley, for there weretimes when Jerry Dangerfield could be very serious with herself, thoughit rarely pleased her to be serious with other people; and she knew thatthe time had long passed for her return to the house. If her conspiracywith Thomas Ardmore had proved successful, the duke would not return tothe great house; but her own prolonged absence was something that hadnot been in her program.
She did not know then that three men had witnessed her flight from theduke, or that they had taken swift vengeance upon him for hisunpardonable conduct in the moon-blanched road. It was not Jerry's wayto accept misfortune tamely, and after circling the wall of timber thatshut her in, in the hope of determining where she had entered, she chosea trail at random and plunged into the woods. She assumed that probablyall the roads and paths on the estate led more or less directly to thegreat house or to some lodge or bungalow. She had lost her riding-cropin her mad flight, and she broke off a switch, tossing its leaves intothe moonlight and laughing softly as they rained about her.
Jerry began whistling gently to herself, for she had never been lostbefore, and it is not so bad, when you have a good horse, a fair path,sweet odorous woods and the moon to keep you company. She forded a brookthat was silver to eye and ear, and let her horse stand midway of it forjoy in the sight and sound. She had kept no account of time, but ratherimagined that it had not been more than half an hour since the Duke ofBallywinkle left her so unceremoniously.
Suddenly ahead of her through the woods floated the sound ofsinging--one of those strange, wavering _pieux cantiques_ peculiar tothe South. She rode on, thinking to find help and a guide back toArdsley; then the music ceased, and lights now flashed faintly beforeher, but she went forward guardedly.
"I'm much more lost than I thought I was, for I must be away off theestate," she reflected. She turned and rode back a few rods anddismounted, and tied her horse to a sapling. She was disappointed at notfinding a camp of Ardmore's wood-cutters, to whom she wouldunhesitatingly have confided herself; but it seemed wise now to exercisecaution in drawing to herself the attention of strangers. She did notknow that she had crossed the state line and was in South Carolina, orthat the singing she had heard floated from the windows of Mount NeboChurch.
She became now the astonished witness of a series of incidents thatoccurred so swiftly as fairly to take her breath away. A tall, looselyarticulated man came from the direction of the church and walked towardher. She knelt at the tree and watched, the moonlight giving her aclear view of a rustic somewhat past middle age, whose chiefcharacteristics seemed to be a grizzled beard and long arms that swungoddly at his side. The brim of his wool hat was turned up sharply fromhis forehead, and she had a glimpse of the small, keen, gray eyes withwhich he swept the forest before him. He freed a horse which she had notbefore noticed, and she concluded that he would not approach nearer, forshe expected him to mount and ride away to join others of thecongregation whom she heard making off in a road beyond the church.Then, with a quickness and deftness that baffled her eyes, two men rosebeside him just as he was about to mount; there was no outcry and nosound of scuffling, so quick was the descent and so perfect theunderstanding between the captors. In a moment the man was gathered up,bound, and flung on his saddle. She had a better view of him, now thathe was hatless, though a gag had been forced into his mouth and ahandkerchief tied over his eyes, so that he presented a grotesqueappearance. Jerry was so absorbed that she forgot to be afraid; never inher life had she witnessed anything so amazing as this; and now, to hermore complete bewilderment, the captors, after carefully inspectingtheir work and finding it satisfactory, seemed to disappear utterly fromthe face of the earth.
In the woods to her left she thought she heard a horse neigh; then shesaw shadows moving in that direction; and again, from the road, sheheard the brief debate of the two men as to the whereabouts of "Bill";and it struck Jerry humorously that he would not soon see his friendsunless they came and helped him out of his predicament.
It may help to an understanding of Miss Jerry Dangerfield's character ifit is recorded here that never in her short life had she failed torespond to the call of impulse. She was lost in the woods, and strangemen lurked about; a man had been attacked, seized, and left sitting in astate of absurd helplessness on a horse presumably his own, and therewas no guessing what di
re penalty his captors had in store for him. Hecertainly looked deliciously funny as he sat there in the shadows,vigorously twisting his arms and head in an effort to free himself.
Quiet reigned in the neighborhood of the church; the lights had blinkedout; the bang of the closing shutters reassured Jerry, and she crept onher knees toward the unconscious captive, loosed his horse's rein andled it rapidly toward her own horse, a little farther back in thewoods. Her blindfolded prisoner, thinking his original captors werecarrying him off, renewed his efforts to free himself. He tested theropes and straps with which he was fastened by throwing himself first toone side, then to the other, as far as his gyves would permit, at thesame time frothily chewing his gag.
Jerry gained her own saddle in the least bit of a panic, and when shehad mounted and made sure of the leading-strap with which her prisoner'shorse was provided, she rode on at a rapid walk until she reached theclearing, where the stumps again grimly mocked her. She stopped tolisten, and heard through the still night first one cry and then manyvoices in various keys of alarm and rage. Then she bent toward theprisoner, tore the bandage from his eyes, and with more difficulty freedhim of the gag. He blinked and spluttered at this unexpecteddeliverance, then blinked and spluttered afresh at seeing that hiscaptor was a young woman, who was plainly not of his world. Jerrywatched him wonderingly, then addressed him in her most agreeable tone.
"You were caught and tied by two men over there by a church. I saw them,and when they went off and left you, I came along and brought you withme, thinking to save your life. I want to get home as quickly aspossible, and though I do not know you, and am quite sure we never metbefore, I hope you will kindly guide me to Ardsley, and thereby renderme a service I shall always deeply appreciate."
Mr. Bill Appleweight, _alias_ Poteet, was well hardened to the shocks oftime, but this pleasant-voiced girl, coolly sitting her horse, andholding his own lank steed by a strap, was the most amazing human beingthat had yet dawned on his horizon. He was not stupid, but Jerry'smanner of speech had baffled more sophisticated minds thanAppleweight's, and the sweet sincerity of her tone, and her frankcountenance, hallowed as it was by the moonlight, wrought in theoutlaw's mind a befuddlement not wholly unlike that which had possessedthe wits of many young gallants south of the Potomac who had laid siegeto Jerry Dangerfield's heart. But the cries behind them were morepronounced, and Appleweight was nothing if not a man of action.
"Take these things off'n me," he commanded fiercely, "and I'll see y'safe to Ardsley."
"Not in the least," replied Jerry, who was herself not unmindful of thevoices behind. "You will kindly tell me the way, and I will accommodatemy pace to that of your own somewhat ill-nourished beast. And as there'sa mob looking for you back there, all ready to hang you to one of thesenoble forest trees, I advise you to use more haste and less caution inpointing the way."
Appleweight lifted his head and took his bearings. Then he nodded towardone of the three trails which had so baffled Jerry when first she brokeinto the clearing.
"Thet's the nighest," said Appleweight, "and we'd better git."
She set the pace at a trot, and was relieved in a few minutes to passone or two landmarks which she remembered from her flight through thewoods. As they splashed through the brook she had forded, she was quiteconfident that the captive was playing her no trick, but that in duecourse she should strike the highroad to Ardsley which she had abandonedto throw off the Duke of Ballywinkle.
It was now ten o'clock, and the moon was sinking behind the foresttrees. Jerry took advantage of an occasional straight strip of road togo forward at a gallop, but these stretches did not offer frequently,and the two riders kept pretty steadily to a smart trot. They presenteda droll picture as they moved through the forest--the girl, ridingcross-saddle, with the stolen captive trailing after. Occasionally Mr.Appleweight seemed to be talking to himself, but whether he was prayingor swearing Jerry did not trouble herself to decide. It was enough forher that she had found a guide out of the wilderness by stealing aprisoner from his enemies, and this was amusing, and sent bubbling inher heart those quiet springs of mirth that accounted for so much inJerry Dangerfield.
As they walked their horses through a bit of sand, the prisoner spoke:
"Who air y'u, little gal?"
Jerry turned in the saddle, so that Appleweight enjoyed a full view ofher face.
"I am perfectly willing to tell you my name, but first it would be morecourteous for you to tell me yours, particularly as I am delivering youfrom a band of outlaws who undoubtedly intended to do you harm."
"I reckon they air skeered to foller us, gal. They air afeard to tackleth' ole man, onless they jump in two t' one; and they cain't tell whohelped me git away."
He laughed--a curious, chuckling laugh. He had ceased to struggle at hisbonds, but seemed resigned to his strange fate. He had not answeredJerry's question, and had no intention of doing so. The sudden attack atthe church had aroused all his cunning. Appleweight, _alias_ Poteet, wasan old wolf, and knew well the ways of the trapper; but the bold attemptto kidnap him was a new feature of the game as heretofore played alongthe border. He did not make it out; nor was he wholly satisfied with thegirl's explanation of her own presence in that out-of-the-way place. Shemight be a guest at Ardsley, as she pretended, but women folk wererarely seen on the estate, and never in such remote corners of it asMount Nebo Church. As he pondered the matter, it seemed incredible thatthis remarkable young person, whose innocence was so beguiling, shouldbe in any way leagued with his foes.
He had several times called out directions as they crossed other pathsin the forest, and they now reached the main trunk road of the estate.The red bungalow, Jerry knew, was not far away. Her prisoner spokeagain.
"Little gal, I'm an ole man, and I hain't never done y'u no harm. Yourhaouse is only a leetle way up thar, and I cain't be no more use to y'u.I want t' go home, and if y'u'll holp me ontie this yere harness--" andhe grinned as he viewed his bonds in the fuller light of the open road.
Then hoof-beats thumped the soft earth of another of the trails thatconverged at this point, and Ardmore and Collins flashed out upon Jerryand her captive, amid a wild panic of horses.
Appleweight twisted and turned in his saddle but Jerry instantly held upher hand and arrested the inquiries of her deliverers.
"Mr. Ardmore, this gentleman was most rudely set upon by two strangersas he was leaving a church over there somewhere in the woods. I waslost, and as his appearance at the time and place seemed almostprovidential, I begged him to guide me toward home, which he has mostcourteously done," and Jerry, to give the proper touch to herexplanation, twitched the strap by which she held her prisoner's horse,so that it danced, adding a fresh absurdity to the wobbling figure ofits bound rider.
"You are safe!" cried Ardmore in a low tone, to which Jerry noddedcarelessly, in a way that directed attention to the more immediatebusiness at hand. He was not at once sure of his cue, but there seemedto be something familiar in the outlines of the man on horseback, andfull identification broke upon him now with astounding vividness.
"Jugs," he began, addressing the prisoner smilingly, "dear old Jugs, tothink we should meet again! Since you handed me that jug on the rear endof the train, a few nights ago, life has had new meanings for me, andI'm just as sorry as can be that I gave you the buttermilk. I wouldn'thave done such a thing for billions in real money. And now that you havefallen into the excellent hands of Miss Dangerfield--"
"Dangerfield!" screamed the prisoner, lifting himself as high in thesaddle as his bonds would permit.
"Certainly," replied Ardmore. "Your rescuer is none other than MissGeraldine Dangerfield."
"Why, gal," began the outlaw, "ef your pa's the guv'nor of No'thCaroline, him an' me's old frien's."
"Then will you kindly tell me your name?" asked Jerry.
"Allow me to complete the introductions," interrupted Collins, who hadhung back in silence. "Unless my eyes deceive me, which is whollyimprobable, this is a ge
ntleman whom I once interviewed in the countyjail at Raleigh, and he was known at that time as William Appleweight,_alias_ Poteet."
"You air right," admitted the prisoner without hesitation, and then,addressing Jerry: "Yer pa would be glad to know his dorter had helped anole frien' like me, gal. Ye may hev heard him speak o' me."
"But how about that message in the cork of the jug you put on the trainat Kildare?" demanded Ardmore. "And why did you send your brother to tryto scare me to death at Raleigh?"
"That is not the slightest importance," interrupted Jerry, gentlyplaying with the tether which held Mr. Appleweight; "nor does it matterthat papa and this gentleman are friends. If this is, indeed, the famousoutlaw, Mr. William Appleweight, then, papa or no papa, friend or nofriend, he is a prisoner of the state of North Carolina."
"Pris'ner!" bawled Appleweight,--"an' you the guv'nor's gal--"
"You have hit the situation exactly, Mr. Appleweight; and as far as theoffice of governor is concerned, it is capably filled by the younggentleman on your left, Mr. Thomas Ardmore. Let us now adjourn to hishouse, where, if I am not mistaken, a bit of cold fowl is usually to befound on the sideboard at this hour. But hold"--and Jerry checked herhorse--"where can we lodge this gentleman, Mr. Ardmore, until we decideupon his further fate?"
"We might put him in the wine cellar," suggested Ardmore.
"No," interposed Collins. "I fancy that much of your fluid stock haspaid revenue tax, and most of it has passed none too lightly through thecustom-house. It would be unwarrantably cruel to lock Mr. Appleweight insuch quarters, with the visible marks of taxation all around him. Still,the sight of the stamps would probably destroy his thirst, though hisrugged independence might so far assert itself that he would smash a fewof your most expensive importations out of sheer deviltry."
"He shall be treated with the greatest consideration," said Jerry, andthereafter, no further adventure befalling them, they reached Ardsley,where their arrival occasioned the greatest excitement.