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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..89bf12b --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #68275 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68275) diff --git a/old/68275-0.txt b/old/68275-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 422fc07..0000000 --- a/old/68275-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10441 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The war of the Carolinas, by Meredith -Nicholson - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The war of the Carolinas - -Author: Meredith Nicholson - -Illustrator: Stephen Reid - -Release Date: June 9, 2022 [eBook #68275] - -Language: English - -Produced by: D A Alexander, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was - produced from images made available by the HathiTrust - Digital Library.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WAR OF THE -CAROLINAS *** - - - - - -_UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME_ - - THE PRIMROSE PATH. _Mrs. Oliphant._ - THOMPSON’S PROGRESS. _C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne._ - LOVE AND MR. LEWISHAM. _H. G. Wells._ - THE FOOD OF THE GODS. _H. G. Wells._ - KIPPS. _H. G. Wells._ - CYNTHIA’S WAY. _Mrs. A. Sidgwick._ - CLARISSA FURIOSA. _W. E. Norris._ - RAFFLES. _E. W. Hornung._ - FRENCH NAN. _Agnes & Egerton Castle._ - SPRINGTIME. _H. C. Bailey._ - MOONFLEET. _J. Meade Falkner._ - WHITE FANG. _Jack London._ - MAJOR VIGOUREUX. “_Q._” - EIGHT DAYS. _R. E. Forrest._ - THE TRANSLATION OF A SAVAGE. _Sir G. Parker._ - A LAME DOG’S DIARY. _S. Macnaughtan._ - FORTUNE OF CHRISTINA M’NAB. _S. Macnaughtan._ - THE RECIPE FOR DIAMONDS. _C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne._ - OLD GORGON GRAHAM. _George Horace Lorimer._ - MRS. GALER’S BUSINESS. _W. Pett Ridge._ - THE DUENNA OF A GENIUS. _M. E. Francis._ - THE OCTOPUS. _Frank Norris._ - THE PIT. _Frank Norris._ - MATTHEW AUSTIN. _W. E. Norris._ - HIS GRACE. _W. E. Norris._ - MARCELLA. _Mrs. Humphry Ward._ - THE INTRUSIONS OF PEGGY. _Anthony Hope._ - THE PRINCESS PASSES. _C. N. & A. M. Williamson._ - -_And Many Other Equally Popular Copyright Novels._ - -_NELSON’S LIBRARY._ - -[Illustration] - - - - -[Illustration: She loosed his horse’s rein, and led it rapidly towards -her own horse.] - - - - -[Illustration: - - The War - of the - Carolinas - - By - MEREDITH - NICHOLSON - - THOMAS NELSON - AND SONS] - -[Illustration] - - Oh, for you that I never knew, - Only in dreams that bind you!-- - By Spring’s own grace I shall know your face - When under the may I find you! - - _H. C. Bunner._ - - - - -TO YOU AT THE GATE. - - -There was a daisy-meadow, that flowed brimming to the stone wall at -the roadside, and on the wooded crest beyond a lamp twinkled in a -house round which stole softly the unhurried, eddyless dusk. You stood -at the gate, your arms folded on the top bar, your face uplifted, -watching the stars and the young moon of June. I was not so old but -that I marked your gown of white, your dark head, your eyes like the -blue of mid-ocean sea-water in the shadow of marching billows. As -my step sounded you looked up startled, a little disdainful, maybe; -then you smiled gravely; but a certain dejection of attitude, a sweet -wistfulness of lips and eyes, arrested and touched me; and I stole -on guiltily, for who was I to intrude upon a picture so perfect, to -which moon and stars were glad contributors? As I reached the crown of -the road, where it dipped down to a brook that whispered your name, I -paused and looked back, and you waved your hand as though dismissing me -to the noisy world of men. - -In other Junes I have kept tryst with moon and stars beside your gate, -where daisies flow still across the meadow, and insect voices blur the -twilight peace; but I have never seen again your house of shadows among -the trees, or found you dreaming there at the gate with uplifted face -and wistful eyes. But from the ridge, where the road steals down into -the hollow with its fireflies and murmuring water, I for ever look back -to the star- and moon-hung gate in the wall, and see your slim, girlish -figure, and can swear that you wave your hand. - - KATONAH, _June 30, 1908_. M. N. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - I. TWO GENTLEMEN SAY GOOD-BYE 7 - - II. THE ABSENCE OF GOVERNOR OSBORNE 29 - - III. THE JUG AND MR. ARDMORE 40 - - IV. DUTY AND THE JUG 55 - - V. MR. ARDMORE OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZED 71 - - VI. MR. GRISWOLD FORSAKES THE ACADEMIC LIFE 89 - - VII. AN AFFAIR AT THE STATE HOUSE 100 - - VIII. THE LABOURS OF MR. ARDMORE 115 - - IX. THE LAND OF THE LITTLE BROWN JUG 129 - - X. PROFESSOR GRISWOLD TAKES THE FIELD 138 - - XI. TWO LADIES ON A BALCONY 149 - - XII. THE EMBARRASSMENTS OF THE DUKE OF BALLYWINKLE 160 - - XIII. MISS DANGERFIELD TAKES A PRISONER 175 - - XIV. A MEETING OF OLD FRIENDS 191 - - XV. THE PRISONER IN THE CORN-CRIB 209 - - XVI. THE FLIGHT OF GILLINGWATER 228 - - XVII. ON THE ROAD TO TURNER’S 237 - - XVIII. THE BATTLE OF THE RACCOON 246 - - XIX. IN THE RED BUNGALOW 255 - - XX. ROSÆ MUNDI 269 - - XXI. GOOD-BYE TO JERRY DANGERFIELD 281 - - - - -THE WAR OF THE CAROLINAS. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -TWO GENTLEMEN SAY GOOD-BYE. - - -“If anything really interesting should happen to me I think I should -drop dead,” declared Ardmore, as he stood talking to Griswold in the -railway station at Atlanta. “I entered upon this life under false -pretenses, thinking that money would make the game easy, but here I am, -twenty-seven years old, stalled at the end of a blind alley, with no -light ahead; and to be quite frank, old man, I don’t believe you have -the advantage of me. What’s the matter with us, anyhow?” - -“The mistake we make,” replied Griswold, “is in failing to seize -opportunities when they offer. You and I have talked ourselves hoarse a -thousand times planning schemes we never pull off. We are cursed with -indecision, that’s the trouble with us. We never see the handwriting -on the wall, or if we do, it’s just a streak of hieroglyphics, and we -don’t know what it means until we read about it in the newspapers. But -I thought you were satisfied with the thrills you got running as a -reform candidate for alderman in New York last year. It was a large -stage, and the lime-light struck you pretty often. Didn’t you get -enough? No doubt they’d be glad to run you again.” - -Ardmore glanced hastily about and laid his hand heavily on his friend’s -shoulder. - -“Don’t mention it--don’t think of it! No more politics in mine. The -world may go hang if it waits for me to set it right. What I want is -something different, a real adventure--something with spice in it. I -have bought everything money can buy, and now I’m looking for something -that can’t be tagged with a price.” - -“There’s your yacht and the open sea,” suggested Griswold. - -“Sick of it! Sick to death of it!” - -“You’re difficult, old man, and mighty hard to please. Why don’t you -turn explorer and go in for the North Pole?” - -“Perfectly bully! I’ve thought of it a lot, but I want to be sure I’ve -cleaned up everything else first. It’s always up there waiting--on ice, -so to speak--but when it’s done once there will be nothing left. I want -to save that for the last call.” - -“You said about the same thing when we talked of Thibet that first -evening we met at the University Club, and now the Grand Lama sings in -all the phonographs, and for a penny you can see him in a kinetoscope, -eating his luncheon. I remember very well that night. We were facing -each other at a writing-table, and you looked up timidly from your -letter and asked me whether there were two _g’s_ in aggravate; and I -answered that it depended on the meaning--one _g_ for a mild case, two -for a severe one--and you laughed, and we began talking. Then we found -out how lonesome we both were, and you asked me to dinner, and then -took me to that big house of yours up there in Fifth Avenue and showed -me the pictures in your art gallery, and we found out that we needed -each other.” - -“Yes, I had needed you all right!” And Ardmore sniffed dolefully, and -complained of the smoke that was drifting in upon them from the train -sheds. “I wish you wouldn’t always be leaving me. You ought to give -up your job and amuse me. You’re the only chap I know who doesn’t -talk horse or automobile or yacht, or who doesn’t want to spend whole -evenings discussing champagne vintages; but you’re too good a man to be -wasted on a college professorship. Better let me endow an institution -that will make you president--there might be something in that.” - -“It would make me too prominent, so that when we really make up our -minds to go in for adventures I should be embarrassed by my high -position. As a mere lecturer on ‘The Libelling of Sunken Ships’ in a -law school, I’m the most obscure person in the world. And for another -thing, we couldn’t risk the scandal of tainted money. It would be nasty -to have your great-grandfather’s whisky deals with the Mohawk Indians -chanted in a college yell.” - -The crowd surged past them to the Washington express, and a waiting -porter picked up Griswold’s bags. - -“Wish you wouldn’t go. I have three hours to wait,” said Ardmore, -looking at his watch, “and the only Atlanta man I know is out of town.” - -“What did you say you were going to New Orleans for?” demanded -Griswold, taking out his ticket and moving towards the gate. “I thought -you exhausted the Creole restaurants long ago.” - -“The fact is,” faltered Ardmore, colouring, “I’m looking for some one.” - -“Out with it--out with it!” commanded his friend. - -“I’m looking for a girl I saw from a car window day before yesterday. I -had started north, and my train stopped to let a south-bound train pass -somewhere in North Carolina. The girl was on the south-bound sleeper, -and her window was opposite mine. She put aside the magazine she was -reading and looked me over rather coolly.” - -“And you glanced carelessly in the opposite direction and pulled down -your shade, of course, like the well-bred man you are----” interrupted -Griswold, holding fast to Ardmore’s arm as they walked down the -platform. - -“I did no such thing. I looked at her and she looked at me. And then my -train started----” - -“Well, trains have a way of starting. Does the romance end here?” - -“Then, just at the last moment, she winked at me!” - -“It was a cinder, Ardy. The use of soft coal on railways is one of the -saddest facts of American transportation. I need hardly remind you, -Mr. Ardmore, that nice girls don’t wink at strange young men. It isn’t -done!” - -“I would have you know, Professor, that this girl is a lady.” - -“Don’t be so irritable, and let me summarize briefly on your own -hypothesis. You stared at a strange girl, and she winked at you, safe -in the consciousness that she would never see you again. And now you -are going to New Orleans to look for her. She will probably meet you -at the station, with her bridesmaids and wedding cake all ready for -you. And you think this will lead to an adventure--you defer finding -the North Pole for this--for this? Poor Ardy! But did she toss her -card from the window? Why New Orleans? Why not Minneapolis, or Bangor, -Maine?” - -“I’m not an ass, Grissy. I caught the name of the sleeper--you know -they’re all named, like yachts and tall buildings--the name of her car -was the _Alexandra_. I asked our conductor where it was bound for, and -he said it was the New Orleans car. So I took the first train back, ran -into you here, and that’s the whole story to date.” - -“I admire your spirit. New Orleans is much pleasanter than the polar -ice, and a girl with a winking eye isn’t to be overlooked in this vale -of tears. What did this alleviating balm for tired eyes look like, if -you remember anything besides the wicked wink?” - -“She was bareheaded, and her hair was wonderfully light and fluffy, -and it was parted in the middle and tied behind with a black ribbon -in a great bow. She rested her cheek on her hand--her elbow on the -window-sill, you know--and she smiled a little as the car moved off, -and winked--do you understand? Her eyes were blue, Grissy, big and -blue--and she was perfectly stunning.” - -“There are winks and winks, Ardy,” observed Griswold, with a judicial -air. “There is the wink inadvertent, to which no meaning can be -attached. There is the wink deceptive, usually given behind the back -of a third person, and a vulgar thing which we will not associate with -your girl of the _Alexandra_. And then, to be brief, there is the wink -of mischief, which is observed occasionally in persons of exceptional -bringing up. There are moments in the lives of all of us when we lose -our grip on conventions--on morality, even. The psychology of this -matter is very subtle. Here you are, a gentleman of austerely correct -life; here is a delightful girl, on whom you flash in an out-of-the-way -corner of the world. And she, not wholly displeased by the frank -admiration in your eyes--for you may as well concede that you stared at -her----” - -“Well, I suppose I did look at her,” admitted Ardmore reluctantly. - -“Pardonably, no doubt, just as you would look at a portrait in a -picture gallery, of course. This boarding-school miss, who had never -before lapsed from absolute propriety, felt the conventional world -crumble beneath her as the train started. She could no more have -resisted the temptation to wink than she could have refused a caramel -or an invitation to appear as best girl at a church wedding. Thus -wireless communication is established between soul and soul for an -instant only, and then you are cut off for ever. Perhaps, in the next -world, Ardy----” - -Griswold and Ardmore had often idealized themselves as hopeless -pursuers of the elusive, the unattainable, the impossible; or at least -Ardmore had, and Griswold had entered into the spirit of this sort -of thing for the joy it gave Ardmore. They had discussed frequently -the call of soul to soul--the quick glance passing between perfect -strangers in crowded thoroughfares--and had fruitlessly speculated -as to their proper course in the event the call seemed imperative. A -glance of the eye is one thing, but it is quite another to address a -stranger and offer eternal friendship. The two had agreed that, while, -soul-call or no soul-call, a gentleman must keep clear of steamer -flirtations, and avoid even the most casual remarks to strange young -women in any circumstances, a gentleman of breeding and character -may nevertheless follow the world’s long trails in search of a -never-to-be-forgotten face. - -The fact is that Ardmore was exceedingly shy, and a considerable -experience of fashionable society had not diminished this shortcoming. -Griswold, on the other hand, had the Virginian’s natural social -instinct, but he suffered from a widely-diffused impression that much -learning had made him either indifferent or extremely critical where -women are concerned. - -Ardmore shrugged his shoulders and fumbled in his coat pockets as -though searching for ideas. An austere composure marked his countenance -at all times, and emphasized the real distinction of his clean-cut -features. His way of tilting back his head and staring dreamily into -vacancy had established for him a reputation for stupidity that was -wholly undeserved. - -“Please limit the discussion to the present world, Professor.” - -When Ardmore was displeased with Griswold he called him Professor, in -a withering tone that disposed of the academic life. - -“We shall limit it to New Orleans or the universe, as you like.” - -“I’m disappointed in you, Grissy. You don’t take this matter in the -proper spirit. I’m going to find that girl, I tell you.” - -“I want you to find her, Ardy, and throw yourself at her feet. Be it -far from me to deprive you of the joy of search. I thoroughly admire -your resolute spirit. It smacks of the old heroic times. Nor can I -conceal from you my consuming envy. If a girl should flatter me with a -wink, I should follow her thrice round the world. She should not elude -me anywhere in the Copernican system. If it were not the nobler part -for you to pursue alone, I should forsake my professorship and buckle -on my armour and follow your standard-- - - With the winking eye - For my battle-cry.” - -And Griswold hummed the words, beating time with his stick, much to -Ardmore’s annoyance. - -“In my ignorance,” Griswold continued, “I recall but one allusion to -the wink in immortal song. If my memory serves me, it is no less a soul -than Browning who sings: - - ‘All heaven, meanwhile, condensed into one eye - Which fears to lose the wonder, should it wink.’ - -You seem worried, Ardy. Does the wink press so heavily, or what’s the -matter?” - -“The fact is, I’m in trouble. My sister says I’ve got to marry.” - -“Which sister?” - -“Mrs. Atchison. You know Nellie? She’s a nice girl and she’s a good -sister to me, but she’s running me too hard on this marrying business. -She’s going to bring a bunch of girls down to Ardsley in a few days, -and she says she’ll stay until I make a choice.” - -Griswold whistled. - -“Then, as we say in literary circles, you’re up against it. No wonder -you’re beginning to take notice of the frolicsome boarding-school girl -who winks at the world. I believe I’d rather take chances myself with -that amiable sort than marry into your Newport transatlantic set.” - -“Well, one thing’s certain, Grissy. You’ve got to come to Ardsley and -help me out while those people are there. Nellie likes you; she thinks -you’re terribly intellectual and all that, and if you’ll throw in a -word now and then, why----” - -“Why, I may be able to protect you from the crafts and assaults of your -sister. You seem to forget, Ardy, that I’m not one of your American -leisure class. I’m always delighted to meet Mrs. Atchison, but I’m a -person of occupations. I have a consultation in Richmond to-morrow, -then me for Charlottesville. We have examinations coming on, and while -I like to play with you, I’ve positively got to work.” - -“Not if I endow all the chairs in the university! You’ve not only got -to come, but you’re going to be there the day they arrive.” - -Thomas Ardmore, of New York and Ardsley, struck his heavy stick--he -always carried a heavy stick--smartly on the cement platform in the -stress of his feeling. He was much shorter than Griswold, to whom he -was deeply attached--for whom he had, indeed, the frank admiration -of a small boy for a big brother. He sometimes wondered how fully -Griswold entered into the projects of adventure which he, in his -supreme idleness, planned and proposed; but he himself had never been -quite ready to mount horse or shake out soil, and what Griswold had -said about indecision rankled in his heart. He was sorry now that he -had told of this new enterprise to which he had pledged himself, but -he grew lenient towards Griswold’s lack of sympathy as he reflected -that the quest of a winking girl was rather beneath the dignity of a -gentleman wedded not merely to the law, but to the austere teaching -profession as well. In his heart he forgave Griswold, but he was all -the more resolved to address himself stubbornly to his pursuit of -the deity of the car _Alexandra_, for only by finding her could he -establish himself in Griswold’s eyes as a man of action, capable of -carrying through a scheme requiring cleverness and tact. - -Ardmore was almost painfully rich, but the usual diversions of the -wealthy did not appeal to him; and having exhausted foreign travel, he -spent much time on his estate in the North Carolina hills, where he -could ride all day on his own land, and where he read prodigiously in a -huge library that he had assembled with special reference to works on -piracy, a subject that had attracted him from early youth. - -It was this hobby that had sealed his friendship with Griswold, who -had relinquished the practice of law, after a brilliant start in his -native city of Richmond, to accept the associate professorship of -admiralty in the law department of the University of Virginia. Marine -law had a particular fascination for Griswold, from its essentially -romantic character. As a law student he had read all the decisions in -admiralty that the libraries afforded, and though faithfully serving -the university, he still occasionally accepted retainers in admiralty -cases of unusual importance. His lectures were constantly attended by -students in other departments of the university for sheer pleasure in -Griswold’s racy and entertaining exposition of the laws touching the -libelling of schooners and the recovery of jettisoned cargoes. Henry -Maine Griswold was tall, slender, and dark, and he hovered recklessly, -as he might have put it, on the brink of thirty. He stroked his thin -brown moustache habitually, as though to hide the smile that played -about his humorous mouth--a smile that lay even more obscurely in his -fine brown eyes. He did violence to the academic traditions by dressing -with metropolitan care, gray being his prevailing note, though his -scarfs ventured upon bold colour schemes that interested his students -almost as much as his lectures. The darkest fact of his life--and one -shared with none--was his experiments in verse. From his undergraduate -days he had written occasionally a little song, quite for his own -pleasure in versifying, and to a little sheaf of these things in -manuscript he still added a few verses now and then. - -“Don’t worry, Ardy,” he was saying to his friend as “all aboard” was -called, “and don’t be reckless. When you get through looking for the -winking eye, come up to Charlottesville, and we’ll plan _The True Life -of Captain Kidd_ that is some day going to make us famous.” - -“I’ll wire you later,” replied Ardmore, clinging to his friend’s hand -a moment after the train began to move. Griswold leaned out of the -vestibule to wave a last farewell to Ardmore, and something very kind -and gentle and good to see shone in the lawyer’s eyes. He went into the -car smiling, for he called Ardmore his best friend, and he was amused -by his last words, which were always Ardmore’s last in their partings, -and were followed usually by telegrams about the most preposterous -things, or suggestions for romantic adventures, or some new hypothesis -touching Captain Kidd and his buried treasure. Ardmore never wrote -letters; he always telegraphed, and he enjoyed filing long, mysterious, -and expensive messages with telegraph operators in obscure places where -a scrupulous ten words was the frugal limit. - -Griswold lighted a cigar and opened the afternoon Atlanta papers in -the smoking compartment. His eye was caught at once by imperative -headlines. It is not too much to say that the eye of the continent was -arrested that evening by the amazing disclosure, now tardily reaching -the public, that something unusual had occurred at the annual meeting -of the Cotton Planters’ Association at New Orleans on the previous day. -Every copy-reader and editor, every paragrapher on every newspaper in -the land, had smiled and reached for a fresh pencil as a preliminary -bulletin announced the passing of harsh words between the Governor -of North Carolina and the Governor of South Carolina. It may as well -be acknowledged here that just what really happened at the Cotton -Planters’ Convention will never be known, for this particular meeting -was held behind closed doors; and as the two governors were honoured -guests of the association, no member has ever breathed a word touching -an incident that all most sincerely deplored. Indeed, no hint of it -would ever have reached the public had it not been that both gentlemen -hurriedly left the convention hall, refused to keep their appointments -to speak at the banquet that followed the business meetings, and -were reported to have taken the first trains for their respective -capitals. It was whispered by a few persons that the Governor of South -Carolina had taken a fling at the authenticity of the Mecklenburg -Declaration of Independence; it was rumoured in other quarters that -the Governor of North Carolina was the aggressor, he having--it was -said--declared that a people (meaning the freemen of the commonwealth -of South Carolina) who were not intelligent enough to raise their own -hay, and who, moreover, bought that article in Ohio, were not worth -the ground necessary for their decent interment. It is not the purpose -of this chronicle either to seek the truth of what passed between the -two governors at New Orleans, or to discuss the points of history and -agriculture raised in the statements just indicated. As every one -knows, the twentieth of May (or was it the thirty-first?), 1775, is -solemnly observed in North Carolina as the day on which the patriots of -Mecklenburg County severed the relations theretofore existing between -them and his Majesty King George the Third. Equally well known is the -fact that in South Carolina it is an article of religious faith that on -that twentieth day of May, 1775, the citizens of Mecklenburg County, -North Carolina, cheered the English flag and adopted resolutions -reaffirming their ancient allegiance to the British crown. This -controversy and the inadequacy of the South Carolina hay crop must -be passed on to the pamphleteers, with such other vexed questions as -Andrew Jackson’s birthplace--more debated than Homer’s, and not to be -carelessly conceded to the strutting sons of Waxhaw. - -Griswold read of the New Orleans incident with a smile, while several -fellow-passengers discussed it in a tone of banter. One of them, a -gentleman from Mississippi, presently produced a flask, which he -offered to the others, remarking, “As the Governor of North Carolina -said to the Governor of South Carolina,” which was, to be sure, -pertinent to the hour and the discussion, and bristling with fresh -significance. - -“They were both in Atlanta this morning,” said the man with the flask, -“and they would have been travelling together on this train if they -hadn’t met in the ticket office and nearly exploded with rage.” - -The speaker was suddenly overcome with his own humour, and slapped his -knee and laughed; then they all laughed, including Griswold. - -“One ought to have taken the lower berth and one the upper to make it -perfect,” observed an Alabama man. “I wonder when they’ll get home.” - -“They’ll probably both walk to be sure they don’t take the same train,” -suggested a commercial traveller from Cincinnati, who had just come -from New Orleans. “Their friends are doing their best to keep them -apart. They both have a reputation for being quick on the trigger.” - -“Bosh!” exclaimed Griswold. “I dare say it’s all a newspaper story. -There’s no knife-and-pistol nonsense in the South any more. They’ll -both go home and attend to their business, and that will be the last of -it. The people of North Carolina ought to be proud of Dangerfield; he’s -one of the best governors they ever had. And Osborne is a first-class -man, too, one of the old Palmetto families.” - -“I guess they’re both all right,” drawled the Mississippian, settling -his big black hat more firmly on his head. “Dangerfield spoke in our -town at the state fair last year, and he’s one of the best talkers I -ever heard.” - -Therefore, as no one appeared to speak for the governor of South -Carolina, the drummer volunteered to vouch for his oratorical gifts, -on the strength of an address lately delivered by Governor Osborne in -a lecture course at Cincinnati. Being pressed by the Mississippian, he -admitted that he had not himself attended the lecture, but he had heard -it warmly praised by competent critics. - -The Mississippian had resented Griswold’s rejection of the possibility -of personal violence between the governors, and wished to return to the -subject. - -“It’s not only themselves,” he declared, “but each man has got the -honour of his state to defend. Suppose, when they met in the railway -office at Atlanta this morning, Dangerfield had drawed his gun. Do you -suppose, gentlemen, that if North Carolina had drawed South Carolina -wouldn’t have followed suit? I declare, young man, you don’t know what -you’re talking about. If Bill Dangerfield won’t fight, I don’t know -fightin’ blood when I see it.” - -“Well, sir,” began the Alabama man, “my brother-in-law in Charleston -went to college with Osborne, and many’s the time I’ve heard him say -that he was sorry for the man who woke up Charlie Osborne. Charlie--I -mean the governor, you understand--is one of these fellows who never -says much, but when you get him going he’s terrible to witness. Bill -Dangerfield may be Governor of North Car’line, and I reckon he is, but -he ain’t Governor of South Car’line, not by a damned good deal.” - -The discussion had begun to bore Griswold, and he went back to his -own section, having it in mind to revise a lecture he was preparing -on “The Right of Search on the High Seas.” It had grown dark, and the -car was brilliantly lighted. There were not more than half a dozen -other persons in his sleeper, and these were widely scattered. Having -taken an inventory of his belongings to be sure they were all at hand, -he became conscious of the presence of a young lady in the opposite -section. In the seat behind her sat an old coloured woman in snowy cap -and apron, who was evidently the young lady’s servant. Griswold was -aware that this dusky duenna bristled and frowned and pursed her lips -in the way of her picturesque kind as he glanced at her, as though -his presence were an intrusion upon her mistress, who sat withdrawn -to the extreme corner of her section, seeking its fullest seclusion, -with her head against a pillow, and the tips of her suède shoes showing -under her gray travelling skirt on the farther half of the section. -She twirled idly in her fingers a half-opened white rosebud--a fact -unimportant in itself, but destined to linger long in Griswold’s -memory. The pillow afforded the happiest possible background for her -brown head, her cheek bright with colour, and a profile clear-cut, -and just now--an impression due, perhaps, to the slight quiver of her -nostrils and the compression of her lips--seemingly disdainful of the -world. Griswold hung up his hat and opened his portfolio; but the -presence of the girl suggested Ardmore and his ridiculous quest of the -alluring blue eye, and it was refreshing to recall Ardmore and his -ways. Here was one man, at least, in this twentieth century, at whose -door the Time Spirit might thump and thunder in vain. - -The black woman rose and ministered to her mistress, muttering in -kind monotone consolatory phrases from which “chile” and “honey” -occasionally reached Griswold’s ears. The old mammy produced from a -bag several toilet bottles, a fresh handkerchief, a hand mirror, and a -brush, which she arranged in the empty seat. The silver trinkets glowed -brightly against the blue upholstery. - -“Thank you, Aunt Phœbe, I’m feeling much better. Just let me alone now, -please.” - -The girl put aside the white rose for a moment and breathed deeply -of the vinaigrette, whose keen, pungent odour stole across the aisle -to Griswold. She bent forward, took up the hand mirror, and brushed -the hair away from her forehead with half a dozen light strokes. She -touched her handkerchief to the cologne flask, passed it across her -eyes, and then took up the rose again and settled back with a little -sigh of relief. In her new upright position her gaze rested upon -Griswold’s newspapers, which he had flung down on the empty half of -his section. One of them had fallen open, and lay with its outer page -staring with the bold grin of display type. - - TWO GOVERNORS AT WAR. - - WHAT DID THE GOVERNOR OF NORTH CAROLINA SAY TO THE GOVERNOR OF SOUTH - CAROLINA? - -The colour deepened in the girl’s face; a slight frown gathered in -her smooth forehead; then she called the coloured woman, and a brief -colloquy followed between them. In a moment Griswold was addressed in a -tone and manner at once condescending and deferential. - -“If yo’ please, suh, would yo’ all ’low my mistus t’ look at yo’ -newspapahs?” - -“Certainly. Take them along.” - -And Griswold, recalled from a passage in his lecture that dealt -with contraband munitions of war, handed over the newspapers, and -saw them pass into the hands of his fellow-passenger. He had read -the newspapers pretty thoroughly, and knew the distribution of -their contents, so that he noted with surprise the girl’s immediate -absorption in the telegrams from New Orleans relating to the difficulty -between the two governors. - -As she read she lost, he thought, something of her splendid colour, -and at one point in her reading her face went white for a moment, and -Griswold saw the paper wrinkle under the tightening grasp of her hands. -The tidings from New Orleans had undoubtedly aroused her indignation, -which expressed itself further in the rigid lines of her figure as -she read, and in the gradual lifting of her head, as though with some -new resolution. She seemed to lose account of her surroundings, and -several times Griswold was quite sure that he heard her half exclaim, -“Preposterous! Infamous!” - -When she had finished the New Orleans telegrams she cast the offending -newspapers from her; then, recalling herself, summoned the black woman, -and returned them to Griswold, the dusky agent expressing the elaborate -thanks of her race for his courtesy. The girl had utterly ignored -Griswold, and she now pulled down the curtain at her elbow with a snap -and turned her face away from him. - -Professor Griswold’s eyes wandered repeatedly from his manuscript -to the car ceiling, then furtively to the uncompromisingly averted -shoulder and head of the young lady, then back to his lecture notes, -until he was weary of the process. He wished Ardmore were at hand, for -his friend would find here a case that promised much better than the -pursuit to which he had addressed himself. The girl in this instance -was at least a self-respecting lady, not given to flirtations with -chance travellers, and the brown eyes, of which Griswold had caught one -or two fleeting glimpses, were clearly not of the winking sort. The -attendance of the black mammy distinguished the girl as a person of -quality, whose travels were stamped with an austere propriety. - -Her silver toilet articles testified to an acquaintance with the -comforts if not the luxuries of life. The alligator-hide suit-case -thrust under the seat bore the familiar label of a Swiss hotel where -Griswold had once spent a week, and spoke of the girl’s acquaintance -with an ampler world. When Phœbe had brought it forth, the initials “B. -O.” in small black letters suggested Baltimore and Ohio to Griswold’s -lazy speculations, whereupon he reflected that while Baltimore was -plausible, the black servant eliminated Ohio; and as every Virginian -knows every other Virginian, he tried to identify her with Old Dominion -family names beginning with O, but without result. He finally concluded -that, while her name might be Beatrice or Barbara, it could not be -Bessie, and he decided that very likely the suit-case belonged to her -brother Benjamin, in whom he felt no interest whatever. - -He went out to supper, secured the only remaining table for two, and -was giving his order when the young lady appeared. She had donned her -hat, and as she stood a moment in the entrance, surveying the line -of tables, her distinction was undeniable. There were but two vacant -places in the car, one facing Griswold, the other across the aisle at a -larger table where three men were engaged in animated discussion. The -girl viewed the prospect with evident disappointment as the waiter drew -out the vacant chair at Griswold’s table. She carried herself bravely, -but wore still a triste air that touched Griswold’s sympathy. He rose, -told the waiter that he would sit at the other table, and the girl -murmured her thanks with a forlorn little smile as she took his seat. - -The appearance of Griswold aroused the Mississippian to a renewal of -the discussion of the New Orleans incident. He was in excellent humour, -and had carried to the car a quart bottle, which he pushed toward -Griswold. - -“As the Governor of North Carolina said to the Governor of South -Carolina----” - -“No, thank you,” and as he spoke Griswold’s eyes fell upon the girl, -and he saw annoyance written fleetingly on her face. - -“You needn’t be afraid of that whisky. It’s all right,” the -Mississippian protested. - -“I’m confident of that; but some other time, thank you.” - -“Well, sir,” the Mississippian declared, “after you left us a while -ago we got to talking about Dangerfield and his trouble with Osborne. -There’s something back of this rumpus. You see, if they lived in the -same state you might account for a fierce rivalry between them. Both of -’em, for example, might have the senatorial bee in their bonnets; but -either one of ’em could make the senate any time he pleased. I guess -they’re the two biggest men in the South right now. They’re too big to -be touchy about any small matter; that’s why I reckon there’s something -behind this little racket over there at New Orleans. No passing remark -would send men off that way, so wild that they wouldn’t travel on the -same train together. Why, gentlemen----” - -“Please pass the salt,” interposed Griswold. - -The Mississippian enjoyed the sound of his own voice, which boomed out -above the noise of the train with broad effects of dialect that these -types will not be asked to reproduce. Griswold’s eyes had again met -those of the girl opposite, and there was, he felt, a look of appeal -in them. The discussion distressed her, just as the telegrams from New -Orleans in the afternoon papers had distressed her, and Griswold began -at once to entertain his table companions with his views on a number of -national political issues, that were as vital to Arizona or Wyoming as -to the Carolinas. He told stories to illustrate his points, and told -them so well that his three companions forgot the estrangement of the -belligerent governors. - -Griswold ran on in the low, musical voice that distinguishes the -cultivated Virginian in any company anywhere in the world, and the -noisy loquacity of the Mississippian went down before him. He was so -intent on holding their attention that his dishes were taken from him -almost untouched. The others lingered until his coffee was brought. -He was so absorbed that he failed to see the smile that occasionally -passed over the girl’s face as some fragment of one of his stories -found its way to her. He had undertaken to deflect the talk from a -channel which had, it seemed, some painful association for her, but he -had done more in unwittingly diverting her own thoughts by his droll -humour. He did not cease until she had left the car, whereupon he -followed his trio of auditors to the smoking compartment, and there -suffered the Mississippian to hold uninterrupted sway. - -When he went back into the car at eleven o’clock he found the girl and -her maid still sitting in their sections, though most of the other -berths, including his own, had been made up. The train was slowing -down, and wishing a breath of air before retiring, he went to the -rear platform of the sleeper, which was the last car of the train. -The porter had opened the door in the vestibule to allow the brakeman -to run back with his torpedoes. The baggage car had developed a hot -box, and jumping out, Griswold saw lanterns flashing ahead where the -trainmen laboured with the sick wheel. The porter vanished, leaving -Griswold alone. The train had stopped at the edge of a small town, -whose scattered houses lay darkly against the hills beyond. The -platform lamps of a station shone a quarter of a mile ahead. The -feverish steel yielded reluctantly to treatment, and Griswold went -forward and watched the men at work for a few minutes, then returned -to the end of the train. He swung himself into the vestibule and -leaned upon the guard rail, gazing down the track toward the brakeman’s -lantern. Then he grew impatient at the continued delay and dropped -down again, pacing back and forth in the road-bed behind the becalmed -train. The night was overcast, with hints of rain in the air, and a -little way from the rear lights it was pitch dark. Griswold felt sure -that the train would not leave without the brakeman, and he was further -reassured by the lanterns of the trainmen beside the baggage car. -Suddenly, as he reached the car and turned to retrace his steps, a man -sprang up, seemingly from nowhere, and accosted him. - -“I reckon y’u’re the gov’nor, ain’t y’u?” - -“Yes, certainly, my man. What can I do for you?” replied Griswold -instantly. - -“I reckoned it was y’u when y’u fust come out on the platform. I’m -app’inted to tell y’u, Gov’nor, that if y’u have Bill Appleweight -arrested in South Car’lina, y’u’ll get something one of these days -y’u won’t like. And if y’u try to find me y’u’ll get it quicker. -Good-night, Gov’nor.” - -“Good-night!” stammered Griswold. - -The least irony had crept into the word governor as the man uttered -it and slipped away into the darkness. The shadows swallowed him up; -the frogs in the ditch beside the track chanted dolorously; then the -locomotive whistled for the brakeman, whose lantern was already bobbing -toward the train. - -As Griswold swung himself into the vestibule the girl who had borrowed -his newspapers turned away hurriedly and walked swiftly before him to -her section. The porter, who was gathering her things together, said, -as she paused in the aisle by her seat,-- - -“Beginnin’ to get ready, Miss Osbo’n. We’re gwine intu Columbia thirty -minutes late all account dat hot box.” - -Griswold passed on to the smoking compartment and lighted a cigar. -His acquaintances of the supper table had retired, and he was glad -to be alone with his thoughts before the train reached Columbia. He -dealt harshly with himself for his stupidity in not having associated -the girl’s perturbation over the breach between the governor of North -Carolina and the governor of South Carolina with the initials on her -travelling bag; he had been very dull, but it was clear to him now that -she was either the daughter or some other near relative of Governor -Osborne. In a few minutes she would leave the train at Columbia, where -the governor lived, and, being a gentleman, he would continue on his -way to Richmond, and thence to the university, and the incident would -be closed. But Griswold was a lawyer, and he had an old-fashioned -Southern lawyer’s respect for the majesty of law. On the spur of -curiosity or impulse he had received a threatening message intended for -the governor of South Carolina, who, from the manner of the delivery -of the message, had been expected on this train. Griswold argued that -the man who had spoken to him had been waiting at the little station -near which they had stopped, in the hope of seeing the governor; that -the waiting messenger had taken advantage of the unexpected halt of the -train; and, further, that some suggestion of the governor in his own -appearance had deceived the stranger. He felt the least bit guilty at -having deceived the man, but it was now clearly his duty to see that -the governor was advised of the threat that had been communicated in so -unusual a manner. - -He was pondering whether he should do this in person or by letter or -telegram, when the rattle of the train over the switch frogs in the -Columbia yards brought him to the point of decision. - -The porter thrust his head into the compartment. - -“Columbia, sah. Yo’ berth’s all ready, sah. Yo’ gwine t’ Richmond--yes, -sah.” - -His hands were filled with the young lady’s luggage. The lettering on -the suit-case seemed, in a way, to appeal to Griswold and to fix his -determination. - -“Porter! Put my things off. I’ll wait here for the morning train.” - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE ABSENCE OF GOVERNOR OSBORNE. - - -Griswold spent the night at the Saluda House, Columbia, and rose in -the morning with every intention of seeing Governor Osborne, or some -one in authority at his office, as soon as possible, and proceeding to -Richmond without further delay. As he scanned the morning newspaper at -breakfast he read with chagrin this item, prominently headlined: - - Governor Osborne, who was expected home from the Cotton Planters’ - Convention yesterday morning, has been unavoidably detained in - Atlanta by important personal business. Miss Barbara Osborne arrived - last night and proceeded at once to the governor’s mansion. - - Several matters of considerable importance await the governor’s - return. Among these is the matter of dealing with the notorious Bill - Appleweight. It is understood that the North Carolina officials are - unwilling to arrest Appleweight, though his hiding-place in the hills - on the border near Kildare is well known. Although he runs back and - forth across the state line at pleasure, he is a North Carolinian - beyond question, and it’s about time Governor Dangerfield took note - of the fact. However, the governor of South Carolina may be relied on - to act with his usual high sense of public duty in this matter. - -Professor Griswold was not pleased to learn that the governor was still -absent from the capital. He felt that he deserved better luck after the -trouble he had taken to warn the governor. His conscience had got the -better of his comfort--he knew that, and he wrote a telegram to the law -firm at Richmond with which he was consultant, asking that a meeting -with certain clients arranged for to-day be deferred twenty-four -hours. It was now Tuesday; he had no further lectures at the university -until the following Monday, and after he had taken his bearings of -Columbia, where it occurred to him he had not an acquaintance, he -walked toward the capitol with a well-formed idea of seeing the -governor’s private secretary--and, if that person appeared to be worthy -of confidence, apprising him of the governor’s danger. - -Standing in the many-pillared portico of the capitol, Griswold turned -to look down upon Columbia, a city distinguished to the most casual eye -by streets an acre wide! And having an historical imagination and a -reverence for the past, Griswold gave himself for a moment to Memory, -hearing the tramp of armed hosts, and the thunder of cannon, and seeing -flames leap again in the wake of battle. It was a glorious day, and the -green of late May lay like a soft scarf upon the city. The sky held the -wistful blue of spring. Griswold bared his head to the faint breeze, -or perhaps unconsciously he saluted the bronze figure of Hampton, who -rides for ever there at the head of his stubborn legion. He turned into -the capitol with a little sigh, for he was a son of Virginia, and here, -in this unfamiliar scene, the Past was revivified, and he felt the -spell of things that were already old when he was born. - -It was not yet nine o’clock when he entered the governor’s office. He -waited in the reception-room, adjoining the official chamber, but the -several desks of the clerical staff remained unoccupied. He chafed a -bit as time passed and no one appeared, for his north-bound train left -at eleven, and he could not fairly be asked to waste the entire day -here. He was pacing the floor, expecting one of the clerks to appear at -any moment, when a man entered hurriedly, walked to the closed inner -door, shook it impatiently, and kicked it angrily as he turned away. He -was a short, thick-set man of thirty-five, dressed in blue serge, and -his movements were quick and nervous. He growled under his breath and -swung round upon Griswold as though to tax him with responsibility for -the closed door. - -“Has no one been here this morning?” he demanded, glaring at the closed -desks. - -“If you don’t count me I should answer no,” replied Griswold quietly. - -“Oh!” - -The two gentlemen regarded each other for a moment, contemptuous -dislike clearly written on the smaller man’s face, Griswold -half-smiling and indifferent. - -“I am waiting for the governor,” remarked Griswold, thinking to gain -information. - -“Then you’re likely to wait some time,” jerked the other. “The whole -place seems to be abandoned. I never saw such a lot of people.” - -“Not having seen them myself, I must reserve judgment,” Griswold -remarked, and the blue serge suit flung out of the room. - -Presently another figure darkened the entrance, and the coloured -servant whom Griswold had seen attending Miss Osborne on the train -from Atlanta swept into the reception-room, and grandly ignoring his -presence, sat down in a chair nearest the closed door of the inner -chamber. Griswold felt that this was encouraging, as implying some link -between the governor and his domestic household, and he was about to -ask the coloured woman if she knew the business hours of the office -when the closed door opened and Miss Osborne appeared on the threshold. -The coloured woman rose, and Griswold, who happened to be facing the -door when it swung open with such startling suddenness, stared an -instant and bowed profoundly. - -“I beg your pardon, but I wish very much to see Governor Osborne or his -secretary.” - -Miss Osborne, in white, trailing a white parasol in her hand, and with -white roses in her belt, still stood half withdrawn inside the private -office. - -“I am very sorry that Governor Osborne and his secretary are both -absent,” she answered, and the two eyed each other gravely. Griswold -felt that the brown eyes into which he looked had lately known tears; -but she held her head high, with a certain defiance, even. - -“That is unfortunate. I stopped here last night on purpose to see him, -and now I fear that I must leave”--and he smiled the Griswold smile, -which was one of the secrets of his popularity at the university--“I -must leave Columbia in a very few minutes.” - -“The office does not keep very early hours,” remarked the girl, “but -some one will certainly be here in a moment. I am sorry you have had to -wait.” - -She had not changed her position, and Griswold rather hoped she would -not, for the door framed her perfectly, and the sunlight from the inner -windows emphasized the whiteness of the snowy gown she wore. Her straw -hat was shaped like a soldier’s campaign hat, with sides pinned up, the -top dented, and a single feather thrust into the side. - -“It was not I,” said Griswold, “who so rudely shook the door. I beg -that you will acquit me of that violence.” - -The girl did not, however, respond to his smile. She poked the floor -with her parasol a moment, then raised her head and asked,-- - -“Who was it, if you please?” - -“A gentleman with a brown beard, a red necktie, and a bad disposition.” - -“I thought as much,” she said, half to herself, and her eyes were -bent again upon the point of her parasol, with which she was tracing -a design in the rug. She lifted her head with the abruptness of quick -decision, and looked straight at Griswold. The negress had withdrawn -to the outer door, by which she sat with sphinx-like immovability. - -“I am Miss Osborne. Governor Osborne is my father. Would you mind -telling me whether your business with my father is----” - -She hesitated, and her eyes met Griswold’s. - -“Miss Osborne, as I have no acquaintances here, let me introduce -myself. My name is Griswold. My home is Charlottesville. Pardon me, -but you and I were fellow-passengers from Atlanta yesterday evening. -I am unacquainted with your father, and I have no business with him -except----” - -He was not yet clear in his mind whether to tell her that her father’s -life was threatened; it did not seem fair to alarm her when he was -powerless to help; but as he weighed the question the girl came out -into the reception-room and sat down near the window. - -“Won’t you have a seat, Mr. Griswold? May I ask you again whether you -know the gentleman who came in here and beat the door a while ago?” - -“I never saw him before in my life.” - -“That is very well. And now, Mr. Griswold, I am going to ask you to -tell me, if you will, just what it is you wish to say to my father.” - -She was very earnest, and the request she made rang the least bit -imperiously. She now held the white parasol across her lap in the tight -clasp of her white-gloved hands. - -“I should not hesitate----” began Griswold, still uncertain what to do. - -“You need not hesitate in the fear that you may alarm me. I think I -know”--and she half-smiled now--“I think perhaps I know what it is.” - -“My reason for wishing to see your father is, then, to warn him that -if a criminal named Appleweight is brought back from his hiding-place -on the North Carolina frontier, and tried for his crimes in South -Carolina, the governor of that state, your father, will be made to -suffer by Appleweight’s friends.” - -“That is what I thought,” said the girl, slowly nodding her head. - -“And now, to be quite honest about it, Miss Osborne, I must confess -that I received this warning last night from a man who believed me to -be the governor. To tell the truth, I told him I was the governor!” - -The girl’s eyes made a fresh inventory of Griswold, then she laughed -for the first time--a light laugh of honest mirth that would not be -gainsaid. The beautiful colour deepened in her cheeks; her eyes lighted -merrily, as though at the drollery of Griswold standing, so to speak, -_in loco parentis_. - -“I have my own confession to make. I heard what you said to that man. -I had gone to the rear platform to see what was the matter. The stop -there in that preposterous place seemed interminable. You must have -known that I listened.” - -“I didn’t suppose you heard what that man said to me or what I said to -him. I don’t know how I came to palm myself off as the governor--I am -not in the habit of doing such things, but it was due, I think, to the -fact that I had just been saying to a friend of mine at Atlanta----” - -He ceased speaking, realizing that what he might have said to Ardmore -was not germane to the point at issue. His responsibility for the -life and security of Governor Osborne of the sovereign state of South -Carolina was at an end, and he was entering upon a social chat with -Governor Osborne’s daughter. Some such thought must have passed through -her mind, too, for she straightened herself in her chair and dropped -the point of her parasol to the floor. But she was the least bit -curious, in spite of herself. The young man before her, who held his -hat and gloves so quietly and who spoke with so nice a deference in a -voice so musical, was beyond question a gentleman, and he had stopped -at Columbia to render her father a service. There was no reason why she -should not hear what he had said to his friend at Atlanta. - -“What had you been saying, Mr. Griswold?” - -“Oh, really nothing, after all! I’m ashamed of it now! But he’s the -most amusing person, with nothing to do but to keep himself amused. We -discuss many daring projects, but we are never equal to them. I had -just been telling him that we were incapable of action; that while we -plan our battles the foe is already breaking down the outer defences -and beating in the gates. You see, we are both very ridiculous at -times, and we talk that sort of idiocy to keep up our spirits. And -having berated my friend for his irresolution, I seized the first -opportunity to prove my own capacity for meeting emergencies. The man -flattered me with the assumption that I was the governor of South -Carolina, and I weakly fell.” - -Distress was again written in Miss Osborne’s face. She had paid little -heed to the latter half of Griswold’s recital, though she kept her eyes -fixed gravely upon him. In a moment the gentleman in blue serge who had -manifested so much feeling over the governor’s absence strode again -into the room. - -“Ah, Miss Osborne, so you are back!” - -He bowed over the girl’s hand with a great deal of manner, then glanced -at once toward the door of the private office. - -“Hasn’t your father come in yet? I have been looking for him since -eight o’clock.” - -“My father is not home yet, Mr. Bosworth.” - -“Not home! Do you mean to say that he won’t be here to-day?” - -“I hardly expect him,” replied the girl calmly. “Very likely he will be -at home to-night or in the morning.” - -Griswold had walked away out of hearing; but he felt that the girl -purposely raised her voice so that he might hear what she said. - -“I must know where he is; there’s an important matter waiting--a very -serious matter it may prove for him if he isn’t here to-day to pass on -it. I must wire him at once.” - -“Very good. You had better do so, Mr. Bosworth. He’s at the Peach Tree -Club, Atlanta.” - -“Atlanta! Do you mean to say that he isn’t even in this state to-day?” - -“No, Mr. Bosworth, and I advise you to telegraph him immediately if -your business is so urgent.” - -“It isn’t my business, Barbara; it’s the state’s business; it’s your -father’s business, and if he isn’t here to attend to it by to-morrow at -the latest, it will go hard with him. He has enemies who will construe -his absence as meaning----” - -He spoke rapidly, with rising anger, but some gesture from the girl -arrested him, and he turned frowningly to see Griswold calmly intent -upon an engraving at the farther end of the room. The coloured woman -was dozing in her chair. Before Bosworth could resume, the girl spoke, -her voice again raised so that every word reached Griswold. - -“If you refer to the Appleweight case, I must tell you, Mr. Bosworth, -that I have all confidence that my father will act whenever he sees -fit.” - -“But the people----” - -“My father is not afraid of the people,” said the girl quietly. - -“But you don’t understand, Barbara, how much is at stake here. If some -action isn’t taken in that matter within twenty-four hours your father -will be branded as a coward by every newspaper in the state. You seem -to take it pretty coolly, but it won’t be a trifling matter for him.” - -“I believe,” replied the girl, rising, “that you have said all that I -care to hear from you now or at any further time, Mr. Bosworth, about -this or any other matter.” - -“But, Barbara----” - -Miss Osborne turned her back and walked to the window. Bosworth stared -a moment, then rushed angrily from the room. Griswold abandoned his -study of the picture, and gravely inclined his head as Bosworth passed. -Then he waited a minute. The girl still stood at the window, and there -was, Griswold felt, something a little forlorn in her figure. It was -quite time that he was off if he caught his train for Richmond. He -crossed the room, and as he approached the window Miss Osborne turned -quickly. - -“It was kind of you to wait. That man is the state’s attorney-general. -You doubtless heard what he said to me.” - -“Yes, Miss Osborne, I could not help hearing. I did not leave, because -I wished to say----” - -The associate professor of admiralty in the department of law of the -University of Virginia hesitated and was lost. Miss Osborne’s eyes -were brown, with that hint of bronze, in certain lights, that is the -distinctive possession of the blessed. Health and spirit spoke in her -bright colour. She was tall and straight, and there was something -militant in her figure as she faced Griswold. - -“I beg to say, Miss Osborne, that if there is any way in which I can -serve you, my time is wholly at your disposal.” - -“I thank you. I fear that you have already given yourself too much -trouble in stopping here. My father will wish to thank you on his -return.” - -Her lips trembled, and tears were bright in her eyes. Then she regained -control of herself. - -“Mr. Griswold, I have no claim whatever on your kindness, but I am in -very great distress. I don’t see just where I can turn for aid to any -one I know. But you as a stranger may be able to help me--if it isn’t -asking too much--but then I know it is asking too much!” - -“Anything, anything whatever,” urged Griswold kindly. - -“Mr. Bosworth, the attorney-general, warns me that if my father does -not use the power of the state to capture this outlaw Appleweight, the -results will be disastrous. He says my father must act immediately. He -demanded his address, and, and--I gave it to him.” - -“But you must remember, Miss Osborne, that the attorney-general -probably knows the intricacies of this case. He must have every reason -for upholding your father; in fact, it’s his sworn duty to advise him -in such matters as this.” - -“There’s another side to that, Mr. Griswold,” and the girl’s colour -deepened; but she smiled and went on. It was quite evident that she -was animated now by some purpose, and that she was resolved to avail -herself of Griswold’s proffered aid. “I have my own reasons for -doubting Mr. Bosworth’s motives; and I resent his assumption that my -father is not doing his full duty. No one can speak to me of my father -in that way--no one!” - -“Certainly not, Miss Osborne!” - -“This whole matter must be kept as quiet as possible. I can appeal -to no one here without the risk of newspaper publicity which would -do my father very great injury. But if it is not altogether too -great a favour, Mr. Griswold, may I ask that you remain here until -to-night--until my father returns? His secretary has been ill and is -away from town. The other clerks I sent away on purpose this morning. -Father had left his office keys at home, and I came in to see if I -could find the papers in the Appleweight case. They are there, and -on the top of the packet is a requisition on the governor of North -Carolina for Appleweight’s return.” - -“Signed?” - -“Signed. I’m sure he had only deferred acting in the case until his -return, and he should have been back to-day.” - -“But of course he will be back; it is inconceivable that he should -ignore, much less evade, a duty as plain as this--the governor of a -state--it is preposterous! His business in Atlanta accounts for his -absence. Governor Osborne undoubtedly knows what he is about.” - -“My father is not in Atlanta, Mr. Griswold. He is not at the Peach Tree -Club, and has not been. I have not the slightest idea where my father -is!” - -The echoing whistle of the departing Virginia express reached them -faintly as they stood facing each other before the open window in the -governor’s reception-room. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE JUG AND MR. ARDMORE. - - -Mr. Thomas Ardmore, of New York and Ardsley, having seen his friend -Griswold depart, sought a book-shop where, as in many other book-shops -throughout the United States, he kept a standing order for any works -touching piracy, a subject which, as already hinted, had long afforded -him infinite diversion. He had several hours to wait for his train -to New Orleans, and he was delighted to find that the bookseller, -whom he had known only by correspondence, had just procured for him, -through the dispersion of a Georgia planter’s valuable library, that -exceedingly rare narrative, _The Golden Galleons of the Caribbean_, by -Dominguez y Pascual--a beautifully bound copy of the original Madrid -edition. - -With this volume under his arm, Ardmore returned to the hotel where he -was lodged and completed his arrangements for leaving. It should be -known that Mr. Thomas Ardmore was a person of democratic tastes and -habits. In his New York house were two servants whose sole business -it was to keep himself and his wardrobe presentable; yet he preferred -to travel unattended. He was by nature somewhat secretive, and his -adventurous spirit rebelled at the thought of being followed about by a -hired retainer. His very wealth was, in a way, a nuisance, for wherever -he went the newspapers chronicled his movements, with speculations as -to the object of his visit, and dark hints at large public gifts which -the city honoured by his presence at once imagined would be bestowed -upon it forthwith. The American press constantly execrated his family, -and as he was sensitive to criticism he kept very much to himself. - -It was a matter of deep regret to Ardmore that his great-grandfather, -whose name he bore, should have trifled with the morals of the red -men, but he philosophized that it was not his fault, and if he had -known how to squeeze the whisky from the Ardmore millions he would have -been glad to do so. His own affairs were managed by the Bronx Loan and -Trust Company, and Ardmore took little personal interest in any of his -belongings except his estate in North Carolina, where he dreamed his -dreams, and had, on the whole, a pretty good time. - -When he had finished packing his trunk he went down to the dinner he -had ordered to be in readiness at a certain hour, at a certain table, -carefully chosen beforehand; for Ardmore was very exacting in such -matters, and had an eye to the comforts of life, as he understood them. - -As he crossed the hotel lobby on his way to the restaurant he was -accosted by a reporter for the Atlanta _Palladium_, who began to -question him touching various Ardmores who were just then filling -rather more than their usual amount of space in the newspapers. -Ardmore’s family, with the single exception of his sister, Mrs. -Atchison, bored him immensely. His two brothers and another sister, the -Duchess of Ballywinkle, kept the family name in display type a great -deal of the time, and their performances had practically driven Thomas -Ardmore from New York. He felt keenly his shame in being brother-in-law -to a dissolute duke, and the threatened marriage of one of his brothers -to a chorus girl had added, he felt, all too great a burden to a family -tree whose roots, he could not forget it, were soaked in contraband -rum. The reporter was a well-mannered youth, and Ardmore shook his -hand encouragingly. He was rather curious to see what new incident -in the family history was to be the subject of inquisition, and the -reporter immediately set his mind at rest. - -“Pardon me, Mr. Ardmore, but is it true that your sister, the Duchess -of Ballywinkle, has separated from the duke?” - -“You may quote me as saying that while I am not quite sure, yet I -sincerely hope the reports are true. To be frank with you, I do not -like the duke; in fact, strictly between ourselves, I disliked him -from the first,” and Ardmore shook his head gravely, and meditatively -jingled the little gold pieces that he always carried in his trousers -pockets. - -“Well, of course, I had heard that there was some trouble between you -and your brother-in-law, but can’t the _Palladium_ have your own exact -statement, Mr. Ardmore, of what caused the breach between you?” - -Ardmore hesitated and turned his head cautiously. - -“You understand, of course, that this discussion is painful to me, -extremely painful. And yet, so much has been published about my -sister’s domestic affairs----” - -“Exactly, Mr. Ardmore. What we want is to print _your_ side of the -story.” - -“Very decent of you, I’m sure. But the fact is”--and Ardmore glanced -over his shoulder again to be sure he was not overheard--“the fact -is----” and he paused, batting his eyes as though hesitating at the -point of an important disclosure. - -“Yes, Mr. Ardmore,” encouraged the reporter. - -“Well, I don’t mind telling _you_, but don’t print this. Let it be just -between ourselves.” - -“Oh, of course, if you say not----” - -“That’s all right; I have every confidence in your discretion; but if -this will go no further, I don’t mind telling you----” - -“You may rely on me absolutely, Mr. Ardmore.” - -“Then, with the distinct understanding that this is _sub rosa_--now we -_do_ understand each other, don’t we?” pleaded Ardmore. - -“Perfectly, Mr. Ardmore,” and the perspiration began to bead the -reporter’s forehead in his excitement over the impending revelation. - -“Then you shall know why I feel so bitter about the duke. I assure -you that nothing but the deepest chagrin over the matter causes me to -tell you what I have never revealed before--not even to members of my -family--not to my most intimate friend.” - -“I appreciate all that----” - -“Well, the fact is--but please never mention it--the fact is that his -Grace owes me four dollars. I gave it to him in two bills--I remember -the incident perfectly--two crisp new bills I had just got at the bank. -His Grace borrowed the money to pay a cabman--it was the very day -before he married my sister. Now let me ask you this: Can an American -citizen allow a duke to owe him four dollars? The villain never -referred to the matter again, and from that day to this I have made it -a rule never to lend money to a duke.” - -The reporter stared a moment, then laughed. He abandoned the idea -of getting material for a sensational article and scented the -possibilities of a character sketch of the whimsical young millionaire. - -“How about that story that your brother, Samuel Ardmore, is going to -marry the chorus girl he ran over in his automobile?” - -“I hope it’s true; I devoutly do. I’m very fond of music myself, and, -strange to say, nobody in our family is musical. I think a chorus girl -would be a real addition to our family. It would bring up the family -dignity--you can see that.” - -“The wires brought a story this afternoon that your cousin, Wingate -Siddall--he is your cousin, isn’t he?” - -“I’m afraid so. What’s Siddy’s latest?” - -“Why, it’s reported that he’s going to cross the Atlantic in a balloon. -Can you tell us anything about that from the inside?” - -“Well, the ocean is only four miles deep; I’d take more interest in -Cousin Siddy’s ballooning if you could make it a couple of miles more -to the dead men’s chests. And now, much as I’d like to prolong this -conversation, I’ve got to eat or I’ll miss my train.” - -“If you don’t mind saying where you are going, Mr. Ardmore?” - -“I’d tell you in a minute, only I haven’t fully decided yet; but I -shall probably take the Sambo Flyer at 9.13, if you don’t make me lose -it.” - -“You have large interests in Arkansas, I believe, Mr. Ardmore?” - -“Yes; important interests. I’m searching for the original fiddle of the -Arkansaw Traveller. When I find it I’m going to give it to the British -Museum. And now you really must excuse me.” - -Ardmore looked the reporter over carefully as they shook hands. He was -an attractive young fellow, alert and good-humoured, and Ardmore liked -him, as, in his shy way, he really liked almost every one who seemed to -be a human being. - -“I’ll tell you what I’ll do with you. If you’ll forget this rot we’ve -been talking and come up to Ardsley as soon as I get home, I’ll see -if I can’t keep you amused for a couple of weeks. I don’t offer that -as a bribe; my family affairs are of interest to nobody but hostlers -and kitchen-maids. Wire me at Ardsley when you’re ready, throw away -your lead-pencil, then come on and I’ll show you the finest collection -of books on Captain Kidd in the known world. What did you say your -name is? Collins--Frank Collins? I never forget anything, so don’t -disappoint me.” - -“That’s mighty nice of you, but I don’t have much time for vacations,” -replied the reporter, who was, however, clearly pleased. - -“If the office won’t give you a couple of weeks, wire me, and I’ll buy -the paper.” - -The young man laughed outright. “I’ll remember; I really believe you -mean for me to come.” - -“Of course I do. It’s all settled; make it next week. Good-bye!” - -Ardmore ate his dinner oblivious of the fact that people at the -neighbouring tables turned to look at him. He overheard his name -mentioned, and a woman just behind him let it be known to her -companions and any one else who cared to hear that he was the -brother-in-law of the Duke of Ballywinkle. Another voice in the -neighbourhood kindly remarked that Ardmore was the only decent member -of the family, and that he was not the one whose wife had just left -him, nor yet the one who was going to marry the chorus girl whose -father kept a delicatessen shop in Hoboken. It is very sad to be -unable to dine without having family skeletons joggle one’s elbow, and -Ardmore was annoyed. The head waiter hung officiously near; the man who -served him was distressingly eager; and then the voice behind him rose -insistently: - -“--worth millions and yet he can’t find anybody to eat with him.” - -This was almost true, and a shadow passed across Ardmore’s face and his -eyes grew grave as he humbly reflected that he was indeed a pitiable -object. He waved away his plate and called for coffee, and at that -moment a middle-aged man appeared at the door, scanned the room for a -moment, and then threaded his way among the tables to Ardmore. - -“I heard you were here and thought I’d look you up. How are you, Ardy?” - -“Very well, thank you, Mr. Billings. Have you dined? Sorry; which way -are you heading?” - -The newcomer had the bearing of a gentleman used to consideration. He -was, indeed, the secretary of the Bronx Loan and Trust Company, whose -business was chiefly the administration of the Ardmore estate, and -Ardmore knew him very well. He was afraid that Billings had traced him -to Atlanta for one of those business discussions which always vexed and -perplexed him so grievously, and the thought of this further depressed -his spirits. But the secretary at once eased his mind. - -“I’m looking for a man, and I’m not good at the business. I’ve lost him -and I don’t understand it, I don’t understand it,” and the secretary -seemed to be half-musing to himself as he sat down and rested his arms -on the table. - -“You might give me the job. I’m following a slight clue myself just at -present.” - -The secretary, who had no great opinion of Ardmore’s mental capacity, -stared at the young man vacantly. Then it occurred to him that possibly -Ardmore might be of service. - -“Have you been at Ardsley recently?” he asked. - -“Left there only a few days ago.” - -“You haven’t seen your governor lately, have you?” - -“My governor?” Ardmore stared blankly. “Why, Mr. Billings, don’t you -remember that father’s dead?” - -“I don’t mean your father, Ardy,” replied Billings, with the -exaggerated care of one who deals with extreme stupidity. “I mean the -Governor of North Carolina--one of the American states. Ardsley is -still in North Carolina, isn’t it?” - -“Oh yes, of course. But bless your soul, I don’t know the governor. Why -should one?” - -“I don’t know why, Ardy; but people sometimes do know governors and -find it useful.” - -“I’m not in politics any more, Mr. Billings. What’s this person’s -name?” - -“Dangerfield. Don’t you ever read the newspapers?” demanded the -secretary, striving to control his inner rage. He was in trouble, and -Ardmore’s opaqueness taxed his patience. And yet Tommy Ardmore had -given him less trouble than any other member of the Ardmore family. -The others galloped gaily through their incomes; Tommy was rapidly -augmenting his inheritance from sheer neglect or inability to scatter -his dividends. - -“No; I quit reading newspapers after the noble Duke of Ballywinkle -didn’t break the bank at Monte Carlo that last time. I often wish, Mr. -Billings, that the Mohawks had scalped my great-grandfather before they -bought his whisky. That would have saved me the personal humiliation of -being brother-in-law to a duke.” - -“You mustn’t be so thin-skinned. You pay the penalty of belonging to -one of the wealthiest families in America,” and Billings’s tone was -paternal. - -“So I’ve heard, but I’m not so terribly proud of it. What about this -governor?” - -“That’s what troubles me--what of the governor?” Billings -dropped his voice so that no one but Ardmore could hear. “He’s -missing--disappeared.” - -“That’s the first interesting thing I ever heard of a governor doing,” -said Ardmore. “Tell me more.” - -“He’s had a row with the Governor of South Carolina, at New Orleans. -I was to have met him here on an important matter of business this -afternoon, but he’s cleared out and nobody knows what’s become of him. -His daughter even, who was in New Orleans with him, doesn’t know where -he is.” - -“When was she in New Orleans with him?” asked Ardmore, looking at his -watch. - -“She--who?” asked Billings, annoyed. - -“Why, the daughter!” - -“I don’t know anything about the daughter, but if I could find her -father I’d give him a piece of my mind,” and the secretary’s face -flushed angrily. - -“Well, I suppose she isn’t the one I’m looking for, anyhow,” said -Ardmore resignedly. - -“I should hope not,” blurted Billings, who had not really taken in what -Ardmore said, but who assumed that it must necessarily be something -idiotic. - -“She had fluffy hair,” persisted Ardmore to this serious-minded -gentleman whose life was devoted to the multiplication of the Ardmore -millions. Ardmore’s tone was that of a child who persists in babbling -inanities to a distracted parent. - -“Better let girls alone, Tommy. Mrs. Atchison told me you were going to -marry Daisy Waters, and I should heartily approve the match.” - -“Did Nellie tell you that? I wonder if she’s told Daisy yet? You’ll -have to excuse me now, for I’m taking the Sambo Flyer. I’d like to find -your governor for you; and if you’ll tell me when he was seen last----” - -“Right here, just before noon to-day, and a couple of hours before I -reached town. His daughter either doesn’t know where he went or she -won’t tell.” - -“Ah! the daughter! She remains behind to guard his retreat.” - -“The daughter is still here. She’s a peppery little piece,” and -Billings looked guardedly around the room. “That’s she, alone over -there in the corner--the girl with the white feather in her hat who’s -just signing her check. There--she’s getting up!” - -Ardmore gazed across the room intently, then suddenly a slight smile -played about his lips. To gain the door the girl must pass by his -table, and he scrutinized her closely as she drew near and passed. -She was a little girl, and her light fluffy hair swept out from under -a small blue hat in a shell-like curve, and the short skirt of her -tailor-made gown robbed her, it seemed, of years to which the calendar -might entitle her. - -“She gave me the steadiest eye I ever looked into when I asked her -where her father had gone,” remarked Billings grimly as the girl -passed. “She said she thought he’d gone fishing for whales.” - -“So she’s Miss Dangerfield, is she?” asked Ardmore indifferently; and -he rose, leaving on the plate, by a sudden impulse of good feeling -towards the world, exactly double the generous tip he had intended -giving. Billings was glad to be rid of Ardmore, and they parted in the -hotel lobby without waste of words. The secretary of the Bronx Loan -and Trust Company announced his intention of remaining another day in -Atlanta in the hope of finding Governor Dangerfield, and he was so -absorbed in his own affairs that he did not heed, if indeed he heard, -Ardmore’s promise to keep an eye out for the lost governor. Like most -other people, the secretary of the Bronx Loan and Trust Company did not -understand Ardmore, but Thomas Ardmore, having long ago found himself -ill-judged by the careless world, lived by standards of his own, and -these would have meant nothing whatever to Billings. - -Ardmore’s effects had been brought down, and were already piled on a -carriage at the door. In his pocket were his passage to New Orleans and -a stateroom ticket. At the cashier’s desk Miss Dangerfield paid her -bill, just ahead of him. - -“If any telegrams come for my father, please forward them to Raleigh,” -said the girl. The manager came out personally to show her to her -carriage, and having shut the door upon her, he wished Ardmore, who -stood discreetly by, a safe journey. - -“Off for New Orleans, are you, Mr. Ardmore?” asked the manager -courteously. - -“No,” said Ardmore, “I’m going to Raleigh to look at the tall -buildings,” whereat the manager returned to his duties, gravely shaking -his head. - -At the station Ardmore caught sight of Miss Dangerfield, attended by -two porters, hurrying toward the Tar Heel Express. He bought a ticket -to Raleigh, and secured the last available berth from the conductor on -the platform at the moment of departure. - -Ardmore did not like to be hurried, and this sudden change of plans had -been almost too much for him, but he was consoled by the reflection -that after all these years of waiting for just such an adventure he -had proved himself equal to an emergency that required quick thought -and swift action. He had not only found the girl with the playful eye, -but he had learned her identity without, as it were, turning over his -hand. Not even Griswold, who was the greatest man he knew--Griswold -with his acute legal mind and ability to carry through contests of wit -with lawyers of highest repute--not even Griswold, Ardmore flattered -himself, could have managed better. - -The stateroom door stood open, and from his seat at the farther end of -the car Ardmore caught a fleeting glimpse of Miss Dangerfield as she -threw off her jacket and hat; then she summoned the porter, gave him -her tickets, bade him a smiling good-night, and the door closed upon -her. The broad grin on the porter’s face--a grin of delight, as though -he had spoken with some exalted deity--filled Ardmore with bitterest -envy. - -He went back to smoke and plan his future movements. For the first -time in his life he faced to-morrow with eager anticipations, resolved -that nothing should thwart his high resolves, though these, to be -sure, were somewhat hazy. Then, from a feeling of great satisfaction, -his spirit reacted, and he regretted that he had been deprived of the -joy of prolonged search. If he could only have followed her until, at -the last moment, when about to give up for ever and accept the frugal -consolations of memory, he met her somewhere face to face! These -reflections led him to wonder whether he might not have been mistaken -about the wink after all. Griswold, with his wider knowledge of the -world, had scouted the idea. Very likely if one of those blue eyes -had actually winked at him it had been out of mere playfulness, and -he would never in the world refer to it when they met. Billings had -applied the term peppery to her, and he felt that he should always hate -Billings for this; Billings was only a financial automaton anyhow, -who bought at the lowest and sold at the highest, and bored one very -often with strangely-worded papers which one was never expected to -understand. He did not know why Billings was so anxious to find Miss -Dangerfield’s father, but as between a man of Billings’s purely -commercial instincts and the governor of a great state like North -Carolina, Ardmore resolved to stand by the Dangerfields to the end of -the chapter. He was proud to remember his estate at Ardsley, which -was in Governor Dangerfield’s jurisdiction, and had been visited by -the game warden, the state forester, and various other members of the -governor’s official household, though Ardmore could not remember their -names. He had never in his life visited Raleigh, but far down some dim -vista of memory he saw Sir Walter covering a mud-puddle with his cloak -for Queen Elizabeth. It was a picture of this moving incident in an -old history that rose before him, as he tried vainly to recall just -how it was that Sir Walter had lost his head. He wondered whether Miss -Dangerfield’s name was Elizabeth, though he hoped not, as the name -suggested a town in New Jersey where his motor had once broken down on -a rainy evening when he was carrying Griswold to Princeton to deliver a -lecture. - -Ardmore smoked many pipes, and did not turn in until after midnight. -The car was hot and stuffy, and he slept badly. At some hour of the -morning, being again awake and restless, he fished his dressing-gown -and slippers out of his bag and went out on the rear platform. His was -the last car, and he found a camp-stool and crouched down upon it in a -corner of the vestibule and stared out into the dark. The hum and click -of the rails soothed him, and he yielded himself to pleasant reveries. -Griswold was well on his way back to Virginia, he remembered--“Dear -old Grissy!” he murmured; but he resolved to tell Griswold nothing of -the prosperous course of his quest. Griswold would never, he knew, -countenance so grave a performance as the following of a strange girl -to her home; but this would be something for later justification. - -Ardmore was half-dozing when the train stopped so abruptly that he was -pitched from the camp-stool into a corner of the entry. He got himself -together and leaned out into the cool moist air. - -The porter came out and stared, for a gentleman in a blue silk wrapper -who sat up all night in a vestibule was new to his experience. - -“What place is this, porter?” - -“Kildare, sah. This place is wha’ we go from South C’lina into No’th -C’lina. Ain’t yo’ be’th comfor’ble, sah?” - -“Perfectly, thank you.” - -Kildare was a familiar name, and the station, that lay at the outskirts -of the town, and a long grim barracks-like building that he identified -as a cotton mill, recalled the fact that he was not far from his own -ample acres which lay off somewhere to westward. He had occasionally -taken this route from the north in going to Ardsley, riding or driving -from Kildare about ten miles to his house. In this way he was enabled -to go or come without appearing at all in the little village of Ardsley. - -The porter left him. He felt ready for sleep now, and resolved to go -back to bed as soon as the train started. Just then a dark shadow -appeared in the track, and a man’s voice asked cautiously,-- - -“Air y’u the conductor?” - -The questioner saw that he was not, before Ardmore could reply, and -hesitated a moment. - -“The porter’s in the car; you can get aboard up forward,” Ardmore -suggested. - -“Be Gov’nor Dangerfield on this train?” asked the man, whom Ardmore now -saw dimly outlined in the track below. - -“Certainly, my friend. The governor’s asleep, but I’m his private -secretary. What can I do for you?” - -“Well, hyeh’s somethin’ fer ’im--it’s confidential. Sure, air ye, th’ -gov’nor’s in they?” - -The man--a tall, bearded countryman in a slouch hat, handed up to -Ardmore a jug--a plain, brown, old-fashioned American gallon jug. - -“It’s a present fer Gov’nor Dangerfield. He’ll understand,” and the man -vanished as mysteriously as he had appeared, leaving Ardmore holding -the jug by its handle, and feeling a little dazed by the transaction. - -The train lingered, and Ardmore was speculating as to which one of the -Carolina commonwealths was beneath him, when another figure appeared -below in the track--that of a bareheaded, tousled boy this time. He -stared up at Ardmore sleepily, having apparently been roused on the -arrival of the train. - -“Air y’u the gov’nor?” he piped. - -“Yes, my lad; in what way can I serve you?” and Ardmore put down his -jug and leaned over the guard rail. It was just as easy to be the -governor as the governor’s private secretary, and his vanity was -touched by the readiness with which the boy accepted him in his new -_rôle_. His costume, vaguely discernible in the vestibule light, -evidently struck the lad as being some amazing robe of state affected -by governors. The youngster was lifting something, and he now held up -to Ardmore a jug, as like the other as one pea resembles another. - -“Pa ain’t home, and ma says hyeh’s yer jug o’ buttermilk.” - -“Thank you, my lad. While I regret missing your worthy father, yet I -beg to present my compliments to your kind and thoughtful mother.” - -He had transferred his money to his dressing-gown pocket on leaving his -berth, and he now tossed a silver dollar to the boy, who caught it with -a yell of delight and scampered off into the night. - -Ardmore had dropped the jugs carelessly into the vestibule, and he -was surveying them critically when the train started. The wheels were -beginning to grind reluctantly when a cry down the track arrested his -attention. A man was flying after the train, shouting at the top of his -lungs. He ran, caught hold of the rail, and howled,-- - -“The gov’nor ain’t on they! Gimme back my jug.” - -“Indian-giver!” yelled Ardmore. He stooped down, picked up the first -jug that came to hand, and dropped it into the man’s outstretched arms. - -The porter, having heard voices, rushed out upon Ardmore, who held the -remaining jug to the light, scrutinizing it carefully. - -“Please put this away for me, porter. It’s a little gift from an old -army friend.” - -Then Mr. Ardmore returned to his berth, fully pleased with his -adventures, and slept until the porter gave warning of Raleigh. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -DUTY AND THE JUG. - - -Mr. Thomas Ardmore, one trunk, two bags, and a little brown jug reached -the Guilford House, Raleigh, at eight o’clock in the morning. Ardmore -had never felt better in his life, he assured himself, as he chose -a room with care, and intimated to the landlord his intention of -remaining a week. But for the ill luck of having his baggage marked he -should have registered himself falsely on the books of the inn; but -feeling that this was not quite respectable, he assured the landlord, -in response to the usual question, that he was not Ardmore of New York -and Ardsley, but an entirely different person. - -“Well, I don’t blame you for not wanting to be taken for any of that -set,” remarked the landlord sympathetically. - -“I should think not!” returned Ardmore, in a tone of deep disgust. - -The Guilford House coffee was not just what he was used to, but he -was in an amiable humour, and enjoyed hugely the conversation of the -commercial travellers with whom he took his breakfast. He did not -often escape from himself or the burden of his family reputation, and -these strangers were profoundly entertaining. It had never occurred -to Ardmore that man could be so amiable so early in the day, and his -own spirits rallied as he passed the sugar, abused the hot bread, and -nodded his approval of bitter flings at the inns of other southern -towns of whose existence he only vaguely knew. They spoke of the -president of the United States and of various old world monarchs in -a familiar tone that was decidedly novel and refreshing; and he felt -that it was a great privilege to sit at meat with these blithe spirits. -Commercial travellers, he now realized, were more like the strolling -players, the wandering knights, the cloaked riders approaching lonely -inns at night, than any other beings he had met out of books. It was -with the severest self-denial that he resisted an impulse to invite -them all to visit him at Ardsley or to use his house in Fifth Avenue -whenever they pleased. When the man nearest him, who was having a -second plate of corn-cakes and syrup, casually inquired his “line,” -Ardmore experienced a moment of real shame, but remembering the jug he -had acquired in the night, he replied,-- - -“Crockery.” - -“Mine’s drugs. Do you know Billy Gallop?--he’s in your line.” - -“Should say I did,” replied Ardmore unhesitatingly. “I took supper with -him in Philadelphia Sunday night.” - -“How’s trade?” - -“Bully,” replied Ardmore, reaching for the syrup. “I broke my record -yesterday.” - -The drug man turned to listen to a discussion of the row between -Governors Osborne and Dangerfield precipitated by one of the company -who had fortified himself with a newspaper, and Ardmore also gave ear. - -“Whatever did happen at New Orleans,” declared a Maiden Lane jewellery -representative, “you can be quite sure that Dangerfield won’t get the -hot end of the poker. I’ve seen him, right here at Raleigh, and he has -all the marks of a fighting man. He’d strip at two hundred, and he’s -six in his socks.” - -“Pshaw! Those big fellows are all meat and no muscle,” retorted the -drug man. “I doubt if there’s any fight in him. Now Osborne’s a -different product--a tall, lean cuss, but active as a cat. A man to be -governor of South Carolina has got to have the real stuff in him. If it -comes to a show-down you’ll see Dangerfield duck and run.” - -This discussion was continued at length, greatly to Ardmore’s delight, -for he felt that in this way he was being brought at once into touch -with Miss Dangerfield, now domiciled somewhere in this town, and to -whom he expected to be properly introduced just as soon as he could -devise some means to that end. As he had not read the newspapers, he -did not know what the row was all about, but he instinctively aligned -himself on the Dangerfield side. The Osbornes were, he felt, an -inferior race, and he inwardly resented the imputations upon Governor -Dangerfield’s courage. - -“I wonder if the governor’s back yet?” asked one man. - -“The morning paper says not, but he’s expected to-day,” replied the man -with the newspaper. - -“About the first thing he’ll have to do will be to face the question of -arresting Appleweight. I was in Columbia the other day, and everybody -was talking of the case. They say”--and the speaker waited for the -fullest attention of his hearers--“they say Osborne ain’t none too -anxious to have Appleweight arrested on his side of the line.” - -“Why not?” demanded Ardmore. - -“Well, you hear all kinds of things. It was only whispered down there, -but they say Osborne was a little too thick with the Appleweight crowd -before he was elected governor. He was their attorney, and they were -a bad lot for any man to be attorney for. But they haven’t caught -Appleweight yet.” - -“Where’s he hiding? don’t the authorities know?” - -“Oh, he’s up there in the hills on the state line. His home is as much -on one side as the other. He spends a good deal of time in Kildare.” - -“Kildare?” asked Ardmore, startled at the word. - -“Yes, it’s the county seat, what there is of it. I hope you never make -that town?” and the inquirer bent a commiserating glance upon Ardmore. - -“Well, they use jugs there, I know that!” declared Ardmore; whereat the -table roared. The unanimity of their applause warmed his heart, though -he did not know why they laughed. - -“You handle crockery?” asked a man from the end of the table. “Well, I -guess Dilwell County consumes a few gross of jugs all right. But you’d -better be careful not to whisper jugs too loud here. There’s usually a -couple of revenue men around town.” - -They all went together to the office, where they picked up their sample -cases and sallied forth for a descent upon the Raleigh merchants; and -Ardmore, thus reminded that he was in the crockery business, and that -he had a sample in his room, sat down under a tree on the sidewalk -at the inn door to consider what he should do with his little brown -jug. It had undoubtedly been intended for Governor Dangerfield, who -was supposed to be on the train he had himself taken from Atlanta to -Raleigh. There had been, in fact, two jugs, but one of them he had -tossed back into the hands of the man who had pursued the train at -Kildare. Ardmore smoked his pipe and meditated, trying to determine -which jug he had tossed back; and after long deliberation, he slapped -his knee, and said aloud,-- - -“I gave him the wrong one, by jing!” - -The boy had said that his offering contained buttermilk, a beverage -which Ardmore knew was affected by eccentric people for their stomach’s -sake. He had sniffed the other jug, and it contained, undeniably, an -alcoholic liquid of some sort. - -Jugs had not figured prominently in Ardmore’s domestic experiences; -but as he sat under the tree on the curb before the Guilford House he -wondered, as many other philosophers have wondered, why a jug is so -incapable of innocency! A bottle, while suggestive, is not inherently -wicked; but a jug is the symbol of joyous sin. Even the soberest souls, -who frown at the mention of a bottle, smile tolerantly when a jug is -suggested. Jugs of many centuries are assembled in museums, and round -them the ethnologist reconstructs extinct races of men; and yet even -science and history, strive they never so sadly, cannot wholly relieve -the jug of its cheery _insouciance_. A bottle of inferior liquor -may be dressed forth enticingly, and alluringly named; but there’s -no disguising the jug; its genial shame cannot be hidden. There are -pleasant places in America where, if one deposit a half-dollar and a -little brown jug behind a certain stone, or on the shady side of a -blackberry bush, jug and coin will together disappear between sunset -and sunrise; but lo! the jug, filled and plugged with a corn-cob, -will return alone mysteriously, in contravention of the statutes in -such cases made and provided. Too rare for glass this fluid, which -bubbles out of the southern hills with as little guilt in its soul as -the brooks beside which it comes into being! But, lest he be accused -of aiding and abetting crime against the majesty of the law, this -chronicler hastens to say that on a hot day in the harvest field, -honest water, hidden away in a little brown jug in the fence corner, -acquires a quality and imparts a delight that no mug of crystal or of -gold can yield. - -As Mr. Ardmore pondered duty and the jug a tall man in shabby corduroy -halted near by and inspected him carefully. Mr. Ardmore, hard upon -his pipe, had not noticed him, somewhat, it seemed, to the stranger’s -vexation. He patrolled the sidewalk before the inn, hoping to attract -Ardmore’s attention, but finding that the young man’s absorption -continued, he presently dropped into a neighbouring chair under the -maple tree. - -“Good-morning,” said Ardmore pleasantly. - -The man nodded but did not speak. He was examining Ardmore with a pair -of small, shrewd gray eyes. In his hands he held a crumpled bit of -brown paper that looked like a telegram. - -“Well, I reckon you jest got to town this mornin’, young fella.” - -“Yes, certainly,” Ardmore replied promptly. He had never been addressed -in quite this fashion before, but it was all in keeping with his new -destiny, and he was immediately interested in the stranger, who was -well on in middle age, with a rough grizzled beard, and a soft hat, -once black, that now struggled for a compromise tint between yellow and -green. - -“Ever been hyeh befo’?” - -“Never; but I’m crazy about the place, and I’ll be seen here a good -deal hereafter.” - -Ardmore produced his cigar-case and extended it to the stranger. The -man, awed by the splendour of the case, accepted a cigar a little -gingerly. - -“Drummer, I reckon?” - -“Commercial traveller, we prefer to be designated,” replied Ardmore, -with dignity. - -“I guess drummer’s good enough down hyeh. What y’u carry?” - -“Jugs. I’m in the jug business. Never had any business but jugs.” - -The man paused in lighting his cigar, stared at Ardmore over the -flaming match, drew the fire into the cigar several times, then settled -back with his hands in his pockets. - -“Full ’r empty?” - -“The jugs? Oh, empty jugs; but it’s no affair of mine what becomes of -the jugs afterwards.” - -“Y’u likely got samples with y’u?” - -“Well, not many. You see my line is so well known I don’t have to carry -samples any more. The trade knows our goods.” - -“Stop at Kildare on the way up?” and the stranger looked about -guardedly. - -“Certainly, my friend, I always ‘make’ Kildare,” replied Ardmore, using -a phrase he had acquired at breakfast. - -“Train runs through the’ pretty late at night?” - -“Beastly. But I hardly ever sleep, anyhow. A man in my splendid health -doesn’t need sleep. It’s a rotten waste of time.” - -Silence for several minutes; then the stranger leaned forward in his -chair, resting his elbows on his knees, and said in a low tone,-- - -“I got a telegram hyeh says y’u got a jug thet y’u ain’t no right t’ -last night at Kildare. I want thet jug, young fella.” - -“Now that’s very unfortunate. Ordinarily I should be delighted, but I -really couldn’t give away my Kildare jug. Now if it was one of my other -jugs--even my Omaha jug or my dear old Louisville jug--I shouldn’t -hesitate a minute, but that old Kildare jug! My dear man, you don’t -know what you ask!” - -“Y’ll give me thet jug, or it’ll be the worse for y’u. Y’u ain’t in -thet game, young fella.” - -“Not in it! You don’t know whom you are addressing. I’m not only in the -game, but I’m in to the finish,” declared Ardmore, sitting upright in -his chair. “You’ve got the wrong idea, my friend, if you think you can -intimidate me. That jug was given me by a friend, a very old and dear -friend----” - -“A friend of yourn!” - -The keen little gray eyes were blinking rapidly. - -“One of the best friends I ever had in this world,” and Ardmore’s face -showed feeling. “He and I charged side by side through the bloodiest -battles of our Civil War. I will cheerfully give you my watch, or -money in any sum, but the jug--I will part with my life first! And -now,” concluded Ardmore, “while I should be glad to continue this -conversation, my duties call me elsewhere.” - -As he rose, the man stood quickly at his side, menacingly. - -“Give me thet jug, or I’ll shoot y’u right hyeh in the street.” - -“No, you wouldn’t do that, Old Corduroy. I can see that you are kind -and good, and you wouldn’t shoot down an unarmed man. Besides, it would -muss up the street.” - -“Y’u took thet jug from my brother by lyin’ to ’im. He’s telegraphed me -to git it, and I’m a-goin’ to do it.” - -“Your brother sent you? It was nice of him to ask you to call on me. -Why, I’ve known your brother intimately for years.” - -“Knowed my brother?” and for the first time the man really seemed to -doubt himself. “Wheh did y’u know Bill?” - -“We roomed together at Harvard, that’s how I know him, if you force -me to it! We’re both Hasty Pudding men. Now if you try to bulldoze me -further, I’ll slap your wrists. So there!” - -Ardmore entered the hotel deliberately, climbed to his room, and locked -the door. Then he seized the little brown jug, drew the stopper, and -poured out a tumblerful of clear white fluid. He took a swallow, and -shuddered as the fiery liquid seemed instantly to cause every part of -his being to tingle. He wiped the tears from his eyes and sat down. -The corn-cob stopper had fallen to the floor, and he picked it up and -examined it carefully. It had been fitted tightly into the mouth of -the jug by the addition of a bit of calico, and he fingered it for a -moment with a grin on his face. He was, considering his tranquil past, -making history rapidly, and he wished that Griswold, whom he imagined -safely away on his law business at Richmond, could see him now embarked -upon a serious adventure, that had already brought him into collision -with a seemingly sane man who had threatened him with death. Griswold -had been quite right about their woeful incapacity for rising to -emergencies, but the episode of the jugs at Kildare was exactly the -sort of thing they had discussed time and time again, and it promised -well. His throat was raw, as though burned with acid, and it occurred -to him for an anxious moment that perhaps he had imbibed a poison -intended for the governor. - -He was about to replace the cob stopper when, to his astonishment, it -broke in his fingers, and out fell a carefully folded slip of paper. He -carried it to the window and opened it, finding that it was an ordinary -telegraph blank on which were written in clear round characters these -words: - - The Appleweight crowd never done you harm. If you have any of them - arrested you will be shot down on your own doorstep. - -When Mr. Thomas Ardmore had read this message half a dozen times with -increasing satisfaction he folded it carefully and put it away in his -pocket-book. - -Taking half a sheet of notepaper he wrote as follows: - - Appleweight and his gang are cowards. Within ten days those that have - not been hanged will be in jail at Kildare. - -He studied the phraseology critically, and then placed the paper in the -cob stopper, whose halves he tied together with a bit of twine. As the -jug stood on the table it was, to all appearances, exactly as it had -been when delivered to Ardmore on the rear of the train at Kildare, and -he was thoroughly well pleased with himself. He changed the blue scarf -with which he had begun the day for one of purple with gold bars, and -walked up the street toward the state house. - -This venerable edifice, meekly reposing amid noble trees, struck -agreeably upon Ardmore’s fancy. Here was government enthroned in quiet -dignity, as becomes a venerable commonwealth, wearing its years like a -veteran who has known war and tumult, but finds at last tranquillity -and peace. He experienced a feeling of awe, without quite knowing it, -as he strolled up the walk, climbed the steps to the portico and turned -to look back from the shadow of the pillars. He had never but once -before visited an American public building--the New York city hall--and -he felt that now, indeed, he had turned a corner and entered upon a -new and strange world. He had watched army manœuvres abroad with about -the same attention that he gave to a ballet, and with a like feeling -of beholding a show contrived for the amusement of spectators; but -there was not even a policeman here to represent arsenals and bayonets. -The only minion of government in sight was the languid operator of a -lawn-mower, which rattled and hummed cheerily in the shadow of the -soldiers’ monument. There was something fine about a people who, as he -learned from the custodian, would not shake down these historic walls -obedient to the demands of prosperity and growth, but sent increased -business to find lodgment elsewhere. He ascended to the toy-like -legislative chambers, where flags of nation and state hung side by -side, and where the very seats and desks of the law-makers spoke of -other times and manners. - -Mr. Ardmore, feeling that he should now be about his business, sought -the governor’s office, where a secretary, who seemed harassed by the -cares of his position, confirmed Ardmore’s knowledge of the governor’s -absence. - -“I didn’t wish to see the governor on business,” explained Ardmore -pleasantly, leaning upon his stick with an air of leisure. “He and my -father were old friends, and I always promised my father that I would -never pass through Raleigh without calling on Governor Dangerfield.” - -“That is too bad,” remarked the young man sympathetically, though with -a preoccupation that was eloquent of larger affairs. - -“Could you tell me whether any members of the governor’s family are at -home?” - -“Oh yes; Mrs. Dangerfield and Miss Jerry are at the mansion.” - -“Miss Jerry?” - -“Miss Geraldine. We all call her Miss Jerry in North Carolina.” - -“Oh yes; to be sure. Let me see; it’s over this way to the mansion, -isn’t it?” inquired Ardmore. - -“No; out the other end of the building--and turn to your right. You -can’t miss it.” - -The room was quiet, the secretary a young man of address and -intelligence. Here, without question, was the place for Ardmore to -discharge his business and be quit of it; but having at last snatched a -commission from fleeting opportunity, it was not for him to throw it to -another man. As he opened the door to leave, the secretary arrested him. - -“Oh, Mr.--pardon me, but did you come in from the south this morning?” - -“Yes; I came up on the Tar Heel Express from Atlanta.” - -“To be sure. Of course you didn’t sit up all night? There’s some -trouble brewing around Kildare. I thought you might have heard -something, but, of course, you couldn’t have been awake at two o’clock -in the morning?” - -The secretary was so anxious to acquit him of any knowledge of the -situation at Kildare that it seemed kindest to tell him nothing. The -secretary’s face lost its anxiety for a moment, and he smiled. - -“The governor has an old friend and admirer up there who always puts a -jug of fresh buttermilk on board when he passes through. The governor -was expected home this morning, and I thought maybe----” - -“You’re positive it’s always buttermilk, are you?” asked Ardmore, with -a grin. - -“Certainly,” replied the secretary, with dignity. “Governor -Dangerfield’s sentiments as to the liquor traffic are well known.” - -“Of course, all the world knows that. But I’m afraid all jugs look -alike to me; but then, the fact is I’m in the jug business myself. -Good-morning.” - -The governor’s mansion was easily found, and having walked about the -neighbourhood until his watch marked eleven, Ardmore entered the -grounds and rang the bell at the front door. - -Once within, the air of domestic peace, the pictures on the walls, a -whip and a felt hat with a blue band on the hall table, and a book on -a chair in the drawing-room, turned down to mark the absent reader’s -place, rebuked him for his impudence. If he had known just how to -escape he would have done so; but the maid who admitted him had said -that Miss Dangerfield was at home, and had gone in search of her -with Ardmore’s card. He deserved to be sent to jail for entering a -gentleman’s house in this way. He realized now, when it was too late, -that he ought to have brought letters to one of the banks and been -introduced to the Dangerfields by some gentleman of standing, if he -wished to know them. The very portraits on the walls, the photographs -on the mantel and table, frowned coldly upon him. The foundations of -his character were set in sand; he knew that, because he had found it -so easy to lie, and he had been told in his youth that one sin paved -the way for another. He would take the earliest train for Ardsley -and bury himself there for the remainder of his days. He had hardly -formed this resolution when a light step sounded in the hall, and Miss -Geraldine Dangerfield stood at the threshold. His good resolutions went -down like a house of cards. - -“Miss Dangerfield,” he began, “I had the pleasure of meeting your -father in New Orleans the other day, and as I was passing through town -unexpectedly, I thought I should give myself the pleasure of calling -on him. He said that in case I found him absent I might call upon you. -In fact, he wrote a line on a card for me to present, but I stupidly -left it at my hotel.” - -They faced each other in the dim, cool room for what seemed to him -endless centuries. She was much younger than he had imagined; but her -eyes were blue, just as he remembered them, and her abundant light -hair curled away from her forehead in pretty waves, and was tied -to-day with a large bow of blue ribbon. For an instant she seemed -puzzled or mystified, but her blue eyes regarded him steadily. The very -helplessness of her youth, the simplicity of her blue linen gown, the -girlish ribbon in her hair, proclaimed him blackguard. - -“Won’t you please sit down, Mr. Ardmore?” - -And when they were seated there was another pause, during which the -blue eyes continued to take account of him, and he fingered his tie, -feeling sure that there was something wrong with it. - -“It’s warm, isn’t it?” - -“I suppose it is. It’s a way summer has, of being mostly warm.” - -He was quite sure that she was laughing at him; there was a tinge of -irony in the very way in which she pronounced “wa’m,” lingeringly, -as though to prolong her contempt for his stupidity in not finding -anything better to say. - -She had taken the largest chair in the room, and it seemed to hide her -away in its shadows, so that she could examine him at her leisure as he -sat under a window in the full glare of its light. - -“I enjoyed meeting your father so much, Miss Dangerfield. I think we -are always likely to be afraid of great men, but your father made me -feel at home at once. And he tells such capital stories--I’ve been -laughing over them ever since I left New Orleans.” - -“Father has quite a reputation for his stories. When did you leave New -Orleans, Mr. Ardmore?” - -“Sunday night. I stopped in Atlanta a few hours and came on through. -What a fine old town Atlanta is! don’t you think so?” - -“I certainly do not, Mr. Ardmore. It’s so dreadfully northernized.” - -When she said “no’thenized” her intonation gave the word a fine, -cutting edge. - -“I suppose, Mr. Ardmore, that you saw papa at the luncheon at the -Pharos Club in New Orleans?” - -“Why, yes, Miss Dangerfield. It was there I met the governor!” - -“Are you sure it was there, Mr. Ardmore?” - -“Why, I think that was the place. I don’t know my New Orleans as I -should, but----” - -Ardmore was suddenly conscious that Miss Dangerfield had risen, and -that she stood before him, with her fair face the least bit flushed, -her blue eyes alight with anger, and that the hands at her sides were -clenched nervously. - -“My father was not at luncheon at the Pharos Club, Mr. Ardmore. You -never saw my father in your life. I know why it is you came here, and -if you are not out of that door in one second I shall call the servants -and have them throw you out.” - -She ceased abruptly and turned to look into the hall where steps -sounded. - -“Is that you, Jerry?” - -“Yes, mamma; I’ll be up in just a minute. Please don’t wait for me. -It’s only the man to see about the plumbing.” - -The lady who had appeared for an instant at the door went on slowly up -the stairs, and the girl held Ardmore silent with her steady eyes until -the step died away above. - -“I know what you want my father for. Mr. Billings and you are both -pursuing him--it’s infamous, outrageous! And it isn’t his fault. I -would have you know that my father is an honourable man!” - -The bayonets were at his breast: he would ask for mercy. - -“Miss Dangerfield, you are quite mistaken about me. I shall leave -Raleigh at once, but I don’t want you to think I came here on any -errand to injure or annoy your father.” - -“You are one of _those_ Ardmores, and Mr. Billings represents you. You -thought you could come here and trick me into telling where my father -is. But I’m not so easily caught. My mother is ill because of all this -trouble, and I must go to her. But first I want to see that you leave -this house!” - -“Oh, I’m sorry you are in trouble. On my honour, Miss Dangerfield, I -know nothing of Billings and his business with your father.” - -“I suppose you will deny that you saw Mr. Billings in Atlanta -yesterday?” - -“Why, no. I can’t exactly----” - -“You’d better not! I saw you there talking to him; and I suppose he -sent you here to see what you could find out.” - -The room whirled a moment as she dealt this staggering blow. Billings, -of the Bronx Loan and Trust Company, had said that Miss Dangerfield -was peppery, but his employment of this trifling term only illustrated -his weak command of the English language. It is not pleasant to be -pilloried for undreamed-of crimes, and Ardmore’s ears tingled. He must -plunge deeper and trust to the gods of chance to save him. He brought -himself together with an effort, and spoke so earnestly that the words -rang oddly in his own ears. - -“Miss Dangerfield, you may call me anything you please, but I am not -quite the scoundrel you think me. It’s true that I was not in New -Orleans, and I never saw your father in my life. I came to Raleigh -on a mission that has absolutely nothing to do with Mr. Billings; he -did not know I was coming. On the way here a message intended for your -father came into my hands. It was thrown on the train at Kildare last -night. I had gone out on the platform because the sleeper was hot, -and a warning to your father to keep his hands off of Appleweight was -given to me. Here it is. It seems to me that there is immediate danger -in this, and I want to help you. I want to do anything I can for you. -I didn’t come here to pry into your family secrets, Miss Dangerfield, -honestly I didn’t!” - -She took the piece of paper into her slim little hands and read it, -slowly nodding her head, as if the words only confirmed some earlier -knowledge of the threat they contained. Then she lifted her head, and -her eyes were bright with mirth as Ardmore’s wondering gaze met them. - -“Did _you_ get the jug?” - -“I got two jugs, to tell the truth; but when they seemed dissatisfied -and howled for me to give one back, I threw off the buttermilk.” - -“You threw back father’s buttermilk to the man who gave you the -applejack? Oh! oh!” - -Miss Jerry Dangerfield sat down and laughed; and Ardmore, glad of an -opportunity to escape, found his hat and rushed from the house. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -MR. ARDMORE OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZED. - - -“She never did it; she never, never did!” - -Mr. Ardmore, from a bench in the State House Park, thus concluded a -long reverie. It was late afternoon, and he had forgotten luncheon in -his absorption. There was no manner of use in recurring again to that -episode of the lonely siding. He had found the girl--indubitably the -girl--but not the wink! Miss Jerry Dangerfield was not the winking -sort; he was well satisfied on that point, and so thoroughly ashamed -into the bargain that he resolved to lead a different life and be very -heedful of the cry of the poor in the future. His emotions had never -been taxed as to-day, and he hoped that he might never again suffer the -torture he had experienced as he waited in the governor’s drawing-room -for Miss Dangerfield to appear. After that agony it had been a positive -relief to be ordered out of the house. Her anger when she caught him -lying about having met her father in New Orleans was superior to any -simulated rage he had ever seen on the stage, and no girl with a -winking eye would be capable of it. He was not clever; he knew that; -but if he had had the brains of a monkey he would not have risked his -foolish wits against those of a girl like Geraldine Dangerfield, who -had led him into an ambush and then shot him to pieces. - -“She threatened to have the servants throw me out!” he groaned. And -her slight, tense figure rose before him, and her voice, still the -voice of young girlhood, rang in his ears. As she read the threatening -message from Kildare he had noted the fineness of her hands, the curve -of her fair cheek, the wayward curls on her forehead, and he remembered -all these things now, but more than anything else her wrath, the tiny -fists, the flashing eyes as she confronted him. As he sat dejectedly on -his park bench he was unaware that Miss Geraldine Dangerfield, walking -hurriedly through the park on her way from the governor’s mansion -to the state house, passed directly behind him. His attitude was so -eloquent of despair that it could not have failed to move a much harder -heart than that of Miss Dangerfield, yet she made no sign; but a few -minutes later the private secretary came out on the steps of the state -house, and after a brief survey of the landscape crossed the lawn and -called Ardmore by name. - -“I beg your pardon, but Miss Dangerfield wished me to say that she’d -like to see you for a minute. She’s at the governor’s office.” - -A prisoner, sentenced to death, and unexpectedly reprieved with the -rope already on his neck, could not experience greater relief than that -which brought Mr. Thomas Ardmore to his feet. - -“You are sure of it--that there’s no mistake?” - -“Certainly not. Miss Dangerfield told me I was to bring you back.” - -Enthroned at the secretary’s desk, a mass of papers before her, Miss -Geraldine Dangerfield awaited him. He was ready to place his head on -the block in sheer contrition for his conduct, but she herself took the -initiative, and her tone was wholly amiable. - -“This morning, Mr. Ardmore----” - -“Oh, please forget this morning!” he pleaded. - -“But I was rude to you; I threatened to have you thrown out of the -house; and you had come to do us a favour.” - -“Miss Dangerfield, I cannot lie to you. You are one of the most -difficult persons to lie to that I have ever met. I didn’t come to -Raleigh just to warn your father that his life was threatened. I can’t -lie to you about that----” - -“Then you _are_ a spy?” and Miss Dangerfield started forward in her -chair so suddenly that Ardmore dropped his hat. - -“No! I am not a spy! I don’t care anything about your father. I never -heard of him until yesterday.” - -“Well, I like that!” ejaculated Miss Dangerfield. - -“Oh, I mean that I wasn’t interested in him--why should I be? I don’t -know anything about politics.” - -“Neither does father. That’s why he’s governor. If he were a politician -he’d be a senator. But”--and she folded her hands and eyed him -searchingly--“here’s a lot of telegrams from the sheriff of Dilwell -County about that jug. How on earth did you come to get it?” - -“Lied, of course. I allowed them to think I was intimately associated -in business with the governor, and they began passing me jugs. Then the -man who gave the jug with that message in the cork got suspicious, and -I dropped the buttermilk jug back to him.” - -“You traded buttermilk for moonshine?” - -“I shouldn’t exactly call it moonshine. It’s more like dynamite than -anything else. I’ve written a reply to the note and put it back in the -cork, and I’m going to return it to Kildare.” - -“What answer did you make to that infamous effort to intimidate my -father?” demanded Miss Dangerfield. - -“I told the Appleweight gang that they are a lot of cowards, and that -the governor will have them all in jail or hanged within ten days.” - -“Splendid! Perfectly _splendid_! Did you really say that?” - -“What else could I do? I knew that that’s what the governor would -say--he’d have to say it--so I thought I’d save him the trouble.” - -“Where’s the jug now, Mr. Ardmore?” - -“In my room at the hotel. The gang must have somebody on guard here. -A gentleman who seemed to be one of them called on me this morning, -demanding the jug; and if he’s the man I think he is, he’s stolen the -little brown jug from my room in the hotel by this time.” - -Miss Dangerfield had picked up a spool of red tape, and was unwinding -it slowly in her fingers and rewinding it. They were such nice little -hands, and so peaceful in their aimless trifling with the tape that -he was sure his eyes had betrayed him into imagining she had clenched -them in the quiet drawing-room at the mansion. This office, now that -its atmosphere enveloped him, was almost as domestic as the house in -which she lived. The secretary had vanished, and a Sabbath quiet was on -the place. The white inner shutters swung open, affording a charming -prospect of the trees, the lawn, and the monument in the park outside. -And pleasantest of all, and most soothing to his weary senses, she was -tolerating him now; she had even expressed approval of something he had -done, and he had never hoped for this. She had not even pressed him to -disclose his real purpose in visiting Raleigh, and he prayed that she -would not return to this subject, for he had utterly lost the conceit -of his own lying gift. Miss Dangerfield threw down the spool of tape -and bent toward him gravely. - -“Mr. Ardmore, can you keep a secret?” - -“Nobody ever tried me with one, but I think I can, Miss Dangerfield,” -he murmured humbly. - -“Then please stand up.” - -And Ardmore rose, a little sheepishly, like a school-boy who fears -blame and praise alike. Miss Dangerfield lifted one of the adorable -hands solemnly. - -“I, acting governor of North Carolina, hereby appoint you my private -secretary, and may God have mercy on your soul. You may now sit down, -Mr. Secretary.” - -“But I thought there was a secretary already. And besides, I don’t -write a very good hand,” Ardmore stammered. - -“I am just sending Mr. Bassford to Atlanta to find papa. He’s already -gone, or will be pretty soon.” - -“But I thought your father would be home to-night.” - -Miss Dangerfield looked out of the open window upon the park, then into -the silent outer hall, to be sure she was not overheard. - -“Papa will not be at home to-night, or probably to-morrow night, or -the night afterward. I’m not sure we’ll wait next Christmas dinner for -papa.” - -“But, of course, you know where he is! It isn’t possible----” and -Ardmore stared in astonishment into Miss Dangerfield’s tranquil blue -eyes. - -“It _is_ possible. Papa is ducking his official responsibilities. -That’s what’s the matter with papa! And I guess they’re enough to drive -any man into the woods. Just look at all this!” - -Miss Dangerfield rested one of those diminutive hands of hers on the -pile of documents, letters, and telegrams the secretary had left behind -him; with a nod of the head she indicated the governor’s desk in the -inner room, and it too was piled high with documents. - -“I supposed,” faltered Ardmore, “that in the absence of the governor -the lieutenant-governor would act. I think I read that once.” - -“You must have read it wrong, Mr. Ardmore. In North Carolina, in the -absence of the governor, I am governor! Don’t look so shocked; when I -say I, I mean I--_me!_ Do you understand what I said?” - -“I heard what you said, Miss Dangerfield.” - -“I mean what I said, Mr. Ardmore. I have taken you into my confidence -because I don’t know you. I don’t know anything about you. I don’t -want to know anything about you. I’d be ashamed to ask anybody I know -to help me. The people of North Carolina must never know that the -governor is absent during times of great public peril. And if _you_ are -afraid, Mr. Ardmore, you had better not accept the position.” - -“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you,” blurted Ardmore. - -“I’m not asking you--I _would_ not ask you--to do anything for me. I -am asking you to do it for the Old North State. Our relations, Mr. -Ardmore, will not be social, but purely official. Do you accept the -terms?” - -“I do; and I warn you now that I shall never resign.” - -“I have heard papa say that life is short and the tenure of office -uncertain. I can remove you at any time I please. Now do you understand -that this is a serious business? There’s likely to be a lot of trouble, -and no time for asking questions, so when I say it’s so it’s so.” - -“It’s so,” repeated Ardmore docilely. - -“Now, here’s the sheriff at Kildare, on our side of the line, who -writes to say that he is powerless to catch Appleweight. He’s afraid of -the dark, that man! You see, the grand jury in Dilwell County--that’s -Kildare, you know--has indicted Appleweight as a common outlaw, but -the grand jurors were all friends of Appleweight, and the indictment -was only to satisfy law-and-order sentiment and appease the Woman’s -Civic League of Raleigh. Now, papa doesn’t--I mean _I_ don’t want to -offend those Appleweight people by meddling in this business. Papa -wants Governor Osborne to arrest Appleweight in South Carolina; but I -don’t believe Governor Osborne will dare do anything about it. Now, -Mr. Ardmore, I am not going to have papa called a coward by anybody, -particularly by South Carolina people, after what Governor Osborne said -of our state.” - -“Why, what did he say?” - -“He said in a speech at Charleston last winter that no people who -fry their meat can ever amount to anything, and he meant us! I can -never forgive him for that; besides, his daughter is the stuck-upest -thing! And I’d like Barbara Osborne to tell me how _she_ got into the -Colonial Dames, and what call _she_ has to be inspector-general of -the Granddaughters of the Mexican War; for I’ve heard my grandfather -Dangerfield say many a time that old Colonel Osborne and his South -Carolina regiment never did go outside of Charleston until the war was -over and the American army had come back home.” - -One tiny fist this time! Ardmore was sure of it. Her indignation -against the Osbornes was so sincere, the pouting petulance to which it -diminished so like a child’s, and the gravity of the offence so novel -in his simple experiences, that Ardmore was bound in chains before her -speech was finished. The little drawl with which she concluded gave -heightened significance to her last three words, so that it seemed that -all the veterans of the war with Mexico trudged by, bearing the flag of -North Carolina and no other banner. - -“Governor Osborne is a contemptible ruffian,” declared Ardmore, with -deep feeling. - -Miss Dangerfield nodded judicial approval, and settled back in her -chair the better to contemplate her new secretary, and said,-- - -“I’m a Daughter of the Confederacy and a Colonial Dame. What are you?” - -“I suppose you’ll never speak to me again; papa sent three expensive -substitutes to the Civil War.” - -“Three! Horrible!” - -“Two of them deserted, and one fell into the Potomac on his way south -and was drowned. I guess they didn’t do you folks much harm.” - -“We’ll forgive you that; but what did your ancestors do in the -Revolution?” - -“I’m ashamed to say that my great-grandfather was a poor guesser. He -died during Washington’s second administration still believing the -Revolution a failure.” - -“Do you speak of the war of 1861 as the Rebellion or as the war between -the states? I advise you to be careful what you say,” and Miss Jerry -Dangerfield was severe. - -“I don’t believe I ever mentioned it either way, so I’m willing to take -your word for it.” - -“The second form is correct, Mr. Ardmore. When well-bred Southern -people say Rebellion they refer to the uprising of 1776 against the -British oppressor.” - -“Good. I’m sure I shall never get them mixed. Now that you are the -governor, what are you going to do first about Appleweight?” - -“I’ve written--that is to say, papa wrote before he went away--a strong -letter to Governor Osborne, complaining that Appleweight was hiding -in South Carolina and running across the state line to rob and murder -people in North Carolina. Papa told Governor Osborne that he must break -up the Appleweight crowd, or he would do something about it himself. -It’s a splendid letter; you would think that even a coward like -Governor Osborne would do something after getting such a letter.” - -“Didn’t he answer the letter?” - -“Answer it? He never got it! Papa didn’t send it; that’s the reason! -Papa’s the kindest man in the world, and he must have been afraid of -hurting Governor Osborne’s feelings. He wrote the letter, expecting to -send it, but when he went off to New Orleans he told Mr. Bassford to -hold it till he got back. He had even signed it--you can read it if you -like.” - -It was undoubtedly a vigorous epistle, and Ardmore felt the thrill -of its rhetorical sentences as he read. The official letter paper on -which it was typewritten, and the signature of William Dangerfield, -governor of North Carolina, affixed in a bold hand, were sobering in -themselves. The dignity and authority of one of the sovereign American -states was represented here, and he handed the paper back to Miss -Dangerfield as tenderly as though it had been the original draft of -Magna Charta. - -“It’s a corker, all right.” - -“I don’t much like the way it ends. It says, right here”--and she bent -forward and pointed to the place under criticism--“it says, ‘Trusting -to your sense of equity, and relying upon a continuance of the -traditional friendship between your state and mine, I am, sir, awaiting -your reply, very respectfully, your obedient servant.’ Now, I wouldn’t -trust to his sense of anything, and that traditional friendship -business is just fluffy nonsense, and I wouldn’t be anybody’s obedient -servant. I decided when I wasn’t more than fifteen years old, with a -lot of other girls in our school, that when we got married we’d never -say obey, and we never have, though only three of our class are married -yet, but we’re all engaged.” - -“Engaged?” - -“Of course; we’re engaged. I’m engaged to Rutherford Gillingwater, the -adjutant-general of this state. You couldn’t be my private secretary if -I wasn’t engaged; it wouldn’t be proper.” - -The earth was only a flying cinder on which he strove for a foothold. -She had announced her engagement to be married with a cool finality -that took his breath away; and not realizing the chaos into which she -had flung him, she returned demurely to the matter of the letter. - -“We can’t change that letter, because it’s signed close to the -‘obedient servant,’ and there’s no room. But I’m going to put it into -the typewriter and add a postscript.” - -She sat down before the machine and inexpertly rolled the sheet into -place; then, with Ardmore helping her to find the keys, she wrote: - - I demand an imediate reply. - -“_Demand_ and _immediate_ are both business words. Are you sure -there’s only one _m_ in immediate? All right, if you know. I reckon a -postscript like that doesn’t need to be signed. I’ll just put ‘W. D.’ -there with papa’s stub pen, so it will look really fierce. Now, you’re -the secretary; you copy it in the copying press and I’ll address the -envelope.” - -“Don’t you have to put the state seal on it?” asked Ardmore. - -“Of course not. You have to get that from the secretary of state, and I -don’t like him; he has such funny whiskers, and calls me little girl. -Besides, you never put the seal on a letter; it’s only necessary for -official documents.” - -She bade him give the letter plenty of time to copy, and talked -cheerfully while he waited. She spoke of her friends, as Southern -people have a way of doing, as though every one must of course know -them--a habit that is illuminative of that delightful Southern -neighbourliness that knits the elect of a commonwealth into a single -family, that neither time and tide nor sword and brand can destroy. -Ardmore’s humility increased as the names of the great and good of -North Carolina fell from her lips; for they were as strange to him as -an Abyssinian dynasty. It was perfectly clear that he was not of her -world, and that his own was insignificant and undistinguished compared -with hers. His spirit was stayed somewhat by the knowledge that he, and -not the execrable Gillingwater, had been chosen as her coadjutor in -the present crisis. His very ignorance of the royal families of North -Carolina, which she recited so glibly, and the fact that he was unknown -at the capital, had won him official recognition, and it was for him -now to prove his worth. The political plot into which he had been most -willingly drawn pleased him greatly; it was superior to his fondest -dream of adventure, and now, moreover, he had what he never had before, -a definite purpose in life, which was to be equal to the task to which -this intrepid girl assigned him. - -“Well, that’s done,” said Miss Jerry, when the letter, still damp -from the copy-press, had been carefully sealed and stamped. “Governor -Osborne will get it in the morning. I think maybe we’d better telegraph -him that it’s coming.” - -“I don’t see much use in that, when he’ll get the letter first thing -to-morrow,” Ardmore suggested. “It costs money to telegraph, and you -must have an economical administration.” - -“The good of it would be to keep him worried and make him very angry. -And if he told Barbara Osborne about it, it would make her angry, too, -and maybe she wouldn’t sleep any all night, the haughty thing! Hand me -one of those telegraph blanks.” - -The message, slowly thumped out on the typewriter, and several times -altered and copied, finally read: - - RALEIGH, N. C. - - The Honourable Charles Osborne, - Governor of South Carolina, - Columbia, S. C.: - - Have written by to-night’s mail in Appleweight matter. Your - vacillating course not understood. - - WILLIAM DANGERFIELD, - Governor of North Carolina. - -“I reckon that will make him take notice,” and Miss Jerry viewed her -work with approval. “And now, Mr. Ardmore, here’s a telegram from Mr. -Billings which I don’t understand. See if you know what it means.” - -Ardmore chuckled delightedly as he read: - - Cannot understand your outrageous conduct in bond matter. If payment - is not made June first your state’s credit is ruined. Where is - Foster? Answer to Atlanta. - - GEORGE P. BILLINGS. - - -“I don’t see what’s so funny about that! Mr. Bassford was walking the -floor with that message when I came to the office. He said papa and -the state were both going to be ruined. There’s a quarter of a million -dollars to be paid on bonds that are coming due June first, and there -isn’t any money to pay them with. That’s what he said. And Mr. Foster -is the state treasurer, and he’s gone fishing.” - -“Fishing?” - -“He left word he had gone fishing. Mr. Foster and papa don’t get along -together, and Mr. Bassford says he’s run off just to let those bonds -default and bring disgrace on papa and the state.” - -Ardmore’s grin broadened. The Appleweight case was insignificant -compared with this new business with which he was confronted. He was -vaguely conscious that bonds have a way of coming due, and that there -is such a thing as credit in the world, and that it is something that -must not be trifled with; but these considerations did not weigh -heavily with him. For the first time in his uneventful life vengeance -unsheathed her sword in his tranquil soul. Billings had always treated -him with contempt, as a negligible factor in the Ardmore millions, and -here at last was an opportunity to balance accounts. - -“I will show you how to fix Billings. Just let me have one of those -blanks.” - -And after much labour, and with occasional suggestions from Miss Jerry, -the following message was presently ready for the wires: - - Your famous imputation upon my honour and that of the state shall - meet with the treatment it deserves. I defy you to do your worst. - If you come into North Carolina or bring legal proceedings for the - collection of your bonds I will fill you so full of buckshot that - forty men will not be strong enough to carry you to your grave. - -“Isn’t that perfectly grand!” murmured Jerry admiringly. “But I thought -your family and the Bronx Loan and Trust Company were the same thing. -That’s what Rutherford Gillingwater told me once.” - -“You are quite right. Billings works for us. Before I came of age he -used to make me ask his permission when I wanted to buy a new necktie, -and when I was in college he was always fussing over my bills, and -humiliating me when he could.” - -“But you mustn’t make him so mad that he will cause papa trouble and -bring disgrace on our administration.” - -“Don’t you worry about Billings. He is used to having people get down -on their knees to him, and the change will do him good. When he gets -over his first stroke of apoplexy he will lock himself in a dark room -and begin to think hard about what to do. He usually does all the -bluffing, and I don’t suppose anybody ever talked to him like this -telegram in all his life. Where is this man Foster?” - -“Just fishing; that’s what Mr. Bassford said, but he didn’t know where. -Father was going to call a special session of the legislature to -investigate him, and he was so angry that he ran off so that papa would -have to look after those bonds himself. Then this Appleweight case came -up, and that worried papa a great deal. Here’s his call for the special -session. He told Mr. Bassford to hold that, too, until he came back -from New Orleans.” - -Ardmore read Governor Dangerfield’s summons to the legislature with -profound interest. It was signed, but the space for the date on which -the law-makers were to assemble had been left blank. - -“It looks to me as though you had the whole state in your hands, Miss -Dangerfield. But I don’t believe we ought to call the special session -just yet. It would be sure to injure the state’s credit, and it will be -a lot more fun to catch Foster. I wonder if he took all the state money -with him.” - -“Mr. Bassford said he didn’t know and couldn’t find out, for the -clerks in the treasurer’s office wouldn’t tell him a single thing.” - -“One should never deal with subordinates,” remarked Ardmore sagely. -“Deal with the principals--I heard a banker say that once, and he was a -man who knew everything. Besides, it will be more fun to attend to the -bonds ourselves.” - -He seemed lost in reverie for several minutes, and she asked with some -impatience what he was studying about. - -“I was trying to think of a word they use when the government has war -or any kind of trouble. It’s something about a corpse, but I can’t -remember it.” - -“A corpse? How perfectly horrid! Can it be possible, Mr. Ardmore, that -you mean the writ of habeas corpus?” The twinkle in his eye left her -unable to determine whether his ignorance was real, or assumed for his -own amusement. - -“That’s it,” beamed Ardmore. “We’ve got to suspend it if worst comes to -worst. Then you can put anybody you like into a dungeon, and nobody can -get him out--not for a million years.” - -“I wonder where they keep it?” asked Jerry. “It must be here somewhere. -Perhaps it’s in the safe.” - -“I don’t think it’s a thing, like a lemon, or a photograph, or a bottle -of ink; it’s a document, like a Thanksgiving proclamation, and you -order out the militia, and the soldiers have to leave their work and -assemble at their armouries, and it’s all very serious, and somebody is -likely to get shot.” - -“I don’t think it would be nice to shoot people,” said Jerry. “That -would do the administration a terrible lot of harm.” - -“Of course we won’t resort to extreme measures unless we are forced to -it. And then, after we have exhausted all the means at our command, we -can call on the president to send United States troops.” - -He was proud of his knowledge, which had lingered in his -subconsciousness from a review of the military power of the states -which he had heard once from Griswold, who knew about such matters; but -he was brought to earth promptly enough. - -“Mr. Ardmore, how dare you suggest that we call United States troops -into North Carolina! Don’t you know that would be an insult to every -loyal son of this state? I should have you know that the state of North -Carolina is big enough to take care of herself, and if any president -of the United States sends any troops down here while I’m running this -office, he’ll find that, while our people will gladly die, they never -surrender.” - -“Oh, I didn’t mean anything like that by what I said,” pleaded Ardmore, -frightened almost to tears. “Of course, we’ve got our own troops, -and we’ll get through all our business without calling for help. I -shouldn’t any more call on the president than I’d call on the Czar of -Russia.” - -She seemed satisfied with this disclaimer, and produced a diary in -which Governor Dangerfield had noted his appointments far into the -future. - -“We’ll have to break a lot of engagements for papa. Here’s a speech he -promised to make at Wilmington at the laying of the corner-stone of the -new orphan asylum. That’s to-morrow, and papa can’t be there, so we’ll -send a telegram of congratulation to be read instead. Then he was to -preside at a convention of the Old Fiddlers’ Association at Goldsboro -the next day, and he can’t do that. I guess we’d better telegraph and -say how sorry he is to be delayed by important official business. And -here’s--why, I had forgotten about the National Guard encampment, -that’s beginning now.” - -“Do you mean the state militia?” Ardmore inquired. - -“Why, of course. They’re having their annual encampment over in -Azbell County at Camp Dangerfield--they always name the camp for the -governor--and father was to visit the camp next Saturday for his -annual inspection. That’s near your county, where your farm is; didn’t -you know that?” - -Ardmore was humble, as he always was when his ignorance was exposed, -but his face brightened joyfully. - -“You mustn’t break that engagement. Those troops ought to be inspected. -Inspecting his troops is one of the most important things a governor -has to do. It’s just like a king or an emperor. I’ve seen Emperor -William and King Humbert inspect their soldiers, and they go galloping -by like mad, with all the soldiers saluting, and it’s perfectly bully. -And then there have to be manœuvres, to see whether the troops know how -to fight or not, and forced marches and sham battles.” - -“Papa always speaks to the men,” suggested Jerry, a little abashed by -the breadth and splendour of Ardmore’s knowledge. His comparison of the -North Carolina militia with the armies of Europe pleased her. - -“I think the ladies of the royal family inspect the troops too, -sometimes,” he continued. “The queens are always honorary colonels of -regiments, and present them with flags, which is a graceful thing to -do.” - -“Colonel Gillingwater never told me that, and he’s the adjutant-general -of the state and ought to know.” - -“What’s he colonel of?” asked Ardmore gloomily. - -“He was colonel in the Spanish war, or was going to be, but he got -typhoid fever, and so he couldn’t go to Cuba, and papa appointed him -adjutant-general as a reward for his services; but everybody calls him -Colonel just the same.” - -“It looks like a pretty easy way of getting a title,” murmured Ardmore. -“I had typhoid fever once, and nearly died, and all my hair came out.” - -“You oughtn’t to speak that way of my fiancé. It’s quite impertinent in -a mere private secretary to talk so.” - -“I beg your pardon. I forgot that you were engaged. You’ll have to go -to Camp Dangerfield and inspect the troops yourself, and they would a -lot rather have you inspect them than have your father do it.” - -“You mustn’t say things like that! I thought I told you your -appointment carried no social recognition. You mustn’t talk to me as -though I was a girl you really know----” - -“But there’s no use of making-believe such things when I do know you!” - -“Not the least little tiny bit, you don’t! Do you suppose, if you were -a gentleman I knew and had been introduced to, I would be talking to -you here in papa’s office?” - -“But I pretend to be a gentleman; you certainly wouldn’t be talking to -me if you thought me anything else.” - -“I can’t even discuss the matter, Mr. Ardmore. A gentleman wouldn’t lie -to a lady.” - -“But if you know I’m a liar, why are you telling me these secrets and -asking me to help you play being governor?” and Ardmore, floundering -hopelessly, marvelled at her more and more. - -“That’s exactly the reason--because you came poking up to my house and -told me that scandalous fib about meeting papa in New Orleans. Mr. -Bassford is a beautiful liar; that’s why he’s papa’s secretary; but you -are a much more imaginative sort of liar than Mr. Bassford. He can only -lie to callers about papa being engaged, or write encouraging letters -to people who want appointments which papa never expects to make; but -you lie because you can’t help it. Now, if you’re satisfied, you can -take those telegrams down to the telegraph office; and you’d better -mail that letter to Governor Osborne yourself, for fear the man who’s -running the lawn-mower will forget to come for it.” - -The roll of drums and the cry of a bugle broke in upon the peace -of the late afternoon. Miss Jerry rose with an exclamation and ran -out into the broad portico of the state house. Several battalions -of a tide-water regiment, passing through town on their way to Camp -Dangerfield, had taken advantage of a wait in Raleigh to disembark -and show themselves at the capital. They were already halted and at -parade rest at the side of the street, and a mounted officer in khaki, -galloping madly into view, seemed to focus the eyes of the gathering -crowd. He was a gallant figure of a man; his mount was an animal that -realized Job’s ideal of a battle-horse; the soldiers presented arms as -the horseman rode the line. Miss Dangerfield waved her handkerchief, -standing eagerly on tiptoe to make her salutation carry as far as -possible. - -“Who is that?” asked Ardmore, with sinking spirit. - -“Why, Rutherford Gillingwater, of course.” - -“Fours right!” rang the command a moment later, and the militiamen -tramped off to the station. - -It was then that Ardmore, watching the crowd disperse at the edge of -the park, saw his caller of the morning striding rapidly across the -street. Ardmore started forward, then checked himself so suddenly that -Miss Jerry Dangerfield turned to him inquiringly. - -“What’s the matter?” she demanded. - -“Nothing. I have been robbed, as I hoped to be. Over there, on the -sidewalk, beyond the girl in the pink sunbonnet, goes my little brown -jug. That lank individual with the shabby hat has lifted it out of my -room at the hotel, just as I thought he would.” - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -MR. GRISWOLD FORSAKES THE ACADEMIC LIFE. - - -Miss Osborne had asked Griswold to await the outcome of the day, -and, finding himself thus possessed of a vacation, he indulged his -antiquarian instincts by exploring Columbia. The late afternoon found -him in the lovely cathedral churchyard, where an aged negro, tending -the graves of an illustrious family, leaned upon his spade and recited -the achievements and virtues of the dead. Men who had been law-makers, -others who had led valiantly to battle, and ministers of the Prince of -Peace, mingled their dust together; and across the crisp hedges a robin -sang above Timrod’s grave. - -As the shadows lengthened, Griswold walked back to the hotel, where he -ate supper, then, calling for a horse, he rode through the streets in -a mood of more complete alienation than he had ever experienced in a -foreign country; yet the very scents of the summer night, stealing out -from old gardens, the voices that reached him from open doorways, spoke -of home. - -As he reached the outskirts of town and rode on toward the governor’s -mansion, his mood changed, and he laughed softly, for he remembered -Ardmore, and Ardmore was beyond question the most amusing person he -knew. It was unfortunate, he generously reflected, that Ardmore, rather -than himself, had not been plunged into this present undertaking, which -was much more in Ardmore’s line than his own. There would, however, -be a great satisfaction in telling Ardmore of his unexpected visit to -Columbia, in exchange for his friend’s report of his pursuit of the -winking eye. He only regretted that in the nature of things Columbia -is a modern city, a seat of commerce as well as of government, a place -where bank clearings are seriously computed, and where the jaunty -adventurer with sword and ruffles is quite likely to run afoul of the -police. Yet his own imagination was far more fertile than Ardmore’s, -and he would have hailed a troop of mail-clad men as joyfully as his -friend had he met them clanking in the highway. Thus modern as we -think ourselves, the least venturesome among us dreams that some day -some turn of a street corner will bring him face to face with what we -please to call our fate; and this is the manifestation of our last -drop of mediæval blood. The grimmest seeker after reality looks out -of the corner of his eye for the flutter of a white handkerchief from -the ivied tower he affects to ignore; and, in spite of himself, he is -buoyed by the hope that some day a horn will sound for him over the -nearest hill. - -Miss Osborne met him at the veranda steps. Indoors a mandolin and piano -struck up the merry chords of _The Eutaw Girl_. - -“My young sisters have company. We’ll sit here, if you don’t mind.” - -She led the way to a quiet corner, and after they were seated she was -silent a moment, while the light from the windows showed clearly that -her perplexity of the morning was not yet at an end. The music tinkled -softly, and a breeze swept in upon them with faint odours of the garden. - -“I hope you won’t mind, Mr. Griswold, if I appear to be ashamed of you. -It’s not a bit hospitable to keep you outside our threshold; but--you -understand--I don’t have to tell you!” - -“I understand perfectly, Miss Osborne!” - -“It seems best not to let the others know just why you are here. I told -my sisters that you were an old friend--of father’s--who wished to -leave a message for him.” - -“That will do first-rate!” he laughed. “My status is fixed. I know your -father, but as for ourselves, we are not acquainted.” - -He felt that she was seriously anxious and troubled, and he wished to -hearten her if he could. The soft dusk of the faintly-lighted corner -folded her in. Behind her the vines of the verandah moved slightly in -the breeze. A thin, wayward shaft of light touched her hair, as though -searching out the gold. When we say that people have atmosphere, we -really mean that they possess indefinite qualities that awaken new -moods in us, as by that magic through which an ignorant hand thrumming -a harp’s strings may evoke some harmony denied to conscious skill. He -heard whispered in his heart a man’s first word of the woman he is -destined to love, in which he sets her apart--above and beyond all -other womenkind; she is different; she is not like other women! - -“It is nearly nine,” she said, her voice thrilling through him. “My -father should have been here an hour ago. We have heard nothing from -him. The newspapers have telephoned repeatedly to know his whereabouts. -I have put them off by intimating that he is away on important -public business, and that his purpose might be defeated if his exact -whereabouts were known. I tried to intimate, without saying as much, -that he was busy with the Appleweight case. One of the papers that has -very bitterly antagonized father ever since his election has threatened -to expose what the editor calls father’s relations with Appleweight. I -cannot believe that there is anything wrong about that; of course there -is not!” - -She was controlling herself with an effort, and she broke off her -declaration of confidence in her absent father sharply but with a sob -in her voice. - -“I have no doubt in the world that the explanation you gave the -newspapers is the truth of the matter. Your father must be absent a -great deal--it is part of a governor’s business to keep in motion. -But we may as well face the fact that his absence just now is most -embarrassing. This Appleweight matter has reached a crisis, and a -failure to handle it properly may injure your father’s future as a -public man. If you will pardon me, I would suggest that there must be -some one whom you can take into your confidence--some friend, some one -in your father’s administration that you can rely on?” - -“Yes; father has many friends; but I cannot consider acknowledging -to any one that father has disappeared when such a matter as this -Appleweight case is an issue through the state. No; I have thought of -every one this afternoon. It would be a painful thing for his best -friends to know what is--what seems to be the truth.” Her voice wavered -a little, but she was brave, and he was aware that she straightened -herself in her chair, and, when wayward gleams of light fell upon her -face, that her lips were set resolutely. - -“You saw the attorney-general this morning,” she went on. “As you -suggested, he would naturally be the one to whom I should turn, but I -cannot do it. I--there is a reason”--and she faltered a moment--“there -are reasons why I cannot appeal to Mr. Bosworth at this time.” - -She shrugged her shoulders as though throwing off a disagreeable topic, -and he saw that there was nothing more to be said on this point. His -heart-beats quickened as he realized that she was appealing to him; -that, though he was only the most casual acquaintance, she trusted him. -It was a dictum of his, learned in his study and practice of the law, -that issues must be met as they offer--not as the practitioner would -prefer to have them, but as they occur; and here was a condition of -affairs that must be met promptly if the unaccountable absence of the -governor was to be robbed of its embarrassing significance. - -As he pondered for a moment, a messenger rode into the grounds, and -Miss Osborne slipped away and met the boy at the steps. She came back -and opened a telegram, reading the message at one of the windows. An -indignant exclamation escaped her, and she crumpled the paper in her -hand. - -“The impudence of it!” she exclaimed. He had risen, and she now turned -to him with anger and scorn deepening her beautiful colour. Her breath -came quickly; her head was lifted imperiously; her lips quivered -slightly as she spoke. - -“This is from Governor Dangerfield. Can you imagine a man of any -character or decency sending such a message to the governor of another -state?” - -She watched him as he read: - - RALEIGH, N. C. - - The Honourable Charles Osborne, - Governor of South Carolina, - Columbia, S. C.: - - Have written by to-night’s mail in Appleweight matter. Your - vacillating course not understood. - - WILLIAM DANGERFIELD, - Governor of North Carolina. - -“What do you think of that?” she demanded. - -“I think it’s impertinent, to say the least,” he replied guardedly. - -“Impertinent! It’s the most contemptible, outrageous thing I ever heard -of in my life! Governor Dangerfield has dilly-dallied with that case -for two years. His administration has been marked from the beginning -by the worst kind of incompetence. Why, this man Appleweight and his -gang of outlaws only come into South Carolina now and then to hide and -steal, but they commit most of their crimes in North Carolina, and -they always have. Talk about a vacillating course! Father has never -taken steps to arrest those men, out of sheer regard for Governor -Dangerfield; he thought North Carolina had some pride, and that her -governor would prefer to take care of his own criminals. What do you -suppose Appleweight is indicted for in this state? For stealing one -ham--one single ham from a farmer in Mingo County, and he’s killed half -a dozen men in North Carolina.” - -She paced the corner of the veranda angrily, while Griswold groped for -a solution of the problem. The telegram from Raleigh was certainly -lacking in diplomatic suavity. It was patent that if the governor of -North Carolina was not tremendously aroused, he was playing a great -game of bluff; and on either hypothesis a prompt response must be made -to his telegram. - -“I must answer this at once. He must not think we are so stupid in -Columbia that we don’t know when we’re insulted. We can go through the -side door to father’s study and write the message there,” and she led -the way. - -“It might be best to wait and see what his letter is like,” suggested -Griswold, with a vague wish to prolong this discussion, that he might -enjoy the soft glow of the student lamp on her cheek. - -“I don’t care what his letter says; it can’t be worse than his -telegram. We’ll answer them both at once.” - -She found a blank and wrote rapidly, without asking suggestions, with -this result: - - The Honourable William Dangerfield, - Raleigh, N. C.: - - Your extremely diverting telegram in Appleweight case received and - filed. - - CHARLES OSBORNE, - Governor of South Carolina. - -She met Griswold’s obvious disappointment with prompt explanation. - -“You see, the governor of South Carolina cannot stoop to an exchange -of billingsgate with an underbred person like that--a big, solemn, -conceited creature in a long frock-coat and a shoestring necktie, who -boasts of belonging to the common ‘peo-pull.’ He doesn’t have to tell -anybody that, when it’s plain as daylight. The way to answer him is not -to answer at all.” - -“The way to answer him is to make North Carolina put Appleweight in -jail, for crimes committed in that state, and then, if need be, we -can satisfy the cry for vengeance in South Carolina by flashing our -requisition. There is a rule in such cases that the state having the -heaviest indictments shall have precedence; and you say that in this -state it’s only a matter of a ham. I am not acquainted with the South -Carolina ham,” he went on, smiling, “but in Virginia the right kind of -a ham is sacred property, and to steal one is a capital offence.” - -“I should like to steal one such as I had last winter in Richmond,” -and Miss Osborne forgot her anger; her eyes narrowed dreamily at an -agreeable memory. - -“Was it at Judge Randolph Wilson’s?” asked Griswold instantly. - -“Why, yes, it was at Judge Wilson’s, Mr. Griswold. How did you know?” - -“I didn’t know--I guessed; for I have sat at that table myself. The -judge says grace twice when there’s to be ham--once before soup, then -again before ham.” - -“Then thanksgiving after the ham would be perfectly proper!” - -Miss Osborne was studying Griswold carefully, then she laughed, and -her attitude toward him, that had been tempered by a certain official -reserve, became at once cordial. - -“Are you the Professor Griswold who is so crazy about pirates? I’ve -heard the Wilsons speak of you, but you don’t look like that.” - -“Don’t I look like a pirate? Thank you! I had an appointment at -Judge Wilson’s office this morning to talk over a case in which I’m -interested.” - -“I remember now what he said about you. He said you really were a fine -lawyer, but that you liked to read about pirates.” - -“That may have been what he said to you; but he has told me that the -association of piracy and law was most unfortunate, as it would suggest -unpleasant comments to those who don’t admire the legal profession.” - -“And you are one of those tide-water Griswolds, then, if you know the -Randolph Wilsons. They are very strong for the tide-water families; -to hear them talk you’d think the people back in the Virginia hills -weren’t really respectable.” - -“It’s undeniably the right view of the matter,” laughed Griswold, “but -now that I live in Charlottesville I don’t insist on it. It wouldn’t be -decent in me. And I have lots of cousins in Lexington and through the -Valley. The broad view is that every inch of the Old Dominion is holy -ground.” - -“It is an interesting commonwealth, Mr. Griswold; but I do not consider -it holy ground. South Carolina has a monopoly of that;” and then the -smile left her face and she returned to the telegram. “Our immediate -business, however, is not with Virginia, or with South Carolina, but -with the miserable commonwealth that lies between.” - -“And that commonwealth,” said Griswold, wishing to prolong the respite -from official cares, “that state known in law and history as North -Carolina, I have heard called, by a delightful North Carolina lady I -met once at Charlottesville, a valley of humility between two mountains -of conceit. That seems to hit both of us!” - -“North Carolina isn’t a state at all,” Miss Osborne declared -spitefully; “it’s only a strip of land where uninteresting people live. -And now, what do you say to this telegram?” - -“Excellent. It’s bound to irritate, and it leaves him in the dark as to -our--I mean Governor Osborne’s--intentions. And those intentions----” - -During this by-play he had reached a decision as to what should be -done, and he was prepared to answer when she asked, with an employment -of the pronoun that pleasantly emphasized their relationship,-- - -“What _are_ our intentions?” - -“We are going to catch Appleweight, that’s the first thing--and until -we get him we’re going to keep our own counsel. Let me have a telegraph -blank, and I will try my hand at being governor.” He sat down in the -governor’s chair, asked the name of the county seat of Mingo, and wrote -without erasure or hesitation this message: - - To the Sheriff of Mingo County, - Turner Court House, S. C.: - - Make every possible effort to capture Appleweight and any of his gang - who are abroad in your county. Swear in all the deputies you need, - and if friendliness of citizens to outlaws makes this impossible wire - me immediately, and I will send militia. Any delay on your part will - be visited with severest penalties. Answer immediately by telegraph. - - CHARLES OSBORNE, - Governor of South Carolina. - -“That’s quite within the law,” said Griswold, handing Barbara the -message; “and we might as well put the thing through at a gallop. I’ll -get the telegraph company to hold open the line to Turner Court House -until the sheriff answers.” - -As Barbara read the message he saw her pleasure in the quick -compression of her lips, the glow in her cheeks, and then the bright -glint of her bronze-brown eyes as she finished. - -“That’s exactly right. I didn’t know just how to manage such a thing, -but I see that that is the proper method.” - -“Yes; the sheriff must have his full opportunity to act.” - -“And what, then, if the sheriff refuses to do anything?” - -“Then--then”--and Griswold’s jaw set firmly, and he straightened -himself slightly before he added in a quiet tone--“then I’m going down -there to take charge of the thing myself.” - -“Oh, that is too much! I _didn’t_ ask that; and I must refuse to -let you take any such responsibility on yourself, to say nothing of -the personal danger. I merely wanted your advice--as a lawyer, for -the reason that I dared not risk father’s name even among his best -friends here. And your coming to the office this morning seemed so--so -providential----” - -He sought at once to minimize the value of his services, for he was -not a man to place a woman under obligations, and, moreover, an -opportunity like this, to uphold the dignity, and perhaps to exercise -the power, of a state laid strong hold upon him. He knew little enough -about the Appleweight case, but he felt from his slight knowledge -that he was well within his rights in putting spurs to the sheriff of -Mingo County. If the sheriff failed to respond in proper spirit and -it became necessary to use the militia, he was conscious that serious -complications might arise. He had not only a respect for law, but an -ideal of civic courage and integrity, and the governor’s inexplicable -absence aroused his honest wrath. The idea that a mere girl should be -forced to sustain the official honour and dignity of a cowardly father -further angered him. And then he looked into her eyes and saw how grave -they were, and how earnest and with what courage she met the situation; -and the charm of her slender figure, that glint of gold in her hair, -her slim, supple hands folded on the table--these things wrought in him -a happiness that he had never known before, so that he laughed as he -took the telegram from her. - -“There must be no mistake, no failure,” she said quietly. - -“We are not going to fail; we are going to carry this through! Within -three days we’ll have Appleweight in a North Carolina jail or a flying -fugitive in Governor Dangerfield’s territory. And now these telegrams -must be sent. It might be better for you to go to the telegraph office -with me. You must remember that I am a pilgrim and a stranger, and they -might question my filing official messages.” - -“That is perfectly true. I will go into town with you.” - -“And if there’s an official coach that everybody knows as yours, it -would allay suspicions to have it,” and while he was still speaking she -vanished to order the carriage. - -In five minutes it was at the side door, and Griswold and Barbara, -fortified by the presence of Phœbe, left the governor’s study. - -“If they don’t know me, everybody in South Carolina knows Phœbe,” said -Barbara. - -“A capital idea. I can see by her eye that she’s built for conspiracy.” - -Griswold’s horse was to be returned to town by a boy; and when this had -been arranged the three entered the carriage. - -“The telegraph office, Tom; and hurry.” - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -AN AFFAIR AT THE STATE HOUSE. - - -Barbara filed the messages herself with the manager of the telegraph -company, who lifted the green shade from his eyes and smiled upon her. - -“We’ll rush them, Miss Osborne. Shall I telephone the answers if -they come to-night? No; your father likes his telegrams delivered, I -remember.” - -“I will call for them,” said Griswold. “Governor Osborne was only -at home a few hours this evening, and he left me in charge of these -matters.” - -The manager’s face expressed surprise. - -“Oh! I didn’t know the governor was at home,” he remarked, as he -finished counting the words and charging them against the state’s -account. “I will send them myself, and ask the operators at the other -end to look lively about the answers. You are Mr.----” - -“This is Major Griswold,” said Barbara, conferring the title with a -vague feeling that it strengthened her cause. - -“Major,” repeated the manager, as he nodded to Griswold with an air -that implied his familiarity with official secrets. “You will call? In -a couple of hours, Major.” - -As Barbara and Griswold turned to leave, a young man who had been -writing a message at the standing desk in the lobby lifted his hat and -addressed Barbara. He was a reporter for the Columbia _Intelligencer_, -and his manner was eager. - -“Oh, Miss Osborne, pardon me, but I’ve been trying to get you on the -telephone. Can you tell me where your father is to-night?” - -“Father was in town only a few hours, and then left on state business.” - -The young man glanced from one to the other. He was a polite youngster, -and Miss Barbara Osborne was--Miss Barbara Osborne, and this, to the -people of South Carolina, was a fact of weight. Still the reporter -twirled his hat uncertainly. - -“Well, I thought I had met all the trains, but I guess I missed the -governor.” - -“No; you didn’t miss him,” smiled Barbara. “Father drove in from the -country and went back the same way. He didn’t come into town at all.” - -The news instinct is the keenest with which man may be blessed, and the -reporter scented events. Griswold, seeing the light flash in the young -man’s eye, felt that here was an opportunity to allay public criticism. - -“Governor Osborne is engaged upon important public business. He will -be absent from town for a day--perhaps a week. He will not return to -Columbia until the business is thoroughly disposed of.” - -“May I ask if it’s the Appleweight case? The Raleigh papers have wired -for information, and we’d like to know here.” - -“I cannot answer that question. It’s enough that the governor is absent -on state business, and that the business is important. You may print -that in the _Intelligencer_, and repeat it to Raleigh.--There is no -harm in that, is there, Miss Osborne?” - -“No; certainly not,” Barbara replied. - -“But the papers all over the state are talking about the Appleweight -gang. They intimate that those people enjoy immunity from prosecution, -and that the governor--you will pardon me, Miss Osborne--will take no -steps to arrest them, for personal reasons.” - -“Your question is quite proper,” replied Griswold. “The governor’s acts -are subject to scrutiny at all times, and it is just as well to have -this matter understood now. I am employed by the governor as special -counsel in some state matters. My name is Griswold. Take out your book -and come to the desk here, and I will give you a statement which you -may publish as by the authority of the governor.” - -The three found seats at a table, and Griswold dictated while the -reporter wrote, Barbara meanwhile sitting with her cheek resting -against her raised hand. She was experiencing the relief we all know, -of finding a strong arm to lean upon in an emergency, and she realized -that Griswold was not only wise, but shrewd and resourceful. - -“Please print this exactly as I give it: It having been intimated in -certain quarters that the Appleweight gang of outlaws, which has been -terrorizing the North Carolina frontier for several years, enjoys -immunity from prosecution in South Carolina owing to the fact that -Governor Osborne was at some time attorney for Appleweight, Governor -Osborne begs to say that steps have already been taken for the arrest -of this man and his followers, dead or alive. The governor presents -his compliments to those amiable critics who have so eagerly seized -upon this pretext for slurring his private character and aspersing his -official acts. The governor has no apologies to proffer the people of -South Carolina, who have so generously reposed in him their trust and -confidence. He is intent upon safeguarding the peace, dignity, and -honour of the state through an honest enforcement of law, and he has no -other aim or ambition.” - -Griswold took the reporter’s notebook and read over this -_pronunciamiento_; then he handed it to Barbara, who studied it -carefully. - -“I think that sounds just right, only why not substitute for ‘honest’ -the word ‘vigorous’?” - -“Excellent,” assented Griswold, and thus amended the statement was -returned to the reporter. - -“Now,” said Griswold to the young man, “you are getting a pretty good -item that no other paper will have. Please wire your story to Raleigh; -Governor Osborne is very anxious that the people up there shall -understand fully his attitude in the Appleweight matter.” - -“I reckon this will wake up old Dangerfield all right,” said the -reporter, grinning. “He’ll be paralyzed. May I use your name in this -connection, sir?” - -“Not at all. My engagement with Governor Osborne is of the most -confidential character, and our purposes would be defeated by -publicity. Remember, you get the exclusive use of this story--the -return and immediate departure of the governor, his statement to the -people in the Appleweight case--all with the understanding that you use -what you have to the best advantage.” - -“This is all right, is it, Miss Osborne?” asked the reporter. - -“Major Griswold has full authority to act, and you need question -nothing he tells you,” Barbara replied. - -“I suppose the governor didn’t see the attorney-general to-day?” asked -the reporter detainingly, as Barbara rose. She exchanged a glance with -Griswold. - -“Father didn’t see Mr. Bosworth at all, if that’s what you mean!” - -“Didn’t see him? Well, Bosworth didn’t exactly tell me he had seen him -to-day, but I asked him about the Appleweight case an hour ago at his -house, and he said the governor wasn’t going to do anything, and that -was the end of it so far as the administration is concerned.” - -“Print his story and see what happens! We have no comment to make on -that, have we, Miss Osborne?” - -“Nothing at all,” replied Barbara scornfully. - -“I’m at the Saluda House at present. See me to-morrow and I may have -another story for you!” and Griswold shook the reporter warmly by the -hand as they parted at the carriage door. - -“Home,” said Barbara for the reporter’s benefit, and then, to Griswold: -“I must speak of another matter. Drive with me a little way until we -can throw the reporter off.” - -She spoke quietly, but he saw that she was preoccupied with some new -phase of the situation, and as the carriage gained headway she said -earnestly,-- - -“That young man told the truth--I am sure of it--about Mr. Bosworth. I -knew he would do something to injure father if he could, but I did not -know he had the courage to go so far.” - -“It’s only politics, Miss Osborne,” said Griswold lightly. “Besides, -you may be sure the _Intelligencer_ will print the governor’s side of -it in its largest type.” - -“No; it is not politics. It is more despicable, more contemptible, more -ungenerous even than politics. But he shall be punished, humiliated, -for his conduct.” - -“You shall fix his punishment yourself!” laughed Griswold; “but the -state’s business first. We have a little more to do before I am -satisfied with the day’s work.” - -“Yes, of course. We must leave nothing undone that father would do were -he here to act for himself.” - -“We must be even more careful in his absence to safeguard his -honour than the case really requires. We not only have his public -responsibility but our own into the bargain in so far as we speak and -act for him. And there’s always the state--the Palmetto flag must be -kept flying at the masthead.” Their eyes met as they passed under -an electric lamp, and he saw how completely she was relying on his -guidance. - -They were now at the edge of town, and she bade him stop the carriage. - -“We must go to the state house,” said Griswold. “We must get that -requisition, to guard against treason in the citadel. Assuming that -Governor Osborne really doesn’t want to see Appleweight punished, we’d -better hold the requisition anyhow. It’s possible that your father -had it ready--do pardon me!--for a grand-stand play, or he may have -wanted to bring Appleweight into the friendlier state--but that’s -all conjectural. We’d better keep out of the principal streets. That -reporter has a sharp eye.” - -She gave the necessary directions, and the driver turned back into -Columbia. It was pleasant to find his accomplice in this conspiracy a -girl of keen wit who did not debate matters or ask tiresome questions. -The business ahead was serious enough, though he tried by manner, -tone, and words to minimize its gravity. If the attorney-general was -serving a personal spite, or whatever the cause of his attitude, he -might go far in taking advantage of the governor’s absence. Griswold’s -relation to the case was equivocal enough, he fully realized; but the -very fact of its being without precedent, and so beset with pitfalls -for all concerned, was a spur to action. In the present instance a duly -executed requisition for the apprehension of a criminal, which could -not be replaced if lost, must be held at all hazards, and Griswold had -determined to make sure of the governor’s warrant before he slept. - -“Have you the office keys?” he asked. - -“Yes; I have been afraid to let go of them. There’s a watchman in the -building, but he knows me very well. There will not be the slightest -trouble about getting in.” - -The watchman--an old Confederate veteran--sat smoking in the entrance, -and courteously bade them good-evening. - -“I want to get some papers from father’s office, Captain.” - -“Certainly, Miss Barbara.” He preceded them, throwing on the lights, -to the governor’s door, which he opened with his own pass-key. “It’s -pretty lonesome here at night, Miss Barbara.” - -“I suppose nobody comes at night,” remarked Griswold. - -“Not usually, sir. But one or two students are at work in the library, -and Mr. Bosworth is in his office.” - -The veteran walked away jingling his keys. Barbara was already in -the private office, bending over the governor’s desk. She found the -right key, drew out a drawer, then cried out softly. She knelt beside -the desk, throwing the papers about in her eagerness, then turned to -Griswold with a white face. - -“The drawer has been opened since I was here this morning. The -requisition and all the other papers in the case are gone.” - -Griswold examined the lock carefully and pointed to the roughened edges -of the wood. - -“A blade of the shears there, or perhaps the paper-cutter--who knows? -The matter is simple enough, so please do not trouble about it. Wait -here a moment. I want to make some inquiries of the watchman.” - -He found the old fellow pacing the portico like a sentry. He pointed -out the attorney-general’s office, threw on a few additional lights for -Griswold’s guidance, and resumed his patrol duty outside. - -The attorney-general’s door was locked, but in response to Griswold’s -knock it was opened guardedly. - -“I am very sorry to trouble you, Mr. Bosworth,” began Griswold, quietly -edging his way into the room, “but one never gets wholly away from -business these days.” - -He closed the door himself, and peered into the inner rooms to be sure -the attorney-general was alone. Bosworth’s face flushed angrily when he -found that a stranger had thus entered his office with a cool air of -proprietorship; then he stared blankly at Griswold for a moment before -he recalled where he had seen him before. - -“I don’t receive visitors at night,” he blurted, laying his hand on the -door. “I’m engaged, and you’ll have to come in office hours.” - -He shook the door as though to call Griswold’s attention to it. - -“Do you see this thing? it’s the door!” he roared. - -“I have seen it from both sides, Mr. Bosworth. I intend to stay on this -side until I get ready to go.” - -“Who the devil are you? What do you mean by coming here at this time of -night?” - -“I’m a lawyer myself, if you will force the ignoble truth from me. -Now, when you are perfectly quiet, and once more the sane, reasonable -human being you must be to have been trusted with the office you hold, -we’ll proceed to business. Meanwhile, please put on your coat. A man in -his shirt-sleeves is always at a disadvantage; and we Virginians are -sticklers for the proprieties.” - -The attorney-general’s fury abated when he saw that he had to deal with -a low-voiced young man who seemed unlikely to yield to intimidation. -Griswold had, in fact, seated himself on a table that was otherwise -covered with law books, and he sniffed with pleasure the familiar -atmosphere of dusty law calf, which no one who has had the slightest -acquaintance with a law office ever forgets. To his infinite amusement -Bosworth was actually putting on his coat, though it may have been a -little absent-mindedly to give him an opportunity to decide upon a plan -for getting rid of his visitor. However this may have been, Bosworth -now stepped to the side of the room and snatched down the telephone -receiver. - -Griswold caught him by the shoulder and flung him round. - -“None of that! By calling the police you will only get yourself into -trouble. I’m bigger than you are, and I should hate to have to throw -you out of the window. Now”--and he caught and hung up the receiver, -which was wildly banging the wall--“now let us be sensible and get down -to business.” - -“Who the devil are you?” demanded Bosworth, glaring. - -“I’m special counsel for Governor Osborne in the Appleweight case. -There’s no use in wasting time in further identification, but if you -take down that volume on Admiralty Practice just behind you, you will -find my name on the title-page. Or, to save you the trouble, as you -seem to be interested in my appearance, I will tell you that my name is -Griswold, and that my address is Charlottesville, Virginia.” - -“You are undoubtedly lying. If you are smart enough to write a book, -you ought to know enough about legal procedure to understand that the -attorney-general represents the state, and special counsel would not be -chosen without his knowledge.” - -“Allow me to correct you, my learned brother. You should never misquote -the opposing counsel--it’s one of the rules of the game. What I said -a moment ago was that I represented the governor--Governor Osborne. I -didn’t say I represented the state, which is a different matter, and -beset with _ultra vires_ pitfalls. There is no earthly reason why a -governor should not detach himself, so to speak, from his office and -act _in propria persona_, as a mere citizen. His right to private -remedy is not abridged by the misfortune of office-holding. Whether -he can himself be made defendant in an action at law touches that -ancient question, whether the monarch or the state can be sued. That’s -a question law students have debated from the beginning of time, but -we must not confuse it with the case at issue. The governor, as a -citizen, may certainly employ such counsel as he pleases, and just now -I represent him. Of course, if you want me to furnish a brief----” - -Griswold’s manner was deliberate and ingratiating. He saw that the -attorney-general had not the slightest sense of humour, and that his -play upon legal phrases was wasted. Bosworth grinned, but not at the -legal status of monarchs and states. He had thought of a clever stroke, -and he dealt the blow with confidence. - -“Let us assume,” he said, “that you represent Mr. Osborne. May I ask -the whereabouts of your client?” - -“Certainly. You may ask anything you please, but it will do you no -good. It’s an old rule of the game never to divulge a client’s secret. -Governor Osborne has his own reasons for absenting himself from his -office. However, he was at home to-night.” - -“I rather guess not, as I had all the trains watched. You’ll have to do -a lot better than that, Mr. Griswold.” - -“He has issued a statement to the public since you lied to the -_Intelligencer_ reporter about him to-day. I suppose it’s part of your -official duty to misrepresent the head of the state administration in -the press, but the governor is in the saddle, and I advise you to be -good.” - -The attorney-general felt that he was not making headway. His -disadvantage in dealing with a stranger whose identity he still -questioned angered him. He did not know why Griswold had sought him -out, and he was chagrined at having allowed himself to be so easily -cornered. - -“You seem to know a good deal,” he sneered. “How did you get into this -thing anyhow?” - -“My dear sir, I was chosen by the governor because of my superior -attainments, don’t you see? But I’m in a hurry now. I came here on -a particular errand. I want that requisition in the Appleweight -case--quick!--if you please, Mr. Bosworth.” - -He jumped down from the table and took up his hat and stick. - -“Mr. Griswold, or whoever you are, you are either a fool or a -blackguard. There isn’t any requisition for Appleweight. The governor -never had the sand to issue any, if you must know the truth! If you -knew anything about the governor, you would know that that’s why -Osborne is hiding himself. He can’t afford to offend the Appleweights, -if you must know the disagreeable truth. Your coming here and asking me -for that requisition is funny, if you had the brains to see it. Poor -old Osborne is scared to death, and I doubt if he’s within a hundred -miles of here. You don’t know the governor; I do! He’s a dodger, a -trimmer, and a coward.” - -“Mr. Bosworth,” began Griswold deliberately, “that requisition, duly -signed and bearing the seal of the secretary of state as by the -statutes in such cases made and provided, was in Governor Osborne’s -desk this morning at the time you were so daintily kicking the door -in your anxiety to see the governor. It has since been taken from the -drawer where the governor left it when he went to New Orleans. You have -gone in there like a sneak-thief, pried open the drawer, and stolen -that document; and now----” - -“It’s an ugly charge,” mocked the attorney-general. - -“It’s all of that,” and Griswold smiled. - -“But you forget that you represent Mr. Osborne. On the other hand, I -represent Governor Osborne, and if I want the Appleweight papers I had -every right to them.” - -“After office hours, feloniously and with criminal intent?” laughed -Griswold. - -“We will assume that I have them,” sneered Bosworth, “and such being -the case I will return them only to the governor.” - -“Then”--and Griswold’s smile broadened--“if it comes to concessions, I -will grant that you are within your rights in wishing to place them in -the governor’s own hands. The governor of South Carolina is now, so to -speak, _in camera_.” - -“The governor is hiding. He’s afraid to come to Columbia, and the whole -state knows it.” - -“The papers, my friend; and I will satisfy you that the governor of -South Carolina is under this roof and transacting business.” - -“Here in the state house?” demanded Bosworth, and he blanched and -twisted the buttons of his coat nervously. - -“The governor of South Carolina, the supreme power of the state, -charged with full responsibility, enjoying all the immunities, rights, -and privileges unto him belonging.” - -It was clear that Bosworth took no stock whatever in Griswold’s story; -but Griswold’s pretended employment by the governor and his apparent -knowledge of the governor’s affairs piqued his curiosity. If this -was really the Griswold who had written a widely accepted work on -admiralty and who was known to him by reputation as a brilliant lawyer -of Virginia, the mystery was all the deeper. By taking the few steps -necessary to reach the governor’s chambers he would prove the falsity -of Griswold’s pretensions to special knowledge of the governor’s -whereabouts and plans. He stepped to an inner office, came back with a -packet of papers, and thrust a revolver into his pocket with so vain a -show of it that Griswold laughed aloud. - -“What! Do you still back your arguments with firearms arms down here? -It’s a method that has gone out of fashion in Virginia!” - -“If there’s a trick in this it will be the worse for you,” scowled -Bosworth. - -“And pray, remember, on your side, that you are to give those documents -into the hands of the governor. Come along.” - -They met the watchman in the corridor, and he saluted them and passed -on. Bosworth strode eagerly forward in his anxiety to prick the bubble -of Griswold’s pretensions. - -Griswold threw open the door of the governor’s reception-room, and they -blinked in the stronger light that poured in from the private office. -There, in the governor’s chair by the broad official desk, sat Barbara -Osborne reading a newspaper. - -“Your Excellency,” said Griswold, bowing gravely and advancing, “I beg -to present the attorney-general.” - -“Barbara!” - -The papers fell from the attorney-general’s hands. He stood staring -until astonishment began to yield to rage as he realized that a trap -had been sprung upon him. The girl had risen instantly, and a smile -played about her lips for a moment. She had vaguely surmised that -Griswold would charge Bosworth with the loss of the papers, but her -associate in the conspiracy had now given a turn to the matter that -amused her. - -“Barbara!” blurted the attorney-general, “what game is this--what -contemptible trick is this stranger playing on you? Don’t you -understand that your father’s absence is a most serious matter, and -that in the present condition of this Appleweight affair it is likely -to involve him and the state in scandal?” - -Barbara regarded him steadily for a moment with a negative sort of -gaze. She took a step forward before she spoke, and then she asked -quickly and sharply,-- - -“What have you done, Mr. Bosworth, to avert these calamities, and what -was in your mind when you pried open the drawer and took out those -papers?” - -“I was going to use the requisition----” - -“How?” - -“Why, I expected----” - -“Mr. Bosworth expected to effect a _coup_ for his own glory during the -governor’s absence,” suggested Griswold. - -“How?” and Barbara’s voice rang imperiously and her eyes flashed. - -“Send this unknown person, this impostor and meddler away, and I will -talk to you as old friends may talk together,” and he glared fiercely -at Griswold, who stood fanning himself with his hat. - -“I asked you how you intended to serve my father, Mr. Bosworth, because -you sent me this afternoon a letter in which you threatened me--you -threatened me with my father’s ruin if I did not marry you. You would -take advantage of my trouble and anxiety to force that question on me -when I had answered it once and for all long ago. Before this stranger -I want to tell you that you are a despicable coward, and that if you -think you can humiliate me or my father or the state by such practices -as you have resorted to you are very greatly mistaken. And further, Mr. -Bosworth, if I find you interfering again in this matter, I shall print -that letter you wrote me to-day in every newspaper in the state! Now, -that is all I have to say to you, and I hope never to see you again.” - -“Before you go, Mr. Bosworth,” said Griswold, “I wish to say that Miss -Osborne has spoken of your conduct with altogether too much restraint. -I shall add, on my own account, that if I find you meddling again in -this Appleweight case, I shall first procure your removal from office, -and after that I shall take the greatest pleasure in flogging you -within an inch of your life. Now go!” - -The two had dismissed him, and before Bosworth’s step died away in the -hall, Griswold was running his eye over the papers. - -“That man will do something nasty if he is clever enough to think of -anything.” - -“He’s a disgusting person,” said Barbara, touching her forehead with -her handkerchief. - -“He’s all of that,” remarked Griswold, as he retied the red tape round -the packet of papers. “And now, before we leave we may as well face -a serious proposition. Your father’s absence and this fiction we are -maintaining that he is really here cannot be maintained for ever. I -don’t want to trouble you, for you, of course, realize all this as -keenly as I. But what do you suppose actually happened at New Orleans -between your father and the governor of North Carolina?” - -She leaned against her father’s desk, her hands lightly resting on -its flat surface. She was wholly serene now, and she smiled and then -laughed. - -“It couldn’t have been what the governor of North Carolina said to the -governor of South Carolina in the old story, for father is strongly -opposed to drink of all kinds. And in the story----” - -“I’ve forgotten where that story originated.” - -“Well, it happened a long time ago, and nobody really knows the origin. -But according to tradition, at the crisis of a great row between two -governors, the ice was broken by the governor of North Carolina saying -to the governor of South Carolina those shocking words about its -being a long time between drinks. What makes the New Orleans incident -so remarkable is that father and Governor Dangerfield have always -been friends, though I never cared very much for the Dangerfields -myself. The only tiffs they have had have been purely for effect. When -father said that the people of North Carolina would never amount to -anything so long as they fry their meat, it was only his joke with -Governor Dangerfield--but it did make North Carolina awfully mad. And -Jerry--she’s the governor’s daughter--refused to visit me last winter -just on that account. Jerry Dangerfield’s a nice little girl, but she -has no sense of humour.” - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE LABOURS OF MR. ARDMORE. - - -While he waited for Miss Jerry Dangerfield to appear Mr. Thomas Ardmore -read for the first time the constitution of the United States. He had -reached the governor’s office early, and seeking diversion, he had -picked up a small volume that bore some outward resemblance to a novel. -This proved, however, to be Johnston’s _American Politics_, and he was -amazed to find that this diminutive work contained the answers to a -great many questions which had often perplexed him, but which he had -imagined could not be answered except by statesmen or by men like his -friend Griswold, who spent their lives in study. - -He had supposed that the constitution of a great nation like the United -States would fill many volumes, and be couched in terms bewildering -and baffling; and it was perhaps the proudest moment in Mr. Ardmore’s -life when, in the cool and quiet of the May morning, in the historic -chambers of the governor of North Carolina, it dawned upon him that -the charter of American liberty filled hardly more space than the -stipulations for a yacht race, or a set of football rules; and that, -moreover, he understood the greater part of it, or thought he did. -Such strange words as “attainder” and “capitation” he sought out in -the dictionary, and this also gave him a new sensation and thrill of -pleasure at finding the machinery of knowledge so simple. He made note -of several matters he wished to ask Griswold about when they met -again; then turned back into the body of the text, and had read as far -as Burr’s conspiracy when Jerry came breezily in. He experienced for -the first time in his life that obsession of guilt which sinks in shame -the office-boy who is caught reading a dime novel. Jerry seemed to -tower above him like an avenging angel, and though her sword was only a -parasol, her words cut deep enough. - -“Well, you are taking it pretty cool!” - -“Taking what?” faltered Ardmore, standing up, and seeking to hide the -book behind his back. - -“Why, this outrageous article!” and she thrust a newspaper under his -eyes. “Do you mean to say you haven’t seen the morning paper?” - -“To tell you the truth, Miss Dangerfield, I hardly ever read the -papers.” - -“What’s that you were reading when I came in?” she demanded severely, -withholding the paper until she should be answered. - -“It’s a book about the government, and the powers reserved to the -states and that sort of thing. I was just reading the constitution; I -thought it might help us--I mean _you_--in your work.” - -“The constitution help me? Hasn’t it occurred to you before this that -what I’m doing is all against the constitution and the revised statutes -and all those books you see on the shelf there?” - -“But the constitution sounds all right. It seems remarkably reasonable. -You couldn’t ask anything fairer than that!” - -“So are the ten commandments fair enough; but you’re on the wrong -track, Mr. Ardmore, if you’re trying to support the present -administration with stupid things in books. I don’t follow precedents, -Mr. Ardmore; I create them.” - -“But I should think you would have to be awfully careful not to mix up -the business of the executive and judicial branches of the government. -I think I heard Grissy speak of that once, though I’m not certain. -Grissy knows more than almost any other living man.” - -“I don’t doubt that your friend is a well-educated person, but in times -like these you’ve got to rise above the constitution; and just now it’s -more convenient to forget it. There’s a constitution of North Carolina, -too, if you’re looking for constitutions, but in good society such -things are not mentioned. Papa always refers to the constitution with -tears in his eyes when he’s making speeches, but papa’s very emotional. -If I could make a speech I should tell the people what I think of -them--that they’re too silly and stupid for words.” - -“You are right, Miss Dangerfield. I have felt exactly that way about -the people ever since I was defeated for alderman in New York. But let -me have the paper.” - -She turned to the morning mail while he read and opened the envelopes -rapidly. Such of the letters as she thought interesting or important -she put aside, and when Ardmore finished reading a double-leaded -telegram from Columbia, in which the governor of South Carolina was -quoted as declaring his intention of taking immediate steps for the -apprehension of Appleweight, she was still reading and sorting letters, -tapping her cheek lightly meanwhile with the official paper-knife. - -“Here, Mr. Ardmore,” she said, drawing a paper from her pocket, “is the -answer to that telegram we sent yesterday evening. Suppose you read -that next, and we can then decide what to do.” - -She was making the letters into little piles, humming softly meanwhile; -but he felt that there was a storm brewing. He read the message from -Columbia a number of times, and if the acting governor had not been so -ominously quiet he would have laughed at the terse sentences. - -“There must be a mistake about this. He wouldn’t have used ‘diverting’ -that way; that’s insulting!” - -“So you appreciate its significance, do you, Mr. Ardmore? The iron -enters your soul, does it? You realize that I have been insulted, do -you?” - -“I shouldn’t put it that way, Miss Dangerfield. Governor Osborne would -never have sent a message like that to you--he thought he was sending -it to your father.” - -“He’s insulted me and every other citizen in the Old North State; -that’s who he’s insulted, Mr. Ardmore. Let me read it again;” and she -repeated the telegram aloud: - -“‘Your extremely diverting telegram in Appleweight case received and -filed.’ I think it’s the _extremely_ that’s so perfectly mean. The -_diverting_ by itself would not hurt my feelings half so much. He’s a -good deal smarter man than I thought he was to think up a telegram like -that. But what do you think of that piece in the newspaper?” - -“He says he’s going to catch Appleweight dead or alive. That sounds -pretty serious.” - -“I think it’s a bluff myself. That telegram we sent him yesterday must -have scared him to death. He was driven into a corner and had to do -something to avoid being disgraced, and it’s easy enough to talk big -in the newspapers when you haven’t the slightest intention of doing -anything at all. I’ve noticed that father talks the longest and loudest -about things he doesn’t believe at all.” - -“Is it possible?” whispered Ardmore incredulously. - -“Of course it’s possible! Father would never have been elected if he’d -expressed his real sentiments; neither would anybody else ever be -elected if he said beforehand what he really believed.” - -“That must have been the reason I got defeated for alderman on the -reform ticket. I told ’em I was for turning the rascals out.” - -“That was very stupid of you. You’ve got to get the rascals to elect -you first; then if you’re tired of office and don’t need them any more -you bounce them. But that’s political practice; it’s a theory we’ve got -to work out now. Governor Osborne’s telegram is much more important -than his interview in the newspapers, which is just for effect and of -no importance at all. He doesn’t say the same things in the telegram -to father that he said to the reporter. A governor who really meant -to do anything wouldn’t be so ready to insult another governor. The -newspapers are a lot of bother. I spent all yesterday evening talking -to reporters. They came to the house to ask where papa was and when he -would be home!” - -“What did you tell them?” - -“I didn’t tell them anything. I sent out for two other girls, and we -all just talked to them and kept talking, and gave them lemon sherbet -and ginger cookies; and Eva Hungerford played the banjo--you don’t know -Eva? Of course you don’t know anybody, and I don’t want you to, for it -would spoil you for private secretary. But Eva is simply killing when -she gets to cutting up, and we made those reporters sing to us, and -all they say in the papers, even the opposition papers, this morning -is that Governor Dangerfield is in Savannah visiting an old friend. -They all tell the same story, so they must have fixed it up after -they left the house. But what were you doing, Mr. Ardmore, that you -didn’t come around to help? It seems to me you don’t appreciate the -responsibilities of being secretary to a governor.” - -“I was afraid you might scold me if I did. And besides I was glued -to the long distance telephone all evening, talking to my manager at -Ardsley. He read me my letters and a lot of telegrams that annoyed me -very much. I wish you wouldn’t be so hard on me, for I have trifling -troubles of my own.” - -“I didn’t suppose you ever had troubles; you certainly don’t act as -though you ever had.” - -“No one who has never been brother-in-law to a duke has the slightest -idea of what trouble is.” - -“I’ve seen the Duke of Ballywinkle’s picture in the papers, and he -looks very attractive.” - -“Well, if you’d ever seen him eat celery you’d change your mind. He’s -going down to Ardsley to visit me; for sheer nerve I must say my -relations beat the world. I got my place over here in North Carolina -just to get away from them, and now my sister--not the duchess, -but Mrs. Atchison--is coming down there with a lot of girls, and -Ballywinkle has attached himself to the party. They’ll pass through -here to-day, and they’ll expect to find me at Ardsley.” - -“If the duke’s really coming to our state I suppose we ought to -recognize him officially,” and Jerry’s eyes were large with reverie as -she pondered her possible duty. - -“Do something for him!” blazed Ardmore. “I hope _you_ don’t labour -under the delusion that a duke’s any better than anybody else? If you’d -suffered what I have from being related to a duke you’d be sorry to -hear he was even passing through your state, much less stopping off for -a couple of weeks.” - -“Because you don’t like him is no reason why every one else should -feel the same way, is it? I’ve read about the Duke of Ballywinkle, and -he belongs to one of the oldest families in England, and I’ve seen -pictures of Ballywinkle Castle----” - -“Worse than that,” grinned Ardmore, with rising humour, “I had to chip -in to pay for it! And the plumbing isn’t yet what it ought to be. The -last time I was over there I caught cold and nearly died of pneumonia. -I make it a rule now never to visit dukes. You never know what you’ll -strike when you stay in those ancestral castles, even when they’ve been -restored with some silly American girl’s grandfather’s money. Those -places are all full of draughts and malaria and ghosts, and they make -you drink tea in the afternoon, which is worse than being haunted.” - -“I suppose we might invite his Grace to inspect our militia,” persisted -Jerry. “It would sound well in the papers to have a real duke inspect -the North Carolina troops.” - -“It would sound better than he would look doing it, I can tell you -that. Old Wellington may have been all right, but these new dukes were -never made for horseback.” - -“He might appear in a carriage, wearing his orders and ride the lines -that way, with all the troops presenting arms.” - -“Or you might pin his debts on him and mount him on a goat on the -rifle-range and let the sharpshooters pepper away at him! Please let us -not talk about Ballywinkle any more; the thought of him gives me that -sinking feeling.” - -He had opened an atlas and was poring over it with a magnifying glass. - -“It’s positively funny,” he murmured, laughing a little to himself, -“but I know something about this country over here. Here’s Ardsley, in -the far corner of Dilwell County, and here’s Kildare.” - -“Yes; I understand maps. Dilwell is green, and there’s the state line, -and that ugly watery sort of yellow is Mingo County, South Carolina, -and Turner Court House is the county seat of it. Those little black -marks are hills on the border, and it’s right there that these -Appleweight people live, and dance on the state line as though it were -a skipping-rope.” - -“That’s exactly it. Now what we want to do is to arrest Appleweight -and put him in jail in South Carolina, which relieves the governor of -North Carolina, your honoured father, of all embarrassment.” - -She snatched the paper-cutter and took possession of the map for a -moment, then pointed, with a happy little laugh. - -“Why, that will be only too easy. You see there’s Azbell County, where -the militia is encamped, just three counties away from Dilwell, and if -we needed the soldiers it wouldn’t hurt the troops to march that far, -would it?” - -“Hurt them, nothing!” exclaimed Ardmore. “It will be good for them. You -have to give orders to the adjutant-general, and, being engaged to him, -he would be afraid not to obey your orders, even if you told him to go -in balloons.” - -“Well, of course, I’d send him an official order; and if he was -disobedient I could break our engagement. When I broke my engagement -with Arthur Treadmeasure, it was only because he was five minutes late -coming to take me to a dance.” - -“You were perfectly right, Miss Dangerfield. No gentleman would keep -you waiting.” - -“But he didn’t keep me waiting! I was sick in bed with a sore throat, -and mamma wouldn’t let me go; but I thought it was very careless and -taking too much for granted for him to think he could come poking along -any time he pleased, so I ended everything.” - -It would have interested Ardmore to know the total of Miss -Dangerfield’s engagements, but the time did not seem propitious for -such inquiries; and, moreover, his awe of her as a young person of -great determination and force of character increased. She spoke of -employing the armed forces of the state as though playing with the -militia were a cheerful pastime, like horseback riding or tennis. His -heart sank as he foresaw the possibility of the gallant Gillingwater -coming out of the Appleweight affair with flying colours, a hero -knighted on the field for valour. The remembrance of Gillingwater -receiving the salutes of the militia and riding off to the wars to the -beat of drums had deprived Ardmore of sleep all night. - -“Well, there’s the map, and there’s that insulting telegram; what are -you going to do about it?” asked Jerry. - -She seemed to be honestly inviting suggestions, and the very thought -of this affected him like wine. He deliberated for several minutes, -while she watched him. A delicious country quiet lay upon the old state -house; in the tranquil park outside the birds whistled their high -disdain of law and precedent. It was no small thing to be identified -with a great undertaking like this, with the finest girl in the world; -and he could not help thinking of the joy of telling Griswold, the -sober professor and sedate lawyer, of this adventure when it should -be happily concluded. Never again should Grissy taunt him with his -supineness before the open door of opportunity! - -“A governor,” he began, “is always a dignified person who doesn’t -bother his head about little things like this unless everybody else -has gone to sleep. Now, who’s the chief of police in a county like -Dilwell--what do you call him?” - -“Do you mean the sheriff, Mr. Ardmore?” - -“Certainly. Now, give me those telegraph blanks, and I’ll drop him a -few lines to let him know that the government at Raleigh still lives.” - -It is in the telegram alone that we Americans approach style. Our great -commanders did much to form it; our business strategists took the key -from them. “I propose to fight it out on this line, if it takes all -summer” is not more admirable than “Cancel order our number six hundred -and eighteen,” or “Have drawn at sight.” Through the most familiar -and commonplace apparatus clicks and ticks the great American epic in -phrases concise, unequivocal, and apt. Von Moltke, roused at night with -news of war, merely waved his hand to the long-prepared orders in his -chiffonier and went to sleep again; but the great Prussian has his -counterpart in the American magnate who ties up a railroad by telegraph -over his after-dinner coffee. Telegrams were, however, with Mr. Thomas -Ardmore, something more than a form of communication or a mere literary -exercise. Letter-writing seemed to him the most formidable of human -undertakings, but with a pad of telegraph blanks under his hand his -spirit soared free. All untrammelled by the horror of the day tariff, -whose steep slopes have wrought so much confusion and error among -the economical, he gave to the wires and the wireless what he never -would have confided to a stamp. He wrote and submitted to Miss Jerry -Dangerfield the following: - - To the Sheriff of Dilwell County, - Kildare, N. C.: - - What is this I hear about your inability to catch Appleweight and - the rest of his bunch? Your inattention to your duties is a matter - of common scandal, and if you don’t get anxious pretty soon I shall - remove you from your job and then come. I shall be down soon to see - whether you are pitching quoits at the blacksmith shop or fishing for - lobsters in Raccoon Creek, instead of attending to your knitting. - Your conduct has annoyed me until I am something more than vexed by - your behaviour. The eyes of the great North State are upon you. Wire - me at length just what you propose doing or not doing in this matter. - - WILLIAM DANGERFIELD, - Governor of North Carolina. - -“What do you think of that?” he asked, his pride falling as she scanned -the paper carefully. - -“Isn’t it pretty expensive?” Jerry inquired, counting the words to ten -and then roughly computing the rest. - -“I’ll take care of that, Miss Dangerfield. What I want to know is -whether you think that will make the sheriff sit up.” - -“Well, here’s what father sent him only about a week ago. I found it in -his private letter book, and it’s marked confidential in red ink.” - -She read: - - “‘Act cautiously in Appleweight case. Indictment by grand Jury is - undoubtedly faulty, and Foster threatens trouble in case parties are - arrested.’ - -“And there’s more like that! Papa never intended to do anything, that’s -as plain as daylight. Mr. Foster, the treasurer, comes from that -county. He thought papa was going to have to do something, so he’s -holding back the payment of the state bonds just to frighten papa. You -see, the state owes the Bronx Loan and Trust Company that two hundred -and fifty thousand dollars, and if it isn’t paid June first the state -will be everlastingly disgraced.” - -“Oh yes; I’d forgotten about that.” - -“I don’t see how you could forget about it. That must be almost as much -money as there is in the world, Mr. Ardmore.” - -“We’ve got to raise it, anyhow, even if we go to the pawn-shop. I -pawned my watch once when I was in college and Billings--he was -my guardian--had shut me off. Grissy--he’s my friend--Grissy says -pawn-broking is only a more vulgar form of banking. There was a fellow -in my class at college who pawned his pawn-ticket to get money to pay -his laundress, and then gave the new ticket to a poor blind man. He’s -a big man in Wall Street--has a real genius for finance, they say. But -please don’t worry about this rascal Foster. We’ll put some digitalis -into the state’s credit when the time comes.” - -“I think your telegram to the sheriff is all right,” said Jerry, -reading it again. “If you’ll go to the door and whistle for the -messenger we’ll get it off. I’ll sign it with the rubber stamp. Papa -hardly ever signs anything himself; he says if you don’t sign documents -yourself you can always repudiate them afterward, and papa’s given -prayerful thought to all such things.” - -Ardmore addressed himself once more to the map. It was clear that the -Appleweight gang was powerful enough to topple great states upon their -foundations. It had, to Ardmore’s own knowledge, driven a governor -into exile, and through the wretched Foster, who was their friend, -the credit of the state was gravely menaced. The possibilities of the -game fascinated Ardmore. He was eager for action on the scene of this -usurpation and defiance. Responsibility, for the first time, had placed -a warrant of trust in his hands, and, thus commissioned, the spurs of -duty pricked his sides. - -“I’ll wait for the sheriff’s answer, and if he shows no signs of life -I’ll go down there this afternoon.” - -“Then you will undoubtedly be shot!” Jerry declared, as though -announcing a prospect not wholly deplorable. - -“That has its disagreeable side, but a great many people have to be -shot every year to keep up the average, and if the statistics need me I -won’t duck. I’ll call up my man on the telephone this forenoon and tell -him to put my forester at Ardsley to work. He’s a big fellow who served -in the German army, and if he’s afraid of anything I haven’t heard of -it. If we can drive the gang into South Carolina, right along here, -you see”--and Miss Dangerfield bent her pretty head over the map and -saw--“if we can pass the chief outlaw on to Governor Osborne, then so -much the better, and that’s what we will try to do.” - -“But you’re only the private secretary, and you can’t assume too -much authority. I shall have to go to Kildare to visit my aunt, who -is a nice old lady that lives there. The fried corn mush and syrup -at her house is the best I ever tasted, and if papa should come when -he sees that something is being done quite different from what he -intended, then I should be there to explain. If you should be killed, -Mr. Ardmore, no one would be there to identify you, and I have always -thought it the saddest thing in the world for any one to die away from -home----” - -“It would be sad; but I hope you would be sorry.” - -“I should regret your death, and I’d make them give you a perfectly -beautiful military funeral, with Chopin’s funeral march, and your boots -tied to the saddle of your horse.” - -“But don’t let them fuss about pulling off the boots, Miss Dangerfield, -if I die with them on. It would be all right for you to visit your -aunt, but I shouldn’t do it if I were you. I once visited my aunt, Mrs. -Covington-Burns, at Newport for a week. It was a deep game to get me to -marry my aunt’s husband’s niece, whose father had lost his money, and -the girl was beginning to bore my aunt.” - -“Was she a pretty girl?” asked Jerry. - -“She was a whole basket of peaches, and I might have married her to get -away from my aunt if it were not that I have made it a life-long rule -never to marry the orphaned nieces of the husbands of my aunts. It’s -been a good rule to me, and has saved me no end of trouble. But if my -sister doesn’t change her mind, and if she really comes through Raleigh -to-day in her car with those friends of hers, she will be delighted to -have you join her for a visit at Ardsley. And then you would be near at -hand in case some special edict from the governor seemed necessary.” - -“But wouldn’t your sister think it strange----” - -“Not in the least, Miss Dangerfield. Nothing is strange to my sister. -Nobody ever sprang a surprise on Nellie yet. And besides, you are -the daughter of the governor of a great state. She refuses to meet -senators, because you can never be sure they are respectable, but -she rather prides herself on knowing governors. Governors are very -different. Since I read the constitution I can see very plainly that -governors are much nearer the people, but I guess the senators are -nearer the banks.” - -“Well, I have some shopping to do, and it’s ten o’clock. It would be -hospitable to ask you to luncheon, but mamma cries so much because -she doesn’t know where papa is that our meals at the executive mansion -are not exactly cheerful functions. And besides”--and she eyed Ardmore -severely as she rose and accepted her parasol from him--“and besides, -you know our relations are purely official. You have never been -introduced to me, and socially you are not known to us.” - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE LAND OF THE LITTLE BROWN JUG. - - -Caboose 0186, with three box-cars and a locomotive attached, lay in the -south-eastern yards at Raleigh late in the evening of the same day. In -the observatory sat Mr. Thomas Ardmore, chatting with the conductor, -while they waited for the right of way. Mr. Ardmore’s pockets were -filled with papers, and he held half a dozen telegrams in his hand. The -freight cars behind him were locked and sealed, and a number of men -lounging near appeared to be watching them. - -The reply of the sheriff of Dilwell County had precipitated the crisis. -That official succinctly replied to Ardmore’s message: - - Be good and acquire grace. - -While this dictum had aroused Miss Dangerfield’s wrath and indignation, -it calmed her fellow-conspirator, and for hours Ardmore had poured -forth orders by telegraph and telephone. No such messages as his had -ever before radiated from Raleigh. The tolls would have bankrupted -the commonwealth if Ardmore had not cared for them out of his private -purse. His forester, with an armed posse from Ardsley, was already -following the streams and beating the brush in search of Appleweight. -One car of Ardmore’s special train contained a machine gun and a supply -of rifles; another abundant ammunition and commissary supplies, and -the third cots and bags. The men who loafed about the train were a -detail of strike-breakers from a detective agency, borrowed for the -occasion. Cooke, the conductor of the train, had formerly been in -the government secret service, and knew the Carolina hill country -as he knew the palm of his hand. Ardmore had warned his manager and -the housekeeper on his estate to prepare for the arrival of Mrs. -Atchison, whose private car had come and gone, carrying Miss Geraldine -Dangerfield on to Ardsley. Ardmore had just received a message from his -sister at some way station, reporting all well and containing these -sentences: “She is rather different, and I do not quite make her out. -She has our noble brother-in-law a good deal bewildered.” - -Cooke ran forward for a colloquy with the engineer over their orders; -the guards climbed into one of the box-cars, and the train moved slowly -out of the Raleigh yards to the main line and rattled away toward -Kildare, with Mr. Ardmore, pipe in mouth, perched in the caboose cupola. - -A caboose, you may not know, is the pleasantest place in the world to -ride. Essentially a thing of utility, it is not less the vehicle of -joy. Neither the captain of a trading schooner nor the admiral of a -canal fleet is more sublimely autocratic than the freight conductor -in his watch-tower. The landscape is disclosed to him in leisurely -panoramas; the springs beneath are not so lulling as to dull his -senses. If he isn’t whipped into the ditch by the humour of the -engineer, or run down and telescoped by an enemy from behind, he may -ultimately deliver his sombre fleet to its several destinations; but -he is the slave of no inexorable time-table, and his excuses are as -various as his cargoes. - -Not Captain Kidd nor another of the dark brotherhood sailed forth with -keener zest for battle than Mr. Ardmore. Indeed, the trailing smoke of -the locomotive suggested a black flag, and the thought of it tickled -his fancy. Above bent the bluest sky in the world; fields of corn and -cotton, the brilliant crimson of German clover, and long stretches of -mixed forest held him with enchantment. In a cornfield a girl ploughing -with a single steer--a little girl in a sunbonnet, who reached wearily -up to the plough handles--paused and waved to him, and he knew the -delight of the lonely mariner when a passing ship speaks to him with -flags. And when night came, after the long mystical twilight, the train -passed now and then great cotton factories that blazed out from their -thousand windows like huge steamships. - -When they sought a lonely siding to allow a belated passenger train to -pass, the conductor brewed coffee and cooked supper, and Ardmore called -in the detectives and trainmen. The sense of knowing real people, -whose daily occupations were so novel and interesting, touched him -afresh with delight. These men said much in few words. The taciturnity -of Cooke, the conductor, in particular, struck Ardmore as very fine, -and it occurred to him that very likely men who have had the fun of -doing things never talk of their performances afterward. One of the -detectives chaffed Cooke covertly about some adventure in which they -had been jointly associated. - -“I never thought they’d get the lead out of you after that business in -Missouri. You were a regular mine,” said the detective to Cooke, and -Cooke glanced deprecatingly at Ardmore. - -“He’s the little joker, all right.” - -“You can’t kill him,” remarked the detective. “I’ve seen it tried.” - -Before the train started the detectives crawled back into their car, -and Cooke drew out some blankets, tossed them on a bench for Ardmore, -and threw himself down without ado. Ardmore held to his post in the -tower, as lone as the lookout in a crow’s-nest. The night air swept -more coolly in as they neared the hills, and the train’s single -brakeman came down as though descending from the sky, rubbed the -cinders from his eyes, and returned to his vigil armed with a handful -of Ardmore’s cigars. - -For the greater part of the night they enjoyed a free track, and -thumped the rails at a lively clip. Shortly after midnight Ardmore -crawled below and went to sleep. At five o’clock Cooke called him. - -“We’re on the switch at Kildare. One of your men is here waiting for -you.” - -Big Paul, the German forester, was called in, and Ardmore made his -toilet in a pail of water while listening to the big fellow’s report. -Cooke joined in the conversation, and Ardmore was gratified to see that -the two men met on common ground in discussing the local geography. The -forester described in clear, straightforward English just what he had -done. He had distributed his men well through the hills, and they were -now posted as pickets on points favourable for observation. They had -found along the streams four widely scattered stills, and these were -being watched. Paul drew a small map, showing the homes of the most -active members of the Appleweight gang, and Ardmore indicated all these -points as nearly as possible on the county map he had brought with him. - -“Here’s Raccoon Creek, and my own land runs right through there--just -about here, isn’t it, Paul? I always remember the creek, because I like -the name so much.” - -“You are right, Mr. Ardmore. The best timber you have lies along there, -and your land crosses the North Carolina boundary into South Carolina -about here. There’s Mingo County, South Carolina, you see.” - -“Well, that dashes me!” exclaimed Ardmore, striking the table with his -fist. “I never knew one state from another, but you must be right.” - -“I’m positive of it, Mr. Ardmore. One of my men has been living there -on the creek to protect your timber. Some of these outlaws have been -cutting off our wood.” - -“It seems to me I remember the place. There’s a log house hanging on -the creek. You took me by it once, but it never entered my head that -the state line was so close.” - -“It runs right through the house! And some one, years ago, blazed the -trees along there, so it is very easy to tell when you step from one -state to another. My man left there recently, refusing to stay any -longer. These Appleweight people thought he was a spy, and posted a -notice on his door warning him to leave, so I shifted him to the other -end of the estate.” - -“Did you see the sheriff at Kildare?” - -“I haven’t seen him. When I asked for him yesterday I found he had left -town and gone to Greensboro to see his sick uncle.” - -Ardmore laughed and slapped his knee. - -“Who takes care of the dungeon while he’s away?” - -“There are no prisoners in the Kildare jail. The sheriff’s afraid to -keep any; and he’s like the rest of the people around here. They all -live in terror of Appleweight.” - -“Appleweight is a powerful character in these parts,” said Cooke, -pouring the coffee he had been making, and handing a tin cupful to -Ardmore. “He’s tolerable well off, and could make money honestly if -he didn’t operate stills, rob country stores, mix up in politics, and -steal horses when he and his friends need them.” - -“I guess he has never molested us any, has he, Paul?” asked Ardmore, -not a little ashamed of his ignorance of his own business. - -“A few of our cows stray away sometimes and never come back. And for -two years we have lost the corn out of the crib away over here near the -deer park.” - -“They’ve got the juice out of it before this,” remarked Cooke. - -“That would be nice for me, wouldn’t it?” said Ardmore, grinning--“to -be arrested for running a still on my place.” - -“We don’t want to lose our right to the track, and we must get out -of this before the whole community comes to take a look at us,” said -Cooke, swinging out of the caboose. - -Ardmore talked frankly to the forester, having constant recourse to -the map; and Paul sketched roughly a new chart, marking roads and -paths so far as he knew them, and indicating clearly where the Ardsley -boundaries extended. Then Ardmore took a blue pencil and drew a -straight line. - -“When we get Appleweight, we want to hurry him from Dilwell County, -North Carolina, into Mingo County, South Carolina. We will go to the -county town there, and put him in jail. If the sheriff of Mingo is -weak-kneed, we will lock Appleweight up anyhow, and telegraph the -governor of South Carolina that the joke is on him.” - -“We will catch the man,” said Paul gravely, “but we may have to kill -him.” - -“Dead or alive, he’s got to be caught,” said Ardmore, and the big -forester stared at his employer a little oddly; for this lord -proprietor had not been known to his employees and tenants as a serious -character, but rather as an indolent person who, when he visited his -estate in the hills, locked himself up unaccountably in his library, -and rarely had the energy to stir up the game in his broad preserves. - -“Certainly, sir; dead or alive,” Paul repeated. - -Cooke came out of the station and signalled the engineer to go ahead. - -“We’ll pull down here about five miles to an old spur where the company -used to load wood. There’s a little valley there where we can be hidden -all we please, so far as the main line is concerned, and it might not -be a bad idea to establish headquarters there. We have the tools for -cutting in on the telegraph, and we can be as independent as we please. -I told the agent we were carrying company powder for a blasting job -down the line, and he suspects nothing.” - -Paul left the caboose as the train started, and rode away on horseback -to visit his pickets. The train crept warily over the spur into the old -woodcutters’ camp, where, as Cooke had forecast, they were quite shut -in from the main line by hills and woodland. - -“And now, Mr. Ardmore, if you would like to see fire-water spring out -of the earth as freely as spring water, come with me for a little -stroll. The thirsty of Dilwell County know the way to these places as -city topers know the way to a bar. We are now in the land of the little -brown jug, and while these boys get breakfast I’ll see if the people in -this region have changed their habits.” - -It was not yet seven as they struck off into the forest beside the -cheerful little brook that came down singing from the hills. Ardmore -had rarely before in his life been abroad so early, and he kicked the -dew from the grass in the cheerfullest spirit imaginable. Within a -few days he had reared a pyramid of noble resolutions. Life at last -entertained him. The way of men of action had been as fabulous to him -as the dew that now twinkled before him. Griswold knew books, but -here at his side strode a man who knew far more amazing things than -were written in any book. Cooke had not been in this region for seven -years, and yet he never hesitated, but walked steadily on, following -the little brook. Presently he bent over the bank and gathered up a -brownish substance that floated on the water, lifted a little of it in -his palm, and sniffed it. - -“That,” said Cooke, holding it to Ardmore’s nose, “is corn mash. -That’s what they make their liquor out of. The still is probably away -up yonder on that hillside. It seems to me that we smashed one there -once when I was in the service; and over there, about a mile beyond -that pine tree, where you see the hawk circling, three of us got into a -mix-up, and one of our boys was killed.” - -He crossed the stream on a log, climbed the bank on the opposite shore, -and scanned the near landscape for a few minutes. Then he pointed to an -old stump over which vines had grown in wild profusion. - -“If you will, walk to that stump, Mr. Ardmore, and feel under the vines -on the right-hand side, your fingers will very likely touch something -smooth and cool.” - -Ardmore obeyed instructions. He thrust his hand into the stump as Cooke -directed, thrust again a little deeper, and laughed aloud as he drew -out a little brown jug. - -Cooke nodded approvingly. - -“We’re all right. The revenue men come in here occasionally and smash -the stills and arrest a few men, but the little brown jug continues -to do business at the same old stand. They don’t even change the -hiding-places. And while we stand here, you may be pretty sure that a -freckled-faced, tow-headed boy or girl is watching us off yonder, and -that the word will pass all through the hills before noon that there -are strangers abroad in old Dilwell. If you have a dollar handy, slip -it under the stump, so they’ll know we’re not stingy.” - -Ardmore was scrutinizing the jug critically. - -“They’re all alike,” said Cooke, “but that piece of calico is a new -one--just a fancy touch for an extra fine article of liquor.” - -“I’ll be shot if I haven’t seen that calico before,” said Ardmore; and -he sat down on a boulder and drew out the stopper, while Cooke watched -him with interest. - -The bit of twine was indubitably the same that he had unwound before -in his room at the Guilford House, and the cob parted in his fingers -exactly as before. On a piece of brown paper that had been part of a -tobacco wrapper was scrawled: - - This ain’t yore fight, Mr. Ardmore. Wher’s the guvner of North - Carolina? - -“That’s a new one on me,” laughed Cooke. “You see, they know -everything. Mind-reading isn’t in it with them. They know who we are -and what we have come for. What’s the point about the governor?” - -“Oh, the governor’s all right,” replied Ardmore carelessly. “He -wouldn’t bother his head about a little matter like this. The powers -reserved to the states by the constitution give a governor plenty of -work without acting as policeman of the jungle. That’s the reason I -said to Governor Dangerfield, ‘Governor,’ I said, ‘don’t worry about -this Appleweight business. Time is heavy on my hands,’ I said. ‘You -stay in Raleigh and uphold the dignity of your office, and I will take -care of the trouble in Dilwell.’ And you can’t understand, Cooke, -how his face brightened at my words. Being the brave man he is, you -would naturally expect him to come down here in person and seize these -scoundrels with his own hands. I had the hardest time of my life to get -him to stay at home. It almost broke his heart not to come.” - -And as they retraced their steps to the caboose, it was Ardmore who -led, stepping briskly along, and blithely swinging the jug. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -PROFESSOR GRISWOLD TAKES THE FIELD. - - -Barbara and Griswold stopped at the telegraph office on their way back -to the executive mansion, and were met with news that the sheriff of -Mingo had refused to receive Griswold’s message. - -“His private lines of communication with the capital are doubtless well -established,” said Griswold, “and Bosworth probably warned him, but it -isn’t of great importance. It’s just as well for Appleweight and his -friends, high and low, to show their hands.” - -When they were again on the veranda, Griswold lingered for a moment -with no valid excuse for delay beyond the loveliness of the night and -his keen delight in Barbara’s voice and her occasional low laughter, -which was so pleasant to hear that he held their talk to a light key, -that he might evoke it the more. Professor Griswold’s last flirtation -was now so remote that he would have been hard put to say whether -the long-departed goddess’s name had been Evelyn or Laura. He had so -thoroughly surrendered himself to the exactions of the law that love -and marriage held small place in his speculations of the future. He had -heard himself called a bachelor professor with the humorous tolerance -of one who is pretty sure of himself, and who is not yet reduced to -the cynical experiment of peering beneath the top layer of his box -of strawberries to find the false bottom. He recalled the slender -manuscript volume of verses in his desk at home, and he felt that -it would be the easiest thing in the world to write a thousand songs -to-night, beside which the soundest brief ever filed in any court would -be the silliest of literary twaddle. - -“You have done all that could be asked of you, Mr. Griswold, and I -cannot permit you to remain longer. Father will certainly be here -to-morrow. I assure you that it is not like him to avoid his public -obligations. His absence is the most unaccountable thing that ever -happened. I have my difficulties here at home, for since my mother’s -death I have had the care of my young sisters, and it is not pleasant -to have to deceive them.” - -“Oh, but your father isn’t absent! He is officially present and in the -saddle,” laughed Griswold. “You must not admit, even to me, that he is -not here in full charge of his office. And as for my leaving the field, -I have not the slightest intention of going back to Virginia until -the Appleweight ghost is laid, the governor of North Carolina brought -to confusion, and the governor of South Carolina visibly present and -thundering his edicts again, so to speak, _ex cathedra_. My own affairs -can wait, Miss Osborne. My university may go hang, my clients may be -mulcted in direst damages, but just now I am your humble servant, -and I shall not leave your service until my tasks are finished. I am -consulting not my duty, but my pleasure. The joy of having a hand in -a little affair like this, and of being able to tell my friend Tommy -Ardmore about it afterward, would be sufficient. Ardmore will never -speak to me again for not inviting him to a share in the game.” - -He was more buoyant than she had seen him, and she liked the note of -affection that crept into his tone as he spoke of his friend. - -“Ardmore is the most remarkable person alive,” Griswold continued. “You -remember--I spoke of him this morning. He likes to play the inscrutable -idiot, and he carries it off pretty well; but underneath he’s really -clever. The most amazing ideas take hold of him. You never could -imagine what he’s doing now! I met him accidentally in Atlanta the -other day, and he was in pursuit of a face--a girl’s face that he had -seen from a car window for only an instant on a siding somewhere.” - -“He must have a romantic temperament,” suggested Barbara. - -“Quite that. His family have been trying to marry him off to some -one in their own set ever since I have known him, but he’s extremely -difficult. One of the most remarkable things about him is his amazing -democracy. He owns a palace on Fifth Avenue, but rarely occupies it, -for he says it bores him. He has a camp in the Adirondacks, but I have -never known him to visit it. His place in North Carolina pleases him -because there he commands space, and no one can crowd him or introduce -him to people he doesn’t want to meet. He declares that the most -interesting people don’t have more than a dollar a day to spend; that -the most intelligent and the best-looking girls in America clerk in -shops and work in factories. A philanthropic lady in New York supplies -him every Christmas with a list of names of laundry girls, who seem -to appeal particularly to Ardy’s compassion, though he never knew one -in his life, but he admires them for the zeal with which they destroy -buttonholes and develop the deckle-edge cuff; and he has twenty-dollar -bills mailed to them quite mysteriously, and without any hint of who -Santa Claus really is.” - -“But the girl he saw from the car window--did she also appeal to him -altruistically?” - -“No; it was with her eye. He declared to me most solemnly that the girl -winked at him!” - -Griswold was aware that Miss Osborne’s interest in Ardmore cooled -perceptibly. - -“Oh!” she said, with that delightful intonation with which a woman -utterly extinguishes a sister. - -“I shouldn’t have told you that,” said Griswold, guiltily aware of -falling temperature. “He is capable of following a winking eye at -a perfectly respectful distance for a hundred years, and of being -entertained all the time by the joy of pursuit.” - -“It seems very unusual,” said Barbara, with cold finality. - -Griswold remembered this talk as, the next day aboard the train bound -for Turner Court House, the seat of Mingo County, South Carolina, he -pondered a telegram he had received from Ardmore. He read and re-read -this message, chewing cigars and scowling at the landscape, and the -cause of his perturbation of spirit may be roughly summarized in these -words: - -On leaving the executive mansion the night before, he had studied maps -in his room at the Saluda House, and carefully planned his campaign. -He had talked by telephone with the prosecuting attorney of Mingo -County, and found that official politely responsive. So much had gone -well. Then the juxtaposition of Ardmore’s estate to the border, and -the possible use of the house as headquarters, struck in upon him. -He would, after all, generously take Ardmore into the game, and they -would uphold the honour and dignity of the great commonwealth of South -Carolina together. The keys of all Ardmore’s houses were, so to speak, -in Griswold’s pocket, and invitations were unnecessary between them; -yet at Atlanta Ardmore had made a point of asking Griswold down to help -while away the tedium of Mrs. Atchison’s house party, and as a matter -of form Griswold had wired from Columbia, advising Ardmore of his -unexpected descent. - -Even in case Ardmore should still be abroad in pursuit of the winking -eye, the doors of the huge house would be open to Griswold, who had -entered there so often as the owner’s familiar friend. These things he -pondered deeply as he read and re-read Ardmore’s reply to his message, -a reply which was plainly enough dated at Ardsley, but which, he could -not know, had really been written in caboose 0186 as it lay on a -siding in the south-eastern yards at Raleigh, and thence despatched -to the manager at Ardsley, with instructions to forward it as a new -message to Griswold at Columbia. The chilling words thus flung at him -were: - - Professor Henry Maine Griswold, - Saluda House, Columbia, S. C.: - - I am very sorry, old man, but I cannot take you in just now. Scarlet - fever is epidemic among my tenants, and I could not think of exposing - you to danger. As soon as the accursed plague passes I want to have - you down. - - ARDMORE. - -An epidemic that closed the gates of Ardsley would assume the -proportions of a national disaster; for even if the great house itself -were quarantined, there were lodges and bungalows scattered over -the domain, where a host of guests could be entertained in comfort. -Griswold reflected that the very fact that he had wired from Columbia -must have intimated to Ardmore that his friend was flying toward him, -pursuant to the Atlanta invitation. Griswold dismissed a thousand -speculations as unworthy. Ardmore had never shown the remotest trace of -snobbishness, and as far as the threatened house party was concerned, -Griswold knew Mrs. Atchison very well, and had been entertained at her -New York house. - -The patronizing tone of the thing caused Griswold to flush at every -reading. If the Ardsley date-line had not been so plainly written, if -the phraseology were not so characteristic, there might be room for -doubt; but Ardmore--Ardmore of all men--had slapped him in the face! - -But scarlet fever or no scarlet fever, the pursuit of Appleweight had -precedence of private grievances. By the time he reached Turner Court -House Griswold had dismissed the ungraciousness of Ardmore, and his -jaws were set with a determination to perform the mission intrusted to -him by Barbara Osborne, and to wait until later for an accounting with -his unaccountable friend. - -Arrived at Turner’s, Griswold strode at once toward the court house. -The contemptuous rejection of his message by the sheriff of Mingo -had angered Griswold, but he was destined to feel even more poignant -insolence when, entering the sheriff’s office, a deputy, languidly -posed as a letter “V” in a swivel-chair, with his feet on the mantel, -took a cob pipe from his mouth and lazily answered Griswold’s -importunate query with: - -“The sheriff ain’t hyeh, seh. He’s a-visitin’ his folks in Tennessy.” - -“When will he be back?” demanded Griswold, hot of heart, but -maintaining the icy tone that had made him so formidable in -cross-examination. - -“I reckon I don’t know, seh.” - -“Do you know your own name?” persisted Griswold sweetly. - -“Go to hell, seh,” replied the deputy. He reached for a match, -relighted his pipe, and carefully crossed his feet on the mantelshelf. -The moment Griswold’s steps died away in the outer corridor the deputy -rose and busied himself so industriously with the telephone that within -an hour all through the Mingo hills, and even beyond the state line, -along lonely trails, across hills and through valleys, and beside -cheery creeks and brooks, it was known that a strange man from Columbia -was in Mingo County looking for the sheriff, and Appleweight, _alias_ -Poteet, and his men were everywhere on guard. - -Griswold liked the prosecuting attorney on sight. His name was -Habersham, and he was a youngster with a clear and steady gray eye. -Instead of the Southern statesman’s flowing prince albert, he wore a -sack-coat of gray jeans, and was otherwise distinguished by a shirt of -white-and-blue check. He grinned as Griswold bent a puzzled look upon -him. - -“I took your courses at the university two years ago, Professor, and I -remember distinctly that you always wore a red cravat to your Wednesday -lectures.” - -“You have done well,” replied Griswold, “for I never expected to -find an old student who remembered half as much of me as that. Now, -as I understood you over the telephone, Appleweight was indicted for -stealing a ham in this county by the last grand jury, but the sheriff -has failed or refused to make the arrest. How did the grand jury come -to indict if this outlaw dominates all the hill country?” - -“The grand jury wanted to make a showing of virtue, and it was, of -course, understood between the foreman, the leader of the gang, and the -sheriff that no warrant could be served on Appleweight. I did my duty; -the grand jury’s act was exemplary; and there the wheels of justice -are blocked. The same thing is practically true across the state line -in Dilwell County, North Carolina. These men, led by Appleweight, use -their intimate knowledge of the country to elude pursuers when at times -the revenue men undertake a raid, and the county authorities have -never seriously molested them. Now and then one of these sheriffs will -make a feint of going out to look for Appleweight, but you may be sure -that due notice is given before he starts. Three revenue officers have -lately been killed while looking for these men, and the government is -likely to take vigorous action before long.” - -“We may as well be frank,” said Griswold in his most professional -voice. “I don’t want the federal authorities to take these men; it is -important that they should not do so. This is an affair between the -governors of the two Carolinas. It has been said that neither of them -dares press the matter of arrest, but I am here in Governor Osborne’s -behalf to give the lie to that imputation.” - -“That has undoubtedly been the fact, as you know,” and Habersham -smiled at his old preceptor inquiringly. “Osborne once represented the -Appleweights, and he undoubtedly saved the leader from the gallows. -That was before Osborne ever thought of becoming governor, and he -acted only within his proper rights as a lawyer. I don’t recall that -anything in professional ethics requires us to abandon a client because -we know he’s guilty. If such were the case we’d all starve to death.” - -“Governor Osborne has been viciously maligned,” declared Griswold. -“While he did at one time represent these people--no doubt thoroughly -and efficiently--he holds the loftiest ideal of public service, and -it was only when his official integrity was brought into question by -unscrupulous enemies that he employed me as special counsel to carry -this affair through to a conclusion. That accounts for my presence -here, Habersham, and, with your assistance, I propose to force Governor -Dangerfield’s hand. Suppose all these people were arrested in Mingo -County under these indictments, what would be the result--trial and -acquittal?” - -“Just that, in spite of any effort made to convict them.” - -“Well, Governor Osborne is tired of this business, and wants the -Appleweight scandal disposed of once and for all.” - -“That’s strange,” remarked Habersham, clearly surprised at Griswold’s -vigorous tone. “I called on the governor in his office at Columbia only -ten days ago, and he put me off. He said he had to prepare an address -to deliver before the South Carolina Political Reform Association, and -he couldn’t take up the Appleweight case; and I called on Bosworth, the -attorney-general, and he grew furiously angry, and said I was guilty -of the gravest malfeasance in not having brought those men to book -long ago. When I suggested that he connive with the governor towards -removing our sheriff, he declared that the governor was a coward. He -seemed anxious to put the governor in a hole, though why he should take -that attitude I can’t make out, as it has been generally understood -that Governor Osborne’s personal friendliness for him secured his -nomination and election to the attorney-generalship, and I have heard -that he is engaged to the governor’s oldest daughter.” - -“He is a contemptible hound,” replied Griswold with feeling, “and at -the proper time we shall deal with him; but it is of more importance -just now to make Appleweight a prisoner in North Carolina. If he’s -arrested over there, that lets us out; and if the North Carolina -authorities won’t arrest their own criminals, we’ll go over into -Dilwell County and show them how to be good. The man’s got to be locked -up, and he’d look much better in a North Carolina jail, under all the -circumstances.” - -“That’s good in theory, but how do you justify it in law?” - -“Oh, that’s the merest matter of formulæ! My dear Habersham, all the -usual processes of law go down before emergencies!” - -The airiness of Griswold’s tone caused the prosecutor to laugh, for -this was not the sober associate professor of admiralty whose lectures -he had sat under at the University of Virginia, but a different person, -whose new attitude toward the law and its enforcement shocked him -immeasurably. - -“You seem to be going in for pretty loose interpretations, and if that -plaster bust of John Marshall up there falls from the shelf, you need -not be surprised,” and Habersham still laughed. “I might be impudent -and cite you against yourself!” - -“That would constitute contempt of court, and I cannot just now spare -your services long enough for you to serve a jail sentence. Go on now, -and tell me what you have done and what you propose.” - -“Well, as I told you over the telephone, we hear a great deal about -Appleweight and his crowd; but we never hear much of their enemies, who -are, nevertheless, of the same general stock, and equally determined -when aroused. Ten of these men I have quietly called to meet at my -farm out here a few miles from town, on Thursday night. They come from -different points over the country, and we’ll have a small but grim -posse that will be ready for business. You may not know it, but the -Appleweights are most religious. Appleweight himself boasts that he -never misses church on Sunday. He goes also to the mid-week service on -Thursday night, so I have learned, and thereby hangs our opportunity. -Mount Nebo Church lies off here toward the north. It’s a lonely point -in itself, though it’s the spiritual centre and rendezvous for a wide -area. If Appleweight can be taken at all, that’s the place, and I’m -willing to make the trial. Whether to stampede the church and make a -fight, or seize him alone as he approaches the place, is a question for -discussion with the boys I have engaged to go into the game. How does -it strike you?” - -“First-rate. Ten good men ought to be enough; but if it comes down to -numbers, the state militia can be brought into use. The South Carolina -National Guard is in camp, and we can have a regiment quick enough, if -I ask it.” - -Habersham whistled. - -“Osborne is certainly up and doing!” he exclaimed, chuckling. “I -suppose he has tossed a quarter, and decided it’s better to be good -than to be senator. By the way, that was a curious story in the -newspapers about Dangerfield and Osborne having a row at New Orleans. I -wonder just what passed between them?” - -Griswold was conscious that Habersham glanced at him a little -curiously, with a look that implied something that half formed itself -on the prosecuting attorney’s lips. - -“I know nothing beyond what I read in the newspapers at the time. Some -political row, I fancy.” - -“I suppose Governor Osborne hasn’t discussed it with you since his -return to Columbia?” asked Habersham carelessly. The shadow of a -smile flitted across his face, but vanished quickly as though before -a returning consciousness of the fact that he was facing Henry Maine -Griswold, who was first of all a gentleman, and not less a scholar and -a man of the world, who was not to be trifled with. - -“No,” replied Griswold, a little shortly. “I was appealed to in rather -an unusual way in this matter of Appleweight. It is quite out of my -line as a legal proposition, but there are other considerations of -which I may not speak.” - -“Pardon me,” murmured Habersham; but he asked: “What was Governor -Osborne doing when you left Columbia?” - -“When I left Columbia,” remarked Griswold, and it was he that smiled -now, “to the best of my knowledge and belief the governor of South -Carolina was deeply absorbed in knitting a necktie, the colour of which -was, I think, the orange of a Blue Ridge autumn sunset. And now, if you -will kindly give me pen and paper, I will communicate the Appleweight -situation and our prospects to my honoured chief.” - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -TWO LADIES ON A BALCONY. - - -The outer aspect of Ardsley is, frankly, feudal. The idea of a North -Carolina estate had grown out of Ardmore’s love of privacy and his wish -to get away from New York, where his family was all too frequently -struck by the spot light. The great tract of land once secured he -had not concerned himself about a house, but had thrown together a -comfortable bungalow which satisfied him for a year. But Ardmore’s -gentle heart, inaccessible to demands of many sorts, was a defenceless -citadel when appeals were made to his generosity. A poor young -architect, lately home from the Ecole des Beaux Arts, with many honours -but few friends, fell under Ardmore’s eyes. The towers and battlements -that soon thereafter crowned the terraced slopes at Ardsley, etching -a noble line against the lovely panorama of North Carolina hills, -testified at once to the architect’s talent for adaptation and -Ardmore’s diminished balances at the Bronx Loan and Trust Company. - -On a balcony that commanded the sunset--a balcony bright with geraniums -that hung daringly over a ravine on the west--Mrs. Atchison and Miss -Jerry Dangerfield were cosily taking their tea. Their white gowns, the -snowy awning stirring slightly in the hill air, the bright trifles of -the tea-table mingled in a picture of charm and contentment. - -“I wonder,” said Mrs. Atchison abruptly, “where Tommy is.” - -“I have no definite idea,” said Jerry, pouring cream, “but let us hope -that he is earning his salary.” - -“His salary?” and Mrs. Atchison’s brows contracted. “Do you mean that -my brother is taking pay for this mysterious work he is doing?” - -“He shall be paid in money,” replied Jerry with decision. “As I have -only the barest acquaintance with Mr. Ardmore, never, in fact, having -seen him until a few days ago, it would be very improper for me to -permit him to serve me except under the rules that govern the relations -of employer and employee.” - -Mrs. Atchison smiled with the wise tolerance of a woman of the world; -and she was a lady, it must be said, who had a keen perception of that -sane and ample philosophy of life which proceeds, we may say, for the -sake of convenience, from the sense of humour. She did not like to -be puzzled; and she had never in her life been surprised, least of -all by any word or deed of her singular brother Tommy. She liked and -even cultivated with daring the inadvertent turns in a day’s affairs. -The cool fashion in which her brother had placed the daughter of the -governor of North Carolina in her hands on board her car at Raleigh -had amused her. She had learned nothing from Jerry of the beginnings -of that young woman’s acquaintance with the master of Ardsley--an -acquaintance which seemed to be intimate in certain aspects but -amazingly distant and opaque in others. Miss Geraldine Dangerfield, -like Mrs. Atchison herself, was difficult to surprise, and Tommy -Ardmore’s sister admired this in any one, and she particularly admired -it in Jerry, who was so charming in so many other ways. Mrs. Atchison -imagined that Jerry’s social experience had been meagre, and yet the -girl accepted the conditions of life at Ardsley as a matter of course, -and in the gatherings of the house party Jerry--there was no denying -it--held the centre of the stage. - -The men, including the Duke of Ballywinkle, hung upon her lightest -word, which often left them staggering; and she frequently flung the -ball of conversation into the blue ether with a careless ease that kept -expectancy a-tiptoe in the minds and hearts of all the company. - -“I hope,” said Mrs. Atchison, putting down her cup and gazing dreamily -into the west, “that you have not given Tommy any commission in which -he is likely to fail. If it were a matter of finding a fan you had -left behind somewhere, or even of producing an extinct flower from -the Andes, he would undoubtedly be faithful to the trust imposed on -him; but in anything that is really serious, really of importance, one -should never depend on Tommy.” - -This was, as the lady knew, almost vulgarly leading; but Jerry folded -her arms, and spoke out with charming frankness. - -“I have heard my father say,” said Jerry, “that incapable men often -rise to great opportunities when they are pushed. Mr. Ardmore has -undertaken to perform for me a service of the greatest delicacy and not -unattended with danger. You have been kind to me, Mrs. Atchison, and as -you are my chaperon and entitled to my fullest confidence, it is right -for you to know just how I came here, and why your brother is absent in -my service.” - -For once curiosity bound Mrs. Atchison in chains of steel. - -“Tell me nothing, dear, unless you are quite free to do so,” she -murmured; but her heart skipped a beat as she waited. - -“I should not think of doing so except of my own free will,” declared -Jerry, carelessly following the flight of a hawk that flapped close -by toward the neighbouring woods. “It may interest you to know that -just now your brother, Mr. Thomas Ardmore, is the governor of North -Carolina. He does not exactly know it, for at Raleigh I myself was -governor of North Carolina at the time we met, and I only made Mr. -Ardmore my private secretary; but when it became necessary to take the -field I placed him in full charge, and he is now not only governor of -the Old North State, but also the commander-in-chief of her troops in -the field.” - -With a nice feeling for climax Jerry paused, picked a lump of sugar -from the silver bowl on the tea-table, bit the edge of it daintily, and -tossed it to the robins that hopped on the lawn beneath. - -Mrs. Atchison moved forward slightly, but evinced no other sign of -surprise. The hour, the scene, the girl were all to her liking. -She would even prolong the delight of hearing the further history -of her brother’s amazing elevation to supreme power in an American -commonwealth--it was so foreign to all experience, so heavy with -possibilities, so delicious in that it had happened to Tommy of all men -in the world! - -“I trust,” she said, smiling a little, “that Tommy will not prove -unworthy of the confidence you have reposed in him.” - -“If he does,” said Jerry, slapping her hands together to free them of -an imaginary sugar crumb, “I shall never, never marry him.” - -“Then may I ask, Miss Dangerfield, if you and he are engaged?” - -“Not at all, Mrs. Atchison! Not only are we not engaged, but he has -never even proposed to me. Besides, I am engaged to Colonel Rutherford -Gillingwater, our adjutant-general.” - -“Then if you are engaged to this military person, just wherein lies the -significance of your threat never to marry my brother.” - -“That,” said Jerry, “is perfectly easy of explanation. Your brother -and I have met only a few times, and I never become engaged to any -man whom I have not known for a week at least. Marriage is a serious -matter; and while the frequent breaking of engagements is painful in -the extreme, I think one cannot be too careful in assuming the marriage -bond.” - -Mrs. Atchison wondered whether the girl was amusing herself at her -expense, but Jerry’s tone was grave and Jerry’s eyes were steady. Jerry -was a new species, and she had appeared at a fortunate moment when Mrs. -Atchison had almost concluded that the world is a squeezed lemon. - -“In view of the fact that you are engaged to Dillingwater----” began -Mrs. Atchison, anxious for further disclosures touching Jerry’s ideas -on matrimony. - -“Colonel Rutherford Gillingwater, please!” corrected Jerry. - -“--I don’t quite grasp this matter of your attitude toward my brother. -Unless I misunderstood you, you remarked a moment ago that unless he -succeeded in his present undertaking you would never marry him.” - -“That is exactly what I said, and I meant every word of it,” declared -Jerry. “I will not conceal from you, Mrs. Atchison, my determination -that your brother shall be my second husband.” - -There was no question of Mrs. Atchison’s complete surprise now. - -“Your _second_ husband, child?” - -“My second husband, Mrs. Atchison. Life is short at best, and I -was told by my old mammy when I was a little child--she turned out -afterward to be a real voodoo woman--that I should be married twice. -I am very superstitious, and that made a great impression on my mind. -It is not in keeping with my ideas of life, Mrs. Atchison, to be long -a widow, so that I think it perfectly right to choose a second husband -even before I am quite sure that I have chosen wisely for my first.” - -“Has the military person weak lungs?” - -“No; but his mind is not strong. Anything sudden, like apoplexy, would -be sure to go hard with him.” - -“Then you should be careful not to shock him. It would be almost -criminal to break your engagement with him.” - -“That rests entirely with him, Mrs. Atchison. The man I love must be -brave, tender, and true. After our present difficulties are over I -shall know whether Rutherford Gillingwater is the man I believe I am -going to marry in October.” - -“But you spoke a moment ago of Tommy’s official position. Is this -arrangement a matter of general knowledge in North Carolina?” - -“No, it is not. You and he and I are the only persons who know it. Papa -does not know it yet; and when papa finds it out it may go hard with -him. You see, Mrs. Atchison”--and Jerry leaned forward and rested an -elbow on the tea-table and tucked her little chin into the palm of her -hand--“you see, papa is very absent-minded, as great men often are, and -he went away and forgot to perform some duties which the honour and -dignity of the state require to be performed immediately. There are -some wicked men who have caused both North Carolina and South Carolina -a great deal of trouble, but they must not be punished in this state, -but in South Carolina, which is just over there somewhere. There are -many reasons for that which would be very tiresome to tell you about, -but the principal one is that Barbara Osborne, the daughter of the -governor of South Carolina, is the snippiest and stuck-upest person I -have ever known, and while your brother and I are in charge of this -state I have every intention of annoying her in every way I can. When -Mr. Ardmore has caught those wicked men I spoke of, who really do not -belong in this state at all, they will be marched straight into South -Carolina, and then we shall see what Governor Osborne does about it; -and we will show Barbara Osborne, whose father never had to paper _his_ -dining-room, after the war between the states, with bonds of the -Confederacy--we will show her that there’s a good deal of difference -between the Dangerfields and the Osbornes, and between the proud Old -North State and the state of South Carolina.” - -“And you have placed this business, requiring courage and finesse, in -Tommy’s hands?” - -“That is exactly what I have done, Mrs. Atchison. Your brother is no -great distance from here, and we have exchanged telegrams to-day; -but when I told you a moment ago that I did not know his whereabouts -exactly I spoke the truth. Your brother’s appearance on the scene -at the beginning was most providential. The stage was set, the -curtain waited”--Jerry extended her arms to indicate a breadth of -situation--“but there was no valiant hero. I needed a leading man, and -Mr. Ardmore walked in like a fairy prince ready to take the part. And -what I shall say to you further, as my chaperon, will not, I hope, -cause you to think ill of me.” - -“I love you more and more! You may tell me anything you like without -fear of being misunderstood; but tell me nothing that you prefer to -keep to yourself.” - -“If you were not Mr. Ardmore’s sister I should not tell you this; -and I shall never tell another soul. I was coming home from a visit -in Baltimore, and the train stopped somewhere to let another train -pass. The two trains stood side by side for a little while, and in the -window of the sleeper opposite me I saw a young man who seemed very -sad. I thought perhaps he had buried all his friends, for he had the -appearance of one lately bereaved. It has always seemed to me that we -should do what we can to cheer the afflicted, and this gentleman was -staring out of his window very sadly, as though he needed a friend, -and as he caught my eye it seemed to me that there was an appeal in -it that it would have been unwomanly for me to ignore. So, just as my -train started, at the very last moment that we looked at each other, I -winked at that gentleman with, I think, my right eye.” - -Miss Geraldine Dangerfield touched the offending member delicately with -her handkerchief. - -Mrs. Atchison bent forward and took both the girl’s hands. - -“And that was Tommy--my brother Tommy!” - -“That gentleman has proved to be Mr. Thomas Ardmore. I had not the -slightest idea that I should ever in the world see him again. My only -hope was that he would go on his way cheered and refreshed by my sign -of good-will, though he was either so depressed or so surprised that he -made no response. I never expected to see him again in this world; and -when I had almost forgotten all about him he coolly sent in his card -to me at the executive mansion in Raleigh. And I was very harsh with -him when I learned who he was; for you know the Ardmore estate owns a -lot of North Carolina bonds that are due on the first of June, and Mr. -Billings had been chasing papa all over the country to know whether -they will be paid; and I supposed that of course your brother was -looking for papa too, to annoy him about some mere detail of that bond -business, for the state treasurer, who does not love papa, has gone -away fishing, and Mr. Billings is perfectly wild.” - -“Delicious!” exclaimed Mrs. Atchison. “Perfectly delicious! And I am -sure that when Tommy explained his real sentiments toward Mr. Billings -you and he became friends at once.” - -“Not at once, for I came very near having him thrown out of the house; -and I laughed at him about a jug that was given to him on the train at -Kildare with a message in it for papa. You know when you are governor -people always give you presents--that is, your friendly constituents -do. The others give you only unkind words. The temperance people send -you jugs of buttermilk on board your train as you pass through the -commonwealth, and others send you applejack. Your brother gave back -the buttermilk and kept the jug of applejack, which had a warning to -father in its corn-cob stopper. I thought it was very funny, and I -laughed at your brother so that he was scared and ran out of the house. -Then afterwards I looked out of the window of papa’s office, and saw -Mr. Ardmore sitting on a bench in the state-house yard looking ever so -sad and dejected, and I sent the private secretary out to get him; and -now we are, I think, the best of friends, and Mr. Ardmore is, as I have -already told you, the governor of North Carolina to all intents and -purposes.” - -“May I call you Jerry? Thank you, dear. Let me tell you that I am -thirty-two, and you are----?” - -“Seventeen,” supplied Jerry. - -“And this is the most amusing, interesting, and exciting thing I have -heard in all my life. It might be difficult ordinarily for me to -forgive the wink, but your explanation lifts it out of the realm of -social impropriety into the sphere of generous benevolence. And if, -after Colonel Gillingwater has gone to his reward, you should marry my -brother, I shall do all in my power to make your life in our family -happy in every way.” - -“Your brother does not seem particularly proud of his family -connection,” said Jerry. “He spoke of you in the most beautiful way, -but he seems distressed by the actions of some of the others.” - -Mrs. Atchison sighed. - -“Tommy is right about us. We are a sad lot.” - -“But he is very hard on the duke. Since I came to Ardsley his Grace has -treated me with the greatest courtesy, and he has spoken to me in the -most complimentary terms. He is beyond question a man of kind heart, -for he has promised me his mother’s pearl necklace, which had been in -her family for four hundred years.” - -“I should not hesitate to take the necklace, Jerry, if he really -produces it, for my sister, his wife, has never had the slightest -glimpse of it, and it is, I believe, in the hands of certain English -trustees for the benefit of the duke’s creditors. I dislike to spoil -one of his Grace’s pretty illusions, but unless Mr. Billings softens -his heart a great deal toward the duke I fear that you will not get the -pearls this summer.” - -“I must tell you as my chaperon, Mrs. Atchison, that the duke has -already offered to elope with me. He told me last night, as we were -having our coffee on the terrace, that he would gladly give up his -wife, meaning, I suppose, your sister, and the Ardmore millions for me; -but while I think him fascinating, I want you to feel quite safe, for I -promise you I shall elope with no one while I am your guest.” - -Mrs. Atchison’s face had grown a little white, and she compressed her -lips in lines that were the least bit grim. - -“The scoundrel!” she exclaimed half under her breath. “To think that he -would insult a child like you! He is hanging about us here in the hope -of getting more money, while my poor sister, his wife, is in an English -sanatorium half crazed by his brutality. If Tommy knew this he would -undoubtedly kill him!” - -“That would be very unnecessary. A duke, after all, is something, and -I should hate to have the poor man killed on my account. And besides, -Mrs. Atchison, I am perfectly able to take care of myself.” - -“I believe you are, Jerry. But it’s a terrible thing to have that beast -about, and I shall tell him to-night that he must leave this place and -the country.” - -“But first,” said Jerry, “I have an engagement to ride with him after -dinner to see the moon, and the opportunity of seeing a moon with a -duke of ancient family, here on the sacred soil of North Carolina, is -something that I cannot lightly put aside.” - -“You cannot--you must not go!” - -“Leave it to me,” said Jerry, smiling slightly; “and I promise you that -the duke will never again insult an American girl. And now I think I -must dress for dinner.” - -She rose and turned her eyes dreamily to the tower above, where the -North Carolina state flag flapped idly in the breeze. This silken -emblem with its single star Miss Geraldine Dangerfield carried with -her in her trunk wherever she travelled; and having noted Ardsley’s -unadorned flagstaff, she had, with her own hands, unfurled it, highly -resolved that it should remain until the rightful governor returned to -his own. - -A few minutes later, as Mrs. Atchison was reading the late mail in her -sitting-room, she took up a New York newspaper of the day before and -ran over the headlines. “Lost: A Governor” was a caption that held -her eye, and she read a special despatch dated Raleigh with deepest -interest. Governor Dangerfield, the item hinted, had not yet returned -from New Orleans, where he had gone to attend the Cotton Planters’ -Convention, and where, moreover, he had quarrelled with the governor of -South Carolina. The cowardly conduct of both governors in dealing with -the Appleweight band of outlaws was recited at length; and it was also -intimated that Governor Dangerfield was deliberately absenting himself -from his office to avoid meeting squarely the Appleweight issue. - -Mrs. Atchison smiled to herself; then she laughed merrily as she rang -for her maid. - -“Little Jerry’s story seemed highly plausible as she told it; and yet -she is perfectly capable of spinning romance with that pretty mouth of -hers, particularly when backed by those sweet and serious blue eyes. -Tommy and Jerry! The combination is irresistible! If she has really -turned the state of North Carolina over to my little brother, something -unusual will certainly happen before long.” - -And Mrs. Atchison was quite right in her surmise, as we shall see. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -THE EMBARRASSMENTS OF THE DUKE OF BALLYWINKLE. - - -Mr. Frank Collins, of the Atlanta _Palladium_, trod the ties beyond -Kildare with a light heart, gaily swinging a suit-case. He had walked -far, but a narrow-brim straw hat, perched on the back of his head, and -the cheery lilt of the waltz he whistled, spoke for a jaunty spirit. As -his eye ranged the landscape he marked a faint cloud of smoke rising -beyond a lonely strip of wood; and coming to a dilapidated piece of -track that led vaguely away into the heart of the forest, he again -noted the tiny smoke-cloud. On such a day the half-gods go and the -gods arrive; and the world that afternoon knew no cheerfuller spirit -than the _Palladium’s_ agile young commissioner. Mr. Collins was not -only in capital health and spirits, but he rejoiced in that delicious -titillation of expectancy which is the chief compensation of the -journalist’s life. His mission was secret, and this in itself gave -flavour to his errand; and, moreover, it promised adventures of a kind -that were greatly to his liking. - -As the woodland closed in about him and the curving spur carried him -farther from the main right of way, he ceased whistling, and his steps -became more guarded. Suddenly a man rose from the bushes and levelled a -long arm at him detainingly. - -“Stop, young man, stop where you are!” - -“Hello!” called Collins, pausing. “Well, I’m jiggered if it ain’t old -Cookie. I say, old man, is the untaxed juice flowing in the forest -primeval or what brings you here?” - -Cooke grinned as he recalled the reporter, whom he remembered as a -particularly irrepressible specimen of his genus whom he had met while -pursuing moonshiners in Georgia. The two shook hands amiably midway of -the two streaks of rust. - -“Young man, I think I told you once before that your legs were -altogether too active. I want you to light right out of here--skip!” - -“Not for a million dollars. Our meeting is highly opportune, Cookie. -It’s not for me to fly in the face of Providence. I’m going to see -what’s doing down here.” - -“All right,” replied Cooke. “Take it all in and enjoy yourself; but -you’re my prisoner.” - -“Oh, that will be all right! So long as I’m with you I can’t lose out.” - -“March!” called Cooke, dropping behind; and thus the two came in a few -minutes to the engine, the cars, and the caboose. From the locomotive a -slight smoke still trailed hazily upward. - -Thomas Ardmore, coatless and hatless, sat on the caboose steps writing -messages on a broad pad, while a telegraph instrument clicked busily -within. One of his men had qualified as operator, and a pile of -messages at his elbow testified to Ardmore’s industry. Ardmore clutched -in his left hand a message recently caught from the wire, which he -re-read from time to time with increasing satisfaction. It had been -sent from Ardsley and ran: - - I shall ride to-night on the road that leads south beyond the red - bungalow, and on the bridle-path that climbs the ridge on the west, - called Sunset Trail. A certain English gentleman will accompany me. - It will be perfectly agreeable to me to come back alone. - - G. D. - -Ardmore was still writing when Cooke stood beneath him under the -caboose platform. - -“I beg your pardon, Mr. Ardmore, but this is our first prisoner.” - -Ardmore signed a despatch, and then looked up and took the pipe from -his mouth. Collins lifted his hat politely. - -“Ah, Mr. Ardmore, you see I have taken advantage of your exceedingly -kind invitation to look you up in North Carolina.” - -“He was looking for you very hard when I found him, Mr. Ardmore,” -interposed Cooke. - -“Your appearance delights me,” said Ardmore, extending his hand to the -reporter. “It was nice of you to walk out here to find me. Wouldn’t -they put you up at the house?” - -“Well, the fact is I didn’t stop there. My paper sent me in this -general direction on business, but I had every honourable intention of -making you that visit after I finished my assignment. But Cookie here -says I’m arrested.” - -“He’s a dangerous character and can’t be allowed to run loose in these -parts. I’m going to tie him up,” said Cooke. - -“May I ask you, Mr. Collins, just what you are doing here?” inquired -Ardmore. - -“You may, and I’ll bet a boiled goose that Cooke and I are on the same -job.” - -“What are you looking for?” demanded Ardmore’s chief of staff. - -“It’s a big story if I get it, and I have every intention of getting -it,” said Collins guardedly. - -“Out with it!” commanded Ardmore. - -“The fact is, then, that I’m looking for a person of importance.” - -“Go right on, please.” - -“And that person is the governor of North Carolina, who is mysteriously -absent from Raleigh. He attended the Cotton Planters’ Convention in -New Orleans. He got as far as Atlanta on his way home, and then -disappeared. I need not say to gentlemen of your intelligence that -a lost governor is ripe fruit in my business, and I have reason to -believe that for some purpose of his own the governor of North Carolina -is hiding in this very neighbourhood.” - -Cooke glanced at Ardmore for instructions, but the master of Ardsley -preferred to keep the matter in his own hands. - -“So you want to find the governor of North Carolina, do you? Well, you -shall not be disappointed. You are too able and zealous to be wasted on -journalism. I have a feeling that you are destined to higher things. -Something told me when we met in Atlanta that fate had set us apart for -each other. That was why I asked you to visit me when I really didn’t -know but that, after learning where the spoons are kept, you would skip -without leaving your subsequent address. But now there is important -business on hand, and the state of North Carolina will take the liberty -of borrowing you from Georgia until the peace of the Old North State -is restored. And now, Collins, I will make a disclosure that will -undoubtedly startle you a good deal, but you are no longer employed -by the Atlanta _Palladium_, and your obligations to that journal must -be transferred to the state in which you now stand. You came here, -Collins, to look for the governor of North Carolina, and your wits -and your argus-nose for news have served you well. You have found the -governor of North Carolina: _I_ am he!” - -Collins had stood during this recital in the middle of the track, -with his legs wide apart, calmly fanning himself with his hat; but as -Ardmore proceeded the reporter’s hand dropped to his side, and a grin -that had overspread his face slowly yielded to a blank stare. - -“Would you mind repeating those last words?” - -“_I_ am the governor of North Carolina, Mr. Collins. The manner in -which I attained that high office is not important. It must suffice -that I am in sole charge of the affairs of this great state, without -relief from valuation or appraisement laws and without benefit of -clergy. And we have much to do here; mere social conversation must -await an ampler time. I now appoint you publicity agent to the -governor. Your business is to keep the people fooled--all the people -all the time. In other words, you are chief liar to the administration, -a position of vast responsibility, for which you have, if I am a judge -of character, the greatest talents. You will begin by sending out -word that Governor Dangerfield has given up all other work at present -but the destruction of the Appleweight gang. These stories that the -governor has hidden himself to dodge certain duties are all punk--do -you understand?--he is serving the people as he has always served them, -faithfully and with the noblest self-sacrifice. That’s the sort of -stuff I want you to jam into the newspapers all over the world. And -remember--my name does not appear in the business at all--neither now -nor hereafter.” - -“But by the ghost of John C. Calhoun, don’t you see that I’m losing the -chance of my life in my own profession? There’s a story in this that -would put me to the top and carry me right into New York,” and Collins -glanced about for his suit-case, as though meditating flight. - -“Your appointment has gone into effect,” said Ardmore with finality, -“and if you bolt you will be caught and made to walk the plank. And so -far as your future is concerned, you shall have a newspaper of your own -anywhere you please as soon as this war is over.” - -The three men adjourned to the caboose where Ardmore told Collins all -that it seemed necessary for the newspaper man to know; and within -half an hour the new recruit had entered thoroughly into the spirit -of the adventure, though his mirth occasionally got the better of -him, and he bowed his head in his hands and surrendered himself to -laughter. Thereafter, until the six o’clock supper was ready, he -kept the operator occupied. He sent to the _Palladium_ a thoroughly -plausible story, giving prominence to the Appleweight case and laying -stress on Governor Dangerfield’s vigorous personality and high sense -of official responsibility. He sent queries to leading journals -everywhere, offering exclusive news of the rumoured disappearance of -North Carolina’s governor. His campaign of publicity for the state -administration was broadly planned, though he was losing a great -opportunity to beat the world with a stunning story of the amazing -nerve with which Ardmore, the young millionaire, had assumed the duties -of governor of North Carolina in the unaccountable absence of Governor -Dangerfield from his capital. The whole thing was almost too good to be -true, and Collins put away the idea of flight only upon realizing the -joyous possibilities of sharing, no matter how humbly, in the fate of -an administration which was fashioning the drollest of card-houses. He -did not know, and was not to know until long afterwards, just how the -young master of Ardsley had leaped into the breach; but Ardmore was an -extraordinary person, whose whims set him quite apart from other men, -and while, even if he escaped being shot, the present enterprise would -undoubtedly lead to a long term in jail, Collins had committed himself -to Ardmore’s cause and would be faithful to it, no matter what happened. - -Ardmore took Collins more fully into his confidence during the -lingering twilight, and the reporter made many suggestions that were of -real value. Meanwhile Cooke’s men brought three horses from the depths -of the forest, and saddled them. Cooke entered the caboose for a final -conference with Ardmore and a last look at the maps. - -“Too bad,” remarked the acting governor, “that we must wait until -to-morrow night to pick up the Appleweights, but our present business -is more important. It’s time to move, Cooke.” - -They rode off in single file on the faintest of trails through the -woods, Cooke leading and Ardmore and Collins following immediately -behind him. The great host of summer stars thronged the sky, and the -moon sent its soft effulgence across the night. They presently forded -a noisy stream, and while they were seeking the trail again on the -farther side an owl hooted a thousand yards up the creek, and while -the line re-formed Cooke paused and listened. Then the owl’s call was -repeated farther off, and so faintly that Cooke alone heard it. He laid -his hand on Ardmore’s rein: - -“There’s a foot-trail that leads along that creek, and it’s very -rough and difficult to follow. Half a mile from here there used to be -a still, run by one of the Appleweights. We smashed it once, but no -doubt they are operating again by this time. That hoot of the owl is -a warning common among the pickets put out by these people. Wireless -telegraphy isn’t in it with them. Every Appleweight within twenty -miles will know in half an hour how many there are of us and just what -direction we are taking. We must not come back here to-night. We must -put up on your place somewhere and let them think, if they will, we are -guests of yours out for an evening ride.” - -“That’s all right. Unless we complete this job in about two days my -administration is a fizzle,” said Ardmore, as they resumed their march -through the forest. There was a wilder fling to the roll of the land -now, but the underbrush was better cleared, and the trail had become a -bridle-path that had known man’s care. - -“This is some of Paul’s work,” said Ardmore; “and if I am not very -much mistaken we are on my land now and headed straight enough for the -wagon-road that leads south beyond the red bungalow. These roads in -here were planned to give variety, but I never before appreciated how -complicated they are.” - -The path stretched away through the heavy forest, and they climbed to a -ridge that commanded a wide region that lay bathed in silver moonlight, -so softly luminous that it seemed of the stuff of shadows made light. -Westward, a mile distant, lay Ardsley, only a little below the level of -the ridge and touched with a faint purple as of spring twilight. - -Ardmore sat his saddle, quietly contemplating the great house that -struck him almost for the first time as imposing. He felt, too, a -little heartache that he did not quite understand. He was not sure -whether it was the effect of the moon, or whether he was tired, or what -it was, though he thought perhaps the moon had something to do with -it. His own house, of which he was sincerely fond, seemed mistily hung -between heaven and earth in the moonlight, a thing not wholly of this -world; and in his depression of spirit he reflected for a moment on his -own aimless, friendless life; he knew then that he was lonely, and that -there was a great void in his mind and heart and soul, and he knew also -that Jerry Dangerfield and not the moon was the cause of his melancholy. - -“We’d better be moving,” suggested Cooke. - -“It’s too bad to leave that picture,” remarked Collins, sighing. “Had -I the lyre of Gray I should compose an ‘Ode on a Distant Prospect of -Ardsley Castle,’ which would ultimately reach the school readers and -bring me fame more enduring than brass.” - -“Did you say brass?” ironically scoffed Cooke. - -Whereupon the _Palladium’s_ late representative laughed softly and -muttered to himself, - - “Proud pile, by mighty Ardmore’s hand upreared!” - -“Cut it out,” commanded Cooke, “or I’ll drop you into the ravine. Look -below there!” - -Looking off from the ridge they saw a man and a woman riding along -a strip of road from which the timber had been cut. The night was -so still, the gray light so subdued, that the two figures moved as -steadily and softly as shadow pictures on a screen. - -The slow, even movement of the riders was interrupted suddenly. The -man, who was nearer the remote observers, had stopped and bent towards -the woman as though to snatch her rein, when her horse threw up its -head and fell back on its haunches. Then the woman struck the man a -blow with her riding-crop, and galloped swiftly away along the white, -ribbon-like road. In the perfect night-silence it was like a scene of -pantomime. - -“That’s all right!” cried Cooke. “Come along! We’ll cut into that road -at the bungalow.” - -They swung their horses away from the ridge and back into the -bridle-path, which once more dipped sharply down into heavy timber, -Cooke leading the way, and three of the best hunters known to the -Ardsley stables flew down the clear but winding path. The incident -which the trio had witnessed required no interpretation: the girl’s -blow and flight had translated it into language explicit enough. - -Ardmore thanked his German forester a thousand times for the admirable -bridle-path over which they galloped, with its certain footing beneath -and clean sweep from the boughs above. The blood surged hotly through -his heart, and he was angry for the first time in his life; but his -head was cool, and the damp air of the forest flowing by tranquillized -him into a new elation of spirit. Jerry Dangerfield was the dearest and -noblest and bravest girl in the world--he knew that: and she was clever -and resourceful enough to devise means for preserving her father’s -official and private honour; and not less quick to defend herself from -insult from a titled scoundrel. She was the most inexplicable of girls; -but at the same time she was beyond any question the wisest. The -thought that he should now see her soon, after all the years that had -passed since he had introduced her to his sister at Raleigh, filled him -with wild delight, and he prayed that in her mad flight from the Duke -of Ballywinkle no harm might come to her. - -The three men rode out into the broad highway at the red bungalow and -paused to listen. - -“He hasn’t got here yet. Only one person has passed, and these must be -the tracks of the girl’s horse,” said Cooke, who had dismounted and -struck matches, the better to observe the faint hoof-prints in the hard -shell road. - -“He’ll be along in a minute. Let us get into the shadow of the -bungalow, and when he comes we’ll ride out and nail him. The bungalow’s -a sort of way house. I often stop here when I’m out on the estate and -want to rest. I have the key in my pocket.” - -As Ardmore’s keys jingled in the lock Cooke cried out softly. Their -quarry was riding swiftly towards them, and he drew rein before the -bungalow as Cooke and Collins rode out to meet him. - -“I say,” panted the duke. - -“You are our prisoner. Dismount and come into this house.” - -“Prisoner, you fool! I’m a guest at Ardsley, and I’m looking for a -lady.” - -“That’s a very unlikely story.--Collins, help the gentleman down;” -and the reporter obeyed instructions with so much zeal that the noble -gentleman fell prone, and was assisted to his feet with a fine mockery -of helpfulness. - -“I tell you I’m looking for a lady whose horse ran away with her! I’m -the Duke of Ballywinkle, and brother-in-law to Mr. Ardmore. I’ll have -you sent to jail if you stop me here.” - -“Come along, Duke, and we’ll see what you look like,” said Cooke, -leading the way to the bungalow veranda. Within Ardmore was lighting -lamps. There was a long room finished in black oak, with a fireplace -at one end, and a table in the centre. The floors were covered with -handsome rugs, and the walls were hung with photographs and etchings. -Ardmore sat on the back of a leather settee in a pose assumed at the -moment of the duke’s entrance. It was a pose of entire nonchalance, -and Ardmore’s cap, perched on the back of his head, and his brown hair -rumpled boyishly, added to the general effect of comfort and ease. - -The duke blinked for a moment in the lamplight, then he roared out -joyously: - -“Ardy, old man!” and advanced towards his brother-in-law with -outstretched hand. - -“Keep him off; he’s undoubtedly quite mad,” said Ardmore, staring -coldly, and bending his riding-crop across his knees. “Collins, please -ride on after the lady and bring her back this way.” - -Cooke had seated the prisoner rather rudely in a chair, and the noble -duke, having lost the power of speech in amazement and fright, rubbed -his eyes and then fastened them incredulously on Ardmore; but there -was no question about it, he had been seized with violence; he had -been repudiated by his own brother-in-law--the useless, stupid Tommy -Ardmore, who at best had only a child’s mind for pirate stories, and -who was indubitably the most negligible of negligible figures in the -drama of life as the duke knew it. - -“Cooke,” began Ardmore, addressing his lieutenant gravely from his -perch on the settee, “what is the charge against this person?” - -“He says he’s a duke,” grinned Cooke, taking his cue from Ardmore’s -manner. “And he says he’s visiting at Ardsley.” - -“That,” said Ardmore with decision, “is creditable only to the -gentleman’s romantic imagination. His face is anything but dukely, and -there’s a red streak across it which points clearly to the recent -sharp blow of a weapon; and no one would ever strike a duke. It’s -utterly incredible,” and Ardmore lifted his brows and leaned back -with his arms at length and his hands clasping the riding-crop, as he -contemplated with supreme satisfaction the tell-tale red line across -the duke’s cheek. - -The Duke of Ballywinkle leaped to his feet, the colour that suffused -his pale face hiding for the moment the mark of the riding-stick. - -“What the devil is this joke, Ardy?” screamed the duke. “You know I’m a -guest at your house; you know I’m your sister’s husband. I was riding -with Miss Dangerfield, and her horse ran away with her, and she may -come to harm unless I go after her. This cut on the face I got from a -low limb of one of your infernal trees. You are putting me in a devil -of an embarrassing position by holding me here.” - -He spoke with dignity, and Ardmore heard him through in silence; but -when he had finished, the master of Ardsley pointed to the chair. - -“As I understand you, you are pleading not guilty; and you pretend to -some acquaintance with me; but I am unable to recall you. We may have -met somewhere, sometime, but I really don’t know you. The title to -which you pretend is unfamiliar to me; but I will frankly disclose to -you that I, sir, am the governor of North Carolina.” - -“The what?” bleated the duke, his eyes bulging. - -“I repeat, that I am the governor of North Carolina, and as a state -of war now exists in my unhappy kingdom, I, sir, have assumed all the -powers conferred upon the three co-ordinate branches of government -under the American system--namely, or if you prefer it, I will say, to -wit: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. It is thus not -only my privilege but my painful duty to pass upon your case in all its -sad aspects. As I have already suspended the writ of habeas corpus and -set aside the right to trial by jury, we will consider that I sit here -as the supreme court.” - -“For God’s sake, Ardy----” howled the duke. - -“That remark I will not now construe as profanity, but don’t let it -occur again. The first charge against you is that of insulting a woman -on the Sunset Trail in the estate called Ardsley, owned by a person -known in law as Thomas Ardmore. There are three witnesses to the fact -that you tried to stop a woman in the road, and that streak on your -face is even more conclusive. Are you guilty or not guilty?” - -“You are mad! You are crazy!” shouted the duke; but his face was very -white now, and the mark of the crop flamed scarlet. - -“You are guilty, beyond any question. But the further charge against -you that you pretend to be--what did he say his name was, Cooke?--that -you pretend to be the Duke of Ballywinkle must now be considered. That -is quite right, is it; you say you are the duke?” - -“Yes, you fool!” howled the duke. “I’ll have the law on you for this! -I’ll appeal to the British ambassador.” - -“I advise you not to appeal to anybody,” said Ardmore, “and the British -ambassador is without jurisdiction in North Carolina. You have yourself -asserted that you are the Duke of Ballywinkle. Why Ballywinkle? Why not -Argyll? why not Westminster? Why not, if duke you must be, the noble -Duke of York?” - -The Duke of Ballywinkle sat staring, stupefied. The whole thing was one -of his silly brother-in-law’s stupid jokes; there was no question of -that; and Tommy Ardmore was always a bore; but in spite of the comfort -he derived from these reflections the duke was not a little uneasy; -for he had never seen his brother-in-law in just this mood, and he did -not like it. Ardmore was carrying the joke too far; and there was an -assurance in Ardmore’s tone, and a light in Ardmore’s eyes, that were -ominous. Cooke had meanwhile lighted his pipe and was calmly smoking -until his chief should have his fling. - -Ardmore now drew from his pocket Johnston’s _American Politics_ with an -air of greatest seriousness. - -“Cooke,” he said, half to himself, as he turned the pages, “do you -remember just what the constitution says about dukes? Oh yes, here -we are! Now, Mr. Duke of Ballywinkle, listen to what it says here in -Section IX. of the Constitution of the United States, which reads -exactly as follows in this book: ‘No title of nobility shall be granted -by the United States: And no person holding any office of profit or -trust under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of -any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from -any king, prince, or foreign state.’ And it says in Section X. that ‘No -state shall grant any title of nobility.’ Now, Mr. Ballywinkle, it is -perfectly clear that this government can’t recognize anything that it -can’t create, for that would be foolish. As I, the governor of North -Carolina, can’t make a duke, I can’t see one. You are therefore wholly -illegal; it’s against the most sacred law of the land for you to be -here at all; and painful though it is to me, it is nevertheless my duty -to order you to leave the United States at once, never to return. In -fact, if you ever appear in the United States again, I hereby order -that you be hanged by the neck until you be dead. One of Mr. Cooke’s -men will accompany you to New York to-morrow and see to it that you -take passage on a steamer bound for a British port. The crime of having -insulted a woman will still hang over you until you are well east of -Sandy Hook, and I advise you not to risk being tried on that charge -in North Carolina, as my people are very impulsive and emotional, and -lynchings are not infrequent in our midst. You shall spend to-night in -my official caboose some distance from here, and your personal effects -will be brought from Ardsley, where, you have said, you are a guest of -Mr. Thomas Ardmore, who is officially unknown to me. The supreme court -will now adjourn.” - -Cooke pulled the limp, bewildered duke to his feet, and dragged him -from the bungalow. - -As they stepped out on the veranda Collins rode up in alarm. - -“I followed this road to a cross-road where it becomes a bridle-path -and runs off into the forest. There I lost all trace of the lady, but -here is her riding-crop.” - -“Cooke, take your prisoner to the caboose; and, Collins, come with me,” -commanded Ardmore; and a moment later he and the reporter rode off -furiously in search of Jerry Dangerfield. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -MISS DANGERFIELD TAKES A PRISONER. - - -A dozen men carrying rifles across their saddle-bows rode away from -Habersham’s farm on the outskirts of Turner Court House and struck -a rough trail that led a devious course over the hills. At their -head rode the guide of the expedition--a long, silent man on a mule. -Griswold and Habersham followed immediately behind him on horseback. -Their plans had been carefully arranged before they left their -rendezvous, and save for an occasional brief interchange between the -prosecuting attorney and the governor’s special representative, the -party jogged on in silence. Habersham’s recruits were, it may be -said, farmers of the border, who had awaited for years just such an -opportunity as now offered to avenge themselves upon the insolent -Appleweights. Nearly every man of the party had some private score to -settle, but they had all been sworn as special constables, and were -sobered by the knowledge that the power of the state of South Carolina -was back of them. - -Thus, at the very hour that Mr. Ardmore and his lieutenants rode -away from the lonely anchorage of the caboose, Professor Griswold -and his cavalcade set out for Mount Nebo Church. While the master -of Ardsley was revenging himself upon the Duke of Ballywinkle, his -dearest friend, against whom he had closed the doors of his house, was -losing no time in setting forth upon a mission which, if successful, -would seriously interfere with all Mr. Ardmore’s hopes and plans. -Ardmore’s scarlet fever telegram no longer rankled in the breast of the -associate professor of admiralty of the University of Virginia, for -Griswold knew that no matter what might be the outcome of his effort -to uphold the dignity of the sovereign state of South Carolina, his -participation in any such adventure would so cover his friend with envy -that he would have him for ever at his mercy. Thomas Ardmore deserved -punishment--there was no doubt of that, and as Professor Griswold was -not more or less than 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 the -trails he chose, nor troubling to give warning of sharp turns where a -horse, being less wise than a mule, tobogganed madly before finding -a foothold. Occasionally a low-hanging limb switched the associate -professor sharply across the face, but his temper continued serene -where the trail was darkest and steepest, and he found himself ignoring -Habersham’s occasional polite questions about the university in his -effort to summon up in memory certain ways of Barbara Osborne which -baffled him. He deplored the time he had given to the study of a stupid -profession like the law, when, if he had applied himself with equal -diligence to poetry, he might have made for himself a place at least as -high in belles-lettres. In his college days he had sometimes thrummed -a guitar, and there was a little song in his heart, half formed, and -with only a line or two as yet tangible, which he felt sure he could -write down on paper if it were not that the bugles summoned him to war; -it was a song of a white rose which a lover wore in his heart, through -winter and summer, and it never changed, and the flight of the seasons -had no manner of effect on it. - -“Check up, cain’t you?” snarled the man on the mule, laying hold of -Griswold’s rein; and thus halted, Griswold found that they had been -circling round a curiously symmetrical, thickly wooded hill, and had -finally come to a clearing whence they were able to gaze far off toward -the north. - -“We are almost out of bounds,” said Habersham, pointing. “Over there -somewhere, across the hills, lies North Carolina. I am as thoroughly -lost as you can possibly be; but these men know where they are.--How -far is it, Billy”--he addressed the silent guide--“to Mount Nebo?” - -“About four mile, and I reckon we’d better let out a leetle now, or -they’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 vale -seemed to perplex him. He spoke to one or two other natives, and they -viewed the light ruminatively, as is their way. - -“Thet must be on Ardmore’s land,” said the leader finally. “It shoots -out all sorts o’ ways round hyeh, and I reckon thet’s about wheh -Raccoon Creek cuts through.” - -“That’s very likely,” said Habersham. “I’ve seen the plat of what -Ardmore owns on this side the border at the court house, and I remember -that there’s a long strip in Mingo County that is Ardsley land. Ardmore -has houses of one kind and another scattered all over the estate, and -those 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 -a wide 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 there -now, and I have seen some of the guests in Turner’s within a day or -two.” - -“Within how many days?” demanded Griswold, his heart sinking at -the thought that Ardmore had lied to him to keep him away from -Ardsley--from Ardmore’s house! The thought of it really hurt him now. -Could it be possible that Ardmore had guests so distinguished that he, -Griswold, was not worthy to make their acquaintance! He experienced a -real pang as he thought that here he was, within a short ride of the -home of his dearest friend, the man whom most he loved of all men, and -that he had been denied the door of that friend’s house. - -“Come on!” called Habersham. - -Half the company rode ahead to gain the farther side of the church; the -remainder, including Griswold and Habersham, soon dismounted and tied -their horses out of sight of the country road which they had latterly -been following. - -“We are in plenty of time,” said Habersham, looking at his watch. -“The rest of the boys are closing in from the other side, and they -will be ready for Appleweight when he finishes his devotions. We’ve -been studying the old man’s habits, and he has a particular place -where he ties his horse back of the church. It’s a little apart from -the fence where most of the congregation hitch, and he chose it, no -doubt, because in case of a surprise he would have plenty of room for -manoeuvring. Two men are going to lay for him, seize and gag him, and -carry him into the wood back of the church; and then we’re off across -the state line to lock him up in jail at Kildare and give Governor -Dangerfield the shock of his life.” - -“It sounds simple enough; but it won’t be long before Appleweight’s -friends 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 they -are,” replied Habersham. - -They moved softly through the wood, and presently the faint sound of -singing reached them. - -“Old Rabdick has finished his sermon, and we’ll know the worst in a few -minutes.” - -One of the party had already detached himself and crept forward toward -the church, to meet his appointed comrade in the enterprise, who was to -come 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 -wooden shutters that protected the windows from impious violence. - -“We could do with less moon,” muttered Habersham, as he and Griswold -peered through the trees into the churchyard. - -“There goes Bill Appleweight now,” whispered one of the natives at his -elbow, and Griswold felt his heart-beats quicken as he watched a tall -figure silhouetted against the church and moving swiftly toward the -rear of the building. At the front of the church voices sounded, as the -departing worshippers 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 him -back into the timber. They’ve taken him and his horse!” - -Griswold saw nothing but a momentary confusion of shadows, then perfect -silence hung over the woods behind the little church. The congregation -was slowly dispersing, riding away in little groups. Suddenly a voice -called 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 rapidly -away. - -“Now we’ll see what’s happened,” said Habersham. “It looks almost too -easy.” - -The members of Griswold’s party who had been thrown round to the -farther side of the church began to appear, one at a time. There was -no nervousness among any of the band--a fact that impressed Griswold. -They were all risking much in this enterprise, but they were outwardly -unperturbed, and chewing their tobacco silently while they awaited -the return of the two active agents in the conspiracy who had dealt -directly with Appleweight. Habersham counted heads, and announced all -present or accounted for. - -The tall leader who had ridden the mule was the first to rise out of -the underbrush, through which he had crawled circuitously from the rear -of the church. His companion followed a few seconds later. - -“We’ve got Bill, all tied and gagged and a-settin’ of his hoss,” -drawled the leader, “and the hoss is tied to the back fence. Rest o’ -his boys thought he’d gone ahead, but they may miss him and come back. -He’s safe enough, and ef we keep away from him we’ll be ready to light -out ef the gang 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 -it and land him across the border, and stick him into a North Carolina -jail, where he rightfully belongs. The question is, can we do it all in -one night, or had we better lock him up somewhere on this side the line -and take another night for it? The sheriff over there in Kildare is -Appleweight’s cousin, but we’ll lock him up with Bill, to make a family -party of it.” - -“We’d better not try too much to-night,” counselled Griswold. “It’s -a big thing to have the man himself. If it were not for the matter -of putting Governor Dangerfield in a hole, I’d favour hurrying with -Appleweight to Columbia, just for the moral effect of it on the people -of South Carolina. 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 -on your hands, which Governor Osborne has not until lately been anxious -for,” replied Habersham, in a low tone that was heard by no one but his -old 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 his -soul his own where these hill people are concerned; but the governor of -South Carolina is a different sort.” - -“The governor of North Carolina is filling the newspapers with his own -virtuous intentions in the matter,” remarked Habersham, “but his sudden -zeal puts one upon inquiry.” - -“I hope you don’t imply that the motives of the governor of South -Carolina are not the worthiest?” demanded Griswold hotly. - -“Most certainly not!” returned the prosecuting attorney; but a smile -flitted across his face--a smile which, in the darkness, Griswold did -not see. “The two governors are very different men--wholly antipodal -characters, in fact,” and again Habersham smiled to himself. - -While they thus stood on South Carolina soil, waiting for the safe and -complete dispersion of the Mount Nebo congregation before seizing the -captive they had gagged and tied at the rear of the little church, -the fates were ordering a very different termination of the night’s -business. - -Miss Jerry Dangerfield, galloping away from the Duke of Ballywinkle, -with no thought but to widen the distance between them, turned off at -the first cross-road, which began well enough, but degenerated rapidly -into 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 -where labourers had lately been cutting timber, and she found, on -turning to make her way out, that she was quite lost, for three trails, -all seemingly alike, struck off into the forest. She spoke aloud to the -horse to reassure herself, and smiled as she viewed the grim phalanx -of stumps. She must, however, find her way back to Ardsley, for there -were times when Jerry Dangerfield could be very serious with herself, -though it rarely pleased her to be serious with other people; and she -knew that the time had long passed for her return to the house. If -her conspiracy with Thomas Ardmore had proved successful, the duke -would not return to the great house; but her own prolonged absence was -something that had not been in her programme. - -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 conduct in the moon-blanched road. It was not Jerry’s way -to accept misfortune tamely, and after circling the wall of timber -that shut her in, in the hope of determining where she had entered, -she chose a trail at random and plunged into the woods. She assumed -that probably all the roads and paths on the estate led more or less -directly, to the great house or to some lodge or bungalow. She had lost -her riding-crop in her mad flight, and she broke off a switch, tossing -its leaves into the moonlight and laughing softly as they rained about -her. - -Jerry began whistling gently to herself, for she had never been lost -before, 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 -brook that was silver to eye and ear, and let her horse stand midway of -it for joy in the sight and sound. She had kept no account of time, but -rather imagined that it had not been more than half an hour since the -Duke of Ballywinkle left her so unceremoniously. - -Suddenly ahead of her through the woods floated the sound of -singing--one of those strange, wavering _pieux cantiques_ peculiar -to the South. She rode on, thinking to find help and a guide back to -Ardsley; then the music ceased, and lights now flashed faintly before -her, but she went forward guardedly. - -“I’m much more lost than I thought I was, for I must be away off -the estate,” she reflected. She turned and rode back a few rods and -dismounted, and tied her horse to a sapling. She was disappointed -at not finding a camp of Ardmore’s woodcutters, to whom she could -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 the singing she had heard floated from the windows of -Mount Nebo Church. - -She became now the astonished witness of a series of incidents that -occurred so swiftly as fairly to take her breath away. A tall, loosely -articulated man came from the direction of the church and walked -toward her. She knelt at the tree and watched, the moonlight giving -her a clear view of a rustic somewhat past middle age, whose chief -characteristic seemed to be a grizzled beard and long arms that swung -oddly at his side. The brim of his wool hat was turned up sharply -from his forehead, and she had a glimpse of the small, keen gray eyes -with which he swept the forest before him. He freed a horse which she -had not before noticed, and she concluded that he would not approach -nearer, for she expected him to mount and ride away to join others -of the congregation whom she heard making off in a road beyond the -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, 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 better 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 he presented a grotesque -appearance. Jerry was so absorbed that she forgot to be afraid; never -in her life had she witnessed anything so amazing as this; and now, to -her more complete bewilderment, the captors, after carefully inspecting -their work and finding it satisfactory, seemed to disappear utterly -from the face of the earth. - -In the woods to her left she thought she heard a horse neigh; then she -saw shadows moving in that direction; and again, from the road, she -heard 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 friends -unless they came and helped him out of his predicament. - -It may help to an understanding of Miss Jerry Dangerfield’s character -if it is recorded here that never in her short life had she failed to -respond to the call of impulse. She was lost in the woods, and strange -men lurked about; a man had been attacked, seized, and left sitting in -a state of absurd helplessness on a horse presumably his own, and there -was no guessing what dire penalty his captors had in store for him. -He certainly 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 neighbourhood of the church; the lights had -blinked out; the bang of the closing shutters reassured Jerry, and she -crept on her knees toward the unconscious captive, loosed his horse’s -rein, and led it rapidly toward her own horse, a little farther back in -the woods. Her blindfolded prisoner, thinking his original captors were -carrying him off, renewed his efforts to free himself. He tested the -ropes and straps with which he was fastened by throwing himself first -to one side, then to the other, as far as his gyves would permit, at -the same time frothily chewing his gag. - -Jerry gained her own saddle in the least bit of a panic, and when -she had mounted and made sure of the leading-strap with which her -prisoner’s 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 listen, and heard through the still night first one cry -and then many voices in various keys of alarm and rage. Then she bent -toward the prisoner, tore the bandage from his eyes, and with more -difficulty freed him of the gag. He blinked and spluttered at this -unexpected deliverance, then blinked and spluttered afresh at seeing -that his captor was a young woman, who was plainly not of his world. -Jerry watched 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 -with me, thinking to save your life. I want to get home as quickly as -possible, and though I do not know you, and am quite sure we never met -before, I hope you will kindly guide me to Ardsley, and thereby render -me a service I shall always deeply appreciate.” - -Mr. Bill Appleweight, _alias_ Poteet, was well hardened to the shocks -of time, but this pleasant-voiced 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 -Jerry’s manner of speech had baffled more sophisticated minds than -Appleweight’s, and the sweet sincerity of her tone, and her frank -countenance, hallowed as it was by the moonlight, wrought in the -outlaw’s mind a befuddlement not wholly unlike that which had possessed -the wits of many young gallants south of the Potomac who had laid siege -to Jerry Dangerfield’s heart. But the cries behind them were more -pronounced, 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 the -voices behind. “You will kindly tell me the way, and I will accommodate -my pace to that of your own somewhat ill-nourished beast. And as -there’s a mob looking for you back there, all ready to hang you to one -of these noble forest trees, I advise you to use more haste and less -caution in pointing the way.” - -Appleweight lifted his head and took his bearings. Then he nodded -toward one of the three trails which had so baffled Jerry when first -she broke into 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 pass -one or two landmarks which she remembered from her flight through the -woods. As they splashed through the brook she had forded, she was -quite confident that the captive was playing her no trick, but that -in due course she should strike the highroad to Ardsley which she had -abandoned to throw off the Duke of Ballywinkle. - -It was now ten o’clock, 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. They presented -a droll picture as they moved through the forest--the girl, riding -cross-saddle, with the stolen captive trailing after. Occasionally Mr. -Appleweight seemed to be talking to himself, but whether he was praying -or swearing Jerry did not trouble herself to decide. It was enough for -her that she had found a guide out of the wilderness by stealing a -prisoner from his enemies, and this was amusing, and sent bubbling in -her heart those quiet springs of mirth that accounted for so much in -Jerry 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 of -her face. - -“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 intended to do you harm.” - -“I reckon they air skeered to foller us, gal. They air afeard to tackle -th’ ole man, onless they jump in two t’ one; and they cain’t tell who -helped me git away.” - -He laughed--a curious, chuckling laugh. He had ceased to struggle -at his bonds, but seemed resigned to his strange fate. He had not -answered Jerry’s question, and had no intention of doing so. The -sudden attack at the church had aroused all his cunning. Appleweight, -_alias_ Poteet, was an old wolf, and knew well the ways of the trapper; -but the bold attempt to kidnap him was a new feature of the game as -heretofore played along the border. He did not make it out; nor was -he wholly satisfied with the girl’s explanation of her own presence -in that out-of-the-way place. She might be a guest at Ardsley, as she -pretended, but women-folk were rarely seen on the estate, and never -in such remote corners of it as Mount Nebo Church. As he pondered the -matter, it seemed incredible that this remarkable young person, whose -innocence was so beguiling, should be in any way leagued with his foes. - -He had several times called out directions as they crossed other paths -in the forest, and they now reached the main trunk road of the estate. -The red bungalow, Jerry knew, was not far away. Her prisoner spoke -again. - -“Little gal, I’m an ole man, and I hain’t never done y’u no harm. -Your haouse 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----” and he 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 that -converged at this point, and Ardmore and Collins flashed out upon Jerry -and her captive, amid a wild panic of horses. - -Appleweight twisted and turned in his saddle, but Jerry instantly held -up her hand and arrested the inquiries of her deliverers. - -“Mr. Ardmore, this gentleman was most rudely set upon by two strangers -as he was leaving a church over there somewhere in the woods. I was -lost, and as his appearance at the time and place seemed almost -providential, I begged him to guide me toward home, which he has -most courteously done;” and Jerry, to give the proper touch to her -explanation, twitched the strap by which she held her prisoner’s horse, -so that it danced, adding a fresh absurdity to the wobbling figure of -its bound rider. - -“You are safe!” cried Ardmore in a low tone, to which Jerry nodded -carelessly, in a way that directed attention to the more immediate -business at hand. He was not at once sure of his cue, but there seemed -to be something familiar in the outlines of the man on horseback, and -full identification broke upon him now with astounding vividness. - -“Jugs,” he began, addressing the prisoner smilingly, “dear old Jugs, -to think we should meet again! Since you handed me that jug on the -rear end of the train, a few nights ago, life has had new meanings for -me, and I’m just as sorry as can be that I gave you the buttermilk. I -wouldn’t have done such a thing for billions in real money. And now -that you have fallen into the excellent hands of Miss Dangerfield----” - -“Dangerfield!” screamed the prisoner, lifting himself as high in the -saddle as his bonds would permit. - -“Certainly,” replied Ardmore. “Your rescuer is none other than Miss -Geraldine Dangerfield.” - -“Why, gal,” began the outlaw, “ef your pa’s the guv’nor of No’th -Caroline, 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 -had hung back in silence. “Unless my eyes deceive me, which is wholly -improbable, this is a gentleman whom I once interviewed in the county -jail 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 -an ole 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 train -at Kildare?” demanded Ardmore. “And why did you send your brother to -try to scare me to death at Raleigh?” - -“That is not the slightest importance,” interrupted Jerry, gently -playing with the tether which held Mr. Appleweight; “nor does it matter -that papa and this gentleman are friends. If this is, indeed, the -famous outlaw, Mr. William Appleweight, then, papa or no papa, friend -or no friend, 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 -the office of governor is concerned, it is capably filled by the young -gentleman on your left, Mr. Thomas Ardmore. Let us now adjourn to his -house, where, if I am not mistaken, a bit of cold fowl is usually to be -found on the sideboard at this hour. But hold”--and Jerry checked her -horse--“where can we lodge this gentleman, Mr. Ardmore, until we decide -upon his further fate?” - -“We might put him in the wine cellar,” suggested Ardmore. - -“No,” interposed Collins. “I fancy that much of your fluid stock -has paid revenue tax, and most of it has passed none too lightly -through the custom-house. It would be unwarrantably cruel to lock Mr. -Appleweight in such quarters, with the visible marks of taxation all -around him. Still, the sight of the stamps would probably destroy his -thirst, though his rugged independence might so far assert itself that -he would smash a few of your most expensive importations out of sheer -deviltry.” - -“He shall be treated with the greatest consideration,” said Jerry; and -thereafter, no further adventure befalling them, they reached Ardsley, -where their arrival occasioned the greatest excitement. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -A MEETING OF OLD FRIENDS. - - -Habersham’s men had proved exceedingly timid when it came to the -business of threshing the woods for Appleweight, whom they regarded -with a new awe, now that he had vanished so mysteriously. They had -searched the woods guardedly, but the narrow paths that led away into -the dim fastnesses of Ardsley were forbidding, and these men were not -without their superstitions. They had awaited for years an opportunity -to strike at the Appleweight faction; they had at last taken their -shot, and had seemingly brought down their bird; but their lack of -spirit in retrieving the game had been their undoing. They had only -aroused their most formidable enemy, who would undoubtedly lose no -time in seeking revenge. They were a dolorous band who, after warily -beating the woods, dispersed in the small hours of the morning, having -found nothing but Appleweight’s wool hat, which only added to their -mystification. - -“We ought to have taken him away on the run,” said Habersham -bitterly, as he and Griswold discussed the matter on the veranda of -the prosecutor’s house and watched the coming of the dawn. “I didn’t -realize that those fellows lived in such mortal terror of the old man; -but they refused to make off with him until the last of his friends had -got well out of the way. I ought to have had more sense myself than to -have expected the old fox to sit tied up like a calf ready for market. -We had all his friends accounted for--those that weren’t at prayer -meeting were marked down somewhere else, and we had a line flung pretty -well round the church. Appleweight’s deliverance must have come from -somewhere inside the Ardmore property. Perhaps the game warden picked -him up.” - -“Perhaps the Indians captured him,” suggested Griswold, yawning, “or -maybe some Martian came down on a parachute and hauled him up. Or, as -scarlet fever is raging at Mr. Ardmore’s castle”--and his tone was -icy--“Appleweight was probably seized all of a sudden, and broke away -in his delirium. Let’s go to bed.” - -At eight o’clock he and Habersham rode into Turner Court House, and -Griswold went at once to the inn to change his clothes. No further -steps could be taken until some definite report was received as to -Appleweight’s whereabouts. The men who had attempted the outlaw’s -capture had returned to their farms, and were most demurely cultivating -the soil. Griswold was thoroughly disgusted at the ridiculous failure -of Habersham’s plans, and not less severe upon himself for failing -to push matters to a conclusion the moment the outlaw was caught, -instead of hanging back to await the safe dispersion of the Mount Nebo -congregation. - -It had been the most puerile transaction possible, and he was aware -that a report of it, which he must wire at once to Miss Barbara -Osborne, would not impress that young woman with his capacity or -trustworthiness in difficult occasions. The iron that had already -entered into his soul drove deeper. He had ordered a fresh horse, and -was resolved to return to Mount Nebo Church for a personal study of the -ground in broad daylight. - -As he crossed the musty parlour of the little hotel, to his great -astonishment Miss Osborne’s black Phœbe, stationed where her eyes -ranged the whole lower floor of the inn, drew attention to herself in -an elaborate courtesy. - -“Miss Barb’ra wish me t’ say she done come heah on business, and she -like fo’ to see yo’ all right away. She done bring huh seddle, and war -a-gwine ridin’ twell you come back. She’s a-gittin’ ready, and I’ll go -tell huh you done come. She got a heap o’ trubble, thet young missis, -so she hev,” and the black woman’s pursed lips seemed to imply that -Professor Griswold was in some measure responsible for Miss Osborne’s -difficulties. - -As he stared out into the street a negro brought a horse bearing a -better saddle than Mingo County had ever boasted, and hitched it near -the horse he had secured for himself. An instant later he heard a quick -step above, and Miss Osborne, sedately followed by the black woman, -came downstairs. She smiled and greeted him cordially, but there was -trouble in her brown eyes. - -“I didn’t warn you of my coming. I didn’t want to be a nuisance to -you; but there’s a new--a most unaccountable perplexity. It doesn’t -seem right to burden you with it--you have already been so kind about -helping me; but I dare not turn to our oldest friends--I have been -afraid to trust father’s friends at all since Mr. Bosworth acted so -traitorously.” - -“My time is entirely at your service, Miss Osborne; but I have a -shameful report to make of myself. I must tell you how miserably I -have failed, before you trust me any further. We--that is to say, the -prosecuting attorney of this county and a party he got together of -Appleweight’s enemies--caught the outlaw last night--took him with the -greatest ease--but he got away from us! It was all my fault, and I’m -deeply disgusted with myself!” - -He described the capture and the subsequent mysterious disappearance of -Appleweight, and confessed the obvious necessity for great caution in -further attempts to take the outlaw, now that he was on guard. Barbara -laughed reassuringly at the end of the story. - -“Those men must have felt funny when they went back to get the prisoner -and found that he had gone up into the air. But there’s a new feature -of the case that’s more serious than the loss of this man----” and the -trouble again possessed her eyes. - -“Well, it’s better not to have our problems too simple. Any lawyer can -win an easy case--though I seem to have lost my first one for you,” he -added penitently. - -She made no reply, but drew from her purse a cutting from a newspaper -and handed it to him. - -“That’s from last night’s Columbia _Vidette_, which is very hostile to -my father.” - -He was already running over the heavily leaded column that set forth -without equivocation the fact that Governor Osborne had not been in -Columbia since he went to New Orleans. It scouted the story that -he was abroad in the state on official business connected with the -Appleweight case--the yam which Griswold had forced upon the friendly -reporter at the telegraph office in Columbia. The governor of a state, -the _Vidette_ went on to elaborate, could not vanish without leaving -some trace of himself, and a _Vidette_ representative had traced the -steps of Governor Osborne from New Orleans until--the italics are -the _Vidette’s_--he had again entered South Carolina _under cover of -night and for purposes which, for the honour of the state, the Vidette -hesitated to disclose_. - -The writer of the article had exhausted the possibilities of gentle -suggestion and vague innuendo in an effort to create an impression of -mystery and to pique curiosity as to further developments, which were -promised at any hour. Griswold’s wrath was aroused, not so much against -the newspaper, which he assumed had some fire for its smothered trifle -of smoke, but against the governor of South Carolina himself, who was -causing the finest and noblest girl in the world infinite anxiety and -pain. - -“The thing is preposterous,” he said lightly. “The idea that your -father would attempt to enter his own state surreptitiously is -inconceivable in these days when public men are denied all privacy, and -when it’s any man’s right to deceive the press if he finds it essential -to his own comfort and peace; but the intimation that your father is -in South Carolina for any dishonourable purpose is preposterous. One -thing, however, is certain, Miss Osborne, and that is that we must -produce your father at the earliest possible moment.” - -“But”--and Barbara hesitated, and her eyes, near tears as they were, -wrought great havoc in Griswold’s soul--“but father must not be found -until this Appleweight matter is settled. You understand without making -me speak the words--that he might not exactly view the matter as we do.” - -It was a painful subject; and the fact that she was driven by sheer -force of circumstances to appeal to him, a stranger, to aid her to -perform a public service in her father’s name rallied all his good -impulses to her standard. It was too delicate a matter for discussion; -it was a thing to be ignored; and he assumed at once a lighter tone. - -“Come! We must solve the riddle of the lost prisoner at once, and your -father will undoubtedly give an excellent account of himself when he -gets ready. Meanwhile the fiction that he is personally carrying the -war into the Appleweight country must be maintained, and I shall step -to the railway station and wire the Columbia newspaper in his name that -he is in Mingo County on the trail of the outlaws.” - -The messages were composed by their joint efforts at the station, -with not so much haste but that an associate professor of admiralty, -twenty-nine years old, could defer in the most trifling matters to the -superior literary taste of a girl of twenty whose brown eyes were very -pleasant to meet in moments of uncertainty and appeal. - -He signed the messages Charles Osborne, Governor, with a flourish -indicative of the increased confidence and daring which Miss Osborne’s -arrival had brought to the situation. - -“And now,” said Griswold, as they rode through the meagre streets of -Turner’s, “we will go to Mount Nebo Church and see what we can learn of -Appleweight’s disappearance.” - -“The North Carolina papers are making a great deal of Governor -Dangerfield’s activity in trying to put down outlawry on the border,” -said Barbara. “Marked copies of the newspapers are pouring into papa’s -office. I can but hold Mr. Bosworth responsible for that. We may count -upon it that he will do all in his power to annoy us”--and then, as -Griswold looked at her quickly, he was aware that she had coloured and -averted her eyes; and while, as a lawyer, he was aware that words of -two letters might be provocative of endless litigation of the bitterest -sort, he had never known before that us, in itself the homeliest of -words, could cause so sweet a distress. It seemed that an interval of -several years passed before either spoke again. - -“We are quite near the estate of your friend, Mr. Ardmore, aren’t we?” -asked Barbara presently. - -“I fancy we are,” replied Griswold, but with a tone so coldly at -variance with his previous cordial references to the master of Ardsley -that Barbara looked at him inquiringly. - -“I’m sorry that I should have given you the impression, Miss Osborne, -that Mr. Ardmore and I are friends, as I undoubtedly did at Columbia. -He has, for some unaccountable reason, cut my acquaintance in a manner -so unlike him that I do not pretend to explain it; nor, I may add, is -it of the least importance.” - -“I was a little surprised,” returned Barbara, with truly feminine -instinct for mingling in the balm of consolation the bitterest and -most poisonous herbs, “that you should have had for a friend a man who -frankly follows girls whose appearance he fancies. Even Mr. Ardmore’s -democratic enthusiasm for the downtrodden laundry girl does not wholly -mitigate the winking episode.” - -“He had, only a few days ago, invited me to visit him, though I had -been to his house so often that the obscurest servant knew that I was -privileged even beyond the members of Mr. Ardmore’s own family in my -freedom of the place. When I saw that his house would be a convenient -point from which to study the Appleweight situation, I wired him that I -was on the way, and to my utter amazement he replied that he could not -entertain me--that scarlet fever was epidemic on the estate--on those -almost uncounted acres!” - -And with a gulp and a mist in his eyes, Griswold drew rein and pointed, -from a hill that had now borne them to a considerable height, toward -Ardsley itself, dreamily basking in the bright morning sunlight within -its cinture of hills, meadows, and forest. - -“I never saw the place before! It’s perfectly splendid!” cried Barbara, -forgetting that Griswold must be gazing upon it with the eyes of an -exile viewing grim, forbidding battlements that once hailed him in -welcome. - -“It’s one of the most interesting houses in America,” observed -Griswold, who strove at all times to be just. - -“There’s a flag flying--I can’t make out what it is,” said Barbara. - -“It’s probably to give warning of the scarlet fever; it would be like -Ardy to do that. But we must hurry on to Mount Nebo.” - -He knew the ways of Ardsley thoroughly; better, in fact, than its owner -ever had in old times; but in his anger at Ardmore he would not set -foot on the estate if he could possibly avoid doing so in reaching the -scene of the night’s contretemps. He found without difficulty the -trail taken by Habersham’s men, and in due course of time they left -their horses a short distance from the church and proceeded on foot. - -“It seems all the stupider in broad daylight,” said Griswold, after he -had explained just what had occurred, and how the captors, in their -superstitious awe of Appleweight, had been afraid to carry him off the -moment they were sure of him, but had slipped back among their fellows -to wait until the coast was perfectly clear. To ease his deep chagrin -Barbara laughed a good deal at the occurrence as they tramped over the -scene discussing it. They went into the woods back of the church, where -Griswold began to exercise his reasoning powers. - -“Some one must have come in from this direction and freed the man and -taken him away,” he declared. - -He knelt and marked the hoof-prints where Appleweight had been left -tied; but the grass here was much trampled, and Griswold was misled by -the fact, not knowing that news of Appleweight’s strange disappearance -had passed among the outlaw’s friends by the swift telegraphy of the -border, and that the whole neighbourhood had been threshed over hours -before. It might have been some small consolation to Griswold had he -known that Appleweight’s friends and accomplices were as much at a -loss to know what had become of the chieftain as the men who had tried -so ineffectually to kidnap him. From the appearance of the trampled -grass many men had taken a hand in releasing the prisoner, and this -impression did not clarify matters for Griswold. - -“Where does this path lead?” asked Barbara. - -“This is Ardsley land here, this side of the church, and that -trail leads on, if I remember, to the main Ardsley highway, with -which various other roads are connected--many miles in all. It’s -inconceivable that the deliverers of this outlaw should have taken him -into the estate, where a sort of police system is maintained by the -forestry corps. I don’t at all make it out.” - -He went off to explore the heavy woods on each side of the trail that -led into Ardsley, but without result. When he came gloomily back he -found that in his absence Barbara had followed the bridle-path for a -considerable distance, and she held out to him a diminutive pocket -handkerchief, which had evidently been snatched away from its owner--so -Barbara explained--by a low-hanging branch of an oak, and flung into -a blackberry bush, where she had found it. It was a trifle, indeed, -the slightest bit of linen, which they held between them by its four -corners and gravely inspected. - -“Feminine, beyond a doubt,” pronounced Griswold sagely. - -“It’s a good handkerchief, and here are two initials worked in the -corner that may tell us something--‘G. D.’ It probably belongs to some -guest at Ardsley. And there’s a very faint suggestion of orris--it’s a -city handkerchief,” said Barbara with finality, “but it has suffered -a trifle in the laundry, as this edge is the least bit out of drawing -from careless ironing.” - -“And I should say, from a certain crispness it still retains, that it -hasn’t been in the forest long. It hasn’t been rained on, at any rate,” -added Griswold. - -“But even the handkerchief doesn’t tell us anything,” said Barbara, -spreading it out, “except that some woman visitor has ridden here -within a few days and played drop the handkerchief with herself or -somebody else to us unknown.” - -“She may have been a scarlet fever patient from Ardsley; you’d better -have a care!” And Griswold’s tone was bitter. - -“I’m not afraid; and as I have never been so near Ardsley before, I -should like to ride in and steal a glimpse. There’s little danger of -meeting the lord of the manor, I suppose, or any of his guests at this -hour, and we need not go near the house.” - -He saw that she was really curious, and it was not in his heart to -refuse her, so they followed the bridle-path through the cool forest, -and came in due course to the clearing where Jerry had first confessed -herself lost, and thereafter had suffered the captured outlaw to point -her the way home. - -“The timber has been cut here since my last visit, but I remember the -bridle-paths very well. They all reach the highroad of the estate -ultimately. We may safely take this one, which has been the most used, -and which climbs a hill that gives a fine outlook.” - -The path he chose had really been beaten into better condition than -either of the others, and they rode side by side now. A deer feeding on -a grassy slope raised its head and stared at them, and a fox scampered -wildly before them. It seemed that they were shut in from all the -world, these two, who but a few days before had never seen each other, -and it was a relief to him to find that she threw off her troubles -and became more animated and cheerful than he had yet seen her. His -comments on her mount, which was sorry enough, were amusing; and she -paused now and then to peer into the tops of the tallest trees, under -the pretence that Appleweight had probably reverted to the primordial -and might be found at any minute in one of the branches above them. Her -dark-green habit, and the soft hat to match, with its little feather -thrust into the side, spoke for real usage; and the gauntleted hand -that swung lightly at her side inadvertently brushed his own once--and -he knew that this must not happen again! When their eyes met it was -with frank confidence on her part, and it seemed to him that they were -very old friends, and that they had been riding through this forest, -or one identical with it, since the world began. It is thus that a man -with any imagination feels first about a woman who begins to interest -him--that there was never any beginning to their acquaintance that -can be reckoned as time and experience are measured, but that he has -known her for countless years; and if there be a poetic vein in him, he -will indulge in such fancies as that he has seen her as a priestess of -Aphrodite in the long ago, dreaming upon the temple steps; or that he -has watched her skipping pebbles upon the violet storied sea against -a hazy background of cities long crumbled into dust. Such fancies as -these are a part of love’s gentle madness, and luckier than she knows -is the girl who awakens in a lover this eager idealization. If he -can turn a verse for her in which she is added to the sacred Nine, -personifying all sweet, gentle, and gracious things, so much the better. - -Just what he, on the other hand, may mean to her; just what form of -deification he evokes in her, he can never know; for the women who -write of such matters have never been those who are sincere or worth -heeding, and they never will be, so long as woman’s heart remains -what it has been from the beginning--far-hidden, and filled with -incommunicable secret beliefs and longings, and tremulous with fears -that are beyond man’s power to understand. - -Griswold had missed the white rose that he had begun to associate with -Barbara, and he grew suddenly daring and spoke of it. - -“You haven’t your rose to-day.” - -“Oh, I’m beyond the source of supply! I have a young friend, a girl, -who makes her living as a florist--not a purely commercial enterprise, -for she experiments and develops new varieties, and is quite wonderful; -and that white rose is her own creation--it is becoming well known. She -named it for me, and she sends me at least one every day--she says it’s -my royalty--if that’s what you lawyers call that sort of thing.” - -“We lawyers rarely have anything so interesting as that to apply the -word to! So that rose is the Barbara?” and it gave him a feeling of -recklessness to find himself speaking her name aloud. “There are large -conservatories on the estate, over there somewhere; I might risk the -scarlet fever by attacking the gardener and demanding a Barbara for -you.” - -“I’m afraid my little flower hasn’t attained to the grandeur of -Ardsley,” she laughed. “But pray, where are we?” - -They had reached the highroad much sooner than Griswold had expected, -and he checked his horse abruptly, remembering that he was _persona non -grata_ on this soil. - -“We must go back; I mustn’t be seen here. The workmen are scattered all -about the place, and they all know me.” - -“Oh, just a little farther! I want to see the towers of the castle!” - -If she had asked him to jump into the sea he would not have hesitated; -and he was so happy at being with her that his heart sang defiance to -Ardmore and the splendours of Ardsley. - -They were riding now toward the red bungalow, where he had often -sprawled on the broad benches and chaffed with Ardmore for hours at -a time. Tea was served here sometimes when there were guests at the -house; and Griswold wondered just who were included in the party -that his quondam friend was entertaining, and how Mrs. Atchison was -progressing in her efforts to effect a match between Daisy Waters and -her brother. - -The drives were nearly all open to the public, so that by the letter -of the law he was no intruder; but beyond the bungalow he must not go. -Sobered by the thought of his breach with Ardmore, he resolved not to -pass the bungalow whose red roof was now in sight. - -“It’s like a fairy place, and I feel that there can be no end to it,” -Barbara was saying. “But it isn’t kind to urge you in. We certainly are -doing nothing to find Appleweight, and it must be nearly noon.” - -It was just then--he vividly recalls the moment--as Griswold felt in -his waistcoat for his watch, that Miss Jerry Dangerfield, with Thomas -Ardmore at her side, galloped into view. They were racing madly, -like irresponsible children, and bore boisterously down upon the two -pilgrims. - -Jerry and Ardmore, hatless and warm, were pardonably indignant at thus -being arrested in their flight, and the master of Ardsley, feeling for -once the dignity of his proprietorship, broke out stormily. - -“I would have you know--I would have you know----” he roared, and then -his voice failed him. He stared; he spluttered; he busied himself -with his horse, which was dancing in eagerness to resume the race. -He quieted the beast, which nevertheless arched and pawed like a -war-horse, and then the master of Ardsley bawled: - -“Grissy! I say, Grissy!” - -Miss Osborne and Professor Griswold, on their drooping Mingo County -nondescripts, made a tame picture before Ardmore and his fair companion -on their Ardsley hunters. The daughter of the governor of South -Carolina looked upon the daughter of the governor of North Carolina -with high disdain, and it need hardly be said that this feeling, as -expressed by glacial glances, was evenly reciprocal, and that in the -contemptuous upward tilt of two charming chins the nicest judgment -would have been necessary to any fair opinion as to which state had the -better argument. - -The associate professor of admiralty was known as a ready debater, and -he quickly returned his former friend’s salutation, and in much the -contumelious tone he would have used in withering an adversary before a -jury. - -“Pardon me, but are you one of the employees here?” - -“Why, Grissy, old man, don’t look at me like that! How did you----” - -“I owe your master an apology for riding upon his property at a time -when pestilence is giving you cause for so much concern. The death-rate -from scarlet fever is deplorably high----” - -“Oh, Grissy!” cried Ardmore. - -“You have addressed me familiarly, by a nickname sometimes used by -intimate friends, though I can’t for the life of me recall you. I want -you to know that I am here in an official capacity, on an errand for -the state of South Carolina.” - -Miss Dangerfield’s chin, which had dropped a trifle, pointed again into -the blue ether. - -“You will pardon me,” she said, “but an agent of the state of South -Carolina is far exceeding his powers when he intrudes upon North -Carolina soil.” - -“The state of South Carolina does what it pleases and goes where it -likes,” declared Miss Barbara Osborne warmly, whereupon Mr. Ardmore, at -a glance from his coadjutor, waxed righteously indignant. - -“It’s one thing, sir, for you to ride in here as a sightseer, but quite -another for you to come representing an unfriendly state. You will -please choose which view of the matter I shall take, and I shall act -accordingly.” - -Griswold’s companion spoke to him earnestly in a low tone for a moment, -and then Griswold addressed Ardmore incisively. - -“I don’t know what you pretend to be, sir; but it may interest you to -know that _I_ am the governor of South Carolina!” - -“And this gentleman,” cried Jerry, pointing to Ardmore with her -riding-crop, “though his hair is mussed and his scarf visibly untied, -is none other than the governor of North Carolina, and he is not only -on his own property, but in the sovereign state of which he is the -chief executive.” - -Professor Griswold lifted his hat with the least flourish. - -“I congratulate the state of North Carolina on having reposed authority -in hands so capable. If this young lady is correct, sir, I will serve -official notice on you that I have reason to believe that a person -named Appleweight, a fugitive from justice, is hiding on your property -and in your state, and I now formally demand that you surrender him -forthwith.” - -“If I may introduce myself,” interposed Jerry, “I will say to you that -my name is Geraldine Dangerfield, and that this Appleweight person is -now at Mr. Ardmore’s house.” - -“I suppose,” replied Miss Osborne with gentle irony, “that he has the -pink parlour and leads the conversation at table.” - -“You are quite mistaken,” replied Ardmore; “but if it would afford -you any satisfaction to see the outlaw you may look upon him in my -wine cellar, where, only an hour ago, I left him sitting on a case of -Chateau Bizet ’82. My further intentions touching this scoundrelly -South Carolinian I need not now disclose; but I give you warning that -the Appleweight issue will soon and for ever be terminated, and in a -manner that will greatly redound to the credit and the glory of the Old -North State.” - -Professor Griswold’s hand went to his moustache with a gesture that -smote Ardmore, for he knew that it hid that inscrutable smile that had -always baffled him. - -“I trust,” said Griswold, “that the prisoner, whom we cannot for -a moment concede to be the real Appleweight, will not be exposed -to scarlet fever, pending a settlement of this matter. It is my -understanding that the Bizet ’82 is a fraudulent vintage that has never -been nearer France than Paris, Illinois, and if the prisoner in your -cellar drinks of it I shall hold you officially responsible for the -consequences. And now, I have the honour to bid you both good-morning.” - -He and Barbara swung their horses round and retraced their way, leaving -Ardmore and Jerry gazing after them. - -When the shabby beasts from the stable at Turner Court House had borne -Miss Osborne and Griswold out of sight beyond the bungalow, Ardmore -turned blankly to Jerry. - -“Have I gone blind or anything? Unless I’m crazy that was dear old -Grissy, but who is that girl?” - -“That is Miss Barbara Osborne, and I hope she has learned such a -lesson that she will not be snippy to me any more, if she _is_ the -president-general of the Daughters of the Seminole War.” - -“But where do you suppose she found Grissy?” - -“I don’t know, I’m sure; nor, Mr. Ardmore, do I care.” - -“He said he represented the state of South Carolina--do you suppose the -governor has really employed him?” - -“I do not,” said Jerry emphatically; “for he appears intelligent, and -intelligence is something that would never appeal to Governor Osborne. -It is quite possible,” mused Jerry aloud, “that Miss Osborne’s father -had disappeared like mine, and that she is running his office with Mr. -Griswold’s aid. If so, we shall probably have some fun before we get -through with this.” - -“If that’s true we shall have more than fun!” exclaimed Ardmore, -thoroughly aroused. “You don’t know Grissy. He’s the smartest man -alive, and if he’s running this Appleweight case for Governor Osborne, -he’ll keep us guessing. Why did I ever send him that scarlet fever -telegram, anyhow? He’ll fight harder than ever for that, and all I -wanted was to keep him away until we had got all through with this -business here, so I could show him what a great man I had been, and how -I had been equal to an opportunity when it offered.” - -“I wish you to remember, Mr. Ardmore, that you still have _your_ -opportunity, and that I expect you to carry this matter through to a -safe conclusion and to the honour of the Old North State.” - -“I have no intention of failing, Miss Dangerfield;” and with this they -turned and rode slowly back toward the house. - -Professor Griswold and Miss Osborne were silent until the forest again -shut them in. - -Then, in a sequestered spot, Griswold suddenly threw up his head and -laughed long and loud. - -“It doesn’t strike me as being so amusing,” remarked Miss Osborne. -“They have Appleweight in their wine cellar, and I don’t see for the -life of me how we are going to get him out.” - -“What’s funny, Miss Osborne, is Ardy--that he and I should be pitted -against each other in a thing of this kind is too utterly ridiculous. -Ardy acting as governor of North Carolina beats anything that ever -happened on this continent. But how do you suppose he ever met Miss -Dangerfield, who certainly is a self-contained young woman?” - -“The answer to that riddle is so simple,” replied Miss Osborne, “that -I am amazed that you fail to see it for yourself. Miss Dangerfield is -undoubtedly the girl with the winking eye.” - -“Oh no!” protested Griswold. - -“I don’t hesitate to announce that as a fact. Miss Geraldine -Dangerfield, beyond any question, is the young lady whom Mr. Ardmore, -your knight-errant friend, went forth for to seek. Just how they met we -shall perhaps learn later on. But just now it seems rather necessary -for us to adopt some plan of action, unless you feel that you do not -wish to oppose your friend.” - -“Oppose him! I have got to whip him to the dust if I shake down the -very towers of his stronghold! It’s well we have the militia on the -road. With the state army at our back we can show Tommy Ardmore a -few things in state administration that are not dreamed of in his -philosophy.” - -“Do you suppose they really have Appleweight?” asked Barbara. - -“Not for a minute! They told us that story merely to annoy us when they -found what we were looking for. That touch about the wine cellar is -characteristically Ardmoresque. If they had Appleweight you may be sure -they wouldn’t keep him on the premises.” - -Whereupon they rode back to Turner Court House much faster than they -had come. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE PRISONER IN THE CORN-CRIB. - - -Jerry and Ardmore sat at a long table in the commodious Ardsley -library, which was a modification of a Gothic chapel. It was on the -upper floor, with broad windows that had the effect of bringing the -landscape indoors, and the North Carolina sky is, we must concede, a -pleasant thing to have at one’s elbow. A large accumulation of mail -from the governor’s office at Raleigh had been forwarded, and Jerry -insisted that it must be opened and disposed of in some way. Governor -Dangerfield was, it appeared, a subscriber to a clipping bureau, and -they had been examining critically a batch of cuttings relating to the -New Orleans incident. Most of them were in a frivolous key, playfully -reviving the ancient query as to what the governor of North Carolina -really said to the governor of South Carolina. Others sought causes for -the widely-reported disappearance of the two governors; and still other -reports boldly maintained that Governors Dangerfield and Osborne were -at their capitals engaged in the duties of their respective offices. - -“It’s a good thing we got hold of Collins,” observed Ardmore, putting -down a clipping from a New York paper in which the reports of Governor -Dangerfield’s disappearance were analyzed and tersely dismissed; “for -he knows how to write, and he’s done a splendid picture of your father -on his throne attending to business; and his little stingers for -Osborne are the work of genius.” - -“There’s a certain finish about Mr. Collins’s lying that is -refreshing,” replied Jerry, “and I cannot help thinking that he has a -brilliant future before him if he enters politics. Nothing pains me -more than a careless, ill-considered, silly lie, which is the best that -most people can do. But it would be very interesting to know whether -Governor Osborne has really disappeared, or just how your friend the -Virginia professor has seized the reins of state. Do you suppose he got -a jug from somewhere, and met Miss Osborne and----” - -“Do you think--do you think--she may have--er--possibly--closed one eye -in his direction?” asked Ardmore dubiously. - -“Mr. Ardmore”--and Jerry pointed at him with a bronze paper-cutter to -make sure of his attention--“Mr. Ardmore, if you ever imply again by -act, word, or deed that I winked at you I shall never, never speak -to you again. I should think that a man with a nice sister like Mrs. -Atchison would have a better opinion of women than you seem to have. I -never saw you until you came to my father’s house to tell me about the -jug--and you know I didn’t. And as for that Barbara Osborne, while I -don’t doubt that even in South Carolina a Daughter of the Seminole War -might wink at a gentleman in a moment of extreme provocation, I doubt -if she did, for she lacks animation, and has no more soul than a gum -overshoe.” - -The obvious inconsistency of this pronouncement caused Ardmore to frown -in the stress of his thought; and he stared helplessly along the line -of the accusing paper-cutter into Jerry’s eyes. - -“Oh, cheer up!” she cried in her despair of him; “and forget it, forget -it, forget it! I’ll say this to you, Mr. Ardmore, that if I ever winked -at you--and I never, never did--I’m sorry I did it! Some time when -you haven’t so much work on your hands as you have this morning just -think that over and let me know where you land. And now, look at these -things, please.” - -“What is all this stuff?” he demanded, as she tossed him a pile of -papers. - -“They refer to the application for pardon of a poor man who’s going to -be hanged for murder to-morrow unless we do something for him; and he -has a wife and three little children, and he has never committed any -other crime but to break into a smoke-house and steal a side of bacon.” - -“Did he shoot in self-defence, or how was it?” asked Ardmore judicially. - -“He killed a painless dentist who pulled the wrong tooth,” answered -Jerry, referring to the papers. - -“If that’s all I don’t think we can stand for hanging him. I read a -piece against capital punishment in a magazine once, and the arguments -were very strong. The killing of a dentist should not be a crime -anyhow, and if you know how to pardon a man, why let’s do it; but we’d -better wait until the last minute, and then send a telegram to the -sheriff to stop the proceedings just before he pulls the string, which -makes it most impressive, and gives a better effect.” - -“I believe you are right about it,” said Jerry. “There’s an old pardon -right here in this bundle which we can use. It was made out for another -man who stole a horse that afterwards died, which papa said was a -mitigating circumstance; but the week before his execution the man -escaped from jail before papa could pardon him.” - -“Suppose we don’t let them hang anybody while we’re running the state,” -suggested Ardmore; “it’s almost as though you murdered a man yourself, -and I couldn’t tie my neckties afterwards without a guilty feeling. I -can’t imagine anything more disagreeable than to be hanged. I heard all -of _Tristan und Isolde_ once, and I have seen half an Ibsen play, and -those were hard things to bear, but I suppose hanging would be just as -painful, and there would be no supper afterwards to cheer you up.” - -“You shouldn’t speak in that tone of _Afterwards_, Mr. Ardmore,” said -Jerry severely. “It isn’t religious. And while we’re on the subject of -religion, may I ask the really, truly wherefore of Miss Daisy Waters’s -sudden return to Newport?” and Jerry’s tone and manner were carelessly -demure. - -“She went home,” replied Ardmore, grinning; “she left Ardsley for two -reasons, one of which she stated at the breakfast-table and the other -she handed me privately.” - -“She said at the breakfast-table that she was called home by incipient -whooping-cough in the household of her brother-in-law’s cousin’s -family.” - -“As she has no brother-in-law, that cannot be true. What she said to me -privately was that the house party had grown very much larger than Mrs. -Atchison had originally planned it, and that I am so busy that so many -guests must be a burden.” - -Jerry stroked her cheek reflectively. - -“I thought Miss Waters wouldn’t last long after I asked her if -rusty-nail water really would remove freckles. My own freckles are -exactly seven in number, and I am not ashamed of them; but Miss Waters -seemed very sensitive on the subject, though I thought her freckles -useful in diverting attention from her drug-store hair.” - -“Did you say seven?” inquired Ardmore, gazing eagerly into Jerry’s -face. “I make it only six, and there’s one away over there under your -left eye that seems very lonesome, as though it suffered keenly from -being so far away from its brothers and sisters on the other side of -your nose.” - -“Mr. Ardmore”--and Jerry again indicated the person addressed by -pointing with the paper-cutter--“Mr. Ardmore, it is downright impudent -of you to talk to me about my appearance in any terms, but when you -speak of my face as though it were a map in a geography and of my -freckles as though they were county seats, or lakes, or strange places -in China, then I must protest with all my strength. If you don’t change -the subject immediately I shall refuse to pardon this person who killed -the painless dentist, and he shall be hanged by the neck till he be -dead; and you, Mr. Thomas Ardmore, will be guilty of his murder.” - -The discussion of Miss Jerry Dangerfield’s freckles ceased abruptly on -the appearance of Big Paul, the forester. - -“A body of South Carolina militia is marching across country from the -south. One of my men heard of it down at Turner Court House last night, -and rode to where the troops were encamped. He learned that it was a -practice march for the militia. There’s several companies of infantry, -so he reports, and a piece of artillery.” - -“Bully for old Grissy!” exclaimed Ardmore. “They’re coming this way, -are they, Paul?” And the three bent over the map. - -“That is the place, sir. They seem to be planning to get around -Turner’s without stirring up the town. But it would take a good deal to -wake up Turner’s,” laughed the big German. - -Jerry placed her finger on the state line. - -“If they dare cross that--if they as much as dare!” - -“If they dare we shall show them a few things.--Take all the men you -need, Paul, to watch their movements. That will do.” - -The forester lingered. - -“You remember that we spoke the other day of the log house on Raccoon -Creek, where the Appleweights had driven off our man?” - -“Yes, Paul. It is where the state line crosses the heavy woods and -the farthest outpost, so to speak, on my property. When you cross -the little creek, you’re in South Carolina. You said some of these -Appleweight fellows had been cutting off the timber down there, if I -remember rightly.” - -“Yes, sir,” replied the forester, twirling his cap awkwardly. “But some -of the people on the estate have said----” - -He broke off in an embarrassment so unlike him that Jerry and Ardmore -looked at him curiously. - -“Well, Paul, what’s the matter? If the cabin has been burned down it’s -no serious matter.” - -“Why, sir; some of the men passing there at night say they see lights -and hear sounds in the cabin, though no one from the estate goes there. -A child died in the house last spring, and--well, you know how some of -these people are!” - -“Ghosts!” cried Ardmore. “The property is growing more valuable all -the time! Tell them that whoever captures the ghost and brings it here -shall have a handsome present. So far it’s only a light in an abandoned -house--is that it?” - -“Well, they say it’s very strange,” and it was clear that the German -was not wholly satisfied to have his employer laugh off the story. - -“Cheer up, Paul. We have bigger business on hand than the chasing of -ghosts just now. When we get through with these other things I’ll go -over there myself and take a look at the spook.” - -As Paul hurried away, Jerry seized a pen and wrote this message: - - Rutherford Gillingwater, - Adjutant-General, Camp Dangerfield, - Azbell, N. C.: - - Move all available troops by shortest route to Kildare at once and - report to me personally at Ardsley. Make no statements to newspapers. - Answer. - - DANGERFIELD, - Governor. - -“I guess that will bring him running,” said Ardmore, calling a servant -and ordering the message despatched immediately. “But when he comes, -expecting to report to the governor and finds that he isn’t here, what -do you suppose he will do?” - -“Mr. Ardmore,” began Jerry, in the tone of sweet tolerance with which -one arraigns a hopeless child--“Mr. Ardmore, there are times when you -tax my patience severely. You don’t seem to grasp the idea that we are -not making explanations to inferiors in our administration. Colonel -Gillingwater will undoubtedly be a good deal surprised to get that -message, but when the first shock is over he will obey the orders of -his commander-in-chief. And the fact that he is ordered to report to -Ardsley will not be lost on him, for he will see in that a possible -social opportunity, and a chance to wear some of his uniforms that he -has never worn before. He will think that papa is really here to test -the efficiency of the troops, and that as papa is a guest at Ardsley, -which we know he isn’t, there will probably be some great social -functions in this house, with papa’s staff dressed up and all shiny in -gold braid. Since Rutherford Gillingwater had the typhoid fever during -the Spanish War I have not been sure that he is as much interested in -fighting as he is in the purely circus work of being a soldier. I just -now recall that when papa was about to order out the troops to stop a -railroad strike last spring, Rutherford Gillingwater went to all the -trouble of having tonsilitis, and was so ill that he could hardly leave -his room even after the strike had been settled by arbitration. If he -knew that there was likely to be a terrible battle over here instead of -nice long dinners and toasts to ‘The Old North State,’ ‘Our Governor,’ -and ‘The Governor’s Daughter,’ his old wounds, that he never had, might -trouble him so that they’d have to wrap him up in cotton and carry him -home.” - -Before luncheon a message was received from Gillingwater, to this -effect: - - Governor William Dangerfield. - Ardsley, N. C.: - - En route with our entire available force in the field. I am riding - ahead with all speed, and will report at Ardsley at nine o’clock. Is - full military dress _de rigueur_? - - GILLINGWATER, Adjutant-General. - -“Isn’t that just like Rutherford! He’s afraid he won’t be dressy -enough; but if he knew that the South Carolina troops might shoot holes -in his uniform he wouldn’t be due here for a couple of weeks, instead -of at nine o’clock to-night;” and Jerry laughed merrily. - -They debated more seriously this telegram from Collins at Raleigh sent -the previous evening: - - Can’t maintain this bluff much longer. Even the friendly newspapers - are growing suspicious. State credit jeopardized by disappearance of - Treasurer Foster. Billings, of Bronx Loan and Trust, here in a great - fury over bond matter. Do you know governor’s whereabouts? - -“Things are certainly growing more exciting,” was Ardmore’s comment. -“I suppose even a gifted liar like Collins can’t muzzle the press for -ever.” - -“You can’t go on fooling all North Carolina all the time, either,” said -Jerry, “and I suppose when papa gets tired of being scared he will turn -up in Raleigh and tell some plausible story about where he has been and -what has happened. When it comes to being plausible no one can touch -papa.” - -“Maybe he’s dead,” suggested Ardmore gloomily. - -“That’s a real inspiration on your part, Mr. Ardmore; and it’s very -sweet of you to mention it, but I have no idea that any harm has -come to papa. It’s too much trouble to get elected governor, without -dying in office, and besides, papa is none too friendly with the -lieutenant-governor, and would never think of allowing such a person to -succeed him. But those bonds seem rather serious, and I don’t like the -idea of your Mr. Billings making a fuss at Raleigh.” - -“That will be all right,” remarked Ardmore, blotting the last of a -number of telegrams which he had been writing, and pressing a button. -“It’s much more important for us to get Appleweight into a South -Carolina jail; and it’s not going to be so easy to do, now that Grissy -is working on the other side, and angry at me about that scarlet fever -telegram. - -“There may be trouble,” said Ardmore to his guests as they sat at -luncheon. “But I should hate to have it said that my guests could not -be taken care of here perfectly. I beg that you will all remain.” - -“If there’s to be a row, why don’t you call the police and be done with -it?” asked a sad young member of the company. His motor number had so -often figured in reports of speed law violations that he was known as -Eighteen Eighty. “I thought you came down here for quiet and not to get -into trouble, Ardy.” - -“If I miss my steamer nine days from to-day, and meanwhile have to eat -horse meat, just as they did in the siege of Paris, I shall be greatly -provoked, to say the least,” remarked Mrs. Atchison pleasantly; for -her brother’s amazing awakening delighted her, and it was a cheering -experience that he promised, of civil war, battle, murder, and sudden -death. - -“I think I shall spend more time in America after this,” remarked -Eighteen Eighty. “I did not know that amusing things ever happened over -here. What did you say the name of this state is?” - -“The name of this state,” replied Miss Dangerfield, “is North Carolina, -and I have my opinion of any native American who runs around Europe -all the time, and who can visit a place in this country without even -knowing the name of the state he is in.” - -“But there’s really no difference between North and South Carolina, is -there?” persisted Eighteen Eighty. - -Jerry put down her fork, and folded her hands beside her plate, while -she addressed the offender. - -“Mr. Number Something, the difference between the Old North State and -South Carolina is not merely geographical--it is also intellectual, -ethical, and spiritual. But may I ask you whether you know of which -state you are a citizen?” - -A laugh rose as the sad young man flushed and looked inquiringly about. - -“I voted you in my precinct that time I ran for alderman in New York,” -said Ardmore, “but that’s no sign you had a right to vote there. I -shot Ballywinkle through the booth at the same time. I was a reform -candidate and needed votes, but I hoped Bally would get arrested and be -sent to jail. My impression is that you are really a citizen of Rhode -Island, which is where Newport is.” - -The debate as to Eighteen Eighty’s legal residence was interrupted by -the arrival of a summons for Ardmore, who hurriedly left the table. - -Big Paul awaited him below, mounted and holding a led-horse. - -“There’s a line of the South Carolina militia crawling through the -woods toward Raccoon Creek. They insist that it’s a practice skirmish, -and that they’ve come over here because the landscape is naturally -adapted to their purposes.” - -“It’s awfully nice of them to like my scenery. You’d better send -your best man out to meet Colonel Gillingwater of the North Carolina -militia, and tell him to march all his troops into the estate by -the north gates, and to be in a hurry. Tell him--tell him Governor -Dangerfield is anxious to have the staff present in full uniform at a -grand ball at Ardsley to-night.” - -Ardmore rode off alone toward Raccoon Creek to catch a view of the -enemy. How far would Griswold go? This question he kept debating with -himself. His late friend was a lawyer and a serious one whom he had -not believed capable of seizing the militia of one state and using -it to make a military demonstration against another. Ardmore could -go as far as Griswold; yet he was puzzled to know why Griswold was -in the field at all. Miss Dangerfield’s suggestion that Griswold’s -interest in the daughter of the governor of South Carolina accounted -for his presence on the border seemed plausible at first; and yet -the more he thought about it the less credible it seemed, for he was -sure that Griswold had talked to him about women with the frankness -that had characterized all their intercourse, and Ardmore racked his -brains in his effort to recall the few affairs to which the associate -professor of admiralty had pleaded guilty. Memory brought these back -to him slowly. There was an Old Point Comfort affair, dating back to -Griswold’s student days, and to which he had referred with no little -feeling once or twice; and there was a York Harbour affair, that came -a little later; and there was the girl he had met on a steamer, about -whom Griswold had shown sensitiveness when Ardmore had made bold to -twit him. But Ardmore could not account for Miss Osborne, unless his -friend had been withholding his confidence while seemingly wholly -frank; and the thought that this must be true widened the breach -between them. And when he was saying to himself that the daughters of -governors are not in the habit of picking up cavaliers and entrusting -state affairs to them, and that it was almost inconceivable that the -conscientious Griswold, at the busiest season at the university, should -have taken employment from the governor of South Carolina, he found -that he had struck a stone wall, and he confessed to himself that the -situation was beyond him. - -These reflections carried him far toward Raccoon Creek, and when he had -reached that tortuous stream he dismounted and tied his horse, the more -freely to examine the frontier. The Raccoon is never more than eighty -feet wide, but filled with boulders round which the water foams in many -curves and splashes, running away in the merriest ripples, so that it -is never wholly tranquil. By jumping from boulder to boulder he crossed -the turbulent tide and gained the other side with a sense of entering -the enemy’s country. - -“Now,” he muttered, “I am in South Carolina.” - -He drew out his map and held it against a tree the better to study it, -reassuring himself that his own property line embraced several sections -of the forest on the south side of the state boundary. - -“If Grissy shoots me, it will be on my own land,” he said aloud. - -He cautiously followed the stream until, several hundred yards farther -on, and overhanging the creek, he came upon the log cabin in which -big Paul had reported the presence of a ghost. Paul’s story had not -interested him particularly, but now that he was in the neighbourhood -he resolved to visit the cabin and learn if possible how ghosts amuse -themselves by day. He had thrust a revolver into his pocket before -leaving the house, and while he had no idea that ghosts may be shot, -he now made sure that the weapon was in good order. As he sat on a log -slipping the cylinder through his fingers he heard whistling farther -along the creek, followed quickly by the snapping of twigs under a -heavy tread, and a moment later a tall, slender man broke into view. - -The stranger was dressed like a countryman, but he was unmistakably -not of the Ardsley force of workmen, for these wore a rough sort of -uniform. His hands were thrust carelessly into the side pockets of a -gray jeans coat. They were thrust in deep, so that the coat sagged at -the pockets. His trousers were turned up from a pair of rough shoes, -and he wore a gray flannel shirt, the collar of which was guiltless of -a tie. He was smooth shaven, and carried in his mouth a short pipe, -which he paused to relight when about a dozen yards from Ardmore. Then, -as he held the lighted match above the pipe bowl for an instant to make -sure his tobacco was burning, Ardmore jumped up and covered him with -the pistol. - -“I beg your pardon,” said the master of Ardsley, “but you’re my -prisoner!” - -The stranger shook the flame out of the match-stick carefully and threw -it away before turning toward his captor. - -“Young man,” he said with perfect self-possession, “don’t fool with -that gun; it might go off.” - -His drawl was characteristic of the region; his tone was one of amused -tolerance. Ardmore was short of stature, and his knickerbockers, -leggings, and Norfolk jacket were not wholly consonant with the -revolver, which, however, he levelled very steadily at the stranger’s -head. - -“You are an intruder on my property,” said the master of Ardsley, “and -unless I’m much mistaken you have been playing ghost in that cabin. -I’ve heard about you. Your gang has been cutting off my timber about -long enough, and this game of playing ghost to scare my men won’t do.” - -“Stealing your timber?” And the stranger was clearly surprised. He held -his pipe in his hand with his thumb over the bowl and seemed to take a -more serious interest in his captor. - -“And now,” continued Ardmore, “I’m about tired of having this end of -the country run by the Appleweights, and their disreputable gang, so -I’m going to lock you up.” - -The stranger turned toward the cabin, one corner of which was plainly -visible, and shrugged his shoulders. - -“I have nothing to do with the Appleweights, and I assure you I am not -a timber thief.” - -“Then you must be the one who has lifted a few steers out of my herd. -It makes no difference just what branch of the business you are engaged -in, for we’re picking up all the gang and you’ve got to come along with -me.” - -The captive showed signs of anger for the first time. His face flushed, -and he took a step toward Ardmore, who immediately threw up the -revolver so that it pointed at the man’s head. - -“Stop right there! We’ve got old man Appleweight, so you’ve lost your -leader, and I tell you the jig’s up. We’ll have you all in jail before -another twenty-four hours has passed.” - -“I judge from the tone of your remarks that you are Ardmore, the owner -of Ardsley. Am I right?” - -“You are quite right. And you are a member of a disreputable gang of -outlaws that has been bringing shame upon the state of North Carolina. -Now, I want you to march straight ahead of me. Step lively now!” And -Ardmore flourished the pistol menacingly. “March!” - -The man hesitated, flung up his head defiantly, then moved slowly -forward. The flush in his face had deepened and his eyes flashed -angrily; but Ardmore, his cap on the back of his head, himself -presented a figure so severe, so eloquent of righteous indignation, -that the stranger tamely obeyed him. - -“We will cross the creek right here,” he ordered; “it’s a pretty jump -there from that boulder--there, that was bully! Now right along there -over the log--see the trail! Good!” - -It was warm and the captive was perspiring freely. He moved along -docilely, and finding that he manifested no inclination to bolt, -Ardmore dropped the revolver to his side, but with his finger on -the trigger. He was very proud of himself; for while to Miss Jerry -Dangerfield undoubtedly belonged the honour of capturing the thief -Appleweight, yet he had single-handed arrested a member of the famous -gang, and he had already resolved upon a convenient method of disposing -of his prisoner. They paused while Ardmore mounted his horse, silencing -the captive, who took the opportunity to break out protestingly against -what he termed an infamous outrage upon personal liberty. - -“You’ve taken me from one state into another without due process of -law,” declared the stranger, thinking to impress Ardmore, as that young -gentleman settled himself in his saddle. - -“Go right on now; that’s a good fellow,” replied the master of Ardsley, -lifting the revolver warningly. “Whether it’s North Carolina or South -Dakota--it doesn’t make a particle of difference to me. As I remarked -before, it’s my property, I tell you, and I do what I please here.” - -“I’ll show you whether you do or not,” snorted the prisoner, who was -trudging along doggedly with the nose of Ardmore’s horse occasionally -poking his back. - -They soon reached a field where some labourers were at work, and -Ardmore called them to him for instructions. - -“Boys, this is one of the timber thieves; put him in that corn-crib -until I come back for him. The nights are warm; the sky is perfectly -clear; and you will kindly see that he does not lack for food.” - -Two of the men jumped forward and seized Ardmore’s prisoner, who now -broke forth in a torrent of wrath, struggling vigorously in the hands -of the sturdy fellows who had laid violent hands on him. - -“That’s right, boys; that’s right; easy there! Now in he goes.” - -A series of corn-cribs fringed the field, and into one of these, from -which half the corn had been removed, the prisoner was thrust sprawling -upon the yellow ears, and when he rose and flung himself round, the -door of the corn-crib slammed in his face. He bellowed with rage now, -seeing that his imprisonment was a serious matter, and that it seemed -likely to be prolonged indefinitely. - -“They always told me you were a fool,” he howled, “but I didn’t know -that anything as crazy as you are was loose in the world.” - -“Thank you. The head of your gang is much more polite. He’s sitting on -his case of Chateau Bizet in my wine cellar, playing solitaire.” - -“Appleweight in your wine cellar!” bawled the captive in astonishment. - -“Certainly. I was afraid to lock him in a room with bath for fear it -might give him hydrophobia; but he’s perfectly content in the wine -cellar.” - -“What are you going to do with him?” - -“I haven’t decided yet just what to do with him, but the scoundrel -undoubtedly belongs in South Carolina, and I have every intention of -making his own state punish him.” - -The prisoner leaned heavily against his prison door, and glared out -upon his jailer with a new, fierce interest. - -“I tell you I’ve nothing to do with the Appleweights! I don’t want to -reveal my identity to you, you young beggar; but I demand my legal -rights.” - -“My dear sir,” retorted Ardmore, “you have no legal rights, for the -writ of habeas corpus doesn’t go here. You seem rather intelligent for -a barn burner and timber thief. Come now, what is your name?” - -The prisoner gazed down upon the imperturbable figure of his captor -through the slats of the corn-crib. Ardmore returned his gaze with his -most bland and child-like air. Many people had been driven to the point -of madness by Ardmore’s apparent dullness. The prisoner realized that -he must launch a thunderbolt if he would disturb a self-possession so -complete--a tranquillity as sweet as the fading afternoon. - -“Mr. Ardmore, I dislike to do it, but your amazing conduct makes it -necessary for me to disclose my identity,” and the man’s manner showed -real embarrassment. - -“I knew it; I knew it,” nodded Ardmore, folding his arms across his -chest. “You’re either the King of Siam or the Prince of Petosky. As -either, I salute you!” - -“No!” roared the captive, beating impotently against the door of the -cage with his hands. “No! I’m the governor of South Carolina!” - -This statement failed, however, to produce the slightest effect on -Mr. Ardmore, who only smiled slightly, a smile less incredulous than -disdainful. - -“Oh, pshaw! that’s nothing,” he replied; “_I’m_ the governor of North -Carolina!” and mounting his horse he gravely lifted his hat to the -prisoner and galloped away. - -While Mr. Ardmore was securing his prisoner in the corn-crib it may be -interesting to return for a moment to the haunted log cabin on Raccoon -Creek, the interior of which was roughly but comfortably furnished. -Above were two small sleeping-rooms, and beside the bed in each stood a -suit-case and a hand-satchel. In each room hung, on convenient hooks, -a long, black frock-coat, a pair of trousers of light cloth, and a -broad-brim black felt hat. Coat, trousers, and hat were exactly alike. - -In the room below sat a man in his shirt-sleeves, his feet on a cheap -deal table, blowing rings from a cigar. He presented a picture of the -greatest ease and contentment, as he occasionally stroked his short -brown beard, or threw up his arms and clasped his hands about his head -or caught, lazily at the smoke rings. On the table lay an array of -playing cards and poker chips. - -“It’s too good to last for ever,” the lone occupant reflected aloud, -stifling a yawn, and he reached out, with careless indifference, toward -a bundle of newspapers tied together with a piece of twine, and drew -one out and spread it across his knees. He yawned again as though -the thought of a world whose affairs were stamped in printer’s ink -bored him immensely; and then the bold headlines that shouted at him -across half a quarter of the sheet caused him to gasp, and his feet -struck the bare floor of the cabin resoundingly. He now bent over the -paper with the greatest eagerness, muttering as he read, and some -of his mutterings were, it must be confessed, not without profane -embellishment. - - TWO COWARDLY GOVERNORS MISSING - - SCANDAL AFFECTING TWO STATE EXECUTIVES - - IS THE APPLEWEIGHT CASE RESPONSIBLE? - - RUMOURS OF FATAL DUEL ON STATE LINE - -He read breathlessly the startling story that followed the headlines, -then rose and glanced anxiously at his watch. - -“Am I drunk or mad? I must find Osborne and get out of this.” - -He leaped to the open door, and gazed into the forest from a little -platform that commanded all sides of the cabin. And there, to his utter -amazement, he saw men in khaki emerging cautiously from the woods. They -were unmistakably soldiers of some sort, for an officer was giving -sharp commands, and the line opened out like a fan along the creek. The -observer of this manœuvre mopped his head with his handkerchief as he -watched the alert movements of the figures in khaki. - -He was so absorbed that he failed to hear stealthy steps at the rear of -the platform, but he was now rudely aroused by two uniformed youngsters -with S. C. N. G. on their caps, who sprang upon him and bore him with a -crash to the puncheon floor. - -“You’re our prisoner!” shouted one of them, rising when he found that -the prisoner yielded without resistance. - -“What for?” blurted the captive, sitting up and rubbing his elbow. - -“For being Bill Appleweight, _alias_ Poteet. Get up, now, and come with -us to headquarters, or my instructions are to break your head.” - -“Who the devil are you?” panted the prisoner. - -“Well, if it’s anything to you, we’re the South Carolina militia, so -you’d better get up and climb.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -THE FLIGHT OF GILLINGWATER. - - -“It will be better for me to break the news to Colonel Gillingwater,” -said Jerry, “and you must go out and meet the troops yourself, with Mr. -Cooke and that amusing Mr. Collins. There is no telling what effect my -tidings will have on Rutherford, or what he will decide to do. He has -never before been so near trouble as he is now, and I may have to give -him first aid to the injured when he finds out that the South Carolina -troops are on Raccoon Creek, all ready to march upon our sacred soil.” - -“But suppose your adjutant-general shouldn’t go back to his troops -after he sees you, then what am I to do?” - -“If you don’t see him by ten o’clock you will take personal command -and exercise your own discretion as to the best method of landing -Appleweight in a South Carolina jail. After that we must find papa, and -it will be up to him to satisfy the newspapers and his constituents -with some excuse for his strange disappearance.” - -Collins had come from Raleigh on the evening train, and he had solemnly -assured Ardmore that the present state of affairs could not be -maintained another twenty-four hours. He had exhausted his professional -resources, and the North Carolina newspapers of all shades of opinion -were clamouring for the truth, and were insisting that, for the honour -and dignity of the state, Governor Dangerfield should show himself -in Raleigh. Even the metropolitan press, which Collins had filled -for several days with blithe stories of the administration’s vigorous -policy in the Appleweight case, had refused further matter from him. - -“We’ve got to find Dangerfield or bust. Now, where is that eminent -statesman, Ardmore? You can’t tell me you don’t know; but if you don’t, -Miss Dangerfield does, and she’s got to tell.” - -“She hasn’t the slightest idea, but if the newspapers find out that -he’s really and truly missing, he will have to show up; but first we’ve -got to take Appleweight off that case of Chateau Bizet and lodge him in -the jail at Turner Court House, and let Governor Osborne have the odium -of incarcerating the big chief of the border, to whom he is under the -greatest political obligations.” - -“But it’s all over the country now that Osborne hasn’t been seen in -Columbia since he and Dangerfield had that row in New Orleans. Cranks -are turning up everywhere, pretending to be governors of various -states, and old Dangerfield is seen on all the outgoing steamers. -There’s been nothing like it since the kidnapping of Charley Ross.” - -Ardmore drew on his riding-gloves reflectively, and a delighted grin -illuminated his countenance. - -“I caught a lunatic down on the Raccoon this afternoon who said _he_ -was the governor of South Carolina, and I locked him up.” - -“Well, he may be Osborne,” remarked Collins, with journalistic -suspicion. - -“And he may be a Swiss admiral or the king of Mars. I guess I’m a -governor myself, and I know what a governor looks like and acts -like--you can’t fool me. I put this impostor where he’ll have a chance -to study astronomy to-night.” - -“Then he isn’t on that case of Chateau Bizet with Appleweight?” - -“No; I locked him up in a corn-crib until I get time to study his -credentials. Come along now!” - -Ardmore, Collins, and Cooke rode rapidly away through the wide gates of -the estate along the Sapphire road, over which, by his last bulletin, -the adjutant-general of North Carolina was marching his troops. They -had left Cooke’s men with Paul’s foresters to guard the house and to -picket the banks of the Raccoon in the immediate neighbourhood of the -camp of the South Carolinians. - -“I guess those fellows can hold ’em till morning,” said Cooke. “We’ve -got to clean up the whole business by to-morrow night. You can’t have -two states at war with each other this way without shaking up the -universe, and if federal troops come down here to straighten things out -it won’t be funny.” - -They had ridden about a mile, when Cooke checked his horse with an -exclamation. - -“There’s somebody coming like the devil was after him. It must be -Gillingwater.” - -They drew rein and waited, the quick patter of hoofs ringing out -sharply in the still night. The moonlight gave them a fair sweep of the -road, and they at once saw a horseman galloping rapidly toward them. - -“Lordy, the man’s on fire!” gasped Ardmore. - -“By George, you’re right!” muttered Collins, moving nervously in his -saddle. “It’s a human sunburst.” - -“It’s only his gold braid,” explained the practical Cooke. - -“He must have on solid gold armour, then,” declared Collins. - -Seeing three men drawn across the road, the horseman began to check his -flight. - -“Men!” he shouted, as his horse pawed the air with its forefeet, “is -this the road to Ardsley?” - -“Right you are,” yelled Cooke, and they were aware of a flash, a -glitter that startled and dazzled the eye, and Colonel Rutherford -Gillingwater thundered on. - -Ardmore looked at his watch. - -“He’s undoubtedly a man of action, if I ever saw one; and I think -we are to be congratulated on having so gallant a commander for our -troops,” said the master of Ardsley; but the sight of Rutherford -Gillingwater had filled his soul with jealous forebodings. He had heard -that women are prone to fall in worship before warriors in their battle -armour, and he was sure that Jerry Dangerfield was a girl of infinitely -kind heart, who might not, when face to face with the issue, subject -the man she had engaged to marry to any severe test. - -They rode on, however, and saw presently the lights of camp-fires, and -a little later were ceremoniously halted at the roadside by an armed -guard. - -It had been arranged that Collins, who had once been a second -lieutenant in the Georgia militia, should be presented as an officer -of the regular army, detailed as special aide to Governor Dangerfield -during the encampment, and that in case Gillingwater failed to return -promptly he should take command of the North Carolina forces. - -An open field had been seized for the night’s camp, and the tents -already shone white in the moonlight. The three men introduced -themselves to the militia officers, and Collins expressed their regret -that they had missed the adjutant-general. - -“Governor Dangerfield wished you to move your force on to Ardsley -should we fail to meet Colonel Gillingwater; and you had better strike -your tents and be in readiness to advance in case he doesn’t personally -return with orders.” - -Captain Collins, as he had designated himself, apologized for not being -in uniform. - -“I lost my baggage train,” he laughed, “and Governor Dangerfield is so -anxious not to miss this opportunity to settle the Appleweight case -that I hurried out to meet you with these gentlemen.” - -“Appleweight!” exclaimed the group of officers in amazement. - -“None other than the great Appleweight!” responded Collins. “The -governor has him in his own hands at last, and is going to carry him -across the border and into a South Carolina bastille, as a little -pleasantry on the governor of South Carolina.” - -“He’s had a sudden change of heart if he’s captured Appleweight,” -remarked a major incredulously. “His policy has always been to let old -Bill alone.” - -“It’s only a ripple of the general reform wave that’s sweeping the -country,” suggested Ardmore cheerfully. “Turn the rascals out; put the -rascals in; keep the people hopeful and the jails full. That’s the -Dangerfield watchword.” - -“Well, I guess Dangerfield knows how to drive the hearse if there’s got -to be a funeral,” observed the quartermaster. “The governor’s not a man -to ride inside if he can find another corpse.” - -And they all laughed and accepted the situation as promising better -diversion than they had expected from the summer manœuvres. - -The militia officers gave the necessary orders for breaking the -half-formed camp, and then turned their attention to the entertainment -of their guests. Ardmore kept track of the time, and promptly at ten -o’clock Collins rose from the log by the roadside where they had been -sitting. - -“We must obey the governor’s orders, gentlemen,” said Collins -courteously, “and march at once to Ardsley. I, you understand, am only -a courier, and your guest for the present.” - -“If you please,” asked Cooke, when the line had begun to move forward, -“what is that wagon over there?” - -He pointed to a mule team hitched to a quartermaster’s wagon that a -negro was driving into position across the rough field. It was piled -high with luggage, a pyramid that rose black against the heavens. -One of the militia officers, evidently greatly annoyed, bawled to the -driver to get back out of the way. - -“Pardon me,” said Collins politely, “but is that your personal baggage, -gentlemen?” - -“That belongs to Colonel Gillingwater,” remarked the quartermaster. -“The rest of us have a suit-case apiece.” - -“Do you mean,” demanded Ardmore, “that the adjutant-general carries all -that luggage for himself?” - -“That is exactly it! But,” continued the quartermaster loyally, “you -can never tell what will happen when you take the field this way, and -our chief is not a man to forget any of the details of military life.” - -“In Washington we all think very highly of Colonel Gillingwater,” -remarked Collins, with noble condescension, “and in case we should -become involved in war he would undoubtedly be called to high rank in -the regular establishment.” - -“It’s too bad,” said Cooke, as the three drew aside and waited for a -battery of light artillery to rumble into place behind the infantry, -“it’s too bad, Collins, that it didn’t occur to you to impersonate the -president of the French Republic or Emperor William. You’ll be my death -before we finish this job.” - -“This won’t be so funny when Dangerfield gets hold of us,” grinned the -reporter. “We’d better cheer up all we can now. We’re playing with the -state of North Carolina as though it were a bean-bag. But what’s that -over there?” - -The pyramidal baggage wagon had gained the road behind them, and -lingered uncertainly, with the driver asleep and waiting for orders. -The conspirators were about to gallop forward to the head of the moving -column, when Collins pointed across the abandoned camp-ground to where -a horseman, who had evidently made a wide detour of the advancing -column, rode madly toward the baggage wagon. - -“The gentleman’s trying to kill his horse, I should judge,” murmured -Ardmore. “By Jove!” - -“It’s Gillingwater!” chorused the trio. - -The rider in his haste had overlooked the men in the road. He dashed -through the wide opening in the fence, left by the militiamen, took the -ditch by the roadside at a leap, wakened the sleeping driver on the -wagon with a roar, and himself leaped upon the box and began turning -the horses. - -“What do you think he’s doing?” asked Cooke. - -“He’s in a hurry to get back to mother’s cooking,” replied Ardmore. -“He’s seen Miss Dangerfield and learned that war is at hand, and he’s -going to get his clothes out of danger. Lordy! listen to him slashing -the mules!” - -“But you don’t think----” - -The wagon had swung round, and already was in rapid flight. Collins -howled in glee. - -“Come on! We can’t miss a show like this!” - -“Leave the horses then! There’s a hill there that will break his neck. -We’d better stop him if we can!” cried Cooke, dismounting. - -They threw their reins to the driver of the wagon, who had been brushed -from his seat by the impatient adjutant-general, and was chanting -weirdly to himself at the roadside. - -The wagon, piled high with trunks and boxes, was dashing forward, -Gillingwater belabouring the mules furiously, and, hearing the shouts -of strange pursuers, yelling at the team in a voice shrill with fear. - -“Come on, boys!” shouted Ardmore, thoroughly aroused, “catch the spy -and traitor!” - -The road dipped down into the shadow of a deep cut, where the moon’s -dim rays but feebly penetrated, and where the flow of springs had -softened the surface; but the pursuers were led on by the rumble of the -wagon, which swung from side to side perilously, the boxes swinging -about noisily and toppling threateningly at the apex. Down the sharp -declivity the wagon plunged like a ship bound for the bottom of the sea. - -The pursuers bent gamely to their task in the rough road, with Cooke -slightly in the lead. Suddenly he shouted warningly to the others, as -something rose darkly above them like a black cloud, and a trunk fell -with a mighty crash only a few feet ahead of them. The top had been -shaken off in the fall, and into it head first plunged Ardmore. - -“There’s another coming!” yelled Collins, and a much larger trunk -struck and split upon a rock at the roadside. Clothing of many kinds -strewed the highway. A pair of trousers, flung fiercely into the air, -caught on the limb of a tree, shook free like a banner, and hung there -sombrely etched against the stars. - -Ardmore crawled out of the trunk, screaming with delight. The fragrance -of toilet water broke freshly upon the air. - -“It’s his ammunition!” bawled Ardmore, rubbing his head where he had -struck the edge of a tray. “His scent-bottles are smashed, and it’s -only by the grace of Providence that I haven’t cut myself on broken -glass.” - -“Thump! bump!” sounded down the road. - -“Are those pants up there?” asked Cooke, pointing, “or is it a hole in -the sky?” - -“This,” said Collins, picking up a garment from the bush over which it -had spread itself, “has every appearance of being his little nightie. -How indelicate!” - -“No,” said Ardmore, taking it from him, “it’s a kimona of the most -expensive silk, which the colonel undoubtedly wears when they get him -up at midnight to hear the reports of his scouts.” - -They went down the road, stumbling now and then over a bit of debris -from the vanished wagon. - -“It’s like walking on carpet,” observed Cooke, picking up a feathered -chapeau. “I didn’t know there were so many clothes in all the world.” - -They abandoned the idea of further pursuit on reaching a trunk standing -on end, from which a uniform dress-coat drooped sadly. - -“This is not our trouble; it’s his trouble. I guess he’s struck a -smoother road down there. We’d better go back,” said Cooke. - -“Whom the gods would destroy they first dress in glad rags,” piped -Collins. - -They sat down and laughed until the negro approached warily with the -horses. - -“He’s lost his raiment, but saved his life,” sputtered Collins, -climbing into his saddle. - -“He’s lost more than that,” remarked Ardmore, and his flushed -countenance, noted by the others as he lighted a cigarette, was -cheerfuller than they had ever seen it before. - -In a moment they had climbed the hill and were in hot pursuit of the -adjutant-general’s abandoned army. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -ON THE ROAD TO TURNER’S. - - -“Who goes there?” - -“A jug.” - -“What kind of a jug?” - -“A little brown jug from Kildare.” - -Thus Mr. Thomas Ardmore tested his pickets with a shibboleth of his -own devising. The sturdy militiamen of North Carolina patrolled the -northern bank of Raccoon Creek at midnight, aware that that riotous -flood alone separated them from their foes. The terraces at Ardsley -bristled with the guns of the First Light Battery, while, upon a cot in -the wine cellar beneath, Mr. Bill Appleweight, _alias_ Poteet, slept -the sleep of the just. - -He was rudely aroused, however, at one o’clock in the morning by -Ardmore, Cooke, and Collins, and taken out through the kitchen to -one of the Ardsley farm wagons. Big Paul held the reins, and four of -Cooke’s detectives were mounted as escort. Ardmore, Cooke, and Collins -were to accompany the party as a board of strategy in the movement upon -Turner Court House, South Carolina. - -Appleweight, the terror of the border, blinked at the lanterns -that flashed about him in the courtyard. He had been numbed by -his imprisonment, and even now he yielded himself docilely to the -inevitable. His capture in the first instance at Mount Nebo had been -clear enough, and he could have placed his hand on the men who did it -if he had been free for a couple of hours. This he had pondered over -his solacing solitaire as he sat on the case of Chateau Bizet in the -Ardsley wine cellar; but the subsequent events had been altogether -too much for him. He had been taken from his original captors by a -girl, and while the ignominy of this was not lost on the outlaw, his -wits had been unequal to the further fact, which he had no ground for -disbelieving, that this captivity within the walls of Ardsley had been -due to a daughter of that very governor of North Carolina whom he had -counted his friend. Why the girl had interested herself in his seizure -and incarceration; why he had been carried to the great house of a New -York gentleman whom he had never harmed in the least; and why, more -than all, he should have been locked in a room filled with bottles -bearing absurd and unintelligible titles, and containing, he had -learned by much despairing experiment, liquids that singularly failed -to satisfy thirst--these were questions before which Appleweight, -_alias_ Poteet, bowed his head helplessly. - -“The road between Kildare and Turner’s is fairly good,” announced -Cooke, “though we’ve got to travel four miles to strike it. Griswold -evidently thinks that holding the creek is all there is of this -business, and he won’t find out till morning that we’ve crawled round -his line and placed Appleweight in jail at Turner’s where he belongs.” - -“You must have a good story ready for the press, Collins,” said -Ardmore. “The North Carolina border counties don’t want Appleweight -injured, and Governor Dangerfield don’t want any harm to come to -him--you may be sure of that, or Bill would have been doing time -long ago. The moral element in the larger cities and the people in -Boston and Springfield, Massachusetts, who only hear of Appleweight -in the newspapers, want him punished, and we must express to them our -righteous indignation that he has been kidnapped and dragged away -from our vengeance by the governor of South Carolina, who wants him in -his own state merely to protect him. We can come pretty near pleasing -everybody if you work it right, Collins. Our manner of handling the -matter will do much to increase Governor Dangerfield’s popularity with -all classes.” - -“Gentlemen, it was very impolite of you not to tell me you were ready -to start!” and Jerry came briskly from the side entrance, dressed for -the saddle and nibbling a biscuit. - -“But you are not to go! I thought that was understood!” cried Ardmore. - -“It may have been understood by you, Mr. Ardmore, but not by me! I -should never forgive myself if, after all the trouble I have taken to -straighten out this little matter, I should not be in at the finish. -Will you kindly get me a horse?” - -Miss Dangerfield’s resolution was not to be shaken, and a few minutes -later the party moved out from the courtyard. Cooke rode several -hundred yards ahead; then two detectives preceded the wagon, in which -Appleweight sat on a cross-seat with two more of Cooke’s men on a seat -just behind him. He was tied and gagged, and an old derby hat (supplied -by Paul) had been clapped upon the side of his head at an angle that -gave him a jaunty air belied by his bonds. Though his tongue was -silenced, his eyes were at once eloquent of wonderment, resignation, -and impotent rage. Beside the wagon rode Miss Jerry Dangerfield, alert -and contented. Ardmore and Collins were immediately behind her, and -she indulged the journalist in some mild chaff from time to time, to -his infinite delight, though considerably to Ardmore’s distress of -heart; for, though no words had passed between him and Jerry as to the -disgraceful flight of the adjutant-general, yet the master of Ardsley -was in a jealous mood. The moon had left the conspirators to the softer -radiance of the stars, but there was sufficient light for Ardmore to -mark the gentle lines of Jerry’s face, as she lifted it now and then to -scan the bright globes above. - -Paul drove his team at a trot over the smooth road of the estate to -a remote and little-used gate on the southern side, but still safely -removed from the South Carolina pickets along the Raccoon. - -“It’s all right over there,” remarked Collins, jerking his head towards -the creek. “The fronting armies are waiting for morning and battle. I -suppose that when we send word to Griswold that Appleweight is in a -South Carolina jail it will change the scene of operations. It will -then be Governor Osborne’s painful task to dance between law-and-order -sentiment and the loud cursing of his border constituents. The -possibilities of this rumpus grow on me, Ardmore.” - -“There is no rumpus, Mr. Collins,” said Jerry over her shoulder. “The -governor of North Carolina is merely giving expression to his civic -pride and virtue.” - -Leaving Ardsley, they followed a dismal stretch of road until they -reached the highway that connects Turner’s and Kildare. - -“It’s going to be morning pretty soon. We must get the prisoner into -Turner’s by five o’clock. Trot ’em up, Paul,” ordered Cooke. - -They were all in capital spirits now, with a fairly good road before -them, leading straight to Turner’s, and with no expectation of any -trouble in landing their prisoner safely in jail. A wide publication -of the fact that Appleweight had been dragged from North Carolina and -locked in a South Carolina jail would have the effect of clearing -Governor Dangerfield’s skirts of any complicity with the border -outlaws, while at the same time making possible a plausible explanation -by Governor Dangerfield to the men in the hills of the contemptible -conduct of the governor of South Carolina in effecting the arrest of -their great chief. - -They were well into South Carolina territory now, and were jogging on -at a sharp trot, when suddenly Cooke turned back and halted the wagon. - -“There’s something coming--wait!” - -“Maybe Bill’s friends are out looking for him,” suggested Collins. - -“Or it may be Grissy,” cried Ardmore in sudden alarm. - -“Your professor is undoubtedly asleep in his camp on the Raccoon,” -replied Collins contemptuously. “Do not be alarmed, Mr. Ardmore.” - -Cooke impatiently bade them be quiet. - -“If we’re accosted, what shall we say?” he asked. - -“We’ll say,” replied Jerry instantly, “that one of the labourers at -Ardsley is dead, and that we are taking his remains to his wife’s -family at Turner’s. I shall be his grief-stricken widow.” - -The guards already had Appleweight down on the floor of the wagon, -where one of them sat on his feet to make sure he did not create a -disturbance. At her own suggestion Jerry dismounted and climbed into -the wagon, where she sat on the sideboard, with her head deeply bowed -as though in grief. - -“Pretty picture of a sorrowing widow,” mumbled Collins. Ardmore punched -him in the ribs to make him stop laughing. To the quick step of walking -horses ahead of them was now added the whisper and creak of leather. - -“Hello, there!” yelled Cooke, wishing to take the initiative. - -“Hey-O!” answered a voice, and all was still. - -“Give us the road; we’re taking a body into Turner’s to catch the -morning train,” called Cooke. - -“Who’s dead?” - -“One of Ardmore’s Dutchmen. Shipping the corpse back to Germany.” - -The party ahead of them paused as though debating the case. - -The north-bound party was a blur in the road. Their horses sniffed and -moved restlessly about as their riders conferred. - -“Give us the road!” shouted Cooke. “We haven’t much time to catch our -train.” - -“Who did you say was dead?” - -“Karl Schmidt,” returned Paul promptly. - -Ardmore’s heart sank, fearful lest an inspection of the corpse should -be proposed. But at this moment a wail, eerie and heart-breaking, -rose and fell dismally upon the night. It was Jerry mourning her dead -husband, her slight figure swaying back and forth over his body in an -abandon of grief. - -“De poor vidow--she be mit us,” called out big Paul, forsaking his -usual excellent English for guttural dialect. - -“Who are _you_ fellows?” demanded Cooke, spurring his horse forward. -The horsemen, to his surprise, seemed to draw back, and he heard a -voice speak out sharply, followed by a regrouping of the riders at the -side of the road. - -“We been to a dance at Turner’s, and air goin’ back home to Kildare,” -came the reply. - -“That seems all right,” whispered Ardmore to Collins. - -“Thus,” muttered Collins, “in the midst of death we are in life,” and -this, reaching Jerry, caused her to bend over the corpse at her feet -as though in a convulsive spasm of sorrow, whereupon, to add colour to -their story, Paul rumbled off a few consolatory sentences in German. - -“Give us the road!” commanded Cooke, and without further parley they -started ahead, closing about the wagon to diminish, as far as possible, -the size of the caravan. Paul kept the horses at a walk, as became -their sad errand, and Jerry continued to weep dolorously. - -They passed the horsemen at a slight rise in the rolling road. The -party bound for Turner’s moved steadily forward, the horsemen huddled -about the wagon, with Jerry’s led-horse between Ardmore and Collins at -the rear. At the top of the knoll hung the returning dancers, well to -the left of the road, permitting with due respect the passing of the -funeral party. One of the men, Ardmore could have sworn, lifted his -hat until the wagon had passed. Then some one called good-night, and, -looking back, Ardmore saw them--a dozen men, he judged--regain the road -and quietly resume their journey toward Kildare. - -“Pretty peaceable for fellows who’ve been attending a dance,” suggested -Collins, craning his neck to look after them. - -Cooke turned back with the same observation, and seemed troubled. - -“I was afraid to look too closely at those men. They seemed rather -too sober, and I was struck with the fact that they bunched up pretty -close, as though they were hiding something.” - -“They were afraid of the corpse,” remarked Collins readily. “To meet -a dead man on a lonely road at this hour of the morning is enough to -sober the most riotous.” - -“One fellow lifted his hat as we passed, and I thought----” - -“Well, what did you think, Mr. Ardmore?” demanded Cooke impatiently. - -“Well, it may seem strange, but I thought there was something about -that chap that suggested Grissy. It would be like Grissy to lift his -hat to a corpse under any circumstances. He has spent a whole lot of -time in Paris, and besides, he never forgets his manners.” - -“But suppose it was Griswold,” said Cooke, wishing to dispose -of the suspicion, “what could he be doing out here? _He_ hasn’t -Appleweight--we know that; and he has just now missed his chance of -ever getting him.” - -They paused to allow Jerry to resume her horse, and one of the -detectives joined in the conference to venture his opinion that the men -they had passed were in uniform. “They looked like militia to me,” and -as he was a careful man, Cooke took note of his remark, though he made -no comment. - -“Suppose they were in uniform,” said Jerry lightly; “they can do no -harm, and as we are now in South Carolina, and they are not our troops, -it would not be proper for us to molest them. Let us go on, for Mr. -Appleweight’s widow is not anxious to miss her train back to the -fatherland.” - -“If they were a detail of the enemy’s militia, they would have held us -up,” declared Cooke with finality. - -But as they moved on toward Turner’s, Ardmore was still troubled -over what had seemed to him the remarkable Parisian courtesy of the -returning reveller who had lifted his hat as the corpse passed. Grissy, -he kept saying over and over to himself, was no fool by any manner of -means, and he was unable to conjecture why the associate professor of -admiralty, known to be detached on special duty for the governor of -South Carolina, should be riding to Kildare, unless he contemplated -some _coup_ of importance. - -The stars paled under the growing light of the early summer dawn. -Appleweight, with shoulders wearily drooping, contemplated the -attending cortege with the gaze of one who sullenly accepts a condition -he does not in the least understand. - -A few early risers saw the strange company enter and proceed to the -jail; but before half the community had breakfasted, Bill Appleweight, -the outlaw, was securely locked in jail in Turner Court House, the -seat of Mingo County, in the state of South Carolina, and the jailer, -moreover, was sharing the distinguished captive’s thraldom. - -Collins, at the railway station, was announcing to the world the -fact that at the very moment when Governor Dangerfield was about to -seize Appleweight and punish him for his crimes, the outlaw had been -kidnapped in North Carolina and taken under cover of night to a jail in -South Carolina where Governor Osborne might be expected to shield him -from serious prosecution with all the power of his high office. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -THE BATTLE OF THE RACCOON. - - -Mrs. Atchison met the returning adventurers at the door. - -“Your conduct, Jerry Dangerfield, is beyond words!” she exclaimed, -seizing the girl’s hands. “And so you really locked that horrid person -in a real jail! Well, we shan’t miss him! We have been kept up all -night by the arrival here of other prisoners--brought in like parcels -from the grocer’s.” - -“More prisoners!” shouted Ardmore. - -“Dragged here at an unearthly hour of the morning, and flung into the -most impossible places by your soldiers! You can hear them yelling -without much trouble from the drawing-room, and we had to give up -breakfast because the racket they are making was so annoying.” - -The captain of the battery whose guns frowned upon the terraces came up -and saluted. - -“Mr. Ardmore,” he said, “I have been trying for several hours to see -Governor Dangerfield, but this lady tells me that he has left Ardsley.” - -“That is quite true; the governor was called away last night on -official business, and he will not return for an hour or two. You will -kindly state your business to me.” - -The captain was peevish from loss of sleep, and by no means certain -that he cared to transact business with Mr. Ardmore. He glanced at -Miss Dangerfield, whom he had met often at Raleigh, and the governor’s -daughter met the situation promptly. - -“Captain Webb, what prisoners have you taken, and why are they not -gagged to prevent this hideous noise?” - -Seemingly from beneath the ample porte-cochère, where this colloquy -occurred, rose yells, groans and curses, and the sound of thumps, as of -the impact of human bodies against remote subterranean doors. - -“They’re trying to get loose, Miss Dangerfield, and they refuse to stay -tied. The fiercest row is from the fellows we chucked into the coal -bins.” - -“It’s excellent anthracite, the best I can buy; they ought to be glad -it isn’t soft coal,” replied Ardmore defensively. “Who are they?” - -“They’re newspaper men, and they’re most terribly enraged,” answered -Captain Webb. “We picked them up one at a time in different places -on the estate. They say they’re down here looking for Governor -Dangerfield.” - -Collins grinned his delight. - -“Oh, perfect hour!” he sang. “We’ll keep them until they promise to be -good and print what we tell them. The little squeaky voice you hear -occasionally--hark!--that’s Peck, of the Consolidated Press. He scooped -me once on a lynching, and here is where I get even with him.” - -“You have done well, Captain Webb,” said Jerry with dignity, “and I -shall urge your promotion upon papa at the earliest moment possible. -Are these newspaper gentlemen your only prisoners?” - -“No; we gathered up two other parties, and one of them is in the -servants’ laundry; the other, a middle-aged person, I lodged in the -tower, where he can enjoy the scenery.” - -He pointed to the tower, from which the flag of North Carolina waved -gently in the morning breeze. - -“The prisoner up there made an awful rumpus. He declares he will ruin -the whole state of North Carolina for this. Here is his card, which, in -a comparatively lucid interval, he gave me to hand you at the earliest -possible moment,” and Captain Webb placed a visiting card in Ardmore’s -hands. - -A smile struggled for possession of Ardmore’s countenance, but he -regained control of himself promptly, and his face grew severe. - -He gave the card to Jerry, who handed it to Mrs. Atchison, and that -lady laughed merrily. - -“Your prisoner, Captain Webb, is George P. Billings, secretary of the -Bronx Loan and Trust Company of New York. What was he doing when you -seized him?” demanded Ardmore. - -“He was chasing the gentleman who’s resting on the anthracite. He -chased him and chased him, around a tea-house out here somewhere on the -place; and finally this person in the coal hole fell, and they both -rolled over together. The gentleman in the coal hole declares that he’s -Foster, the state treasurer of North Carolina, but his face got so -scratched on the shrubbery that he doesn’t look in the least like Mr. -Foster.” - -“I have sent him witch hazel and court plaster, and we can get a doctor -for his wounds, if necessary,” said Mrs. Atchison. - -A sergeant rushed up in hot haste with a demand from Colonel -Daubenspeck, of the North Carolina First, to know when Governor -Dangerfield could be seen. - -“The South Carolina pickets have been withdrawn, and our officers want -orders from the governor in person,” said the messenger. - -“Then they shall have orders!” roared Ardmore. “If our men dare abandon -their outposts----” - -He turned and rode furiously toward the border, and in his rage he -had traversed a thousand yards before he saw that Jerry was close -behind him. As they passed the red bungalow the crack of scattering -rifle-shots reached them. - -“Go back! Go back! The war’s begun!” cried Ardmore; but, though he -quickened the pace of his horse, Jerry clung to his side. - -“If there’s war, and I hope there is, I shall not shrink from the -firing line, Mr. Ardmore.” - -As they dashed into their own lines they came upon the regimental -officers, seated in comfortable chairs from the red bungalow, calmly -engaged in a game of cards. - -“Great God, men!” blurted Ardmore, “why do you sit here when the -state’s honour is threatened? Where was that firing?” - -“You seem rather placid, gentlemen, to say the least,” added Jerry, -coldly bowing to the officers, who had risen at her approach. “Unless I -am greatly mistaken, that is the flag of South Carolina I see flaunted -in yonder field.” And she pointed with a gauntleted hand to a palmetto -flag beyond the creek. - -“It is, Miss Dangerfield,” replied the colonel politely, “and you can -see their pickets occasionally, but they have been drawn back from the -creek, and I apprehend no immediate advance.” - -“No advance! Who are we to wait for them to offer battle? Who are we -to play bridge and wait upon the pleasure of a cowardly enemy?” and -Jerry gazed upon the furious Ardmore with admiration, as he roared at -the officers, who stood holding their caps deferentially before the -daughter of their commander-in-chief. Ardmore, it was clear, they did -not take very seriously, a fact which she inwardly resented. - -“I don’t think it would be quite fair,” said the colonel mildly, “to -force issues to-day.” - -“Not force issues!” yelled Ardmore. “With your brave sons of our Old -North State, not force battle! In the name of the constitution, I ask -you, why not?” - -“For the reason,” replied the colonel, “that the South Carolina troops -ate heavily of green apples last night in an orchard over there by -their camp, and they have barely enough men to maintain their pickets -this morning. These, you can see, they have withdrawn a considerable -distance from the creek.” - -“Then tell me why they have been firing upon our lines? Why have they -been permitted to shoot at our helpless and unresisting men if they are -not ready for war?” - -“They were not shooting at our men, Mr. Ardmore. Their pickets are -very tired from loss of sleep, and they were trying to keep awake by -shooting at a buzzard that hung over a field yonder, where there is, -our scouts inform us, a dead calf lying in one of your pastures.” - -“They shall have better meat! Buzzards shall eat the whole state of -South Carolina before night! Colonel, I order you to prepare at once to -move your troops across that creek.” - -The colonel hesitated. - -“I regret to say, sir, that we have no pontoons!” - -“Pontoons! Pontoons! What, by the shade of Napoleon, do you want with -pontoons when you have legs? Again, sir, I order you to advance your -men!” - -It was at this crisis that Jerry lifted her chin a trifle and calmly -addressed the reluctant colonel. - -“Colonel Daubenspeck, in my father’s name, I order you to throw your -troops across the Raccoon!” - -A moment later the clear notes of the bugle rose above the splash and -bubble of the creek. There was no opportunity for a grand onward sweep; -it must be a scramble for the southern shore over the rocks and fallen -timber in that mad torrent. - -And the Raccoon is a stream from all time dedicated to noble uses and -destined to hold mighty kingdoms in leash. One might well hesitate -before crossing this wayward Rubicon. The Mississippi is merely -an excuse for appropriations, the Potomac the sporting ground of -congressmen and shad. No other known stream is so happily calculated as -the foamy Raccoon to delight at once the gods of battle and the gentle -sons of song. It marks one of those impatient flings of nature in -which, bored with creating orderly, broadly-flowing streams, or varying -the landscape with quiet woodlands or meadows, she abandons herself -for a moment to madness and, shaking water and rock together as in a -dice-box, splashes them out with joyous laughter. - -Jerry Dangerfield, seated upon her horse on a slight rise under a -clump of trees a little way back from the stream, coolly munched a -cracker and sipped coffee from a tin cup. Ardmore, again calm, now that -Daubenspeck had been spurred to action, smoked his pipe and watched the -army prepare to advance. - -Beyond the creek, and somewhat removed from it on the South Carolina -side, a rifle cracked, and far against the blue arch a huge, black, -languorous object, rising with a last supreme effort, as though to -claim refuge of heaven, fell clawing at space with sprawling wings, -then collapsed and pitched earthward until the trees on the farther -shore hid it from sight. A feeble cheer rose in the distance. - -“They sound pretty tame over there,” remarked Ardmore critically. -“There’s no ginger in that cheer.” - -“The ginger,” suggested Colonel Daubenspeck ironically, “is probably -all in their stomachs.” - -One gun from the battery was brought down and placed on a slight -eminence to support the advance, for which all was now in readiness. -The bugle sang again, and the men of one company sprang forward and -began leaping from rock to rock, silently, steadily moving upon the -farther shore. Here and there some brown khaki-clad figure slipped -and splashed into the stream with a wild confusion of brown leggings; -but on they went intrepidly. The captain, leading his men through -the torrent, was first to gain the southern shore. He waved his -sword, and with a shout his men clambered up the bank and formed -in neat alignment. This was hardly accomplished before a uniformed -figure dashed from a neighbouring blackberry thicket and waved a -white handkerchief. He bore something in his hand, which to Ardmore’s -straining vision seemed to be a small wicker basket. - -“It’s a flag of truce!” exclaimed Colonel Daubenspeck, and a sigh that -expressed incontestable relief broke from that officer. - -“The cowards!” cried Ardmore. “Does that mean they won’t fight?” - -“It means that hostilities must cease until we have permitted the -bearer of the flag to carry his message into our lines.” - -The man with the basket was already crossing the creek in charge of a -corporal. - -“I have read somewhere about being careful of the Greeks bearing -gifts,” said Jerry. “There may be something annoying in that basket.” - -The bearer of the basket gained the North Carolina shore and strode -rapidly toward Miss Dangerfield, Ardmore, and Colonel Daubenspeck. -He handed the trifle of a basket to the colonel, who gazed upon its -contents for a moment with unspeakable rage. The colour mounted in his -neck almost to the point of apoplexy, and his voice bellowed forth an -oath so bleak, so fraught with peril to the human race, that Jerry -shuddered and turned away her head as from a blast of flame. The -colonel cast the wicker basket from him with a force that nearly tore -him from his saddle. It struck against a tree, spilling upon the earth -six small, hard, bright green apples. - -“My letter,” said the emissary soberly, “is for Mr. Thomas Ardmore, -and, unless I am mistaken, you are that gentleman.” - -Ardmore seized a long envelope which the man extended, tore it open, -and read:-- - - Thomas Ardmore, Esq., - Acting Governor of North Carolina, - In the Field: - - SIR--As I understand the present unhappy differences between the - states of North and South Carolina, they are due to a reluctance - on the part of the governor of North Carolina to take steps toward - bringing to proper punishment in North Carolina an outlaw named - Appleweight. I have the honour to inform you that that person is now - in jail at Kildare, Dilwell County, North Carolina, properly guarded - by men who will not flinch. If necessary I will support them with - every South Carolinian able to bear arms. This being the case, a - _casus belli_ no longer exists, and to prevent the effusion of blood - I beg you to cease your hostile demonstrations on our frontier. - - Our men seized a few prisoners during the night, and I am willing to - meet you to arrange an exchange on the terms proper in such cases. - - I am, sir, your obedient servant, - - HENRY MAINE GRISWOLD, - For the Governor of South Carolina. - -“The nerve of it! The sublime cheek of it!” exclaimed Ardmore, though -the sight of Griswold’s well-known handwriting had shaken him for the -moment. - -“As a bluffer your little friend is quite a wonder,” was Jerry’s only -comment when she had read the letter. - -Ardmore promptly wrote on the back of Griswold’s letter this reply:-- - - Henry Maine Griswold, Esq., - Assistant Professor of Admiralty, - Camp Buzzard, S. C.: - - SIR--Appleweight is under strong guard in the jail at Turner Court - House, Mingo County, South Carolina. I shall take pleasure in meeting - you at Ardsley at five o’clock this afternoon for the proposed - exchange of prisoners. To satisfy your curiosity the man Appleweight - will be produced there for your observation and identification. - - I have the honour, sir, to remain, with high regard and admiration, - your obliged and obedient servant, - - THOMAS ARDMORE, - Acting Governor of North Carolina. - -“Putting ‘professor’ on that will make him crazy,” remarked Ardmore to -Jerry. - -The messenger departed, but recrossed the Raccoon shortly with a -formal note agreeing to an armistice until after the meeting proposed -at Ardsley. - -“Colonel Daubenspeck, you may withdraw your men and go into camp until -further orders,” said Jerry, and the notes of the bugle singing the -recall rose sweetly upon the air. - -“By George,” said Ardmore, as he and Jerry rode away, “we’ll throw it -into old Grissy in a way that will jar the professor. But when it comes -to the exchange of prisoners, I must tell the boys to bring up that -chap I locked in the corn-crib. I had clean forgotten him.” - -“I don’t think you mentioned him, Mr. Ardmore, but I suppose he’s one -of the Appleweight ruffians.” - -“Undoubtedly,” replied Ardmore, whose spirits had never been higher, -“though the fellow was not without his pleasant humour. He insisted -with great vigour that he is the governor of South Carolina.” - -“I wonder”--and Jerry spoke wistfully--“I wonder where papa is!” - -“Well, he’s not in the corn-crib; be sure of that.” - -“Papa looks every inch the statesman,” replied Jerry proudly, “and in -his frock-coat no one could ever mistake him for other than the patriot -he is.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -IN THE RED BUNGALOW. - - -“What do you think,” cried Mrs. Atchison, glowing before Jerry and -Ardmore on their return; “we have a new guest!” - -“In the coal cellar?” inquired her brother. - -“No, in the blue room adjoining Miss Dangerfield’s! And what do you -think! It is none other than the daughter of the governor of South -Carolina.” - -“Oh, Nellie!” gasped Ardmore. - -“Why, what’s the matter?” demanded Mrs. Atchison. “I had gone in to -Turner’s to look at that memorial church we’re building there, and -I learned from the rector that Miss Osborne, with only a maid, was -stopping at that wretched hole called the Majestic Hotel. I had met -Miss Osborne in Washington last winter, and you may forget, Tommy, that -on our mother’s side I am a Daughter of the Seminole War, a society of -which Miss Osborne is the president-general.--I hope Miss Osborne’s -presence here will not be offensive to you, Miss Dangerfield. She -seemed reluctant to come, but I simply would not take no, and I am to -send for her at four o’clock.” - -“Miss Osborne’s presence is not only agreeable to me, Mrs. Atchison,” -responded Jerry, “but I shall join you in welcoming her. I have heard -that the ancestor through whom Barbara Osborne derives membership in -the Daughters of the Seminole War was afterward convicted of robbing -an orphan of whose estate he was the trusted executor, and such being -the case I feel that the commonest Christian charity demands that I -should treat her with the most kindly consideration. I shall gather -some roses, with your permission, and have them waiting in her room -when she arrives, with my card and compliments.” - -Ardmore had rarely been so busy as during the afternoon. Several more -newspaper correspondents were found prowling about the estate, and -they were added to the howling mob in the Ardsley cellars. Collins -searched them and read their instructions with interest. They were all -commissioned to find the lost governors of North and South Carolina; -and a number were instructed to investigate a rumour that North -Carolina was about to default her bonds through malfeasance of the -state treasurer. It was clear from the fact that practically every -newspaper in New York had sent its best man to the field that the world -waited anxiously for news from the border. - -“It has all happened very handily for us,” said Collins; “we’ve got the -highest-priced newspaper talent in the world right under our hands, -and before we turn them loose we’ll dictate exactly what history is to -know of these dark proceedings. Those fellows couldn’t get anything out -of either Kildare or Turner’s for some time, as Paul’s men have cut -the wires and Cooke has operators at the railway stations to see that -nothing is sent out.” - -“When we’ve settled with Griswold and proved to him that he’s lost out -and that the real Mr. Appleweight is in his jail, not ours, we’ll have -to find Governor Dangerfield and be mighty quick about it,” replied -Ardmore. “Paul says there’s a battery of South Carolina artillery -guarding the Dilwell County jail, and that they’ve fooled the people -into thinking they’re North Carolina troops, and nobody can get within -four blocks of the jail. They must have somebody in jail at Kildare. -I don’t like the looks of it. I hope those men we left guarding old -Appleweight in the Mingo jail know their business. It would be nasty to -lose that old chap after all the trouble he’s given us.” - -“They’ll keep him or eat him, if I know old Cookie.” - -Jerry--a pleasing figure to contemplate in white lawn and blue -ribbons--suggested that the meeting take place in the library, as -more like an imperial council chamber; but Ardmore warmly dissented -from this. A peace should never be signed, he maintained, in so large -a house as Ardsley. At Appomattox and in many other cases that he -recalled, the opponents met in humble farmhouses. It would be well, -however, to have the meeting on the estate, for the property would thus -become historic, but it would never do to have it take place in the -Ardsley library. - -“There should be great difficulty in securing pens and paper,” Ardmore -continued, “and we must decline to accept the swords of our fallen -foes.” - -They finally agreed on the red bungalow as convenient and sufficiently -modest for the purpose. And so it was arranged. - -A few minutes before five the flag of North Carolina was hung from the -wide veranda of the bungalow. At the door stood an armed militiaman. -Colonel Daubenspeck had been invited to be present, and he appeared -accompanied by several other officers in full uniform. Word of the -meeting-place had been sent through the lines to the enemy, and the -messenger rode back with Griswold, who was followed quickly by the -adjutant-general of South Carolina and half a dozen other officers. The -guard saluted as Griswold ran up the steps of the veranda, and at the -door Ardmore met him and greeted him formally. - -At the end of a long table Jerry Dangerfield sat with her arms folded. -She wore, as befitting the occasion, a gray riding-dress and a gray -felt hat perched a trifle to one side. - -She bowed coldly to Griswold, whose hand, as he surveyed the room and -glanced out at the flag that fluttered in the doorway, went to his -moustache with that gesture that Ardmore so greatly disliked; but -Griswold again bowed gravely to his adversaries. - -“Miss Dangerfield, and gentlemen,” began Griswold, with an air of -addressing a supreme tribunal, “I believe this whole matter depends -upon the arrest of one Appleweight, a well-known outlaw of North -Carolina----” - -“I beg your pardon----” - -It was Jerry who interrupted him, her little fists clenching, a glint -of fire in her eyes. - -“It is for me to ask your pardon, Miss Dangerfield! Let us agree that -this person is an unworthy citizen of any state, and proceed. It has -been your endeavour to see this man under arrest in South Carolina, -thus relieving North Carolina or her chief executive of responsibility -for him. We, on our side, have used every effort to lodge Appleweight -in jail on your side of the state line. Am I correct?” - -Jerry nodded affirmatively. - -“Then, Miss Dangerfield, and gentlemen, I must tell you that you have -lost your contention, for Appleweight spent last night in jail at -Kildare, and to secure his safe retention there, we generously lent -your state a few of our militia to guard him. The proceeding was a -trifle irregular, we admit--the least bit _ultra vires_--but the -peculiar situation seemed to justify us.” - -“There are not two Bill Appleweights,” remarked Colonel Daubenspeck. “I -assure you that the real criminal spent last night in jail at Turner -Court House, guarded by trustworthy men, and we are able to produce -him.” - -“The quickest way to settle this point, Professor Griswold, is by -bringing in your man,” remarked Ardmore icily. - -“On the other hand”--and Griswold’s tone was confident--“as there is no -reason for doubt that we have the real Appleweight, and as we are on -your territory and in a measure your guests, it is only fair that you -produce the man you believe to be Appleweight, that we may have a look -at him first.” - -“Certainly,” said Jerry. “Our prisoner does not deny his identity. It -gives us pleasure to produce him.” - -At a nod from Colonel Daubenspeck the orderly at the door ran off to -where Cooke and the prisoner waited. - -In the interval there was a general exchange of introductions at the -bungalow. The adjutant-general of South Carolina was in a merry mood, -and began chaffing Ardmore upon the deadly character of apples found in -his orchard beyond the Raccoon. - -“I deeply regret,” said Ardmore, rubbing his chin, “that the -adjutant-general of North Carolina is suffering from a severe attack of -_paralysis agitans_, and will be unable to meet with us.” - -“I deplore the fact,” replied the adjutant-general of South Carolina, -“for one of our scouts picked up a darky in the highway a while ago -who had on a uniform dress-coat with the initials ‘R. G.’ sewed in the -pocket.” - -“If you will return that garment to me, General,” said Ardmore, “I will -see that it reaches Colonel Gillingwater by special messenger, where, -upon his couch of pain, he chafes over his enforced absence from the -field of danger.” - -Steps sounded on the veranda, and all rose as Cooke appeared in the -door, leading his handcuffed prisoner, who stood erect and glared at -the company in gloomy silence. - -“This man,” said Ardmore, “we declare to be Bill Appleweight, _alias_ -Poteet.--I ask you, sir”--he addressed the prisoner--“to state whether -you are not known by one or both of these names?” - -The man nodded his head and grumbled a reluctant affirmative. - -“Professor Griswold,” Ardmore went on, “the gentleman in charge of -the prisoner is Roger Cooke, for many years in the secret service of -the United States. He now conducts a private agency, and is in my -employ.--Mr. Cooke, I will ask you whether you identify this man as -Appleweight?” - -“There is no doubt of it whatever. I have known him for years. I once -arrested him for moonshining, and he served a year in the penitentiary -as the result of that arrest.--You will pardon me, sir,” Cooke -continued, addressing Griswold directly, “but this is undoubtedly the -man you had yourself captured at Mount Nebo Church two nights ago, -but who was taken from you, as you may not know, by Miss Geraldine -Dangerfield. She was lost in the woods and came upon the captive, much -to her own surprise.” - -Griswold lifted his brows in amazement and turned towards Jerry. - -“If that is the case, Miss Dangerfield, I salute you! I am sorry to -confess, however, that I did not myself see the man who was captured -by my friends at the church, owing, it appears, to Miss Dangerfield’s -prompt and daring action, and the regrettable cowardice of my men. I -want to say to you, gentlemen, in all frankness, that I am greatly -astonished at what you tell me. Our prisoner is about the same height -as this man, has the same slight stoop in the shoulders, and the same -short beard; but there the resemblance ends.” - -Ardmore was trying not to show too plainly his joy at Griswold’s -discomfiture. None of the South Carolina officers had ever seen -Appleweight, as they lived remote from the scene of his exploits. -Habersham’s men, who had so signally failed in the descent upon Mount -Nebo Church, had taken to the woods on the appearance of the state -soldiery along the border, and could not be found to identify the man -seized at the house on the creek. Habersham had discreetly declined -to support Griswold’s venture at the last moment; to do so would, he -pleaded, ruin his chances of political preferment in the future; or -worse things might, indeed, happen if he countenanced and supported the -armed invasion of North Carolina by South Carolina militia. The zealous -young militiamen who had captured the stranger in the house on the -creek had pronounced the man Appleweight, and their statement had been -accepted and emphasized when the man was taken before Griswold, to whom -he had stubbornly refused to make any statement whatever. - -“Now that you cannot deny that we have the real Appleweight,” began -Jerry, “who is, you must remember, a prisoner of the state of South -Carolina, and must be returned to the Mingo County jail at once, I -think we may as well look at your prisoner, Professor Griswold. He -may be one of Mr. Appleweight’s associates in business; but as we are -interested only in the chief culprit, the identity of the man you hold -is of very little interest to us.” - -“If,” said Griswold, “he is not Appleweight, the original blown in the -bottle----” - -“Jug, if you please!” interposed Ardmore very seriously. - -“Then we don’t care about him, and I shall make you a present of him.” - -“Or,” remarked Ardmore, “I might exchange him for a ruffian I captured -myself down on the Raccoon. He seemed quite insane, declaring himself -to be the governor of South Carolina, and I locked him up in a -corn-crib for safe keeping.” - -“Any man,” said Jerry, lifting her chin slightly, “who would -impersonate the governor of South Carolina would, beyond question, be -utterly insane and an object of compassion. Professor Griswold, will -you please produce your imaginary Appleweight, as at this hour Mrs. -Atchison usually serves tea. Let us therefore make haste.” - -One of Griswold’s retinue ran off to summon the prisoner, who was -guarded by half a dozen soldiers near at hand. - -The company in the bungalow were all laughing heartily at some sally -by the adjutant-general of South Carolina, who insisted upon giving a -light note to the proceedings, when hurried footsteps sounded on the -veranda, and a sergeant appeared in the doorway and saluted. - -The adjutant-general, annoyed at being interrupted in the telling of -a new story, frowned and bade the sergeant produce his prisoner. At -once a man was thrust into the room, a tall man, with a short, dark -beard and slightly stooping shoulders. The strong light at his back -made it difficult for the people grouped about the table to see his -face clearly, but the air somehow seemed charged with electricity, and -all bent forward, straining for a sight of the captive. As he stood -framed in the doorway his face was slowly disclosed to them, and there -appeared to be a humorous twinkle in his eyes. Before any one spoke, he -broke out in a hearty laugh. Then a cry rose piercingly in the quiet -room--a cry of amazement from the lips of Jerry Dangerfield, who had -taken a step forward. - -“Oh, papa!” she cried. - -“The Governor!” roared Colonel Daubenspeck, leaping across the table. - -“It’s Governor Dangerfield!” shouted half a dozen men in chorus. - -At this moment Mrs. Atchison and Miss Barbara Osborne stole softly in -and ranged themselves at the back of the room. - -The governor of North Carolina alone seemed to derive any pleasure from -the confusion and astonishment caused by his appearance. He crossed to -the table and took his daughter’s hand. - -“Jerry, what part do you play in these amateur theatricals?” - -Jerry rose, thrusting her handkerchief into her sleeve, and her lips -trembled slightly, though whether with mirth or some soberer emotion it -would be difficult to say. The room at once gave her attention, seeing -that she was about to speak. - -“Papa, before these people I am not ashamed to confess that during your -absence from the seat of government I took it upon myself to fill your -office to the best of my ability, finding that many important matters -were pressing and that you had gone into exile without leaving your -address behind. I made Mr. Ardmore, the gentleman on my left in the -pearl-gray suit and lavender tie, first private secretary, and then, -when occasion required, acting governor, though in reality he did -nothing without my entire approval. I am happy to say that nothing has -been neglected, and your reputation as a great statesman and friend of -the people has not suffered at our hands. We arrested Mr. Appleweight, -who is standing there by the fireplace, and landed him in the Mingo -County jail as a joke on Governor Osborne, and to appease the demands -of the press and the Woman’s Civic League of Raleigh. The copies of our -correspondence on this and other matters will tell you the story more -completely. And as for Governor Osborne, I have taught him a lesson -in the etiquette that should obtain between governors that he is not -likely to forget. You will find that we have not hesitated to grant -pardons, and we have filled, in one instance, the office of justice of -the peace, made vacant by resignation. The key to your desk, papa, is -behind the clock on the mantel in your private room.” - -“Ladies and gentlemen,” began the governor of North Carolina, laying a -hand upon the table, and with the other seizing the lapel of his rough, -brown coat--a pose made familiar by all his photographs--“the jails of -North Carolina are more uncomfortable than I had believed them to be, -and I have taken a slight cold which compels me to be briefer than this -interesting occasion demands. You have witnessed here an exhibition -of filial devotion that has, I am sure, touched us all. It is well -worth while for me to have suffered arrest and imprisonment to realize -the depth of my daughter’s love, and the jealousy with which she has -safeguarded my private and public honour.” - -He felt for a handkerchief and touched it gently to his eyes; but -Collins declared afterward that Governor Dangerfield was exactly like -his daughter, and that one never could be sure that his mirth was -genuine. - -“I was aware only yesterday, when I saw a newspaper for the first time -in a week, that political capital was being made of my absence from -Raleigh; and that my dear friend, the governor of South Carolina, also, -was being called to account for flinching in the face of imperative -duty.” - -“Your friend, Governor?” cried Ardmore, unable to restrain himself. - -“Certainly, Mr. Ardmore,” continued Governor Dangerfield. “That angry -parting of ours at New Orleans was all for effect to get space in the -newspapers. We had confided to each other that the cares of state had -worn us to an intolerable point, and that we must have rest. Brother -Appleweight had, I confess, given us both a great deal of annoyance, -and to be frank, neither Osborne nor I wished to take the initiative in -his case. So we resolved to disappear, and go to some quiet place for -rest. We outfitted with old clothes and came to the border. Governor -Osborne has a farm over there somewhere in Mingo County, and we made -it our headquarters; but in roaming about we came upon that charming -shanty of yours, Mr. Ardmore, down on the Raccoon. The house was -deserted, and finding the marks of the official survey running clearly -through the timber, we were amused to find that the house was partly in -North, partly in South, Carolina. The thing touched our fancy. A negro -cooked for us--what has become of him I do not know. We cut ourselves -off from the mail and telegraph and received no newspapers until a -packet came yesterday, and it was only a few minutes after I saw from -the headlines of the _Vidette_ what a row was going on that I realized -that strange things may happen when the king goes a-hunting.” - -As he paused, Miss Osborne stepped forward, the men making way for her. - -“If this be true, Governor Dangerfield, may I ask you, sir, what has -become of my father?” - -Governor Dangerfield smiled. - -“I regret, Miss Barbara, that I cannot answer that question; I must -refer it to my daughter.” - -“Miss Osborne,” responded Jerry, “while I should be glad to assist you -in recovering your father as a slight return for your having placed -mine in the Dilwell County jail and kept him there all night, I regret -that I am unable to be of the slightest help to you.” - -The perspiration was beading Ardmore’s brow, but he smiled as though in -joy at Jerry’s readiness. - -“We have taken a number of prisoners,” said Ardmore, meeting the -governor’s glance, “and while I do not think Governor Osborne can -possibly be of the number, yet I shall be glad to produce them all. -There’s a person in the corn-crib a little way across country whom -I captured myself. I believe he’s now tied to a mulberry tree a -little way down the road, as he pretended to be the governor of South -Carolina, and I feared that he might do himself some harm.” - -Before he ceased speaking big Paul strode in, an angry and crestfallen -man following at his heels. - -“Oh, father!” - -It was Barbara Osborne’s voice; but whatever of anger or joy there may -have been in her words and tone was lost in the shout of laughter that -broke from Governor Dangerfield. The governor of South Carolina was in -no such high humour. He sputtered, swore, stamped his foot, and struck -the table with his clenched hand as he demanded to know the meaning of -the outrageous indignity to which he had been subjected. - -The more his friend stormed the more Governor Dangerfield roared with -laughter, but when he could control himself he laid an arresting arm on -Governor Osborne’s shoulder, and spoke to Barbara. - -“Barbara, may I ask whether you, like my own Jerry, have been -protecting your father’s fair name during his absence; and does that -account for my night spent in the jail at Kildare? If so----” - -Governor Dangerfield’s laughter got the better of him, but Barbara, -with dignity, turned to her father. - -“It is quite true, that finding your absence occasioning serious -remark, while your attorney-general took advantage of your absence to -annoy me in a most cowardly fashion, with the kind help of Professor -Griswold, I did all in my power to thwart your enemies, and to show -the people of South Carolina that you were not a man to evade the -responsibilities of your office. As to the details of these matters I -prefer, father, to speak to you in private.” - -“Professor Griswold?” repeated Governor Osborne haughtily. “I believe -I have not the honour of the gentleman’s acquaintance;” whereupon, to -ease the situation, Ardmore presented his old friend. - -“Governor Osborne, allow me to present Professor Henry Maine Griswold, -associate professor of admiralty in the University of Virginia, and the -author of----” - -“Griswold?” The anger slowly left Governor Osborne’s face. “Do I -understand that you belong to the Virginia tide-water family of that -name? Then, sir, without hesitation I offer you my hand.” - -“Osborne,” cried Governor Dangerfield, “we have every reason to be -proud of our daughters. They have done their best for us; and they seem -to have acted wisely in accepting aid from these gentlemen; and now, -what is to be done with Bill Appleweight?” - -“We have with us that requisition you left on your desk,” exclaimed -Barbara, turning to her father. - -“I’m afraid that won’t help,” laughed Governor Osborne, “that -requisition, Barbara, is purely Pickwickian in character.” - -“The disposition of Appleweight,” said Cooke, “is a matter of delicacy -for both of you gentlemen, and you will pardon me for thrusting myself -forward, but that this affair may end happily for all, neither North -nor South Carolina should bear the burden of prosecuting a man to -whom--we may say it as between friends here--the governors of both -states are under some trifling obligations.” - -The governor of North Carolina exchanged a glance and a nod with the -governor of South Carolina. - -“Therefore,” resumed Cooke, “we must hit upon a plan of action that -will eliminate both states from the controversy. I will, with your -permission, turn Appleweight over to the United States revenue officers -who are even now in this neighbourhood looking for him.” - -“No!” cried Jerry. “We shall do nothing of the kind! I met Mr. -Appleweight under peculiar circumstances, but I must say that I formed -a high opinion of his chivalry, and I beg that we allow him to take a -little trip somewhere until the Woman’s Civic League of Raleigh and -the carping Massachusetts press have found other business, and he can -return in peace to his home.” - -“That,” said Governor Osborne, “meets my approval.” - -“And I,” Ardmore added, “will give him my private caboose in which to -cruise the larger Canadian cities.” - -Two more prisoners were now brought in. - -“Governor Dangerfield,” continued Ardmore, “here is your state -treasurer, who had sought to injure you by defaulting the state bonds -due to-day, which is the first of June. And that frowsy person with Mr. -Foster is Secretary Billings, of the Bronx Loan and Trust Company, who -has treated me at times with the greatest injustice and condescension. -Whether Treasurer Foster has the money with which to meet those bonds I -do not know; but I do know that I have to-day paid them in full through -the Buckhaw National Bank of Raleigh.” - -Colonel Daubenspeck leaped to his feet and swung his cap. He proposed -three cheers for Jerry Dangerfield; and three more for Barbara Osborne; -and then the two governors were cheered three times three; and when the -bungalow had ceased to ring, it was seen that Ardmore and Griswold were -in each other’s arms. - -“Surely, by this time,” said Mrs. Atchison, “you have adjusted enough -of these weighty matters for one day, and I beg that you will all dine -with us at Ardsley to-night at eight o’clock, where my brother and I -will endeavour to mark in appropriate fashion the signing of peace -between your neighbouring kingdoms.” - -“For Governor Osborne and myself I accept, madam,” replied Governor -Dangerfield, “providing the flowing frock-coats, which are the vesture -and symbol of our respective offices, are still in the log house on the -Raccoon where I became a prisoner.” - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -ROSÆ MUNDI. - - -Mrs. Atchison and Ardmore had given their last touches to the -preparations for the dinner. Every window of the great house shone and -a myriad of lanterns illuminated the lawns and terraces. The flags of -North and South Carolina were everywhere entwined; nor were the stars -and stripes neglected. They surveyed the long table in the dining-room, -where gold and silver and crystal were bright upon the snowy napery. - -“The matter of precedence is serious, Tommy,” urged Mrs. Atchison. “I -cannot for the life of me remember what two monarchs do about entering -a room at the same time.” - -“Nor do I, Nellie,” said Ardmore; “unless they sprint for the door, and -the one who gets through first takes the head of the table. Still, that -would be undignified, particularly if the kings were old and fat, and -if they bumped going through the door and took a header it would jar -the divine right.” - -“Here in democratic America,” said Griswold, joining them, “there can -be no such preposterous idea of precedence.” - -“I should think better of that notion, Professor Griswold,” laughed -Mrs. Atchison, “if I had never seen the goats carefully shepherded to -keep them away from the lambs at functions in Washington. Democracy -may be a political triumph, but it is certainly deficient socially. -Personally I have always wished to bring myself in touch with the poor. -Ardy is quite right that our own kind are distinctly uninteresting.” - -“You ought to remember, Nellie, that your idea of going slumming in a -purple coupé and dressed up in your best rags is not well calculated to -inspire confidence and affection among the submerged. But how to handle -two governors has me fussed. You are the hostess, and it’s for you to -decide which excellency shall take you in. I see no way out but to -match for it.” - -“That will be unnecessary,” said Mrs. Atchison, “for the doors and the -hall are broad enough for a dozen governors to march in abreast.” - -“That would never do, Nellie! You don’t understand these things. You -can’t hitch up a brace of American governors in a team and drive them -like a pair of horses. At least, speaking for the Old North State, I -will say that we can never consent to any such compromise.” - -“And I, speaking for the great Palmetto Commonwealth, not less -emphatically reject the idea!” declared Griswold. - -“Then,” said Mrs. Atchison, “there is only one possible solution. When -the rest of us have entered the dining-room and taken our places, a -bugle will sound; the governor of North Carolina shall enter from the -north door; the governor of South Carolina from the south door, and -advance to seats facing each other midway of the table. Professor -Griswold, you are an old friend of the family, and you shall yourself -take me in to dinner.” - -The members of Mrs. Atchison’s house party, well distributed among -the official guests, were still somewhat at a loss to know what had -happened, but it seemed to be in the air that Tommy Ardmore had at -last done something, though just what was not wholly clear. It was -sufficiently obvious, however, that the little girl with blue eyes -who had the drollest possible way of talking, and whom one never -seemed able to take off guard, had seized strong hold upon the master -of Ardsley; and she, on her part, treated him with the most provoking -condescension. It was agreed by all that Miss Osborne was distinguished -and lovely and that Professor Griswold did not seem out of place at her -side. - -The talk grew general after the first restraint was over, and Mrs. -Atchison dropped just the right word here and there to keep the ball -rolling. Governor Osborne had generously forgotten and forgiven his -painful incarceration in the corn-crib, and he and Governor Dangerfield -vied with each other in avowing their determination to live up to the -high standards that had been set for them by their daughters. - -Both governors had at almost the same moment turned down their glasses. -It even seemed that they had been drilled in the part, so dexterous -were they in reversing them, so nimbly did they put from them the hope -of wine. The members of the house party noted this act of the two -governors with well-bred surprise; and Ardmore was grieved, feeling -that in some measure the illustrious guests were criticising his -hospitality. The butler at this moment spoke to him, and much relieved -he smiled and nodded. A moment later two jugs, two little brown jugs, -were carried in, and one was placed quietly in front of each governor -at precisely the same moment. Expectation was instantly a-tiptoe. - -“Gentlemen,” said Ardmore, addressing the governors, “these jugs have -just been left at the house by our old friend, Mr. Bill Appleweight, -_alias_ Poteet, with his compliments, for the governors of the two -greatest states in the Union. I note that there’s a bit of pink calico -around the stopper of Governor Dangerfield’s jug, while Governor -Osborne’s is garnished with blue and white gingham.” - -Governor Osborne rose. - -“In politics,” he began, resting his hand gently on the jug, “it would -be a fine thing if we could all live up to our noblest ideals, but -unfortunately we must be all things to all men. What I have here is -not merely the testimonial of a valued constituent, but something much -subtler than that, ladies and gentlemen--a delicate proof that those -of us who would command the good-will and suffrages of the people must -keep a careful eye on the weather-vane. This jug, which you probably -all believe contains the rude product of some hidden still, is as -equivocal as a political platform. I will illustrate my meaning.” - -All eyes were bent upon the governor of South Carolina as he picked up -the jug, twisted the cob stopper for a moment, and then poured into -a tumbler which the butler placed for him a clear white fluid; then, -turning the stopper slightly, he poured into another glass a thick -milk-like liquid. - -“When among my constituents I almost invariably call for a gourd for -drinking purposes in preference to a tumbler; but in this company I -shall abandon a custom of the plain people and yield to the habits of -the sons of Mammon. I am here, I take it, once more in my official -capacity as governor of South Carolina, and as I am not one to offend -the best sentiments of my people, I pledge you, my friends, not in -the untaxed corn whisky of Appleweight’s private still, but in the -excellent and foamy buttermilk of Mrs. Appleweight’s homely churn.” - -As he concluded, Governor Dangerfield rose and performed exactly -the same solemn rite with the jug before him, pouring whisky into -one glass, buttermilk into the other, and leaning across the table -he touched his tumbler of buttermilk to that extended by Governor -Osborne. When the applause that greeted this exchange of courtesies -had subsided, Governor Dangerfield was still standing, and in a quiet -conversational tone, and with a manner engagingly frank, he said: - -“Before it seemed expedient to follow the reform bandwagon, I held -certain principles touching the drinking habit. But the American bar -has destroyed drinking as a fine art, and it has now become a vulgar -habit. In the good old times no gentleman ever jumped at his liquor. -He took it with a casual air, even with a sanctifying reluctance. -The idea of rushing into a public place and gulping your liquor is -repugnant to the most primary of the instincts that govern gentlemen. -To precipitate a gill of applejack into that most delicate organism, -the human stomach, without the slightest warning, is an insult to the -human body--ay, more, it is an outrage upon man’s very soul. The aim of -liquor, ladies and gentlemen, is to stay and lift the spirit, not to -degrade it. Drinking at proper intervals ceased to be respectable at a -fixed date in human progress--to be exact, at the moment when it was no -longer a mere incident of personal or social recreation but had become -a sociological and political issue, staggering drunkenly under a weary -burden of most painful statistics.” - -“You are eminently right, Governor Dangerfield,” said the governor of -South Carolina, helping himself to the salted almonds; “but you have -used a phrase which piques my curiosity. Will you kindly enlighten us -as to how you interpret proper intervals?” - -“With greatest pleasure,” responded Governor Dangerfield. “I remember, -as though it were yesterday, my venerable grandfather saying that no -gentleman should ever approach the sideboard oftener than once before -breakfast, and he was himself a very early riser. I discount this, -however, because he always slept with a jug of Cuban rum--the annual -offering of a West Indian friend--easily within his reach at the head -of his bed. It was his practice for years to sip a little rum and water -while he shaved. He was a gentleman if ever I knew one, and as I look -upon him as a standard authority in all matters of deportment and -morals, I may safely cite him further in answer to your question. - -“During the long open season in our country my grandfather constantly -rode over the plantation in immaculate white duck, followed by a -darky on a mule carrying a basket. On our ancestral estate there -were many springs giving the purest and coldest of water, and these -were providentially scattered at the most convenient intervals for -my grandfather’s comfort. And as a slight return to nature for what -she had done for him in this particular, my grandfather, in his early -youth, had planted mint around all these springs. I need hardly point -out the advantages of this happiest of combinations--a spring of clear, -icy water; the pungent bouquet of lush mint; the ample basket borne -by a faithful negro, and my grandfather, in his white duck suit and a -Panama hat a yard wide, seated by the mossy spring, selecting with the -most delicate care the worthiest of the fragrant leaves. - -“Now”--and Governor Dangerfield smiled--“I can see that you are all -busy guessing at the number of stops made by my grandfather in the -course of a day, and I hasten to satisfy your curiosity. My grandfather -always started out at six o’clock in the morning, and the springs were -so arranged that he had to make six stops before noon, and four in the -afternoon; but at five o’clock, when he reached home all fagged out by -a hard day’s work and sorely needing refreshment, a pitcher of cherry -bounce was waiting for him on the west gallery of the house. After -that he took nothing but a night-cap on retiring for the night. To my -friend, the governor of South Carolina, I need offer no apologies for -my grandfather, once a senator in Congress, and a man distinguished for -his sobriety and probity. He was an upright man and a gentleman, and -died at ninety-two, full of years and honours, and complaining, almost -with his last breath, of a distressing dusty feeling in the throat.” - -When, as time passed, it seemed that every one had told a story or -made a speech, it was Ardmore’s inspiration that Griswold should sing -a song. The associate professor of admiralty in the University of -Virginia had already pledged the loyalty of his state to her neighbours -and twin sisters, the Carolinas, and Barbara, who wore a great bunch -of her own white roses, had listened to him with a new respect and -interest, for he spoke well, with the special grace of speech that men -of his state have, and with little turns of humour that kept the table -bubbling merrily. - -“I shall comply with your request, my friends, if you can bear with the -poor voice of one long out of tune, and if our host still has in the -house a certain ancient guitar I remember from old times. But I must -impose one condition, that I shall not again in this place be called -by my academic title. I have known wars and the shock of battle along -the Raccoon”--here his hand went to his lips in the gesture that had -so often distressed Ardmore--“and I have known briefly the joy of a -military title. Miss Osborne conferred on me in an emergency the noble -title of major, and by it I demand hereafter to be known.” - -The governor of South Carolina was promptly upon his feet. - -“Henry Maine Griswold,” he said in his most official manner, “I hereby -appoint you a major on my staff with all the rights, privileges, and -embarrassments thereunto belonging, and you shall to-morrow attend me -personally in my inspection of our troops in the field.” - -As the guitar was placed in Griswold’s hands, Ardmore caused all -the lights to be turned out save those on the table. In the soft -candle-glow Ardmore bent his face upon Jerry, who had been merrily -chaffing him at intervals, but who feigned at other times an utter -ignorance of his presence on earth. As Griswold’s voice rose in the -mellow dusk it seemed to Ardmore that the song spoke things he could -not, like his friend, put into utterance, and something fine and sweet -and hallowed--that sweet sabbath of the soul that comes with first -love--possessed him, and he ceased looking at Jerry, but bent his head -and was lost in dreams. For the song and the voice were both beyond -what the company had expected. It was an old air that Griswold sang, -and it gave charm to his words, which were those of a man who loves -deeply and who dares speak them to the woman he loves. They rose and -fell in happy cadences, and every word rang clear. In the longer lines -of the song there was a quickening of time that carried the sense of -passion, and Griswold lifted his head when he uttered them and let them -cry out of him. - -One of Barbara’s white roses had fallen into her lap, and she played -with it idly; but after the first verse it slipped from her fingers, -and she folded her arms on the table and bent her gaze on the quiet -flame of the candle before her. And this was the song that Griswold -sang: - - Fair winds and golden suns - Down the year’s dim aisles of gray depart; - But you are the dear white rose of the world - That I hide in my heart. - - Last leaves, and the first wild snow, - And the earth through an iron void is whirled; - But safe from the tempest abide in my heart, - O dear white rose of the world! - - Blithe air and flashing wing. - And awakened sap that thrills and flows; - But hid from the riot and haste of the spring - Sleeps one white rose. - - O scattered leaves of days! - O low-voiced glories that fade and depart! - But changeless and dear through the changing year - Blooms one white rose in my heart. - -The last words hung tremulously, tenderly, on the air, and left a spell -upon the company that no one seemed anxious to break; then there was -long applause and cries of encore; but Ardmore, who knew that his -friend had been greatly moved, drew attention away from him to Collins, -who had just entered the room. - -The correspondent had been called away shortly before from the table, -and he wore the serious air of one heavy with news. - -“I beg to report that I have just completed a treaty with the -journalists assembled in the cellar.” - -“I hope, Mr. Collins, that the journalists’ convention below stairs -realized that the lobster we sent them for supper was not canned, -and that the mushrooms were creamed for their refreshment by Mrs. -Atchison’s special command. It is not for us to trifle with the dignity -of the press,” said Jerry. - -“The reputations of two governors and of two states are in their -hands,” said the governor of South Carolina, with feeling. “It would -be a distressing end of my public services if the truth of all these -matters should be known. The fact that Governor Dangerfield and I -had merely withdrawn from public life for a little quiet poker in -the country would sound like the grossest immorality to my exacting -constituency.” - -“Both yourself and Governor Dangerfield will be relieved to know that -they have accepted my terms, and all is well,” responded Collins. “They -will tell the waiting world that you have both been the guests of -Mr. Ardmore, and that the troops assembled on the Raccoon are merely -at their usual summer manœuvres. As for Appleweight, it has seemed -expedient that he should be dead, and the man who has been called by -that name of late is only an impostor seeking a little cheap notoriety. -The boys are very sick of the cellar, and they would do even more than -this to get away.” - -“Mr. Collins,” said Governor Dangerfield, rising, “your great merits -shall not go unrewarded. I have carelessly neglected to appoint a -delegate from North Carolina to the annual conference of the Supreme -Lodge of the Society of American Liars shortly to meet at Lake Placid, -New York. As a slight testimonial of my confidence and admiration, I -hereby appoint you to represent the Old North State at that meeting, -and your expenses shall be paid from the public purse.” - -“The boys wish to see your excellencies before they leave,” said -Collins when he had acknowledged the governor’s compliment; and as he -spoke the sound of great cheering broke through the windows, and Mrs. -Atchison promptly rose and led the way to the broad terraces which were -now gay with coloured lanterns. - -“Speech! speech!” cried the corps of correspondents. Then Ardmore -seized Governor Osborne’s hand and led him forward to the balustrade; -but before the governor of South Carolina could speak, the group of -newspaper men began chanting, in the manner of a college antiphonal: - - What did he say to you? - What did he say to you? - _What did who say?_ - What did the governor of North Carolina - SAY - To the governor of South Carolina? - -“Gentlemen,” began Governor Osborne, speaking with great deliberation, -“I am profoundly touched by the cordiality of your greeting. -(Applause.) Amid the perplexities of my official life I am deeply -sensible always of the consideration and generosity of our free and -untrammelled American press. (Cheers.) Without your support and -approval, my best aims, my sincerest endeavours in behalf of the -people, must fall short and fail of their purpose. (A voice: You’re -dead right about that.) I am proud of this opportunity to greet this -most complimentary delegation of men distinguished in the noble -profession of which Greeley, Raymond, and Dana were the high ornaments. -(Cheers.) I look into your upturned faces as into the faces of old -friends. But I dare not--(A voice: Oh, don’t be afraid, Governor!)--I -dare not take too personally this expression of your good-will. It is -not myself but the great state of South Carolina that you honour, and -on behalf of mine own people, who have always stood sturdily for the -great principles of the constitution (Cheers); who have failed in no -hour of the country’s need, but have tilled their fields in peace and -defended them in the dark days of war, I thank you, my friends, with -all my heart, again and again.” (Applause and cheers.) - - What did you say to him? - What did you say to him? - _What did who say?_ - What did the governor of North Carolina - SAY - To the governor of South Carolina? - -“On an occasion so purely social as this,” began Governor Dangerfield, -balancing himself lightly upon the balustrade, “it would be most -indelicate for me to discuss any of the great issues of the day. -(A voice: Oh, I don’t know!) I endorse, with all the strength of -my being, and with all the sincerity of which my heart is capable, -the stirring tribute paid to your noble profession by my friend, -known far and near, and justly known, as the great reform governor -of South Carolina. (Cheers.) I am proud that the American press is -incorruptible. (Cheers.) Great commercial nation though we be, the -American newspaper--the American newspaper, I say, is one thing that is -never for sale. (Applause and cheers.) The temptation is strong upon -me to take advantage of this gathering of representative journalists -to speak--not of the fathers of the constitution, not of Jefferson or -Jackson, but of living men and living issues (Cheers and cries of Let -’er go!); but the hour is late (A voice: Oh, not on Broadway, William!) -and, to repeat, it would be the height of impropriety--a betrayal of -the bountiful hospitality we have all enjoyed (A voice: Our lobster -was all right. Another voice, with ironical inflection: _This_ lobster -is all right!), a betrayal, I say, of hospitality for me to do more, -gentlemen, than to thank you, and to say that in your strong hands the -liberties of the people are safe indeed.” (Prolonged cheering.) - -As the correspondents marched away to take the special train provided -for them at Kildare by Ardmore, they continued to cheer, and they were -still demanding, as long as their cries could be heard at Ardsley: - - What did he say to him? - What did he say to him? - _What did who say?_ - What did the governor of North Carolina - SAY - To the governor of South Carolina? - -With a sigh Ardmore left them at the great gates of Ardsley and -returned to the house to find Jerry; but that young woman was the -centre of a wide circle of admiring militia officers, and the master -of Ardsley was so depressed by the spectacle that he sought a dim -corner of the grounds where there was a stone bench by a fountain, and -there, to his confusion, he beheld Miss Barbara Osborne and Henry Maine -Griswold; and Miss Osborne, it seemed, was in the act of fastening a -white rose in Professor Griswold’s coat. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -GOOD-BYE TO JERRY DANGERFIELD. - - -The next morning Ardmore knocked at Griswold’s door as early as he -dared, and went in and talked to his friend in their old intimate -fashion. The associate professor of admiralty was shaving himself with -care. - -“You won’t have any hard feelings about that scarlet fever business, -will you, Grissy? It was downright selfish of me to want to keep the -thing to myself, but I thought it would be fun to go ahead and carry it -through and then show you how well I pulled it off.” - -“Don’t ever refer to it again, if you love me,” spluttered Griswold -amiably, as he washed off the lather. “I, too, have ruled over a -kingdom, and I have seen history in the making, _quorum pars magna -fui_.” - -“But I say, Grissy, there is such a thing as fate and destiny and all -that after all; don’t you believe it?” - -“Don’t I believe it! I know it!” thundered Griswold, reaching for a -towel. He lifted a white rose from a glass of water where it had spent -the night, and regarded it tenderly. “The right rose under the right -star, and the thing’s done; the rose, the star, and the girl--the -combination simply can’t be beat, Ardy.” - -Ardmore seized and wrung his friend’s hand for the twentieth time; but -he was preoccupied, and Griswold, fastening his collar at the mirror, -hummed softly the couplet: - - With the winking eye - For my battle-cry. - -“Grissy!” shouted Ardmore, “she never did it!” - -“Oh--bless my soul, what was I saying! Why, of course she wasn’t the -one! Not Miss Dangerfield--never!” - -“Well, you like her, don’t you?” demanded Ardmore petulantly. - -“Of course I like her, you idiot! She’s wonderful. She’s----” - -He frowned upon the scarf he had chosen with much care, snapped it to -shake the wrinkles out, humming softly, while Ardmore glared at him. - -“She’s wise,” Griswold resumed, “with the wisdom of laughter--accept -that, with my compliments. It’s not often I do so well before -breakfast. And now if you’re to be congratulated before I go back to -the groves of Academe, pray bestir yourself. At this very moment I have -an engagement to walk with a lady before breakfast--thanks, yes, that’s -my coat. Good-bye!” - -Breakfast was a lingering affair at Ardsley that morning. The two -governors and the national guard officers who had spent the night in -the house were not in the slightest hurry to break up the party, for -such a company, they all knew, could hardly be assembled again. The -governors were a trifle nervous as to the attitude of the press, in -spite of Collins’s efforts to dictate what history should say of the -affair on the Raccoon; but before they left the table the Raleigh -morning papers were brought in, and it was clear that the newspaper men -were keeping their contract. - -“I congratulate you, Dangerfield,” said Governor Osborne. “I only hope -that the Columbia and Charleston papers have done half as well by me.” - -Both governors had decided upon an inspection of such portions of their -militia as were assembled on the Raccoon, and a joint dress parade was -appointed for six o’clock. - -Ardmore, anxious to make every one at home, saw the morning pass -without a chance to speak to Jerry; and when he was free shortly before -noon he was chagrined to find that she had gone for a ride over the -estate with her father, Governor Osborne, Barbara, and Griswold. He -went in pursuit, and to his delight found her presently sitting alone -on a log by the Raccoon, having dismounted, it appeared, to rescue a -fledgling robin whose cries had led her away from her companions. She -pointed out the nest, and directed him to climb the tree and restore -the bird. This done, he sat down beside her at a point where the -Raccoon curved sweepingly and swung off abruptly into a new course. - -“I hope your father didn’t scold you for anything we did,” he began -meekly. - -“No; he took it all pretty well, and promised that if I wouldn’t tell -mamma what he had been doing--about coming down here with Governor -Osborne just to settle an old score at poker--mamma doesn’t approve of -cards, you know--that he would make me a present of a better riding -horse than the one I now have, and he might even consider a trip abroad -next summer.” - -“Oh, you mustn’t go abroad! It’s--it’s so lonesome abroad!” - -“How perfectly ridiculous! Has it never occurred to you that I am never -lonesome, not even when I’m alone?” - -“Well,” said Ardmore, who saw that he was headed for a blind alley, -“I’m glad your father was not displeased with our work.” - -“He’ll think we did pretty well after he’s read our correspondence in -his letter books. I told him the stamp we stamped his name with worked -better with the red ink pad than with the black one, which ought, at -any rate, to be clear enough to a man of papa’s intelligence.” - -“Did you tell him about that railroad lawyer from New York who wanted -to suppress the law which compels all locomotive whistles to be tuned -to E flat?” - -“No; that man sent me a ten-pound box of candy, which was highly -improper, considering papa’s position, and I should have scorned to -accept the candy, only I had forgotten to keep his card.” - -“And besides,” added Ardmore gently, “you had eaten the candy. Don’t -you remember that you left nothing but a few burnt almonds which you -wanted to keep for eating filapenas?” - -“Don’t be silly!” ejaculated Jerry contemptuously. - -“It’s a good thing all this fuss about the Appleweight people is over, -or I should be worse than silly. My mind was not intended for such -heavy work.” - -“I think you have a good mind, Mr. Ardmore,” said Jerry, with the -air of one who makes concessions. “You really did well in all these -troubles, and you did much better than I thought you would the day I -hired you for private secretary. I think I could safely recommend you -to any governor in need of assistance.” - -“You talk as though you were getting ready to discharge me,” said -Ardmore plaintively, “and I don’t want to lose my job.” - -“You ought to have something to do,” said Jerry thoughtfully. “As near -as I can make out you have never done anything but study about pirates -and collect pernicious books on the sinful life of Captain Kidd. You -should have some larger aim in life than that, and I think I know of a -good position that is now open, or will be as soon as papa has cleared -out the peanut shells we left in his desk. I think you would make an -excellent adjutant-general with full charge of the state militia. -You have already had experience in the handling of troops, and as -Rutherford Gillingwater never did anything but get typhoid fever to -earn the place, I see no reason why papa should not appoint you to the -position.” - -“But you have to get rid of Gillingwater first,” suggested Ardmore, his -heart beating fast. - -“If you mean that he has to be removed from office, I will tell you -now, Mr. Ardmore, that Rutherford Gillingwater will no longer sign -himself adjutant-general of North Carolina. I removed him myself in a -general order I wrote yesterday afternoon just before I told papa that -you and I could not act as governor any longer, but that he must resume -the yoke.” - -“But that must have been a matter of considerable delicacy, Miss -Dangerfield, when you consider that you are engaged to marry Mr. -Gillingwater.” - -“Not in the least,” said Jerry. “I broke our engagement the moment I -saw that he came here the other night all dressed up to eat and not -to fight, and he is now free to engage himself to that thin blonde at -Goldsboro whom he thinks so highly intellectual.” - -Jerry held up her left hand and regarded its ringless fingers -judicially, while Ardmore, his heart racing hotly against all records, -watched her, and with a particular covetousness his eyes studied that -trifle of a hand. - -Then with a quick gesture he seized her hand and raised her gently to -her feet. - -“Jerry!” he cried. “From the moment you winked at me I have loved you. -I should have followed you round the world until I found you. If you -can marry a worthless wretch like me, if--O Jerry!” - -She gently freed her hand and stepped to one side, bending her head -like a bird that pauses alarmed, or uncertain of its whereabouts, -glancing cautiously up and down the creek. - -“Mr. Ardmore,” she said, “you may not be aware that when you asked me -to be your wife--and that, I take it, was your intention--you were -standing in South Carolina, while I stood with both feet on the sacred -soil of the Old North State. Under the circumstances I do not think -your proposal is legal. Moreover, unless you are quite positive which -eye it was that so far forgot itself as to wink, I do not think the -matter can go further.” - -The slightest suggestion of a smile played about her lips, but he -was very deeply troubled, and seeing this, her eyes grew grave with -kindness. - -“Mr. Ardmore, if your muscles of locomotion have not been utterly -paralyzed, and if you will leave that particular state of the Union -which, next to Massachusetts, I most deeply abhor, I will do what I can -in my poor weak way--as father says in beginning his best speeches--to -assist you to the answer.” - -Then for many æons, when he had his arms about her, a kiss, which he -had intended for the lips that were so near, somehow failed of its -destination, and fell upon what seemed to him a rose-leaf gone to -Heaven, but which was, in fact, Jerry Dangerfield’s left eye. His being -tingled with the most delicious of intoxications, to which the clasp -of her arms about his neck added unnecessary though not unwelcome -delight. Then she drew back and held him away with her finger-tips for -an instant. - -“Mr. Thomas Ardmore,” she said, with maddening deliberation, “it may -not be important, but I must tell you in all candour that it was the -other eye.” - - -THE END. - - - - - NELSON LIBRARY - OF COPYRIGHT FICTION. - - -Popular editions of recent novels in library-style binding, uniform -with this volume. - - 58. LADY ROSE’S DAUGHTER. Mrs. H. Ward. - 57. THE PRIMROSE PATH. Mrs. Oliphant. - 56. THOMPSON’S PROGRESS. C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne. - 55. LONELY LADY OF GROSVENOR SQUARE. Mrs. H. de la Pasture. - 54. LOVE AND MR. LEWISHAM. H. G. Wells. - 53. CLARISSA FURIOSA. W. E. Norris. - 52. CYNTHIA’S WAY. Mrs. A. Sidgwick. - 51. RAFFLES. E. W. Hornung. - 50. THE FOOD OF THE GODS. H. G. Wells. - 49. FRENCH NAN. A. and E. Castle. - 48. SPRINGTIME. H. C. Bailey. - 47. MOONFLEET. J. Meade Falkner. - 46. KIPPS. H. G. Wells. - 45. THE GATELESS BARRIER. Lucas Malet. - 44. MAJOR VIGOUREUX. “Q.” - 43. OLD GORGON GRAHAM. G. H. Lorimer. - 42. MRS. GALER’S BUSINESS. W. Pett Ridge. - 41. HOUSE WITH THE GREEN SHUTTERS. George Douglas. - 40. SELAH HARRISON. S. Macnaughtan. - 39. MARCELLA. Mrs. Humphry Ward. - 38. HIS HONOR AND A LADY. S. J. Duncan. - 37. THE DUENNA OF A GENIUS. M. E. Francis. - 36. OWD BOB. Alfred Ollivant. - 35. EIGHT DAYS. R. E. Forrest. - 34. LADY AUDLEY’S SECRET. Miss Braddon. - 33. THE WAGES OF SIN. Lucas Malet. - 32. AN ADVENTURER OF THE NORTH. Sir Gilbert Parker. - 31. THE PIT. Frank Norris. - 30. MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE. Booth Tarkington. - 29. WOODSIDE FARM. Mrs. W. K. Clifford. - 28. RECIPE FOR DIAMONDS. C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne. - 27. A LAME DOG’S DIARY. S. Macnaughtan. - 26. MAN FROM AMERICA. Mrs. H. de la Pasture. - 25. SIR JOHN CONSTANTINE. “Q.” - 24. THE PRINCESS PASSES. C. N. and A. M. Williamson. - 23. WHITE FANG. Jack London. - 22. THE OCTOPUS. Frank Norris. - 21. TRANSLATION OF A SAVAGE. Sir G. Parker. - 20. MATTHEW AUSTIN. W. E. Norris. - 19. THE ODD WOMEN. George Gissing. - 18. THE LADY OF THE BARGE. W. W. Jacobs. - 17. THE GOD IN THE CAR. Anthony Hope. - 16. THE HOSTS OF THE LORD. Mrs. F. A. Steel. - 15. HIS GRACE. W. E. Norris. - 14. THE AMERICAN PRISONER. Eden Phillpotts. - 13. IF YOUTH BUT KNEW! A. and E. Castle. - 12. CLEMENTINA. A. E. W. Mason. - 11. JOHN CHARITY. H. A. Vachell. - 10. THE KING’S MIRROR. Anthony Hope. - 9. DAVID GRIEVE. Mrs. Humphry Ward. - 8. INCOMPARABLE BELLAIRS. A. and E. Castle. - 7. QUISANTÉ. Anthony Hope. - 6. NO. 5 JOHN STREET. Richard Whiteing. - 5. ROBERT ELSMERE. Mrs. Humphry Ward. - 4. BATTLE OF THE STRONG. Sir Gilbert Parker. - 3. THE FORTUNE OF CHRISTINA M’NAB. S. Macnaughtan. - 2. INTRUSIONS OF PEGGY. Anthony Hope. - 1. THE MARRIAGE OF WILLIAM ASHE. Mrs. Humphry Ward. - -_Others in the Press. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The war of the Carolinas</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Meredith Nicholson</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Illustrator: Stephen Reid</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: June 9, 2022 [eBook #68275]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: D A Alexander, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WAR OF THE CAROLINAS ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter hide"><img src="images/coversmall.jpg" width="450" alt="" /></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<p class="ph3"><i>UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME</i></p> - -<hr class="tiny" /> - -<table> -<tr><td>THE PRIMROSE PATH.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>Mrs. Oliphant.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>THOMPSON’S PROGRESS.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>LOVE AND MR. LEWISHAM.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>H. G. Wells.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>THE FOOD OF THE GODS.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>H. G. Wells.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>KIPPS.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>H. G. Wells.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>CYNTHIA’S WAY.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>Mrs. A. Sidgwick.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>CLARISSA FURIOSA.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>W. E. Norris.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>RAFFLES.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>E. W. Hornung.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>FRENCH NAN.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>Agnes & Egerton Castle.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>SPRINGTIME.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>H. C. Bailey.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>MOONFLEET.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>J. Meade Falkner.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>WHITE FANG.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>Jack London.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>MAJOR VIGOUREUX.</td><td class="tdr"> “<i>Q.</i>”</td></tr> -<tr><td>EIGHT DAYS.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>R. E. Forrest.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>THE TRANSLATION OF A SAVAGE.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>Sir G. Parker.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>A LAME DOG’S DIARY.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>S. Macnaughtan.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>FORTUNE OF CHRISTINA M’NAB.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>S. Macnaughtan.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>THE RECIPE FOR DIAMONDS.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>OLD GORGON GRAHAM.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>George Horace Lorimer.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>MRS. GALER’S BUSINESS.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>W. Pett Ridge.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>THE DUENNA OF A GENIUS.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>M. E. Francis.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>THE OCTOPUS.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>Frank Norris.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>THE PIT.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>Frank Norris.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>MATTHEW AUSTIN.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>W. E. Norris.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>HIS GRACE.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>W. E. Norris.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>MARCELLA.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>Mrs. Humphry Ward.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>THE INTRUSIONS OF PEGGY.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>Anthony Hope.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td>THE PRINCESS PASSES.</td><td class="tdr"> <i>C. N. & A. M. Williamson.</i></td></tr> -</table> - - -<p class="center"><i>And Many Other Equally Popular<br /> -Copyright Novels.</i></p> - -<hr class="tiny" /> - -<p class="ph3"><i>NELSON’S LIBRARY.</i></p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_dongle.jpg" alt="" /></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_frontispiece.jpg" alt="" /></div> -<p class="caption">She loosed his horse’s rein, and led it rapidly towards<br /> -her own horse.</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_title.jpg" alt="" /></div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> -<h1> -The War<br /> -of the<br /> -Carolinas</h1> - -<p><span class="large">By<br /> -MEREDITH<br /> -NICHOLSON</span></p> - -<p><span class="large">THOMAS NELSON<br /> -AND SONS</span></p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_pub-logo.jpg" alt="" /></div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Oh, for you that I never knew,</div> -<div class="indent">Only in dreams that bind you!—</div> -<div class="verse">By Spring’s own grace I shall know your face</div> -<div class="indent">When under the may I find you!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verseright"><i>H. C. Bunner.</i></div> -</div></div></div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">TO YOU AT THE GATE.</h2> -</div> - - -<p>There was a daisy-meadow, that flowed brimming to the -stone wall at the roadside, and on the wooded crest beyond -a lamp twinkled in a house round which stole softly the -unhurried, eddyless dusk. You stood at the gate, your arms -folded on the top bar, your face uplifted, watching the stars -and the young moon of June. I was not so old but that I -marked your gown of white, your dark head, your eyes like -the blue of mid-ocean sea-water in the shadow of marching -billows. As my step sounded you looked up startled, a little -disdainful, maybe; then you smiled gravely; but a certain -dejection of attitude, a sweet wistfulness of lips and eyes, -arrested and touched me; and I stole on guiltily, for who -was I to intrude upon a picture so perfect, to which moon -and stars were glad contributors? As I reached the crown -of the road, where it dipped down to a brook that whispered -your name, I paused and looked back, and you waved your -hand as though dismissing me to the noisy world of men.</p> - -<p>In other Junes I have kept tryst with moon and stars -beside your gate, where daisies flow still across the meadow, -and insect voices blur the twilight peace; but I have never -seen again your house of shadows among the trees, or found -you dreaming there at the gate with uplifted face and wistful -eyes. But from the ridge, where the road steals down into -the hollow with its fireflies and murmuring water, I for ever -look back to the star- and moon-hung gate in the wall, and -see your slim, girlish figure, and can swear that you wave -your hand.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Katonah</span>, <i>June 30, 1908</i>. <span class="floatright">M. N.</span></p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">CONTENTS.</h2> -</div> - - -<table> -<tr><td class="tdr">I.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Two Gentlemen say Good-Bye</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_7"> 7</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">II.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Absence of Governor Osborne</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_29"> 29</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">III.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Jug and Mr. Ardmore</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_40"> 40</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">IV.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Duty and the Jug</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_55"> 55</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">V.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Mr. Ardmore Officially Recognized</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_71"> 71</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">VI.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Mr. Griswold Forsakes the Academic Life</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_89"> 89</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">VII.</td><td> <span class="smcap">An Affair at the State House</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_100"> 100</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">VIII.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Labours of Mr. Ardmore</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_115"> 115</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">IX.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Land of the Little Brown Jug</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_129"> 129</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">X.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Professor Griswold Takes the Field</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_138"> 138</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XI.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Two Ladies on a Balcony</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_149"> 149</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XII.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Embarrassments of the Duke of Ballywinkle</span>     </td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_160"> 160</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XIII.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Miss Dangerfield Takes a Prisoner</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_175"> 175</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XIV.</td><td> <span class="smcap">A Meeting of Old Friends</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_191"> 191</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XV.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Prisoner in the Corn-Crib</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_209"> 209</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XVI.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Flight of Gillingwater</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_228"> 228</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XVII.</td><td> <span class="smcap">On the Road to Turner’s</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_237"> 237</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XVIII.</td><td> <span class="smcap">The Battle of the Raccoon</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_246"> 246</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XIX.</td><td> <span class="smcap">In the Red Bungalow</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_255"> 255</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XX.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Rosæ Mundi</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_269"> 269</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XXI.</td><td> <span class="smcap">Good-Bye to Jerry Dangerfield</span></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_281"> 281</a></td></tr> -</table> - - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[7]</span> - -<p class="ph2">THE<br /> -WAR OF THE CAROLINAS.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_007.jpg" alt="" /></div> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER I.<br /> - - -<small>TWO GENTLEMEN SAY GOOD-BYE.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap">“IF anything really interesting should happen to me -I think I should drop dead,” declared Ardmore, -as he stood talking to Griswold in the railway station -at Atlanta. “I entered upon this life under false pretenses, -thinking that money would make the game easy, -but here I am, twenty-seven years old, stalled at the -end of a blind alley, with no light ahead; and to be -quite frank, old man, I don’t believe you have the advantage -of me. What’s the matter with us, anyhow?”</p> - -<p>“The mistake we make,” replied Griswold, “is in failing -to seize opportunities when they offer. You and I -have talked ourselves hoarse a thousand times planning -schemes we never pull off. We are cursed with indecision, -that’s the trouble with us. We never see the -handwriting on the wall, or if we do, it’s just a streak -of hieroglyphics, and we don’t know what it means until -we read about it in the newspapers. But I thought you -were satisfied with the thrills you got running as a reform -candidate for alderman in New York last year.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[8]</span> -It was a large stage, and the lime-light struck you pretty -often. Didn’t you get enough? No doubt they’d be -glad to run you again.”</p> - -<p>Ardmore glanced hastily about and laid his hand -heavily on his friend’s shoulder.</p> - -<p>“Don’t mention it—don’t think of it! No more politics -in mine. The world may go hang if it waits for -me to set it right. What I want is something different, -a real adventure—something with spice in it. I have -bought everything money can buy, and now I’m looking -for something that can’t be tagged with a price.”</p> - -<p>“There’s your yacht and the open sea,” suggested -Griswold.</p> - -<p>“Sick of it! Sick to death of it!”</p> - -<p>“You’re difficult, old man, and mighty hard to please. -Why don’t you turn explorer and go in for the North -Pole?”</p> - -<p>“Perfectly bully! I’ve thought of it a lot, but I want -to be sure I’ve cleaned up everything else first. It’s -always up there waiting—on ice, so to speak—but when -it’s done once there will be nothing left. I want to save -that for the last call.”</p> - -<p>“You said about the same thing when we talked of -Thibet that first evening we met at the University Club, -and now the Grand Lama sings in all the phonographs, -and for a penny you can see him in a kinetoscope, eating -his luncheon. I remember very well that night. We -were facing each other at a writing-table, and you -looked up timidly from your letter and asked me whether -there were two <i>g’s</i> in aggravate; and I answered that -it depended on the meaning—one <i>g</i> for a mild case, -two for a severe one—and you laughed, and we began -talking. Then we found out how lonesome we both -were, and you asked me to dinner, and then took me -to that big house of yours up there in Fifth Avenue -and showed me the pictures in your art gallery, and we -found out that we needed each other.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[9]</span>“Yes, I had needed you all right!” And Ardmore -sniffed dolefully, and complained of the smoke that was -drifting in upon them from the train sheds. “I wish -you wouldn’t always be leaving me. You ought to give -up your job and amuse me. You’re the only chap I -know who doesn’t talk horse or automobile or yacht, or -who doesn’t want to spend whole evenings discussing -champagne vintages; but you’re too good a man to be -wasted on a college professorship. Better let me endow -an institution that will make you president—there might -be something in that.”</p> - -<p>“It would make me too prominent, so that when we -really make up our minds to go in for adventures I -should be embarrassed by my high position. As a -mere lecturer on ‘The Libelling of Sunken Ships’ in a -law school, I’m the most obscure person in the world. -And for another thing, we couldn’t risk the scandal of -tainted money. It would be nasty to have your great-grandfather’s -whisky deals with the Mohawk Indians -chanted in a college yell.”</p> - -<p>The crowd surged past them to the Washington express, -and a waiting porter picked up Griswold’s bags.</p> - -<p>“Wish you wouldn’t go. I have three hours to wait,” -said Ardmore, looking at his watch, “and the only -Atlanta man I know is out of town.”</p> - -<p>“What did you say you were going to New Orleans -for?” demanded Griswold, taking out his ticket and -moving towards the gate. “I thought you exhausted -the Creole restaurants long ago.”</p> - -<p>“The fact is,” faltered Ardmore, colouring, “I’m looking -for some one.”</p> - -<p>“Out with it—out with it!” commanded his friend.</p> - -<p>“I’m looking for a girl I saw from a car window day -before yesterday. I had started north, and my train -stopped to let a south-bound train pass somewhere in -North Carolina. The girl was on the south-bound -sleeper, and her window was opposite mine. She put<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[10]</span> -aside the magazine she was reading and looked me over -rather coolly.”</p> - -<p>“And you glanced carelessly in the opposite direction -and pulled down your shade, of course, like the well-bred -man you are——” interrupted Griswold, holding -fast to Ardmore’s arm as they walked down the platform.</p> - -<p>“I did no such thing. I looked at her and she looked -at me. And then my train started——”</p> - -<p>“Well, trains have a way of starting. Does the -romance end here?”</p> - -<p>“Then, just at the last moment, she winked at me!”</p> - -<p>“It was a cinder, Ardy. The use of soft coal on railways -is one of the saddest facts of American transportation. -I need hardly remind you, Mr. Ardmore, that nice -girls don’t wink at strange young men. It isn’t done!”</p> - -<p>“I would have you know, Professor, that this girl is a -lady.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t be so irritable, and let me summarize briefly -on your own hypothesis. You stared at a strange girl, -and she winked at you, safe in the consciousness that she -would never see you again. And now you are going to -New Orleans to look for her. She will probably meet -you at the station, with her bridesmaids and wedding -cake all ready for you. And you think this will lead to -an adventure—you defer finding the North Pole for this—for -this? Poor Ardy! But did she toss her card -from the window? Why New Orleans? Why not Minneapolis, -or Bangor, Maine?”</p> - -<p>“I’m not an ass, Grissy. I caught the name of the -sleeper—you know they’re all named, like yachts and -tall buildings—the name of her car was the <i>Alexandra</i>. -I asked our conductor where it was bound for, and he -said it was the New Orleans car. So I took the first -train back, ran into you here, and that’s the whole -story to date.”</p> - -<p>“I admire your spirit. New Orleans is much pleasanter<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[11]</span> -than the polar ice, and a girl with a winking eye -isn’t to be overlooked in this vale of tears. What did -this alleviating balm for tired eyes look like, if you -remember anything besides the wicked wink?”</p> - -<p>“She was bareheaded, and her hair was wonderfully -light and fluffy, and it was parted in the middle and tied -behind with a black ribbon in a great bow. She rested -her cheek on her hand—her elbow on the window-sill, -you know—and she smiled a little as the car moved off, -and winked—do you understand? Her eyes were blue, -Grissy, big and blue—and she was perfectly stunning.”</p> - -<p>“There are winks and winks, Ardy,” observed Griswold, -with a judicial air. “There is the wink inadvertent, -to which no meaning can be attached. There is -the wink deceptive, usually given behind the back of a -third person, and a vulgar thing which we will not -associate with your girl of the <i>Alexandra</i>. And then, -to be brief, there is the wink of mischief, which is observed -occasionally in persons of exceptional bringing -up. There are moments in the lives of all of us when -we lose our grip on conventions—on morality, even. -The psychology of this matter is very subtle. Here you -are, a gentleman of austerely correct life; here is a -delightful girl, on whom you flash in an out-of-the-way -corner of the world. And she, not wholly displeased -by the frank admiration in your eyes—for you may as -well concede that you stared at her——”</p> - -<p>“Well, I suppose I did look at her,” admitted Ardmore -reluctantly.</p> - -<p>“Pardonably, no doubt, just as you would look at a -portrait in a picture gallery, of course. This boarding-school -miss, who had never before lapsed from absolute -propriety, felt the conventional world crumble beneath -her as the train started. She could no more have resisted -the temptation to wink than she could have refused -a caramel or an invitation to appear as best girl -at a church wedding. Thus wireless communication is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[12]</span> -established between soul and soul for an instant only, -and then you are cut off for ever. Perhaps, in the next -world, Ardy——”</p> - -<p>Griswold and Ardmore had often idealized themselves -as hopeless pursuers of the elusive, the unattainable, the -impossible; or at least Ardmore had, and Griswold had -entered into the spirit of this sort of thing for the joy it -gave Ardmore. They had discussed frequently the call -of soul to soul—the quick glance passing between perfect -strangers in crowded thoroughfares—and had fruitlessly -speculated as to their proper course in the event the -call seemed imperative. A glance of the eye is one thing, -but it is quite another to address a stranger and offer -eternal friendship. The two had agreed that, while, -soul-call or no soul-call, a gentleman must keep clear -of steamer flirtations, and avoid even the most casual -remarks to strange young women in any circumstances, -a gentleman of breeding and character may nevertheless -follow the world’s long trails in search of a never-to-be-forgotten -face.</p> - -<p>The fact is that Ardmore was exceedingly shy, and a -considerable experience of fashionable society had not -diminished this shortcoming. Griswold, on the other -hand, had the Virginian’s natural social instinct, but he -suffered from a widely-diffused impression that much -learning had made him either indifferent or extremely -critical where women are concerned.</p> - -<p>Ardmore shrugged his shoulders and fumbled in his -coat pockets as though searching for ideas. An austere -composure marked his countenance at all times, and -emphasized the real distinction of his clean-cut features. -His way of tilting back his head and staring dreamily -into vacancy had established for him a reputation for -stupidity that was wholly undeserved.</p> - -<p>“Please limit the discussion to the present world, -Professor.”</p> - -<p>When Ardmore was displeased with Griswold he called<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[13]</span> -him Professor, in a withering tone that disposed of the -academic life.</p> - -<p>“We shall limit it to New Orleans or the universe, as -you like.”</p> - -<p>“I’m disappointed in you, Grissy. You don’t take -this matter in the proper spirit. I’m going to find that -girl, I tell you.”</p> - -<p>“I want you to find her, Ardy, and throw yourself -at her feet. Be it far from me to deprive you of the -joy of search. I thoroughly admire your resolute spirit. -It smacks of the old heroic times. Nor can I conceal -from you my consuming envy. If a girl should flatter -me with a wink, I should follow her thrice round the -world. She should not elude me anywhere in the -Copernican system. If it were not the nobler part for -you to pursue alone, I should forsake my professorship -and buckle on my armour and follow your standard—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">With the winking eye</div> -<div class="verse">For my battle-cry.”</div> -</div></div> - -<p>And Griswold hummed the words, beating time with -his stick, much to Ardmore’s annoyance.</p> - -<p>“In my ignorance,” Griswold continued, “I recall but -one allusion to the wink in immortal song. If my memory -serves me, it is no less a soul than Browning who sings:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="first">‘All heaven, meanwhile, condensed into one eye</div> -<div class="verse">Which fears to lose the wonder, should it wink.’</div> -</div></div> - -<p>You seem worried, Ardy. Does the wink press so -heavily, or what’s the matter?”</p> - -<p>“The fact is, I’m in trouble. My sister says I’ve got -to marry.”</p> - -<p>“Which sister?”</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Atchison. You know Nellie? She’s a nice girl -and she’s a good sister to me, but she’s running me too -hard on this marrying business. She’s going to bring a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[14]</span> -bunch of girls down to Ardsley in a few days, and she -says she’ll stay until I make a choice.”</p> - -<p>Griswold whistled.</p> - -<p>“Then, as we say in literary circles, you’re up against -it. No wonder you’re beginning to take notice of the -frolicsome boarding-school girl who winks at the world. -I believe I’d rather take chances myself with that amiable -sort than marry into your Newport transatlantic -set.”</p> - -<p>“Well, one thing’s certain, Grissy. You’ve got to -come to Ardsley and help me out while those people are -there. Nellie likes you; she thinks you’re terribly intellectual -and all that, and if you’ll throw in a word now -and then, why——”</p> - -<p>“Why, I may be able to protect you from the crafts -and assaults of your sister. You seem to forget, Ardy, -that I’m not one of your American leisure class. I’m -always delighted to meet Mrs. Atchison, but I’m a -person of occupations. I have a consultation in Richmond -to-morrow, then me for Charlottesville. We have -examinations coming on, and while I like to play with -you, I’ve positively got to work.”</p> - -<p>“Not if I endow all the chairs in the university! -You’ve not only got to come, but you’re going to be -there the day they arrive.”</p> - -<p>Thomas Ardmore, of New York and Ardsley, struck -his heavy stick—he always carried a heavy stick—smartly -on the cement platform in the stress of his -feeling. He was much shorter than Griswold, to whom -he was deeply attached—for whom he had, indeed, the -frank admiration of a small boy for a big brother. He -sometimes wondered how fully Griswold entered into -the projects of adventure which he, in his supreme -idleness, planned and proposed; but he himself had -never been quite ready to mount horse or shake out -soil, and what Griswold had said about indecision rankled -in his heart. He was sorry now that he had told of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[15]</span> -this new enterprise to which he had pledged himself, -but he grew lenient towards Griswold’s lack of sympathy -as he reflected that the quest of a winking girl was -rather beneath the dignity of a gentleman wedded not -merely to the law, but to the austere teaching profession -as well. In his heart he forgave Griswold, but he was -all the more resolved to address himself stubbornly to -his pursuit of the deity of the car <i>Alexandra</i>, for only -by finding her could he establish himself in Griswold’s -eyes as a man of action, capable of carrying through a -scheme requiring cleverness and tact.</p> - -<p>Ardmore was almost painfully rich, but the usual -diversions of the wealthy did not appeal to him; and -having exhausted foreign travel, he spent much time -on his estate in the North Carolina hills, where he could -ride all day on his own land, and where he read prodigiously -in a huge library that he had assembled with -special reference to works on piracy, a subject that had -attracted him from early youth.</p> - -<p>It was this hobby that had sealed his friendship with -Griswold, who had relinquished the practice of law, after -a brilliant start in his native city of Richmond, to accept -the associate professorship of admiralty in the law department -of the University of Virginia. Marine law had -a particular fascination for Griswold, from its essentially -romantic character. As a law student he had read all -the decisions in admiralty that the libraries afforded, and -though faithfully serving the university, he still occasionally -accepted retainers in admiralty cases of unusual -importance. His lectures were constantly attended by -students in other departments of the university for sheer -pleasure in Griswold’s racy and entertaining exposition -of the laws touching the libelling of schooners and the -recovery of jettisoned cargoes. Henry Maine Griswold -was tall, slender, and dark, and he hovered recklessly, -as he might have put it, on the brink of thirty. He -stroked his thin brown moustache habitually, as though<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[16]</span> -to hide the smile that played about his humorous mouth—a -smile that lay even more obscurely in his fine brown -eyes. He did violence to the academic traditions by -dressing with metropolitan care, gray being his prevailing -note, though his scarfs ventured upon bold colour -schemes that interested his students almost as much -as his lectures. The darkest fact of his life—and one -shared with none—was his experiments in verse. From -his undergraduate days he had written occasionally a -little song, quite for his own pleasure in versifying, and -to a little sheaf of these things in manuscript he still -added a few verses now and then.</p> - -<p>“Don’t worry, Ardy,” he was saying to his friend as -“all aboard” was called, “and don’t be reckless. When -you get through looking for the winking eye, come up -to Charlottesville, and we’ll plan <i>The True Life of Captain -Kidd</i> that is some day going to make us famous.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll wire you later,” replied Ardmore, clinging to his -friend’s hand a moment after the train began to move. -Griswold leaned out of the vestibule to wave a last -farewell to Ardmore, and something very kind and gentle -and good to see shone in the lawyer’s eyes. He went -into the car smiling, for he called Ardmore his best -friend, and he was amused by his last words, which were -always Ardmore’s last in their partings, and were followed -usually by telegrams about the most preposterous -things, or suggestions for romantic adventures, or some -new hypothesis touching Captain Kidd and his buried -treasure. Ardmore never wrote letters; he always telegraphed, -and he enjoyed filing long, mysterious, and -expensive messages with telegraph operators in obscure -places where a scrupulous ten words was the frugal limit.</p> - -<p>Griswold lighted a cigar and opened the afternoon -Atlanta papers in the smoking compartment. His eye -was caught at once by imperative headlines. It is not -too much to say that the eye of the continent was -arrested that evening by the amazing disclosure, now<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[17]</span> -tardily reaching the public, that something unusual had -occurred at the annual meeting of the Cotton Planters’ -Association at New Orleans on the previous day. Every -copy-reader and editor, every paragrapher on every newspaper -in the land, had smiled and reached for a fresh -pencil as a preliminary bulletin announced the passing -of harsh words between the Governor of North Carolina -and the Governor of South Carolina. It may as well be -acknowledged here that just what really happened at -the Cotton Planters’ Convention will never be known, -for this particular meeting was held behind closed doors; -and as the two governors were honoured guests of the -association, no member has ever breathed a word touching -an incident that all most sincerely deplored. Indeed, -no hint of it would ever have reached the public had it -not been that both gentlemen hurriedly left the convention -hall, refused to keep their appointments to speak at -the banquet that followed the business meetings, and -were reported to have taken the first trains for their -respective capitals. It was whispered by a few persons -that the Governor of South Carolina had taken a fling -at the authenticity of the Mecklenburg Declaration of -Independence; it was rumoured in other quarters that -the Governor of North Carolina was the aggressor, he -having—it was said—declared that a people (meaning -the freemen of the commonwealth of South Carolina) -who were not intelligent enough to raise their own hay, -and who, moreover, bought that article in Ohio, were -not worth the ground necessary for their decent interment. -It is not the purpose of this chronicle either to seek -the truth of what passed between the two governors at -New Orleans, or to discuss the points of history and -agriculture raised in the statements just indicated. As -every one knows, the twentieth of May (or was it the -thirty-first?), 1775, is solemnly observed in North Carolina -as the day on which the patriots of Mecklenburg -County severed the relations theretofore existing between<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[18]</span> -them and his Majesty King George the Third. -Equally well known is the fact that in South Carolina -it is an article of religious faith that on that twentieth -day of May, 1775, the citizens of Mecklenburg County, -North Carolina, cheered the English flag and adopted -resolutions reaffirming their ancient allegiance to the -British crown. This controversy and the inadequacy of -the South Carolina hay crop must be passed on to the -pamphleteers, with such other vexed questions as Andrew -Jackson’s birthplace—more debated than Homer’s, -and not to be carelessly conceded to the strutting sons -of Waxhaw.</p> - -<p>Griswold read of the New Orleans incident with a -smile, while several fellow-passengers discussed it in a -tone of banter. One of them, a gentleman from Mississippi, -presently produced a flask, which he offered to -the others, remarking, “As the Governor of North Carolina -said to the Governor of South Carolina,” which was, -to be sure, pertinent to the hour and the discussion, -and bristling with fresh significance.</p> - -<p>“They were both in Atlanta this morning,” said the -man with the flask, “and they would have been travelling -together on this train if they hadn’t met in the -ticket office and nearly exploded with rage.”</p> - -<p>The speaker was suddenly overcome with his own -humour, and slapped his knee and laughed; then they -all laughed, including Griswold.</p> - -<p>“One ought to have taken the lower berth and one the -upper to make it perfect,” observed an Alabama man. -“I wonder when they’ll get home.”</p> - -<p>“They’ll probably both walk to be sure they don’t -take the same train,” suggested a commercial traveller -from Cincinnati, who had just come from New Orleans. -“Their friends are doing their best to keep them apart. -They both have a reputation for being quick on the -trigger.”</p> - -<p>“Bosh!” exclaimed Griswold. “I dare say it’s all a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[19]</span> -newspaper story. There’s no knife-and-pistol nonsense -in the South any more. They’ll both go home and -attend to their business, and that will be the last of it. -The people of North Carolina ought to be proud of -Dangerfield; he’s one of the best governors they ever -had. And Osborne is a first-class man, too, one of the -old Palmetto families.”</p> - -<p>“I guess they’re both all right,” drawled the Mississippian, -settling his big black hat more firmly on his -head. “Dangerfield spoke in our town at the state fair -last year, and he’s one of the best talkers I ever heard.”</p> - -<p>Therefore, as no one appeared to speak for the governor -of South Carolina, the drummer volunteered to vouch -for his oratorical gifts, on the strength of an address -lately delivered by Governor Osborne in a lecture course -at Cincinnati. Being pressed by the Mississippian, he -admitted that he had not himself attended the lecture, -but he had heard it warmly praised by competent critics.</p> - -<p>The Mississippian had resented Griswold’s rejection of -the possibility of personal violence between the governors, -and wished to return to the subject.</p> - -<p>“It’s not only themselves,” he declared, “but each -man has got the honour of his state to defend. Suppose, -when they met in the railway office at Atlanta this -morning, Dangerfield had drawed his gun. Do you suppose, -gentlemen, that if North Carolina had drawed -South Carolina wouldn’t have followed suit? I declare, -young man, you don’t know what you’re talking about. -If Bill Dangerfield won’t fight, I don’t know fightin’ -blood when I see it.”</p> - -<p>“Well, sir,” began the Alabama man, “my brother-in-law -in Charleston went to college with Osborne, and -many’s the time I’ve heard him say that he was sorry -for the man who woke up Charlie Osborne. Charlie—I -mean the governor, you understand—is one of these -fellows who never says much, but when you get him -going he’s terrible to witness. Bill Dangerfield may be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[20]</span> -Governor of North Car’line, and I reckon he is, but he -ain’t Governor of South Car’line, not by a damned good -deal.”</p> - -<p>The discussion had begun to bore Griswold, and he -went back to his own section, having it in mind to revise -a lecture he was preparing on “The Right of Search on -the High Seas.” It had grown dark, and the car was -brilliantly lighted. There were not more than half a -dozen other persons in his sleeper, and these were widely -scattered. Having taken an inventory of his belongings -to be sure they were all at hand, he became conscious of -the presence of a young lady in the opposite section. In -the seat behind her sat an old coloured woman in snowy -cap and apron, who was evidently the young lady’s -servant. Griswold was aware that this dusky duenna -bristled and frowned and pursed her lips in the way of -her picturesque kind as he glanced at her, as though his -presence were an intrusion upon her mistress, who sat -withdrawn to the extreme corner of her section, seeking -its fullest seclusion, with her head against a pillow, and -the tips of her suède shoes showing under her gray -travelling skirt on the farther half of the section. She -twirled idly in her fingers a half-opened white rosebud—a -fact unimportant in itself, but destined to linger long -in Griswold’s memory. The pillow afforded the happiest -possible background for her brown head, her cheek bright -with colour, and a profile clear-cut, and just now—an -impression due, perhaps, to the slight quiver of her -nostrils and the compression of her lips—seemingly disdainful -of the world. Griswold hung up his hat and -opened his portfolio; but the presence of the girl suggested -Ardmore and his ridiculous quest of the alluring -blue eye, and it was refreshing to recall Ardmore and -his ways. Here was one man, at least, in this twentieth -century, at whose door the Time Spirit might thump -and thunder in vain.</p> - -<p>The black woman rose and ministered to her mistress,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[21]</span> -muttering in kind monotone consolatory phrases from -which “chile” and “honey” occasionally reached Griswold’s -ears. The old mammy produced from a bag -several toilet bottles, a fresh handkerchief, a hand -mirror, and a brush, which she arranged in the empty -seat. The silver trinkets glowed brightly against the -blue upholstery.</p> - -<p>“Thank you, Aunt Phœbe, I’m feeling much better. -Just let me alone now, please.”</p> - -<p>The girl put aside the white rose for a moment and -breathed deeply of the vinaigrette, whose keen, pungent -odour stole across the aisle to Griswold. She bent forward, -took up the hand mirror, and brushed the hair -away from her forehead with half a dozen light strokes. -She touched her handkerchief to the cologne flask, -passed it across her eyes, and then took up the rose -again and settled back with a little sigh of relief. In -her new upright position her gaze rested upon Griswold’s -newspapers, which he had flung down on the empty half -of his section. One of them had fallen open, and lay -with its outer page staring with the bold grin of display -type.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="center">TWO GOVERNORS AT WAR.</p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">What did the Governor of North Carolina say<br /> -to the Governor of South Carolina?</span></p> -</div> - -<p>The colour deepened in the girl’s face; a slight frown -gathered in her smooth forehead; then she called the -coloured woman, and a brief colloquy followed between -them. In a moment Griswold was addressed in a tone -and manner at once condescending and deferential.</p> - -<p>“If yo’ please, suh, would yo’ all ’low my mistus t’ -look at yo’ newspapahs?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly. Take them along.”</p> - -<p>And Griswold, recalled from a passage in his lecture -that dealt with contraband munitions of war, handed -over the newspapers, and saw them pass into the hands<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[22]</span> -of his fellow-passenger. He had read the newspapers -pretty thoroughly, and knew the distribution of their -contents, so that he noted with surprise the girl’s immediate -absorption in the telegrams from New Orleans -relating to the difficulty between the two governors.</p> - -<p>As she read she lost, he thought, something of her -splendid colour, and at one point in her reading her face -went white for a moment, and Griswold saw the paper -wrinkle under the tightening grasp of her hands. The -tidings from New Orleans had undoubtedly aroused her -indignation, which expressed itself further in the rigid -lines of her figure as she read, and in the gradual lifting -of her head, as though with some new resolution. She -seemed to lose account of her surroundings, and several -times Griswold was quite sure that he heard her half -exclaim, “Preposterous! Infamous!”</p> - -<p>When she had finished the New Orleans telegrams -she cast the offending newspapers from her; then, recalling -herself, summoned the black woman, and returned -them to Griswold, the dusky agent expressing the elaborate -thanks of her race for his courtesy. The girl had -utterly ignored Griswold, and she now pulled down the -curtain at her elbow with a snap and turned her face -away from him.</p> - -<p>Professor Griswold’s eyes wandered repeatedly from -his manuscript to the car ceiling, then furtively to the -uncompromisingly averted shoulder and head of the -young lady, then back to his lecture notes, until he was -weary of the process. He wished Ardmore were at hand, -for his friend would find here a case that promised much -better than the pursuit to which he had addressed himself. -The girl in this instance was at least a self-respecting -lady, not given to flirtations with chance travellers, -and the brown eyes, of which Griswold had caught one -or two fleeting glimpses, were clearly not of the winking -sort. The attendance of the black mammy distinguished<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[23]</span> -the girl as a person of quality, whose travels were stamped -with an austere propriety.</p> - -<p>Her silver toilet articles testified to an acquaintance -with the comforts if not the luxuries of life. The alligator-hide -suit-case thrust under the seat bore the -familiar label of a Swiss hotel where Griswold had once -spent a week, and spoke of the girl’s acquaintance with -an ampler world. When Phœbe had brought it forth, -the initials “B. O.” in small black letters suggested -Baltimore and Ohio to Griswold’s lazy speculations, -whereupon he reflected that while Baltimore was plausible, -the black servant eliminated Ohio; and as every -Virginian knows every other Virginian, he tried to identify -her with Old Dominion family names beginning with -O, but without result. He finally concluded that, while -her name might be Beatrice or Barbara, it could not -be Bessie, and he decided that very likely the suit-case -belonged to her brother Benjamin, in whom he felt no -interest whatever.</p> - -<p>He went out to supper, secured the only remaining -table for two, and was giving his order when the young -lady appeared. She had donned her hat, and as she -stood a moment in the entrance, surveying the line of -tables, her distinction was undeniable. There were but -two vacant places in the car, one facing Griswold, the -other across the aisle at a larger table where three men -were engaged in animated discussion. The girl viewed -the prospect with evident disappointment as the waiter -drew out the vacant chair at Griswold’s table. She -carried herself bravely, but wore still a triste air that -touched Griswold’s sympathy. He rose, told the waiter -that he would sit at the other table, and the girl murmured -her thanks with a forlorn little smile as she took -his seat.</p> - -<p>The appearance of Griswold aroused the Mississippian -to a renewal of the discussion of the New Orleans incident. -He was in excellent humour, and had carried to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[24]</span> -the car a quart bottle, which he pushed toward Griswold.</p> - -<p>“As the Governor of North Carolina said to the -Governor of South Carolina——”</p> - -<p>“No, thank you,” and as he spoke Griswold’s eyes -fell upon the girl, and he saw annoyance written fleetingly -on her face.</p> - -<p>“You needn’t be afraid of that whisky. It’s all -right,” the Mississippian protested.</p> - -<p>“I’m confident of that; but some other time, thank -you.”</p> - -<p>“Well, sir,” the Mississippian declared, “after you -left us a while ago we got to talking about Dangerfield -and his trouble with Osborne. There’s something back -of this rumpus. You see, if they lived in the same state -you might account for a fierce rivalry between them. -Both of ’em, for example, might have the senatorial -bee in their bonnets; but either one of ’em could make -the senate any time he pleased. I guess they’re the two -biggest men in the South right now. They’re too big to -be touchy about any small matter; that’s why I reckon -there’s something behind this little racket over there at -New Orleans. No passing remark would send men off -that way, so wild that they wouldn’t travel on the same -train together. Why, gentlemen——”</p> - -<p>“Please pass the salt,” interposed Griswold.</p> - -<p>The Mississippian enjoyed the sound of his own voice, -which boomed out above the noise of the train with -broad effects of dialect that these types will not be asked -to reproduce. Griswold’s eyes had again met those of -the girl opposite, and there was, he felt, a look of appeal -in them. The discussion distressed her, just as the telegrams -from New Orleans in the afternoon papers had distressed -her, and Griswold began at once to entertain his -table companions with his views on a number of national -political issues, that were as vital to Arizona or Wyoming -as to the Carolinas. He told stories to illustrate his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[25]</span> -points, and told them so well that his three companions -forgot the estrangement of the belligerent governors.</p> - -<p>Griswold ran on in the low, musical voice that distinguishes -the cultivated Virginian in any company anywhere -in the world, and the noisy loquacity of the Mississippian -went down before him. He was so intent on -holding their attention that his dishes were taken from -him almost untouched. The others lingered until his -coffee was brought. He was so absorbed that he failed -to see the smile that occasionally passed over the girl’s -face as some fragment of one of his stories found its -way to her. He had undertaken to deflect the talk -from a channel which had, it seemed, some painful -association for her, but he had done more in unwittingly -diverting her own thoughts by his droll humour. He did -not cease until she had left the car, whereupon he followed -his trio of auditors to the smoking compartment, -and there suffered the Mississippian to hold uninterrupted -sway.</p> - -<p>When he went back into the car at eleven o’clock he -found the girl and her maid still sitting in their sections, -though most of the other berths, including his -own, had been made up. The train was slowing down, -and wishing a breath of air before retiring, he went to -the rear platform of the sleeper, which was the last car -of the train. The porter had opened the door in the -vestibule to allow the brakeman to run back with his -torpedoes. The baggage car had developed a hot box, -and jumping out, Griswold saw lanterns flashing ahead -where the trainmen laboured with the sick wheel. The -porter vanished, leaving Griswold alone. The train had -stopped at the edge of a small town, whose scattered -houses lay darkly against the hills beyond. The platform -lamps of a station shone a quarter of a mile ahead. -The feverish steel yielded reluctantly to treatment, and -Griswold went forward and watched the men at work -for a few minutes, then returned to the end of the train.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[26]</span> -He swung himself into the vestibule and leaned upon -the guard rail, gazing down the track toward the brakeman’s -lantern. Then he grew impatient at the continued -delay and dropped down again, pacing back and -forth in the road-bed behind the becalmed train. The -night was overcast, with hints of rain in the air, and a -little way from the rear lights it was pitch dark. Griswold -felt sure that the train would not leave without the -brakeman, and he was further reassured by the lanterns -of the trainmen beside the baggage car. Suddenly, as -he reached the car and turned to retrace his steps, a -man sprang up, seemingly from nowhere, and accosted -him.</p> - -<p>“I reckon y’u’re the gov’nor, ain’t y’u?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, certainly, my man. What can I do for you?” -replied Griswold instantly.</p> - -<p>“I reckoned it was y’u when y’u fust come out on -the platform. I’m app’inted to tell y’u, Gov’nor, that -if y’u have Bill Appleweight arrested in South Car’lina, -y’u’ll get something one of these days y’u won’t -like. And if y’u try to find me y’u’ll get it quicker. -Good-night, Gov’nor.”</p> - -<p>“Good-night!” stammered Griswold.</p> - -<p>The least irony had crept into the word governor as -the man uttered it and slipped away into the darkness. -The shadows swallowed him up; the frogs in the ditch -beside the track chanted dolorously; then the locomotive -whistled for the brakeman, whose lantern was already -bobbing toward the train.</p> - -<p>As Griswold swung himself into the vestibule the girl -who had borrowed his newspapers turned away hurriedly -and walked swiftly before him to her section. -The porter, who was gathering her things together, said, -as she paused in the aisle by her seat,—</p> - -<p>“Beginnin’ to get ready, Miss Osbo’n. We’re gwine -intu Columbia thirty minutes late all account dat hot -box.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[27]</span>Griswold passed on to the smoking compartment and -lighted a cigar. His acquaintances of the supper table -had retired, and he was glad to be alone with his thoughts -before the train reached Columbia. He dealt harshly -with himself for his stupidity in not having associated -the girl’s perturbation over the breach between the governor -of North Carolina and the governor of South -Carolina with the initials on her travelling bag; he had -been very dull, but it was clear to him now that she was -either the daughter or some other near relative of Governor -Osborne. In a few minutes she would leave the -train at Columbia, where the governor lived, and, being -a gentleman, he would continue on his way to Richmond, -and thence to the university, and the incident -would be closed. But Griswold was a lawyer, and he -had an old-fashioned Southern lawyer’s respect for the -majesty of law. On the spur of curiosity or impulse -he had received a threatening message intended for the -governor of South Carolina, who, from the manner of -the delivery of the message, had been expected on this -train. Griswold argued that the man who had spoken -to him had been waiting at the little station near which -they had stopped, in the hope of seeing the governor; -that the waiting messenger had taken advantage of the -unexpected halt of the train; and, further, that some -suggestion of the governor in his own appearance had -deceived the stranger. He felt the least bit guilty at -having deceived the man, but it was now clearly his -duty to see that the governor was advised of the threat -that had been communicated in so unusual a manner.</p> - -<p>He was pondering whether he should do this in person -or by letter or telegram, when the rattle of the train -over the switch frogs in the Columbia yards brought him -to the point of decision.</p> - -<p>The porter thrust his head into the compartment.</p> - -<p>“Columbia, sah. Yo’ berth’s all ready, sah. Yo’ -gwine t’ Richmond—yes, sah.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[28]</span>His hands were filled with the young lady’s luggage. -The lettering on the suit-case seemed, in a way, to appeal -to Griswold and to fix his determination.</p> - -<p>“Porter! Put my things off. I’ll wait here for the -morning train.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[29]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER II.<br /> - - -<small>THE ABSENCE OF GOVERNOR OSBORNE.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Griswold</span> spent the night at the Saluda House, Columbia, -and rose in the morning with every intention of -seeing Governor Osborne, or some one in authority at his -office, as soon as possible, and proceeding to Richmond -without further delay. As he scanned the morning -newspaper at breakfast he read with chagrin this item, -prominently headlined:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Governor Osborne, who was expected home from the Cotton Planters’ -Convention yesterday morning, has been unavoidably detained in Atlanta -by important personal business. Miss Barbara Osborne arrived -last night and proceeded at once to the governor’s mansion.</p> - -<p>Several matters of considerable importance await the governor’s -return. Among these is the matter of dealing with the notorious -Bill Appleweight. It is understood that the North Carolina officials -are unwilling to arrest Appleweight, though his hiding-place in the -hills on the border near Kildare is well known. Although he runs back -and forth across the state line at pleasure, he is a North Carolinian -beyond question, and it’s about time Governor Dangerfield took note -of the fact. However, the governor of South Carolina may be relied -on to act with his usual high sense of public duty in this matter.</p> -</div> - -<p>Professor Griswold was not pleased to learn that the -governor was still absent from the capital. He felt that -he deserved better luck after the trouble he had taken to -warn the governor. His conscience had got the better -of his comfort—he knew that, and he wrote a telegram -to the law firm at Richmond with which he was consultant, -asking that a meeting with certain clients arranged<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[30]</span> -for to-day be deferred twenty-four hours. It -was now Tuesday; he had no further lectures at the -university until the following Monday, and after he had -taken his bearings of Columbia, where it occurred to -him he had not an acquaintance, he walked toward the -capitol with a well-formed idea of seeing the governor’s -private secretary—and, if that person appeared to be -worthy of confidence, apprising him of the governor’s -danger.</p> - -<p>Standing in the many-pillared portico of the capitol, -Griswold turned to look down upon Columbia, a city -distinguished to the most casual eye by streets an acre -wide! And having an historical imagination and a reverence -for the past, Griswold gave himself for a moment -to Memory, hearing the tramp of armed hosts, and the -thunder of cannon, and seeing flames leap again in the -wake of battle. It was a glorious day, and the green of -late May lay like a soft scarf upon the city. The sky -held the wistful blue of spring. Griswold bared his -head to the faint breeze, or perhaps unconsciously he -saluted the bronze figure of Hampton, who rides for ever -there at the head of his stubborn legion. He turned into -the capitol with a little sigh, for he was a son of Virginia, -and here, in this unfamiliar scene, the Past was -revivified, and he felt the spell of things that were -already old when he was born.</p> - -<p>It was not yet nine o’clock when he entered the -governor’s office. He waited in the reception-room, -adjoining the official chamber, but the several desks of -the clerical staff remained unoccupied. He chafed a bit -as time passed and no one appeared, for his north-bound -train left at eleven, and he could not fairly be asked to -waste the entire day here. He was pacing the floor, -expecting one of the clerks to appear at any moment, -when a man entered hurriedly, walked to the closed -inner door, shook it impatiently, and kicked it angrily -as he turned away. He was a short, thick-set man of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[31]</span> -thirty-five, dressed in blue serge, and his movements -were quick and nervous. He growled under his breath -and swung round upon Griswold as though to tax him -with responsibility for the closed door.</p> - -<p>“Has no one been here this morning?” he demanded, -glaring at the closed desks.</p> - -<p>“If you don’t count me I should answer no,” replied -Griswold quietly.</p> - -<p>“Oh!”</p> - -<p>The two gentlemen regarded each other for a moment, -contemptuous dislike clearly written on the smaller -man’s face, Griswold half-smiling and indifferent.</p> - -<p>“I am waiting for the governor,” remarked Griswold, -thinking to gain information.</p> - -<p>“Then you’re likely to wait some time,” jerked the -other. “The whole place seems to be abandoned. I -never saw such a lot of people.”</p> - -<p>“Not having seen them myself, I must reserve judgment,” -Griswold remarked, and the blue serge suit flung -out of the room.</p> - -<p>Presently another figure darkened the entrance, and -the coloured servant whom Griswold had seen attending -Miss Osborne on the train from Atlanta swept into the -reception-room, and grandly ignoring his presence, sat -down in a chair nearest the closed door of the inner -chamber. Griswold felt that this was encouraging, as -implying some link between the governor and his domestic -household, and he was about to ask the coloured -woman if she knew the business hours of the office when -the closed door opened and Miss Osborne appeared on -the threshold. The coloured woman rose, and Griswold, -who happened to be facing the door when it swung open -with such startling suddenness, stared an instant and -bowed profoundly.</p> - -<p>“I beg your pardon, but I wish very much to see -Governor Osborne or his secretary.”</p> - -<p>Miss Osborne, in white, trailing a white parasol in her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[32]</span> -hand, and with white roses in her belt, still stood half -withdrawn inside the private office.</p> - -<p>“I am very sorry that Governor Osborne and his -secretary are both absent,” she answered, and the two -eyed each other gravely. Griswold felt that the brown -eyes into which he looked had lately known tears; -but she held her head high, with a certain defiance, -even.</p> - -<p>“That is unfortunate. I stopped here last night on -purpose to see him, and now I fear that I must leave”—and -he smiled the Griswold smile, which was one of the -secrets of his popularity at the university—“I must -leave Columbia in a very few minutes.”</p> - -<p>“The office does not keep very early hours,” remarked -the girl, “but some one will certainly be here in a moment. -I am sorry you have had to wait.”</p> - -<p>She had not changed her position, and Griswold rather -hoped she would not, for the door framed her perfectly, -and the sunlight from the inner windows emphasized -the whiteness of the snowy gown she wore. Her straw -hat was shaped like a soldier’s campaign hat, with sides -pinned up, the top dented, and a single feather thrust -into the side.</p> - -<p>“It was not I,” said Griswold, “who so rudely shook -the door. I beg that you will acquit me of that violence.”</p> - -<p>The girl did not, however, respond to his smile. She -poked the floor with her parasol a moment, then raised -her head and asked,—</p> - -<p>“Who was it, if you please?”</p> - -<p>“A gentleman with a brown beard, a red necktie, and -a bad disposition.”</p> - -<p>“I thought as much,” she said, half to herself, and -her eyes were bent again upon the point of her parasol, -with which she was tracing a design in the rug. She -lifted her head with the abruptness of quick decision, -and looked straight at Griswold. The negress had withdrawn<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[33]</span> -to the outer door, by which she sat with sphinx-like -immovability.</p> - -<p>“I am Miss Osborne. Governor Osborne is my father. -Would you mind telling me whether your business with -my father is——”</p> - -<p>She hesitated, and her eyes met Griswold’s.</p> - -<p>“Miss Osborne, as I have no acquaintances here, let -me introduce myself. My name is Griswold. My home -is Charlottesville. Pardon me, but you and I were -fellow-passengers from Atlanta yesterday evening. I am -unacquainted with your father, and I have no business -with him except——”</p> - -<p>He was not yet clear in his mind whether to tell her -that her father’s life was threatened; it did not seem -fair to alarm her when he was powerless to help; but -as he weighed the question the girl came out into the -reception-room and sat down near the window.</p> - -<p>“Won’t you have a seat, Mr. Griswold? May I ask -you again whether you know the gentleman who came -in here and beat the door a while ago?”</p> - -<p>“I never saw him before in my life.”</p> - -<p>“That is very well. And now, Mr. Griswold, I am -going to ask you to tell me, if you will, just what it is -you wish to say to my father.”</p> - -<p>She was very earnest, and the request she made rang -the least bit imperiously. She now held the white parasol -across her lap in the tight clasp of her white-gloved -hands.</p> - -<p>“I should not hesitate——” began Griswold, still uncertain -what to do.</p> - -<p>“You need not hesitate in the fear that you may -alarm me. I think I know”—and she half-smiled now—“I -think perhaps I know what it is.”</p> - -<p>“My reason for wishing to see your father is, then, to -warn him that if a criminal named Appleweight is -brought back from his hiding-place on the North Carolina -frontier, and tried for his crimes in South Carolina,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[34]</span> -the governor of that state, your father, will be made to -suffer by Appleweight’s friends.”</p> - -<p>“That is what I thought,” said the girl, slowly nodding -her head.</p> - -<p>“And now, to be quite honest about it, Miss Osborne, -I must confess that I received this warning last night -from a man who believed me to be the governor. To -tell the truth, I told him I was the governor!”</p> - -<p>The girl’s eyes made a fresh inventory of Griswold, -then she laughed for the first time—a light laugh of -honest mirth that would not be gainsaid. The beautiful -colour deepened in her cheeks; her eyes lighted merrily, -as though at the drollery of Griswold standing, so to -speak, <i>in loco parentis</i>.</p> - -<p>“I have my own confession to make. I heard what -you said to that man. I had gone to the rear platform -to see what was the matter. The stop there in that preposterous -place seemed interminable. You must have -known that I listened.”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t suppose you heard what that man said to -me or what I said to him. I don’t know how I came to -palm myself off as the governor—I am not in the habit -of doing such things, but it was due, I think, to the -fact that I had just been saying to a friend of mine at -Atlanta——”</p> - -<p>He ceased speaking, realizing that what he might -have said to Ardmore was not germane to the point at -issue. His responsibility for the life and security of -Governor Osborne of the sovereign state of South Carolina -was at an end, and he was entering upon a social -chat with Governor Osborne’s daughter. Some such -thought must have passed through her mind, too, for -she straightened herself in her chair and dropped the -point of her parasol to the floor. But she was the least -bit curious, in spite of herself. The young man before -her, who held his hat and gloves so quietly and who -spoke with so nice a deference in a voice so musical,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[35]</span> -was beyond question a gentleman, and he had stopped -at Columbia to render her father a service. There was -no reason why she should not hear what he had said to -his friend at Atlanta.</p> - -<p>“What had you been saying, Mr. Griswold?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, really nothing, after all! I’m ashamed of it -now! But he’s the most amusing person, with nothing -to do but to keep himself amused. We discuss many -daring projects, but we are never equal to them. I had -just been telling him that we were incapable of action; -that while we plan our battles the foe is already breaking -down the outer defences and beating in the gates. -You see, we are both very ridiculous at times, and we -talk that sort of idiocy to keep up our spirits. And -having berated my friend for his irresolution, I seized -the first opportunity to prove my own capacity for meeting -emergencies. The man flattered me with the assumption -that I was the governor of South Carolina, and I -weakly fell.”</p> - -<p>Distress was again written in Miss Osborne’s face. -She had paid little heed to the latter half of Griswold’s -recital, though she kept her eyes fixed gravely upon him. -In a moment the gentleman in blue serge who had manifested -so much feeling over the governor’s absence strode -again into the room.</p> - -<p>“Ah, Miss Osborne, so you are back!”</p> - -<p>He bowed over the girl’s hand with a great deal of -manner, then glanced at once toward the door of the -private office.</p> - -<p>“Hasn’t your father come in yet? I have been looking -for him since eight o’clock.”</p> - -<p>“My father is not home yet, Mr. Bosworth.”</p> - -<p>“Not home! Do you mean to say that he won’t be -here to-day?”</p> - -<p>“I hardly expect him,” replied the girl calmly. “Very -likely he will be at home to-night or in the morning.”</p> - -<p>Griswold had walked away out of hearing; but he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[36]</span> -felt that the girl purposely raised her voice so that he -might hear what she said.</p> - -<p>“I must know where he is; there’s an important -matter waiting—a very serious matter it may prove -for him if he isn’t here to-day to pass on it. I must -wire him at once.”</p> - -<p>“Very good. You had better do so, Mr. Bosworth. -He’s at the Peach Tree Club, Atlanta.”</p> - -<p>“Atlanta! Do you mean to say that he isn’t even in -this state to-day?”</p> - -<p>“No, Mr. Bosworth, and I advise you to telegraph -him immediately if your business is so urgent.”</p> - -<p>“It isn’t my business, Barbara; it’s the state’s business; -it’s your father’s business, and if he isn’t here -to attend to it by to-morrow at the latest, it will go -hard with him. He has enemies who will construe his -absence as meaning——”</p> - -<p>He spoke rapidly, with rising anger, but some gesture -from the girl arrested him, and he turned frowningly -to see Griswold calmly intent upon an engraving at the -farther end of the room. The coloured woman was -dozing in her chair. Before Bosworth could resume, -the girl spoke, her voice again raised so that every -word reached Griswold.</p> - -<p>“If you refer to the Appleweight case, I must tell -you, Mr. Bosworth, that I have all confidence that my -father will act whenever he sees fit.”</p> - -<p>“But the people——”</p> - -<p>“My father is not afraid of the people,” said the girl -quietly.</p> - -<p>“But you don’t understand, Barbara, how much is at -stake here. If some action isn’t taken in that matter -within twenty-four hours your father will be branded -as a coward by every newspaper in the state. You seem -to take it pretty coolly, but it won’t be a trifling matter -for him.”</p> - -<p>“I believe,” replied the girl, rising, “that you have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[37]</span> -said all that I care to hear from you now or at any -further time, Mr. Bosworth, about this or any other -matter.”</p> - -<p>“But, Barbara——”</p> - -<p>Miss Osborne turned her back and walked to the window. -Bosworth stared a moment, then rushed angrily -from the room. Griswold abandoned his study of the -picture, and gravely inclined his head as Bosworth -passed. Then he waited a minute. The girl still stood -at the window, and there was, Griswold felt, something -a little forlorn in her figure. It was quite time that he -was off if he caught his train for Richmond. He crossed -the room, and as he approached the window Miss Osborne -turned quickly.</p> - -<p>“It was kind of you to wait. That man is the state’s -attorney-general. You doubtless heard what he said to -me.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Miss Osborne, I could not help hearing. I did -not leave, because I wished to say——”</p> - -<p>The associate professor of admiralty in the department -of law of the University of Virginia hesitated and -was lost. Miss Osborne’s eyes were brown, with that -hint of bronze, in certain lights, that is the distinctive -possession of the blessed. Health and spirit spoke in -her bright colour. She was tall and straight, and there -was something militant in her figure as she faced Griswold.</p> - -<p>“I beg to say, Miss Osborne, that if there is any way -in which I can serve you, my time is wholly at your -disposal.”</p> - -<p>“I thank you. I fear that you have already given -yourself too much trouble in stopping here. My father -will wish to thank you on his return.”</p> - -<p>Her lips trembled, and tears were bright in her eyes. -Then she regained control of herself.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Griswold, I have no claim whatever on your -kindness, but I am in very great distress. I don’t see<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[38]</span> -just where I can turn for aid to any one I know. But -you as a stranger may be able to help me—if it isn’t -asking too much—but then I know it is asking too -much!”</p> - -<p>“Anything, anything whatever,” urged Griswold -kindly.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Bosworth, the attorney-general, warns me that -if my father does not use the power of the state to -capture this outlaw Appleweight, the results will be -disastrous. He says my father must act immediately. -He demanded his address, and, and—I gave it to -him.”</p> - -<p>“But you must remember, Miss Osborne, that the -attorney-general probably knows the intricacies of this -case. He must have every reason for upholding your -father; in fact, it’s his sworn duty to advise him in -such matters as this.”</p> - -<p>“There’s another side to that, Mr. Griswold,” and the -girl’s colour deepened; but she smiled and went on. It -was quite evident that she was animated now by some -purpose, and that she was resolved to avail herself of -Griswold’s proffered aid. “I have my own reasons for -doubting Mr. Bosworth’s motives; and I resent his -assumption that my father is not doing his full duty. -No one can speak to me of my father in that way—no -one!”</p> - -<p>“Certainly not, Miss Osborne!”</p> - -<p>“This whole matter must be kept as quiet as possible. -I can appeal to no one here without the risk of newspaper -publicity which would do my father very great -injury. But if it is not altogether too great a favour, -Mr. Griswold, may I ask that you remain here until -to-night—until my father returns? His secretary has -been ill and is away from town. The other clerks I sent -away on purpose this morning. Father had left his -office keys at home, and I came in to see if I could find -the papers in the Appleweight case. They are there,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[39]</span> -and on the top of the packet is a requisition on the -governor of North Carolina for Appleweight’s return.”</p> - -<p>“Signed?”</p> - -<p>“Signed. I’m sure he had only deferred acting in -the case until his return, and he should have been back -to-day.”</p> - -<p>“But of course he will be back; it is inconceivable -that he should ignore, much less evade, a duty as plain -as this—the governor of a state—it is preposterous! -His business in Atlanta accounts for his absence. Governor -Osborne undoubtedly knows what he is about.”</p> - -<p>“My father is not in Atlanta, Mr. Griswold. He is -not at the Peach Tree Club, and has not been. I have -not the slightest idea where my father is!”</p> - -<p>The echoing whistle of the departing Virginia express -reached them faintly as they stood facing each other -before the open window in the governor’s reception-room.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[40]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER III.<br /> - - -<small>THE JUG AND MR. ARDMORE.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Thomas Ardmore</span>, of New York and Ardsley, -having seen his friend Griswold depart, sought a book-shop -where, as in many other book-shops throughout the -United States, he kept a standing order for any works -touching piracy, a subject which, as already hinted, -had long afforded him infinite diversion. He had several -hours to wait for his train to New Orleans, and he -was delighted to find that the bookseller, whom he had -known only by correspondence, had just procured for -him, through the dispersion of a Georgia planter’s valuable -library, that exceedingly rare narrative, <i>The Golden -Galleons of the Caribbean</i>, by Dominguez y Pascual—a -beautifully bound copy of the original Madrid edition.</p> - -<p>With this volume under his arm, Ardmore returned to -the hotel where he was lodged and completed his arrangements -for leaving. It should be known that Mr. Thomas -Ardmore was a person of democratic tastes and habits. -In his New York house were two servants whose sole -business it was to keep himself and his wardrobe presentable; -yet he preferred to travel unattended. He -was by nature somewhat secretive, and his adventurous -spirit rebelled at the thought of being followed about -by a hired retainer. His very wealth was, in a way, a -nuisance, for wherever he went the newspapers chronicled -his movements, with speculations as to the object -of his visit, and dark hints at large public gifts which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[41]</span> -the city honoured by his presence at once imagined -would be bestowed upon it forthwith. The American -press constantly execrated his family, and as he was -sensitive to criticism he kept very much to himself.</p> - -<p>It was a matter of deep regret to Ardmore that his -great-grandfather, whose name he bore, should have -trifled with the morals of the red men, but he philosophized -that it was not his fault, and if he had known -how to squeeze the whisky from the Ardmore millions -he would have been glad to do so. His own affairs were -managed by the Bronx Loan and Trust Company, and -Ardmore took little personal interest in any of his belongings -except his estate in North Carolina, where he -dreamed his dreams, and had, on the whole, a pretty -good time.</p> - -<p>When he had finished packing his trunk he went down -to the dinner he had ordered to be in readiness at a -certain hour, at a certain table, carefully chosen beforehand; -for Ardmore was very exacting in such matters, -and had an eye to the comforts of life, as he understood -them.</p> - -<p>As he crossed the hotel lobby on his way to the restaurant -he was accosted by a reporter for the Atlanta -<i>Palladium</i>, who began to question him touching various -Ardmores who were just then filling rather more than -their usual amount of space in the newspapers. Ardmore’s -family, with the single exception of his sister, -Mrs. Atchison, bored him immensely. His two brothers -and another sister, the Duchess of Ballywinkle, kept the -family name in display type a great deal of the time, -and their performances had practically driven Thomas -Ardmore from New York. He felt keenly his shame in -being brother-in-law to a dissolute duke, and the threatened -marriage of one of his brothers to a chorus girl -had added, he felt, all too great a burden to a family -tree whose roots, he could not forget it, were soaked in -contraband rum. The reporter was a well-mannered<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[42]</span> -youth, and Ardmore shook his hand encouragingly. He -was rather curious to see what new incident in the -family history was to be the subject of inquisition, and -the reporter immediately set his mind at rest.</p> - -<p>“Pardon me, Mr. Ardmore, but is it true that your -sister, the Duchess of Ballywinkle, has separated from -the duke?”</p> - -<p>“You may quote me as saying that while I am not -quite sure, yet I sincerely hope the reports are true. -To be frank with you, I do not like the duke; in fact, -strictly between ourselves, I disliked him from the -first,” and Ardmore shook his head gravely, and meditatively -jingled the little gold pieces that he always -carried in his trousers pockets.</p> - -<p>“Well, of course, I had heard that there was some -trouble between you and your brother-in-law, but can’t -the <i>Palladium</i> have your own exact statement, Mr. Ardmore, -of what caused the breach between you?”</p> - -<p>Ardmore hesitated and turned his head cautiously.</p> - -<p>“You understand, of course, that this discussion is -painful to me, extremely painful. And yet, so much has -been published about my sister’s domestic affairs——”</p> - -<p>“Exactly, Mr. Ardmore. What we want is to print -<i>your</i> side of the story.”</p> - -<p>“Very decent of you, I’m sure. But the fact is”—and -Ardmore glanced over his shoulder again to be sure -he was not overheard—“the fact is——” and he paused, -batting his eyes as though hesitating at the point of an -important disclosure.</p> - -<p>“Yes, Mr. Ardmore,” encouraged the reporter.</p> - -<p>“Well, I don’t mind telling <i>you</i>, but don’t print this. -Let it be just between ourselves.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, of course, if you say not——”</p> - -<p>“That’s all right; I have every confidence in your -discretion; but if this will go no further, I don’t mind -telling you——”</p> - -<p>“You may rely on me absolutely, Mr. Ardmore.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[43]</span>“Then, with the distinct understanding that this is -<i>sub rosa</i>—now we <i>do</i> understand each other, don’t we?” -pleaded Ardmore.</p> - -<p>“Perfectly, Mr. Ardmore,” and the perspiration began -to bead the reporter’s forehead in his excitement over -the impending revelation.</p> - -<p>“Then you shall know why I feel so bitter about the -duke. I assure you that nothing but the deepest chagrin -over the matter causes me to tell you what I have never -revealed before—not even to members of my family—not -to my most intimate friend.”</p> - -<p>“I appreciate all that——”</p> - -<p>“Well, the fact is—but please never mention it—the -fact is that his Grace owes me four dollars. I gave it -to him in two bills—I remember the incident perfectly—two -crisp new bills I had just got at the bank. His -Grace borrowed the money to pay a cabman—it was the -very day before he married my sister. Now let me ask -you this: Can an American citizen allow a duke to owe -him four dollars? The villain never referred to the -matter again, and from that day to this I have made -it a rule never to lend money to a duke.”</p> - -<p>The reporter stared a moment, then laughed. He -abandoned the idea of getting material for a sensational -article and scented the possibilities of a character sketch -of the whimsical young millionaire.</p> - -<p>“How about that story that your brother, Samuel -Ardmore, is going to marry the chorus girl he ran over -in his automobile?”</p> - -<p>“I hope it’s true; I devoutly do. I’m very fond of -music myself, and, strange to say, nobody in our family -is musical. I think a chorus girl would be a real addition -to our family. It would bring up the family dignity—you -can see that.”</p> - -<p>“The wires brought a story this afternoon that your -cousin, Wingate Siddall—he is your cousin, isn’t he?”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid so. What’s Siddy’s latest?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[44]</span>“Why, it’s reported that he’s going to cross the Atlantic -in a balloon. Can you tell us anything about that -from the inside?”</p> - -<p>“Well, the ocean is only four miles deep; I’d take -more interest in Cousin Siddy’s ballooning if you -could make it a couple of miles more to the dead -men’s chests. And now, much as I’d like to prolong -this conversation, I’ve got to eat or I’ll miss my -train.”</p> - -<p>“If you don’t mind saying where you are going, Mr. -Ardmore?”</p> - -<p>“I’d tell you in a minute, only I haven’t fully decided -yet; but I shall probably take the Sambo Flyer at 9.13, -if you don’t make me lose it.”</p> - -<p>“You have large interests in Arkansas, I believe, Mr. -Ardmore?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; important interests. I’m searching for the -original fiddle of the Arkansaw Traveller. When I find -it I’m going to give it to the British Museum. And now -you really must excuse me.”</p> - -<p>Ardmore looked the reporter over carefully as they -shook hands. He was an attractive young fellow, alert -and good-humoured, and Ardmore liked him, as, in his -shy way, he really liked almost every one who seemed -to be a human being.</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell you what I’ll do with you. If you’ll forget -this rot we’ve been talking and come up to Ardsley as -soon as I get home, I’ll see if I can’t keep you amused -for a couple of weeks. I don’t offer that as a bribe; -my family affairs are of interest to nobody but hostlers -and kitchen-maids. Wire me at Ardsley when you’re -ready, throw away your lead-pencil, then come on and -I’ll show you the finest collection of books on Captain -Kidd in the known world. What did you say your name -is? Collins—Frank Collins? I never forget anything, -so don’t disappoint me.”</p> - -<p>“That’s mighty nice of you, but I don’t have much<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[45]</span> -time for vacations,” replied the reporter, who was, however, -clearly pleased.</p> - -<p>“If the office won’t give you a couple of weeks, wire -me, and I’ll buy the paper.”</p> - -<p>The young man laughed outright. “I’ll remember; I -really believe you mean for me to come.”</p> - -<p>“Of course I do. It’s all settled; make it next week. -Good-bye!”</p> - -<p>Ardmore ate his dinner oblivious of the fact that -people at the neighbouring tables turned to look at -him. He overheard his name mentioned, and a woman -just behind him let it be known to her companions and -any one else who cared to hear that he was the brother-in-law -of the Duke of Ballywinkle. Another voice in -the neighbourhood kindly remarked that Ardmore was -the only decent member of the family, and that he -was not the one whose wife had just left him, nor yet -the one who was going to marry the chorus girl whose -father kept a delicatessen shop in Hoboken. It is very -sad to be unable to dine without having family skeletons -joggle one’s elbow, and Ardmore was annoyed. The -head waiter hung officiously near; the man who served -him was distressingly eager; and then the voice behind -him rose insistently:</p> - -<p>“—worth millions and yet he can’t find anybody to -eat with him.”</p> - -<p>This was almost true, and a shadow passed across -Ardmore’s face and his eyes grew grave as he humbly -reflected that he was indeed a pitiable object. He waved -away his plate and called for coffee, and at that moment -a middle-aged man appeared at the door, scanned the -room for a moment, and then threaded his way among -the tables to Ardmore.</p> - -<p>“I heard you were here and thought I’d look you up. -How are you, Ardy?”</p> - -<p>“Very well, thank you, Mr. Billings. Have you dined? -Sorry; which way are you heading?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[46]</span>The newcomer had the bearing of a gentleman used -to consideration. He was, indeed, the secretary of the -Bronx Loan and Trust Company, whose business was -chiefly the administration of the Ardmore estate, and -Ardmore knew him very well. He was afraid that -Billings had traced him to Atlanta for one of those -business discussions which always vexed and perplexed -him so grievously, and the thought of this further depressed -his spirits. But the secretary at once eased his -mind.</p> - -<p>“I’m looking for a man, and I’m not good at the business. -I’ve lost him and I don’t understand it, I don’t -understand it,” and the secretary seemed to be half-musing -to himself as he sat down and rested his arms -on the table.</p> - -<p>“You might give me the job. I’m following a slight -clue myself just at present.”</p> - -<p>The secretary, who had no great opinion of Ardmore’s -mental capacity, stared at the young man vacantly. -Then it occurred to him that possibly Ardmore might -be of service.</p> - -<p>“Have you been at Ardsley recently?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Left there only a few days ago.”</p> - -<p>“You haven’t seen your governor lately, have you?”</p> - -<p>“My governor?” Ardmore stared blankly. “Why, -Mr. Billings, don’t you remember that father’s dead?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t mean your father, Ardy,” replied Billings, -with the exaggerated care of one who deals with extreme -stupidity. “I mean the Governor of North Carolina—one -of the American states. Ardsley is still in -North Carolina, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“Oh yes, of course. But bless your soul, I don’t know -the governor. Why should one?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know why, Ardy; but people sometimes do -know governors and find it useful.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not in politics any more, Mr. Billings. What’s -this person’s name?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[47]</span>“Dangerfield. Don’t you ever read the newspapers?” -demanded the secretary, striving to control his inner -rage. He was in trouble, and Ardmore’s opaqueness -taxed his patience. And yet Tommy Ardmore had -given him less trouble than any other member of the -Ardmore family. The others galloped gaily through -their incomes; Tommy was rapidly augmenting his -inheritance from sheer neglect or inability to scatter -his dividends.</p> - -<p>“No; I quit reading newspapers after the noble -Duke of Ballywinkle didn’t break the bank at Monte -Carlo that last time. I often wish, Mr. Billings, that -the Mohawks had scalped my great-grandfather before -they bought his whisky. That would have saved me -the personal humiliation of being brother-in-law to a -duke.”</p> - -<p>“You mustn’t be so thin-skinned. You pay the -penalty of belonging to one of the wealthiest families -in America,” and Billings’s tone was paternal.</p> - -<p>“So I’ve heard, but I’m not so terribly proud of it. -What about this governor?”</p> - -<p>“That’s what troubles me—what of the governor?” -Billings dropped his voice so that no one but Ardmore -could hear. “He’s missing—disappeared.”</p> - -<p>“That’s the first interesting thing I ever heard of a -governor doing,” said Ardmore. “Tell me more.”</p> - -<p>“He’s had a row with the Governor of South Carolina, -at New Orleans. I was to have met him here on an -important matter of business this afternoon, but he’s -cleared out and nobody knows what’s become of him. -His daughter even, who was in New Orleans with him, -doesn’t know where he is.”</p> - -<p>“When was she in New Orleans with him?” asked -Ardmore, looking at his watch.</p> - -<p>“She—who?” asked Billings, annoyed.</p> - -<p>“Why, the daughter!”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know anything about the daughter, but if I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[48]</span> -could find her father I’d give him a piece of my mind,” -and the secretary’s face flushed angrily.</p> - -<p>“Well, I suppose she isn’t the one I’m looking for, -anyhow,” said Ardmore resignedly.</p> - -<p>“I should hope not,” blurted Billings, who had not -really taken in what Ardmore said, but who assumed -that it must necessarily be something idiotic.</p> - -<p>“She had fluffy hair,” persisted Ardmore to this serious-minded -gentleman whose life was devoted to the multiplication -of the Ardmore millions. Ardmore’s tone was -that of a child who persists in babbling inanities to a -distracted parent.</p> - -<p>“Better let girls alone, Tommy. Mrs. Atchison told -me you were going to marry Daisy Waters, and I should -heartily approve the match.”</p> - -<p>“Did Nellie tell you that? I wonder if she’s told -Daisy yet? You’ll have to excuse me now, for I’m -taking the Sambo Flyer. I’d like to find your governor -for you; and if you’ll tell me when he was seen last——”</p> - -<p>“Right here, just before noon to-day, and a couple of -hours before I reached town. His daughter either doesn’t -know where he went or she won’t tell.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! the daughter! She remains behind to guard -his retreat.”</p> - -<p>“The daughter is still here. She’s a peppery little -piece,” and Billings looked guardedly around the room. -“That’s she, alone over there in the corner—the girl -with the white feather in her hat who’s just signing her -check. There—she’s getting up!”</p> - -<p>Ardmore gazed across the room intently, then suddenly -a slight smile played about his lips. To gain the door -the girl must pass by his table, and he scrutinized her -closely as she drew near and passed. She was a little -girl, and her light fluffy hair swept out from under a -small blue hat in a shell-like curve, and the short skirt -of her tailor-made gown robbed her, it seemed, of years -to which the calendar might entitle her.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[49]</span>“She gave me the steadiest eye I ever looked into -when I asked her where her father had gone,” remarked -Billings grimly as the girl passed. “She said she thought -he’d gone fishing for whales.”</p> - -<p>“So she’s Miss Dangerfield, is she?” asked Ardmore -indifferently; and he rose, leaving on the plate, by a -sudden impulse of good feeling towards the world, -exactly double the generous tip he had intended giving. -Billings was glad to be rid of Ardmore, and they parted -in the hotel lobby without waste of words. The secretary -of the Bronx Loan and Trust Company announced -his intention of remaining another day in Atlanta in -the hope of finding Governor Dangerfield, and he was -so absorbed in his own affairs that he did not heed, -if indeed he heard, Ardmore’s promise to keep an eye -out for the lost governor. Like most other people, the -secretary of the Bronx Loan and Trust Company did -not understand Ardmore, but Thomas Ardmore, having -long ago found himself ill-judged by the careless world, -lived by standards of his own, and these would have -meant nothing whatever to Billings.</p> - -<p>Ardmore’s effects had been brought down, and were -already piled on a carriage at the door. In his pocket -were his passage to New Orleans and a stateroom ticket. -At the cashier’s desk Miss Dangerfield paid her bill, just -ahead of him.</p> - -<p>“If any telegrams come for my father, please forward -them to Raleigh,” said the girl. The manager came out -personally to show her to her carriage, and having shut -the door upon her, he wished Ardmore, who stood discreetly -by, a safe journey.</p> - -<p>“Off for New Orleans, are you, Mr. Ardmore?” asked -the manager courteously.</p> - -<p>“No,” said Ardmore, “I’m going to Raleigh to look -at the tall buildings,” whereat the manager returned to -his duties, gravely shaking his head.</p> - -<p>At the station Ardmore caught sight of Miss Dangerfield,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[50]</span> -attended by two porters, hurrying toward the Tar -Heel Express. He bought a ticket to Raleigh, and -secured the last available berth from the conductor on -the platform at the moment of departure.</p> - -<p>Ardmore did not like to be hurried, and this sudden -change of plans had been almost too much for him, but -he was consoled by the reflection that after all these -years of waiting for just such an adventure he had -proved himself equal to an emergency that required -quick thought and swift action. He had not only found -the girl with the playful eye, but he had learned her -identity without, as it were, turning over his hand. Not -even Griswold, who was the greatest man he knew—Griswold -with his acute legal mind and ability to carry -through contests of wit with lawyers of highest repute—not -even Griswold, Ardmore flattered himself, could -have managed better.</p> - -<p>The stateroom door stood open, and from his seat at -the farther end of the car Ardmore caught a fleeting -glimpse of Miss Dangerfield as she threw off her jacket -and hat; then she summoned the porter, gave him her -tickets, bade him a smiling good-night, and the door -closed upon her. The broad grin on the porter’s face—a -grin of delight, as though he had spoken with some -exalted deity—filled Ardmore with bitterest envy.</p> - -<p>He went back to smoke and plan his future movements. -For the first time in his life he faced to-morrow -with eager anticipations, resolved that nothing should -thwart his high resolves, though these, to be sure, were -somewhat hazy. Then, from a feeling of great satisfaction, -his spirit reacted, and he regretted that he had been -deprived of the joy of prolonged search. If he could -only have followed her until, at the last moment, when -about to give up for ever and accept the frugal consolations -of memory, he met her somewhere face to face! -These reflections led him to wonder whether he might -not have been mistaken about the wink after all. Griswold,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[51]</span> -with his wider knowledge of the world, had scouted -the idea. Very likely if one of those blue eyes had -actually winked at him it had been out of mere playfulness, -and he would never in the world refer to it when -they met. Billings had applied the term peppery to her, -and he felt that he should always hate Billings for this; -Billings was only a financial automaton anyhow, who -bought at the lowest and sold at the highest, and bored -one very often with strangely-worded papers which one -was never expected to understand. He did not know -why Billings was so anxious to find Miss Dangerfield’s -father, but as between a man of Billings’s purely commercial -instincts and the governor of a great state like North -Carolina, Ardmore resolved to stand by the Dangerfields -to the end of the chapter. He was proud to remember -his estate at Ardsley, which was in Governor Dangerfield’s -jurisdiction, and had been visited by the game -warden, the state forester, and various other members -of the governor’s official household, though Ardmore -could not remember their names. He had never in his -life visited Raleigh, but far down some dim vista of -memory he saw Sir Walter covering a mud-puddle with -his cloak for Queen Elizabeth. It was a picture of this -moving incident in an old history that rose before him, -as he tried vainly to recall just how it was that Sir -Walter had lost his head. He wondered whether Miss -Dangerfield’s name was Elizabeth, though he hoped not, -as the name suggested a town in New Jersey where -his motor had once broken down on a rainy evening -when he was carrying Griswold to Princeton to deliver -a lecture.</p> - -<p>Ardmore smoked many pipes, and did not turn in -until after midnight. The car was hot and stuffy, -and he slept badly. At some hour of the morning, being -again awake and restless, he fished his dressing-gown -and slippers out of his bag and went out on the rear -platform. His was the last car, and he found a camp-stool<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[52]</span> -and crouched down upon it in a corner of the vestibule -and stared out into the dark. The hum and click -of the rails soothed him, and he yielded himself to pleasant -reveries. Griswold was well on his way back to -Virginia, he remembered—“Dear old Grissy!” he murmured; -but he resolved to tell Griswold nothing of the -prosperous course of his quest. Griswold would never, -he knew, countenance so grave a performance as the -following of a strange girl to her home; but this would -be something for later justification.</p> - -<p>Ardmore was half-dozing when the train stopped so -abruptly that he was pitched from the camp-stool into -a corner of the entry. He got himself together and -leaned out into the cool moist air.</p> - -<p>The porter came out and stared, for a gentleman in -a blue silk wrapper who sat up all night in a vestibule -was new to his experience.</p> - -<p>“What place is this, porter?”</p> - -<p>“Kildare, sah. This place is wha’ we go from South -C’lina into No’th C’lina. Ain’t yo’ be’th comfor’ble, -sah?”</p> - -<p>“Perfectly, thank you.”</p> - -<p>Kildare was a familiar name, and the station, that -lay at the outskirts of the town, and a long grim barracks-like -building that he identified as a cotton mill, -recalled the fact that he was not far from his own ample -acres which lay off somewhere to westward. He had -occasionally taken this route from the north in going to -Ardsley, riding or driving from Kildare about ten miles -to his house. In this way he was enabled to go or -come without appearing at all in the little village of -Ardsley.</p> - -<p>The porter left him. He felt ready for sleep now, -and resolved to go back to bed as soon as the train -started. Just then a dark shadow appeared in the track, -and a man’s voice asked cautiously,—</p> - -<p>“Air y’u the conductor?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[53]</span>The questioner saw that he was not, before Ardmore -could reply, and hesitated a moment.</p> - -<p>“The porter’s in the car; you can get aboard up forward,” -Ardmore suggested.</p> - -<p>“Be Gov’nor Dangerfield on this train?” asked the -man, whom Ardmore now saw dimly outlined in the -track below.</p> - -<p>“Certainly, my friend. The governor’s asleep, but -I’m his private secretary. What can I do for -you?”</p> - -<p>“Well, hyeh’s somethin’ fer ’im—it’s confidential. -Sure, air ye, th’ gov’nor’s in they?”</p> - -<p>The man—a tall, bearded countryman in a slouch hat, -handed up to Ardmore a jug—a plain, brown, old-fashioned -American gallon jug.</p> - -<p>“It’s a present fer Gov’nor Dangerfield. He’ll understand,” -and the man vanished as mysteriously as he had -appeared, leaving Ardmore holding the jug by its handle, -and feeling a little dazed by the transaction.</p> - -<p>The train lingered, and Ardmore was speculating as -to which one of the Carolina commonwealths was beneath him, -when another figure appeared below in the -track—that of a bareheaded, tousled boy this time. -He stared up at Ardmore sleepily, having apparently -been roused on the arrival of the train.</p> - -<p>“Air y’u the gov’nor?” he piped.</p> - -<p>“Yes, my lad; in what way can I serve you?” and -Ardmore put down his jug and leaned over the guard -rail. It was just as easy to be the governor as the governor’s -private secretary, and his vanity was touched -by the readiness with which the boy accepted him in -his new <i>rôle</i>. His costume, vaguely discernible in the -vestibule light, evidently struck the lad as being some -amazing robe of state affected by governors. The -youngster was lifting something, and he now held up -to Ardmore a jug, as like the other as one pea resembles -another.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[54]</span>“Pa ain’t home, and ma says hyeh’s yer jug o’ buttermilk.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, my lad. While I regret missing your -worthy father, yet I beg to present my compliments to -your kind and thoughtful mother.”</p> - -<p>He had transferred his money to his dressing-gown -pocket on leaving his berth, and he now tossed a silver -dollar to the boy, who caught it with a yell of delight -and scampered off into the night.</p> - -<p>Ardmore had dropped the jugs carelessly into the -vestibule, and he was surveying them critically when -the train started. The wheels were beginning to grind -reluctantly when a cry down the track arrested his attention. -A man was flying after the train, shouting at the -top of his lungs. He ran, caught hold of the rail, and -howled,—</p> - -<p>“The gov’nor ain’t on they! Gimme back my jug.”</p> - -<p>“Indian-giver!” yelled Ardmore. He stooped down, -picked up the first jug that came to hand, and dropped -it into the man’s outstretched arms.</p> - -<p>The porter, having heard voices, rushed out upon -Ardmore, who held the remaining jug to the light, scrutinizing -it carefully.</p> - -<p>“Please put this away for me, porter. It’s a little gift -from an old army friend.”</p> - -<p>Then Mr. Ardmore returned to his berth, fully pleased -with his adventures, and slept until the porter gave -warning of Raleigh.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[55]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER IV.<br /> - - -<small>DUTY AND THE JUG.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Thomas Ardmore</span>, one trunk, two bags, and a little -brown jug reached the Guilford House, Raleigh, at eight -o’clock in the morning. Ardmore had never felt better -in his life, he assured himself, as he chose a room with -care, and intimated to the landlord his intention of -remaining a week. But for the ill luck of having his -baggage marked he should have registered himself -falsely on the books of the inn; but feeling that this -was not quite respectable, he assured the landlord, in -response to the usual question, that he was not Ardmore -of New York and Ardsley, but an entirely different -person.</p> - -<p>“Well, I don’t blame you for not wanting to be taken -for any of that set,” remarked the landlord sympathetically.</p> - -<p>“I should think not!” returned Ardmore, in a tone -of deep disgust.</p> - -<p>The Guilford House coffee was not just what he was -used to, but he was in an amiable humour, and enjoyed -hugely the conversation of the commercial travellers -with whom he took his breakfast. He did not often -escape from himself or the burden of his family reputation, -and these strangers were profoundly entertaining. -It had never occurred to Ardmore that man could -be so amiable so early in the day, and his own spirits -rallied as he passed the sugar, abused the hot bread, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[56]</span> -nodded his approval of bitter flings at the inns of other -southern towns of whose existence he only vaguely knew. -They spoke of the president of the United States and -of various old world monarchs in a familiar tone that -was decidedly novel and refreshing; and he felt that it -was a great privilege to sit at meat with these blithe -spirits. Commercial travellers, he now realized, were -more like the strolling players, the wandering knights, -the cloaked riders approaching lonely inns at night, than -any other beings he had met out of books. It was with -the severest self-denial that he resisted an impulse to -invite them all to visit him at Ardsley or to use his -house in Fifth Avenue whenever they pleased. When -the man nearest him, who was having a second plate of -corn-cakes and syrup, casually inquired his “line,” Ardmore -experienced a moment of real shame, but remembering -the jug he had acquired in the night, he replied,—</p> - -<p>“Crockery.”</p> - -<p>“Mine’s drugs. Do you know Billy Gallop?—he’s in -your line.”</p> - -<p>“Should say I did,” replied Ardmore unhesitatingly. -“I took supper with him in Philadelphia Sunday night.”</p> - -<p>“How’s trade?”</p> - -<p>“Bully,” replied Ardmore, reaching for the syrup. “I -broke my record yesterday.”</p> - -<p>The drug man turned to listen to a discussion of the -row between Governors Osborne and Dangerfield precipitated -by one of the company who had fortified himself -with a newspaper, and Ardmore also gave ear.</p> - -<p>“Whatever did happen at New Orleans,” declared a -Maiden Lane jewellery representative, “you can be quite -sure that Dangerfield won’t get the hot end of the poker. -I’ve seen him, right here at Raleigh, and he has all the -marks of a fighting man. He’d strip at two hundred, -and he’s six in his socks.”</p> - -<p>“Pshaw! Those big fellows are all meat and no -muscle,” retorted the drug man. “I doubt if there’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[57]</span> -any fight in him. Now Osborne’s a different product—a -tall, lean cuss, but active as a cat. A man to be governor -of South Carolina has got to have the real stuff -in him. If it comes to a show-down you’ll see Dangerfield -duck and run.”</p> - -<p>This discussion was continued at length, greatly to -Ardmore’s delight, for he felt that in this way he was -being brought at once into touch with Miss Dangerfield, -now domiciled somewhere in this town, and to whom he -expected to be properly introduced just as soon as he -could devise some means to that end. As he had not -read the newspapers, he did not know what the row was -all about, but he instinctively aligned himself on the -Dangerfield side. The Osbornes were, he felt, an inferior -race, and he inwardly resented the imputations -upon Governor Dangerfield’s courage.</p> - -<p>“I wonder if the governor’s back yet?” asked one man.</p> - -<p>“The morning paper says not, but he’s expected to-day,” -replied the man with the newspaper.</p> - -<p>“About the first thing he’ll have to do will be to face -the question of arresting Appleweight. I was in Columbia -the other day, and everybody was talking of the -case. They say”—and the speaker waited for the fullest -attention of his hearers—“they say Osborne ain’t none -too anxious to have Appleweight arrested on his side of -the line.”</p> - -<p>“Why not?” demanded Ardmore.</p> - -<p>“Well, you hear all kinds of things. It was only -whispered down there, but they say Osborne was a little -too thick with the Appleweight crowd before he was -elected governor. He was their attorney, and they were -a bad lot for any man to be attorney for. But they -haven’t caught Appleweight yet.”</p> - -<p>“Where’s he hiding? don’t the authorities know?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, he’s up there in the hills on the state line. His -home is as much on one side as the other. He spends a -good deal of time in Kildare.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[58]</span>“Kildare?” asked Ardmore, startled at the word.</p> - -<p>“Yes, it’s the county seat, what there is of it. I hope -you never make that town?” and the inquirer bent a -commiserating glance upon Ardmore.</p> - -<p>“Well, they use jugs there, I know that!” declared -Ardmore; whereat the table roared. The unanimity of -their applause warmed his heart, though he did not -know why they laughed.</p> - -<p>“You handle crockery?” asked a man from the end -of the table. “Well, I guess Dilwell County consumes a -few gross of jugs all right. But you’d better be careful -not to whisper jugs too loud here. There’s usually a -couple of revenue men around town.”</p> - -<p>They all went together to the office, where they picked -up their sample cases and sallied forth for a descent -upon the Raleigh merchants; and Ardmore, thus reminded -that he was in the crockery business, and that -he had a sample in his room, sat down under a tree on -the sidewalk at the inn door to consider what he should -do with his little brown jug. It had undoubtedly been -intended for Governor Dangerfield, who was supposed -to be on the train he had himself taken from Atlanta to -Raleigh. There had been, in fact, two jugs, but one of -them he had tossed back into the hands of the man who -had pursued the train at Kildare. Ardmore smoked his -pipe and meditated, trying to determine which jug he -had tossed back; and after long deliberation, he slapped -his knee, and said aloud,—</p> - -<p>“I gave him the wrong one, by jing!”</p> - -<p>The boy had said that his offering contained buttermilk, -a beverage which Ardmore knew was affected by -eccentric people for their stomach’s sake. He had sniffed -the other jug, and it contained, undeniably, an alcoholic -liquid of some sort.</p> - -<p>Jugs had not figured prominently in Ardmore’s domestic -experiences; but as he sat under the tree on the -curb before the Guilford House he wondered, as many<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[59]</span> -other philosophers have wondered, why a jug is so incapable -of innocency! A bottle, while suggestive, is not -inherently wicked; but a jug is the symbol of joyous -sin. Even the soberest souls, who frown at the mention -of a bottle, smile tolerantly when a jug is suggested. -Jugs of many centuries are assembled in museums, and -round them the ethnologist reconstructs extinct races -of men; and yet even science and history, strive they -never so sadly, cannot wholly relieve the jug of its -cheery <i>insouciance</i>. A bottle of inferior liquor may be -dressed forth enticingly, and alluringly named; but -there’s no disguising the jug; its genial shame cannot -be hidden. There are pleasant places in America where, -if one deposit a half-dollar and a little brown jug behind -a certain stone, or on the shady side of a blackberry -bush, jug and coin will together disappear between -sunset and sunrise; but lo! the jug, filled and plugged -with a corn-cob, will return alone mysteriously, in contravention -of the statutes in such cases made and provided. -Too rare for glass this fluid, which bubbles out -of the southern hills with as little guilt in its soul as the -brooks beside which it comes into being! But, lest he -be accused of aiding and abetting crime against the -majesty of the law, this chronicler hastens to say that -on a hot day in the harvest field, honest water, hidden -away in a little brown jug in the fence corner, acquires -a quality and imparts a delight that no mug of crystal -or of gold can yield.</p> - -<p>As Mr. Ardmore pondered duty and the jug a tall -man in shabby corduroy halted near by and inspected -him carefully. Mr. Ardmore, hard upon his pipe, had -not noticed him, somewhat, it seemed, to the stranger’s -vexation. He patrolled the sidewalk before the inn, -hoping to attract Ardmore’s attention, but finding that -the young man’s absorption continued, he presently -dropped into a neighbouring chair under the maple tree.</p> - -<p>“Good-morning,” said Ardmore pleasantly.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[60]</span>The man nodded but did not speak. He was examining -Ardmore with a pair of small, shrewd gray eyes. In -his hands he held a crumpled bit of brown paper that -looked like a telegram.</p> - -<p>“Well, I reckon you jest got to town this mornin’, -young fella.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, certainly,” Ardmore replied promptly. He had -never been addressed in quite this fashion before, but -it was all in keeping with his new destiny, and he was -immediately interested in the stranger, who was well -on in middle age, with a rough grizzled beard, and a -soft hat, once black, that now struggled for a compromise -tint between yellow and green.</p> - -<p>“Ever been hyeh befo’?”</p> - -<p>“Never; but I’m crazy about the place, and I’ll be -seen here a good deal hereafter.”</p> - -<p>Ardmore produced his cigar-case and extended it to -the stranger. The man, awed by the splendour of the -case, accepted a cigar a little gingerly.</p> - -<p>“Drummer, I reckon?”</p> - -<p>“Commercial traveller, we prefer to be designated,” -replied Ardmore, with dignity.</p> - -<p>“I guess drummer’s good enough down hyeh. What -y’u carry?”</p> - -<p>“Jugs. I’m in the jug business. Never had any business -but jugs.”</p> - -<p>The man paused in lighting his cigar, stared at Ardmore -over the flaming match, drew the fire into the cigar -several times, then settled back with his hands in his -pockets.</p> - -<p>“Full ’r empty?”</p> - -<p>“The jugs? Oh, empty jugs; but it’s no affair of mine -what becomes of the jugs afterwards.”</p> - -<p>“Y’u likely got samples with y’u?”</p> - -<p>“Well, not many. You see my line is so well known -I don’t have to carry samples any more. The trade -knows our goods.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[61]</span>“Stop at Kildare on the way up?” and the stranger -looked about guardedly.</p> - -<p>“Certainly, my friend, I always ‘make’ Kildare,” -replied Ardmore, using a phrase he had acquired at -breakfast.</p> - -<p>“Train runs through the’ pretty late at night?”</p> - -<p>“Beastly. But I hardly ever sleep, anyhow. A man -in my splendid health doesn’t need sleep. It’s a rotten -waste of time.”</p> - -<p>Silence for several minutes; then the stranger leaned -forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees, -and said in a low tone,—</p> - -<p>“I got a telegram hyeh says y’u got a jug thet y’u -ain’t no right t’ last night at Kildare. I want thet jug, -young fella.”</p> - -<p>“Now that’s very unfortunate. Ordinarily I should be -delighted, but I really couldn’t give away my Kildare -jug. Now if it was one of my other jugs—even my -Omaha jug or my dear old Louisville jug—I shouldn’t -hesitate a minute, but that old Kildare jug! My dear -man, you don’t know what you ask!”</p> - -<p>“Y’ll give me thet jug, or it’ll be the worse for y’u. -Y’u ain’t in thet game, young fella.”</p> - -<p>“Not in it! You don’t know whom you are addressing. -I’m not only in the game, but I’m in to the finish,” -declared Ardmore, sitting upright in his chair. “You’ve -got the wrong idea, my friend, if you think you can intimidate -me. That jug was given me by a friend, a very -old and dear friend——”</p> - -<p>“A friend of yourn!”</p> - -<p>The keen little gray eyes were blinking rapidly.</p> - -<p>“One of the best friends I ever had in this world,” -and Ardmore’s face showed feeling. “He and I charged -side by side through the bloodiest battles of our Civil -War. I will cheerfully give you my watch, or money -in any sum, but the jug—I will part with my life first! -And now,” concluded Ardmore, “while I should be glad<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[62]</span> -to continue this conversation, my duties call me elsewhere.”</p> - -<p>As he rose, the man stood quickly at his side, menacingly.</p> - -<p>“Give me thet jug, or I’ll shoot y’u right hyeh in the -street.”</p> - -<p>“No, you wouldn’t do that, Old Corduroy. I can see -that you are kind and good, and you wouldn’t shoot down -an unarmed man. Besides, it would muss up the street.”</p> - -<p>“Y’u took thet jug from my brother by lyin’ to ’im. -He’s telegraphed me to git it, and I’m a-goin’ to do it.”</p> - -<p>“Your brother sent you? It was nice of him to ask -you to call on me. Why, I’ve known your brother intimately -for years.”</p> - -<p>“Knowed my brother?” and for the first time the -man really seemed to doubt himself. “Wheh did y’u -know Bill?”</p> - -<p>“We roomed together at Harvard, that’s how I know -him, if you force me to it! We’re both Hasty Pudding -men. Now if you try to bulldoze me further, I’ll slap -your wrists. So there!”</p> - -<p>Ardmore entered the hotel deliberately, climbed to his -room, and locked the door. Then he seized the little -brown jug, drew the stopper, and poured out a tumblerful -of clear white fluid. He took a swallow, and shuddered -as the fiery liquid seemed instantly to cause every -part of his being to tingle. He wiped the tears from -his eyes and sat down. The corn-cob stopper had fallen -to the floor, and he picked it up and examined it carefully. -It had been fitted tightly into the mouth of the -jug by the addition of a bit of calico, and he fingered -it for a moment with a grin on his face. He was, considering -his tranquil past, making history rapidly, and -he wished that Griswold, whom he imagined safely away -on his law business at Richmond, could see him now -embarked upon a serious adventure, that had already -brought him into collision with a seemingly sane man<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[63]</span> -who had threatened him with death. Griswold had been -quite right about their woeful incapacity for rising to -emergencies, but the episode of the jugs at Kildare was -exactly the sort of thing they had discussed time and -time again, and it promised well. His throat was raw, -as though burned with acid, and it occurred to him for -an anxious moment that perhaps he had imbibed a -poison intended for the governor.</p> - -<p>He was about to replace the cob stopper when, to his -astonishment, it broke in his fingers, and out fell a carefully -folded slip of paper. He carried it to the window -and opened it, finding that it was an ordinary telegraph -blank on which were written in clear round characters -these words:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>The Appleweight crowd never done you harm. If you have any -of them arrested you will be shot down on your own doorstep.</p> -</div> - -<p>When Mr. Thomas Ardmore had read this message -half a dozen times with increasing satisfaction he folded -it carefully and put it away in his pocket-book.</p> - -<p>Taking half a sheet of notepaper he wrote as follows:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Appleweight and his gang are cowards. Within ten days those -that have not been hanged will be in jail at Kildare.</p> -</div> - -<p>He studied the phraseology critically, and then placed -the paper in the cob stopper, whose halves he tied together -with a bit of twine. As the jug stood on the table -it was, to all appearances, exactly as it had been when -delivered to Ardmore on the rear of the train at Kildare, -and he was thoroughly well pleased with himself. He -changed the blue scarf with which he had begun the day -for one of purple with gold bars, and walked up the -street toward the state house.</p> - -<p>This venerable edifice, meekly reposing amid noble -trees, struck agreeably upon Ardmore’s fancy. Here -was government enthroned in quiet dignity, as becomes -a venerable commonwealth, wearing its years like a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[64]</span> -veteran who has known war and tumult, but finds at -last tranquillity and peace. He experienced a feeling of -awe, without quite knowing it, as he strolled up the -walk, climbed the steps to the portico and turned to look -back from the shadow of the pillars. He had never but -once before visited an American public building—the -New York city hall—and he felt that now, indeed, he -had turned a corner and entered upon a new and strange -world. He had watched army manœuvres abroad with -about the same attention that he gave to a ballet, and -with a like feeling of beholding a show contrived for -the amusement of spectators; but there was not even -a policeman here to represent arsenals and bayonets. The -only minion of government in sight was the languid -operator of a lawn-mower, which rattled and hummed -cheerily in the shadow of the soldiers’ monument. There -was something fine about a people who, as he learned -from the custodian, would not shake down these historic -walls obedient to the demands of prosperity and -growth, but sent increased business to find lodgment -elsewhere. He ascended to the toy-like legislative chambers, -where flags of nation and state hung side by side, -and where the very seats and desks of the law-makers -spoke of other times and manners.</p> - -<p>Mr. Ardmore, feeling that he should now be about his -business, sought the governor’s office, where a secretary, -who seemed harassed by the cares of his position, confirmed -Ardmore’s knowledge of the governor’s absence.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t wish to see the governor on business,” -explained Ardmore pleasantly, leaning upon his stick -with an air of leisure. “He and my father were old -friends, and I always promised my father that I would -never pass through Raleigh without calling on Governor -Dangerfield.”</p> - -<p>“That is too bad,” remarked the young man sympathetically, -though with a preoccupation that was eloquent -of larger affairs.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[65]</span>“Could you tell me whether any members of the -governor’s family are at home?”</p> - -<p>“Oh yes; Mrs. Dangerfield and Miss Jerry are at -the mansion.”</p> - -<p>“Miss Jerry?”</p> - -<p>“Miss Geraldine. We all call her Miss Jerry in North -Carolina.”</p> - -<p>“Oh yes; to be sure. Let me see; it’s over this way -to the mansion, isn’t it?” inquired Ardmore.</p> - -<p>“No; out the other end of the building—and turn to -your right. You can’t miss it.”</p> - -<p>The room was quiet, the secretary a young man of -address and intelligence. Here, without question, was -the place for Ardmore to discharge his business and be -quit of it; but having at last snatched a commission -from fleeting opportunity, it was not for him to throw -it to another man. As he opened the door to leave, the -secretary arrested him.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Mr.—pardon me, but did you come in from the -south this morning?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; I came up on the Tar Heel Express from -Atlanta.”</p> - -<p>“To be sure. Of course you didn’t sit up all night? -There’s some trouble brewing around Kildare. I thought -you might have heard something, but, of course, you -couldn’t have been awake at two o’clock in the morning?”</p> - -<p>The secretary was so anxious to acquit him of any -knowledge of the situation at Kildare that it seemed -kindest to tell him nothing. The secretary’s face lost -its anxiety for a moment, and he smiled.</p> - -<p>“The governor has an old friend and admirer up there -who always puts a jug of fresh buttermilk on board -when he passes through. The governor was expected -home this morning, and I thought maybe——”</p> - -<p>“You’re positive it’s always buttermilk, are you?” -asked Ardmore, with a grin.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[66]</span>“Certainly,” replied the secretary, with dignity. -“Governor Dangerfield’s sentiments as to the liquor -traffic are well known.”</p> - -<p>“Of course, all the world knows that. But I’m afraid -all jugs look alike to me; but then, the fact is I’m in -the jug business myself. Good-morning.”</p> - -<p>The governor’s mansion was easily found, and having -walked about the neighbourhood until his watch marked -eleven, Ardmore entered the grounds and rang the bell -at the front door.</p> - -<p>Once within, the air of domestic peace, the pictures -on the walls, a whip and a felt hat with a blue band on -the hall table, and a book on a chair in the drawing-room, -turned down to mark the absent reader’s place, -rebuked him for his impudence. If he had known just -how to escape he would have done so; but the maid -who admitted him had said that Miss Dangerfield was -at home, and had gone in search of her with Ardmore’s -card. He deserved to be sent to jail for entering a -gentleman’s house in this way. He realized now, when -it was too late, that he ought to have brought letters -to one of the banks and been introduced to the Dangerfields -by some gentleman of standing, if he wished to -know them. The very portraits on the walls, the photographs -on the mantel and table, frowned coldly upon -him. The foundations of his character were set in -sand; he knew that, because he had found it so easy -to lie, and he had been told in his youth that one sin -paved the way for another. He would take the earliest -train for Ardsley and bury himself there for the remainder -of his days. He had hardly formed this resolution -when a light step sounded in the hall, and Miss -Geraldine Dangerfield stood at the threshold. His good -resolutions went down like a house of cards.</p> - -<p>“Miss Dangerfield,” he began, “I had the pleasure of -meeting your father in New Orleans the other day, and -as I was passing through town unexpectedly, I thought<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[67]</span> -I should give myself the pleasure of calling on him. -He said that in case I found him absent I might call -upon you. In fact, he wrote a line on a card for me -to present, but I stupidly left it at my hotel.”</p> - -<p>They faced each other in the dim, cool room for what -seemed to him endless centuries. She was much younger -than he had imagined; but her eyes were blue, just -as he remembered them, and her abundant light hair -curled away from her forehead in pretty waves, and was -tied to-day with a large bow of blue ribbon. For an -instant she seemed puzzled or mystified, but her blue -eyes regarded him steadily. The very helplessness of -her youth, the simplicity of her blue linen gown, the -girlish ribbon in her hair, proclaimed him blackguard.</p> - -<p>“Won’t you please sit down, Mr. Ardmore?”</p> - -<p>And when they were seated there was another pause, -during which the blue eyes continued to take account of -him, and he fingered his tie, feeling sure that there was -something wrong with it.</p> - -<p>“It’s warm, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“I suppose it is. It’s a way summer has, of being -mostly warm.”</p> - -<p>He was quite sure that she was laughing at him; -there was a tinge of irony in the very way in which she -pronounced “wa’m,” lingeringly, as though to prolong -her contempt for his stupidity in not finding anything -better to say.</p> - -<p>She had taken the largest chair in the room, and it -seemed to hide her away in its shadows, so that she could -examine him at her leisure as he sat under a window -in the full glare of its light.</p> - -<p>“I enjoyed meeting your father so much, Miss Dangerfield. -I think we are always likely to be afraid of great -men, but your father made me feel at home at once. -And he tells such capital stories—I’ve been laughing -over them ever since I left New Orleans.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[68]</span>“Father has quite a reputation for his stories. When -did you leave New Orleans, Mr. Ardmore?”</p> - -<p>“Sunday night. I stopped in Atlanta a few hours -and came on through. What a fine old town Atlanta -is! don’t you think so?”</p> - -<p>“I certainly do not, Mr. Ardmore. It’s so dreadfully -northernized.”</p> - -<p>When she said “no’thenized” her intonation gave the -word a fine, cutting edge.</p> - -<p>“I suppose, Mr. Ardmore, that you saw papa at the -luncheon at the Pharos Club in New Orleans?”</p> - -<p>“Why, yes, Miss Dangerfield. It was there I met the -governor!”</p> - -<p>“Are you sure it was there, Mr. Ardmore?”</p> - -<p>“Why, I think that was the place. I don’t know my -New Orleans as I should, but——”</p> - -<p>Ardmore was suddenly conscious that Miss Dangerfield -had risen, and that she stood before him, with her -fair face the least bit flushed, her blue eyes alight with -anger, and that the hands at her sides were clenched -nervously.</p> - -<p>“My father was not at luncheon at the Pharos Club, -Mr. Ardmore. You never saw my father in your life. -I know why it is you came here, and if you are not out -of that door in one second I shall call the servants and -have them throw you out.”</p> - -<p>She ceased abruptly and turned to look into the hall -where steps sounded.</p> - -<p>“Is that you, Jerry?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, mamma; I’ll be up in just a minute. Please -don’t wait for me. It’s only the man to see about the -plumbing.”</p> - -<p>The lady who had appeared for an instant at the door -went on slowly up the stairs, and the girl held Ardmore -silent with her steady eyes until the step died away -above.</p> - -<p>“I know what you want my father for. Mr. Billings<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[69]</span> -and you are both pursuing him—it’s infamous, outrageous! -And it isn’t his fault. I would have you -know that my father is an honourable man!”</p> - -<p>The bayonets were at his breast: he would ask for -mercy.</p> - -<p>“Miss Dangerfield, you are quite mistaken about me. -I shall leave Raleigh at once, but I don’t want you to -think I came here on any errand to injure or annoy -your father.”</p> - -<p>“You are one of <i>those</i> Ardmores, and Mr. Billings -represents you. You thought you could come here and -trick me into telling where my father is. But I’m not -so easily caught. My mother is ill because of all this -trouble, and I must go to her. But first I want to see -that you leave this house!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’m sorry you are in trouble. On my honour, -Miss Dangerfield, I know nothing of Billings and his -business with your father.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose you will deny that you saw Mr. Billings -in Atlanta yesterday?”</p> - -<p>“Why, no. I can’t exactly——”</p> - -<p>“You’d better not! I saw you there talking to him; -and I suppose he sent you here to see what you could -find out.”</p> - -<p>The room whirled a moment as she dealt this staggering -blow. Billings, of the Bronx Loan and Trust Company, -had said that Miss Dangerfield was peppery, but -his employment of this trifling term only illustrated his -weak command of the English language. It is not pleasant -to be pilloried for undreamed-of crimes, and Ardmore’s -ears tingled. He must plunge deeper and trust -to the gods of chance to save him. He brought himself -together with an effort, and spoke so earnestly that the -words rang oddly in his own ears.</p> - -<p>“Miss Dangerfield, you may call me anything you -please, but I am not quite the scoundrel you think me. -It’s true that I was not in New Orleans, and I never<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[70]</span> -saw your father in my life. I came to Raleigh on a -mission that has absolutely nothing to do with Mr. -Billings; he did not know I was coming. On the way -here a message intended for your father came into my -hands. It was thrown on the train at Kildare last -night. I had gone out on the platform because the -sleeper was hot, and a warning to your father to keep -his hands off of Appleweight was given to me. Here it -is. It seems to me that there is immediate danger in -this, and I want to help you. I want to do anything -I can for you. I didn’t come here to pry into your -family secrets, Miss Dangerfield, honestly I didn’t!”</p> - -<p>She took the piece of paper into her slim little hands -and read it, slowly nodding her head, as if the words -only confirmed some earlier knowledge of the threat -they contained. Then she lifted her head, and her eyes -were bright with mirth as Ardmore’s wondering gaze -met them.</p> - -<p>“Did <i>you</i> get the jug?”</p> - -<p>“I got two jugs, to tell the truth; but when they -seemed dissatisfied and howled for me to give one back, -I threw off the buttermilk.”</p> - -<p>“You threw back father’s buttermilk to the man -who gave you the applejack? Oh! oh!”</p> - -<p>Miss Jerry Dangerfield sat down and laughed; and -Ardmore, glad of an opportunity to escape, found his -hat and rushed from the house.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[71]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER V.<br /> - - -<small>MR. ARDMORE OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZED.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">She</span> never did it; she never, never did!”</p> - -<p>Mr. Ardmore, from a bench in the State House Park, -thus concluded a long reverie. It was late afternoon, -and he had forgotten luncheon in his absorption. There -was no manner of use in recurring again to that episode -of the lonely siding. He had found the girl—indubitably -the girl—but not the wink! Miss Jerry Dangerfield -was not the winking sort; he was well satisfied on that -point, and so thoroughly ashamed into the bargain that -he resolved to lead a different life and be very heedful -of the cry of the poor in the future. His emotions had -never been taxed as to-day, and he hoped that he might -never again suffer the torture he had experienced as he -waited in the governor’s drawing-room for Miss Dangerfield -to appear. After that agony it had been a positive -relief to be ordered out of the house. Her anger when -she caught him lying about having met her father in -New Orleans was superior to any simulated rage he had -ever seen on the stage, and no girl with a winking eye -would be capable of it. He was not clever; he knew -that; but if he had had the brains of a monkey he -would not have risked his foolish wits against those of -a girl like Geraldine Dangerfield, who had led him into -an ambush and then shot him to pieces.</p> - -<p>“She threatened to have the servants throw me out!” -he groaned. And her slight, tense figure rose before<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[72]</span> -him, and her voice, still the voice of young girlhood, -rang in his ears. As she read the threatening message -from Kildare he had noted the fineness of her hands, -the curve of her fair cheek, the wayward curls on her -forehead, and he remembered all these things now, but -more than anything else her wrath, the tiny fists, the -flashing eyes as she confronted him. As he sat dejectedly -on his park bench he was unaware that Miss -Geraldine Dangerfield, walking hurriedly through the -park on her way from the governor’s mansion to the -state house, passed directly behind him. His attitude -was so eloquent of despair that it could not have failed -to move a much harder heart than that of Miss Dangerfield, -yet she made no sign; but a few minutes later the -private secretary came out on the steps of the state -house, and after a brief survey of the landscape crossed -the lawn and called Ardmore by name.</p> - -<p>“I beg your pardon, but Miss Dangerfield wished me -to say that she’d like to see you for a minute. She’s at -the governor’s office.”</p> - -<p>A prisoner, sentenced to death, and unexpectedly -reprieved with the rope already on his neck, could not -experience greater relief than that which brought Mr. -Thomas Ardmore to his feet.</p> - -<p>“You are sure of it—that there’s no mistake?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly not. Miss Dangerfield told me I was to -bring you back.”</p> - -<p>Enthroned at the secretary’s desk, a mass of papers -before her, Miss Geraldine Dangerfield awaited him. He -was ready to place his head on the block in sheer contrition -for his conduct, but she herself took the initiative, -and her tone was wholly amiable.</p> - -<p>“This morning, Mr. Ardmore——”</p> - -<p>“Oh, please forget this morning!” he pleaded.</p> - -<p>“But I was rude to you; I threatened to have you -thrown out of the house; and you had come to do us -a favour.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[73]</span>“Miss Dangerfield, I cannot lie to you. You are one -of the most difficult persons to lie to that I have ever -met. I didn’t come to Raleigh just to warn your father -that his life was threatened. I can’t lie to you about -that——”</p> - -<p>“Then you <i>are</i> a spy?” and Miss Dangerfield started -forward in her chair so suddenly that Ardmore dropped -his hat.</p> - -<p>“No! I am not a spy! I don’t care anything about -your father. I never heard of him until yesterday.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I like that!” ejaculated Miss Dangerfield.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I mean that I wasn’t interested in him—why -should I be? I don’t know anything about -politics.”</p> - -<p>“Neither does father. That’s why he’s governor. If -he were a politician he’d be a senator. But”—and she -folded her hands and eyed him searchingly—“here’s a -lot of telegrams from the sheriff of Dilwell County about -that jug. How on earth did you come to get it?”</p> - -<p>“Lied, of course. I allowed them to think I was intimately -associated in business with the governor, and -they began passing me jugs. Then the man who gave -the jug with that message in the cork got suspicious, -and I dropped the buttermilk jug back to him.”</p> - -<p>“You traded buttermilk for moonshine?”</p> - -<p>“I shouldn’t exactly call it moonshine. It’s more like -dynamite than anything else. I’ve written a reply to -the note and put it back in the cork, and I’m going to -return it to Kildare.”</p> - -<p>“What answer did you make to that infamous effort -to intimidate my father?” demanded Miss Dangerfield.</p> - -<p>“I told the Appleweight gang that they are a lot of -cowards, and that the governor will have them all in -jail or hanged within ten days.”</p> - -<p>“Splendid! Perfectly <i>splendid</i>! Did you really say -that?”</p> - -<p>“What else could I do? I knew that that’s what the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[74]</span> -governor would say—he’d have to say it—so I thought -I’d save him the trouble.”</p> - -<p>“Where’s the jug now, Mr. Ardmore?”</p> - -<p>“In my room at the hotel. The gang must have -somebody on guard here. A gentleman who seemed -to be one of them called on me this morning, demanding -the jug; and if he’s the man I think he is, he’s stolen -the little brown jug from my room in the hotel by this -time.”</p> - -<p>Miss Dangerfield had picked up a spool of red tape, -and was unwinding it slowly in her fingers and rewinding -it. They were such nice little hands, and so peaceful -in their aimless trifling with the tape that he was sure -his eyes had betrayed him into imagining she had -clenched them in the quiet drawing-room at the mansion. -This office, now that its atmosphere enveloped him, -was almost as domestic as the house in which she lived. -The secretary had vanished, and a Sabbath quiet was -on the place. The white inner shutters swung open, -affording a charming prospect of the trees, the lawn, -and the monument in the park outside. And pleasantest -of all, and most soothing to his weary senses, she -was tolerating him now; she had even expressed approval -of something he had done, and he had never hoped for -this. She had not even pressed him to disclose his real -purpose in visiting Raleigh, and he prayed that she -would not return to this subject, for he had utterly lost -the conceit of his own lying gift. Miss Dangerfield -threw down the spool of tape and bent toward him -gravely.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Ardmore, can you keep a secret?”</p> - -<p>“Nobody ever tried me with one, but I think I can, -Miss Dangerfield,” he murmured humbly.</p> - -<p>“Then please stand up.”</p> - -<p>And Ardmore rose, a little sheepishly, like a school-boy -who fears blame and praise alike. Miss Dangerfield -lifted one of the adorable hands solemnly.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[75]</span>“I, acting governor of North Carolina, hereby appoint -you my private secretary, and may God have mercy on -your soul. You may now sit down, Mr. Secretary.”</p> - -<p>“But I thought there was a secretary already. And -besides, I don’t write a very good hand,” Ardmore stammered.</p> - -<p>“I am just sending Mr. Bassford to Atlanta to find -papa. He’s already gone, or will be pretty soon.”</p> - -<p>“But I thought your father would be home to-night.”</p> - -<p>Miss Dangerfield looked out of the open window upon -the park, then into the silent outer hall, to be sure she -was not overheard.</p> - -<p>“Papa will not be at home to-night, or probably to-morrow -night, or the night afterward. I’m not sure -we’ll wait next Christmas dinner for papa.”</p> - -<p>“But, of course, you know where he is! It isn’t possible——” -and Ardmore stared in astonishment into -Miss Dangerfield’s tranquil blue eyes.</p> - -<p>“It <i>is</i> possible. Papa is ducking his official responsibilities. -That’s what’s the matter with papa! And I -guess they’re enough to drive any man into the woods. -Just look at all this!”</p> - -<p>Miss Dangerfield rested one of those diminutive hands -of hers on the pile of documents, letters, and telegrams -the secretary had left behind him; with a nod of the -head she indicated the governor’s desk in the inner -room, and it too was piled high with documents.</p> - -<p>“I supposed,” faltered Ardmore, “that in the absence -of the governor the lieutenant-governor would act. I -think I read that once.”</p> - -<p>“You must have read it wrong, Mr. Ardmore. In -North Carolina, in the absence of the governor, I am -governor! Don’t look so shocked; when I say I, I -mean I—<i>me!</i> Do you understand what I said?”</p> - -<p>“I heard what you said, Miss Dangerfield.”</p> - -<p>“I mean what I said, Mr. Ardmore. I have taken you -into my confidence because I don’t know you. I don’t<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[76]</span> -know anything about you. I don’t want to know anything -about you. I’d be ashamed to ask anybody I -know to help me. The people of North Carolina must -never know that the governor is absent during times of -great public peril. And if <i>you</i> are afraid, Mr. Ardmore, -you had better not accept the position.”</p> - -<p>“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you,” blurted -Ardmore.</p> - -<p>“I’m not asking you—I <i>would</i> not ask you—to do -anything for me. I am asking you to do it for the -Old North State. Our relations, Mr. Ardmore, will not -be social, but purely official. Do you accept the terms?”</p> - -<p>“I do; and I warn you now that I shall never resign.”</p> - -<p>“I have heard papa say that life is short and the -tenure of office uncertain. I can remove you at any -time I please. Now do you understand that this is a -serious business? There’s likely to be a lot of trouble, -and no time for asking questions, so when I say it’s so -it’s so.”</p> - -<p>“It’s so,” repeated Ardmore docilely.</p> - -<p>“Now, here’s the sheriff at Kildare, on our side of the -line, who writes to say that he is powerless to catch -Appleweight. He’s afraid of the dark, that man! You -see, the grand jury in Dilwell County—that’s Kildare, -you know—has indicted Appleweight as a common outlaw, -but the grand jurors were all friends of Appleweight, -and the indictment was only to satisfy law-and-order -sentiment and appease the Woman’s Civic League of -Raleigh. Now, papa doesn’t—I mean <i>I</i> don’t want to -offend those Appleweight people by meddling in this -business. Papa wants Governor Osborne to arrest -Appleweight in South Carolina; but I don’t believe -Governor Osborne will dare do anything about it. Now, -Mr. Ardmore, I am not going to have papa called a -coward by anybody, particularly by South Carolina -people, after what Governor Osborne said of our state.”</p> - -<p>“Why, what did he say?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[77]</span>“He said in a speech at Charleston last winter that -no people who fry their meat can ever amount to anything, -and he meant us! I can never forgive him for -that; besides, his daughter is the stuck-upest thing! -And I’d like Barbara Osborne to tell me how <i>she</i> got -into the Colonial Dames, and what call <i>she</i> has to be -inspector-general of the Granddaughters of the Mexican -War; for I’ve heard my grandfather Dangerfield say -many a time that old Colonel Osborne and his South -Carolina regiment never did go outside of Charleston -until the war was over and the American army had come -back home.”</p> - -<p>One tiny fist this time! Ardmore was sure of it. -Her indignation against the Osbornes was so sincere, the -pouting petulance to which it diminished so like a -child’s, and the gravity of the offence so novel in his -simple experiences, that Ardmore was bound in chains -before her speech was finished. The little drawl with -which she concluded gave heightened significance to her -last three words, so that it seemed that all the veterans -of the war with Mexico trudged by, bearing the flag of -North Carolina and no other banner.</p> - -<p>“Governor Osborne is a contemptible ruffian,” declared -Ardmore, with deep feeling.</p> - -<p>Miss Dangerfield nodded judicial approval, and settled -back in her chair the better to contemplate her new -secretary, and said,—</p> - -<p>“I’m a Daughter of the Confederacy and a Colonial -Dame. What are you?”</p> - -<p>“I suppose you’ll never speak to me again; papa -sent three expensive substitutes to the Civil War.”</p> - -<p>“Three! Horrible!”</p> - -<p>“Two of them deserted, and one fell into the Potomac -on his way south and was drowned. I guess they -didn’t do you folks much harm.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll forgive you that; but what did your ancestors -do in the Revolution?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[78]</span>“I’m ashamed to say that my great-grandfather was -a poor guesser. He died during Washington’s second -administration still believing the Revolution a failure.”</p> - -<p>“Do you speak of the war of 1861 as the Rebellion -or as the war between the states? I advise you to be -careful what you say,” and Miss Jerry Dangerfield was -severe.</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe I ever mentioned it either way, so -I’m willing to take your word for it.”</p> - -<p>“The second form is correct, Mr. Ardmore. When -well-bred Southern people say Rebellion they refer to -the uprising of 1776 against the British oppressor.”</p> - -<p>“Good. I’m sure I shall never get them mixed. Now -that you are the governor, what are you going to do first -about Appleweight?”</p> - -<p>“I’ve written—that is to say, papa wrote before he -went away—a strong letter to Governor Osborne, complaining -that Appleweight was hiding in South Carolina -and running across the state line to rob and murder -people in North Carolina. Papa told Governor Osborne -that he must break up the Appleweight crowd, or he -would do something about it himself. It’s a splendid -letter; you would think that even a coward like Governor -Osborne would do something after getting such a -letter.”</p> - -<p>“Didn’t he answer the letter?”</p> - -<p>“Answer it? He never got it! Papa didn’t send it; -that’s the reason! Papa’s the kindest man in the world, -and he must have been afraid of hurting Governor Osborne’s -feelings. He wrote the letter, expecting to send -it, but when he went off to New Orleans he told Mr. -Bassford to hold it till he got back. He had even signed -it—you can read it if you like.”</p> - -<p>It was undoubtedly a vigorous epistle, and Ardmore -felt the thrill of its rhetorical sentences as he read. The -official letter paper on which it was typewritten, and the -signature of William Dangerfield, governor of North<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[79]</span> -Carolina, affixed in a bold hand, were sobering in themselves. -The dignity and authority of one of the sovereign -American states was represented here, and he -handed the paper back to Miss Dangerfield as tenderly -as though it had been the original draft of Magna -Charta.</p> - -<p>“It’s a corker, all right.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t much like the way it ends. It says, right -here”—and she bent forward and pointed to the place -under criticism—“it says, ‘Trusting to your sense of -equity, and relying upon a continuance of the traditional -friendship between your state and mine, I am, -sir, awaiting your reply, very respectfully, your obedient -servant.’ Now, I wouldn’t trust to his sense of anything, -and that traditional friendship business is just -fluffy nonsense, and I wouldn’t be anybody’s obedient -servant. I decided when I wasn’t more than fifteen -years old, with a lot of other girls in our school, that -when we got married we’d never say obey, and we -never have, though only three of our class are married -yet, but we’re all engaged.”</p> - -<p>“Engaged?”</p> - -<p>“Of course; we’re engaged. I’m engaged to Rutherford -Gillingwater, the adjutant-general of this state. -You couldn’t be my private secretary if I wasn’t engaged; -it wouldn’t be proper.”</p> - -<p>The earth was only a flying cinder on which he strove -for a foothold. She had announced her engagement to -be married with a cool finality that took his breath -away; and not realizing the chaos into which she had -flung him, she returned demurely to the matter of the -letter.</p> - -<p>“We can’t change that letter, because it’s signed close -to the ‘obedient servant,’ and there’s no room. But -I’m going to put it into the typewriter and add a postscript.”</p> - -<p>She sat down before the machine and inexpertly rolled<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[80]</span> -the sheet into place; then, with Ardmore helping her to -find the keys, she wrote:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>I demand an imediate reply.</p> -</div> - -<p>“<i>Demand</i> and <i>immediate</i> are both business words. -Are you sure there’s only one <i>m</i> in immediate? All -right, if you know. I reckon a postscript like that doesn’t -need to be signed. I’ll just put ‘W. D.’ there with papa’s -stub pen, so it will look really fierce. Now, you’re the -secretary; you copy it in the copying press and I’ll -address the envelope.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you have to put the state seal on it?” asked -Ardmore.</p> - -<p>“Of course not. You have to get that from the secretary -of state, and I don’t like him; he has such funny -whiskers, and calls me little girl. Besides, you never -put the seal on a letter; it’s only necessary for official -documents.”</p> - -<p>She bade him give the letter plenty of time to copy, -and talked cheerfully while he waited. She spoke of -her friends, as Southern people have a way of doing, as -though every one must of course know them—a habit -that is illuminative of that delightful Southern neighbourliness -that knits the elect of a commonwealth into a -single family, that neither time and tide nor sword and -brand can destroy. Ardmore’s humility increased as the -names of the great and good of North Carolina fell from -her lips; for they were as strange to him as an Abyssinian -dynasty. It was perfectly clear that he was not -of her world, and that his own was insignificant and -undistinguished compared with hers. His spirit was -stayed somewhat by the knowledge that he, and not -the execrable Gillingwater, had been chosen as her coadjutor -in the present crisis. His very ignorance of the -royal families of North Carolina, which she recited so -glibly, and the fact that he was unknown at the capital, -had won him official recognition, and it was for him<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[81]</span> -now to prove his worth. The political plot into which -he had been most willingly drawn pleased him greatly; -it was superior to his fondest dream of adventure, and -now, moreover, he had what he never had before, a -definite purpose in life, which was to be equal to the -task to which this intrepid girl assigned him.</p> - -<p>“Well, that’s done,” said Miss Jerry, when the letter, -still damp from the copy-press, had been carefully -sealed and stamped. “Governor Osborne will get it in -the morning. I think maybe we’d better telegraph him -that it’s coming.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t see much use in that, when he’ll get the letter -first thing to-morrow,” Ardmore suggested. “It costs -money to telegraph, and you must have an economical -administration.”</p> - -<p>“The good of it would be to keep him worried and -make him very angry. And if he told Barbara Osborne -about it, it would make her angry, too, and maybe she -wouldn’t sleep any all night, the haughty thing! Hand -me one of those telegraph blanks.”</p> - -<p>The message, slowly thumped out on the typewriter, -and several times altered and copied, finally read:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Raleigh</span>, N. C.</p> - -<p>The Honourable Charles Osborne,<br /> -<span class="indentleft">Governor of South Carolina,</span><br /> -<span class="indentleft2">Columbia, S. C.:</span></p> - -<p>Have written by to-night’s mail in Appleweight matter. Your -vacillating course not understood.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">William Dangerfield</span>,     <br /> -Governor of North Carolina.</p> -</div> - -<p>“I reckon that will make him take notice,” and Miss -Jerry viewed her work with approval. “And now, Mr. -Ardmore, here’s a telegram from Mr. Billings which I -don’t understand. See if you know what it means.”</p> - -<p>Ardmore chuckled delightedly as he read:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Cannot understand your outrageous conduct in bond matter. If -payment is not made June first your state’s credit is ruined. Where -is Foster? Answer to Atlanta.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">George P. Billings.</span></p> -</div> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[82]</span>“I don’t see what’s so funny about that! Mr. Bassford -was walking the floor with that message when I -came to the office. He said papa and the state were -both going to be ruined. There’s a quarter of a million -dollars to be paid on bonds that are coming due June -first, and there isn’t any money to pay them with. That’s -what he said. And Mr. Foster is the state treasurer, and -he’s gone fishing.”</p> - -<p>“Fishing?”</p> - -<p>“He left word he had gone fishing. Mr. Foster and -papa don’t get along together, and Mr. Bassford says -he’s run off just to let those bonds default and bring -disgrace on papa and the state.”</p> - -<p>Ardmore’s grin broadened. The Appleweight case -was insignificant compared with this new business with -which he was confronted. He was vaguely conscious -that bonds have a way of coming due, and that there is -such a thing as credit in the world, and that it is something -that must not be trifled with; but these considerations -did not weigh heavily with him. For the first -time in his uneventful life vengeance unsheathed her -sword in his tranquil soul. Billings had always treated -him with contempt, as a negligible factor in the Ardmore -millions, and here at last was an opportunity to balance -accounts.</p> - -<p>“I will show you how to fix Billings. Just let me -have one of those blanks.”</p> - -<p>And after much labour, and with occasional suggestions -from Miss Jerry, the following message was presently -ready for the wires:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Your famous imputation upon my honour and that of the state -shall meet with the treatment it deserves. I defy you to do your -worst. If you come into North Carolina or bring legal proceedings -for the collection of your bonds I will fill you so full of buckshot that -forty men will not be strong enough to carry you to your grave.</p> -</div> - -<p>“Isn’t that perfectly grand!” murmured Jerry admiringly. -“But I thought your family and the Bronx Loan<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[83]</span> -and Trust Company were the same thing. That’s what -Rutherford Gillingwater told me once.”</p> - -<p>“You are quite right. Billings works for us. Before -I came of age he used to make me ask his permission -when I wanted to buy a new necktie, and when I was in -college he was always fussing over my bills, and humiliating -me when he could.”</p> - -<p>“But you mustn’t make him so mad that he will cause -papa trouble and bring disgrace on our administration.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you worry about Billings. He is used to having -people get down on their knees to him, and the -change will do him good. When he gets over his first -stroke of apoplexy he will lock himself in a dark room -and begin to think hard about what to do. He usually -does all the bluffing, and I don’t suppose anybody ever -talked to him like this telegram in all his life. Where -is this man Foster?”</p> - -<p>“Just fishing; that’s what Mr. Bassford said, but he -didn’t know where. Father was going to call a special -session of the legislature to investigate him, and he was -so angry that he ran off so that papa would have to look -after those bonds himself. Then this Appleweight case -came up, and that worried papa a great deal. Here’s -his call for the special session. He told Mr. Bassford to -hold that, too, until he came back from New Orleans.”</p> - -<p>Ardmore read Governor Dangerfield’s summons to the -legislature with profound interest. It was signed, but -the space for the date on which the law-makers were to -assemble had been left blank.</p> - -<p>“It looks to me as though you had the whole state in -your hands, Miss Dangerfield. But I don’t believe we -ought to call the special session just yet. It would be -sure to injure the state’s credit, and it will be a lot more -fun to catch Foster. I wonder if he took all the state -money with him.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Bassford said he didn’t know and couldn’t find<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[84]</span> -out, for the clerks in the treasurer’s office wouldn’t tell -him a single thing.”</p> - -<p>“One should never deal with subordinates,” remarked -Ardmore sagely. “Deal with the principals—I heard a -banker say that once, and he was a man who knew everything. -Besides, it will be more fun to attend to the -bonds ourselves.”</p> - -<p>He seemed lost in reverie for several minutes, and she -asked with some impatience what he was studying about.</p> - -<p>“I was trying to think of a word they use when the -government has war or any kind of trouble. It’s something -about a corpse, but I can’t remember it.”</p> - -<p>“A corpse? How perfectly horrid! Can it be possible, -Mr. Ardmore, that you mean the writ of habeas -corpus?” The twinkle in his eye left her unable to -determine whether his ignorance was real, or assumed -for his own amusement.</p> - -<p>“That’s it,” beamed Ardmore. “We’ve got to suspend -it if worst comes to worst. Then you can put anybody -you like into a dungeon, and nobody can get him -out—not for a million years.”</p> - -<p>“I wonder where they keep it?” asked Jerry. “It -must be here somewhere. Perhaps it’s in the safe.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think it’s a thing, like a lemon, or a photograph, -or a bottle of ink; it’s a document, like a Thanksgiving -proclamation, and you order out the militia, and -the soldiers have to leave their work and assemble at -their armouries, and it’s all very serious, and somebody -is likely to get shot.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think it would be nice to shoot people,” -said Jerry. “That would do the administration a terrible -lot of harm.”</p> - -<p>“Of course we won’t resort to extreme measures unless -we are forced to it. And then, after we have exhausted -all the means at our command, we can call on the president -to send United States troops.”</p> - -<p>He was proud of his knowledge, which had lingered<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[85]</span> -in his subconsciousness from a review of the military -power of the states which he had heard once from Griswold, -who knew about such matters; but he was brought -to earth promptly enough.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Ardmore, how dare you suggest that we call -United States troops into North Carolina! Don’t you -know that would be an insult to every loyal son of this -state? I should have you know that the state of North -Carolina is big enough to take care of herself, and if -any president of the United States sends any troops -down here while I’m running this office, he’ll find that, -while our people will gladly die, they never surrender.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I didn’t mean anything like that by what I said,” -pleaded Ardmore, frightened almost to tears. “Of -course, we’ve got our own troops, and we’ll get through -all our business without calling for help. I shouldn’t -any more call on the president than I’d call on the Czar -of Russia.”</p> - -<p>She seemed satisfied with this disclaimer, and produced -a diary in which Governor Dangerfield had noted -his appointments far into the future.</p> - -<p>“We’ll have to break a lot of engagements for papa. -Here’s a speech he promised to make at Wilmington at -the laying of the corner-stone of the new orphan asylum. -That’s to-morrow, and papa can’t be there, so we’ll send -a telegram of congratulation to be read instead. Then -he was to preside at a convention of the Old Fiddlers’ -Association at Goldsboro the next day, and he can’t do -that. I guess we’d better telegraph and say how sorry -he is to be delayed by important official business. And -here’s—why, I had forgotten about the National Guard -encampment, that’s beginning now.”</p> - -<p>“Do you mean the state militia?” Ardmore inquired.</p> - -<p>“Why, of course. They’re having their annual -encampment over in Azbell County at Camp Dangerfield—they -always name the camp for the governor—and -father was to visit the camp next Saturday for his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[86]</span> -annual inspection. That’s near your county, where -your farm is; didn’t you know that?”</p> - -<p>Ardmore was humble, as he always was when his -ignorance was exposed, but his face brightened joyfully.</p> - -<p>“You mustn’t break that engagement. Those troops -ought to be inspected. Inspecting his troops is one of -the most important things a governor has to do. It’s -just like a king or an emperor. I’ve seen Emperor -William and King Humbert inspect their soldiers, and -they go galloping by like mad, with all the soldiers -saluting, and it’s perfectly bully. And then there have -to be manœuvres, to see whether the troops know how -to fight or not, and forced marches and sham battles.”</p> - -<p>“Papa always speaks to the men,” suggested Jerry, a -little abashed by the breadth and splendour of Ardmore’s -knowledge. His comparison of the North Carolina militia -with the armies of Europe pleased her.</p> - -<p>“I think the ladies of the royal family inspect the -troops too, sometimes,” he continued. “The queens are -always honorary colonels of regiments, and present them -with flags, which is a graceful thing to do.”</p> - -<p>“Colonel Gillingwater never told me that, and he’s the -adjutant-general of the state and ought to know.”</p> - -<p>“What’s he colonel of?” asked Ardmore gloomily.</p> - -<p>“He was colonel in the Spanish war, or was going to -be, but he got typhoid fever, and so he couldn’t go to -Cuba, and papa appointed him adjutant-general as a -reward for his services; but everybody calls him Colonel -just the same.”</p> - -<p>“It looks like a pretty easy way of getting a title,” -murmured Ardmore. “I had typhoid fever once, and -nearly died, and all my hair came out.”</p> - -<p>“You oughtn’t to speak that way of my fiancé. It’s -quite impertinent in a mere private secretary to talk -so.”</p> - -<p>“I beg your pardon. I forgot that you were engaged. -You’ll have to go to Camp Dangerfield and inspect the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[87]</span> -troops yourself, and they would a lot rather have you -inspect them than have your father do it.”</p> - -<p>“You mustn’t say things like that! I thought I told -you your appointment carried no social recognition. You -mustn’t talk to me as though I was a girl you really -know——”</p> - -<p>“But there’s no use of making-believe such things -when I do know you!”</p> - -<p>“Not the least little tiny bit, you don’t! Do you -suppose, if you were a gentleman I knew and had been -introduced to, I would be talking to you here in papa’s -office?”</p> - -<p>“But I pretend to be a gentleman; you certainly -wouldn’t be talking to me if you thought me anything -else.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t even discuss the matter, Mr. Ardmore. A -gentleman wouldn’t lie to a lady.”</p> - -<p>“But if you know I’m a liar, why are you telling me -these secrets and asking me to help you play being -governor?” and Ardmore, floundering hopelessly, marvelled -at her more and more.</p> - -<p>“That’s exactly the reason—because you came poking -up to my house and told me that scandalous fib about -meeting papa in New Orleans. Mr. Bassford is a beautiful -liar; that’s why he’s papa’s secretary; but you are -a much more imaginative sort of liar than Mr. Bassford. -He can only lie to callers about papa being engaged, or -write encouraging letters to people who want appointments -which papa never expects to make; but you lie -because you can’t help it. Now, if you’re satisfied, you -can take those telegrams down to the telegraph office; -and you’d better mail that letter to Governor Osborne -yourself, for fear the man who’s running the lawn-mower -will forget to come for it.”</p> - -<p>The roll of drums and the cry of a bugle broke in -upon the peace of the late afternoon. Miss Jerry rose -with an exclamation and ran out into the broad portico<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[88]</span> -of the state house. Several battalions of a tide-water -regiment, passing through town on their way to Camp -Dangerfield, had taken advantage of a wait in Raleigh -to disembark and show themselves at the capital. They -were already halted and at parade rest at the side of the -street, and a mounted officer in khaki, galloping madly -into view, seemed to focus the eyes of the gathering -crowd. He was a gallant figure of a man; his mount -was an animal that realized Job’s ideal of a battle-horse; -the soldiers presented arms as the horseman rode the -line. Miss Dangerfield waved her handkerchief, standing -eagerly on tiptoe to make her salutation carry as far -as possible.</p> - -<p>“Who is that?” asked Ardmore, with sinking spirit.</p> - -<p>“Why, Rutherford Gillingwater, of course.”</p> - -<p>“Fours right!” rang the command a moment later, -and the militiamen tramped off to the station.</p> - -<p>It was then that Ardmore, watching the crowd disperse -at the edge of the park, saw his caller of the morning -striding rapidly across the street. Ardmore started -forward, then checked himself so suddenly that Miss -Jerry Dangerfield turned to him inquiringly.</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter?” she demanded.</p> - -<p>“Nothing. I have been robbed, as I hoped to be. -Over there, on the sidewalk, beyond the girl in the pink -sunbonnet, goes my little brown jug. That lank individual -with the shabby hat has lifted it out of my room -at the hotel, just as I thought he would.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[89]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER VI.<br /> - - -<small>MR. GRISWOLD FORSAKES THE ACADEMIC LIFE.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Miss Osborne</span> had asked Griswold to await the outcome -of the day, and, finding himself thus possessed of -a vacation, he indulged his antiquarian instincts by exploring -Columbia. The late afternoon found him in the -lovely cathedral churchyard, where an aged negro, tending -the graves of an illustrious family, leaned upon his -spade and recited the achievements and virtues of the -dead. Men who had been law-makers, others who had -led valiantly to battle, and ministers of the Prince of -Peace, mingled their dust together; and across the crisp -hedges a robin sang above Timrod’s grave.</p> - -<p>As the shadows lengthened, Griswold walked back to -the hotel, where he ate supper, then, calling for a horse, -he rode through the streets in a mood of more complete -alienation than he had ever experienced in a foreign -country; yet the very scents of the summer night, stealing -out from old gardens, the voices that reached him -from open doorways, spoke of home.</p> - -<p>As he reached the outskirts of town and rode on -toward the governor’s mansion, his mood changed, and -he laughed softly, for he remembered Ardmore, and -Ardmore was beyond question the most amusing person -he knew. It was unfortunate, he generously reflected, -that Ardmore, rather than himself, had not been plunged -into this present undertaking, which was much more in -Ardmore’s line than his own. There would, however, be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[90]</span> -a great satisfaction in telling Ardmore of his unexpected -visit to Columbia, in exchange for his friend’s report of -his pursuit of the winking eye. He only regretted that -in the nature of things Columbia is a modern city, a seat -of commerce as well as of government, a place where -bank clearings are seriously computed, and where the -jaunty adventurer with sword and ruffles is quite likely -to run afoul of the police. Yet his own imagination -was far more fertile than Ardmore’s, and he would have -hailed a troop of mail-clad men as joyfully as his friend -had he met them clanking in the highway. Thus -modern as we think ourselves, the least venturesome -among us dreams that some day some turn of a street -corner will bring him face to face with what we please -to call our fate; and this is the manifestation of our -last drop of mediæval blood. The grimmest seeker after -reality looks out of the corner of his eye for the flutter -of a white handkerchief from the ivied tower he affects -to ignore; and, in spite of himself, he is buoyed by the -hope that some day a horn will sound for him over the -nearest hill.</p> - -<p>Miss Osborne met him at the veranda steps. Indoors -a mandolin and piano struck up the merry chords of <i>The -Eutaw Girl</i>.</p> - -<p>“My young sisters have company. We’ll sit here, if -you don’t mind.”</p> - -<p>She led the way to a quiet corner, and after they were -seated she was silent a moment, while the light from -the windows showed clearly that her perplexity of the -morning was not yet at an end. The music tinkled -softly, and a breeze swept in upon them with faint -odours of the garden.</p> - -<p>“I hope you won’t mind, Mr. Griswold, if I appear to -be ashamed of you. It’s not a bit hospitable to keep you -outside our threshold; but—you understand—I don’t -have to tell you!”</p> - -<p>“I understand perfectly, Miss Osborne!”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[91]</span>“It seems best not to let the others know just why you -are here. I told my sisters that you were an old friend—of -father’s—who wished to leave a message for him.”</p> - -<p>“That will do first-rate!” he laughed. “My status is -fixed. I know your father, but as for ourselves, we are -not acquainted.”</p> - -<p>He felt that she was seriously anxious and troubled, -and he wished to hearten her if he could. The soft dusk -of the faintly-lighted corner folded her in. Behind her -the vines of the verandah moved slightly in the breeze. -A thin, wayward shaft of light touched her hair, as -though searching out the gold. When we say that people -have atmosphere, we really mean that they possess indefinite -qualities that awaken new moods in us, as by -that magic through which an ignorant hand thrumming -a harp’s strings may evoke some harmony denied to conscious -skill. He heard whispered in his heart a man’s -first word of the woman he is destined to love, in which -he sets her apart—above and beyond all other womenkind; -she is different; she is not like other women!</p> - -<p>“It is nearly nine,” she said, her voice thrilling -through him. “My father should have been here an -hour ago. We have heard nothing from him. The -newspapers have telephoned repeatedly to know his -whereabouts. I have put them off by intimating that -he is away on important public business, and that his -purpose might be defeated if his exact whereabouts -were known. I tried to intimate, without saying as -much, that he was busy with the Appleweight case. -One of the papers that has very bitterly antagonized -father ever since his election has threatened to expose -what the editor calls father’s relations with Appleweight. -I cannot believe that there is anything wrong about -that; of course there is not!”</p> - -<p>She was controlling herself with an effort, and she -broke off her declaration of confidence in her absent -father sharply but with a sob in her voice.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[92]</span>“I have no doubt in the world that the explanation -you gave the newspapers is the truth of the matter. -Your father must be absent a great deal—it is part of -a governor’s business to keep in motion. But we may -as well face the fact that his absence just now is most -embarrassing. This Appleweight matter has reached a -crisis, and a failure to handle it properly may injure -your father’s future as a public man. If you will pardon -me, I would suggest that there must be some one whom -you can take into your confidence—some friend, some -one in your father’s administration that you can rely -on?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; father has many friends; but I cannot consider -acknowledging to any one that father has disappeared -when such a matter as this Appleweight case -is an issue through the state. No; I have thought of -every one this afternoon. It would be a painful thing -for his best friends to know what is—what seems to be -the truth.” Her voice wavered a little, but she was -brave, and he was aware that she straightened herself -in her chair, and, when wayward gleams of light fell -upon her face, that her lips were set resolutely.</p> - -<p>“You saw the attorney-general this morning,” she -went on. “As you suggested, he would naturally be -the one to whom I should turn, but I cannot do it. I—there -is a reason”—and she faltered a moment—“there -are reasons why I cannot appeal to Mr. Bosworth -at this time.”</p> - -<p>She shrugged her shoulders as though throwing off a -disagreeable topic, and he saw that there was nothing -more to be said on this point. His heart-beats quickened -as he realized that she was appealing to him; -that, though he was only the most casual acquaintance, -she trusted him. It was a dictum of his, learned in his -study and practice of the law, that issues must be met -as they offer—not as the practitioner would prefer to -have them, but as they occur; and here was a condition<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[93]</span> -of affairs that must be met promptly if the unaccountable -absence of the governor was to be robbed of its embarrassing -significance.</p> - -<p>As he pondered for a moment, a messenger rode into -the grounds, and Miss Osborne slipped away and met -the boy at the steps. She came back and opened a -telegram, reading the message at one of the windows. An -indignant exclamation escaped her, and she crumpled -the paper in her hand.</p> - -<p>“The impudence of it!” she exclaimed. He had -risen, and she now turned to him with anger and scorn -deepening her beautiful colour. Her breath came -quickly; her head was lifted imperiously; her lips -quivered slightly as she spoke.</p> - -<p>“This is from Governor Dangerfield. Can you imagine -a man of any character or decency sending such a message -to the governor of another state?”</p> - -<p>She watched him as he read:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Raleigh</span>, N. C.</p> - -<p>The Honourable Charles Osborne,<br /> -<span class="indentleft">Governor of South Carolina,</span><br /> -<span class="indentleft2">Columbia, S. C.:</span></p> - -<p>Have written by to-night’s mail in Appleweight matter. Your -vacillating course not understood.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">William Dangerfield</span>,     <br /> -Governor of North Carolina.</p> -</div> - -<p>“What do you think of that?” she demanded.</p> - -<p>“I think it’s impertinent, to say the least,” he replied -guardedly.</p> - -<p>“Impertinent! It’s the most contemptible, outrageous -thing I ever heard of in my life! Governor -Dangerfield has dilly-dallied with that case for two years. -His administration has been marked from the beginning -by the worst kind of incompetence. Why, this man -Appleweight and his gang of outlaws only come into -South Carolina now and then to hide and steal, but they -commit most of their crimes in North Carolina, and -they always have. Talk about a vacillating course!<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[94]</span> -Father has never taken steps to arrest those men, out -of sheer regard for Governor Dangerfield; he thought -North Carolina had some pride, and that her governor -would prefer to take care of his own criminals. What -do you suppose Appleweight is indicted for in this state? -For stealing one ham—one single ham from a farmer in -Mingo County, and he’s killed half a dozen men in -North Carolina.”</p> - -<p>She paced the corner of the veranda angrily, while -Griswold groped for a solution of the problem. The -telegram from Raleigh was certainly lacking in diplomatic -suavity. It was patent that if the governor of -North Carolina was not tremendously aroused, he was -playing a great game of bluff; and on either hypothesis -a prompt response must be made to his telegram.</p> - -<p>“I must answer this at once. He must not think we -are so stupid in Columbia that we don’t know when -we’re insulted. We can go through the side door to -father’s study and write the message there,” and she -led the way.</p> - -<p>“It might be best to wait and see what his letter is -like,” suggested Griswold, with a vague wish to prolong -this discussion, that he might enjoy the soft glow of the -student lamp on her cheek.</p> - -<p>“I don’t care what his letter says; it can’t be worse -than his telegram. We’ll answer them both at once.”</p> - -<p>She found a blank and wrote rapidly, without asking -suggestions, with this result:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>The Honourable William Dangerfield,<br /> -<span class="indentleft3">Raleigh, N. C.:</span></p> - -<p>Your extremely diverting telegram in Appleweight case received -and filed.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Charles Osborne</span>,     <br /> -Governor of South Carolina.</p> -</div> - -<p>She met Griswold’s obvious disappointment with -prompt explanation.</p> - -<p>“You see, the governor of South Carolina cannot<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[95]</span> -stoop to an exchange of billingsgate with an underbred -person like that—a big, solemn, conceited creature in a -long frock-coat and a shoestring necktie, who boasts of -belonging to the common ‘peo-pull.’ He doesn’t have -to tell anybody that, when it’s plain as daylight. The -way to answer him is not to answer at all.”</p> - -<p>“The way to answer him is to make North Carolina -put Appleweight in jail, for crimes committed in that -state, and then, if need be, we can satisfy the cry for -vengeance in South Carolina by flashing our requisition. -There is a rule in such cases that the state having the -heaviest indictments shall have precedence; and you -say that in this state it’s only a matter of a ham. I -am not acquainted with the South Carolina ham,” he -went on, smiling, “but in Virginia the right kind of a -ham is sacred property, and to steal one is a capital -offence.”</p> - -<p>“I should like to steal one such as I had last winter -in Richmond,” and Miss Osborne forgot her anger; her -eyes narrowed dreamily at an agreeable memory.</p> - -<p>“Was it at Judge Randolph Wilson’s?” asked Griswold -instantly.</p> - -<p>“Why, yes, it was at Judge Wilson’s, Mr. Griswold. -How did you know?”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t know—I guessed; for I have sat at that -table myself. The judge says grace twice when there’s -to be ham—once before soup, then again before ham.”</p> - -<p>“Then thanksgiving after the ham would be perfectly -proper!”</p> - -<p>Miss Osborne was studying Griswold carefully, then -she laughed, and her attitude toward him, that had -been tempered by a certain official reserve, became at -once cordial.</p> - -<p>“Are you the Professor Griswold who is so crazy -about pirates? I’ve heard the Wilsons speak of you, -but you don’t look like that.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t I look like a pirate? Thank you! I had an<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[96]</span> -appointment at Judge Wilson’s office this morning to -talk over a case in which I’m interested.”</p> - -<p>“I remember now what he said about you. He said -you really were a fine lawyer, but that you liked to read -about pirates.”</p> - -<p>“That may have been what he said to you; but he -has told me that the association of piracy and law was -most unfortunate, as it would suggest unpleasant comments -to those who don’t admire the legal profession.”</p> - -<p>“And you are one of those tide-water Griswolds, then, -if you know the Randolph Wilsons. They are very -strong for the tide-water families; to hear them talk -you’d think the people back in the Virginia hills weren’t -really respectable.”</p> - -<p>“It’s undeniably the right view of the matter,” laughed -Griswold, “but now that I live in Charlottesville I don’t -insist on it. It wouldn’t be decent in me. And I have -lots of cousins in Lexington and through the Valley. -The broad view is that every inch of the Old Dominion -is holy ground.”</p> - -<p>“It is an interesting commonwealth, Mr. Griswold; -but I do not consider it holy ground. South Carolina -has a monopoly of that;” and then the smile left her -face and she returned to the telegram. “Our immediate -business, however, is not with Virginia, or with -South Carolina, but with the miserable commonwealth -that lies between.”</p> - -<p>“And that commonwealth,” said Griswold, wishing to -prolong the respite from official cares, “that state known -in law and history as North Carolina, I have heard -called, by a delightful North Carolina lady I met once -at Charlottesville, a valley of humility between two -mountains of conceit. That seems to hit both of us!”</p> - -<p>“North Carolina isn’t a state at all,” Miss Osborne -declared spitefully; “it’s only a strip of land where -uninteresting people live. And now, what do you say -to this telegram?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[97]</span>“Excellent. It’s bound to irritate, and it leaves him -in the dark as to our—I mean Governor Osborne’s—intentions. -And those intentions——”</p> - -<p>During this by-play he had reached a decision as to -what should be done, and he was prepared to answer -when she asked, with an employment of the pronoun -that pleasantly emphasized their relationship,—</p> - -<p>“What <i>are</i> our intentions?”</p> - -<p>“We are going to catch Appleweight, that’s the first -thing—and until we get him we’re going to keep our -own counsel. Let me have a telegraph blank, and I -will try my hand at being governor.” He sat down in -the governor’s chair, asked the name of the county seat -of Mingo, and wrote without erasure or hesitation this -message:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>To the Sheriff of Mingo County,<br /> -<span class="indentleft4">Turner Court House, S. C.:</span></p> - -<p>Make every possible effort to capture Appleweight and any of his -gang who are abroad in your county. Swear in all the deputies you -need, and if friendliness of citizens to outlaws makes this impossible -wire me immediately, and I will send militia. Any delay on your -part will be visited with severest penalties. Answer immediately by -telegraph.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Charles Osborne</span>,     <br /> -Governor of South Carolina.</p> -</div> - -<p>“That’s quite within the law,” said Griswold, handing -Barbara the message; “and we might as well put -the thing through at a gallop. I’ll get the telegraph -company to hold open the line to Turner Court House -until the sheriff answers.”</p> - -<p>As Barbara read the message he saw her pleasure in -the quick compression of her lips, the glow in her cheeks, -and then the bright glint of her bronze-brown eyes as -she finished.</p> - -<p>“That’s exactly right. I didn’t know just how to -manage such a thing, but I see that that is the proper -method.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; the sheriff must have his full opportunity to -act.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[98]</span>“And what, then, if the sheriff refuses to do anything?”</p> - -<p>“Then—then”—and Griswold’s jaw set firmly, and -he straightened himself slightly before he added in a -quiet tone—“then I’m going down there to take charge -of the thing myself.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that is too much! I <i>didn’t</i> ask that; and I -must refuse to let you take any such responsibility on -yourself, to say nothing of the personal danger. I merely -wanted your advice—as a lawyer, for the reason that I -dared not risk father’s name even among his best friends -here. And your coming to the office this morning seemed -so—so providential——”</p> - -<p>He sought at once to minimize the value of his services, -for he was not a man to place a woman under obligations, -and, moreover, an opportunity like this, to uphold -the dignity, and perhaps to exercise the power, of a -state laid strong hold upon him. He knew little enough -about the Appleweight case, but he felt from his slight -knowledge that he was well within his rights in putting -spurs to the sheriff of Mingo County. If the sheriff failed -to respond in proper spirit and it became necessary to -use the militia, he was conscious that serious complications -might arise. He had not only a respect for law, -but an ideal of civic courage and integrity, and the -governor’s inexplicable absence aroused his honest wrath. -The idea that a mere girl should be forced to sustain -the official honour and dignity of a cowardly father -further angered him. And then he looked into her eyes -and saw how grave they were, and how earnest and with -what courage she met the situation; and the charm of -her slender figure, that glint of gold in her hair, her slim, -supple hands folded on the table—these things wrought -in him a happiness that he had never known before, so -that he laughed as he took the telegram from her.</p> - -<p>“There must be no mistake, no failure,” she said -quietly.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[99]</span>“We are not going to fail; we are going to carry this -through! Within three days we’ll have Appleweight in -a North Carolina jail or a flying fugitive in Governor -Dangerfield’s territory. And now these telegrams must -be sent. It might be better for you to go to the telegraph -office with me. You must remember that I am -a pilgrim and a stranger, and they might question my -filing official messages.”</p> - -<p>“That is perfectly true. I will go into town with -you.”</p> - -<p>“And if there’s an official coach that everybody knows -as yours, it would allay suspicions to have it,” and -while he was still speaking she vanished to order the -carriage.</p> - -<p>In five minutes it was at the side door, and Griswold -and Barbara, fortified by the presence of Phœbe, left -the governor’s study.</p> - -<p>“If they don’t know me, everybody in South Carolina -knows Phœbe,” said Barbara.</p> - -<p>“A capital idea. I can see by her eye that she’s built -for conspiracy.”</p> - -<p>Griswold’s horse was to be returned to town by a -boy; and when this had been arranged the three entered -the carriage.</p> - -<p>“The telegraph office, Tom; and hurry.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[100]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER VII.<br /> - - -<small>AN AFFAIR AT THE STATE HOUSE.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Barbara</span> filed the messages herself with the manager of -the telegraph company, who lifted the green shade from -his eyes and smiled upon her.</p> - -<p>“We’ll rush them, Miss Osborne. Shall I telephone -the answers if they come to-night? No; your father -likes his telegrams delivered, I remember.”</p> - -<p>“I will call for them,” said Griswold. “Governor -Osborne was only at home a few hours this evening, and -he left me in charge of these matters.”</p> - -<p>The manager’s face expressed surprise.</p> - -<p>“Oh! I didn’t know the governor was at home,” he -remarked, as he finished counting the words and charging -them against the state’s account. “I will send them -myself, and ask the operators at the other end to look -lively about the answers. You are Mr.——”</p> - -<p>“This is Major Griswold,” said Barbara, conferring the -title with a vague feeling that it strengthened her cause.</p> - -<p>“Major,” repeated the manager, as he nodded to -Griswold with an air that implied his familiarity with -official secrets. “You will call? In a couple of hours, -Major.”</p> - -<p>As Barbara and Griswold turned to leave, a young -man who had been writing a message at the standing -desk in the lobby lifted his hat and addressed Barbara. -He was a reporter for the Columbia <i>Intelligencer</i>, and -his manner was eager.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[101]</span>“Oh, Miss Osborne, pardon me, but I’ve been trying -to get you on the telephone. Can you tell me where -your father is to-night?”</p> - -<p>“Father was in town only a few hours, and then left -on state business.”</p> - -<p>The young man glanced from one to the other. He -was a polite youngster, and Miss Barbara Osborne was—Miss -Barbara Osborne, and this, to the people of South -Carolina, was a fact of weight. Still the reporter twirled -his hat uncertainly.</p> - -<p>“Well, I thought I had met all the trains, but I guess -I missed the governor.”</p> - -<p>“No; you didn’t miss him,” smiled Barbara. “Father -drove in from the country and went back the same way. -He didn’t come into town at all.”</p> - -<p>The news instinct is the keenest with which man may -be blessed, and the reporter scented events. Griswold, -seeing the light flash in the young man’s eye, felt that -here was an opportunity to allay public criticism.</p> - -<p>“Governor Osborne is engaged upon important public -business. He will be absent from town for a day—perhaps -a week. He will not return to Columbia until the -business is thoroughly disposed of.”</p> - -<p>“May I ask if it’s the Appleweight case? The Raleigh -papers have wired for information, and we’d like to -know here.”</p> - -<p>“I cannot answer that question. It’s enough that the -governor is absent on state business, and that the business -is important. You may print that in the <i>Intelligencer</i>, -and repeat it to Raleigh.—There is no harm in -that, is there, Miss Osborne?”</p> - -<p>“No; certainly not,” Barbara replied.</p> - -<p>“But the papers all over the state are talking about -the Appleweight gang. They intimate that those people -enjoy immunity from prosecution, and that the governor—you -will pardon me, Miss Osborne—will take no steps -to arrest them, for personal reasons.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[102]</span>“Your question is quite proper,” replied Griswold. -“The governor’s acts are subject to scrutiny at all times, -and it is just as well to have this matter understood now. -I am employed by the governor as special counsel in -some state matters. My name is Griswold. Take out -your book and come to the desk here, and I will give -you a statement which you may publish as by the -authority of the governor.”</p> - -<p>The three found seats at a table, and Griswold dictated -while the reporter wrote, Barbara meanwhile sitting with -her cheek resting against her raised hand. She was -experiencing the relief we all know, of finding a strong -arm to lean upon in an emergency, and she realized that -Griswold was not only wise, but shrewd and resourceful.</p> - -<p>“Please print this exactly as I give it: It having been -intimated in certain quarters that the Appleweight gang -of outlaws, which has been terrorizing the North Carolina -frontier for several years, enjoys immunity from -prosecution in South Carolina owing to the fact that -Governor Osborne was at some time attorney for Appleweight, -Governor Osborne begs to say that steps have -already been taken for the arrest of this man and his -followers, dead or alive. The governor presents his compliments -to those amiable critics who have so eagerly -seized upon this pretext for slurring his private character -and aspersing his official acts. The governor has -no apologies to proffer the people of South Carolina, -who have so generously reposed in him their trust and -confidence. He is intent upon safeguarding the peace, -dignity, and honour of the state through an honest enforcement -of law, and he has no other aim or ambition.”</p> - -<p>Griswold took the reporter’s notebook and read over -this <i>pronunciamiento</i>; then he handed it to Barbara, -who studied it carefully.</p> - -<p>“I think that sounds just right, only why not substitute -for ‘honest’ the word ‘vigorous’?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[103]</span>“Excellent,” assented Griswold, and thus amended -the statement was returned to the reporter.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said Griswold to the young man, “you are -getting a pretty good item that no other paper will have. -Please wire your story to Raleigh; Governor Osborne is -very anxious that the people up there shall understand -fully his attitude in the Appleweight matter.”</p> - -<p>“I reckon this will wake up old Dangerfield all right,” -said the reporter, grinning. “He’ll be paralyzed. May -I use your name in this connection, sir?”</p> - -<p>“Not at all. My engagement with Governor Osborne -is of the most confidential character, and our purposes -would be defeated by publicity. Remember, you get the -exclusive use of this story—the return and immediate -departure of the governor, his statement to the people -in the Appleweight case—all with the understanding that -you use what you have to the best advantage.”</p> - -<p>“This is all right, is it, Miss Osborne?” asked the -reporter.</p> - -<p>“Major Griswold has full authority to act, and you -need question nothing he tells you,” Barbara replied.</p> - -<p>“I suppose the governor didn’t see the attorney-general -to-day?” asked the reporter detainingly, as -Barbara rose. She exchanged a glance with Griswold.</p> - -<p>“Father didn’t see Mr. Bosworth at all, if that’s what -you mean!”</p> - -<p>“Didn’t see him? Well, Bosworth didn’t exactly tell -me he had seen him to-day, but I asked him about the -Appleweight case an hour ago at his house, and he said -the governor wasn’t going to do anything, and that -was the end of it so far as the administration is concerned.”</p> - -<p>“Print his story and see what happens! We have -no comment to make on that, have we, Miss Osborne?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing at all,” replied Barbara scornfully.</p> - -<p>“I’m at the Saluda House at present. See me to-morrow -and I may have another story for you!” and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[104]</span> -Griswold shook the reporter warmly by the hand as -they parted at the carriage door.</p> - -<p>“Home,” said Barbara for the reporter’s benefit, and -then, to Griswold: “I must speak of another matter. -Drive with me a little way until we can throw the reporter -off.”</p> - -<p>She spoke quietly, but he saw that she was preoccupied -with some new phase of the situation, and as the carriage -gained headway she said earnestly,—</p> - -<p>“That young man told the truth—I am sure of it—about -Mr. Bosworth. I knew he would do something to -injure father if he could, but I did not know he had the -courage to go so far.”</p> - -<p>“It’s only politics, Miss Osborne,” said Griswold -lightly. “Besides, you may be sure the <i>Intelligencer</i> will -print the governor’s side of it in its largest type.”</p> - -<p>“No; it is not politics. It is more despicable, more -contemptible, more ungenerous even than politics. But -he shall be punished, humiliated, for his conduct.”</p> - -<p>“You shall fix his punishment yourself!” laughed -Griswold; “but the state’s business first. We have a -little more to do before I am satisfied with the day’s -work.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, of course. We must leave nothing undone that -father would do were he here to act for himself.”</p> - -<p>“We must be even more careful in his absence to safeguard -his honour than the case really requires. We not -only have his public responsibility but our own into the -bargain in so far as we speak and act for him. And -there’s always the state—the Palmetto flag must be kept -flying at the masthead.” Their eyes met as they passed -under an electric lamp, and he saw how completely she -was relying on his guidance.</p> - -<p>They were now at the edge of town, and she bade -him stop the carriage.</p> - -<p>“We must go to the state house,” said Griswold. -“We must get that requisition, to guard against treason<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[105]</span> -in the citadel. Assuming that Governor Osborne really -doesn’t want to see Appleweight punished, we’d better -hold the requisition anyhow. It’s possible that your -father had it ready—do pardon me!—for a grand-stand -play, or he may have wanted to bring Appleweight into -the friendlier state—but that’s all conjectural. We’d -better keep out of the principal streets. That reporter -has a sharp eye.”</p> - -<p>She gave the necessary directions, and the driver -turned back into Columbia. It was pleasant to find his -accomplice in this conspiracy a girl of keen wit who -did not debate matters or ask tiresome questions. The -business ahead was serious enough, though he tried by -manner, tone, and words to minimize its gravity. If -the attorney-general was serving a personal spite, or -whatever the cause of his attitude, he might go far in -taking advantage of the governor’s absence. Griswold’s -relation to the case was equivocal enough, he fully -realized; but the very fact of its being without precedent, -and so beset with pitfalls for all concerned, was a -spur to action. In the present instance a duly executed -requisition for the apprehension of a criminal, which -could not be replaced if lost, must be held at all hazards, -and Griswold had determined to make sure of the governor’s -warrant before he slept.</p> - -<p>“Have you the office keys?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Yes; I have been afraid to let go of them. There’s -a watchman in the building, but he knows me very -well. There will not be the slightest trouble about getting -in.”</p> - -<p>The watchman—an old Confederate veteran—sat -smoking in the entrance, and courteously bade them -good-evening.</p> - -<p>“I want to get some papers from father’s office, -Captain.”</p> - -<p>“Certainly, Miss Barbara.” He preceded them, throwing -on the lights, to the governor’s door, which he opened<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[106]</span> -with his own pass-key. “It’s pretty lonesome here at -night, Miss Barbara.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose nobody comes at night,” remarked Griswold.</p> - -<p>“Not usually, sir. But one or two students are at -work in the library, and Mr. Bosworth is in his office.”</p> - -<p>The veteran walked away jingling his keys. Barbara -was already in the private office, bending over the governor’s -desk. She found the right key, drew out a drawer, -then cried out softly. She knelt beside the desk, throwing -the papers about in her eagerness, then turned to -Griswold with a white face.</p> - -<p>“The drawer has been opened since I was here this -morning. The requisition and all the other papers in -the case are gone.”</p> - -<p>Griswold examined the lock carefully and pointed to -the roughened edges of the wood.</p> - -<p>“A blade of the shears there, or perhaps the paper-cutter—who -knows? The matter is simple enough, so -please do not trouble about it. Wait here a moment. -I want to make some inquiries of the watchman.”</p> - -<p>He found the old fellow pacing the portico like a -sentry. He pointed out the attorney-general’s office, -threw on a few additional lights for Griswold’s guidance, -and resumed his patrol duty outside.</p> - -<p>The attorney-general’s door was locked, but in response -to Griswold’s knock it was opened guardedly.</p> - -<p>“I am very sorry to trouble you, Mr. Bosworth,” began -Griswold, quietly edging his way into the room, “but -one never gets wholly away from business these days.”</p> - -<p>He closed the door himself, and peered into the inner -rooms to be sure the attorney-general was alone. Bosworth’s -face flushed angrily when he found that a -stranger had thus entered his office with a cool air of -proprietorship; then he stared blankly at Griswold for -a moment before he recalled where he had seen him -before.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[107]</span>“I don’t receive visitors at night,” he blurted, laying -his hand on the door. “I’m engaged, and you’ll have -to come in office hours.”</p> - -<p>He shook the door as though to call Griswold’s attention -to it.</p> - -<p>“Do you see this thing? it’s the door!” he roared.</p> - -<p>“I have seen it from both sides, Mr. Bosworth. I -intend to stay on this side until I get ready to go.”</p> - -<p>“Who the devil are you? What do you mean by -coming here at this time of night?”</p> - -<p>“I’m a lawyer myself, if you will force the ignoble -truth from me. Now, when you are perfectly quiet, -and once more the sane, reasonable human being you -must be to have been trusted with the office you hold, -we’ll proceed to business. Meanwhile, please put on -your coat. A man in his shirt-sleeves is always at a -disadvantage; and we Virginians are sticklers for the -proprieties.”</p> - -<p>The attorney-general’s fury abated when he saw that -he had to deal with a low-voiced young man who seemed -unlikely to yield to intimidation. Griswold had, in fact, -seated himself on a table that was otherwise covered -with law books, and he sniffed with pleasure the familiar -atmosphere of dusty law calf, which no one who has -had the slightest acquaintance with a law office ever -forgets. To his infinite amusement Bosworth was actually -putting on his coat, though it may have been a -little absent-mindedly to give him an opportunity to -decide upon a plan for getting rid of his visitor. However -this may have been, Bosworth now stepped to the -side of the room and snatched down the telephone -receiver.</p> - -<p>Griswold caught him by the shoulder and flung him -round.</p> - -<p>“None of that! By calling the police you will only -get yourself into trouble. I’m bigger than you are, and -I should hate to have to throw you out of the window.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[108]</span> -Now”—and he caught and hung up the receiver, which -was wildly banging the wall—“now let us be sensible -and get down to business.”</p> - -<p>“Who the devil are you?” demanded Bosworth, -glaring.</p> - -<p>“I’m special counsel for Governor Osborne in the -Appleweight case. There’s no use in wasting time in -further identification, but if you take down that volume -on Admiralty Practice just behind you, you will find -my name on the title-page. Or, to save you the trouble, -as you seem to be interested in my appearance, I will -tell you that my name is Griswold, and that my address -is Charlottesville, Virginia.”</p> - -<p>“You are undoubtedly lying. If you are smart enough -to write a book, you ought to know enough about legal -procedure to understand that the attorney-general represents -the state, and special counsel would not be chosen -without his knowledge.”</p> - -<p>“Allow me to correct you, my learned brother. You -should never misquote the opposing counsel—it’s one of -the rules of the game. What I said a moment ago was -that I represented the governor—Governor Osborne. I -didn’t say I represented the state, which is a different -matter, and beset with <i>ultra vires</i> pitfalls. There is no -earthly reason why a governor should not detach himself, -so to speak, from his office and act <i>in propria persona</i>, -as a mere citizen. His right to private remedy -is not abridged by the misfortune of office-holding. -Whether he can himself be made defendant in an action -at law touches that ancient question, whether the -monarch or the state can be sued. That’s a question -law students have debated from the beginning of time, -but we must not confuse it with the case at issue. The -governor, as a citizen, may certainly employ such counsel -as he pleases, and just now I represent him. Of course, -if you want me to furnish a brief——”</p> - -<p>Griswold’s manner was deliberate and ingratiating.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[109]</span> -He saw that the attorney-general had not the slightest -sense of humour, and that his play upon legal phrases -was wasted. Bosworth grinned, but not at the legal -status of monarchs and states. He had thought of a -clever stroke, and he dealt the blow with confidence.</p> - -<p>“Let us assume,” he said, “that you represent Mr. -Osborne. May I ask the whereabouts of your client?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly. You may ask anything you please, but -it will do you no good. It’s an old rule of the game -never to divulge a client’s secret. Governor Osborne has -his own reasons for absenting himself from his office. -However, he was at home to-night.”</p> - -<p>“I rather guess not, as I had all the trains watched. -You’ll have to do a lot better than that, Mr. Griswold.”</p> - -<p>“He has issued a statement to the public since you -lied to the <i>Intelligencer</i> reporter about him to-day. I -suppose it’s part of your official duty to misrepresent -the head of the state administration in the press, but the -governor is in the saddle, and I advise you to be good.”</p> - -<p>The attorney-general felt that he was not making -headway. His disadvantage in dealing with a stranger -whose identity he still questioned angered him. He did -not know why Griswold had sought him out, and he -was chagrined at having allowed himself to be so easily -cornered.</p> - -<p>“You seem to know a good deal,” he sneered. “How -did you get into this thing anyhow?”</p> - -<p>“My dear sir, I was chosen by the governor because -of my superior attainments, don’t you see? But I’m in -a hurry now. I came here on a particular errand. I -want that requisition in the Appleweight case—quick!—if -you please, Mr. Bosworth.”</p> - -<p>He jumped down from the table and took up his hat -and stick.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Griswold, or whoever you are, you are either a -fool or a blackguard. There isn’t any requisition for -Appleweight. The governor never had the sand to issue<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[110]</span> -any, if you must know the truth! If you knew anything -about the governor, you would know that that’s why -Osborne is hiding himself. He can’t afford to offend the -Appleweights, if you must know the disagreeable truth. -Your coming here and asking me for that requisition is -funny, if you had the brains to see it. Poor old Osborne -is scared to death, and I doubt if he’s within a hundred -miles of here. You don’t know the governor; I do! -He’s a dodger, a trimmer, and a coward.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Bosworth,” began Griswold deliberately, “that -requisition, duly signed and bearing the seal of the secretary -of state as by the statutes in such cases made and -provided, was in Governor Osborne’s desk this morning -at the time you were so daintily kicking the door in -your anxiety to see the governor. It has since been -taken from the drawer where the governor left it when -he went to New Orleans. You have gone in there like -a sneak-thief, pried open the drawer, and stolen that -document; and now——”</p> - -<p>“It’s an ugly charge,” mocked the attorney-general.</p> - -<p>“It’s all of that,” and Griswold smiled.</p> - -<p>“But you forget that you represent Mr. Osborne. On -the other hand, I represent Governor Osborne, and if -I want the Appleweight papers I had every right to -them.”</p> - -<p>“After office hours, feloniously and with criminal -intent?” laughed Griswold.</p> - -<p>“We will assume that I have them,” sneered Bosworth, -“and such being the case I will return them only to the -governor.”</p> - -<p>“Then”—and Griswold’s smile broadened—“if it -comes to concessions, I will grant that you are within -your rights in wishing to place them in the governor’s -own hands. The governor of South Carolina is now, -so to speak, <i>in camera</i>.”</p> - -<p>“The governor is hiding. He’s afraid to come to -Columbia, and the whole state knows it.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[111]</span>“The papers, my friend; and I will satisfy you that -the governor of South Carolina is under this roof and -transacting business.”</p> - -<p>“Here in the state house?” demanded Bosworth, and -he blanched and twisted the buttons of his coat nervously.</p> - -<p>“The governor of South Carolina, the supreme power -of the state, charged with full responsibility, enjoying -all the immunities, rights, and privileges unto him -belonging.”</p> - -<p>It was clear that Bosworth took no stock whatever in -Griswold’s story; but Griswold’s pretended employment -by the governor and his apparent knowledge of the -governor’s affairs piqued his curiosity. If this was really -the Griswold who had written a widely accepted work -on admiralty and who was known to him by reputation -as a brilliant lawyer of Virginia, the mystery was all the -deeper. By taking the few steps necessary to reach the -governor’s chambers he would prove the falsity of Griswold’s -pretensions to special knowledge of the governor’s -whereabouts and plans. He stepped to an inner -office, came back with a packet of papers, and thrust a -revolver into his pocket with so vain a show of it that -Griswold laughed aloud.</p> - -<p>“What! Do you still back your arguments with firearms -arms down here? It’s a method that has gone out of -fashion in Virginia!”</p> - -<p>“If there’s a trick in this it will be the worse for you,” -scowled Bosworth.</p> - -<p>“And pray, remember, on your side, that you are to -give those documents into the hands of the governor. -Come along.”</p> - -<p>They met the watchman in the corridor, and he saluted -them and passed on. Bosworth strode eagerly forward -in his anxiety to prick the bubble of Griswold’s pretensions.</p> - -<p>Griswold threw open the door of the governor’s reception-room, -and they blinked in the stronger light that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[112]</span> -poured in from the private office. There, in the governor’s -chair by the broad official desk, sat Barbara Osborne -reading a newspaper.</p> - -<p>“Your Excellency,” said Griswold, bowing gravely and -advancing, “I beg to present the attorney-general.”</p> - -<p>“Barbara!”</p> - -<p>The papers fell from the attorney-general’s hands. -He stood staring until astonishment began to yield to -rage as he realized that a trap had been sprung upon -him. The girl had risen instantly, and a smile played -about her lips for a moment. She had vaguely surmised -that Griswold would charge Bosworth with the loss of -the papers, but her associate in the conspiracy had now -given a turn to the matter that amused her.</p> - -<p>“Barbara!” blurted the attorney-general, “what game -is this—what contemptible trick is this stranger playing -on you? Don’t you understand that your father’s -absence is a most serious matter, and that in the present -condition of this Appleweight affair it is likely to involve -him and the state in scandal?”</p> - -<p>Barbara regarded him steadily for a moment with a -negative sort of gaze. She took a step forward before -she spoke, and then she asked quickly and sharply,—</p> - -<p>“What have you done, Mr. Bosworth, to avert these -calamities, and what was in your mind when you pried -open the drawer and took out those papers?”</p> - -<p>“I was going to use the requisition——”</p> - -<p>“How?”</p> - -<p>“Why, I expected——”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Bosworth expected to effect a <i>coup</i> for his own -glory during the governor’s absence,” suggested Griswold.</p> - -<p>“How?” and Barbara’s voice rang imperiously and -her eyes flashed.</p> - -<p>“Send this unknown person, this impostor and meddler -away, and I will talk to you as old friends may talk together,” -and he glared fiercely at Griswold, who stood -fanning himself with his hat.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[113]</span>“I asked you how you intended to serve my father, -Mr. Bosworth, because you sent me this afternoon a -letter in which you threatened me—you threatened me -with my father’s ruin if I did not marry you. You -would take advantage of my trouble and anxiety to -force that question on me when I had answered it once -and for all long ago. Before this stranger I want to -tell you that you are a despicable coward, and that if -you think you can humiliate me or my father or the -state by such practices as you have resorted to you are -very greatly mistaken. And further, Mr. Bosworth, if -I find you interfering again in this matter, I shall print -that letter you wrote me to-day in every newspaper in -the state! Now, that is all I have to say to you, and I -hope never to see you again.”</p> - -<p>“Before you go, Mr. Bosworth,” said Griswold, “I -wish to say that Miss Osborne has spoken of your conduct -with altogether too much restraint. I shall add, on -my own account, that if I find you meddling again in -this Appleweight case, I shall first procure your removal -from office, and after that I shall take the greatest pleasure -in flogging you within an inch of your life. Now -go!”</p> - -<p>The two had dismissed him, and before Bosworth’s -step died away in the hall, Griswold was running his -eye over the papers.</p> - -<p>“That man will do something nasty if he is clever -enough to think of anything.”</p> - -<p>“He’s a disgusting person,” said Barbara, touching -her forehead with her handkerchief.</p> - -<p>“He’s all of that,” remarked Griswold, as he retied the -red tape round the packet of papers. “And now, before -we leave we may as well face a serious proposition. Your -father’s absence and this fiction we are maintaining that -he is really here cannot be maintained for ever. I don’t -want to trouble you, for you, of course, realize all this -as keenly as I. But what do you suppose actually<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[114]</span> -happened at New Orleans between your father and the -governor of North Carolina?”</p> - -<p>She leaned against her father’s desk, her hands lightly -resting on its flat surface. She was wholly serene now, -and she smiled and then laughed.</p> - -<p>“It couldn’t have been what the governor of North -Carolina said to the governor of South Carolina in the -old story, for father is strongly opposed to drink of all -kinds. And in the story——”</p> - -<p>“I’ve forgotten where that story originated.”</p> - -<p>“Well, it happened a long time ago, and nobody really -knows the origin. But according to tradition, at the -crisis of a great row between two governors, the ice -was broken by the governor of North Carolina saying to -the governor of South Carolina those shocking words -about its being a long time between drinks. What makes -the New Orleans incident so remarkable is that father -and Governor Dangerfield have always been friends, -though I never cared very much for the Dangerfields -myself. The only tiffs they have had have been purely -for effect. When father said that the people of North -Carolina would never amount to anything so long as -they fry their meat, it was only his joke with Governor -Dangerfield—but it did make North Carolina awfully -mad. And Jerry—she’s the governor’s daughter—refused -to visit me last winter just on that account. -Jerry Dangerfield’s a nice little girl, but she has no -sense of humour.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[115]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER VIII.<br /> - - -<small>THE LABOURS OF MR. ARDMORE.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">While</span> he waited for Miss Jerry Dangerfield to appear -Mr. Thomas Ardmore read for the first time the constitution -of the United States. He had reached the -governor’s office early, and seeking diversion, he had -picked up a small volume that bore some outward resemblance -to a novel. This proved, however, to be -Johnston’s <i>American Politics</i>, and he was amazed to -find that this diminutive work contained the answers -to a great many questions which had often perplexed -him, but which he had imagined could not be answered -except by statesmen or by men like his friend Griswold, -who spent their lives in study.</p> - -<p>He had supposed that the constitution of a great -nation like the United States would fill many volumes, -and be couched in terms bewildering and baffling; and -it was perhaps the proudest moment in Mr. Ardmore’s -life when, in the cool and quiet of the May morning, in -the historic chambers of the governor of North Carolina, -it dawned upon him that the charter of American liberty -filled hardly more space than the stipulations for a -yacht race, or a set of football rules; and that, moreover, -he understood the greater part of it, or thought he -did. Such strange words as “attainder” and “capitation” -he sought out in the dictionary, and this also gave -him a new sensation and thrill of pleasure at finding the -machinery of knowledge so simple. He made note of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[116]</span> -several matters he wished to ask Griswold about when -they met again; then turned back into the body -of the text, and had read as far as Burr’s conspiracy -when Jerry came breezily in. He experienced for the -first time in his life that obsession of guilt which sinks in -shame the office-boy who is caught reading a dime novel. -Jerry seemed to tower above him like an avenging angel, -and though her sword was only a parasol, her words cut -deep enough.</p> - -<p>“Well, you are taking it pretty cool!”</p> - -<p>“Taking what?” faltered Ardmore, standing up, and -seeking to hide the book behind his back.</p> - -<p>“Why, this outrageous article!” and she thrust a -newspaper under his eyes. “Do you mean to say you -haven’t seen the morning paper?”</p> - -<p>“To tell you the truth, Miss Dangerfield, I hardly ever -read the papers.”</p> - -<p>“What’s that you were reading when I came in?” -she demanded severely, withholding the paper until she -should be answered.</p> - -<p>“It’s a book about the government, and the powers -reserved to the states and that sort of thing. I was just -reading the constitution; I thought it might help us—I -mean <i>you</i>—in your work.”</p> - -<p>“The constitution help me? Hasn’t it occurred to -you before this that what I’m doing is all against the -constitution and the revised statutes and all those books -you see on the shelf there?”</p> - -<p>“But the constitution sounds all right. It seems -remarkably reasonable. You couldn’t ask anything -fairer than that!”</p> - -<p>“So are the ten commandments fair enough; but -you’re on the wrong track, Mr. Ardmore, if you’re trying -to support the present administration with stupid -things in books. I don’t follow precedents, Mr. Ardmore; -I create them.”</p> - -<p>“But I should think you would have to be awfully<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[117]</span> -careful not to mix up the business of the executive and -judicial branches of the government. I think I heard -Grissy speak of that once, though I’m not certain. -Grissy knows more than almost any other living -man.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t doubt that your friend is a well-educated -person, but in times like these you’ve got to rise above -the constitution; and just now it’s more convenient to -forget it. There’s a constitution of North Carolina, too, -if you’re looking for constitutions, but in good society -such things are not mentioned. Papa always refers to -the constitution with tears in his eyes when he’s making -speeches, but papa’s very emotional. If I could make a -speech I should tell the people what I think of them—that -they’re too silly and stupid for words.”</p> - -<p>“You are right, Miss Dangerfield. I have felt exactly -that way about the people ever since I was defeated for -alderman in New York. But let me have the paper.”</p> - -<p>She turned to the morning mail while he read and -opened the envelopes rapidly. Such of the letters as she -thought interesting or important she put aside, and when -Ardmore finished reading a double-leaded telegram from -Columbia, in which the governor of South Carolina was -quoted as declaring his intention of taking immediate -steps for the apprehension of Appleweight, she was still -reading and sorting letters, tapping her cheek lightly -meanwhile with the official paper-knife.</p> - -<p>“Here, Mr. Ardmore,” she said, drawing a paper from -her pocket, “is the answer to that telegram we sent -yesterday evening. Suppose you read that next, and -we can then decide what to do.”</p> - -<p>She was making the letters into little piles, humming -softly meanwhile; but he felt that there was a storm -brewing. He read the message from Columbia a number -of times, and if the acting governor had not been so -ominously quiet he would have laughed at the terse -sentences.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[118]</span>“There must be a mistake about this. He wouldn’t -have used ‘diverting’ that way; that’s insulting!”</p> - -<p>“So you appreciate its significance, do you, Mr. Ardmore? -The iron enters your soul, does it? You realize -that I have been insulted, do you?”</p> - -<p>“I shouldn’t put it that way, Miss Dangerfield. -Governor Osborne would never have sent a message like -that to you—he thought he was sending it to your -father.”</p> - -<p>“He’s insulted me and every other citizen in the Old -North State; that’s who he’s insulted, Mr. Ardmore. -Let me read it again;” and she repeated the telegram -aloud:</p> - -<p>“‘Your extremely diverting telegram in Appleweight -case received and filed.’ I think it’s the <i>extremely</i> that’s -so perfectly mean. The <i>diverting</i> by itself would not -hurt my feelings half so much. He’s a good deal smarter -man than I thought he was to think up a telegram like -that. But what do you think of that piece in the newspaper?”</p> - -<p>“He says he’s going to catch Appleweight dead or -alive. That sounds pretty serious.”</p> - -<p>“I think it’s a bluff myself. That telegram we sent -him yesterday must have scared him to death. He was -driven into a corner and had to do something to avoid -being disgraced, and it’s easy enough to talk big in the -newspapers when you haven’t the slightest intention of -doing anything at all. I’ve noticed that father talks -the longest and loudest about things he doesn’t believe -at all.”</p> - -<p>“Is it possible?” whispered Ardmore incredulously.</p> - -<p>“Of course it’s possible! Father would never have -been elected if he’d expressed his real sentiments; neither -would anybody else ever be elected if he said beforehand -what he really believed.”</p> - -<p>“That must have been the reason I got defeated for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[119]</span> -alderman on the reform ticket. I told ’em I was for -turning the rascals out.”</p> - -<p>“That was very stupid of you. You’ve got to get -the rascals to elect you first; then if you’re tired of -office and don’t need them any more you bounce them. -But that’s political practice; it’s a theory we’ve got to -work out now. Governor Osborne’s telegram is much -more important than his interview in the newspapers, -which is just for effect and of no importance at all. He -doesn’t say the same things in the telegram to father -that he said to the reporter. A governor who really -meant to do anything wouldn’t be so ready to insult -another governor. The newspapers are a lot of bother. -I spent all yesterday evening talking to reporters. They -came to the house to ask where papa was and when he -would be home!”</p> - -<p>“What did you tell them?”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t tell them anything. I sent out for two other -girls, and we all just talked to them and kept talking, -and gave them lemon sherbet and ginger cookies; and -Eva Hungerford played the banjo—you don’t know -Eva? Of course you don’t know anybody, and I don’t -want you to, for it would spoil you for private secretary. -But Eva is simply killing when she gets to cutting up, -and we made those reporters sing to us, and all they say -in the papers, even the opposition papers, this morning -is that Governor Dangerfield is in Savannah visiting -an old friend. They all tell the same story, so they -must have fixed it up after they left the house. But -what were you doing, Mr. Ardmore, that you didn’t -come around to help? It seems to me you don’t appreciate -the responsibilities of being secretary to a -governor.”</p> - -<p>“I was afraid you might scold me if I did. And besides -I was glued to the long distance telephone all -evening, talking to my manager at Ardsley. He read -me my letters and a lot of telegrams that annoyed me<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[120]</span> -very much. I wish you wouldn’t be so hard on me, -for I have trifling troubles of my own.”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t suppose you ever had troubles; you certainly -don’t act as though you ever had.”</p> - -<p>“No one who has never been brother-in-law to a duke -has the slightest idea of what trouble is.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve seen the Duke of Ballywinkle’s picture in the -papers, and he looks very attractive.”</p> - -<p>“Well, if you’d ever seen him eat celery you’d change -your mind. He’s going down to Ardsley to visit me; for -sheer nerve I must say my relations beat the world. I -got my place over here in North Carolina just to get -away from them, and now my sister—not the duchess, -but Mrs. Atchison—is coming down there with a lot of -girls, and Ballywinkle has attached himself to the party. -They’ll pass through here to-day, and they’ll expect to -find me at Ardsley.”</p> - -<p>“If the duke’s really coming to our state I suppose -we ought to recognize him officially,” and Jerry’s eyes -were large with reverie as she pondered her possible -duty.</p> - -<p>“Do something for him!” blazed Ardmore. “I hope -<i>you</i> don’t labour under the delusion that a duke’s any -better than anybody else? If you’d suffered what I have -from being related to a duke you’d be sorry to hear he -was even passing through your state, much less stopping -off for a couple of weeks.”</p> - -<p>“Because you don’t like him is no reason why every -one else should feel the same way, is it? I’ve read about -the Duke of Ballywinkle, and he belongs to one of the -oldest families in England, and I’ve seen pictures of -Ballywinkle Castle——”</p> - -<p>“Worse than that,” grinned Ardmore, with rising -humour, “I had to chip in to pay for it! And the -plumbing isn’t yet what it ought to be. The last time -I was over there I caught cold and nearly died of pneumonia. -I make it a rule now never to visit dukes. You<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[121]</span> -never know what you’ll strike when you stay in those -ancestral castles, even when they’ve been restored with -some silly American girl’s grandfather’s money. Those -places are all full of draughts and malaria and ghosts, and -they make you drink tea in the afternoon, which is worse -than being haunted.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose we might invite his Grace to inspect our -militia,” persisted Jerry. “It would sound well in the -papers to have a real duke inspect the North Carolina -troops.”</p> - -<p>“It would sound better than he would look doing it, -I can tell you that. Old Wellington may have been all -right, but these new dukes were never made for horseback.”</p> - -<p>“He might appear in a carriage, wearing his orders -and ride the lines that way, with all the troops presenting -arms.”</p> - -<p>“Or you might pin his debts on him and mount him -on a goat on the rifle-range and let the sharpshooters -pepper away at him! Please let us not talk about Ballywinkle -any more; the thought of him gives me that -sinking feeling.”</p> - -<p>He had opened an atlas and was poring over it with -a magnifying glass.</p> - -<p>“It’s positively funny,” he murmured, laughing a -little to himself, “but I know something about this -country over here. Here’s Ardsley, in the far corner -of Dilwell County, and here’s Kildare.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; I understand maps. Dilwell is green, and -there’s the state line, and that ugly watery sort of yellow -is Mingo County, South Carolina, and Turner Court -House is the county seat of it. Those little black marks -are hills on the border, and it’s right there that these -Appleweight people live, and dance on the state line as -though it were a skipping-rope.”</p> - -<p>“That’s exactly it. Now what we want to do is to -arrest Appleweight and put him in jail in South Carolina,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[122]</span> -which relieves the governor of North Carolina, your -honoured father, of all embarrassment.”</p> - -<p>She snatched the paper-cutter and took possession of -the map for a moment, then pointed, with a happy little -laugh.</p> - -<p>“Why, that will be only too easy. You see there’s -Azbell County, where the militia is encamped, just three -counties away from Dilwell, and if we needed the soldiers -it wouldn’t hurt the troops to march that far, would it?”</p> - -<p>“Hurt them, nothing!” exclaimed Ardmore. “It -will be good for them. You have to give orders to the -adjutant-general, and, being engaged to him, he would -be afraid not to obey your orders, even if you told him -to go in balloons.”</p> - -<p>“Well, of course, I’d send him an official order; and -if he was disobedient I could break our engagement. -When I broke my engagement with Arthur Treadmeasure, -it was only because he was five minutes late coming to -take me to a dance.”</p> - -<p>“You were perfectly right, Miss Dangerfield. No -gentleman would keep you waiting.”</p> - -<p>“But he didn’t keep me waiting! I was sick in bed -with a sore throat, and mamma wouldn’t let me go; but -I thought it was very careless and taking too much for -granted for him to think he could come poking along -any time he pleased, so I ended everything.”</p> - -<p>It would have interested Ardmore to know the total -of Miss Dangerfield’s engagements, but the time did not -seem propitious for such inquiries; and, moreover, his -awe of her as a young person of great determination and -force of character increased. She spoke of employing -the armed forces of the state as though playing with the -militia were a cheerful pastime, like horseback riding or -tennis. His heart sank as he foresaw the possibility of -the gallant Gillingwater coming out of the Appleweight -affair with flying colours, a hero knighted on the field -for valour. The remembrance of Gillingwater receiving<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[123]</span> -the salutes of the militia and riding off to the wars to -the beat of drums had deprived Ardmore of sleep all -night.</p> - -<p>“Well, there’s the map, and there’s that insulting telegram; -what are you going to do about it?” asked Jerry.</p> - -<p>She seemed to be honestly inviting suggestions, and -the very thought of this affected him like wine. He -deliberated for several minutes, while she watched him. -A delicious country quiet lay upon the old state house; -in the tranquil park outside the birds whistled their -high disdain of law and precedent. It was no small -thing to be identified with a great undertaking like this, -with the finest girl in the world; and he could not help -thinking of the joy of telling Griswold, the sober professor -and sedate lawyer, of this adventure when it -should be happily concluded. Never again should -Grissy taunt him with his supineness before the open -door of opportunity!</p> - -<p>“A governor,” he began, “is always a dignified person -who doesn’t bother his head about little things like -this unless everybody else has gone to sleep. Now, who’s -the chief of police in a county like Dilwell—what do you -call him?”</p> - -<p>“Do you mean the sheriff, Mr. Ardmore?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly. Now, give me those telegraph blanks, -and I’ll drop him a few lines to let him know that the -government at Raleigh still lives.”</p> - -<p>It is in the telegram alone that we Americans approach -style. Our great commanders did much to form it; -our business strategists took the key from them. “I -propose to fight it out on this line, if it takes all summer” -is not more admirable than “Cancel order our number -six hundred and eighteen,” or “Have drawn at sight.” -Through the most familiar and commonplace apparatus -clicks and ticks the great American epic in phrases concise, -unequivocal, and apt. Von Moltke, roused at night -with news of war, merely waved his hand to the long-prepared<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[124]</span> -orders in his chiffonier and went to sleep again; -but the great Prussian has his counterpart in the American -magnate who ties up a railroad by telegraph over -his after-dinner coffee. Telegrams were, however, with -Mr. Thomas Ardmore, something more than a form of -communication or a mere literary exercise. Letter-writing -seemed to him the most formidable of human -undertakings, but with a pad of telegraph blanks under -his hand his spirit soared free. All untrammelled by the -horror of the day tariff, whose steep slopes have wrought -so much confusion and error among the economical, he -gave to the wires and the wireless what he never would -have confided to a stamp. He wrote and submitted to -Miss Jerry Dangerfield the following:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>To the Sheriff of Dilwell County,<br /> -<span class="indentleft3">Kildare, N. C.:</span></p> - -<p>What is this I hear about your inability to catch Appleweight and -the rest of his bunch? Your inattention to your duties is a matter -of common scandal, and if you don’t get anxious pretty soon I shall -remove you from your job and then come. I shall be down soon to -see whether you are pitching quoits at the blacksmith shop or fishing -for lobsters in Raccoon Creek, instead of attending to your knitting. -Your conduct has annoyed me until I am something more than vexed -by your behaviour. The eyes of the great North State are upon you. -Wire me at length just what you propose doing or not doing in this -matter.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">William Dangerfield</span>,     <br /> -Governor of North Carolina.</p> -</div> - -<p>“What do you think of that?” he asked, his pride -falling as she scanned the paper carefully.</p> - -<p>“Isn’t it pretty expensive?” Jerry inquired, counting -the words to ten and then roughly computing the rest.</p> - -<p>“I’ll take care of that, Miss Dangerfield. What I -want to know is whether you think that will make the -sheriff sit up.”</p> - -<p>“Well, here’s what father sent him only about a week -ago. I found it in his private letter book, and it’s -marked confidential in red ink.”</p> - -<p>She read:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[125]</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“‘Act cautiously in Appleweight case. Indictment by grand Jury -is undoubtedly faulty, and Foster threatens trouble in case parties -are arrested.’</p> -</div> - -<p>“And there’s more like that! Papa never intended -to do anything, that’s as plain as daylight. Mr. Foster, -the treasurer, comes from that county. He thought -papa was going to have to do something, so he’s holding -back the payment of the state bonds just to frighten -papa. You see, the state owes the Bronx Loan and -Trust Company that two hundred and fifty thousand -dollars, and if it isn’t paid June first the state will be -everlastingly disgraced.”</p> - -<p>“Oh yes; I’d forgotten about that.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t see how you could forget about it. That -must be almost as much money as there is in the world, -Mr. Ardmore.”</p> - -<p>“We’ve got to raise it, anyhow, even if we go to the -pawn-shop. I pawned my watch once when I was in -college and Billings—he was my guardian—had shut -me off. Grissy—he’s my friend—Grissy says pawn-broking -is only a more vulgar form of banking. There -was a fellow in my class at college who pawned his pawn-ticket -to get money to pay his laundress, and then gave -the new ticket to a poor blind man. He’s a big man in -Wall Street—has a real genius for finance, they say. -But please don’t worry about this rascal Foster. We’ll -put some digitalis into the state’s credit when the time -comes.”</p> - -<p>“I think your telegram to the sheriff is all right,” -said Jerry, reading it again. “If you’ll go to the door -and whistle for the messenger we’ll get it off. I’ll sign -it with the rubber stamp. Papa hardly ever signs anything -himself; he says if you don’t sign documents -yourself you can always repudiate them afterward, and -papa’s given prayerful thought to all such things.”</p> - -<p>Ardmore addressed himself once more to the map. It -was clear that the Appleweight gang was powerful<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[126]</span> -enough to topple great states upon their foundations. -It had, to Ardmore’s own knowledge, driven a governor -into exile, and through the wretched Foster, who was -their friend, the credit of the state was gravely menaced. -The possibilities of the game fascinated Ardmore. He -was eager for action on the scene of this usurpation and -defiance. Responsibility, for the first time, had placed -a warrant of trust in his hands, and, thus commissioned, -the spurs of duty pricked his sides.</p> - -<p>“I’ll wait for the sheriff’s answer, and if he shows no -signs of life I’ll go down there this afternoon.”</p> - -<p>“Then you will undoubtedly be shot!” Jerry declared, -as though announcing a prospect not wholly deplorable.</p> - -<p>“That has its disagreeable side, but a great many -people have to be shot every year to keep up the average, -and if the statistics need me I won’t duck. I’ll call up -my man on the telephone this forenoon and tell him to -put my forester at Ardsley to work. He’s a big fellow -who served in the German army, and if he’s afraid of -anything I haven’t heard of it. If we can drive the -gang into South Carolina, right along here, you see”—and -Miss Dangerfield bent her pretty head over the -map and saw—“if we can pass the chief outlaw on to -Governor Osborne, then so much the better, and that’s -what we will try to do.”</p> - -<p>“But you’re only the private secretary, and you can’t -assume too much authority. I shall have to go to Kildare -to visit my aunt, who is a nice old lady that lives -there. The fried corn mush and syrup at her house is -the best I ever tasted, and if papa should come when he -sees that something is being done quite different from -what he intended, then I should be there to explain. -If you should be killed, Mr. Ardmore, no one would be -there to identify you, and I have always thought it -the saddest thing in the world for any one to die away -from home——”</p> - -<p>“It would be sad; but I hope you would be sorry.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[127]</span>“I should regret your death, and I’d make them give -you a perfectly beautiful military funeral, with Chopin’s -funeral march, and your boots tied to the saddle of your -horse.”</p> - -<p>“But don’t let them fuss about pulling off the boots, -Miss Dangerfield, if I die with them on. It would be -all right for you to visit your aunt, but I shouldn’t do -it if I were you. I once visited my aunt, Mrs. Covington-Burns, -at Newport for a week. It was a deep game -to get me to marry my aunt’s husband’s niece, whose -father had lost his money, and the girl was beginning -to bore my aunt.”</p> - -<p>“Was she a pretty girl?” asked Jerry.</p> - -<p>“She was a whole basket of peaches, and I might -have married her to get away from my aunt if it were -not that I have made it a life-long rule never to marry -the orphaned nieces of the husbands of my aunts. It’s -been a good rule to me, and has saved me no end of -trouble. But if my sister doesn’t change her mind, and -if she really comes through Raleigh to-day in her car -with those friends of hers, she will be delighted to have -you join her for a visit at Ardsley. And then you would -be near at hand in case some special edict from the -governor seemed necessary.”</p> - -<p>“But wouldn’t your sister think it strange——”</p> - -<p>“Not in the least, Miss Dangerfield. Nothing is -strange to my sister. Nobody ever sprang a surprise on -Nellie yet. And besides, you are the daughter of the -governor of a great state. She refuses to meet senators, -because you can never be sure they are respectable, but -she rather prides herself on knowing governors. Governors -are very different. Since I read the constitution -I can see very plainly that governors are much nearer -the people, but I guess the senators are nearer the -banks.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I have some shopping to do, and it’s ten -o’clock. It would be hospitable to ask you to luncheon,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[128]</span> -but mamma cries so much because she doesn’t know -where papa is that our meals at the executive mansion -are not exactly cheerful functions. And besides”—and -she eyed Ardmore severely as she rose and accepted her -parasol from him—“and besides, you know our relations -are purely official. You have never been introduced -to me, and socially you are not known to us.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[129]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER IX.<br /> - - -<small>THE LAND OF THE LITTLE BROWN JUG.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Caboose</span> 0186, with three box-cars and a locomotive -attached, lay in the south-eastern yards at Raleigh late -in the evening of the same day. In the observatory -sat Mr. Thomas Ardmore, chatting with the conductor, -while they waited for the right of way. Mr. Ardmore’s -pockets were filled with papers, and he held half a dozen -telegrams in his hand. The freight cars behind him -were locked and sealed, and a number of men lounging -near appeared to be watching them.</p> - -<p>The reply of the sheriff of Dilwell County had precipitated -the crisis. That official succinctly replied to -Ardmore’s message:</p> - -<p class="center">Be good and acquire grace.</p> - -<p>While this dictum had aroused Miss Dangerfield’s -wrath and indignation, it calmed her fellow-conspirator, -and for hours Ardmore had poured forth orders by telegraph -and telephone. No such messages as his had -ever before radiated from Raleigh. The tolls would have -bankrupted the commonwealth if Ardmore had not -cared for them out of his private purse. His forester, -with an armed posse from Ardsley, was already following -the streams and beating the brush in search of -Appleweight. One car of Ardmore’s special train contained -a machine gun and a supply of rifles; another -abundant ammunition and commissary supplies, and the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[130]</span> -third cots and bags. The men who loafed about the -train were a detail of strike-breakers from a detective -agency, borrowed for the occasion. Cooke, the conductor -of the train, had formerly been in the government -secret service, and knew the Carolina hill country as he -knew the palm of his hand. Ardmore had warned his -manager and the housekeeper on his estate to prepare -for the arrival of Mrs. Atchison, whose private car had -come and gone, carrying Miss Geraldine Dangerfield on -to Ardsley. Ardmore had just received a message from -his sister at some way station, reporting all well and -containing these sentences: “She is rather different, -and I do not quite make her out. She has our noble -brother-in-law a good deal bewildered.”</p> - -<p>Cooke ran forward for a colloquy with the engineer -over their orders; the guards climbed into one of the -box-cars, and the train moved slowly out of the Raleigh -yards to the main line and rattled away toward Kildare, -with Mr. Ardmore, pipe in mouth, perched in the caboose -cupola.</p> - -<p>A caboose, you may not know, is the pleasantest place -in the world to ride. Essentially a thing of utility, it -is not less the vehicle of joy. Neither the captain of a -trading schooner nor the admiral of a canal fleet is more -sublimely autocratic than the freight conductor in his -watch-tower. The landscape is disclosed to him in -leisurely panoramas; the springs beneath are not so -lulling as to dull his senses. If he isn’t whipped into the -ditch by the humour of the engineer, or run down and -telescoped by an enemy from behind, he may ultimately -deliver his sombre fleet to its several destinations; but -he is the slave of no inexorable time-table, and his excuses -are as various as his cargoes.</p> - -<p>Not Captain Kidd nor another of the dark brotherhood -sailed forth with keener zest for battle than Mr. -Ardmore. Indeed, the trailing smoke of the locomotive -suggested a black flag, and the thought of it tickled his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[131]</span> -fancy. Above bent the bluest sky in the world; fields -of corn and cotton, the brilliant crimson of German -clover, and long stretches of mixed forest held him with -enchantment. In a cornfield a girl ploughing with a -single steer—a little girl in a sunbonnet, who reached -wearily up to the plough handles—paused and waved to -him, and he knew the delight of the lonely mariner -when a passing ship speaks to him with flags. And -when night came, after the long mystical twilight, the -train passed now and then great cotton factories that -blazed out from their thousand windows like huge -steamships.</p> - -<p>When they sought a lonely siding to allow a belated -passenger train to pass, the conductor brewed coffee and -cooked supper, and Ardmore called in the detectives and -trainmen. The sense of knowing real people, whose -daily occupations were so novel and interesting, touched -him afresh with delight. These men said much in few -words. The taciturnity of Cooke, the conductor, in -particular, struck Ardmore as very fine, and it occurred -to him that very likely men who have had the fun of -doing things never talk of their performances afterward. -One of the detectives chaffed Cooke covertly -about some adventure in which they had been jointly -associated.</p> - -<p>“I never thought they’d get the lead out of you after -that business in Missouri. You were a regular mine,” -said the detective to Cooke, and Cooke glanced deprecatingly -at Ardmore.</p> - -<p>“He’s the little joker, all right.”</p> - -<p>“You can’t kill him,” remarked the detective. “I’ve -seen it tried.”</p> - -<p>Before the train started the detectives crawled back -into their car, and Cooke drew out some blankets, tossed -them on a bench for Ardmore, and threw himself down -without ado. Ardmore held to his post in the tower, as -lone as the lookout in a crow’s-nest. The night air<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[132]</span> -swept more coolly in as they neared the hills, and the -train’s single brakeman came down as though descending -from the sky, rubbed the cinders from his eyes, and -returned to his vigil armed with a handful of Ardmore’s -cigars.</p> - -<p>For the greater part of the night they enjoyed a free -track, and thumped the rails at a lively clip. Shortly -after midnight Ardmore crawled below and went to -sleep. At five o’clock Cooke called him.</p> - -<p>“We’re on the switch at Kildare. One of your men -is here waiting for you.”</p> - -<p>Big Paul, the German forester, was called in, and -Ardmore made his toilet in a pail of water while listening -to the big fellow’s report. Cooke joined in the conversation, -and Ardmore was gratified to see that the -two men met on common ground in discussing the local -geography. The forester described in clear, straightforward -English just what he had done. He had distributed -his men well through the hills, and they were -now posted as pickets on points favourable for observation. -They had found along the streams four widely -scattered stills, and these were being watched. Paul -drew a small map, showing the homes of the most active -members of the Appleweight gang, and Ardmore indicated -all these points as nearly as possible on the county -map he had brought with him.</p> - -<p>“Here’s Raccoon Creek, and my own land runs right -through there—just about here, isn’t it, Paul? I always -remember the creek, because I like the name so much.”</p> - -<p>“You are right, Mr. Ardmore. The best timber you -have lies along there, and your land crosses the North -Carolina boundary into South Carolina about here. -There’s Mingo County, South Carolina, you see.”</p> - -<p>“Well, that dashes me!” exclaimed Ardmore, striking -the table with his fist. “I never knew one state from -another, but you must be right.”</p> - -<p>“I’m positive of it, Mr. Ardmore. One of my men<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[133]</span> -has been living there on the creek to protect your timber. -Some of these outlaws have been cutting off our wood.”</p> - -<p>“It seems to me I remember the place. There’s a -log house hanging on the creek. You took me by it -once, but it never entered my head that the state line -was so close.”</p> - -<p>“It runs right through the house! And some one, -years ago, blazed the trees along there, so it is very easy -to tell when you step from one state to another. My -man left there recently, refusing to stay any longer. -These Appleweight people thought he was a spy, and -posted a notice on his door warning him to leave, so I -shifted him to the other end of the estate.”</p> - -<p>“Did you see the sheriff at Kildare?”</p> - -<p>“I haven’t seen him. When I asked for him yesterday -I found he had left town and gone to Greensboro to -see his sick uncle.”</p> - -<p>Ardmore laughed and slapped his knee.</p> - -<p>“Who takes care of the dungeon while he’s away?”</p> - -<p>“There are no prisoners in the Kildare jail. The -sheriff’s afraid to keep any; and he’s like the rest of -the people around here. They all live in terror of Appleweight.”</p> - -<p>“Appleweight is a powerful character in these parts,” -said Cooke, pouring the coffee he had been making, and -handing a tin cupful to Ardmore. “He’s tolerable well -off, and could make money honestly if he didn’t operate -stills, rob country stores, mix up in politics, and steal -horses when he and his friends need them.”</p> - -<p>“I guess he has never molested us any, has he, Paul?” -asked Ardmore, not a little ashamed of his ignorance of -his own business.</p> - -<p>“A few of our cows stray away sometimes and never -come back. And for two years we have lost the corn -out of the crib away over here near the deer park.”</p> - -<p>“They’ve got the juice out of it before this,” remarked -Cooke.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[134]</span>“That would be nice for me, wouldn’t it?” said Ardmore, -grinning—“to be arrested for running a still on -my place.”</p> - -<p>“We don’t want to lose our right to the track, and -we must get out of this before the whole community -comes to take a look at us,” said Cooke, swinging out -of the caboose.</p> - -<p>Ardmore talked frankly to the forester, having constant -recourse to the map; and Paul sketched roughly a -new chart, marking roads and paths so far as he knew -them, and indicating clearly where the Ardsley boundaries -extended. Then Ardmore took a blue pencil and -drew a straight line.</p> - -<p>“When we get Appleweight, we want to hurry him -from Dilwell County, North Carolina, into Mingo County, -South Carolina. We will go to the county town there, -and put him in jail. If the sheriff of Mingo is weak-kneed, -we will lock Appleweight up anyhow, and telegraph -the governor of South Carolina that the joke is -on him.”</p> - -<p>“We will catch the man,” said Paul gravely, “but we -may have to kill him.”</p> - -<p>“Dead or alive, he’s got to be caught,” said Ardmore, -and the big forester stared at his employer a little oddly; -for this lord proprietor had not been known to his employees -and tenants as a serious character, but rather as -an indolent person who, when he visited his estate in -the hills, locked himself up unaccountably in his library, -and rarely had the energy to stir up the game in his -broad preserves.</p> - -<p>“Certainly, sir; dead or alive,” Paul repeated.</p> - -<p>Cooke came out of the station and signalled the engineer -to go ahead.</p> - -<p>“We’ll pull down here about five miles to an old -spur where the company used to load wood. There’s a -little valley there where we can be hidden all we please, -so far as the main line is concerned, and it might not<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[135]</span> -be a bad idea to establish headquarters there. We have -the tools for cutting in on the telegraph, and we can be -as independent as we please. I told the agent we were -carrying company powder for a blasting job down the -line, and he suspects nothing.”</p> - -<p>Paul left the caboose as the train started, and rode -away on horseback to visit his pickets. The train crept -warily over the spur into the old woodcutters’ camp, -where, as Cooke had forecast, they were quite shut in -from the main line by hills and woodland.</p> - -<p>“And now, Mr. Ardmore, if you would like to see -fire-water spring out of the earth as freely as spring -water, come with me for a little stroll. The thirsty of -Dilwell County know the way to these places as city -topers know the way to a bar. We are now in the land -of the little brown jug, and while these boys get breakfast -I’ll see if the people in this region have changed -their habits.”</p> - -<p>It was not yet seven as they struck off into the forest -beside the cheerful little brook that came down singing -from the hills. Ardmore had rarely before in his life -been abroad so early, and he kicked the dew from the -grass in the cheerfullest spirit imaginable. Within a -few days he had reared a pyramid of noble resolutions. -Life at last entertained him. The way of men of action -had been as fabulous to him as the dew that now twinkled -before him. Griswold knew books, but here at his side -strode a man who knew far more amazing things than -were written in any book. Cooke had not been in this -region for seven years, and yet he never hesitated, but -walked steadily on, following the little brook. Presently -he bent over the bank and gathered up a brownish substance -that floated on the water, lifted a little of it in -his palm, and sniffed it.</p> - -<p>“That,” said Cooke, holding it to Ardmore’s nose, “is -corn mash. That’s what they make their liquor out of. -The still is probably away up yonder on that hillside.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[136]</span> -It seems to me that we smashed one there once when I -was in the service; and over there, about a mile beyond -that pine tree, where you see the hawk circling, -three of us got into a mix-up, and one of our boys was -killed.”</p> - -<p>He crossed the stream on a log, climbed the bank on -the opposite shore, and scanned the near landscape for -a few minutes. Then he pointed to an old stump over -which vines had grown in wild profusion.</p> - -<p>“If you will, walk to that stump, Mr. Ardmore, and -feel under the vines on the right-hand side, your fingers -will very likely touch something smooth and cool.”</p> - -<p>Ardmore obeyed instructions. He thrust his hand -into the stump as Cooke directed, thrust again a little -deeper, and laughed aloud as he drew out a little brown -jug.</p> - -<p>Cooke nodded approvingly.</p> - -<p>“We’re all right. The revenue men come in here -occasionally and smash the stills and arrest a few men, -but the little brown jug continues to do business at the -same old stand. They don’t even change the hiding-places. -And while we stand here, you may be pretty -sure that a freckled-faced, tow-headed boy or girl is -watching us off yonder, and that the word will pass all -through the hills before noon that there are strangers -abroad in old Dilwell. If you have a dollar handy, slip -it under the stump, so they’ll know we’re not stingy.”</p> - -<p>Ardmore was scrutinizing the jug critically.</p> - -<p>“They’re all alike,” said Cooke, “but that piece of -calico is a new one—just a fancy touch for an extra fine -article of liquor.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll be shot if I haven’t seen that calico before,” said -Ardmore; and he sat down on a boulder and drew out -the stopper, while Cooke watched him with interest.</p> - -<p>The bit of twine was indubitably the same that he had -unwound before in his room at the Guilford House, and -the cob parted in his fingers exactly as before. On a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[137]</span> -piece of brown paper that had been part of a tobacco -wrapper was scrawled:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>This ain’t yore fight, Mr. Ardmore. Wher’s the guvner of North -Carolina?</p> -</div> - -<p>“That’s a new one on me,” laughed Cooke. “You see, -they know everything. Mind-reading isn’t in it with -them. They know who we are and what we have come -for. What’s the point about the governor?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, the governor’s all right,” replied Ardmore carelessly. -“He wouldn’t bother his head about a little -matter like this. The powers reserved to the states by -the constitution give a governor plenty of work without -acting as policeman of the jungle. That’s the reason I -said to Governor Dangerfield, ‘Governor,’ I said, ‘don’t -worry about this Appleweight business. Time is heavy -on my hands,’ I said. ‘You stay in Raleigh and uphold -the dignity of your office, and I will take care of the -trouble in Dilwell.’ And you can’t understand, Cooke, -how his face brightened at my words. Being the brave -man he is, you would naturally expect him to come -down here in person and seize these scoundrels with his -own hands. I had the hardest time of my life to get -him to stay at home. It almost broke his heart not to -come.”</p> - -<p>And as they retraced their steps to the caboose, it was -Ardmore who led, stepping briskly along, and blithely -swinging the jug.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[138]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER X.<br /> - - -<small>PROFESSOR GRISWOLD TAKES THE FIELD.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Barbara</span> and Griswold stopped at the telegraph office -on their way back to the executive mansion, and were -met with news that the sheriff of Mingo had refused to -receive Griswold’s message.</p> - -<p>“His private lines of communication with the capital -are doubtless well established,” said Griswold, “and -Bosworth probably warned him, but it isn’t of great -importance. It’s just as well for Appleweight and his -friends, high and low, to show their hands.”</p> - -<p>When they were again on the veranda, Griswold lingered -for a moment with no valid excuse for delay beyond -the loveliness of the night and his keen delight in Barbara’s -voice and her occasional low laughter, which was -so pleasant to hear that he held their talk to a light -key, that he might evoke it the more. Professor Griswold’s -last flirtation was now so remote that he would -have been hard put to say whether the long-departed -goddess’s name had been Evelyn or Laura. He had so -thoroughly surrendered himself to the exactions of the -law that love and marriage held small place in his -speculations of the future. He had heard himself called -a bachelor professor with the humorous tolerance of one -who is pretty sure of himself, and who is not yet reduced -to the cynical experiment of peering beneath the top -layer of his box of strawberries to find the false bottom. -He recalled the slender manuscript volume of verses in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[139]</span> -his desk at home, and he felt that it would be the easiest -thing in the world to write a thousand songs to-night, -beside which the soundest brief ever filed in any court -would be the silliest of literary twaddle.</p> - -<p>“You have done all that could be asked of you, Mr. -Griswold, and I cannot permit you to remain longer. -Father will certainly be here to-morrow. I assure you -that it is not like him to avoid his public obligations. -His absence is the most unaccountable thing that ever -happened. I have my difficulties here at home, for since -my mother’s death I have had the care of my young -sisters, and it is not pleasant to have to deceive them.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, but your father isn’t absent! He is officially -present and in the saddle,” laughed Griswold. “You -must not admit, even to me, that he is not here in full -charge of his office. And as for my leaving the field, I -have not the slightest intention of going back to Virginia -until the Appleweight ghost is laid, the governor of -North Carolina brought to confusion, and the governor -of South Carolina visibly present and thundering his -edicts again, so to speak, <i>ex cathedra</i>. My own affairs -can wait, Miss Osborne. My university may go hang, -my clients may be mulcted in direst damages, but just -now I am your humble servant, and I shall not leave -your service until my tasks are finished. I am consulting -not my duty, but my pleasure. The joy of -having a hand in a little affair like this, and of being -able to tell my friend Tommy Ardmore about it afterward, -would be sufficient. Ardmore will never speak to -me again for not inviting him to a share in the game.”</p> - -<p>He was more buoyant than she had seen him, and she -liked the note of affection that crept into his tone as he -spoke of his friend.</p> - -<p>“Ardmore is the most remarkable person alive,” Griswold -continued. “You remember—I spoke of him this -morning. He likes to play the inscrutable idiot, and he -carries it off pretty well; but underneath he’s really<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[140]</span> -clever. The most amazing ideas take hold of him. You -never could imagine what he’s doing now! I met him -accidentally in Atlanta the other day, and he was in -pursuit of a face—a girl’s face that he had seen from a -car window for only an instant on a siding somewhere.”</p> - -<p>“He must have a romantic temperament,” suggested -Barbara.</p> - -<p>“Quite that. His family have been trying to marry -him off to some one in their own set ever since I have -known him, but he’s extremely difficult. One of the -most remarkable things about him is his amazing democracy. -He owns a palace on Fifth Avenue, but rarely -occupies it, for he says it bores him. He has a camp in -the Adirondacks, but I have never known him to visit -it. His place in North Carolina pleases him because -there he commands space, and no one can crowd him or -introduce him to people he doesn’t want to meet. He -declares that the most interesting people don’t have more -than a dollar a day to spend; that the most intelligent -and the best-looking girls in America clerk in shops and -work in factories. A philanthropic lady in New York -supplies him every Christmas with a list of names of -laundry girls, who seem to appeal particularly to Ardy’s -compassion, though he never knew one in his life, but -he admires them for the zeal with which they destroy -buttonholes and develop the deckle-edge cuff; and he -has twenty-dollar bills mailed to them quite mysteriously, -and without any hint of who Santa Claus really is.”</p> - -<p>“But the girl he saw from the car window—did she -also appeal to him altruistically?”</p> - -<p>“No; it was with her eye. He declared to me most -solemnly that the girl winked at him!”</p> - -<p>Griswold was aware that Miss Osborne’s interest in -Ardmore cooled perceptibly.</p> - -<p>“Oh!” she said, with that delightful intonation with -which a woman utterly extinguishes a sister.</p> - -<p>“I shouldn’t have told you that,” said Griswold,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[141]</span> -guiltily aware of falling temperature. “He is capable of -following a winking eye at a perfectly respectful distance -for a hundred years, and of being entertained all the -time by the joy of pursuit.”</p> - -<p>“It seems very unusual,” said Barbara, with cold -finality.</p> - -<p>Griswold remembered this talk as, the next day -aboard the train bound for Turner Court House, the -seat of Mingo County, South Carolina, he pondered a -telegram he had received from Ardmore. He read and -re-read this message, chewing cigars and scowling at -the landscape, and the cause of his perturbation of spirit -may be roughly summarized in these words:</p> - -<p>On leaving the executive mansion the night before, he -had studied maps in his room at the Saluda House, and -carefully planned his campaign. He had talked by telephone -with the prosecuting attorney of Mingo County, -and found that official politely responsive. So much had -gone well. Then the juxtaposition of Ardmore’s estate -to the border, and the possible use of the house as headquarters, -struck in upon him. He would, after all, generously -take Ardmore into the game, and they would uphold -the honour and dignity of the great commonwealth -of South Carolina together. The keys of all Ardmore’s -houses were, so to speak, in Griswold’s pocket, and invitations -were unnecessary between them; yet at Atlanta -Ardmore had made a point of asking Griswold down to -help while away the tedium of Mrs. Atchison’s house -party, and as a matter of form Griswold had wired from -Columbia, advising Ardmore of his unexpected descent.</p> - -<p>Even in case Ardmore should still be abroad in pursuit -of the winking eye, the doors of the huge house -would be open to Griswold, who had entered there so -often as the owner’s familiar friend. These things he -pondered deeply as he read and re-read Ardmore’s reply -to his message, a reply which was plainly enough dated -at Ardsley, but which, he could not know, had really<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[142]</span> -been written in caboose 0186 as it lay on a siding in -the south-eastern yards at Raleigh, and thence despatched -to the manager at Ardsley, with instructions to forward -it as a new message to Griswold at Columbia. The chilling -words thus flung at him were:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>Professor Henry Maine Griswold,<br /> -<span class="indentleft4">Saluda House, Columbia, S. C.:</span></p> - -<p>I am very sorry, old man, but I cannot take you in just now. Scarlet -fever is epidemic among my tenants, and I could not think of exposing -you to danger. As soon as the accursed plague passes I want to have -you down.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Ardmore.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>An epidemic that closed the gates of Ardsley would -assume the proportions of a national disaster; for even -if the great house itself were quarantined, there were -lodges and bungalows scattered over the domain, where -a host of guests could be entertained in comfort. Griswold -reflected that the very fact that he had wired from -Columbia must have intimated to Ardmore that his -friend was flying toward him, pursuant to the Atlanta -invitation. Griswold dismissed a thousand speculations -as unworthy. Ardmore had never shown the remotest -trace of snobbishness, and as far as the threatened house -party was concerned, Griswold knew Mrs. Atchison very -well, and had been entertained at her New York house.</p> - -<p>The patronizing tone of the thing caused Griswold to -flush at every reading. If the Ardsley date-line had not -been so plainly written, if the phraseology were not so -characteristic, there might be room for doubt; but Ardmore—Ardmore -of all men—had slapped him in the -face!</p> - -<p>But scarlet fever or no scarlet fever, the pursuit of -Appleweight had precedence of private grievances. By -the time he reached Turner Court House Griswold had -dismissed the ungraciousness of Ardmore, and his jaws -were set with a determination to perform the mission -intrusted to him by Barbara Osborne, and to wait until -later for an accounting with his unaccountable friend.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[143]</span>Arrived at Turner’s, Griswold strode at once toward -the court house. The contemptuous rejection of his -message by the sheriff of Mingo had angered Griswold, -but he was destined to feel even more poignant insolence -when, entering the sheriff’s office, a deputy, languidly -posed as a letter “V” in a swivel-chair, with his feet -on the mantel, took a cob pipe from his mouth and -lazily answered Griswold’s importunate query with:</p> - -<p>“The sheriff ain’t hyeh, seh. He’s a-visitin’ his folks -in Tennessy.”</p> - -<p>“When will he be back?” demanded Griswold, hot of -heart, but maintaining the icy tone that had made him -so formidable in cross-examination.</p> - -<p>“I reckon I don’t know, seh.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know your own name?” persisted Griswold -sweetly.</p> - -<p>“Go to hell, seh,” replied the deputy. He reached for -a match, relighted his pipe, and carefully crossed his -feet on the mantelshelf. The moment Griswold’s steps -died away in the outer corridor the deputy rose and -busied himself so industriously with the telephone that -within an hour all through the Mingo hills, and even -beyond the state line, along lonely trails, across hills and -through valleys, and beside cheery creeks and brooks, -it was known that a strange man from Columbia was in -Mingo County looking for the sheriff, and Appleweight, -<i>alias</i> Poteet, and his men were everywhere on guard.</p> - -<p>Griswold liked the prosecuting attorney on sight. His -name was Habersham, and he was a youngster with a -clear and steady gray eye. Instead of the Southern -statesman’s flowing prince albert, he wore a sack-coat of -gray jeans, and was otherwise distinguished by a shirt -of white-and-blue check. He grinned as Griswold bent -a puzzled look upon him.</p> - -<p>“I took your courses at the university two years ago, -Professor, and I remember distinctly that you always -wore a red cravat to your Wednesday lectures.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[144]</span>“You have done well,” replied Griswold, “for I never -expected to find an old student who remembered half as -much of me as that. Now, as I understood you over -the telephone, Appleweight was indicted for stealing a -ham in this county by the last grand jury, but the sheriff -has failed or refused to make the arrest. How did the -grand jury come to indict if this outlaw dominates all -the hill country?”</p> - -<p>“The grand jury wanted to make a showing of virtue, -and it was, of course, understood between the foreman, -the leader of the gang, and the sheriff that no warrant -could be served on Appleweight. I did my duty; the -grand jury’s act was exemplary; and there the wheels -of justice are blocked. The same thing is practically -true across the state line in Dilwell County, North Carolina. -These men, led by Appleweight, use their intimate -knowledge of the country to elude pursuers when at -times the revenue men undertake a raid, and the county -authorities have never seriously molested them. Now -and then one of these sheriffs will make a feint of going -out to look for Appleweight, but you may be sure that -due notice is given before he starts. Three revenue -officers have lately been killed while looking for these -men, and the government is likely to take vigorous -action before long.”</p> - -<p>“We may as well be frank,” said Griswold in his most -professional voice. “I don’t want the federal authorities -to take these men; it is important that they should -not do so. This is an affair between the governors of -the two Carolinas. It has been said that neither of -them dares press the matter of arrest, but I am here -in Governor Osborne’s behalf to give the lie to that -imputation.”</p> - -<p>“That has undoubtedly been the fact, as you know,” -and Habersham smiled at his old preceptor inquiringly. -“Osborne once represented the Appleweights, and he -undoubtedly saved the leader from the gallows. That<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[145]</span> -was before Osborne ever thought of becoming governor, -and he acted only within his proper rights as a lawyer. -I don’t recall that anything in professional ethics requires -us to abandon a client because we know he’s -guilty. If such were the case we’d all starve to death.”</p> - -<p>“Governor Osborne has been viciously maligned,” declared -Griswold. “While he did at one time represent -these people—no doubt thoroughly and efficiently—he -holds the loftiest ideal of public service, and it was only -when his official integrity was brought into question by -unscrupulous enemies that he employed me as special -counsel to carry this affair through to a conclusion. -That accounts for my presence here, Habersham, and, -with your assistance, I propose to force Governor Dangerfield’s -hand. Suppose all these people were arrested in -Mingo County under these indictments, what would be -the result—trial and acquittal?”</p> - -<p>“Just that, in spite of any effort made to convict -them.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Governor Osborne is tired of this business, and -wants the Appleweight scandal disposed of once and -for all.”</p> - -<p>“That’s strange,” remarked Habersham, clearly surprised -at Griswold’s vigorous tone. “I called on the -governor in his office at Columbia only ten days ago, -and he put me off. He said he had to prepare an address -to deliver before the South Carolina Political Reform -Association, and he couldn’t take up the Appleweight -case; and I called on Bosworth, the attorney-general, -and he grew furiously angry, and said I was guilty of the -gravest malfeasance in not having brought those men -to book long ago. When I suggested that he connive -with the governor towards removing our sheriff, he declared -that the governor was a coward. He seemed -anxious to put the governor in a hole, though why he -should take that attitude I can’t make out, as it has -been generally understood that Governor Osborne’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[146]</span> -personal friendliness for him secured his nomination and -election to the attorney-generalship, and I have heard -that he is engaged to the governor’s oldest daughter.”</p> - -<p>“He is a contemptible hound,” replied Griswold with -feeling, “and at the proper time we shall deal with him; -but it is of more importance just now to make Appleweight -a prisoner in North Carolina. If he’s arrested -over there, that lets us out; and if the North Carolina -authorities won’t arrest their own criminals, we’ll go -over into Dilwell County and show them how to be good. -The man’s got to be locked up, and he’d look much -better in a North Carolina jail, under all the circumstances.”</p> - -<p>“That’s good in theory, but how do you justify it in -law?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that’s the merest matter of formulæ! My dear -Habersham, all the usual processes of law go down before -emergencies!”</p> - -<p>The airiness of Griswold’s tone caused the prosecutor -to laugh, for this was not the sober associate professor -of admiralty whose lectures he had sat under at the -University of Virginia, but a different person, whose -new attitude toward the law and its enforcement shocked -him immeasurably.</p> - -<p>“You seem to be going in for pretty loose interpretations, -and if that plaster bust of John Marshall up there -falls from the shelf, you need not be surprised,” and -Habersham still laughed. “I might be impudent and -cite you against yourself!”</p> - -<p>“That would constitute contempt of court, and I cannot -just now spare your services long enough for you to -serve a jail sentence. Go on now, and tell me what you -have done and what you propose.”</p> - -<p>“Well, as I told you over the telephone, we hear a -great deal about Appleweight and his crowd; but we -never hear much of their enemies, who are, nevertheless, -of the same general stock, and equally determined when<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[147]</span> -aroused. Ten of these men I have quietly called to meet -at my farm out here a few miles from town, on Thursday -night. They come from different points over the -country, and we’ll have a small but grim posse that -will be ready for business. You may not know it, but -the Appleweights are most religious. Appleweight himself -boasts that he never misses church on Sunday. He -goes also to the mid-week service on Thursday night, -so I have learned, and thereby hangs our opportunity. -Mount Nebo Church lies off here toward the north. -It’s a lonely point in itself, though it’s the spiritual -centre and rendezvous for a wide area. If Appleweight -can be taken at all, that’s the place, and I’m willing -to make the trial. Whether to stampede the church -and make a fight, or seize him alone as he approaches -the place, is a question for discussion with the boys I -have engaged to go into the game. How does it strike -you?”</p> - -<p>“First-rate. Ten good men ought to be enough; but -if it comes down to numbers, the state militia can be -brought into use. The South Carolina National Guard -is in camp, and we can have a regiment quick enough, -if I ask it.”</p> - -<p>Habersham whistled.</p> - -<p>“Osborne is certainly up and doing!” he exclaimed, -chuckling. “I suppose he has tossed a quarter, and -decided it’s better to be good than to be senator. By -the way, that was a curious story in the newspapers -about Dangerfield and Osborne having a row at New -Orleans. I wonder just what passed between them?”</p> - -<p>Griswold was conscious that Habersham glanced at -him a little curiously, with a look that implied something -that half formed itself on the prosecuting attorney’s -lips.</p> - -<p>“I know nothing beyond what I read in the newspapers -at the time. Some political row, I fancy.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose Governor Osborne hasn’t discussed it with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[148]</span> -you since his return to Columbia?” asked Habersham -carelessly. The shadow of a smile flitted across his face, -but vanished quickly as though before a returning consciousness -of the fact that he was facing Henry Maine -Griswold, who was first of all a gentleman, and not less -a scholar and a man of the world, who was not to be -trifled with.</p> - -<p>“No,” replied Griswold, a little shortly. “I was appealed -to in rather an unusual way in this matter of -Appleweight. It is quite out of my line as a legal -proposition, but there are other considerations of which -I may not speak.”</p> - -<p>“Pardon me,” murmured Habersham; but he asked: -“What was Governor Osborne doing when you left -Columbia?”</p> - -<p>“When I left Columbia,” remarked Griswold, and it -was he that smiled now, “to the best of my knowledge -and belief the governor of South Carolina was deeply -absorbed in knitting a necktie, the colour of which was, -I think, the orange of a Blue Ridge autumn sunset. -And now, if you will kindly give me pen and paper, I -will communicate the Appleweight situation and our -prospects to my honoured chief.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[149]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XI.<br /> - - -<small>TWO LADIES ON A BALCONY.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> outer aspect of Ardsley is, frankly, feudal. The -idea of a North Carolina estate had grown out of Ardmore’s -love of privacy and his wish to get away from -New York, where his family was all too frequently struck -by the spot light. The great tract of land once secured -he had not concerned himself about a house, but had -thrown together a comfortable bungalow which satisfied -him for a year. But Ardmore’s gentle heart, inaccessible -to demands of many sorts, was a defenceless citadel -when appeals were made to his generosity. A poor -young architect, lately home from the Ecole des Beaux -Arts, with many honours but few friends, fell under -Ardmore’s eyes. The towers and battlements that soon -thereafter crowned the terraced slopes at Ardsley, etching -a noble line against the lovely panorama of North -Carolina hills, testified at once to the architect’s talent -for adaptation and Ardmore’s diminished balances at -the Bronx Loan and Trust Company.</p> - -<p>On a balcony that commanded the sunset—a balcony -bright with geraniums that hung daringly over a ravine -on the west—Mrs. Atchison and Miss Jerry Dangerfield -were cosily taking their tea. Their white gowns, the -snowy awning stirring slightly in the hill air, the bright -trifles of the tea-table mingled in a picture of charm and -contentment.</p> - -<p>“I wonder,” said Mrs. Atchison abruptly, “where -Tommy is.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[150]</span>“I have no definite idea,” said Jerry, pouring cream, -“but let us hope that he is earning his salary.”</p> - -<p>“His salary?” and Mrs. Atchison’s brows contracted. -“Do you mean that my brother is taking pay for this -mysterious work he is doing?”</p> - -<p>“He shall be paid in money,” replied Jerry with decision. -“As I have only the barest acquaintance with -Mr. Ardmore, never, in fact, having seen him until a -few days ago, it would be very improper for me to -permit him to serve me except under the rules that govern -the relations of employer and employee.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Atchison smiled with the wise tolerance of a -woman of the world; and she was a lady, it must be -said, who had a keen perception of that sane and ample -philosophy of life which proceeds, we may say, for the -sake of convenience, from the sense of humour. She did -not like to be puzzled; and she had never in her life -been surprised, least of all by any word or deed of her -singular brother Tommy. She liked and even cultivated -with daring the inadvertent turns in a day’s affairs. -The cool fashion in which her brother had placed the -daughter of the governor of North Carolina in her hands -on board her car at Raleigh had amused her. She had -learned nothing from Jerry of the beginnings of that -young woman’s acquaintance with the master of Ardsley—an -acquaintance which seemed to be intimate in certain -aspects but amazingly distant and opaque in others. -Miss Geraldine Dangerfield, like Mrs. Atchison herself, -was difficult to surprise, and Tommy Ardmore’s sister -admired this in any one, and she particularly admired -it in Jerry, who was so charming in so many other ways. -Mrs. Atchison imagined that Jerry’s social experience -had been meagre, and yet the girl accepted the conditions -of life at Ardsley as a matter of course, and in the -gatherings of the house party Jerry—there was no denying -it—held the centre of the stage.</p> - -<p>The men, including the Duke of Ballywinkle, hung<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[151]</span> -upon her lightest word, which often left them staggering; -and she frequently flung the ball of conversation -into the blue ether with a careless ease that kept expectancy -a-tiptoe in the minds and hearts of all the -company.</p> - -<p>“I hope,” said Mrs. Atchison, putting down her cup -and gazing dreamily into the west, “that you have not -given Tommy any commission in which he is likely to -fail. If it were a matter of finding a fan you had left -behind somewhere, or even of producing an extinct -flower from the Andes, he would undoubtedly be faithful -to the trust imposed on him; but in anything that is -really serious, really of importance, one should never -depend on Tommy.”</p> - -<p>This was, as the lady knew, almost vulgarly leading; -but Jerry folded her arms, and spoke out with charming -frankness.</p> - -<p>“I have heard my father say,” said Jerry, “that incapable -men often rise to great opportunities when they -are pushed. Mr. Ardmore has undertaken to perform -for me a service of the greatest delicacy and not unattended -with danger. You have been kind to me, Mrs. -Atchison, and as you are my chaperon and entitled to -my fullest confidence, it is right for you to know just -how I came here, and why your brother is absent in -my service.”</p> - -<p>For once curiosity bound Mrs. Atchison in chains of -steel.</p> - -<p>“Tell me nothing, dear, unless you are quite free to -do so,” she murmured; but her heart skipped a beat as -she waited.</p> - -<p>“I should not think of doing so except of my own -free will,” declared Jerry, carelessly following the flight -of a hawk that flapped close by toward the neighbouring -woods. “It may interest you to know that just now -your brother, Mr. Thomas Ardmore, is the governor of -North Carolina. He does not exactly know it, for at<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[152]</span> -Raleigh I myself was governor of North Carolina at the -time we met, and I only made Mr. Ardmore my private -secretary; but when it became necessary to take the -field I placed him in full charge, and he is now not only -governor of the Old North State, but also the commander-in-chief -of her troops in the field.”</p> - -<p>With a nice feeling for climax Jerry paused, picked -a lump of sugar from the silver bowl on the tea-table, -bit the edge of it daintily, and tossed it to the robins -that hopped on the lawn beneath.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Atchison moved forward slightly, but evinced no -other sign of surprise. The hour, the scene, the girl -were all to her liking. She would even prolong the -delight of hearing the further history of her brother’s -amazing elevation to supreme power in an American -commonwealth—it was so foreign to all experience, so -heavy with possibilities, so delicious in that it had -happened to Tommy of all men in the world!</p> - -<p>“I trust,” she said, smiling a little, “that Tommy will -not prove unworthy of the confidence you have reposed -in him.”</p> - -<p>“If he does,” said Jerry, slapping her hands together -to free them of an imaginary sugar crumb, “I shall -never, never marry him.”</p> - -<p>“Then may I ask, Miss Dangerfield, if you and he -are engaged?”</p> - -<p>“Not at all, Mrs. Atchison! Not only are we not engaged, -but he has never even proposed to me. Besides, -I am engaged to Colonel Rutherford Gillingwater, our -adjutant-general.”</p> - -<p>“Then if you are engaged to this military person, just -wherein lies the significance of your threat never to -marry my brother.”</p> - -<p>“That,” said Jerry, “is perfectly easy of explanation. -Your brother and I have met only a few times, and I -never become engaged to any man whom I have not -known for a week at least. Marriage is a serious matter;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[153]</span> -and while the frequent breaking of engagements is -painful in the extreme, I think one cannot be too careful -in assuming the marriage bond.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Atchison wondered whether the girl was amusing -herself at her expense, but Jerry’s tone was grave and -Jerry’s eyes were steady. Jerry was a new species, and -she had appeared at a fortunate moment when Mrs. -Atchison had almost concluded that the world is a -squeezed lemon.</p> - -<p>“In view of the fact that you are engaged to Dillingwater——” -began Mrs. Atchison, anxious for further disclosures -touching Jerry’s ideas on matrimony.</p> - -<p>“Colonel Rutherford Gillingwater, please!” corrected -Jerry.</p> - -<p>“—I don’t quite grasp this matter of your attitude -toward my brother. Unless I misunderstood you, you -remarked a moment ago that unless he succeeded in his -present undertaking you would never marry him.”</p> - -<p>“That is exactly what I said, and I meant every word -of it,” declared Jerry. “I will not conceal from you, -Mrs. Atchison, my determination that your brother shall -be my second husband.”</p> - -<p>There was no question of Mrs. Atchison’s complete -surprise now.</p> - -<p>“Your <i>second</i> husband, child?”</p> - -<p>“My second husband, Mrs. Atchison. Life is short at -best, and I was told by my old mammy when I was a -little child—she turned out afterward to be a real voodoo -woman—that I should be married twice. I am very -superstitious, and that made a great impression on my -mind. It is not in keeping with my ideas of life, Mrs. -Atchison, to be long a widow, so that I think it perfectly -right to choose a second husband even before I am quite -sure that I have chosen wisely for my first.”</p> - -<p>“Has the military person weak lungs?”</p> - -<p>“No; but his mind is not strong. Anything sudden, -like apoplexy, would be sure to go hard with him.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[154]</span>“Then you should be careful not to shock him. It -would be almost criminal to break your engagement with -him.”</p> - -<p>“That rests entirely with him, Mrs. Atchison. The -man I love must be brave, tender, and true. After our -present difficulties are over I shall know whether Rutherford -Gillingwater is the man I believe I am going to -marry in October.”</p> - -<p>“But you spoke a moment ago of Tommy’s official -position. Is this arrangement a matter of general knowledge -in North Carolina?”</p> - -<p>“No, it is not. You and he and I are the only persons -who know it. Papa does not know it yet; and -when papa finds it out it may go hard with him. You -see, Mrs. Atchison”—and Jerry leaned forward and -rested an elbow on the tea-table and tucked her little -chin into the palm of her hand—“you see, papa is very -absent-minded, as great men often are, and he went -away and forgot to perform some duties which the -honour and dignity of the state require to be performed -immediately. There are some wicked men who have -caused both North Carolina and South Carolina a great -deal of trouble, but they must not be punished in this -state, but in South Carolina, which is just over there -somewhere. There are many reasons for that which -would be very tiresome to tell you about, but the principal -one is that Barbara Osborne, the daughter of the -governor of South Carolina, is the snippiest and stuck-upest -person I have ever known, and while your brother -and I are in charge of this state I have every intention -of annoying her in every way I can. When Mr. Ardmore -has caught those wicked men I spoke of, who -really do not belong in this state at all, they will be -marched straight into South Carolina, and then we shall -see what Governor Osborne does about it; and we will -show Barbara Osborne, whose father never had to paper -<i>his</i> dining-room, after the war between the states, with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[155]</span> -bonds of the Confederacy—we will show her that there’s -a good deal of difference between the Dangerfields and -the Osbornes, and between the proud Old North State -and the state of South Carolina.”</p> - -<p>“And you have placed this business, requiring courage -and finesse, in Tommy’s hands?”</p> - -<p>“That is exactly what I have done, Mrs. Atchison. -Your brother is no great distance from here, and we -have exchanged telegrams to-day; but when I told you -a moment ago that I did not know his whereabouts -exactly I spoke the truth. Your brother’s appearance -on the scene at the beginning was most providential. -The stage was set, the curtain waited”—Jerry extended -her arms to indicate a breadth of situation—“but there -was no valiant hero. I needed a leading man, and Mr. -Ardmore walked in like a fairy prince ready to take the -part. And what I shall say to you further, as my -chaperon, will not, I hope, cause you to think ill of -me.”</p> - -<p>“I love you more and more! You may tell me anything -you like without fear of being misunderstood; -but tell me nothing that you prefer to keep to yourself.”</p> - -<p>“If you were not Mr. Ardmore’s sister I should not -tell you this; and I shall never tell another soul. I was -coming home from a visit in Baltimore, and the train -stopped somewhere to let another train pass. The two -trains stood side by side for a little while, and in the -window of the sleeper opposite me I saw a young man -who seemed very sad. I thought perhaps he had buried -all his friends, for he had the appearance of one lately -bereaved. It has always seemed to me that we should -do what we can to cheer the afflicted, and this gentleman -was staring out of his window very sadly, as though -he needed a friend, and as he caught my eye it seemed -to me that there was an appeal in it that it would have -been unwomanly for me to ignore. So, just as my train -started, at the very last moment that we looked at each<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[156]</span> -other, I winked at that gentleman with, I think, my -right eye.”</p> - -<p>Miss Geraldine Dangerfield touched the offending -member delicately with her handkerchief.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Atchison bent forward and took both the girl’s -hands.</p> - -<p>“And that was Tommy—my brother Tommy!”</p> - -<p>“That gentleman has proved to be Mr. Thomas Ardmore. -I had not the slightest idea that I should ever -in the world see him again. My only hope was that he -would go on his way cheered and refreshed by my sign -of good-will, though he was either so depressed or so -surprised that he made no response. I never expected -to see him again in this world; and when I had almost -forgotten all about him he coolly sent in his card to me -at the executive mansion in Raleigh. And I was very -harsh with him when I learned who he was; for you -know the Ardmore estate owns a lot of North Carolina -bonds that are due on the first of June, and Mr. Billings -had been chasing papa all over the country to know -whether they will be paid; and I supposed that of course -your brother was looking for papa too, to annoy him -about some mere detail of that bond business, for the -state treasurer, who does not love papa, has gone away -fishing, and Mr. Billings is perfectly wild.”</p> - -<p>“Delicious!” exclaimed Mrs. Atchison. “Perfectly -delicious! And I am sure that when Tommy explained -his real sentiments toward Mr. Billings you and he -became friends at once.”</p> - -<p>“Not at once, for I came very near having him thrown -out of the house; and I laughed at him about a jug that -was given to him on the train at Kildare with a message -in it for papa. You know when you are governor people -always give you presents—that is, your friendly constituents -do. The others give you only unkind words. -The temperance people send you jugs of buttermilk on -board your train as you pass through the commonwealth,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[157]</span> -and others send you applejack. Your brother -gave back the buttermilk and kept the jug of applejack, -which had a warning to father in its corn-cob stopper. -I thought it was very funny, and I laughed at your -brother so that he was scared and ran out of the house. -Then afterwards I looked out of the window of papa’s -office, and saw Mr. Ardmore sitting on a bench in the -state-house yard looking ever so sad and dejected, and -I sent the private secretary out to get him; and now -we are, I think, the best of friends, and Mr. Ardmore -is, as I have already told you, the governor of North -Carolina to all intents and purposes.”</p> - -<p>“May I call you Jerry? Thank you, dear. Let me -tell you that I am thirty-two, and you are——?”</p> - -<p>“Seventeen,” supplied Jerry.</p> - -<p>“And this is the most amusing, interesting, and exciting -thing I have heard in all my life. It might be -difficult ordinarily for me to forgive the wink, but your -explanation lifts it out of the realm of social impropriety -into the sphere of generous benevolence. And if, -after Colonel Gillingwater has gone to his reward, you -should marry my brother, I shall do all in my power -to make your life in our family happy in every way.”</p> - -<p>“Your brother does not seem particularly proud of -his family connection,” said Jerry. “He spoke of you -in the most beautiful way, but he seems distressed by -the actions of some of the others.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Atchison sighed.</p> - -<p>“Tommy is right about us. We are a sad lot.”</p> - -<p>“But he is very hard on the duke. Since I came to -Ardsley his Grace has treated me with the greatest -courtesy, and he has spoken to me in the most complimentary -terms. He is beyond question a man of kind -heart, for he has promised me his mother’s pearl necklace, -which had been in her family for four hundred years.”</p> - -<p>“I should not hesitate to take the necklace, Jerry, if -he really produces it, for my sister, his wife, has never<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[158]</span> -had the slightest glimpse of it, and it is, I believe, in the -hands of certain English trustees for the benefit of the -duke’s creditors. I dislike to spoil one of his Grace’s -pretty illusions, but unless Mr. Billings softens his heart -a great deal toward the duke I fear that you will not -get the pearls this summer.”</p> - -<p>“I must tell you as my chaperon, Mrs. Atchison, that -the duke has already offered to elope with me. He told -me last night, as we were having our coffee on the terrace, -that he would gladly give up his wife, meaning, I -suppose, your sister, and the Ardmore millions for me; -but while I think him fascinating, I want you to feel -quite safe, for I promise you I shall elope with no one -while I am your guest.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Atchison’s face had grown a little white, and she -compressed her lips in lines that were the least bit grim.</p> - -<p>“The scoundrel!” she exclaimed half under her -breath. “To think that he would insult a child like -you! He is hanging about us here in the hope of getting -more money, while my poor sister, his wife, is in -an English sanatorium half crazed by his brutality. If -Tommy knew this he would undoubtedly kill him!”</p> - -<p>“That would be very unnecessary. A duke, after all, -is something, and I should hate to have the poor man -killed on my account. And besides, Mrs. Atchison, I -am perfectly able to take care of myself.”</p> - -<p>“I believe you are, Jerry. But it’s a terrible thing to -have that beast about, and I shall tell him to-night that -he must leave this place and the country.”</p> - -<p>“But first,” said Jerry, “I have an engagement to -ride with him after dinner to see the moon, and the -opportunity of seeing a moon with a duke of ancient -family, here on the sacred soil of North Carolina, is -something that I cannot lightly put aside.”</p> - -<p>“You cannot—you must not go!”</p> - -<p>“Leave it to me,” said Jerry, smiling slightly; “and -I promise you that the duke will never again insult an<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[159]</span> -American girl. And now I think I must dress for -dinner.”</p> - -<p>She rose and turned her eyes dreamily to the tower -above, where the North Carolina state flag flapped idly -in the breeze. This silken emblem with its single star -Miss Geraldine Dangerfield carried with her in her trunk -wherever she travelled; and having noted Ardsley’s -unadorned flagstaff, she had, with her own hands, unfurled it, -highly resolved that it should remain until -the rightful governor returned to his own.</p> - -<p>A few minutes later, as Mrs. Atchison was reading the -late mail in her sitting-room, she took up a New York -newspaper of the day before and ran over the headlines. -“Lost: A Governor” was a caption that held her eye, -and she read a special despatch dated Raleigh with -deepest interest. Governor Dangerfield, the item hinted, -had not yet returned from New Orleans, where he had -gone to attend the Cotton Planters’ Convention, and -where, moreover, he had quarrelled with the governor -of South Carolina. The cowardly conduct of both -governors in dealing with the Appleweight band of outlaws -was recited at length; and it was also intimated -that Governor Dangerfield was deliberately absenting -himself from his office to avoid meeting squarely the -Appleweight issue.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Atchison smiled to herself; then she laughed -merrily as she rang for her maid.</p> - -<p>“Little Jerry’s story seemed highly plausible as she -told it; and yet she is perfectly capable of spinning -romance with that pretty mouth of hers, particularly -when backed by those sweet and serious blue eyes. -Tommy and Jerry! The combination is irresistible! -If she has really turned the state of North Carolina -over to my little brother, something unusual will certainly -happen before long.”</p> - -<p>And Mrs. Atchison was quite right in her surmise, as -we shall see.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[160]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XII.<br /> - - -<small>THE EMBARRASSMENTS OF THE DUKE OF BALLYWINKLE.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Frank Collins</span>, of the Atlanta <i>Palladium</i>, trod the -ties beyond Kildare with a light heart, gaily swinging -a suit-case. He had walked far, but a narrow-brim -straw hat, perched on the back of his head, and the -cheery lilt of the waltz he whistled, spoke for a jaunty -spirit. As his eye ranged the landscape he marked a -faint cloud of smoke rising beyond a lonely strip of -wood; and coming to a dilapidated piece of track that -led vaguely away into the heart of the forest, he again -noted the tiny smoke-cloud. On such a day the half-gods -go and the gods arrive; and the world that afternoon -knew no cheerfuller spirit than the <i>Palladium’s</i> -agile young commissioner. Mr. Collins was not only in -capital health and spirits, but he rejoiced in that delicious -titillation of expectancy which is the chief compensation -of the journalist’s life. His mission was -secret, and this in itself gave flavour to his errand; -and, moreover, it promised adventures of a kind that -were greatly to his liking.</p> - -<p>As the woodland closed in about him and the curving -spur carried him farther from the main right of way, -he ceased whistling, and his steps became more guarded. -Suddenly a man rose from the bushes and levelled a -long arm at him detainingly.</p> - -<p>“Stop, young man, stop where you are!”</p> - -<p>“Hello!” called Collins, pausing. “Well, I’m jiggered<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[161]</span> -if it ain’t old Cookie. I say, old man, is the untaxed -juice flowing in the forest primeval or what brings -you here?”</p> - -<p>Cooke grinned as he recalled the reporter, whom he -remembered as a particularly irrepressible specimen of -his genus whom he had met while pursuing moonshiners -in Georgia. The two shook hands amiably midway of -the two streaks of rust.</p> - -<p>“Young man, I think I told you once before that your -legs were altogether too active. I want you to light right -out of here—skip!”</p> - -<p>“Not for a million dollars. Our meeting is highly -opportune, Cookie. It’s not for me to fly in the face of -Providence. I’m going to see what’s doing down here.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” replied Cooke. “Take it all in and enjoy -yourself; but you’re my prisoner.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that will be all right! So long as I’m with you -I can’t lose out.”</p> - -<p>“March!” called Cooke, dropping behind; and thus -the two came in a few minutes to the engine, the cars, -and the caboose. From the locomotive a slight smoke -still trailed hazily upward.</p> - -<p>Thomas Ardmore, coatless and hatless, sat on the -caboose steps writing messages on a broad pad, while -a telegraph instrument clicked busily within. One of -his men had qualified as operator, and a pile of messages -at his elbow testified to Ardmore’s industry. Ardmore -clutched in his left hand a message recently caught -from the wire, which he re-read from time to time with -increasing satisfaction. It had been sent from Ardsley -and ran:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>I shall ride to-night on the road that leads south beyond the red -bungalow, and on the bridle-path that climbs the ridge on the west, -called Sunset Trail. A certain English gentleman will accompany me. -It will be perfectly agreeable to me to come back alone.</p> - -<p class="right">G. D.</p> -</div> - -<p>Ardmore was still writing when Cooke stood beneath -him under the caboose platform.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[162]</span>“I beg your pardon, Mr. Ardmore, but this is our first -prisoner.”</p> - -<p>Ardmore signed a despatch, and then looked up and -took the pipe from his mouth. Collins lifted his hat -politely.</p> - -<p>“Ah, Mr. Ardmore, you see I have taken advantage -of your exceedingly kind invitation to look you up in -North Carolina.”</p> - -<p>“He was looking for you very hard when I found him, -Mr. Ardmore,” interposed Cooke.</p> - -<p>“Your appearance delights me,” said Ardmore, extending -his hand to the reporter. “It was nice of you -to walk out here to find me. Wouldn’t they put you up -at the house?”</p> - -<p>“Well, the fact is I didn’t stop there. My paper sent -me in this general direction on business, but I had every -honourable intention of making you that visit after I -finished my assignment. But Cookie here says I’m -arrested.”</p> - -<p>“He’s a dangerous character and can’t be allowed to -run loose in these parts. I’m going to tie him up,” -said Cooke.</p> - -<p>“May I ask you, Mr. Collins, just what you are doing -here?” inquired Ardmore.</p> - -<p>“You may, and I’ll bet a boiled goose that Cooke -and I are on the same job.”</p> - -<p>“What are you looking for?” demanded Ardmore’s -chief of staff.</p> - -<p>“It’s a big story if I get it, and I have every intention -of getting it,” said Collins guardedly.</p> - -<p>“Out with it!” commanded Ardmore.</p> - -<p>“The fact is, then, that I’m looking for a person of -importance.”</p> - -<p>“Go right on, please.”</p> - -<p>“And that person is the governor of North Carolina, -who is mysteriously absent from Raleigh. He attended -the Cotton Planters’ Convention in New Orleans. He<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[163]</span> -got as far as Atlanta on his way home, and then disappeared. -I need not say to gentlemen of your intelligence -that a lost governor is ripe fruit in my business, -and I have reason to believe that for some purpose of -his own the governor of North Carolina is hiding in this -very neighbourhood.”</p> - -<p>Cooke glanced at Ardmore for instructions, but the -master of Ardsley preferred to keep the matter in his -own hands.</p> - -<p>“So you want to find the governor of North Carolina, -do you? Well, you shall not be disappointed. You are -too able and zealous to be wasted on journalism. I -have a feeling that you are destined to higher things. -Something told me when we met in Atlanta that fate -had set us apart for each other. That was why I asked -you to visit me when I really didn’t know but that, after -learning where the spoons are kept, you would skip -without leaving your subsequent address. But now -there is important business on hand, and the state of -North Carolina will take the liberty of borrowing you -from Georgia until the peace of the Old North State is -restored. And now, Collins, I will make a disclosure -that will undoubtedly startle you a good deal, but you -are no longer employed by the Atlanta <i>Palladium</i>, and -your obligations to that journal must be transferred to -the state in which you now stand. You came here, -Collins, to look for the governor of North Carolina, and -your wits and your argus-nose for news have served -you well. You have found the governor of North Carolina: -<i>I</i> am he!”</p> - -<p>Collins had stood during this recital in the middle of -the track, with his legs wide apart, calmly fanning himself -with his hat; but as Ardmore proceeded the reporter’s -hand dropped to his side, and a grin that had -overspread his face slowly yielded to a blank stare.</p> - -<p>“Would you mind repeating those last words?”</p> - -<p>“<i>I</i> am the governor of North Carolina, Mr. Collins.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[164]</span> -The manner in which I attained that high office is not -important. It must suffice that I am in sole charge of -the affairs of this great state, without relief from valuation -or appraisement laws and without benefit of clergy. -And we have much to do here; mere social conversation -must await an ampler time. I now appoint you publicity -agent to the governor. Your business is to keep -the people fooled—all the people all the time. In other -words, you are chief liar to the administration, a position -of vast responsibility, for which you have, if I am -a judge of character, the greatest talents. You will -begin by sending out word that Governor Dangerfield -has given up all other work at present but the destruction -of the Appleweight gang. These stories that the -governor has hidden himself to dodge certain duties are -all punk—do you understand?—he is serving the people -as he has always served them, faithfully and with the -noblest self-sacrifice. That’s the sort of stuff I want -you to jam into the newspapers all over the world. And -remember—my name does not appear in the business at -all—neither now nor hereafter.”</p> - -<p>“But by the ghost of John C. Calhoun, don’t you see -that I’m losing the chance of my life in my own profession? -There’s a story in this that would put me to -the top and carry me right into New York,” and Collins -glanced about for his suit-case, as though meditating -flight.</p> - -<p>“Your appointment has gone into effect,” said Ardmore -with finality, “and if you bolt you will be caught -and made to walk the plank. And so far as your future -is concerned, you shall have a newspaper of your own -anywhere you please as soon as this war is over.”</p> - -<p>The three men adjourned to the caboose where Ardmore -told Collins all that it seemed necessary for the -newspaper man to know; and within half an hour the -new recruit had entered thoroughly into the spirit of -the adventure, though his mirth occasionally got the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[165]</span> -better of him, and he bowed his head in his hands and -surrendered himself to laughter. Thereafter, until the -six o’clock supper was ready, he kept the operator occupied. -He sent to the <i>Palladium</i> a thoroughly plausible -story, giving prominence to the Appleweight case and -laying stress on Governor Dangerfield’s vigorous personality -and high sense of official responsibility. He -sent queries to leading journals everywhere, offering -exclusive news of the rumoured disappearance of North -Carolina’s governor. His campaign of publicity for the -state administration was broadly planned, though he -was losing a great opportunity to beat the world with a -stunning story of the amazing nerve with which Ardmore, -the young millionaire, had assumed the duties of -governor of North Carolina in the unaccountable absence -of Governor Dangerfield from his capital. The whole -thing was almost too good to be true, and Collins put -away the idea of flight only upon realizing the joyous -possibilities of sharing, no matter how humbly, in the -fate of an administration which was fashioning the -drollest of card-houses. He did not know, and was -not to know until long afterwards, just how the young -master of Ardsley had leaped into the breach; but Ardmore -was an extraordinary person, whose whims set -him quite apart from other men, and while, even if he -escaped being shot, the present enterprise would undoubtedly -lead to a long term in jail, Collins had committed -himself to Ardmore’s cause and would be faithful -to it, no matter what happened.</p> - -<p>Ardmore took Collins more fully into his confidence -during the lingering twilight, and the reporter made -many suggestions that were of real value. Meanwhile -Cooke’s men brought three horses from the depths of -the forest, and saddled them. Cooke entered the caboose -for a final conference with Ardmore and a last look at -the maps.</p> - -<p>“Too bad,” remarked the acting governor, “that we<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[166]</span> -must wait until to-morrow night to pick up the Appleweights, -but our present business is more important. -It’s time to move, Cooke.”</p> - -<p>They rode off in single file on the faintest of trails -through the woods, Cooke leading and Ardmore and -Collins following immediately behind him. The great -host of summer stars thronged the sky, and the moon -sent its soft effulgence across the night. They presently -forded a noisy stream, and while they were seeking the -trail again on the farther side an owl hooted a thousand -yards up the creek, and while the line re-formed Cooke -paused and listened. Then the owl’s call was repeated -farther off, and so faintly that Cooke alone heard it. -He laid his hand on Ardmore’s rein:</p> - -<p>“There’s a foot-trail that leads along that creek, and -it’s very rough and difficult to follow. Half a mile from -here there used to be a still, run by one of the Appleweights. -We smashed it once, but no doubt they are -operating again by this time. That hoot of the owl is a -warning common among the pickets put out by these -people. Wireless telegraphy isn’t in it with them. Every -Appleweight within twenty miles will know in half an -hour how many there are of us and just what direction -we are taking. We must not come back here to-night. -We must put up on your place somewhere and let them -think, if they will, we are guests of yours out for an -evening ride.”</p> - -<p>“That’s all right. Unless we complete this job in -about two days my administration is a fizzle,” said Ardmore, -as they resumed their march through the forest. -There was a wilder fling to the roll of the land now, but -the underbrush was better cleared, and the trail had -become a bridle-path that had known man’s care.</p> - -<p>“This is some of Paul’s work,” said Ardmore; “and -if I am not very much mistaken we are on my land now -and headed straight enough for the wagon-road that -leads south beyond the red bungalow. These roads in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[167]</span> -here were planned to give variety, but I never before -appreciated how complicated they are.”</p> - -<p>The path stretched away through the heavy forest, -and they climbed to a ridge that commanded a wide -region that lay bathed in silver moonlight, so softly -luminous that it seemed of the stuff of shadows made -light. Westward, a mile distant, lay Ardsley, only a -little below the level of the ridge and touched with a -faint purple as of spring twilight.</p> - -<p>Ardmore sat his saddle, quietly contemplating the -great house that struck him almost for the first time -as imposing. He felt, too, a little heartache that he -did not quite understand. He was not sure whether -it was the effect of the moon, or whether he was tired, -or what it was, though he thought perhaps the moon -had something to do with it. His own house, of which -he was sincerely fond, seemed mistily hung between -heaven and earth in the moonlight, a thing not wholly -of this world; and in his depression of spirit he reflected -for a moment on his own aimless, friendless life; he -knew then that he was lonely, and that there was a great -void in his mind and heart and soul, and he knew also -that Jerry Dangerfield and not the moon was the cause -of his melancholy.</p> - -<p>“We’d better be moving,” suggested Cooke.</p> - -<p>“It’s too bad to leave that picture,” remarked Collins, -sighing. “Had I the lyre of Gray I should compose an -‘Ode on a Distant Prospect of Ardsley Castle,’ which -would ultimately reach the school readers and bring me -fame more enduring than brass.”</p> - -<p>“Did you say brass?” ironically scoffed Cooke.</p> - -<p>Whereupon the <i>Palladium’s</i> late representative laughed -softly and muttered to himself,</p> - -<p class="center">“Proud pile, by mighty Ardmore’s hand upreared!”</p> - -<p>“Cut it out,” commanded Cooke, “or I’ll drop you -into the ravine. Look below there!”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[168]</span>Looking off from the ridge they saw a man and a -woman riding along a strip of road from which the -timber had been cut. The night was so still, the gray -light so subdued, that the two figures moved as steadily -and softly as shadow pictures on a screen.</p> - -<p>The slow, even movement of the riders was interrupted -suddenly. The man, who was nearer the remote observers, -had stopped and bent towards the woman as -though to snatch her rein, when her horse threw up its -head and fell back on its haunches. Then the woman -struck the man a blow with her riding-crop, and galloped -swiftly away along the white, ribbon-like road. In the -perfect night-silence it was like a scene of pantomime.</p> - -<p>“That’s all right!” cried Cooke. “Come along! -We’ll cut into that road at the bungalow.”</p> - -<p>They swung their horses away from the ridge and -back into the bridle-path, which once more dipped -sharply down into heavy timber, Cooke leading the -way, and three of the best hunters known to the Ardsley -stables flew down the clear but winding path. The incident -which the trio had witnessed required no interpretation: -the girl’s blow and flight had translated it -into language explicit enough.</p> - -<p>Ardmore thanked his German forester a thousand -times for the admirable bridle-path over which they -galloped, with its certain footing beneath and clean -sweep from the boughs above. The blood surged hotly -through his heart, and he was angry for the first time in -his life; but his head was cool, and the damp air of the -forest flowing by tranquillized him into a new elation -of spirit. Jerry Dangerfield was the dearest and noblest -and bravest girl in the world—he knew that: and she -was clever and resourceful enough to devise means for -preserving her father’s official and private honour; and -not less quick to defend herself from insult from a titled -scoundrel. She was the most inexplicable of girls; but -at the same time she was beyond any question the wisest.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[169]</span> -The thought that he should now see her soon, after all -the years that had passed since he had introduced her -to his sister at Raleigh, filled him with wild delight, and -he prayed that in her mad flight from the Duke of Ballywinkle -no harm might come to her.</p> - -<p>The three men rode out into the broad highway at -the red bungalow and paused to listen.</p> - -<p>“He hasn’t got here yet. Only one person has passed, -and these must be the tracks of the girl’s horse,” said -Cooke, who had dismounted and struck matches, the -better to observe the faint hoof-prints in the hard shell -road.</p> - -<p>“He’ll be along in a minute. Let us get into the -shadow of the bungalow, and when he comes we’ll ride -out and nail him. The bungalow’s a sort of way house. -I often stop here when I’m out on the estate and want -to rest. I have the key in my pocket.”</p> - -<p>As Ardmore’s keys jingled in the lock Cooke cried out -softly. Their quarry was riding swiftly towards them, -and he drew rein before the bungalow as Cooke and -Collins rode out to meet him.</p> - -<p>“I say,” panted the duke.</p> - -<p>“You are our prisoner. Dismount and come into this -house.”</p> - -<p>“Prisoner, you fool! I’m a guest at Ardsley, and -I’m looking for a lady.”</p> - -<p>“That’s a very unlikely story.—Collins, help the gentleman -down;” and the reporter obeyed instructions with -so much zeal that the noble gentleman fell prone, and -was assisted to his feet with a fine mockery of helpfulness.</p> - -<p>“I tell you I’m looking for a lady whose horse ran -away with her! I’m the Duke of Ballywinkle, and -brother-in-law to Mr. Ardmore. I’ll have you sent to -jail if you stop me here.”</p> - -<p>“Come along, Duke, and we’ll see what you look -like,” said Cooke, leading the way to the bungalow<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[170]</span> -veranda. Within Ardmore was lighting lamps. There -was a long room finished in black oak, with a fireplace -at one end, and a table in the centre. The floors were -covered with handsome rugs, and the walls were hung -with photographs and etchings. Ardmore sat on the -back of a leather settee in a pose assumed at the moment -of the duke’s entrance. It was a pose of entire nonchalance, -and Ardmore’s cap, perched on the back of -his head, and his brown hair rumpled boyishly, added -to the general effect of comfort and ease.</p> - -<p>The duke blinked for a moment in the lamplight, then -he roared out joyously:</p> - -<p>“Ardy, old man!” and advanced towards his brother-in-law -with outstretched hand.</p> - -<p>“Keep him off; he’s undoubtedly quite mad,” said -Ardmore, staring coldly, and bending his riding-crop -across his knees. “Collins, please ride on after the -lady and bring her back this way.”</p> - -<p>Cooke had seated the prisoner rather rudely in a -chair, and the noble duke, having lost the power of speech -in amazement and fright, rubbed his eyes and then -fastened them incredulously on Ardmore; but there was -no question about it, he had been seized with violence; -he had been repudiated by his own brother-in-law—the -useless, stupid Tommy Ardmore, who at best had only -a child’s mind for pirate stories, and who was indubitably -the most negligible of negligible figures in the -drama of life as the duke knew it.</p> - -<p>“Cooke,” began Ardmore, addressing his lieutenant -gravely from his perch on the settee, “what is the -charge against this person?”</p> - -<p>“He says he’s a duke,” grinned Cooke, taking his cue -from Ardmore’s manner. “And he says he’s visiting at -Ardsley.”</p> - -<p>“That,” said Ardmore with decision, “is creditable -only to the gentleman’s romantic imagination. His face -is anything but dukely, and there’s a red streak across<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[171]</span> -it which points clearly to the recent sharp blow of a -weapon; and no one would ever strike a duke. It’s -utterly incredible,” and Ardmore lifted his brows and -leaned back with his arms at length and his hands clasping -the riding-crop, as he contemplated with supreme -satisfaction the tell-tale red line across the duke’s cheek.</p> - -<p>The Duke of Ballywinkle leaped to his feet, the colour -that suffused his pale face hiding for the moment the -mark of the riding-stick.</p> - -<p>“What the devil is this joke, Ardy?” screamed the -duke. “You know I’m a guest at your house; you -know I’m your sister’s husband. I was riding with Miss -Dangerfield, and her horse ran away with her, and she -may come to harm unless I go after her. This cut on -the face I got from a low limb of one of your infernal -trees. You are putting me in a devil of an embarrassing -position by holding me here.”</p> - -<p>He spoke with dignity, and Ardmore heard him through -in silence; but when he had finished, the master of -Ardsley pointed to the chair.</p> - -<p>“As I understand you, you are pleading not guilty; -and you pretend to some acquaintance with me; but I -am unable to recall you. We may have met somewhere, -sometime, but I really don’t know you. The title to -which you pretend is unfamiliar to me; but I will -frankly disclose to you that I, sir, am the governor of -North Carolina.”</p> - -<p>“The what?” bleated the duke, his eyes bulging.</p> - -<p>“I repeat, that I am the governor of North Carolina, -and as a state of war now exists in my unhappy kingdom, -I, sir, have assumed all the powers conferred upon -the three co-ordinate branches of government under the -American system—namely, or if you prefer it, I will say, -to wit: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. -It is thus not only my privilege but my painful duty to -pass upon your case in all its sad aspects. As I have -already suspended the writ of habeas corpus and set<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[172]</span> -aside the right to trial by jury, we will consider that I -sit here as the supreme court.”</p> - -<p>“For God’s sake, Ardy——” howled the duke.</p> - -<p>“That remark I will not now construe as profanity, -but don’t let it occur again. The first charge against -you is that of insulting a woman on the Sunset Trail -in the estate called Ardsley, owned by a person known -in law as Thomas Ardmore. There are three witnesses -to the fact that you tried to stop a woman in the road, -and that streak on your face is even more conclusive. -Are you guilty or not guilty?”</p> - -<p>“You are mad! You are crazy!” shouted the duke; -but his face was very white now, and the mark of the -crop flamed scarlet.</p> - -<p>“You are guilty, beyond any question. But the -further charge against you that you pretend to be—what -did he say his name was, Cooke?—that you pretend -to be the Duke of Ballywinkle must now be considered. -That is quite right, is it; you say you are -the duke?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, you fool!” howled the duke. “I’ll have the -law on you for this! I’ll appeal to the British ambassador.”</p> - -<p>“I advise you not to appeal to anybody,” said Ardmore, -“and the British ambassador is without jurisdiction -in North Carolina. You have yourself asserted -that you are the Duke of Ballywinkle. Why Ballywinkle? -Why not Argyll? why not Westminster? -Why not, if duke you must be, the noble Duke of York?”</p> - -<p>The Duke of Ballywinkle sat staring, stupefied. The -whole thing was one of his silly brother-in-law’s stupid -jokes; there was no question of that; and Tommy -Ardmore was always a bore; but in spite of the comfort -he derived from these reflections the duke was not a -little uneasy; for he had never seen his brother-in-law -in just this mood, and he did not like it. Ardmore was -carrying the joke too far; and there was an assurance<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[173]</span> -in Ardmore’s tone, and a light in Ardmore’s eyes, that -were ominous. Cooke had meanwhile lighted his pipe -and was calmly smoking until his chief should have his -fling.</p> - -<p>Ardmore now drew from his pocket Johnston’s <i>American -Politics</i> with an air of greatest seriousness.</p> - -<p>“Cooke,” he said, half to himself, as he turned the -pages, “do you remember just what the constitution -says about dukes? Oh yes, here we are! Now, Mr. -Duke of Ballywinkle, listen to what it says here in -Section IX. of the Constitution of the United States, -which reads exactly as follows in this book: ‘No title -of nobility shall be granted by the United States: -And no person holding any office of profit or trust under -them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept -of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind -whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.’ And -it says in Section X. that ‘No state shall grant any title -of nobility.’ Now, Mr. Ballywinkle, it is perfectly clear -that this government can’t recognize anything that it -can’t create, for that would be foolish. As I, the governor -of North Carolina, can’t make a duke, I can’t see -one. You are therefore wholly illegal; it’s against the -most sacred law of the land for you to be here at all; -and painful though it is to me, it is nevertheless my -duty to order you to leave the United States at once, -never to return. In fact, if you ever appear in the -United States again, I hereby order that you be hanged -by the neck until you be dead. One of Mr. Cooke’s men -will accompany you to New York to-morrow and see -to it that you take passage on a steamer bound for a -British port. The crime of having insulted a woman -will still hang over you until you are well east of Sandy -Hook, and I advise you not to risk being tried on that -charge in North Carolina, as my people are very impulsive -and emotional, and lynchings are not infrequent in our -midst. You shall spend to-night in my official caboose<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[174]</span> -some distance from here, and your personal effects will -be brought from Ardsley, where, you have said, you are -a guest of Mr. Thomas Ardmore, who is officially unknown -to me. The supreme court will now adjourn.”</p> - -<p>Cooke pulled the limp, bewildered duke to his feet, -and dragged him from the bungalow.</p> - -<p>As they stepped out on the veranda Collins rode up -in alarm.</p> - -<p>“I followed this road to a cross-road where it becomes -a bridle-path and runs off into the forest. There I lost -all trace of the lady, but here is her riding-crop.”</p> - -<p>“Cooke, take your prisoner to the caboose; and, Collins, -come with me,” commanded Ardmore; and a moment -later he and the reporter rode off furiously in -search of Jerry Dangerfield.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[175]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XIII.<br /> - - -<small>MISS DANGERFIELD TAKES A PRISONER.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">A dozen</span> men carrying rifles across their saddle-bows -rode away from Habersham’s farm on the outskirts of -Turner Court House and struck a rough trail that led -a devious course over the hills. At their head rode the -guide of the expedition—a long, silent man on a mule. -Griswold and Habersham followed immediately behind -him on horseback. Their plans had been carefully -arranged before they left their rendezvous, and save for -an occasional brief interchange between the prosecuting -attorney and the governor’s special representative, the -party jogged on in silence. Habersham’s recruits were, -it may be said, farmers of the border, who had awaited -for years just such an opportunity as now offered to -avenge themselves upon the insolent Appleweights. -Nearly every man of the party had some private score -to settle, but they had all been sworn as special constables, -and were sobered by the knowledge that the -power of the state of South Carolina was back of them.</p> - -<p>Thus, at the very hour that Mr. Ardmore and his lieutenants -rode away from the lonely anchorage of the -caboose, Professor Griswold and his cavalcade set out -for Mount Nebo Church. While the master of Ardsley -was revenging himself upon the Duke of Ballywinkle, -his dearest friend, against whom he had closed the doors -of his house, was losing no time in setting forth upon a -mission which, if successful, would seriously interfere<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[176]</span> -with all Mr. Ardmore’s hopes and plans. Ardmore’s -scarlet fever telegram no longer rankled in the breast -of the associate professor of admiralty of the University -of Virginia, for Griswold knew that no matter what -might be the outcome of his effort to uphold the dignity -of the sovereign state of South Carolina, his participation -in any such adventure would so cover his friend -with envy that he would have him for ever at his mercy. -Thomas Ardmore deserved punishment—there was no -doubt of that, and as Professor Griswold was not more -or less than a human being, he took comfort of the -reflection.</p> - -<p>The guide of the expedition pushed his mule forward -at a fast walk, making no excuses to Griswold and Habersham -for the roughness of the trails he chose, nor troubling -to give warning of sharp turns where a horse, being -less wise than a mule, tobogganed madly before finding -a foothold. Occasionally a low-hanging limb switched -the associate professor sharply across the face, but his -temper continued serene where the trail was darkest -and steepest, and he found himself ignoring Habersham’s -occasional polite questions about the university in his -effort to summon up in memory certain ways of Barbara -Osborne which baffled him. He deplored the time he -had given to the study of a stupid profession like the -law, when, if he had applied himself with equal diligence -to poetry, he might have made for himself a place at -least as high in belles-lettres. In his college days he -had sometimes thrummed a guitar, and there was a -little song in his heart, half formed, and with only a line -or two as yet tangible, which he felt sure he could write -down on paper if it were not that the bugles summoned -him to war; it was a song of a white rose which a lover -wore in his heart, through winter and summer, and it -never changed, and the flight of the seasons had no -manner of effect on it.</p> - -<p>“Check up, cain’t you?” snarled the man on the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[177]</span> -mule, laying hold of Griswold’s rein; and thus halted, -Griswold found that they had been circling round a curiously -symmetrical, thickly wooded hill, and had finally -come to a clearing whence they were able to gaze far -off toward the north.</p> - -<p>“We are almost out of bounds,” said Habersham, -pointing. “Over there somewhere, across the hills, lies -North Carolina. I am as thoroughly lost as you can -possibly be; but these men know where they are.—How -far is it, Billy”—he addressed the silent guide—“to -Mount Nebo?”</p> - -<p>“About four mile, and I reckon we’d better let out a -leetle now, or they’ll sing the doxology before we git -thar.”</p> - -<p>“What’s that light away off there?” asked Habersham.</p> - -<p>The guide paused to examine it, and the faint glow -far down the vale seemed to perplex him. He spoke to -one or two other natives, and they viewed the light -ruminatively, as is their way.</p> - -<p>“Thet must be on Ardmore’s land,” said the leader -finally. “It shoots out all sorts o’ ways round hyeh, and -I reckon thet’s about wheh Raccoon Creek cuts through.”</p> - -<p>“That’s very likely,” said Habersham. “I’ve seen -the plat of what Ardmore owns on this side the border -at the court house, and I remember that there’s a long -strip in Mingo County that is Ardsley land. Ardmore -has houses of one kind and another scattered all over the -estate, and those lights may be from one of them. You -know the place, don’t you?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; I’ve visited there,” admitted Griswold. “But -we’d better give it a wide berth. The whole estate is -simply infested with scarlet fever. They’re quarantined.”</p> - -<p>“I guess that’s a joke,” said Habersham. “There’s -a big party on there now, and I have seen some of the -guests in Turner’s within a day or two.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[178]</span>“Within how many days?” demanded Griswold, his -heart sinking at the thought that Ardmore had lied to -him to keep him away from Ardsley—from Ardmore’s -house! The thought of it really hurt him now. Could -it be possible that Ardmore had guests so distinguished -that he, Griswold, was not worthy to make their acquaintance! -He experienced a real pang as he thought that -here he was, within a short ride of the home of his -dearest friend, the man whom most he loved of all men, -and that he had been denied the door of that friend’s house.</p> - -<p>“Come on!” called Habersham.</p> - -<p>Half the company rode ahead to gain the farther side -of the church; the remainder, including Griswold and -Habersham, soon dismounted and tied their horses out -of sight of the country road which they had latterly -been following.</p> - -<p>“We are in plenty of time,” said Habersham, looking -at his watch. “The rest of the boys are closing in from -the other side, and they will be ready for Appleweight -when he finishes his devotions. We’ve been studying -the old man’s habits, and he has a particular place where -he ties his horse back of the church. It’s a little apart -from the fence where most of the congregation hitch, -and he chose it, no doubt, because in case of a surprise -he would have plenty of room for manoeuvring. Two -men are going to lay for him, seize and gag him, and -carry him into the wood back of the church; and then -we’re off across the state line to lock him up in jail at -Kildare and give Governor Dangerfield the shock of his -life.”</p> - -<p>“It sounds simple enough; but it won’t be long -before Appleweight’s friends miss him. You must remember -that they are a shrewd lot.”</p> - -<p>“We’ve got to take our chances. Let’s hope we are -as shrewd as they are,” replied Habersham.</p> - -<p>They moved softly through the wood, and presently -the faint sound of singing reached them.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[179]</span>“Old Rabdick has finished his sermon, and we’ll know -the worst in a few minutes.”</p> - -<p>One of the party had already detached himself and -crept forward toward the church, to meet his appointed -comrade in the enterprise, who was to come in from the -other side.</p> - -<p>The clapboard church presented in the moonlight the -austerest outlines, and as the men waited, a rude though -unseen hand was slamming the wooden shutters that -protected the windows from impious violence.</p> - -<p>“We could do with less moon,” muttered Habersham, -as he and Griswold peered through the trees into the -churchyard.</p> - -<p>“There goes Bill Appleweight now,” whispered one of -the natives at his elbow, and Griswold felt his heart-beats -quicken as he watched a tall figure silhouetted -against the church and moving swiftly toward the rear -of the building. At the front of the church voices -sounded, as the departing worshippers rode or drove -slowly away.</p> - -<p>Habersham laid his hand suddenly on Griswold’s arm.</p> - -<p>“They’ve got him! They’ve nailed him! See! -There! They’re yanking him back into the timber. -They’ve taken him and his horse!”</p> - -<p>Griswold saw nothing but a momentary confusion of -shadows, then perfect silence hung over the woods behind -the little church. The congregation was slowly -dispersing, riding away in little groups. Suddenly a -voice called out in the road a hundred yards beyond the -church:</p> - -<p>“Hey there! Where’s Bill?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, he’s gone long ago!” yelled another.</p> - -<p>In a moment more the church door slammed and a -last figure rode rapidly away.</p> - -<p>“Now we’ll see what’s happened,” said Habersham. -“It looks almost too easy.”</p> - -<p>The members of Griswold’s party who had been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[180]</span> -thrown round to the farther side of the church began to -appear, one at a time. There was no nervousness among -any of the band—a fact that impressed Griswold. They -were all risking much in this enterprise, but they were -outwardly unperturbed, and chewing their tobacco -silently while they awaited the return of the two active -agents in the conspiracy who had dealt directly with -Appleweight. Habersham counted heads, and announced -all present or accounted for.</p> - -<p>The tall leader who had ridden the mule was the first -to rise out of the underbrush, through which he had -crawled circuitously from the rear of the church. His -companion followed a few seconds later.</p> - -<p>“We’ve got Bill, all tied and gagged and a-settin’ of -his hoss,” drawled the leader, “and the hoss is tied to -the back fence. Rest o’ his boys thought he’d gone -ahead, but they may miss him and come back. He’s -safe enough, and ef we keep away from him we’ll be -ready to light out ef the gang scents trouble and comes -back to look fer Bill.”</p> - -<p>“You’re sure he’s tied up so he can’t break away or -yell?”</p> - -<p>“He’s as good as dead, a-settin’ of his hoss in the -thicket back theh.”</p> - -<p>“And now,” said Habersham, “what we’ve got to do -is to make a run for it and land him across the border, -and stick him into a North Carolina jail, where he rightfully -belongs. The question is, can we do it all in one -night, or had we better lock him up somewhere on this -side the line and take another night for it? The sheriff -over there in Kildare is Appleweight’s cousin, but we’ll -lock him up with Bill, to make a family party of it.”</p> - -<p>“We’d better not try too much to-night,” counselled -Griswold. “It’s a big thing to have the man himself. -If it were not for the matter of putting Governor Dangerfield -in a hole, I’d favour hurrying with Appleweight to -Columbia, just for the moral effect of it on the people<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[181]</span> -of South Carolina. We’d make a big killing for the -administration that way, Habersham.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, you’d make a killing all right, but you’d have -Bill Appleweight on your hands, which Governor Osborne -has not until lately been anxious for,” replied -Habersham, in a low tone that was heard by no one -but his old preceptor.</p> - -<p>“You’d better get over the idea that we’re afraid of -this outlaw,” rejoined Griswold. “The governor of -North Carolina dare not call his soul his own where -these hill people are concerned; but the governor of -South Carolina is a different sort.”</p> - -<p>“The governor of North Carolina is filling the newspapers -with his own virtuous intentions in the matter,” -remarked Habersham, “but his sudden zeal puts one -upon inquiry.”</p> - -<p>“I hope you don’t imply that the motives of the governor -of South Carolina are not the worthiest?” demanded -Griswold hotly.</p> - -<p>“Most certainly not!” returned the prosecuting attorney; -but a smile flitted across his face—a smile which, -in the darkness, Griswold did not see. “The two governors -are very different men—wholly antipodal characters, -in fact,” and again Habersham smiled to himself.</p> - -<p>While they thus stood on South Carolina soil, waiting -for the safe and complete dispersion of the Mount Nebo -congregation before seizing the captive they had gagged -and tied at the rear of the little church, the fates were -ordering a very different termination of the night’s business.</p> - -<p>Miss Jerry Dangerfield, galloping away from the Duke -of Ballywinkle, with no thought but to widen the distance -between them, turned off at the first cross-road, -which began well enough, but degenerated rapidly into -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 where labourers had lately been cutting<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[182]</span> -timber, and she found, on turning to make her way -out, that she was quite lost, for three trails, all seemingly -alike, struck off into the forest. She spoke aloud -to the horse to reassure herself, and smiled as she viewed -the grim phalanx of stumps. She must, however, find -her way back to Ardsley, for there were times when -Jerry Dangerfield could be very serious with herself, -though it rarely pleased her to be serious with other -people; and she knew that the time had long passed -for her return to the house. If her conspiracy with -Thomas Ardmore had proved successful, the duke would -not return to the great house; but her own prolonged -absence was something that had not been in her programme.</p> - -<p>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 conduct in -the moon-blanched road. It was not Jerry’s way to -accept misfortune tamely, and after circling the wall of -timber that shut her in, in the hope of determining -where she had entered, she chose a trail at random and -plunged into the woods. She assumed that probably all -the roads and paths on the estate led more or less directly, -to the great house or to some lodge or bungalow. She -had lost her riding-crop in her mad flight, and she broke -off a switch, tossing its leaves into the moonlight and -laughing softly as they rained about her.</p> - -<p>Jerry began whistling gently to herself, for she had -never been lost before, 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 -brook that was silver to eye and ear, and let her horse -stand midway of it for joy in the sight and sound. She -had kept no account of time, but rather imagined that -it had not been more than half an hour since the Duke -of Ballywinkle left her so unceremoniously.</p> - -<p>Suddenly ahead of her through the woods floated the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[183]</span> -sound of singing—one of those strange, wavering <i>pieux -cantiques</i> peculiar to the South. She rode on, thinking -to find help and a guide back to Ardsley; then the -music ceased, and lights now flashed faintly before her, -but she went forward guardedly.</p> - -<p>“I’m much more lost than I thought I was, for I -must be away off the estate,” she reflected. She turned -and rode back a few rods and dismounted, and tied her -horse to a sapling. She was disappointed at not finding -a camp of Ardmore’s woodcutters, to whom she could -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 the singing she had heard floated from the windows -of Mount Nebo Church.</p> - -<p>She became now the astonished witness of a series of -incidents that occurred so swiftly as fairly to take her -breath away. A tall, loosely articulated man came from -the direction of the church and walked toward her. She -knelt at the tree and watched, the moonlight giving her -a clear view of a rustic somewhat past middle age, whose -chief characteristic seemed to be a grizzled beard and -long arms that swung oddly at his side. The brim of -his wool hat was turned up sharply from his forehead, -and she had a glimpse of the small, keen gray eyes with -which he swept the forest before him. He freed a horse -which she had not before noticed, and she concluded -that he would not approach nearer, for she expected -him to mount and ride away to join others of the congregation -whom she heard making off in a road beyond -the 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, 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.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[184]</span> -She had a better 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 he presented a -grotesque appearance. Jerry was so absorbed that she -forgot to be afraid; never in her life had she witnessed -anything so amazing as this; and now, to her more -complete bewilderment, the captors, after carefully inspecting -their work and finding it satisfactory, seemed -to disappear utterly from the face of the earth.</p> - -<p>In the woods to her left she thought she heard a horse -neigh; then she saw shadows moving in that direction; -and again, from the road, she heard 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 -friends unless they came and helped him out of his -predicament.</p> - -<p>It may help to an understanding of Miss Jerry Dangerfield’s -character if it is recorded here that never in her -short life had she failed to respond to the call of impulse. -She was lost in the woods, and strange men -lurked about; a man had been attacked, seized, and -left sitting in a state of absurd helplessness on a horse -presumably his own, and there was no guessing what -dire penalty his captors had in store for him. He certainly -looked deliciously funny as he sat there in the -shadows, vigorously twisting his arms and head in an -effort to free himself.</p> - -<p>Quiet reigned in the neighbourhood of the church; the -lights had blinked out; the bang of the closing shutters -reassured Jerry, and she crept on her knees toward the -unconscious captive, loosed his horse’s rein, and led it -rapidly toward her own horse, a little farther back in -the woods. Her blindfolded prisoner, thinking his -original captors were carrying him off, renewed his -efforts to free himself. He tested the ropes and straps -with which he was fastened by throwing himself first -to one side, then to the other, as far as his gyves<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[185]</span> -would permit, at the same time frothily chewing his -gag.</p> - -<p>Jerry gained her own saddle in the least bit of a panic, -and when she had mounted and made sure of the leading-strap -with which her prisoner’s 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 listen, and heard through the still night first one cry -and then many voices in various keys of alarm and rage. -Then she bent toward the prisoner, tore the bandage -from his eyes, and with more difficulty freed him of the -gag. He blinked and spluttered at this unexpected deliverance, -then blinked and spluttered afresh at seeing -that his captor was a young woman, who was plainly -not of his world. Jerry watched him wonderingly, then -addressed him in her most agreeable tone.</p> - -<p>“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 with me, thinking -to save your life. I want to get home as quickly as -possible, and though I do not know you, and am quite -sure we never met before, I hope you will kindly guide -me to Ardsley, and thereby render me a service I shall -always deeply appreciate.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Bill Appleweight, <i>alias</i> Poteet, was well hardened -to the shocks of time, but this pleasant-voiced 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 -Jerry’s manner of speech had baffled more sophisticated -minds than Appleweight’s, and the sweet sincerity of -her tone, and her frank countenance, hallowed as it -was by the moonlight, wrought in the outlaw’s mind -a befuddlement not wholly unlike that which had -possessed the wits of many young gallants south of -the Potomac who had laid siege to Jerry Dangerfield’s -heart. But the cries behind them were more pronounced,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[186]</span> -and Appleweight was nothing if not a man of -action.</p> - -<p>“Take these things off’n me,” he commanded fiercely, -“and I’ll see y’ safe to Ardsley.”</p> - -<p>“Not in the least,” replied Jerry, who was herself not -unmindful of the voices behind. “You will kindly tell -me the way, and I will accommodate my pace to that -of your own somewhat ill-nourished beast. And as -there’s a mob looking for you back there, all ready to -hang you to one of these noble forest trees, I advise you -to use more haste and less caution in pointing the way.”</p> - -<p>Appleweight lifted his head and took his bearings. -Then he nodded toward one of the three trails which -had so baffled Jerry when first she broke into the clearing.</p> - -<p>“Thet’s the nighest,” said Appleweight, “and we’d -better git.”</p> - -<p>She set the pace at a trot, and was relieved in a few -minutes to pass one or two landmarks which she remembered -from her flight through the woods. As they -splashed through the brook she had forded, she was quite -confident that the captive was playing her no trick, but -that in due course she should strike the highroad to -Ardsley which she had abandoned to throw off the Duke -of Ballywinkle.</p> - -<p>It was now ten o’clock, 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. They -presented a droll picture as they moved through the -forest—the girl, riding cross-saddle, with the stolen -captive trailing after. Occasionally Mr. Appleweight -seemed to be talking to himself, but whether he was -praying or swearing Jerry did not trouble herself to -decide. It was enough for her that she had found a -guide out of the wilderness by stealing a prisoner from -his enemies, and this was amusing, and sent bubbling<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[187]</span> -in her heart those quiet springs of mirth that accounted -for so much in Jerry Dangerfield.</p> - -<p>As they walked their horses through a bit of sand the -prisoner spoke:</p> - -<p>“Who air y’u, little gal?”</p> - -<p>Jerry turned in the saddle, so that Appleweight enjoyed -a full view of her face.</p> - -<p>“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 intended to do you harm.”</p> - -<p>“I reckon they air skeered to foller us, gal. They air -afeard to tackle th’ ole man, onless they jump in two t’ -one; and they cain’t tell who helped me git away.”</p> - -<p>He laughed—a curious, chuckling laugh. He had -ceased to struggle at his bonds, but seemed resigned to -his strange fate. He had not answered Jerry’s question, -and had no intention of doing so. The sudden attack at -the church had aroused all his cunning. Appleweight, -<i>alias</i> Poteet, was an old wolf, and knew well the ways of -the trapper; but the bold attempt to kidnap him was a -new feature of the game as heretofore played along the -border. He did not make it out; nor was he wholly -satisfied with the girl’s explanation of her own presence -in that out-of-the-way place. She might be a guest at -Ardsley, as she pretended, but women-folk were rarely -seen on the estate, and never in such remote corners of -it as Mount Nebo Church. As he pondered the matter, -it seemed incredible that this remarkable young person, -whose innocence was so beguiling, should be in any way -leagued with his foes.</p> - -<p>He had several times called out directions as they -crossed other paths in the forest, and they now reached -the main trunk road of the estate. The red bungalow, -Jerry knew, was not far away. Her prisoner spoke -again.</p> - -<p>“Little gal, I’m an ole man, and I hain’t never done<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[188]</span> -y’u no harm. Your haouse 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——” and -he grinned as he viewed his bonds in the fuller light of -the open road.</p> - -<p>Then hoof-beats thumped the soft earth of another of -the trails that converged at this point, and Ardmore and -Collins flashed out upon Jerry and her captive, amid -a wild panic of horses.</p> - -<p>Appleweight twisted and turned in his saddle, but -Jerry instantly held up her hand and arrested the inquiries -of her deliverers.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Ardmore, this gentleman was most rudely set -upon by two strangers as he was leaving a church over -there somewhere in the woods. I was lost, and as his -appearance at the time and place seemed almost providential, -I begged him to guide me toward home, which -he has most courteously done;” and Jerry, to give the -proper touch to her explanation, twitched the strap by -which she held her prisoner’s horse, so that it danced, -adding a fresh absurdity to the wobbling figure of its -bound rider.</p> - -<p>“You are safe!” cried Ardmore in a low tone, to -which Jerry nodded carelessly, in a way that directed -attention to the more immediate business at hand. He -was not at once sure of his cue, but there seemed to be -something familiar in the outlines of the man on horseback, -and full identification broke upon him now with -astounding vividness.</p> - -<p>“Jugs,” he began, addressing the prisoner smilingly, -“dear old Jugs, to think we should meet again! Since -you handed me that jug on the rear end of the train, a -few nights ago, life has had new meanings for me, and -I’m just as sorry as can be that I gave you the buttermilk. -I wouldn’t have done such a thing for billions -in real money. And now that you have fallen into the -excellent hands of Miss Dangerfield——”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[189]</span>“Dangerfield!” screamed the prisoner, lifting himself -as high in the saddle as his bonds would permit.</p> - -<p>“Certainly,” replied Ardmore. “Your rescuer is none -other than Miss Geraldine Dangerfield.”</p> - -<p>“Why, gal,” began the outlaw, “ef your pa’s the -guv’nor of No’th Caroline, him an’ me’s old frien’s.”</p> - -<p>“Then will you kindly tell me your name?” asked -Jerry.</p> - -<p>“Allow me to complete the introductions,” interrupted -Collins, who had hung back in silence. “Unless -my eyes deceive me, which is wholly improbable, this is -a gentleman whom I once interviewed in the county jail -at Raleigh, and he was known at that time as William -Appleweight, <i>alias</i> Poteet.”</p> - -<p>“You air right,” admitted the prisoner without hesitation; -and then, addressing Jerry: “Yer pa would -be glad to know his dorter had helped an ole frien’ like -me, gal. Ye may hev heard him speak o’ me.”</p> - -<p>“But how about that message in the cork of the jug -you put on the train at Kildare?” demanded Ardmore. -“And why did you send your brother to try to scare -me to death at Raleigh?”</p> - -<p>“That is not the slightest importance,” interrupted -Jerry, gently playing with the tether which held Mr. -Appleweight; “nor does it matter that papa and this -gentleman are friends. If this is, indeed, the famous -outlaw, Mr. William Appleweight, then, papa or no -papa, friend or no friend, he is a prisoner of the state -of North Carolina.”</p> - -<p>“Pris’ner!” bawled Appleweight—“an’ you the guv’nor’s -gal——”</p> - -<p>“You have hit the situation exactly, Mr. Appleweight; -and as far as the office of governor is concerned, it is -capably filled by the young gentleman on your left, Mr. -Thomas Ardmore. Let us now adjourn to his house, -where, if I am not mistaken, a bit of cold fowl is usually -to be found on the sideboard at this hour. But hold”—and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[190]</span> -Jerry checked her horse—“where can we lodge this -gentleman, Mr. Ardmore, until we decide upon his -further fate?”</p> - -<p>“We might put him in the wine cellar,” suggested -Ardmore.</p> - -<p>“No,” interposed Collins. “I fancy that much of your -fluid stock has paid revenue tax, and most of it has -passed none too lightly through the custom-house. It -would be unwarrantably cruel to lock Mr. Appleweight -in such quarters, with the visible marks of taxation all -around him. Still, the sight of the stamps would probably -destroy his thirst, though his rugged independence -might so far assert itself that he would smash a few of -your most expensive importations out of sheer deviltry.”</p> - -<p>“He shall be treated with the greatest consideration,” -said Jerry; and thereafter, no further adventure befalling -them, they reached Ardsley, where their arrival -occasioned the greatest excitement.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[191]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XIV.<br /> - - -<small>A MEETING OF OLD FRIENDS.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Habersham’s</span> men had proved exceedingly timid when -it came to the business of threshing the woods for Appleweight, -whom they regarded with a new awe, now that -he had vanished so mysteriously. They had searched -the woods guardedly, but the narrow paths that led -away into the dim fastnesses of Ardsley were forbidding, -and these men were not without their superstitions. -They had awaited for years an opportunity to strike at -the Appleweight faction; they had at last taken their -shot, and had seemingly brought down their bird; but -their lack of spirit in retrieving the game had been -their undoing. They had only aroused their most formidable -enemy, who would undoubtedly lose no time -in seeking revenge. They were a dolorous band who, -after warily beating the woods, dispersed in the small -hours of the morning, having found nothing but Appleweight’s -wool hat, which only added to their mystification.</p> - -<p>“We ought to have taken him away on the run,” said -Habersham bitterly, as he and Griswold discussed the -matter on the veranda of the prosecutor’s house and -watched the coming of the dawn. “I didn’t realize that -those fellows lived in such mortal terror of the old man; -but they refused to make off with him until the last of -his friends had got well out of the way. I ought to -have had more sense myself than to have expected the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[192]</span> -old fox to sit tied up like a calf ready for market. We -had all his friends accounted for—those that weren’t at -prayer meeting were marked down somewhere else, and -we had a line flung pretty well round the church. Appleweight’s -deliverance must have come from somewhere -inside the Ardmore property. Perhaps the game warden -picked him up.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps the Indians captured him,” suggested Griswold, -yawning, “or maybe some Martian came down on -a parachute and hauled him up. Or, as scarlet fever is -raging at Mr. Ardmore’s castle”—and his tone was icy—“Appleweight -was probably seized all of a sudden, -and broke away in his delirium. Let’s go to bed.”</p> - -<p>At eight o’clock he and Habersham rode into Turner -Court House, and Griswold went at once to the inn to -change his clothes. No further steps could be taken until -some definite report was received as to Appleweight’s -whereabouts. The men who had attempted the outlaw’s -capture had returned to their farms, and were -most demurely cultivating the soil. Griswold was thoroughly -disgusted at the ridiculous failure of Habersham’s -plans, and not less severe upon himself for failing -to push matters to a conclusion the moment the -outlaw was caught, instead of hanging back to await the -safe dispersion of the Mount Nebo congregation.</p> - -<p>It had been the most puerile transaction possible, and -he was aware that a report of it, which he must wire at -once to Miss Barbara Osborne, would not impress that -young woman with his capacity or trustworthiness in -difficult occasions. The iron that had already entered -into his soul drove deeper. He had ordered a fresh -horse, and was resolved to return to Mount Nebo Church -for a personal study of the ground in broad daylight.</p> - -<p>As he crossed the musty parlour of the little hotel, to -his great astonishment Miss Osborne’s black Phœbe, -stationed where her eyes ranged the whole lower floor<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[193]</span> -of the inn, drew attention to herself in an elaborate -courtesy.</p> - -<p>“Miss Barb’ra wish me t’ say she done come heah on -business, and she like fo’ to see yo’ all right away. She -done bring huh seddle, and war a-gwine ridin’ twell you -come back. She’s a-gittin’ ready, and I’ll go tell huh -you done come. She got a heap o’ trubble, thet young -missis, so she hev,” and the black woman’s pursed lips -seemed to imply that Professor Griswold was in some -measure responsible for Miss Osborne’s difficulties.</p> - -<p>As he stared out into the street a negro brought a -horse bearing a better saddle than Mingo County had -ever boasted, and hitched it near the horse he had -secured for himself. An instant later he heard a quick -step above, and Miss Osborne, sedately followed by the -black woman, came downstairs. She smiled and greeted -him cordially, but there was trouble in her brown -eyes.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t warn you of my coming. I didn’t want to -be a nuisance to you; but there’s a new—a most unaccountable -perplexity. It doesn’t seem right to burden -you with it—you have already been so kind about helping -me; but I dare not turn to our oldest friends—I -have been afraid to trust father’s friends at all since -Mr. Bosworth acted so traitorously.”</p> - -<p>“My time is entirely at your service, Miss Osborne; -but I have a shameful report to make of myself. I must -tell you how miserably I have failed, before you trust -me any further. We—that is to say, the prosecuting -attorney of this county and a party he got together of -Appleweight’s enemies—caught the outlaw last night—took -him with the greatest ease—but he got away from -us! It was all my fault, and I’m deeply disgusted with -myself!”</p> - -<p>He described the capture and the subsequent mysterious -disappearance of Appleweight, and confessed the -obvious necessity for great caution in further attempts<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[194]</span> -to take the outlaw, now that he was on guard. Barbara -laughed reassuringly at the end of the story.</p> - -<p>“Those men must have felt funny when they went -back to get the prisoner and found that he had gone up -into the air. But there’s a new feature of the case -that’s more serious than the loss of this man——” and -the trouble again possessed her eyes.</p> - -<p>“Well, it’s better not to have our problems too simple. -Any lawyer can win an easy case—though I seem to have -lost my first one for you,” he added penitently.</p> - -<p>She made no reply, but drew from her purse a cutting -from a newspaper and handed it to him.</p> - -<p>“That’s from last night’s Columbia <i>Vidette</i>, which is -very hostile to my father.”</p> - -<p>He was already running over the heavily leaded column -that set forth without equivocation the fact that Governor -Osborne had not been in Columbia since he went to -New Orleans. It scouted the story that he was abroad -in the state on official business connected with the -Appleweight case—the yam which Griswold had forced -upon the friendly reporter at the telegraph office in -Columbia. The governor of a state, the <i>Vidette</i> went on -to elaborate, could not vanish without leaving some -trace of himself, and a <i>Vidette</i> representative had traced -the steps of Governor Osborne from New Orleans until—the -italics are the <i>Vidette’s</i>—he had again entered -South Carolina <i>under cover of night and for purposes -which, for the honour of the state, the Vidette hesitated -to disclose</i>.</p> - -<p>The writer of the article had exhausted the possibilities -of gentle suggestion and vague innuendo in an effort -to create an impression of mystery and to pique curiosity -as to further developments, which were promised at any -hour. Griswold’s wrath was aroused, not so much -against the newspaper, which he assumed had some fire -for its smothered trifle of smoke, but against the governor -of South Carolina himself, who was causing the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[195]</span> -finest and noblest girl in the world infinite anxiety and -pain.</p> - -<p>“The thing is preposterous,” he said lightly. “The -idea that your father would attempt to enter his own -state surreptitiously is inconceivable in these days when -public men are denied all privacy, and when it’s any -man’s right to deceive the press if he finds it essential -to his own comfort and peace; but the intimation that -your father is in South Carolina for any dishonourable -purpose is preposterous. One thing, however, is certain, -Miss Osborne, and that is that we must produce your -father at the earliest possible moment.”</p> - -<p>“But”—and Barbara hesitated, and her eyes, near -tears as they were, wrought great havoc in Griswold’s -soul—“but father must not be found until this Appleweight -matter is settled. You understand without -making me speak the words—that he might not exactly -view the matter as we do.”</p> - -<p>It was a painful subject; and the fact that she was -driven by sheer force of circumstances to appeal to him, -a stranger, to aid her to perform a public service in her -father’s name rallied all his good impulses to her standard. -It was too delicate a matter for discussion; it -was a thing to be ignored; and he assumed at once a -lighter tone.</p> - -<p>“Come! We must solve the riddle of the lost prisoner -at once, and your father will undoubtedly give an excellent -account of himself when he gets ready. Meanwhile -the fiction that he is personally carrying the war -into the Appleweight country must be maintained, and -I shall step to the railway station and wire the Columbia -newspaper in his name that he is in Mingo County on -the trail of the outlaws.”</p> - -<p>The messages were composed by their joint efforts at -the station, with not so much haste but that an associate -professor of admiralty, twenty-nine years old, could defer -in the most trifling matters to the superior literary taste<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[196]</span> -of a girl of twenty whose brown eyes were very pleasant -to meet in moments of uncertainty and appeal.</p> - -<p>He signed the messages Charles Osborne, Governor, -with a flourish indicative of the increased confidence -and daring which Miss Osborne’s arrival had brought to -the situation.</p> - -<p>“And now,” said Griswold, as they rode through the -meagre streets of Turner’s, “we will go to Mount Nebo -Church and see what we can learn of Appleweight’s -disappearance.”</p> - -<p>“The North Carolina papers are making a great deal -of Governor Dangerfield’s activity in trying to put down -outlawry on the border,” said Barbara. “Marked copies -of the newspapers are pouring into papa’s office. I can -but hold Mr. Bosworth responsible for that. We may -count upon it that he will do all in his power to annoy -us”—and then, as Griswold looked at her quickly, he -was aware that she had coloured and averted her eyes; -and while, as a lawyer, he was aware that words of two -letters might be provocative of endless litigation of the -bitterest sort, he had never known before that us, in -itself the homeliest of words, could cause so sweet a -distress. It seemed that an interval of several years -passed before either spoke again.</p> - -<p>“We are quite near the estate of your friend, Mr. -Ardmore, aren’t we?” asked Barbara presently.</p> - -<p>“I fancy we are,” replied Griswold, but with a tone -so coldly at variance with his previous cordial references -to the master of Ardsley that Barbara looked at him -inquiringly.</p> - -<p>“I’m sorry that I should have given you the impression, -Miss Osborne, that Mr. Ardmore and I are friends, -as I undoubtedly did at Columbia. He has, for some -unaccountable reason, cut my acquaintance in a manner -so unlike him that I do not pretend to explain it; nor, -I may add, is it of the least importance.”</p> - -<p>“I was a little surprised,” returned Barbara, with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[197]</span> -truly feminine instinct for mingling in the balm of consolation -the bitterest and most poisonous herbs, “that -you should have had for a friend a man who frankly -follows girls whose appearance he fancies. Even Mr. -Ardmore’s democratic enthusiasm for the downtrodden -laundry girl does not wholly mitigate the winking -episode.”</p> - -<p>“He had, only a few days ago, invited me to visit -him, though I had been to his house so often that the -obscurest servant knew that I was privileged even beyond -the members of Mr. Ardmore’s own family in my -freedom of the place. When I saw that his house would -be a convenient point from which to study the Appleweight -situation, I wired him that I was on the way, -and to my utter amazement he replied that he could -not entertain me—that scarlet fever was epidemic on -the estate—on those almost uncounted acres!”</p> - -<p>And with a gulp and a mist in his eyes, Griswold -drew rein and pointed, from a hill that had now borne -them to a considerable height, toward Ardsley itself, -dreamily basking in the bright morning sunlight within -its cinture of hills, meadows, and forest.</p> - -<p>“I never saw the place before! It’s perfectly splendid!” -cried Barbara, forgetting that Griswold must be -gazing upon it with the eyes of an exile viewing grim, -forbidding battlements that once hailed him in welcome.</p> - -<p>“It’s one of the most interesting houses in America,” -observed Griswold, who strove at all times to be just.</p> - -<p>“There’s a flag flying—I can’t make out what it is,” -said Barbara.</p> - -<p>“It’s probably to give warning of the scarlet fever; -it would be like Ardy to do that. But we must hurry -on to Mount Nebo.”</p> - -<p>He knew the ways of Ardsley thoroughly; better, in -fact, than its owner ever had in old times; but in his -anger at Ardmore he would not set foot on the estate -if he could possibly avoid doing so in reaching the scene<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[198]</span> -of the night’s contretemps. He found without difficulty -the trail taken by Habersham’s men, and in due course -of time they left their horses a short distance from the -church and proceeded on foot.</p> - -<p>“It seems all the stupider in broad daylight,” said -Griswold, after he had explained just what had occurred, -and how the captors, in their superstitious awe of Appleweight, -had been afraid to carry him off the moment -they were sure of him, but had slipped back among their -fellows to wait until the coast was perfectly clear. To -ease his deep chagrin Barbara laughed a good deal at -the occurrence as they tramped over the scene discussing -it. They went into the woods back of the church, -where Griswold began to exercise his reasoning powers.</p> - -<p>“Some one must have come in from this direction -and freed the man and taken him away,” he declared.</p> - -<p>He knelt and marked the hoof-prints where Appleweight -had been left tied; but the grass here was much -trampled, and Griswold was misled by the fact, not -knowing that news of Appleweight’s strange disappearance -had passed among the outlaw’s friends by the -swift telegraphy of the border, and that the whole neighbourhood -had been threshed over hours before. It -might have been some small consolation to Griswold -had he known that Appleweight’s friends and accomplices -were as much at a loss to know what had become -of the chieftain as the men who had tried so ineffectually -to kidnap him. From the appearance of the trampled -grass many men had taken a hand in releasing the -prisoner, and this impression did not clarify matters for -Griswold.</p> - -<p>“Where does this path lead?” asked Barbara.</p> - -<p>“This is Ardsley land here, this side of the church, -and that trail leads on, if I remember, to the main -Ardsley highway, with which various other roads are -connected—many miles in all. It’s inconceivable that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[199]</span> -the deliverers of this outlaw should have taken him into -the estate, where a sort of police system is maintained -by the forestry corps. I don’t at all make it out.”</p> - -<p>He went off to explore the heavy woods on each side -of the trail that led into Ardsley, but without result. -When he came gloomily back he found that in his absence -Barbara had followed the bridle-path for a considerable -distance, and she held out to him a diminutive -pocket handkerchief, which had evidently been snatched -away from its owner—so Barbara explained—by a low-hanging -branch of an oak, and flung into a blackberry -bush, where she had found it. It was a trifle, indeed, -the slightest bit of linen, which they held between them -by its four corners and gravely inspected.</p> - -<p>“Feminine, beyond a doubt,” pronounced Griswold -sagely.</p> - -<p>“It’s a good handkerchief, and here are two initials -worked in the corner that may tell us something—‘G. D.’ -It probably belongs to some guest at Ardsley. -And there’s a very faint suggestion of orris—it’s a city -handkerchief,” said Barbara with finality, “but it has -suffered a trifle in the laundry, as this edge is the least -bit out of drawing from careless ironing.”</p> - -<p>“And I should say, from a certain crispness it still -retains, that it hasn’t been in the forest long. It hasn’t -been rained on, at any rate,” added Griswold.</p> - -<p>“But even the handkerchief doesn’t tell us anything,” -said Barbara, spreading it out, “except that some woman -visitor has ridden here within a few days and played -drop the handkerchief with herself or somebody else to -us unknown.”</p> - -<p>“She may have been a scarlet fever patient from -Ardsley; you’d better have a care!” And Griswold’s -tone was bitter.</p> - -<p>“I’m not afraid; and as I have never been so near -Ardsley before, I should like to ride in and steal a -glimpse. There’s little danger of meeting the lord of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[200]</span> -the manor, I suppose, or any of his guests at this hour, -and we need not go near the house.”</p> - -<p>He saw that she was really curious, and it was not in -his heart to refuse her, so they followed the bridle-path -through the cool forest, and came in due course to the -clearing where Jerry had first confessed herself lost, and -thereafter had suffered the captured outlaw to point her -the way home.</p> - -<p>“The timber has been cut here since my last visit, but -I remember the bridle-paths very well. They all reach -the highroad of the estate ultimately. We may safely -take this one, which has been the most used, and which -climbs a hill that gives a fine outlook.”</p> - -<p>The path he chose had really been beaten into better -condition than either of the others, and they rode side -by side now. A deer feeding on a grassy slope raised its -head and stared at them, and a fox scampered wildly -before them. It seemed that they were shut in from -all the world, these two, who but a few days before had -never seen each other, and it was a relief to him to find -that she threw off her troubles and became more animated -and cheerful than he had yet seen her. His -comments on her mount, which was sorry enough, were -amusing; and she paused now and then to peer into -the tops of the tallest trees, under the pretence that -Appleweight had probably reverted to the primordial -and might be found at any minute in one of the branches -above them. Her dark-green habit, and the soft hat -to match, with its little feather thrust into the side, spoke -for real usage; and the gauntleted hand that swung -lightly at her side inadvertently brushed his own once—and -he knew that this must not happen again! When -their eyes met it was with frank confidence on her part, -and it seemed to him that they were very old friends, -and that they had been riding through this forest, or -one identical with it, since the world began. It is thus -that a man with any imagination feels first about a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[201]</span> -woman who begins to interest him—that there was -never any beginning to their acquaintance that can be -reckoned as time and experience are measured, but that -he has known her for countless years; and if there be -a poetic vein in him, he will indulge in such fancies as -that he has seen her as a priestess of Aphrodite in the -long ago, dreaming upon the temple steps; or that he -has watched her skipping pebbles upon the violet storied -sea against a hazy background of cities long crumbled -into dust. Such fancies as these are a part of love’s -gentle madness, and luckier than she knows is the girl -who awakens in a lover this eager idealization. If he -can turn a verse for her in which she is added to the -sacred Nine, personifying all sweet, gentle, and gracious -things, so much the better.</p> - -<p>Just what he, on the other hand, may mean to her; -just what form of deification he evokes in her, he can -never know; for the women who write of such matters -have never been those who are sincere or worth heeding, -and they never will be, so long as woman’s heart remains -what it has been from the beginning—far-hidden, and -filled with incommunicable secret beliefs and longings, -and tremulous with fears that are beyond man’s power -to understand.</p> - -<p>Griswold had missed the white rose that he had begun -to associate with Barbara, and he grew suddenly daring -and spoke of it.</p> - -<p>“You haven’t your rose to-day.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’m beyond the source of supply! I have a -young friend, a girl, who makes her living as a florist—not -a purely commercial enterprise, for she experiments -and develops new varieties, and is quite wonderful; and -that white rose is her own creation—it is becoming well -known. She named it for me, and she sends me at least -one every day—she says it’s my royalty—if that’s what -you lawyers call that sort of thing.”</p> - -<p>“We lawyers rarely have anything so interesting as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">[202]</span> -that to apply the word to! So that rose is the Barbara?” -and it gave him a feeling of recklessness to find -himself speaking her name aloud. “There are large -conservatories on the estate, over there somewhere; I -might risk the scarlet fever by attacking the gardener -and demanding a Barbara for you.”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid my little flower hasn’t attained to the -grandeur of Ardsley,” she laughed. “But pray, where -are we?”</p> - -<p>They had reached the highroad much sooner than -Griswold had expected, and he checked his horse -abruptly, remembering that he was <i>persona non grata</i> -on this soil.</p> - -<p>“We must go back; I mustn’t be seen here. The -workmen are scattered all about the place, and they all -know me.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, just a little farther! I want to see the towers -of the castle!”</p> - -<p>If she had asked him to jump into the sea he would -not have hesitated; and he was so happy at being with -her that his heart sang defiance to Ardmore and the -splendours of Ardsley.</p> - -<p>They were riding now toward the red bungalow, -where he had often sprawled on the broad benches and -chaffed with Ardmore for hours at a time. Tea was -served here sometimes when there were guests at the -house; and Griswold wondered just who were included -in the party that his quondam friend was entertaining, -and how Mrs. Atchison was progressing in her efforts -to effect a match between Daisy Waters and her -brother.</p> - -<p>The drives were nearly all open to the public, so that -by the letter of the law he was no intruder; but beyond -the bungalow he must not go. Sobered by the thought -of his breach with Ardmore, he resolved not to pass the -bungalow whose red roof was now in sight.</p> - -<p>“It’s like a fairy place, and I feel that there can be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">[203]</span> -no end to it,” Barbara was saying. “But it isn’t kind -to urge you in. We certainly are doing nothing to find -Appleweight, and it must be nearly noon.”</p> - -<p>It was just then—he vividly recalls the moment—as -Griswold felt in his waistcoat for his watch, that Miss -Jerry Dangerfield, with Thomas Ardmore at her side, -galloped into view. They were racing madly, like irresponsible -children, and bore boisterously down upon the -two pilgrims.</p> - -<p>Jerry and Ardmore, hatless and warm, were pardonably -indignant at thus being arrested in their flight, and -the master of Ardsley, feeling for once the dignity of -his proprietorship, broke out stormily.</p> - -<p>“I would have you know—I would have you know——” -he roared, and then his voice failed him. He stared; -he spluttered; he busied himself with his horse, which -was dancing in eagerness to resume the race. He quieted -the beast, which nevertheless arched and pawed like a -war-horse, and then the master of Ardsley bawled:</p> - -<p>“Grissy! I say, Grissy!”</p> - -<p>Miss Osborne and Professor Griswold, on their drooping -Mingo County nondescripts, made a tame picture -before Ardmore and his fair companion on their Ardsley -hunters. The daughter of the governor of South Carolina -looked upon the daughter of the governor of North -Carolina with high disdain, and it need hardly be said -that this feeling, as expressed by glacial glances, was -evenly reciprocal, and that in the contemptuous upward -tilt of two charming chins the nicest judgment would -have been necessary to any fair opinion as to which -state had the better argument.</p> - -<p>The associate professor of admiralty was known as a -ready debater, and he quickly returned his former -friend’s salutation, and in much the contumelious tone -he would have used in withering an adversary before a -jury.</p> - -<p>“Pardon me, but are you one of the employees here?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">[204]</span>“Why, Grissy, old man, don’t look at me like that! -How did you——”</p> - -<p>“I owe your master an apology for riding upon his -property at a time when pestilence is giving you cause -for so much concern. The death-rate from scarlet fever -is deplorably high——”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Grissy!” cried Ardmore.</p> - -<p>“You have addressed me familiarly, by a nickname -sometimes used by intimate friends, though I can’t for -the life of me recall you. I want you to know that I -am here in an official capacity, on an errand for the -state of South Carolina.”</p> - -<p>Miss Dangerfield’s chin, which had dropped a trifle, -pointed again into the blue ether.</p> - -<p>“You will pardon me,” she said, “but an agent of -the state of South Carolina is far exceeding his powers -when he intrudes upon North Carolina soil.”</p> - -<p>“The state of South Carolina does what it pleases and -goes where it likes,” declared Miss Barbara Osborne -warmly, whereupon Mr. Ardmore, at a glance from his -coadjutor, waxed righteously indignant.</p> - -<p>“It’s one thing, sir, for you to ride in here as a sightseer, -but quite another for you to come representing an -unfriendly state. You will please choose which view of -the matter I shall take, and I shall act accordingly.”</p> - -<p>Griswold’s companion spoke to him earnestly in a low -tone for a moment, and then Griswold addressed Ardmore -incisively.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what you pretend to be, sir; but it may -interest you to know that <i>I</i> am the governor of South -Carolina!”</p> - -<p>“And this gentleman,” cried Jerry, pointing to Ardmore -with her riding-crop, “though his hair is mussed -and his scarf visibly untied, is none other than the -governor of North Carolina, and he is not only on his -own property, but in the sovereign state of which he -is the chief executive.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">[205]</span>Professor Griswold lifted his hat with the least flourish.</p> - -<p>“I congratulate the state of North Carolina on having -reposed authority in hands so capable. If this young -lady is correct, sir, I will serve official notice on you -that I have reason to believe that a person named Appleweight, -a fugitive from justice, is hiding on your property -and in your state, and I now formally demand that -you surrender him forthwith.”</p> - -<p>“If I may introduce myself,” interposed Jerry, “I -will say to you that my name is Geraldine Dangerfield, -and that this Appleweight person is now at Mr. Ardmore’s -house.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose,” replied Miss Osborne with gentle irony, -“that he has the pink parlour and leads the conversation -at table.”</p> - -<p>“You are quite mistaken,” replied Ardmore; “but -if it would afford you any satisfaction to see the outlaw -you may look upon him in my wine cellar, where, only -an hour ago, I left him sitting on a case of Chateau -Bizet ’82. My further intentions touching this scoundrelly -South Carolinian I need not now disclose; but I -give you warning that the Appleweight issue will soon -and for ever be terminated, and in a manner that will -greatly redound to the credit and the glory of the Old -North State.”</p> - -<p>Professor Griswold’s hand went to his moustache with -a gesture that smote Ardmore, for he knew that it hid -that inscrutable smile that had always baffled him.</p> - -<p>“I trust,” said Griswold, “that the prisoner, whom -we cannot for a moment concede to be the real Appleweight, -will not be exposed to scarlet fever, pending a -settlement of this matter. It is my understanding that -the Bizet ’82 is a fraudulent vintage that has never -been nearer France than Paris, Illinois, and if the -prisoner in your cellar drinks of it I shall hold you -officially responsible for the consequences. And now, I -have the honour to bid you both good-morning.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">[206]</span>He and Barbara swung their horses round and retraced -their way, leaving Ardmore and Jerry gazing after -them.</p> - -<p>When the shabby beasts from the stable at Turner -Court House had borne Miss Osborne and Griswold out -of sight beyond the bungalow, Ardmore turned blankly -to Jerry.</p> - -<p>“Have I gone blind or anything? Unless I’m crazy -that was dear old Grissy, but who is that girl?”</p> - -<p>“That is Miss Barbara Osborne, and I hope she has -learned such a lesson that she will not be snippy to me -any more, if she <i>is</i> the president-general of the Daughters -of the Seminole War.”</p> - -<p>“But where do you suppose she found Grissy?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, I’m sure; nor, Mr. Ardmore, do I -care.”</p> - -<p>“He said he represented the state of South Carolina—do -you suppose the governor has really employed him?”</p> - -<p>“I do not,” said Jerry emphatically; “for he appears -intelligent, and intelligence is something that would -never appeal to Governor Osborne. It is quite possible,” -mused Jerry aloud, “that Miss Osborne’s father had disappeared -like mine, and that she is running his office -with Mr. Griswold’s aid. If so, we shall probably have -some fun before we get through with this.”</p> - -<p>“If that’s true we shall have more than fun!” exclaimed -Ardmore, thoroughly aroused. “You don’t -know Grissy. He’s the smartest man alive, and if he’s -running this Appleweight case for Governor Osborne, -he’ll keep us guessing. Why did I ever send him that -scarlet fever telegram, anyhow? He’ll fight harder than -ever for that, and all I wanted was to keep him away -until we had got all through with this business here, so -I could show him what a great man I had been, and -how I had been equal to an opportunity when it offered.”</p> - -<p>“I wish you to remember, Mr. Ardmore, that you still -have <i>your</i> opportunity, and that I expect you to carry<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">[207]</span> -this matter through to a safe conclusion and to the -honour of the Old North State.”</p> - -<p>“I have no intention of failing, Miss Dangerfield;” -and with this they turned and rode slowly back toward -the house.</p> - -<p>Professor Griswold and Miss Osborne were silent until -the forest again shut them in.</p> - -<p>Then, in a sequestered spot, Griswold suddenly threw -up his head and laughed long and loud.</p> - -<p>“It doesn’t strike me as being so amusing,” remarked -Miss Osborne. “They have Appleweight in their wine -cellar, and I don’t see for the life of me how we are -going to get him out.”</p> - -<p>“What’s funny, Miss Osborne, is Ardy—that he and -I should be pitted against each other in a thing of this -kind is too utterly ridiculous. Ardy acting as governor -of North Carolina beats anything that ever happened -on this continent. But how do you suppose he ever -met Miss Dangerfield, who certainly is a self-contained -young woman?”</p> - -<p>“The answer to that riddle is so simple,” replied Miss -Osborne, “that I am amazed that you fail to see it for -yourself. Miss Dangerfield is undoubtedly the girl with -the winking eye.”</p> - -<p>“Oh no!” protested Griswold.</p> - -<p>“I don’t hesitate to announce that as a fact. Miss -Geraldine Dangerfield, beyond any question, is the -young lady whom Mr. Ardmore, your knight-errant -friend, went forth for to seek. Just how they met we -shall perhaps learn later on. But just now it seems -rather necessary for us to adopt some plan of action, -unless you feel that you do not wish to oppose your -friend.”</p> - -<p>“Oppose him! I have got to whip him to the dust -if I shake down the very towers of his stronghold! It’s -well we have the militia on the road. With the state -army at our back we can show Tommy Ardmore a few<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">[208]</span> -things in state administration that are not dreamed of -in his philosophy.”</p> - -<p>“Do you suppose they really have Appleweight?” -asked Barbara.</p> - -<p>“Not for a minute! They told us that story merely -to annoy us when they found what we were looking for. -That touch about the wine cellar is characteristically -Ardmoresque. If they had Appleweight you may be -sure they wouldn’t keep him on the premises.”</p> - -<p>Whereupon they rode back to Turner Court House -much faster than they had come.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">[209]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XV.<br /> - - -<small>THE PRISONER IN THE CORN-CRIB.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Jerry</span> and Ardmore sat at a long table in the commodious -Ardsley library, which was a modification of a -Gothic chapel. It was on the upper floor, with broad -windows that had the effect of bringing the landscape -indoors, and the North Carolina sky is, we must concede, -a pleasant thing to have at one’s elbow. A large -accumulation of mail from the governor’s office at -Raleigh had been forwarded, and Jerry insisted that it -must be opened and disposed of in some way. Governor -Dangerfield was, it appeared, a subscriber to a clipping -bureau, and they had been examining critically a batch -of cuttings relating to the New Orleans incident. Most -of them were in a frivolous key, playfully reviving the -ancient query as to what the governor of North Carolina -really said to the governor of South Carolina. Others -sought causes for the widely-reported disappearance of -the two governors; and still other reports boldly maintained -that Governors Dangerfield and Osborne were at -their capitals engaged in the duties of their respective -offices.</p> - -<p>“It’s a good thing we got hold of Collins,” observed -Ardmore, putting down a clipping from a New York -paper in which the reports of Governor Dangerfield’s -disappearance were analyzed and tersely dismissed; -“for he knows how to write, and he’s done a splendid -picture of your father on his throne attending to business;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">[210]</span> -and his little stingers for Osborne are the work -of genius.”</p> - -<p>“There’s a certain finish about Mr. Collins’s lying -that is refreshing,” replied Jerry, “and I cannot help -thinking that he has a brilliant future before him if -he enters politics. Nothing pains me more than a careless, -ill-considered, silly lie, which is the best that most -people can do. But it would be very interesting to -know whether Governor Osborne has really disappeared, -or just how your friend the Virginia professor has seized -the reins of state. Do you suppose he got a jug from -somewhere, and met Miss Osborne and——”</p> - -<p>“Do you think—do you think—she may have—er—possibly—closed -one eye in his direction?” asked Ardmore -dubiously.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Ardmore”—and Jerry pointed at him with a -bronze paper-cutter to make sure of his attention—“Mr. -Ardmore, if you ever imply again by act, word, or -deed that I winked at you I shall never, never speak -to you again. I should think that a man with a nice -sister like Mrs. Atchison would have a better opinion -of women than you seem to have. I never saw you -until you came to my father’s house to tell me about -the jug—and you know I didn’t. And as for that Barbara -Osborne, while I don’t doubt that even in South -Carolina a Daughter of the Seminole War might wink -at a gentleman in a moment of extreme provocation, I -doubt if she did, for she lacks animation, and has no -more soul than a gum overshoe.”</p> - -<p>The obvious inconsistency of this pronouncement -caused Ardmore to frown in the stress of his thought; -and he stared helplessly along the line of the accusing -paper-cutter into Jerry’s eyes.</p> - -<p>“Oh, cheer up!” she cried in her despair of him; -“and forget it, forget it, forget it! I’ll say this to you, -Mr. Ardmore, that if I ever winked at you—and I never, -never did—I’m sorry I did it! Some time when you<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">[211]</span> -haven’t so much work on your hands as you have this -morning just think that over and let me know where -you land. And now, look at these things, please.”</p> - -<p>“What is all this stuff?” he demanded, as she tossed -him a pile of papers.</p> - -<p>“They refer to the application for pardon of a poor -man who’s going to be hanged for murder to-morrow -unless we do something for him; and he has a wife and -three little children, and he has never committed any -other crime but to break into a smoke-house and steal -a side of bacon.”</p> - -<p>“Did he shoot in self-defence, or how was it?” asked -Ardmore judicially.</p> - -<p>“He killed a painless dentist who pulled the wrong -tooth,” answered Jerry, referring to the papers.</p> - -<p>“If that’s all I don’t think we can stand for hanging -him. I read a piece against capital punishment in a -magazine once, and the arguments were very strong. -The killing of a dentist should not be a crime anyhow, -and if you know how to pardon a man, why let’s do -it; but we’d better wait until the last minute, and -then send a telegram to the sheriff to stop the proceedings -just before he pulls the string, which makes it most -impressive, and gives a better effect.”</p> - -<p>“I believe you are right about it,” said Jerry. “There’s -an old pardon right here in this bundle which we can -use. It was made out for another man who stole a -horse that afterwards died, which papa said was a mitigating -circumstance; but the week before his execution -the man escaped from jail before papa could pardon -him.”</p> - -<p>“Suppose we don’t let them hang anybody while -we’re running the state,” suggested Ardmore; “it’s -almost as though you murdered a man yourself, and I -couldn’t tie my neckties afterwards without a guilty -feeling. I can’t imagine anything more disagreeable -than to be hanged. I heard all of <i>Tristan und Isolde</i><span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">[212]</span> -once, and I have seen half an Ibsen play, and those -were hard things to bear, but I suppose hanging would -be just as painful, and there would be no supper afterwards -to cheer you up.”</p> - -<p>“You shouldn’t speak in that tone of <i>Afterwards</i>, Mr. -Ardmore,” said Jerry severely. “It isn’t religious. -And while we’re on the subject of religion, may I ask -the really, truly wherefore of Miss Daisy Waters’s sudden -return to Newport?” and Jerry’s tone and manner were -carelessly demure.</p> - -<p>“She went home,” replied Ardmore, grinning; “she -left Ardsley for two reasons, one of which she stated -at the breakfast-table and the other she handed me -privately.”</p> - -<p>“She said at the breakfast-table that she was called -home by incipient whooping-cough in the household of -her brother-in-law’s cousin’s family.”</p> - -<p>“As she has no brother-in-law, that cannot be true. -What she said to me privately was that the house party -had grown very much larger than Mrs. Atchison had -originally planned it, and that I am so busy that so -many guests must be a burden.”</p> - -<p>Jerry stroked her cheek reflectively.</p> - -<p>“I thought Miss Waters wouldn’t last long after I -asked her if rusty-nail water really would remove freckles. -My own freckles are exactly seven in number, and I am -not ashamed of them; but Miss Waters seemed very -sensitive on the subject, though I thought her freckles -useful in diverting attention from her drug-store hair.”</p> - -<p>“Did you say seven?” inquired Ardmore, gazing -eagerly into Jerry’s face. “I make it only six, and -there’s one away over there under your left eye that seems -very lonesome, as though it suffered keenly from being -so far away from its brothers and sisters on the other -side of your nose.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Ardmore”—and Jerry again indicated the person -addressed by pointing with the paper-cutter—“Mr.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">[213]</span> -Ardmore, it is downright impudent of you to talk to me -about my appearance in any terms, but when you speak -of my face as though it were a map in a geography and -of my freckles as though they were county seats, or -lakes, or strange places in China, then I must protest -with all my strength. If you don’t change the subject -immediately I shall refuse to pardon this person who -killed the painless dentist, and he shall be hanged by -the neck till he be dead; and you, Mr. Thomas Ardmore, -will be guilty of his murder.”</p> - -<p>The discussion of Miss Jerry Dangerfield’s freckles -ceased abruptly on the appearance of Big Paul, the -forester.</p> - -<p>“A body of South Carolina militia is marching across -country from the south. One of my men heard of it -down at Turner Court House last night, and rode to -where the troops were encamped. He learned that it -was a practice march for the militia. There’s several -companies of infantry, so he reports, and a piece of -artillery.”</p> - -<p>“Bully for old Grissy!” exclaimed Ardmore. “They’re -coming this way, are they, Paul?” And the three bent -over the map.</p> - -<p>“That is the place, sir. They seem to be planning to -get around Turner’s without stirring up the town. But -it would take a good deal to wake up Turner’s,” laughed -the big German.</p> - -<p>Jerry placed her finger on the state line.</p> - -<p>“If they dare cross that—if they as much as dare!”</p> - -<p>“If they dare we shall show them a few things.—Take -all the men you need, Paul, to watch their movements. -That will do.”</p> - -<p>The forester lingered.</p> - -<p>“You remember that we spoke the other day of the -log house on Raccoon Creek, where the Appleweights had -driven off our man?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Paul. It is where the state line crosses the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">[214]</span> -heavy woods and the farthest outpost, so to speak, on -my property. When you cross the little creek, you’re -in South Carolina. You said some of these Appleweight -fellows had been cutting off the timber down there, if -I remember rightly.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” replied the forester, twirling his cap -awkwardly. “But some of the people on the estate -have said——”</p> - -<p>He broke off in an embarrassment so unlike him that -Jerry and Ardmore looked at him curiously.</p> - -<p>“Well, Paul, what’s the matter? If the cabin has -been burned down it’s no serious matter.”</p> - -<p>“Why, sir; some of the men passing there at night -say they see lights and hear sounds in the cabin, though -no one from the estate goes there. A child died in the -house last spring, and—well, you know how some of -these people are!”</p> - -<p>“Ghosts!” cried Ardmore. “The property is growing -more valuable all the time! Tell them that whoever -captures the ghost and brings it here shall have a handsome -present. So far it’s only a light in an abandoned -house—is that it?”</p> - -<p>“Well, they say it’s very strange,” and it was clear -that the German was not wholly satisfied to have his -employer laugh off the story.</p> - -<p>“Cheer up, Paul. We have bigger business on hand -than the chasing of ghosts just now. When we get -through with these other things I’ll go over there myself -and take a look at the spook.”</p> - -<p>As Paul hurried away, Jerry seized a pen and wrote -this message:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>Rutherford Gillingwater,<br /> -<span class="indentleft5">Adjutant-General, Camp Dangerfield,</span><br /> -<span class="indentleft6">Azbell, N. C.:</span></p> - -<p>Move all available troops by shortest route to Kildare at once and -report to me personally at Ardsley. Make no statements to newspapers. -Answer.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Dangerfield</span>,     <br /> -Governor.</p> -</div> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">[215]</span>“I guess that will bring him running,” said Ardmore, -calling a servant and ordering the message despatched -immediately. “But when he comes, expecting to report -to the governor and finds that he isn’t here, what do -you suppose he will do?”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Ardmore,” began Jerry, in the tone of sweet -tolerance with which one arraigns a hopeless child—“Mr. -Ardmore, there are times when you tax my patience -severely. You don’t seem to grasp the idea that we -are not making explanations to inferiors in our administration. -Colonel Gillingwater will undoubtedly be -a good deal surprised to get that message, but when the -first shock is over he will obey the orders of his commander-in-chief. -And the fact that he is ordered to -report to Ardsley will not be lost on him, for he will see -in that a possible social opportunity, and a chance to -wear some of his uniforms that he has never worn before. -He will think that papa is really here to test the efficiency -of the troops, and that as papa is a guest at Ardsley, -which we know he isn’t, there will probably be some -great social functions in this house, with papa’s staff -dressed up and all shiny in gold braid. Since Rutherford -Gillingwater had the typhoid fever during the Spanish -War I have not been sure that he is as much interested -in fighting as he is in the purely circus work of being a -soldier. I just now recall that when papa was about -to order out the troops to stop a railroad strike last -spring, Rutherford Gillingwater went to all the trouble -of having tonsilitis, and was so ill that he could hardly -leave his room even after the strike had been settled -by arbitration. If he knew that there was likely to -be a terrible battle over here instead of nice long -dinners and toasts to ‘The Old North State,’ ‘Our -Governor,’ and ‘The Governor’s Daughter,’ his old -wounds, that he never had, might trouble him so that -they’d have to wrap him up in cotton and carry him -home.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">[216]</span>Before luncheon a message was received from Gillingwater, -to this effect:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>Governor William Dangerfield.<br /> -<span class="indentleft7">Ardsley, N. C.:</span></p> - -<p>En route with our entire available force in the field. I am riding -ahead with all speed, and will report at Ardsley at nine o’clock. Is -full military dress <i>de rigueur</i>?</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Gillingwater</span>, Adjutant-General.</p> -</div> - -<p>“Isn’t that just like Rutherford! He’s afraid he -won’t be dressy enough; but if he knew that the South -Carolina troops might shoot holes in his uniform he -wouldn’t be due here for a couple of weeks, instead of -at nine o’clock to-night;” and Jerry laughed merrily.</p> - -<p>They debated more seriously this telegram from Collins -at Raleigh sent the previous evening:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Can’t maintain this bluff much longer. Even the friendly newspapers -are growing suspicious. State credit jeopardized by disappearance -of Treasurer Foster. Billings, of Bronx Loan and Trust, here -in a great fury over bond matter. Do you know governor’s whereabouts?</p> -</div> - -<p>“Things are certainly growing more exciting,” was -Ardmore’s comment. “I suppose even a gifted liar like -Collins can’t muzzle the press for ever.”</p> - -<p>“You can’t go on fooling all North Carolina all the -time, either,” said Jerry, “and I suppose when papa -gets tired of being scared he will turn up in Raleigh and -tell some plausible story about where he has been and -what has happened. When it comes to being plausible -no one can touch papa.”</p> - -<p>“Maybe he’s dead,” suggested Ardmore gloomily.</p> - -<p>“That’s a real inspiration on your part, Mr. Ardmore; -and it’s very sweet of you to mention it, but I have no -idea that any harm has come to papa. It’s too much -trouble to get elected governor, without dying in office, -and besides, papa is none too friendly with the lieutenant-governor, -and would never think of allowing such -a person to succeed him. But those bonds seem rather<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">[217]</span> -serious, and I don’t like the idea of your Mr. Billings -making a fuss at Raleigh.”</p> - -<p>“That will be all right,” remarked Ardmore, blotting -the last of a number of telegrams which he had been -writing, and pressing a button. “It’s much more important -for us to get Appleweight into a South Carolina -jail; and it’s not going to be so easy to do, now that -Grissy is working on the other side, and angry at me -about that scarlet fever telegram.</p> - -<p>“There may be trouble,” said Ardmore to his guests -as they sat at luncheon. “But I should hate to have it -said that my guests could not be taken care of here -perfectly. I beg that you will all remain.”</p> - -<p>“If there’s to be a row, why don’t you call the police -and be done with it?” asked a sad young member of -the company. His motor number had so often figured -in reports of speed law violations that he was known as -Eighteen Eighty. “I thought you came down here for -quiet and not to get into trouble, Ardy.”</p> - -<p>“If I miss my steamer nine days from to-day, and -meanwhile have to eat horse meat, just as they did in -the siege of Paris, I shall be greatly provoked, to say -the least,” remarked Mrs. Atchison pleasantly; for her -brother’s amazing awakening delighted her, and it was -a cheering experience that he promised, of civil war, -battle, murder, and sudden death.</p> - -<p>“I think I shall spend more time in America after -this,” remarked Eighteen Eighty. “I did not know -that amusing things ever happened over here. What did -you say the name of this state is?”</p> - -<p>“The name of this state,” replied Miss Dangerfield, -“is North Carolina, and I have my opinion of any -native American who runs around Europe all the time, -and who can visit a place in this country without even -knowing the name of the state he is in.”</p> - -<p>“But there’s really no difference between North and -South Carolina, is there?” persisted Eighteen Eighty.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">[218]</span>Jerry put down her fork, and folded her hands beside -her plate, while she addressed the offender.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Number Something, the difference between the -Old North State and South Carolina is not merely geographical—it -is also intellectual, ethical, and spiritual. -But may I ask you whether you know of which state -you are a citizen?”</p> - -<p>A laugh rose as the sad young man flushed and looked -inquiringly about.</p> - -<p>“I voted you in my precinct that time I ran for alderman -in New York,” said Ardmore, “but that’s no sign -you had a right to vote there. I shot Ballywinkle -through the booth at the same time. I was a reform -candidate and needed votes, but I hoped Bally would -get arrested and be sent to jail. My impression is that -you are really a citizen of Rhode Island, which is where -Newport is.”</p> - -<p>The debate as to Eighteen Eighty’s legal residence was -interrupted by the arrival of a summons for Ardmore, -who hurriedly left the table.</p> - -<p>Big Paul awaited him below, mounted and holding a -led-horse.</p> - -<p>“There’s a line of the South Carolina militia crawling -through the woods toward Raccoon Creek. They insist -that it’s a practice skirmish, and that they’ve come -over here because the landscape is naturally adapted to -their purposes.”</p> - -<p>“It’s awfully nice of them to like my scenery. You’d -better send your best man out to meet Colonel Gillingwater -of the North Carolina militia, and tell him to -march all his troops into the estate by the north gates, -and to be in a hurry. Tell him—tell him Governor -Dangerfield is anxious to have the staff present in full -uniform at a grand ball at Ardsley to-night.”</p> - -<p>Ardmore rode off alone toward Raccoon Creek to -catch a view of the enemy. How far would Griswold -go? This question he kept debating with himself. His<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">[219]</span> -late friend was a lawyer and a serious one whom he -had not believed capable of seizing the militia of one -state and using it to make a military demonstration -against another. Ardmore could go as far as Griswold; -yet he was puzzled to know why Griswold was in the -field at all. Miss Dangerfield’s suggestion that Griswold’s -interest in the daughter of the governor of South -Carolina accounted for his presence on the border seemed -plausible at first; and yet the more he thought about -it the less credible it seemed, for he was sure that Griswold -had talked to him about women with the frankness -that had characterized all their intercourse, and -Ardmore racked his brains in his effort to recall the -few affairs to which the associate professor of admiralty -had pleaded guilty. Memory brought these back -to him slowly. There was an Old Point Comfort affair, -dating back to Griswold’s student days, and to which -he had referred with no little feeling once or twice; -and there was a York Harbour affair, that came a little -later; and there was the girl he had met on a steamer, -about whom Griswold had shown sensitiveness when -Ardmore had made bold to twit him. But Ardmore -could not account for Miss Osborne, unless his friend -had been withholding his confidence while seemingly -wholly frank; and the thought that this must be true -widened the breach between them. And when he was -saying to himself that the daughters of governors are -not in the habit of picking up cavaliers and entrusting -state affairs to them, and that it was almost inconceivable -that the conscientious Griswold, at the busiest -season at the university, should have taken employment -from the governor of South Carolina, he found -that he had struck a stone wall, and he confessed to -himself that the situation was beyond him.</p> - -<p>These reflections carried him far toward Raccoon -Creek, and when he had reached that tortuous stream -he dismounted and tied his horse, the more freely to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">[220]</span> -examine the frontier. The Raccoon is never more than -eighty feet wide, but filled with boulders round which -the water foams in many curves and splashes, running -away in the merriest ripples, so that it is never wholly -tranquil. By jumping from boulder to boulder he -crossed the turbulent tide and gained the other side -with a sense of entering the enemy’s country.</p> - -<p>“Now,” he muttered, “I am in South Carolina.”</p> - -<p>He drew out his map and held it against a tree the -better to study it, reassuring himself that his own -property line embraced several sections of the forest on -the south side of the state boundary.</p> - -<p>“If Grissy shoots me, it will be on my own land,” -he said aloud.</p> - -<p>He cautiously followed the stream until, several hundred -yards farther on, and overhanging the creek, he -came upon the log cabin in which big Paul had reported -the presence of a ghost. Paul’s story had not interested -him particularly, but now that he was in the neighbourhood -he resolved to visit the cabin and learn if possible -how ghosts amuse themselves by day. He had thrust a -revolver into his pocket before leaving the house, and -while he had no idea that ghosts may be shot, he now -made sure that the weapon was in good order. As he -sat on a log slipping the cylinder through his fingers he -heard whistling farther along the creek, followed quickly -by the snapping of twigs under a heavy tread, and a -moment later a tall, slender man broke into view.</p> - -<p>The stranger was dressed like a countryman, but he -was unmistakably not of the Ardsley force of workmen, -for these wore a rough sort of uniform. His hands were -thrust carelessly into the side pockets of a gray jeans -coat. They were thrust in deep, so that the coat sagged -at the pockets. His trousers were turned up from a -pair of rough shoes, and he wore a gray flannel shirt, -the collar of which was guiltless of a tie. He was -smooth shaven, and carried in his mouth a short pipe,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">[221]</span> -which he paused to relight when about a dozen yards -from Ardmore. Then, as he held the lighted match -above the pipe bowl for an instant to make sure his -tobacco was burning, Ardmore jumped up and covered -him with the pistol.</p> - -<p>“I beg your pardon,” said the master of Ardsley, -“but you’re my prisoner!”</p> - -<p>The stranger shook the flame out of the match-stick -carefully and threw it away before turning toward his -captor.</p> - -<p>“Young man,” he said with perfect self-possession, -“don’t fool with that gun; it might go off.”</p> - -<p>His drawl was characteristic of the region; his tone -was one of amused tolerance. Ardmore was short of -stature, and his knickerbockers, leggings, and Norfolk -jacket were not wholly consonant with the revolver, -which, however, he levelled very steadily at the stranger’s -head.</p> - -<p>“You are an intruder on my property,” said the -master of Ardsley, “and unless I’m much mistaken you -have been playing ghost in that cabin. I’ve heard -about you. Your gang has been cutting off my timber -about long enough, and this game of playing ghost to -scare my men won’t do.”</p> - -<p>“Stealing your timber?” And the stranger was -clearly surprised. He held his pipe in his hand with -his thumb over the bowl and seemed to take a more -serious interest in his captor.</p> - -<p>“And now,” continued Ardmore, “I’m about tired of -having this end of the country run by the Appleweights, -and their disreputable gang, so I’m going to lock you -up.”</p> - -<p>The stranger turned toward the cabin, one corner of -which was plainly visible, and shrugged his shoulders.</p> - -<p>“I have nothing to do with the Appleweights, and I -assure you I am not a timber thief.”</p> - -<p>“Then you must be the one who has lifted a few<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">[222]</span> -steers out of my herd. It makes no difference just what -branch of the business you are engaged in, for we’re -picking up all the gang and you’ve got to come along -with me.”</p> - -<p>The captive showed signs of anger for the first time. -His face flushed, and he took a step toward Ardmore, -who immediately threw up the revolver so that it -pointed at the man’s head.</p> - -<p>“Stop right there! We’ve got old man Appleweight, -so you’ve lost your leader, and I tell you the jig’s up. -We’ll have you all in jail before another twenty-four -hours has passed.”</p> - -<p>“I judge from the tone of your remarks that you are -Ardmore, the owner of Ardsley. Am I right?”</p> - -<p>“You are quite right. And you are a member of a -disreputable gang of outlaws that has been bringing -shame upon the state of North Carolina. Now, I -want you to march straight ahead of me. Step lively -now!” And Ardmore flourished the pistol menacingly. -“March!”</p> - -<p>The man hesitated, flung up his head defiantly, then -moved slowly forward. The flush in his face had deepened -and his eyes flashed angrily; but Ardmore, his cap -on the back of his head, himself presented a figure so -severe, so eloquent of righteous indignation, that the -stranger tamely obeyed him.</p> - -<p>“We will cross the creek right here,” he ordered; -“it’s a pretty jump there from that boulder—there, -that was bully! Now right along there over the log—see -the trail! Good!”</p> - -<p>It was warm and the captive was perspiring freely. -He moved along docilely, and finding that he manifested -no inclination to bolt, Ardmore dropped the revolver to -his side, but with his finger on the trigger. He was very -proud of himself; for while to Miss Jerry Dangerfield -undoubtedly belonged the honour of capturing the thief -Appleweight, yet he had single-handed arrested a member<span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">[223]</span> -of the famous gang, and he had already resolved -upon a convenient method of disposing of his prisoner. -They paused while Ardmore mounted his horse, silencing -the captive, who took the opportunity to break out -protestingly against what he termed an infamous outrage -upon personal liberty.</p> - -<p>“You’ve taken me from one state into another without -due process of law,” declared the stranger, thinking -to impress Ardmore, as that young gentleman settled -himself in his saddle.</p> - -<p>“Go right on now; that’s a good fellow,” replied the -master of Ardsley, lifting the revolver warningly. -“Whether it’s North Carolina or South Dakota—it -doesn’t make a particle of difference to me. As I remarked -before, it’s my property, I tell you, and I do -what I please here.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll show you whether you do or not,” snorted the -prisoner, who was trudging along doggedly with the nose -of Ardmore’s horse occasionally poking his back.</p> - -<p>They soon reached a field where some labourers were -at work, and Ardmore called them to him for instructions.</p> - -<p>“Boys, this is one of the timber thieves; put him in -that corn-crib until I come back for him. The nights -are warm; the sky is perfectly clear; and you will -kindly see that he does not lack for food.”</p> - -<p>Two of the men jumped forward and seized Ardmore’s -prisoner, who now broke forth in a torrent of -wrath, struggling vigorously in the hands of the sturdy -fellows who had laid violent hands on him.</p> - -<p>“That’s right, boys; that’s right; easy there! Now -in he goes.”</p> - -<p>A series of corn-cribs fringed the field, and into one -of these, from which half the corn had been removed, -the prisoner was thrust sprawling upon the yellow ears, -and when he rose and flung himself round, the door of -the corn-crib slammed in his face. He bellowed with -rage now, seeing that his imprisonment was a serious<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">[224]</span> -matter, and that it seemed likely to be prolonged indefinitely.</p> - -<p>“They always told me you were a fool,” he howled, -“but I didn’t know that anything as crazy as you are -was loose in the world.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you. The head of your gang is much more -polite. He’s sitting on his case of Chateau Bizet in my -wine cellar, playing solitaire.”</p> - -<p>“Appleweight in your wine cellar!” bawled the captive -in astonishment.</p> - -<p>“Certainly. I was afraid to lock him in a room with -bath for fear it might give him hydrophobia; but he’s -perfectly content in the wine cellar.”</p> - -<p>“What are you going to do with him?”</p> - -<p>“I haven’t decided yet just what to do with him, but -the scoundrel undoubtedly belongs in South Carolina, -and I have every intention of making his own state -punish him.”</p> - -<p>The prisoner leaned heavily against his prison door, -and glared out upon his jailer with a new, fierce interest.</p> - -<p>“I tell you I’ve nothing to do with the Appleweights! -I don’t want to reveal my identity to you, you young -beggar; but I demand my legal rights.”</p> - -<p>“My dear sir,” retorted Ardmore, “you have no -legal rights, for the writ of habeas corpus doesn’t go -here. You seem rather intelligent for a barn burner -and timber thief. Come now, what is your name?”</p> - -<p>The prisoner gazed down upon the imperturbable -figure of his captor through the slats of the corn-crib. -Ardmore returned his gaze with his most bland and -child-like air. Many people had been driven to the -point of madness by Ardmore’s apparent dullness. The -prisoner realized that he must launch a thunderbolt if -he would disturb a self-possession so complete—a tranquillity -as sweet as the fading afternoon.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Ardmore, I dislike to do it, but your amazing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">[225]</span> -conduct makes it necessary for me to disclose my identity,” -and the man’s manner showed real embarrassment.</p> - -<p>“I knew it; I knew it,” nodded Ardmore, folding his -arms across his chest. “You’re either the King of Siam -or the Prince of Petosky. As either, I salute you!”</p> - -<p>“No!” roared the captive, beating impotently against -the door of the cage with his hands. “No! I’m the -governor of South Carolina!”</p> - -<p>This statement failed, however, to produce the slightest -effect on Mr. Ardmore, who only smiled slightly, a -smile less incredulous than disdainful.</p> - -<p>“Oh, pshaw! that’s nothing,” he replied; “<i>I’m</i> the -governor of North Carolina!” and mounting his horse -he gravely lifted his hat to the prisoner and galloped -away.</p> - -<p>While Mr. Ardmore was securing his prisoner in the -corn-crib it may be interesting to return for a moment to -the haunted log cabin on Raccoon Creek, the interior of -which was roughly but comfortably furnished. Above -were two small sleeping-rooms, and beside the bed in -each stood a suit-case and a hand-satchel. In each room -hung, on convenient hooks, a long, black frock-coat, a -pair of trousers of light cloth, and a broad-brim black -felt hat. Coat, trousers, and hat were exactly alike.</p> - -<p>In the room below sat a man in his shirt-sleeves, his -feet on a cheap deal table, blowing rings from a cigar. -He presented a picture of the greatest ease and contentment, -as he occasionally stroked his short brown -beard, or threw up his arms and clasped his hands about -his head or caught, lazily at the smoke rings. On the -table lay an array of playing cards and poker chips.</p> - -<p>“It’s too good to last for ever,” the lone occupant -reflected aloud, stifling a yawn, and he reached out, -with careless indifference, toward a bundle of newspapers -tied together with a piece of twine, and drew one -out and spread it across his knees. He yawned again<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">[226]</span> -as though the thought of a world whose affairs were -stamped in printer’s ink bored him immensely; and -then the bold headlines that shouted at him across half -a quarter of the sheet caused him to gasp, and his feet -struck the bare floor of the cabin resoundingly. He now -bent over the paper with the greatest eagerness, muttering -as he read, and some of his mutterings were, it -must be confessed, not without profane embellishment.</p> - -<p class="center">TWO COWARDLY GOVERNORS MISSING<br /> - -<span class="smcap">Scandal Affecting Two State Executives</span><br /> - -<span class="smcap">Is the Appleweight Case Responsible?</span><br /> - -<span class="smcap">Rumours of Fatal Duel on State Line</span></p> - -<p>He read breathlessly the startling story that followed -the headlines, then rose and glanced anxiously at his -watch.</p> - -<p>“Am I drunk or mad? I must find Osborne and get -out of this.”</p> - -<p>He leaped to the open door, and gazed into the forest -from a little platform that commanded all sides of the -cabin. And there, to his utter amazement, he saw men -in khaki emerging cautiously from the woods. They -were unmistakably soldiers of some sort, for an officer -was giving sharp commands, and the line opened out -like a fan along the creek. The observer of this manœuvre -mopped his head with his handkerchief as he -watched the alert movements of the figures in khaki.</p> - -<p>He was so absorbed that he failed to hear stealthy -steps at the rear of the platform, but he was now rudely -aroused by two uniformed youngsters with S. C. N. G. -on their caps, who sprang upon him and bore him with -a crash to the puncheon floor.</p> - -<p>“You’re our prisoner!” shouted one of them, rising -when he found that the prisoner yielded without resistance.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">[227]</span>“What for?” blurted the captive, sitting up and -rubbing his elbow.</p> - -<p>“For being Bill Appleweight, <i>alias</i> Poteet. Get up, -now, and come with us to headquarters, or my instructions -are to break your head.”</p> - -<p>“Who the devil are you?” panted the prisoner.</p> - -<p>“Well, if it’s anything to you, we’re the South Carolina -militia, so you’d better get up and climb.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">[228]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XVI.<br /> - - -<small>THE FLIGHT OF GILLINGWATER.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">It</span> will be better for me to break the news to Colonel -Gillingwater,” said Jerry, “and you must go out and -meet the troops yourself, with Mr. Cooke and that amusing -Mr. Collins. There is no telling what effect my -tidings will have on Rutherford, or what he will decide -to do. He has never before been so near trouble as he is -now, and I may have to give him first aid to the injured -when he finds out that the South Carolina troops are on -Raccoon Creek, all ready to march upon our sacred soil.”</p> - -<p>“But suppose your adjutant-general shouldn’t go back -to his troops after he sees you, then what am I to do?”</p> - -<p>“If you don’t see him by ten o’clock you will take -personal command and exercise your own discretion as -to the best method of landing Appleweight in a South -Carolina jail. After that we must find papa, and it will -be up to him to satisfy the newspapers and his constituents -with some excuse for his strange disappearance.”</p> - -<p>Collins had come from Raleigh on the evening train, -and he had solemnly assured Ardmore that the present -state of affairs could not be maintained another twenty-four -hours. He had exhausted his professional resources, -and the North Carolina newspapers of all shades -of opinion were clamouring for the truth, and were -insisting that, for the honour and dignity of the state, -Governor Dangerfield should show himself in Raleigh. -Even the metropolitan press, which Collins had filled<span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">[229]</span> -for several days with blithe stories of the administration’s -vigorous policy in the Appleweight case, had -refused further matter from him.</p> - -<p>“We’ve got to find Dangerfield or bust. Now, where -is that eminent statesman, Ardmore? You can’t tell -me you don’t know; but if you don’t, Miss Dangerfield -does, and she’s got to tell.”</p> - -<p>“She hasn’t the slightest idea, but if the newspapers -find out that he’s really and truly missing, he will have -to show up; but first we’ve got to take Appleweight off -that case of Chateau Bizet and lodge him in the jail at -Turner Court House, and let Governor Osborne have the -odium of incarcerating the big chief of the border, to -whom he is under the greatest political obligations.”</p> - -<p>“But it’s all over the country now that Osborne hasn’t -been seen in Columbia since he and Dangerfield had that -row in New Orleans. Cranks are turning up everywhere, -pretending to be governors of various states, -and old Dangerfield is seen on all the outgoing steamers. -There’s been nothing like it since the kidnapping of -Charley Ross.”</p> - -<p>Ardmore drew on his riding-gloves reflectively, and a -delighted grin illuminated his countenance.</p> - -<p>“I caught a lunatic down on the Raccoon this afternoon -who said <i>he</i> was the governor of South Carolina, -and I locked him up.”</p> - -<p>“Well, he may be Osborne,” remarked Collins, with -journalistic suspicion.</p> - -<p>“And he may be a Swiss admiral or the king of Mars. -I guess I’m a governor myself, and I know what a -governor looks like and acts like—you can’t fool me. I -put this impostor where he’ll have a chance to study -astronomy to-night.”</p> - -<p>“Then he isn’t on that case of Chateau Bizet with -Appleweight?”</p> - -<p>“No; I locked him up in a corn-crib until I get time -to study his credentials. Come along now!”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">[230]</span>Ardmore, Collins, and Cooke rode rapidly away through -the wide gates of the estate along the Sapphire road, -over which, by his last bulletin, the adjutant-general -of North Carolina was marching his troops. They had -left Cooke’s men with Paul’s foresters to guard the -house and to picket the banks of the Raccoon in the -immediate neighbourhood of the camp of the South -Carolinians.</p> - -<p>“I guess those fellows can hold ’em till morning,” -said Cooke. “We’ve got to clean up the whole business -by to-morrow night. You can’t have two states at war -with each other this way without shaking up the universe, -and if federal troops come down here to straighten -things out it won’t be funny.”</p> - -<p>They had ridden about a mile, when Cooke checked -his horse with an exclamation.</p> - -<p>“There’s somebody coming like the devil was after -him. It must be Gillingwater.”</p> - -<p>They drew rein and waited, the quick patter of hoofs -ringing out sharply in the still night. The moonlight -gave them a fair sweep of the road, and they at once saw -a horseman galloping rapidly toward them.</p> - -<p>“Lordy, the man’s on fire!” gasped Ardmore.</p> - -<p>“By George, you’re right!” muttered Collins, moving -nervously in his saddle. “It’s a human sunburst.”</p> - -<p>“It’s only his gold braid,” explained the practical -Cooke.</p> - -<p>“He must have on solid gold armour, then,” declared -Collins.</p> - -<p>Seeing three men drawn across the road, the horseman -began to check his flight.</p> - -<p>“Men!” he shouted, as his horse pawed the air with -its forefeet, “is this the road to Ardsley?”</p> - -<p>“Right you are,” yelled Cooke, and they were aware -of a flash, a glitter that startled and dazzled the eye, -and Colonel Rutherford Gillingwater thundered on.</p> - -<p>Ardmore looked at his watch.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">[231]</span>“He’s undoubtedly a man of action, if I ever saw one; -and I think we are to be congratulated on having so -gallant a commander for our troops,” said the master -of Ardsley; but the sight of Rutherford Gillingwater -had filled his soul with jealous forebodings. He had -heard that women are prone to fall in worship before -warriors in their battle armour, and he was sure that -Jerry Dangerfield was a girl of infinitely kind heart, -who might not, when face to face with the issue, subject -the man she had engaged to marry to any severe -test.</p> - -<p>They rode on, however, and saw presently the lights -of camp-fires, and a little later were ceremoniously -halted at the roadside by an armed guard.</p> - -<p>It had been arranged that Collins, who had once been -a second lieutenant in the Georgia militia, should be -presented as an officer of the regular army, detailed as -special aide to Governor Dangerfield during the encampment, -and that in case Gillingwater failed to return -promptly he should take command of the North Carolina -forces.</p> - -<p>An open field had been seized for the night’s camp, -and the tents already shone white in the moonlight. -The three men introduced themselves to the militia -officers, and Collins expressed their regret that they had -missed the adjutant-general.</p> - -<p>“Governor Dangerfield wished you to move your force -on to Ardsley should we fail to meet Colonel Gillingwater; -and you had better strike your tents and be in -readiness to advance in case he doesn’t personally return -with orders.”</p> - -<p>Captain Collins, as he had designated himself, apologized -for not being in uniform.</p> - -<p>“I lost my baggage train,” he laughed, “and Governor -Dangerfield is so anxious not to miss this opportunity -to settle the Appleweight case that I hurried out to meet -you with these gentlemen.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">[232]</span>“Appleweight!” exclaimed the group of officers in -amazement.</p> - -<p>“None other than the great Appleweight!” responded -Collins. “The governor has him in his own hands at -last, and is going to carry him across the border and into -a South Carolina bastille, as a little pleasantry on the -governor of South Carolina.”</p> - -<p>“He’s had a sudden change of heart if he’s captured -Appleweight,” remarked a major incredulously. “His -policy has always been to let old Bill alone.”</p> - -<p>“It’s only a ripple of the general reform wave that’s -sweeping the country,” suggested Ardmore cheerfully. -“Turn the rascals out; put the rascals in; keep the -people hopeful and the jails full. That’s the Dangerfield -watchword.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I guess Dangerfield knows how to drive the -hearse if there’s got to be a funeral,” observed the quartermaster. -“The governor’s not a man to ride inside -if he can find another corpse.”</p> - -<p>And they all laughed and accepted the situation as -promising better diversion than they had expected from -the summer manœuvres.</p> - -<p>The militia officers gave the necessary orders for breaking -the half-formed camp, and then turned their attention -to the entertainment of their guests. Ardmore -kept track of the time, and promptly at ten o’clock -Collins rose from the log by the roadside where they -had been sitting.</p> - -<p>“We must obey the governor’s orders, gentlemen,” -said Collins courteously, “and march at once to Ardsley. -I, you understand, am only a courier, and your guest -for the present.”</p> - -<p>“If you please,” asked Cooke, when the line had begun -to move forward, “what is that wagon over there?”</p> - -<p>He pointed to a mule team hitched to a quartermaster’s -wagon that a negro was driving into position -across the rough field. It was piled high with luggage,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">[233]</span> -a pyramid that rose black against the heavens. One -of the militia officers, evidently greatly annoyed, bawled -to the driver to get back out of the way.</p> - -<p>“Pardon me,” said Collins politely, “but is that your -personal baggage, gentlemen?”</p> - -<p>“That belongs to Colonel Gillingwater,” remarked the -quartermaster. “The rest of us have a suit-case apiece.”</p> - -<p>“Do you mean,” demanded Ardmore, “that the adjutant-general -carries all that luggage for himself?”</p> - -<p>“That is exactly it! But,” continued the quartermaster -loyally, “you can never tell what will happen -when you take the field this way, and our chief is not a -man to forget any of the details of military life.”</p> - -<p>“In Washington we all think very highly of Colonel -Gillingwater,” remarked Collins, with noble condescension, -“and in case we should become involved in war -he would undoubtedly be called to high rank in the -regular establishment.”</p> - -<p>“It’s too bad,” said Cooke, as the three drew aside and -waited for a battery of light artillery to rumble into -place behind the infantry, “it’s too bad, Collins, that -it didn’t occur to you to impersonate the president of -the French Republic or Emperor William. You’ll be -my death before we finish this job.”</p> - -<p>“This won’t be so funny when Dangerfield gets hold -of us,” grinned the reporter. “We’d better cheer up all -we can now. We’re playing with the state of North -Carolina as though it were a bean-bag. But what’s that -over there?”</p> - -<p>The pyramidal baggage wagon had gained the road -behind them, and lingered uncertainly, with the driver -asleep and waiting for orders. The conspirators were -about to gallop forward to the head of the moving -column, when Collins pointed across the abandoned -camp-ground to where a horseman, who had evidently -made a wide detour of the advancing column, rode -madly toward the baggage wagon.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">[234]</span>“The gentleman’s trying to kill his horse, I should -judge,” murmured Ardmore. “By Jove!”</p> - -<p>“It’s Gillingwater!” chorused the trio.</p> - -<p>The rider in his haste had overlooked the men in the -road. He dashed through the wide opening in the fence, -left by the militiamen, took the ditch by the roadside -at a leap, wakened the sleeping driver on the wagon -with a roar, and himself leaped upon the box and began -turning the horses.</p> - -<p>“What do you think he’s doing?” asked Cooke.</p> - -<p>“He’s in a hurry to get back to mother’s cooking,” -replied Ardmore. “He’s seen Miss Dangerfield and -learned that war is at hand, and he’s going to get his -clothes out of danger. Lordy! listen to him slashing -the mules!”</p> - -<p>“But you don’t think——”</p> - -<p>The wagon had swung round, and already was in -rapid flight. Collins howled in glee.</p> - -<p>“Come on! We can’t miss a show like this!”</p> - -<p>“Leave the horses then! There’s a hill there that will -break his neck. We’d better stop him if we can!” -cried Cooke, dismounting.</p> - -<p>They threw their reins to the driver of the wagon, -who had been brushed from his seat by the impatient -adjutant-general, and was chanting weirdly to himself -at the roadside.</p> - -<p>The wagon, piled high with trunks and boxes, was -dashing forward, Gillingwater belabouring the mules -furiously, and, hearing the shouts of strange pursuers, -yelling at the team in a voice shrill with fear.</p> - -<p>“Come on, boys!” shouted Ardmore, thoroughly -aroused, “catch the spy and traitor!”</p> - -<p>The road dipped down into the shadow of a deep cut, -where the moon’s dim rays but feebly penetrated, and -where the flow of springs had softened the surface; but -the pursuers were led on by the rumble of the wagon, -which swung from side to side perilously, the boxes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">[235]</span> -swinging about noisily and toppling threateningly at the -apex. Down the sharp declivity the wagon plunged like -a ship bound for the bottom of the sea.</p> - -<p>The pursuers bent gamely to their task in the rough -road, with Cooke slightly in the lead. Suddenly he -shouted warningly to the others, as something rose darkly -above them like a black cloud, and a trunk fell with a -mighty crash only a few feet ahead of them. The top -had been shaken off in the fall, and into it head first -plunged Ardmore.</p> - -<p>“There’s another coming!” yelled Collins, and a much -larger trunk struck and split upon a rock at the roadside. -Clothing of many kinds strewed the highway. -A pair of trousers, flung fiercely into the air, caught on -the limb of a tree, shook free like a banner, and hung -there sombrely etched against the stars.</p> - -<p>Ardmore crawled out of the trunk, screaming with -delight. The fragrance of toilet water broke freshly -upon the air.</p> - -<p>“It’s his ammunition!” bawled Ardmore, rubbing his -head where he had struck the edge of a tray. “His -scent-bottles are smashed, and it’s only by the grace -of Providence that I haven’t cut myself on broken -glass.”</p> - -<p>“Thump! bump!” sounded down the road.</p> - -<p>“Are those pants up there?” asked Cooke, pointing, -“or is it a hole in the sky?”</p> - -<p>“This,” said Collins, picking up a garment from the -bush over which it had spread itself, “has every appearance -of being his little nightie. How indelicate!”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Ardmore, taking it from him, “it’s a -kimona of the most expensive silk, which the colonel -undoubtedly wears when they get him up at midnight -to hear the reports of his scouts.”</p> - -<p>They went down the road, stumbling now and then -over a bit of debris from the vanished wagon.</p> - -<p>“It’s like walking on carpet,” observed Cooke, picking<span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">[236]</span> -up a feathered chapeau. “I didn’t know there were so -many clothes in all the world.”</p> - -<p>They abandoned the idea of further pursuit on reaching -a trunk standing on end, from which a uniform -dress-coat drooped sadly.</p> - -<p>“This is not our trouble; it’s his trouble. I guess -he’s struck a smoother road down there. We’d better -go back,” said Cooke.</p> - -<p>“Whom the gods would destroy they first dress in glad -rags,” piped Collins.</p> - -<p>They sat down and laughed until the negro approached -warily with the horses.</p> - -<p>“He’s lost his raiment, but saved his life,” sputtered -Collins, climbing into his saddle.</p> - -<p>“He’s lost more than that,” remarked Ardmore, and -his flushed countenance, noted by the others as he -lighted a cigarette, was cheerfuller than they had ever -seen it before.</p> - -<p>In a moment they had climbed the hill and were in -hot pursuit of the adjutant-general’s abandoned army.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">[237]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XVII.<br /> - - -<small>ON THE ROAD TO TURNER’S.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Who</span> goes there?”</p> - -<p>“A jug.”</p> - -<p>“What kind of a jug?”</p> - -<p>“A little brown jug from Kildare.”</p> - -<p>Thus Mr. Thomas Ardmore tested his pickets with a -shibboleth of his own devising. The sturdy militiamen -of North Carolina patrolled the northern bank of Raccoon -Creek at midnight, aware that that riotous flood -alone separated them from their foes. The terraces at -Ardsley bristled with the guns of the First Light Battery, -while, upon a cot in the wine cellar beneath, Mr. -Bill Appleweight, <i>alias</i> Poteet, slept the sleep of the just.</p> - -<p>He was rudely aroused, however, at one o’clock in the -morning by Ardmore, Cooke, and Collins, and taken out -through the kitchen to one of the Ardsley farm wagons. -Big Paul held the reins, and four of Cooke’s detectives -were mounted as escort. Ardmore, Cooke, and Collins -were to accompany the party as a board of strategy in -the movement upon Turner Court House, South Carolina.</p> - -<p>Appleweight, the terror of the border, blinked at the -lanterns that flashed about him in the courtyard. He -had been numbed by his imprisonment, and even now -he yielded himself docilely to the inevitable. His capture -in the first instance at Mount Nebo had been clear -enough, and he could have placed his hand on the men<span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">[238]</span> -who did it if he had been free for a couple of hours. -This he had pondered over his solacing solitaire as he -sat on the case of Chateau Bizet in the Ardsley wine -cellar; but the subsequent events had been altogether -too much for him. He had been taken from his original -captors by a girl, and while the ignominy of this was -not lost on the outlaw, his wits had been unequal to the -further fact, which he had no ground for disbelieving, -that this captivity within the walls of Ardsley had been -due to a daughter of that very governor of North Carolina -whom he had counted his friend. Why the girl -had interested herself in his seizure and incarceration; -why he had been carried to the great house of a New -York gentleman whom he had never harmed in the -least; and why, more than all, he should have been locked -in a room filled with bottles bearing absurd and unintelligible -titles, and containing, he had learned by much -despairing experiment, liquids that singularly failed to -satisfy thirst—these were questions before which Appleweight, -<i>alias</i> Poteet, bowed his head helplessly.</p> - -<p>“The road between Kildare and Turner’s is fairly -good,” announced Cooke, “though we’ve got to travel -four miles to strike it. Griswold evidently thinks that -holding the creek is all there is of this business, and he -won’t find out till morning that we’ve crawled round his -line and placed Appleweight in jail at Turner’s where -he belongs.”</p> - -<p>“You must have a good story ready for the press, -Collins,” said Ardmore. “The North Carolina border -counties don’t want Appleweight injured, and Governor -Dangerfield don’t want any harm to come to him—you -may be sure of that, or Bill would have been doing time -long ago. The moral element in the larger cities and -the people in Boston and Springfield, Massachusetts, -who only hear of Appleweight in the newspapers, want -him punished, and we must express to them our righteous -indignation that he has been kidnapped and dragged<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">[239]</span> -away from our vengeance by the governor of South -Carolina, who wants him in his own state merely to -protect him. We can come pretty near pleasing everybody -if you work it right, Collins. Our manner of -handling the matter will do much to increase Governor -Dangerfield’s popularity with all classes.”</p> - -<p>“Gentlemen, it was very impolite of you not to tell -me you were ready to start!” and Jerry came briskly -from the side entrance, dressed for the saddle and nibbling -a biscuit.</p> - -<p>“But you are not to go! I thought that was understood!” -cried Ardmore.</p> - -<p>“It may have been understood by you, Mr. Ardmore, -but not by me! I should never forgive myself if, after -all the trouble I have taken to straighten out this little -matter, I should not be in at the finish. Will you -kindly get me a horse?”</p> - -<p>Miss Dangerfield’s resolution was not to be shaken, -and a few minutes later the party moved out from the -courtyard. Cooke rode several hundred yards ahead; -then two detectives preceded the wagon, in which -Appleweight sat on a cross-seat with two more of Cooke’s -men on a seat just behind him. He was tied and gagged, -and an old derby hat (supplied by Paul) had been clapped -upon the side of his head at an angle that gave him a -jaunty air belied by his bonds. Though his tongue was -silenced, his eyes were at once eloquent of wonderment, -resignation, and impotent rage. Beside the wagon rode -Miss Jerry Dangerfield, alert and contented. Ardmore -and Collins were immediately behind her, and she indulged -the journalist in some mild chaff from time to -time, to his infinite delight, though considerably to -Ardmore’s distress of heart; for, though no words had -passed between him and Jerry as to the disgraceful -flight of the adjutant-general, yet the master of Ardsley -was in a jealous mood. The moon had left the conspirators -to the softer radiance of the stars, but there<span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">[240]</span> -was sufficient light for Ardmore to mark the gentle lines -of Jerry’s face, as she lifted it now and then to scan the -bright globes above.</p> - -<p>Paul drove his team at a trot over the smooth road -of the estate to a remote and little-used gate on the -southern side, but still safely removed from the South -Carolina pickets along the Raccoon.</p> - -<p>“It’s all right over there,” remarked Collins, jerking -his head towards the creek. “The fronting armies are -waiting for morning and battle. I suppose that when -we send word to Griswold that Appleweight is in a South -Carolina jail it will change the scene of operations. It -will then be Governor Osborne’s painful task to dance -between law-and-order sentiment and the loud cursing -of his border constituents. The possibilities of this -rumpus grow on me, Ardmore.”</p> - -<p>“There is no rumpus, Mr. Collins,” said Jerry over -her shoulder. “The governor of North Carolina is -merely giving expression to his civic pride and virtue.”</p> - -<p>Leaving Ardsley, they followed a dismal stretch of road -until they reached the highway that connects Turner’s -and Kildare.</p> - -<p>“It’s going to be morning pretty soon. We must get -the prisoner into Turner’s by five o’clock. Trot ’em up, -Paul,” ordered Cooke.</p> - -<p>They were all in capital spirits now, with a fairly good -road before them, leading straight to Turner’s, and with -no expectation of any trouble in landing their prisoner -safely in jail. A wide publication of the fact that Appleweight -had been dragged from North Carolina and -locked in a South Carolina jail would have the effect of -clearing Governor Dangerfield’s skirts of any complicity -with the border outlaws, while at the same time -making possible a plausible explanation by Governor -Dangerfield to the men in the hills of the contemptible -conduct of the governor of South Carolina in effecting -the arrest of their great chief.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">[241]</span>They were well into South Carolina territory now, and -were jogging on at a sharp trot, when suddenly Cooke -turned back and halted the wagon.</p> - -<p>“There’s something coming—wait!”</p> - -<p>“Maybe Bill’s friends are out looking for him,” suggested -Collins.</p> - -<p>“Or it may be Grissy,” cried Ardmore in sudden -alarm.</p> - -<p>“Your professor is undoubtedly asleep in his camp on -the Raccoon,” replied Collins contemptuously. “Do not -be alarmed, Mr. Ardmore.”</p> - -<p>Cooke impatiently bade them be quiet.</p> - -<p>“If we’re accosted, what shall we say?” he -asked.</p> - -<p>“We’ll say,” replied Jerry instantly, “that one of the -labourers at Ardsley is dead, and that we are taking his -remains to his wife’s family at Turner’s. I shall be his -grief-stricken widow.”</p> - -<p>The guards already had Appleweight down on the -floor of the wagon, where one of them sat on his feet to -make sure he did not create a disturbance. At her own -suggestion Jerry dismounted and climbed into the wagon, -where she sat on the sideboard, with her head deeply -bowed as though in grief.</p> - -<p>“Pretty picture of a sorrowing widow,” mumbled -Collins. Ardmore punched him in the ribs to make him -stop laughing. To the quick step of walking horses -ahead of them was now added the whisper and creak -of leather.</p> - -<p>“Hello, there!” yelled Cooke, wishing to take the -initiative.</p> - -<p>“Hey-O!” answered a voice, and all was still.</p> - -<p>“Give us the road; we’re taking a body into Turner’s -to catch the morning train,” called Cooke.</p> - -<p>“Who’s dead?”</p> - -<p>“One of Ardmore’s Dutchmen. Shipping the corpse -back to Germany.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">[242]</span>The party ahead of them paused as though debating -the case.</p> - -<p>The north-bound party was a blur in the road. Their -horses sniffed and moved restlessly about as their riders -conferred.</p> - -<p>“Give us the road!” shouted Cooke. “We haven’t -much time to catch our train.”</p> - -<p>“Who did you say was dead?”</p> - -<p>“Karl Schmidt,” returned Paul promptly.</p> - -<p>Ardmore’s heart sank, fearful lest an inspection of -the corpse should be proposed. But at this moment a -wail, eerie and heart-breaking, rose and fell dismally -upon the night. It was Jerry mourning her dead husband, -her slight figure swaying back and forth over -his body in an abandon of grief.</p> - -<p>“De poor vidow—she be mit us,” called out big Paul, -forsaking his usual excellent English for guttural dialect.</p> - -<p>“Who are <i>you</i> fellows?” demanded Cooke, spurring -his horse forward. The horsemen, to his surprise, -seemed to draw back, and he heard a voice speak out -sharply, followed by a regrouping of the riders at the -side of the road.</p> - -<p>“We been to a dance at Turner’s, and air goin’ back -home to Kildare,” came the reply.</p> - -<p>“That seems all right,” whispered Ardmore to Collins.</p> - -<p>“Thus,” muttered Collins, “in the midst of death -we are in life,” and this, reaching Jerry, caused her -to bend over the corpse at her feet as though in a convulsive -spasm of sorrow, whereupon, to add colour to -their story, Paul rumbled off a few consolatory sentences -in German.</p> - -<p>“Give us the road!” commanded Cooke, and without -further parley they started ahead, closing about the -wagon to diminish, as far as possible, the size of the -caravan. Paul kept the horses at a walk, as became -their sad errand, and Jerry continued to weep dolorously.</p> - -<p>They passed the horsemen at a slight rise in the rolling<span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">[243]</span> -road. The party bound for Turner’s moved steadily -forward, the horsemen huddled about the wagon, with -Jerry’s led-horse between Ardmore and Collins at the -rear. At the top of the knoll hung the returning dancers, -well to the left of the road, permitting with due respect -the passing of the funeral party. One of the men, -Ardmore could have sworn, lifted his hat until the wagon -had passed. Then some one called good-night, and, -looking back, Ardmore saw them—a dozen men, he -judged—regain the road and quietly resume their journey -toward Kildare.</p> - -<p>“Pretty peaceable for fellows who’ve been attending -a dance,” suggested Collins, craning his neck to look -after them.</p> - -<p>Cooke turned back with the same observation, and -seemed troubled.</p> - -<p>“I was afraid to look too closely at those men. They -seemed rather too sober, and I was struck with the fact -that they bunched up pretty close, as though they were -hiding something.”</p> - -<p>“They were afraid of the corpse,” remarked Collins -readily. “To meet a dead man on a lonely road at -this hour of the morning is enough to sober the most -riotous.”</p> - -<p>“One fellow lifted his hat as we passed, and I -thought——”</p> - -<p>“Well, what did you think, Mr. Ardmore?” demanded -Cooke impatiently.</p> - -<p>“Well, it may seem strange, but I thought there was -something about that chap that suggested Grissy. It -would be like Grissy to lift his hat to a corpse under any -circumstances. He has spent a whole lot of time in -Paris, and besides, he never forgets his manners.”</p> - -<p>“But suppose it was Griswold,” said Cooke, wishing -to dispose of the suspicion, “what could he be doing -out here? <i>He</i> hasn’t Appleweight—we know that; and -he has just now missed his chance of ever getting him.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">[244]</span>They paused to allow Jerry to resume her horse, and -one of the detectives joined in the conference to venture -his opinion that the men they had passed were in uniform. -“They looked like militia to me,” and as he was -a careful man, Cooke took note of his remark, though -he made no comment.</p> - -<p>“Suppose they were in uniform,” said Jerry lightly; -“they can do no harm, and as we are now in South -Carolina, and they are not our troops, it would not -be proper for us to molest them. Let us go on, for -Mr. Appleweight’s widow is not anxious to miss her -train back to the fatherland.”</p> - -<p>“If they were a detail of the enemy’s militia, they -would have held us up,” declared Cooke with finality.</p> - -<p>But as they moved on toward Turner’s, Ardmore was -still troubled over what had seemed to him the remarkable -Parisian courtesy of the returning reveller who had -lifted his hat as the corpse passed. Grissy, he kept -saying over and over to himself, was no fool by any -manner of means, and he was unable to conjecture -why the associate professor of admiralty, known to be -detached on special duty for the governor of South -Carolina, should be riding to Kildare, unless he contemplated -some <i>coup</i> of importance.</p> - -<p>The stars paled under the growing light of the early -summer dawn. Appleweight, with shoulders wearily -drooping, contemplated the attending cortege with the -gaze of one who sullenly accepts a condition he does not -in the least understand.</p> - -<p>A few early risers saw the strange company enter and -proceed to the jail; but before half the community had -breakfasted, Bill Appleweight, the outlaw, was securely -locked in jail in Turner Court House, the seat of Mingo -County, in the state of South Carolina, and the jailer, -moreover, was sharing the distinguished captive’s -thraldom.</p> - -<p>Collins, at the railway station, was announcing to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">[245]</span> -world the fact that at the very moment when Governor -Dangerfield was about to seize Appleweight and punish -him for his crimes, the outlaw had been kidnapped in -North Carolina and taken under cover of night to a -jail in South Carolina where Governor Osborne might -be expected to shield him from serious prosecution with -all the power of his high office.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">[246]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XVIII.<br /> - - -<small>THE BATTLE OF THE RACCOON.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Atchison</span> met the returning adventurers at the -door.</p> - -<p>“Your conduct, Jerry Dangerfield, is beyond words!” -she exclaimed, seizing the girl’s hands. “And so you -really locked that horrid person in a real jail! Well, we -shan’t miss him! We have been kept up all night by the -arrival here of other prisoners—brought in like parcels -from the grocer’s.”</p> - -<p>“More prisoners!” shouted Ardmore.</p> - -<p>“Dragged here at an unearthly hour of the morning, -and flung into the most impossible places by your soldiers! -You can hear them yelling without much -trouble from the drawing-room, and we had to give up -breakfast because the racket they are making was so -annoying.”</p> - -<p>The captain of the battery whose guns frowned upon -the terraces came up and saluted.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Ardmore,” he said, “I have been trying for -several hours to see Governor Dangerfield, but this lady -tells me that he has left Ardsley.”</p> - -<p>“That is quite true; the governor was called away -last night on official business, and he will not return -for an hour or two. You will kindly state your business -to me.”</p> - -<p>The captain was peevish from loss of sleep, and by no -means certain that he cared to transact business with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">[247]</span> -Mr. Ardmore. He glanced at Miss Dangerfield, whom he -had met often at Raleigh, and the governor’s daughter -met the situation promptly.</p> - -<p>“Captain Webb, what prisoners have you taken, and -why are they not gagged to prevent this hideous noise?”</p> - -<p>Seemingly from beneath the ample porte-cochère, -where this colloquy occurred, rose yells, groans and -curses, and the sound of thumps, as of the impact of -human bodies against remote subterranean doors.</p> - -<p>“They’re trying to get loose, Miss Dangerfield, and -they refuse to stay tied. The fiercest row is from the -fellows we chucked into the coal bins.”</p> - -<p>“It’s excellent anthracite, the best I can buy; they -ought to be glad it isn’t soft coal,” replied Ardmore -defensively. “Who are they?”</p> - -<p>“They’re newspaper men, and they’re most terribly -enraged,” answered Captain Webb. “We picked them -up one at a time in different places on the estate. They -say they’re down here looking for Governor Dangerfield.”</p> - -<p>Collins grinned his delight.</p> - -<p>“Oh, perfect hour!” he sang. “We’ll keep them -until they promise to be good and print what we tell -them. The little squeaky voice you hear occasionally—hark!—that’s -Peck, of the Consolidated Press. He -scooped me once on a lynching, and here is where I -get even with him.”</p> - -<p>“You have done well, Captain Webb,” said Jerry -with dignity, “and I shall urge your promotion upon -papa at the earliest moment possible. Are these newspaper -gentlemen your only prisoners?”</p> - -<p>“No; we gathered up two other parties, and one of -them is in the servants’ laundry; the other, a middle-aged -person, I lodged in the tower, where he can enjoy -the scenery.”</p> - -<p>He pointed to the tower, from which the flag of -North Carolina waved gently in the morning breeze.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">[248]</span>“The prisoner up there made an awful rumpus. He -declares he will ruin the whole state of North Carolina -for this. Here is his card, which, in a comparatively -lucid interval, he gave me to hand you at the earliest -possible moment,” and Captain Webb placed a visiting -card in Ardmore’s hands.</p> - -<p>A smile struggled for possession of Ardmore’s countenance, -but he regained control of himself promptly, -and his face grew severe.</p> - -<p>He gave the card to Jerry, who handed it to Mrs. -Atchison, and that lady laughed merrily.</p> - -<p>“Your prisoner, Captain Webb, is George P. Billings, -secretary of the Bronx Loan and Trust Company of New -York. What was he doing when you seized him?” -demanded Ardmore.</p> - -<p>“He was chasing the gentleman who’s resting on the -anthracite. He chased him and chased him, around a -tea-house out here somewhere on the place; and finally -this person in the coal hole fell, and they both rolled -over together. The gentleman in the coal hole declares -that he’s Foster, the state treasurer of North Carolina, -but his face got so scratched on the shrubbery that he -doesn’t look in the least like Mr. Foster.”</p> - -<p>“I have sent him witch hazel and court plaster, and -we can get a doctor for his wounds, if necessary,” said -Mrs. Atchison.</p> - -<p>A sergeant rushed up in hot haste with a demand -from Colonel Daubenspeck, of the North Carolina First, -to know when Governor Dangerfield could be seen.</p> - -<p>“The South Carolina pickets have been withdrawn, -and our officers want orders from the governor in -person,” said the messenger.</p> - -<p>“Then they shall have orders!” roared Ardmore. -“If our men dare abandon their outposts——”</p> - -<p>He turned and rode furiously toward the border, and -in his rage he had traversed a thousand yards before he -saw that Jerry was close behind him. As they passed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">[249]</span> -the red bungalow the crack of scattering rifle-shots -reached them.</p> - -<p>“Go back! Go back! The war’s begun!” cried -Ardmore; but, though he quickened the pace of his -horse, Jerry clung to his side.</p> - -<p>“If there’s war, and I hope there is, I shall not -shrink from the firing line, Mr. Ardmore.”</p> - -<p>As they dashed into their own lines they came upon -the regimental officers, seated in comfortable chairs from -the red bungalow, calmly engaged in a game of cards.</p> - -<p>“Great God, men!” blurted Ardmore, “why do you -sit here when the state’s honour is threatened? Where -was that firing?”</p> - -<p>“You seem rather placid, gentlemen, to say the -least,” added Jerry, coldly bowing to the officers, who -had risen at her approach. “Unless I am greatly -mistaken, that is the flag of South Carolina I see flaunted -in yonder field.” And she pointed with a gauntleted -hand to a palmetto flag beyond the creek.</p> - -<p>“It is, Miss Dangerfield,” replied the colonel politely, -“and you can see their pickets occasionally, but they -have been drawn back from the creek, and I apprehend -no immediate advance.”</p> - -<p>“No advance! Who are we to wait for them to offer -battle? Who are we to play bridge and wait upon the -pleasure of a cowardly enemy?” and Jerry gazed upon -the furious Ardmore with admiration, as he roared at -the officers, who stood holding their caps deferentially -before the daughter of their commander-in-chief. Ardmore, -it was clear, they did not take very seriously, -a fact which she inwardly resented.</p> - -<p>“I don’t think it would be quite fair,” said the colonel -mildly, “to force issues to-day.”</p> - -<p>“Not force issues!” yelled Ardmore. “With your -brave sons of our Old North State, not force battle! -In the name of the constitution, I ask you, why not?”</p> - -<p>“For the reason,” replied the colonel, “that the South<span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">[250]</span> -Carolina troops ate heavily of green apples last night in -an orchard over there by their camp, and they have -barely enough men to maintain their pickets this morning. -These, you can see, they have withdrawn a considerable -distance from the creek.”</p> - -<p>“Then tell me why they have been firing upon our -lines? Why have they been permitted to shoot at our -helpless and unresisting men if they are not ready for -war?”</p> - -<p>“They were not shooting at our men, Mr. Ardmore. -Their pickets are very tired from loss of sleep, and -they were trying to keep awake by shooting at a buzzard -that hung over a field yonder, where there is, -our scouts inform us, a dead calf lying in one of your -pastures.”</p> - -<p>“They shall have better meat! Buzzards shall eat -the whole state of South Carolina before night! Colonel, -I order you to prepare at once to move your troops -across that creek.”</p> - -<p>The colonel hesitated.</p> - -<p>“I regret to say, sir, that we have no pontoons!”</p> - -<p>“Pontoons! Pontoons! What, by the shade of -Napoleon, do you want with pontoons when you have -legs? Again, sir, I order you to advance your men!”</p> - -<p>It was at this crisis that Jerry lifted her chin a trifle -and calmly addressed the reluctant colonel.</p> - -<p>“Colonel Daubenspeck, in my father’s name, I order -you to throw your troops across the Raccoon!”</p> - -<p>A moment later the clear notes of the bugle rose above -the splash and bubble of the creek. There was no opportunity -for a grand onward sweep; it must be a -scramble for the southern shore over the rocks and fallen -timber in that mad torrent.</p> - -<p>And the Raccoon is a stream from all time dedicated -to noble uses and destined to hold mighty kingdoms in -leash. One might well hesitate before crossing this -wayward Rubicon. The Mississippi is merely an excuse<span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">[251]</span> -for appropriations, the Potomac the sporting ground of -congressmen and shad. No other known stream is so -happily calculated as the foamy Raccoon to delight at -once the gods of battle and the gentle sons of song. It -marks one of those impatient flings of nature in which, -bored with creating orderly, broadly-flowing streams, or -varying the landscape with quiet woodlands or meadows, -she abandons herself for a moment to madness and, -shaking water and rock together as in a dice-box, -splashes them out with joyous laughter.</p> - -<p>Jerry Dangerfield, seated upon her horse on a slight -rise under a clump of trees a little way back from the -stream, coolly munched a cracker and sipped coffee -from a tin cup. Ardmore, again calm, now that Daubenspeck -had been spurred to action, smoked his pipe and -watched the army prepare to advance.</p> - -<p>Beyond the creek, and somewhat removed from it on -the South Carolina side, a rifle cracked, and far against -the blue arch a huge, black, languorous object, rising -with a last supreme effort, as though to claim refuge of -heaven, fell clawing at space with sprawling wings, then -collapsed and pitched earthward until the trees on the -farther shore hid it from sight. A feeble cheer rose in -the distance.</p> - -<p>“They sound pretty tame over there,” remarked Ardmore -critically. “There’s no ginger in that cheer.”</p> - -<p>“The ginger,” suggested Colonel Daubenspeck ironically, -“is probably all in their stomachs.”</p> - -<p>One gun from the battery was brought down and -placed on a slight eminence to support the advance, for -which all was now in readiness. The bugle sang again, -and the men of one company sprang forward and began -leaping from rock to rock, silently, steadily moving -upon the farther shore. Here and there some brown -khaki-clad figure slipped and splashed into the stream -with a wild confusion of brown leggings; but on they -went intrepidly. The captain, leading his men through<span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">[252]</span> -the torrent, was first to gain the southern shore. He -waved his sword, and with a shout his men clambered -up the bank and formed in neat alignment. This was -hardly accomplished before a uniformed figure dashed -from a neighbouring blackberry thicket and waved a -white handkerchief. He bore something in his hand, -which to Ardmore’s straining vision seemed to be a -small wicker basket.</p> - -<p>“It’s a flag of truce!” exclaimed Colonel Daubenspeck, -and a sigh that expressed incontestable relief -broke from that officer.</p> - -<p>“The cowards!” cried Ardmore. “Does that mean -they won’t fight?”</p> - -<p>“It means that hostilities must cease until we have -permitted the bearer of the flag to carry his message -into our lines.”</p> - -<p>The man with the basket was already crossing the -creek in charge of a corporal.</p> - -<p>“I have read somewhere about being careful of the -Greeks bearing gifts,” said Jerry. “There may be -something annoying in that basket.”</p> - -<p>The bearer of the basket gained the North Carolina -shore and strode rapidly toward Miss Dangerfield, Ardmore, -and Colonel Daubenspeck. He handed the trifle -of a basket to the colonel, who gazed upon its contents -for a moment with unspeakable rage. The colour -mounted in his neck almost to the point of apoplexy, -and his voice bellowed forth an oath so bleak, so fraught -with peril to the human race, that Jerry shuddered and -turned away her head as from a blast of flame. The -colonel cast the wicker basket from him with a force -that nearly tore him from his saddle. It struck against -a tree, spilling upon the earth six small, hard, bright -green apples.</p> - -<p>“My letter,” said the emissary soberly, “is for Mr. -Thomas Ardmore, and, unless I am mistaken, you are -that gentleman.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">[253]</span>Ardmore seized a long envelope which the man extended, -tore it open, and read:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>Thomas Ardmore, Esq.,<br /> -<span class="indentleft">Acting Governor of North Carolina,</span><br /> -<span class="indentleft7">In the Field:</span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Sir</span>—As I understand the present unhappy differences between -the states of North and South Carolina, they are due to a reluctance -on the part of the governor of North Carolina to take steps toward -bringing to proper punishment in North Carolina an outlaw named -Appleweight. I have the honour to inform you that that person is -now in jail at Kildare, Dilwell County, North Carolina, properly guarded -by men who will not flinch. If necessary I will support them with every -South Carolinian able to bear arms. This being the case, a <i>casus belli</i> -no longer exists, and to prevent the effusion of blood I beg you to cease -your hostile demonstrations on our frontier.</p> - -<p>Our men seized a few prisoners during the night, and I am willing -to meet you to arrange an exchange on the terms proper in such cases.</p> - -<p>I am, sir, your obedient servant,</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Henry Maine Griswold</span>,     <br /> -For the Governor of South Carolina.</p> -</div> - -<p>“The nerve of it! The sublime cheek of it!” exclaimed -Ardmore, though the sight of Griswold’s well-known -handwriting had shaken him for the moment.</p> - -<p>“As a bluffer your little friend is quite a wonder,” -was Jerry’s only comment when she had read the letter.</p> - -<p>Ardmore promptly wrote on the back of Griswold’s -letter this reply:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>Henry Maine Griswold, Esq.,<br /> -<span class="indentleft8">Assistant Professor of Admiralty,</span><br /> -<span class="indentleft3">Camp Buzzard, S. C.:</span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Sir</span>—Appleweight is under strong guard in the jail at Turner Court -House, Mingo County, South Carolina. I shall take pleasure in meeting -you at Ardsley at five o’clock this afternoon for the proposed exchange -of prisoners. To satisfy your curiosity the man Appleweight will be -produced there for your observation and identification.</p> - -<p>I have the honour, sir, to remain, with high regard and admiration, -your obliged and obedient servant,</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Thomas Ardmore</span>,     <br /> -Acting Governor of North Carolina.</p> -</div> - -<p>“Putting ‘professor’ on that will make him crazy,” -remarked Ardmore to Jerry.</p> - -<p>The messenger departed, but recrossed the Raccoon<span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">[254]</span> -shortly with a formal note agreeing to an armistice -until after the meeting proposed at Ardsley.</p> - -<p>“Colonel Daubenspeck, you may withdraw your men -and go into camp until further orders,” said Jerry, and -the notes of the bugle singing the recall rose sweetly -upon the air.</p> - -<p>“By George,” said Ardmore, as he and Jerry rode -away, “we’ll throw it into old Grissy in a way that will -jar the professor. But when it comes to the exchange -of prisoners, I must tell the boys to bring up that chap -I locked in the corn-crib. I had clean forgotten him.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think you mentioned him, Mr. Ardmore, but -I suppose he’s one of the Appleweight ruffians.”</p> - -<p>“Undoubtedly,” replied Ardmore, whose spirits had -never been higher, “though the fellow was not without -his pleasant humour. He insisted with great vigour that -he is the governor of South Carolina.”</p> - -<p>“I wonder”—and Jerry spoke wistfully—“I wonder -where papa is!”</p> - -<p>“Well, he’s not in the corn-crib; be sure of that.”</p> - -<p>“Papa looks every inch the statesman,” replied Jerry -proudly, “and in his frock-coat no one could ever mistake -him for other than the patriot he is.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">[255]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XIX.<br /> - - -<small>IN THE RED BUNGALOW.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">What</span> do you think,” cried Mrs. Atchison, glowing -before Jerry and Ardmore on their return; “we have -a new guest!”</p> - -<p>“In the coal cellar?” inquired her brother.</p> - -<p>“No, in the blue room adjoining Miss Dangerfield’s! -And what do you think! It is none other than the -daughter of the governor of South Carolina.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Nellie!” gasped Ardmore.</p> - -<p>“Why, what’s the matter?” demanded Mrs. Atchison. -“I had gone in to Turner’s to look at that memorial -church we’re building there, and I learned from the -rector that Miss Osborne, with only a maid, was stopping -at that wretched hole called the Majestic Hotel. -I had met Miss Osborne in Washington last winter, and -you may forget, Tommy, that on our mother’s side I am -a Daughter of the Seminole War, a society of which -Miss Osborne is the president-general.—I hope Miss -Osborne’s presence here will not be offensive to you, -Miss Dangerfield. She seemed reluctant to come, but I -simply would not take no, and I am to send for her at -four o’clock.”</p> - -<p>“Miss Osborne’s presence is not only agreeable to me, -Mrs. Atchison,” responded Jerry, “but I shall join you -in welcoming her. I have heard that the ancestor -through whom Barbara Osborne derives membership in -the Daughters of the Seminole War was afterward convicted<span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">[256]</span> -of robbing an orphan of whose estate he was the -trusted executor, and such being the case I feel that the -commonest Christian charity demands that I should -treat her with the most kindly consideration. I shall -gather some roses, with your permission, and have them -waiting in her room when she arrives, with my card and -compliments.”</p> - -<p>Ardmore had rarely been so busy as during the afternoon. -Several more newspaper correspondents were -found prowling about the estate, and they were added -to the howling mob in the Ardsley cellars. Collins -searched them and read their instructions with interest. -They were all commissioned to find the lost governors of -North and South Carolina; and a number were instructed -to investigate a rumour that North Carolina -was about to default her bonds through malfeasance of -the state treasurer. It was clear from the fact that -practically every newspaper in New York had sent its -best man to the field that the world waited anxiously for -news from the border.</p> - -<p>“It has all happened very handily for us,” said Collins; -“we’ve got the highest-priced newspaper talent in -the world right under our hands, and before we turn -them loose we’ll dictate exactly what history is to know -of these dark proceedings. Those fellows couldn’t get -anything out of either Kildare or Turner’s for some -time, as Paul’s men have cut the wires and Cooke has -operators at the railway stations to see that nothing is -sent out.”</p> - -<p>“When we’ve settled with Griswold and proved to -him that he’s lost out and that the real Mr. Appleweight -is in his jail, not ours, we’ll have to find Governor Dangerfield -and be mighty quick about it,” replied Ardmore. -“Paul says there’s a battery of South Carolina artillery -guarding the Dilwell County jail, and that they’ve fooled -the people into thinking they’re North Carolina troops, -and nobody can get within four blocks of the jail. They<span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">[257]</span> -must have somebody in jail at Kildare. I don’t like -the looks of it. I hope those men we left guarding old -Appleweight in the Mingo jail know their business. It -would be nasty to lose that old chap after all the trouble -he’s given us.”</p> - -<p>“They’ll keep him or eat him, if I know old Cookie.”</p> - -<p>Jerry—a pleasing figure to contemplate in white lawn -and blue ribbons—suggested that the meeting take place -in the library, as more like an imperial council chamber; -but Ardmore warmly dissented from this. A peace -should never be signed, he maintained, in so large a -house as Ardsley. At Appomattox and in many other -cases that he recalled, the opponents met in humble -farmhouses. It would be well, however, to have the -meeting on the estate, for the property would thus become -historic, but it would never do to have it take -place in the Ardsley library.</p> - -<p>“There should be great difficulty in securing pens and -paper,” Ardmore continued, “and we must decline to -accept the swords of our fallen foes.”</p> - -<p>They finally agreed on the red bungalow as convenient -and sufficiently modest for the purpose. And so it was -arranged.</p> - -<p>A few minutes before five the flag of North Carolina -was hung from the wide veranda of the bungalow. At -the door stood an armed militiaman. Colonel Daubenspeck -had been invited to be present, and he appeared -accompanied by several other officers in full uniform. -Word of the meeting-place had been sent through the -lines to the enemy, and the messenger rode back with -Griswold, who was followed quickly by the adjutant-general -of South Carolina and half a dozen other officers. -The guard saluted as Griswold ran up the steps of the -veranda, and at the door Ardmore met him and greeted -him formally.</p> - -<p>At the end of a long table Jerry Dangerfield sat with -her arms folded. She wore, as befitting the occasion, a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">[258]</span> -gray riding-dress and a gray felt hat perched a trifle to -one side.</p> - -<p>She bowed coldly to Griswold, whose hand, as he surveyed -the room and glanced out at the flag that fluttered -in the doorway, went to his moustache with that gesture -that Ardmore so greatly disliked; but Griswold again -bowed gravely to his adversaries.</p> - -<p>“Miss Dangerfield, and gentlemen,” began Griswold, -with an air of addressing a supreme tribunal, “I believe -this whole matter depends upon the arrest of -one Appleweight, a well-known outlaw of North Carolina——”</p> - -<p>“I beg your pardon——”</p> - -<p>It was Jerry who interrupted him, her little fists -clenching, a glint of fire in her eyes.</p> - -<p>“It is for me to ask your pardon, Miss Dangerfield! -Let us agree that this person is an unworthy citizen of -any state, and proceed. It has been your endeavour to -see this man under arrest in South Carolina, thus relieving -North Carolina or her chief executive of responsibility -for him. We, on our side, have used every -effort to lodge Appleweight in jail on your side of the -state line. Am I correct?”</p> - -<p>Jerry nodded affirmatively.</p> - -<p>“Then, Miss Dangerfield, and gentlemen, I must tell -you that you have lost your contention, for Appleweight -spent last night in jail at Kildare, and to secure his -safe retention there, we generously lent your state a -few of our militia to guard him. The proceeding was a -trifle irregular, we admit—the least bit <i>ultra vires</i>—but -the peculiar situation seemed to justify us.”</p> - -<p>“There are not two Bill Appleweights,” remarked -Colonel Daubenspeck. “I assure you that the real -criminal spent last night in jail at Turner Court House, -guarded by trustworthy men, and we are able to produce him.”</p> - -<p>“The quickest way to settle this point, Professor Griswold,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">[259]</span> -is by bringing in your man,” remarked Ardmore -icily.</p> - -<p>“On the other hand”—and Griswold’s tone was confident—“as -there is no reason for doubt that we have -the real Appleweight, and as we are on your territory -and in a measure your guests, it is only fair that you -produce the man you believe to be Appleweight, that -we may have a look at him first.”</p> - -<p>“Certainly,” said Jerry. “Our prisoner does not deny -his identity. It gives us pleasure to produce him.”</p> - -<p>At a nod from Colonel Daubenspeck the orderly at the -door ran off to where Cooke and the prisoner waited.</p> - -<p>In the interval there was a general exchange of introductions -at the bungalow. The adjutant-general of -South Carolina was in a merry mood, and began chaffing -Ardmore upon the deadly character of apples found in -his orchard beyond the Raccoon.</p> - -<p>“I deeply regret,” said Ardmore, rubbing his chin, -“that the adjutant-general of North Carolina is suffering -from a severe attack of <i>paralysis agitans</i>, and will -be unable to meet with us.”</p> - -<p>“I deplore the fact,” replied the adjutant-general of -South Carolina, “for one of our scouts picked up a -darky in the highway a while ago who had on a uniform -dress-coat with the initials ‘R. G.’ sewed in the -pocket.”</p> - -<p>“If you will return that garment to me, General,” -said Ardmore, “I will see that it reaches Colonel Gillingwater -by special messenger, where, upon his couch of -pain, he chafes over his enforced absence from the field -of danger.”</p> - -<p>Steps sounded on the veranda, and all rose as Cooke -appeared in the door, leading his handcuffed prisoner, -who stood erect and glared at the company in gloomy -silence.</p> - -<p>“This man,” said Ardmore, “we declare to be Bill -Appleweight, <i>alias</i> Poteet.—I ask you, sir”—he addressed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">[260]</span> -the prisoner—“to state whether you are not -known by one or both of these names?”</p> - -<p>The man nodded his head and grumbled a reluctant -affirmative.</p> - -<p>“Professor Griswold,” Ardmore went on, “the gentleman -in charge of the prisoner is Roger Cooke, for many -years in the secret service of the United States. He now -conducts a private agency, and is in my employ.—Mr. -Cooke, I will ask you whether you identify this man as -Appleweight?”</p> - -<p>“There is no doubt of it whatever. I have known him -for years. I once arrested him for moonshining, and he -served a year in the penitentiary as the result of that -arrest.—You will pardon me, sir,” Cooke continued, -addressing Griswold directly, “but this is undoubtedly -the man you had yourself captured at Mount Nebo -Church two nights ago, but who was taken from you, as -you may not know, by Miss Geraldine Dangerfield. She -was lost in the woods and came upon the captive, much -to her own surprise.”</p> - -<p>Griswold lifted his brows in amazement and turned -towards Jerry.</p> - -<p>“If that is the case, Miss Dangerfield, I salute you! -I am sorry to confess, however, that I did not myself -see the man who was captured by my friends at the -church, owing, it appears, to Miss Dangerfield’s prompt -and daring action, and the regrettable cowardice of my -men. I want to say to you, gentlemen, in all frankness, -that I am greatly astonished at what you tell me. Our -prisoner is about the same height as this man, has the -same slight stoop in the shoulders, and the same short -beard; but there the resemblance ends.”</p> - -<p>Ardmore was trying not to show too plainly his joy -at Griswold’s discomfiture. None of the South Carolina -officers had ever seen Appleweight, as they lived -remote from the scene of his exploits. Habersham’s -men, who had so signally failed in the descent upon<span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">[261]</span> -Mount Nebo Church, had taken to the woods on the -appearance of the state soldiery along the border, and -could not be found to identify the man seized at the -house on the creek. Habersham had discreetly declined -to support Griswold’s venture at the last moment; to -do so would, he pleaded, ruin his chances of political -preferment in the future; or worse things might, indeed, -happen if he countenanced and supported the armed -invasion of North Carolina by South Carolina militia. -The zealous young militiamen who had captured the -stranger in the house on the creek had pronounced the -man Appleweight, and their statement had been accepted -and emphasized when the man was taken before -Griswold, to whom he had stubbornly refused to make -any statement whatever.</p> - -<p>“Now that you cannot deny that we have the real -Appleweight,” began Jerry, “who is, you must remember, -a prisoner of the state of South Carolina, and must -be returned to the Mingo County jail at once, I think -we may as well look at your prisoner, Professor Griswold. -He may be one of Mr. Appleweight’s associates in business; -but as we are interested only in the chief culprit, -the identity of the man you hold is of very little interest -to us.”</p> - -<p>“If,” said Griswold, “he is not Appleweight, the original -blown in the bottle——”</p> - -<p>“Jug, if you please!” interposed Ardmore very seriously.</p> - -<p>“Then we don’t care about him, and I shall make you -a present of him.”</p> - -<p>“Or,” remarked Ardmore, “I might exchange him for -a ruffian I captured myself down on the Raccoon. He -seemed quite insane, declaring himself to be the governor -of South Carolina, and I locked him up in a corn-crib -for safe keeping.”</p> - -<p>“Any man,” said Jerry, lifting her chin slightly, “who -would impersonate the governor of South Carolina would,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">[262]</span> -beyond question, be utterly insane and an object of -compassion. Professor Griswold, will you please produce -your imaginary Appleweight, as at this hour Mrs. -Atchison usually serves tea. Let us therefore make -haste.”</p> - -<p>One of Griswold’s retinue ran off to summon the -prisoner, who was guarded by half a dozen soldiers -near at hand.</p> - -<p>The company in the bungalow were all laughing -heartily at some sally by the adjutant-general of South -Carolina, who insisted upon giving a light note to the -proceedings, when hurried footsteps sounded on the -veranda, and a sergeant appeared in the doorway and -saluted.</p> - -<p>The adjutant-general, annoyed at being interrupted -in the telling of a new story, frowned and bade the -sergeant produce his prisoner. At once a man was -thrust into the room, a tall man, with a short, dark -beard and slightly stooping shoulders. The strong light -at his back made it difficult for the people grouped about -the table to see his face clearly, but the air somehow -seemed charged with electricity, and all bent forward, -straining for a sight of the captive. As he stood framed -in the doorway his face was slowly disclosed to them, -and there appeared to be a humorous twinkle in his -eyes. Before any one spoke, he broke out in a hearty -laugh. Then a cry rose piercingly in the quiet room—a -cry of amazement from the lips of Jerry Dangerfield, -who had taken a step forward.</p> - -<p>“Oh, papa!” she cried.</p> - -<p>“The Governor!” roared Colonel Daubenspeck, leaping -across the table.</p> - -<p>“It’s Governor Dangerfield!” shouted half a dozen -men in chorus.</p> - -<p>At this moment Mrs. Atchison and Miss Barbara Osborne -stole softly in and ranged themselves at the back -of the room.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">[263]</span>The governor of North Carolina alone seemed to derive -any pleasure from the confusion and astonishment -caused by his appearance. He crossed to the table and -took his daughter’s hand.</p> - -<p>“Jerry, what part do you play in these amateur -theatricals?”</p> - -<p>Jerry rose, thrusting her handkerchief into her sleeve, -and her lips trembled slightly, though whether with -mirth or some soberer emotion it would be difficult to -say. The room at once gave her attention, seeing that -she was about to speak.</p> - -<p>“Papa, before these people I am not ashamed to confess -that during your absence from the seat of government -I took it upon myself to fill your office to the best -of my ability, finding that many important matters were -pressing and that you had gone into exile without leaving -your address behind. I made Mr. Ardmore, the gentleman -on my left in the pearl-gray suit and lavender tie, -first private secretary, and then, when occasion required, -acting governor, though in reality he did nothing without -my entire approval. I am happy to say that nothing -has been neglected, and your reputation as a great -statesman and friend of the people has not suffered at -our hands. We arrested Mr. Appleweight, who is standing -there by the fireplace, and landed him in the Mingo -County jail as a joke on Governor Osborne, and to -appease the demands of the press and the Woman’s -Civic League of Raleigh. The copies of our correspondence -on this and other matters will tell you the -story more completely. And as for Governor Osborne, -I have taught him a lesson in the etiquette that should -obtain between governors that he is not likely to forget. -You will find that we have not hesitated to grant pardons, -and we have filled, in one instance, the office of -justice of the peace, made vacant by resignation. The -key to your desk, papa, is behind the clock on the -mantel in your private room.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">[264]</span>“Ladies and gentlemen,” began the governor of North -Carolina, laying a hand upon the table, and with the -other seizing the lapel of his rough, brown coat—a pose -made familiar by all his photographs—“the jails of -North Carolina are more uncomfortable than I had believed -them to be, and I have taken a slight cold which -compels me to be briefer than this interesting occasion -demands. You have witnessed here an exhibition of -filial devotion that has, I am sure, touched us all. It is -well worth while for me to have suffered arrest and imprisonment -to realize the depth of my daughter’s love, -and the jealousy with which she has safeguarded my -private and public honour.”</p> - -<p>He felt for a handkerchief and touched it gently to -his eyes; but Collins declared afterward that Governor -Dangerfield was exactly like his daughter, and that one -never could be sure that his mirth was genuine.</p> - -<p>“I was aware only yesterday, when I saw a newspaper -for the first time in a week, that political capital was -being made of my absence from Raleigh; and that my -dear friend, the governor of South Carolina, also, was -being called to account for flinching in the face of imperative -duty.”</p> - -<p>“Your friend, Governor?” cried Ardmore, unable to -restrain himself.</p> - -<p>“Certainly, Mr. Ardmore,” continued Governor Dangerfield. -“That angry parting of ours at New Orleans -was all for effect to get space in the newspapers. We -had confided to each other that the cares of state had -worn us to an intolerable point, and that we must have -rest. Brother Appleweight had, I confess, given us both -a great deal of annoyance, and to be frank, neither -Osborne nor I wished to take the initiative in his case. -So we resolved to disappear, and go to some quiet place -for rest. We outfitted with old clothes and came to the -border. Governor Osborne has a farm over there somewhere -in Mingo County, and we made it our headquarters;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">[265]</span> -but in roaming about we came upon that -charming shanty of yours, Mr. Ardmore, down on the -Raccoon. The house was deserted, and finding the -marks of the official survey running clearly through the -timber, we were amused to find that the house was -partly in North, partly in South, Carolina. The thing -touched our fancy. A negro cooked for us—what has -become of him I do not know. We cut ourselves off from -the mail and telegraph and received no newspapers until -a packet came yesterday, and it was only a few minutes -after I saw from the headlines of the <i>Vidette</i> what a row -was going on that I realized that strange things may -happen when the king goes a-hunting.”</p> - -<p>As he paused, Miss Osborne stepped forward, the men -making way for her.</p> - -<p>“If this be true, Governor Dangerfield, may I ask -you, sir, what has become of my father?”</p> - -<p>Governor Dangerfield smiled.</p> - -<p>“I regret, Miss Barbara, that I cannot answer that -question; I must refer it to my daughter.”</p> - -<p>“Miss Osborne,” responded Jerry, “while I should -be glad to assist you in recovering your father as a -slight return for your having placed mine in the -Dilwell County jail and kept him there all night, I -regret that I am unable to be of the slightest help to -you.”</p> - -<p>The perspiration was beading Ardmore’s brow, but -he smiled as though in joy at Jerry’s readiness.</p> - -<p>“We have taken a number of prisoners,” said Ardmore, -meeting the governor’s glance, “and while I do -not think Governor Osborne can possibly be of the number, -yet I shall be glad to produce them all. There’s -a person in the corn-crib a little way across country -whom I captured myself. I believe he’s now tied to a -mulberry tree a little way down the road, as he pretended -to be the governor of South Carolina, and I -feared that he might do himself some harm.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">[266]</span>Before he ceased speaking big Paul strode in, an -angry and crestfallen man following at his heels.</p> - -<p>“Oh, father!”</p> - -<p>It was Barbara Osborne’s voice; but whatever of -anger or joy there may have been in her words and -tone was lost in the shout of laughter that broke from -Governor Dangerfield. The governor of South Carolina -was in no such high humour. He sputtered, swore, -stamped his foot, and struck the table with his clenched -hand as he demanded to know the meaning of the -outrageous indignity to which he had been subjected.</p> - -<p>The more his friend stormed the more Governor -Dangerfield roared with laughter, but when he could -control himself he laid an arresting arm on Governor -Osborne’s shoulder, and spoke to Barbara.</p> - -<p>“Barbara, may I ask whether you, like my own Jerry, -have been protecting your father’s fair name during his -absence; and does that account for my night spent in the -jail at Kildare? If so——”</p> - -<p>Governor Dangerfield’s laughter got the better of him, -but Barbara, with dignity, turned to her father.</p> - -<p>“It is quite true, that finding your absence occasioning -serious remark, while your attorney-general took -advantage of your absence to annoy me in a most -cowardly fashion, with the kind help of Professor Griswold, -I did all in my power to thwart your enemies, -and to show the people of South Carolina that you -were not a man to evade the responsibilities of your -office. As to the details of these matters I prefer, father, -to speak to you in private.”</p> - -<p>“Professor Griswold?” repeated Governor Osborne -haughtily. “I believe I have not the honour of the -gentleman’s acquaintance;” whereupon, to ease the -situation, Ardmore presented his old friend.</p> - -<p>“Governor Osborne, allow me to present Professor -Henry Maine Griswold, associate professor of admiralty -in the University of Virginia, and the author of——”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">[267]</span>“Griswold?” The anger slowly left Governor Osborne’s -face. “Do I understand that you belong to the -Virginia tide-water family of that name? Then, sir, -without hesitation I offer you my hand.”</p> - -<p>“Osborne,” cried Governor Dangerfield, “we have -every reason to be proud of our daughters. They have -done their best for us; and they seem to have acted -wisely in accepting aid from these gentlemen; and -now, what is to be done with Bill Appleweight?”</p> - -<p>“We have with us that requisition you left on your -desk,” exclaimed Barbara, turning to her father.</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid that won’t help,” laughed Governor Osborne, -“that requisition, Barbara, is purely Pickwickian -in character.”</p> - -<p>“The disposition of Appleweight,” said Cooke, “is a -matter of delicacy for both of you gentlemen, and you -will pardon me for thrusting myself forward, but that -this affair may end happily for all, neither North nor -South Carolina should bear the burden of prosecuting a -man to whom—we may say it as between friends here—the -governors of both states are under some trifling -obligations.”</p> - -<p>The governor of North Carolina exchanged a glance -and a nod with the governor of South Carolina.</p> - -<p>“Therefore,” resumed Cooke, “we must hit upon a -plan of action that will eliminate both states from the -controversy. I will, with your permission, turn Appleweight -over to the United States revenue officers who -are even now in this neighbourhood looking for him.”</p> - -<p>“No!” cried Jerry. “We shall do nothing of the -kind! I met Mr. Appleweight under peculiar circumstances, -but I must say that I formed a high opinion of his -chivalry, and I beg that we allow him to take a little -trip somewhere until the Woman’s Civic League of -Raleigh and the carping Massachusetts press have -found other business, and he can return in peace to his -home.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_268">[268]</span>“That,” said Governor Osborne, “meets my approval.”</p> - -<p>“And I,” Ardmore added, “will give him my private -caboose in which to cruise the larger Canadian cities.”</p> - -<p>Two more prisoners were now brought in.</p> - -<p>“Governor Dangerfield,” continued Ardmore, “here -is your state treasurer, who had sought to injure you by -defaulting the state bonds due to-day, which is the first -of June. And that frowsy person with Mr. Foster is -Secretary Billings, of the Bronx Loan and Trust Company, -who has treated me at times with the greatest injustice -and condescension. Whether Treasurer Foster -has the money with which to meet those bonds I do not -know; but I do know that I have to-day paid them in -full through the Buckhaw National Bank of Raleigh.”</p> - -<p>Colonel Daubenspeck leaped to his feet and swung -his cap. He proposed three cheers for Jerry Dangerfield; -and three more for Barbara Osborne; and then -the two governors were cheered three times three; and -when the bungalow had ceased to ring, it was seen that -Ardmore and Griswold were in each other’s arms.</p> - -<p>“Surely, by this time,” said Mrs. Atchison, “you -have adjusted enough of these weighty matters for one -day, and I beg that you will all dine with us at Ardsley -to-night at eight o’clock, where my brother and I will -endeavour to mark in appropriate fashion the signing -of peace between your neighbouring kingdoms.”</p> - -<p>“For Governor Osborne and myself I accept, madam,” -replied Governor Dangerfield, “providing the flowing -frock-coats, which are the vesture and symbol of our -respective offices, are still in the log house on the Raccoon -where I became a prisoner.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_269">[269]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XX.<br /> - - -<small>ROSÆ MUNDI.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Atchison</span> and Ardmore had given their last touches -to the preparations for the dinner. Every window of the -great house shone and a myriad of lanterns illuminated -the lawns and terraces. The flags of North and South -Carolina were everywhere entwined; nor were the stars -and stripes neglected. They surveyed the long table -in the dining-room, where gold and silver and crystal -were bright upon the snowy napery.</p> - -<p>“The matter of precedence is serious, Tommy,” urged -Mrs. Atchison. “I cannot for the life of me remember -what two monarchs do about entering a room at the -same time.”</p> - -<p>“Nor do I, Nellie,” said Ardmore; “unless they -sprint for the door, and the one who gets through first -takes the head of the table. Still, that would be undignified, -particularly if the kings were old and fat, and -if they bumped going through the door and took a -header it would jar the divine right.”</p> - -<p>“Here in democratic America,” said Griswold, joining them, -“there can be no such preposterous idea of -precedence.”</p> - -<p>“I should think better of that notion, Professor -Griswold,” laughed Mrs. Atchison, “if I had never -seen the goats carefully shepherded to keep them away -from the lambs at functions in Washington. Democracy -may be a political triumph, but it is certainly deficient<span class="pagenum" id="Page_270">[270]</span> -socially. Personally I have always wished to bring -myself in touch with the poor. Ardy is quite right -that our own kind are distinctly uninteresting.”</p> - -<p>“You ought to remember, Nellie, that your idea of -going slumming in a purple coupé and dressed up in -your best rags is not well calculated to inspire confidence -and affection among the submerged. But how to -handle two governors has me fussed. You are the -hostess, and it’s for you to decide which excellency shall -take you in. I see no way out but to match for it.”</p> - -<p>“That will be unnecessary,” said Mrs. Atchison, “for -the doors and the hall are broad enough for a dozen -governors to march in abreast.”</p> - -<p>“That would never do, Nellie! You don’t understand -these things. You can’t hitch up a brace of -American governors in a team and drive them like a -pair of horses. At least, speaking for the Old North -State, I will say that we can never consent to any such -compromise.”</p> - -<p>“And I, speaking for the great Palmetto Commonwealth, -not less emphatically reject the idea!” declared -Griswold.</p> - -<p>“Then,” said Mrs. Atchison, “there is only one possible -solution. When the rest of us have entered the -dining-room and taken our places, a bugle will sound; -the governor of North Carolina shall enter from the -north door; the governor of South Carolina from the -south door, and advance to seats facing each other midway -of the table. Professor Griswold, you are an old -friend of the family, and you shall yourself take me -in to dinner.”</p> - -<p>The members of Mrs. Atchison’s house party, well -distributed among the official guests, were still somewhat -at a loss to know what had happened, but it seemed -to be in the air that Tommy Ardmore had at last done -something, though just what was not wholly clear. It -was sufficiently obvious, however, that the little girl<span class="pagenum" id="Page_271">[271]</span> -with blue eyes who had the drollest possible way of talking, -and whom one never seemed able to take off guard, -had seized strong hold upon the master of Ardsley; -and she, on her part, treated him with the most provoking -condescension. It was agreed by all that Miss -Osborne was distinguished and lovely and that Professor -Griswold did not seem out of place at her side.</p> - -<p>The talk grew general after the first restraint was -over, and Mrs. Atchison dropped just the right word -here and there to keep the ball rolling. Governor -Osborne had generously forgotten and forgiven his -painful incarceration in the corn-crib, and he and -Governor Dangerfield vied with each other in avowing -their determination to live up to the high standards -that had been set for them by their daughters.</p> - -<p>Both governors had at almost the same moment -turned down their glasses. It even seemed that they -had been drilled in the part, so dexterous were they in -reversing them, so nimbly did they put from them the -hope of wine. The members of the house party noted -this act of the two governors with well-bred surprise; -and Ardmore was grieved, feeling that in some measure -the illustrious guests were criticising his hospitality. -The butler at this moment spoke to him, and much -relieved he smiled and nodded. A moment later two -jugs, two little brown jugs, were carried in, and one was -placed quietly in front of each governor at precisely -the same moment. Expectation was instantly a-tiptoe.</p> - -<p>“Gentlemen,” said Ardmore, addressing the governors, -“these jugs have just been left at the house by -our old friend, Mr. Bill Appleweight, <i>alias</i> Poteet, with -his compliments, for the governors of the two greatest -states in the Union. I note that there’s a bit of pink -calico around the stopper of Governor Dangerfield’s jug, -while Governor Osborne’s is garnished with blue and -white gingham.”</p> - -<p>Governor Osborne rose.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_272">[272]</span>“In politics,” he began, resting his hand gently on the -jug, “it would be a fine thing if we could all live up -to our noblest ideals, but unfortunately we must be all -things to all men. What I have here is not merely the -testimonial of a valued constituent, but something much -subtler than that, ladies and gentlemen—a delicate proof -that those of us who would command the good-will and -suffrages of the people must keep a careful eye on the -weather-vane. This jug, which you probably all believe -contains the rude product of some hidden still, is as -equivocal as a political platform. I will illustrate my -meaning.”</p> - -<p>All eyes were bent upon the governor of South Carolina -as he picked up the jug, twisted the cob stopper for -a moment, and then poured into a tumbler which the -butler placed for him a clear white fluid; then, turning -the stopper slightly, he poured into another glass a -thick milk-like liquid.</p> - -<p>“When among my constituents I almost invariably -call for a gourd for drinking purposes in preference to a -tumbler; but in this company I shall abandon a custom -of the plain people and yield to the habits of the sons -of Mammon. I am here, I take it, once more in my -official capacity as governor of South Carolina, and as I -am not one to offend the best sentiments of my people, I -pledge you, my friends, not in the untaxed corn whisky -of Appleweight’s private still, but in the excellent and -foamy buttermilk of Mrs. Appleweight’s homely churn.”</p> - -<p>As he concluded, Governor Dangerfield rose and performed -exactly the same solemn rite with the jug before -him, pouring whisky into one glass, buttermilk into -the other, and leaning across the table he touched his -tumbler of buttermilk to that extended by Governor -Osborne. When the applause that greeted this exchange -of courtesies had subsided, Governor Dangerfield -was still standing, and in a quiet conversational tone, -and with a manner engagingly frank, he said:</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_273">[273]</span>“Before it seemed expedient to follow the reform -bandwagon, I held certain principles touching the drinking -habit. But the American bar has destroyed drinking -as a fine art, and it has now become a vulgar habit. In -the good old times no gentleman ever jumped at his -liquor. He took it with a casual air, even with a sanctifying -reluctance. The idea of rushing into a public -place and gulping your liquor is repugnant to the most -primary of the instincts that govern gentlemen. To -precipitate a gill of applejack into that most delicate -organism, the human stomach, without the slightest -warning, is an insult to the human body—ay, more, it is -an outrage upon man’s very soul. The aim of liquor, -ladies and gentlemen, is to stay and lift the spirit, not -to degrade it. Drinking at proper intervals ceased to -be respectable at a fixed date in human progress—to -be exact, at the moment when it was no longer a -mere incident of personal or social recreation but had -become a sociological and political issue, staggering -drunkenly under a weary burden of most painful statistics.”</p> - -<p>“You are eminently right, Governor Dangerfield,” -said the governor of South Carolina, helping himself -to the salted almonds; “but you have used a phrase -which piques my curiosity. Will you kindly enlighten -us as to how you interpret proper intervals?”</p> - -<p>“With greatest pleasure,” responded Governor Dangerfield. -“I remember, as though it were yesterday, my -venerable grandfather saying that no gentleman should -ever approach the sideboard oftener than once before -breakfast, and he was himself a very early riser. I discount -this, however, because he always slept with a jug -of Cuban rum—the annual offering of a West Indian -friend—easily within his reach at the head of his bed. -It was his practice for years to sip a little rum and -water while he shaved. He was a gentleman if ever I -knew one, and as I look upon him as a standard authority<span class="pagenum" id="Page_274">[274]</span> -in all matters of deportment and morals, I may safely -cite him further in answer to your question.</p> - -<p>“During the long open season in our country my -grandfather constantly rode over the plantation in immaculate -white duck, followed by a darky on a mule -carrying a basket. On our ancestral estate there were -many springs giving the purest and coldest of water, -and these were providentially scattered at the most convenient -intervals for my grandfather’s comfort. And as -a slight return to nature for what she had done for him -in this particular, my grandfather, in his early youth, -had planted mint around all these springs. I need -hardly point out the advantages of this happiest of -combinations—a spring of clear, icy water; the pungent -bouquet of lush mint; the ample basket borne by -a faithful negro, and my grandfather, in his white duck -suit and a Panama hat a yard wide, seated by the -mossy spring, selecting with the most delicate care -the worthiest of the fragrant leaves.</p> - -<p>“Now”—and Governor Dangerfield smiled—“I can -see that you are all busy guessing at the number of -stops made by my grandfather in the course of a day, -and I hasten to satisfy your curiosity. My grandfather -always started out at six o’clock in the morning, and -the springs were so arranged that he had to make six -stops before noon, and four in the afternoon; but at -five o’clock, when he reached home all fagged out by a -hard day’s work and sorely needing refreshment, a -pitcher of cherry bounce was waiting for him on the west -gallery of the house. After that he took nothing but a -night-cap on retiring for the night. To my friend, the -governor of South Carolina, I need offer no apologies for -my grandfather, once a senator in Congress, and a man -distinguished for his sobriety and probity. He was an upright -man and a gentleman, and died at ninety-two, full -of years and honours, and complaining, almost with his -last breath, of a distressing dusty feeling in the throat.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_275">[275]</span>When, as time passed, it seemed that every one had -told a story or made a speech, it was Ardmore’s inspiration -that Griswold should sing a song. The associate -professor of admiralty in the University of Virginia -had already pledged the loyalty of his state to her neighbours -and twin sisters, the Carolinas, and Barbara, who -wore a great bunch of her own white roses, had listened -to him with a new respect and interest, for he spoke -well, with the special grace of speech that men of his -state have, and with little turns of humour that kept -the table bubbling merrily.</p> - -<p>“I shall comply with your request, my friends, if you -can bear with the poor voice of one long out of tune, -and if our host still has in the house a certain ancient -guitar I remember from old times. But I must impose -one condition, that I shall not again in this place be -called by my academic title. I have known wars and -the shock of battle along the Raccoon”—here his hand -went to his lips in the gesture that had so often distressed -Ardmore—“and I have known briefly the joy -of a military title. Miss Osborne conferred on me in an -emergency the noble title of major, and by it I demand -hereafter to be known.”</p> - -<p>The governor of South Carolina was promptly upon -his feet.</p> - -<p>“Henry Maine Griswold,” he said in his most official -manner, “I hereby appoint you a major on my staff with -all the rights, privileges, and embarrassments thereunto -belonging, and you shall to-morrow attend me personally -in my inspection of our troops in the field.”</p> - -<p>As the guitar was placed in Griswold’s hands, Ardmore -caused all the lights to be turned out save those on -the table. In the soft candle-glow Ardmore bent his -face upon Jerry, who had been merrily chaffing him at -intervals, but who feigned at other times an utter ignorance -of his presence on earth. As Griswold’s voice rose -in the mellow dusk it seemed to Ardmore that the song<span class="pagenum" id="Page_276">[276]</span> -spoke things he could not, like his friend, put into utterance, -and something fine and sweet and hallowed—that -sweet sabbath of the soul that comes with first love—possessed -him, and he ceased looking at Jerry, but bent -his head and was lost in dreams. For the song and the -voice were both beyond what the company had expected. -It was an old air that Griswold sang, and it gave charm -to his words, which were those of a man who loves deeply -and who dares speak them to the woman he loves. They -rose and fell in happy cadences, and every word rang -clear. In the longer lines of the song there was a quickening -of time that carried the sense of passion, and -Griswold lifted his head when he uttered them and let -them cry out of him.</p> - -<p>One of Barbara’s white roses had fallen into her lap, -and she played with it idly; but after the first verse it -slipped from her fingers, and she folded her arms on the -table and bent her gaze on the quiet flame of the candle -before her. And this was the song that Griswold sang:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Fair winds and golden suns</div> -<div class="indent">Down the year’s dim aisles of gray depart;</div> -<div class="verse">But you are the dear white rose of the world</div> -<div class="indent">That I hide in my heart.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Last leaves, and the first wild snow,</div> -<div class="indent">And the earth through an iron void is whirled;</div> -<div class="verse">But safe from the tempest abide in my heart,</div> -<div class="indent">O dear white rose of the world!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Blithe air and flashing wing.</div> -<div class="indent">And awakened sap that thrills and flows;</div> -<div class="verse">But hid from the riot and haste of the spring</div> -<div class="indent">Sleeps one white rose.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O scattered leaves of days!</div> -<div class="indent">O low-voiced glories that fade and depart!</div> -<div class="verse">But changeless and dear through the changing year</div> -<div class="indent">Blooms one white rose in my heart.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>The last words hung tremulously, tenderly, on the -air, and left a spell upon the company that no one seemed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_277">[277]</span> -anxious to break; then there was long applause and cries -of encore; but Ardmore, who knew that his friend had -been greatly moved, drew attention away from him to -Collins, who had just entered the room.</p> - -<p>The correspondent had been called away shortly before -from the table, and he wore the serious air of one -heavy with news.</p> - -<p>“I beg to report that I have just completed a treaty -with the journalists assembled in the cellar.”</p> - -<p>“I hope, Mr. Collins, that the journalists’ convention -below stairs realized that the lobster we sent them for -supper was not canned, and that the mushrooms were -creamed for their refreshment by Mrs. Atchison’s special -command. It is not for us to trifle with the dignity of -the press,” said Jerry.</p> - -<p>“The reputations of two governors and of two states -are in their hands,” said the governor of South Carolina, -with feeling. “It would be a distressing end of my -public services if the truth of all these matters should -be known. The fact that Governor Dangerfield and I -had merely withdrawn from public life for a little quiet -poker in the country would sound like the grossest immorality -to my exacting constituency.”</p> - -<p>“Both yourself and Governor Dangerfield will be relieved -to know that they have accepted my terms, and -all is well,” responded Collins. “They will tell the -waiting world that you have both been the guests of -Mr. Ardmore, and that the troops assembled on the -Raccoon are merely at their usual summer manœuvres. -As for Appleweight, it has seemed expedient that he -should be dead, and the man who has been called by -that name of late is only an impostor seeking a little -cheap notoriety. The boys are very sick of the cellar, -and they would do even more than this to get away.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Collins,” said Governor Dangerfield, rising, -“your great merits shall not go unrewarded. I have -carelessly neglected to appoint a delegate from North<span class="pagenum" id="Page_278">[278]</span> -Carolina to the annual conference of the Supreme Lodge -of the Society of American Liars shortly to meet at -Lake Placid, New York. As a slight testimonial of my -confidence and admiration, I hereby appoint you to -represent the Old North State at that meeting, and your -expenses shall be paid from the public purse.”</p> - -<p>“The boys wish to see your excellencies before they -leave,” said Collins when he had acknowledged the governor’s -compliment; and as he spoke the sound of great -cheering broke through the windows, and Mrs. Atchison -promptly rose and led the way to the broad terraces -which were now gay with coloured lanterns.</p> - -<p>“Speech! speech!” cried the corps of correspondents. -Then Ardmore seized Governor Osborne’s hand and led -him forward to the balustrade; but before the governor -of South Carolina could speak, the group of newspaper -men began chanting, in the manner of a college antiphonal:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">What did he say to you?</div> -<div class="verse">What did he say to you?</div> -<div class="indent2"><i>What did who say?</i></div> -<div class="verse">What did the governor of North Carolina</div> -<div class="indent4">SAY</div> -<div class="verse">To the governor of South Carolina?</div> -</div></div> - -<p>“Gentlemen,” began Governor Osborne, speaking with -great deliberation, “I am profoundly touched by the -cordiality of your greeting. (Applause.) Amid the perplexities -of my official life I am deeply sensible always -of the consideration and generosity of our free and untrammelled -American press. (Cheers.) Without your -support and approval, my best aims, my sincerest endeavours -in behalf of the people, must fall short and -fail of their purpose. (A voice: You’re dead right -about that.) I am proud of this opportunity to greet -this most complimentary delegation of men distinguished -in the noble profession of which Greeley, Raymond, and -Dana were the high ornaments. (Cheers.) I look into -your upturned faces as into the faces of old friends. But<span class="pagenum" id="Page_279">[279]</span> -I dare not—(A voice: Oh, don’t be afraid, Governor!)—I -dare not take too personally this expression of your -good-will. It is not myself but the great state of South -Carolina that you honour, and on behalf of mine own -people, who have always stood sturdily for the great -principles of the constitution (Cheers); who have failed -in no hour of the country’s need, but have tilled their -fields in peace and defended them in the dark days of -war, I thank you, my friends, with all my heart, again -and again.” (Applause and cheers.)</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">What did you say to him?</div> -<div class="verse">What did you say to him?</div> -<div class="indent2"><i>What did who say?</i></div> -<div class="verse">What did the governor of North Carolina</div> -<div class="indent4">SAY</div> -<div class="verse">To the governor of South Carolina?</div> -</div></div> - -<p>“On an occasion so purely social as this,” began Governor -Dangerfield, balancing himself lightly upon the -balustrade, “it would be most indelicate for me to discuss -any of the great issues of the day. (A voice: Oh, -I don’t know!) I endorse, with all the strength of my -being, and with all the sincerity of which my heart is -capable, the stirring tribute paid to your noble profession -by my friend, known far and near, and justly known, as -the great reform governor of South Carolina. (Cheers.) -I am proud that the American press is incorruptible. -(Cheers.) Great commercial nation though we be, the -American newspaper—the American newspaper, I say, -is one thing that is never for sale. (Applause and -cheers.) The temptation is strong upon me to take advantage -of this gathering of representative journalists -to speak—not of the fathers of the constitution, not of -Jefferson or Jackson, but of living men and living issues -(Cheers and cries of Let ’er go!); but the hour is late -(A voice: Oh, not on Broadway, William!) and, to -repeat, it would be the height of impropriety—a betrayal -of the bountiful hospitality we have all enjoyed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_280">[280]</span> -(A voice: Our lobster was all right. Another voice, -with ironical inflection: <i>This</i> lobster is all right!), a -betrayal, I say, of hospitality for me to do more, gentlemen, -than to thank you, and to say that in your strong -hands the liberties of the people are safe indeed.” (Prolonged -cheering.)</p> - -<p>As the correspondents marched away to take the -special train provided for them at Kildare by Ardmore, -they continued to cheer, and they were still demanding, -as long as their cries could be heard at Ardsley:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">What did he say to him?</div> -<div class="verse">What did he say to him?</div> -<div class="indent2"><i>What did who say?</i></div> -<div class="verse">What did the governor of North Carolina</div> -<div class="indent4">SAY</div> -<div class="verse">To the governor of South Carolina?</div> -</div></div> - -<p>With a sigh Ardmore left them at the great gates of -Ardsley and returned to the house to find Jerry; but -that young woman was the centre of a wide circle of -admiring militia officers, and the master of Ardsley was -so depressed by the spectacle that he sought a dim -corner of the grounds where there was a stone bench by -a fountain, and there, to his confusion, he beheld Miss -Barbara Osborne and Henry Maine Griswold; and Miss -Osborne, it seemed, was in the act of fastening a white -rose in Professor Griswold’s coat.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_281">[281]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XXI.<br /> - - -<small>GOOD-BYE TO JERRY DANGERFIELD.</small></h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> next morning Ardmore knocked at Griswold’s door -as early as he dared, and went in and talked to his friend -in their old intimate fashion. The associate professor -of admiralty was shaving himself with care.</p> - -<p>“You won’t have any hard feelings about that scarlet -fever business, will you, Grissy? It was downright -selfish of me to want to keep the thing to myself, but I -thought it would be fun to go ahead and carry it through -and then show you how well I pulled it off.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t ever refer to it again, if you love me,” spluttered -Griswold amiably, as he washed off the lather. -“I, too, have ruled over a kingdom, and I have seen -history in the making, <i>quorum pars magna fui</i>.”</p> - -<p>“But I say, Grissy, there is such a thing as fate and -destiny and all that after all; don’t you believe it?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t I believe it! I know it!” thundered Griswold, -reaching for a towel. He lifted a white rose from -a glass of water where it had spent the night, and regarded -it tenderly. “The right rose under the right -star, and the thing’s done; the rose, the star, and the -girl—the combination simply can’t be beat, Ardy.”</p> - -<p>Ardmore seized and wrung his friend’s hand for the -twentieth time; but he was preoccupied, and Griswold, -fastening his collar at the mirror, hummed softly the -couplet:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">With the winking eye</div> -<div class="verse">For my battle-cry.</div> -</div></div> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_282">[282]</span>“Grissy!” shouted Ardmore, “she never did it!”</p> - -<p>“Oh—bless my soul, what was I saying! Why, of -course she wasn’t the one! Not Miss Dangerfield—never!”</p> - -<p>“Well, you like her, don’t you?” demanded Ardmore -petulantly.</p> - -<p>“Of course I like her, you idiot! She’s wonderful. -She’s——”</p> - -<p>He frowned upon the scarf he had chosen with much -care, snapped it to shake the wrinkles out, humming -softly, while Ardmore glared at him.</p> - -<p>“She’s wise,” Griswold resumed, “with the wisdom -of laughter—accept that, with my compliments. It’s -not often I do so well before breakfast. And now if -you’re to be congratulated before I go back to the -groves of Academe, pray bestir yourself. At this very -moment I have an engagement to walk with a lady -before breakfast—thanks, yes, that’s my coat. Good-bye!”</p> - -<p>Breakfast was a lingering affair at Ardsley that morning. -The two governors and the national guard officers -who had spent the night in the house were not in the -slightest hurry to break up the party, for such a company, -they all knew, could hardly be assembled again. -The governors were a trifle nervous as to the attitude -of the press, in spite of Collins’s efforts to dictate what -history should say of the affair on the Raccoon; but -before they left the table the Raleigh morning papers -were brought in, and it was clear that the newspaper -men were keeping their contract.</p> - -<p>“I congratulate you, Dangerfield,” said Governor Osborne. -“I only hope that the Columbia and Charleston -papers have done half as well by me.”</p> - -<p>Both governors had decided upon an inspection of -such portions of their militia as were assembled on the -Raccoon, and a joint dress parade was appointed for -six o’clock.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_283">[283]</span>Ardmore, anxious to make every one at home, saw the -morning pass without a chance to speak to Jerry; and -when he was free shortly before noon he was chagrined -to find that she had gone for a ride over the estate with -her father, Governor Osborne, Barbara, and Griswold. -He went in pursuit, and to his delight found her presently -sitting alone on a log by the Raccoon, having dismounted, -it appeared, to rescue a fledgling robin whose -cries had led her away from her companions. She -pointed out the nest, and directed him to climb the -tree and restore the bird. This done, he sat down beside -her at a point where the Raccoon curved sweepingly and -swung off abruptly into a new course.</p> - -<p>“I hope your father didn’t scold you for anything we -did,” he began meekly.</p> - -<p>“No; he took it all pretty well, and promised that -if I wouldn’t tell mamma what he had been doing—about -coming down here with Governor Osborne just to -settle an old score at poker—mamma doesn’t approve of -cards, you know—that he would make me a present of -a better riding horse than the one I now have, and he -might even consider a trip abroad next summer.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you mustn’t go abroad! It’s—it’s so lonesome -abroad!”</p> - -<p>“How perfectly ridiculous! Has it never occurred -to you that I am never lonesome, not even when I’m -alone?”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Ardmore, who saw that he was headed -for a blind alley, “I’m glad your father was not displeased -with our work.”</p> - -<p>“He’ll think we did pretty well after he’s read our -correspondence in his letter books. I told him the -stamp we stamped his name with worked better with -the red ink pad than with the black one, which ought, -at any rate, to be clear enough to a man of papa’s -intelligence.”</p> - -<p>“Did you tell him about that railroad lawyer from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_284">[284]</span> -New York who wanted to suppress the law which compels -all locomotive whistles to be tuned to E flat?”</p> - -<p>“No; that man sent me a ten-pound box of candy, -which was highly improper, considering papa’s position, -and I should have scorned to accept the candy, only I -had forgotten to keep his card.”</p> - -<p>“And besides,” added Ardmore gently, “you had -eaten the candy. Don’t you remember that you left -nothing but a few burnt almonds which you wanted to -keep for eating filapenas?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t be silly!” ejaculated Jerry contemptuously.</p> - -<p>“It’s a good thing all this fuss about the Appleweight -people is over, or I should be worse than silly. My mind -was not intended for such heavy work.”</p> - -<p>“I think you have a good mind, Mr. Ardmore,” said -Jerry, with the air of one who makes concessions. “You -really did well in all these troubles, and you did much -better than I thought you would the day I hired you for -private secretary. I think I could safely recommend -you to any governor in need of assistance.”</p> - -<p>“You talk as though you were getting ready to discharge -me,” said Ardmore plaintively, “and I don’t -want to lose my job.”</p> - -<p>“You ought to have something to do,” said Jerry -thoughtfully. “As near as I can make out you have -never done anything but study about pirates and collect -pernicious books on the sinful life of Captain Kidd. -You should have some larger aim in life than that, and -I think I know of a good position that is now open, -or will be as soon as papa has cleared out the peanut -shells we left in his desk. I think you would make an -excellent adjutant-general with full charge of the state -militia. You have already had experience in the handling -of troops, and as Rutherford Gillingwater never did -anything but get typhoid fever to earn the place, I see -no reason why papa should not appoint you to the -position.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_285">[285]</span>“But you have to get rid of Gillingwater first,” suggested -Ardmore, his heart beating fast.</p> - -<p>“If you mean that he has to be removed from office, I -will tell you now, Mr. Ardmore, that Rutherford Gillingwater -will no longer sign himself adjutant-general of -North Carolina. I removed him myself in a general -order I wrote yesterday afternoon just before I told -papa that you and I could not act as governor any -longer, but that he must resume the yoke.”</p> - -<p>“But that must have been a matter of considerable -delicacy, Miss Dangerfield, when you consider that you -are engaged to marry Mr. Gillingwater.”</p> - -<p>“Not in the least,” said Jerry. “I broke our engagement -the moment I saw that he came here the other -night all dressed up to eat and not to fight, and he is -now free to engage himself to that thin blonde at Goldsboro -whom he thinks so highly intellectual.”</p> - -<p>Jerry held up her left hand and regarded its ringless -fingers judicially, while Ardmore, his heart racing hotly -against all records, watched her, and with a particular -covetousness his eyes studied that trifle of a hand.</p> - -<p>Then with a quick gesture he seized her hand and -raised her gently to her feet.</p> - -<p>“Jerry!” he cried. “From the moment you winked -at me I have loved you. I should have followed you -round the world until I found you. If you can marry a -worthless wretch like me, if—O Jerry!”</p> - -<p>She gently freed her hand and stepped to one side, -bending her head like a bird that pauses alarmed, or -uncertain of its whereabouts, glancing cautiously up and -down the creek.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Ardmore,” she said, “you may not be aware -that when you asked me to be your wife—and that, I -take it, was your intention—you were standing in South -Carolina, while I stood with both feet on the sacred soil -of the Old North State. Under the circumstances I do -not think your proposal is legal. Moreover, unless you<span class="pagenum" id="Page_286">[286]</span> -are quite positive which eye it was that so far forgot -itself as to wink, I do not think the matter can go -further.”</p> - -<p>The slightest suggestion of a smile played about her -lips, but he was very deeply troubled, and seeing this, -her eyes grew grave with kindness.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Ardmore, if your muscles of locomotion have not -been utterly paralyzed, and if you will leave that particular -state of the Union which, next to Massachusetts, -I most deeply abhor, I will do what I can in my poor -weak way—as father says in beginning his best speeches—to -assist you to the answer.”</p> - -<p>Then for many æons, when he had his arms about her, -a kiss, which he had intended for the lips that were so -near, somehow failed of its destination, and fell upon -what seemed to him a rose-leaf gone to Heaven, but -which was, in fact, Jerry Dangerfield’s left eye. His -being tingled with the most delicious of intoxications, -to which the clasp of her arms about his neck added -unnecessary though not unwelcome delight. Then she -drew back and held him away with her finger-tips for -an instant.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Thomas Ardmore,” she said, with maddening -deliberation, “it may not be important, but I must tell -you in all candour that it was the other eye.”</p> - - -<p class="center">THE END.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="ph2"><img src="images/i_ad.jpg" alt="NELSON" /> LIBRARY<br /> -<small>OF COPYRIGHT FICTION.</small></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<p class="drop-cap"><span class="large">POPULAR editions of recent novels in<br /> -library-style binding, uniform with<br /> -this volume.</span></p> -</div></div></div> - -<p> </p> - - -<table> -<tr><td class="tdr">58.</td><td> LADY ROSE’S DAUGHTER.</td><td class="tdr"> Mrs. H. Ward.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">57.</td><td> THE PRIMROSE PATH.</td><td class="tdr"> Mrs. Oliphant.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">56.</td><td> THOMPSON’S PROGRESS.</td><td class="tdr"> C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">55.</td><td> LONELY LADY OF GROSVENOR SQUARE.</td><td class="tdr"> Mrs. H. de la Pasture.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">54.</td><td> LOVE AND MR. LEWISHAM.</td><td class="tdr"> H. G. Wells.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">53.</td><td> CLARISSA FURIOSA.</td><td class="tdr"> W. E. Norris.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">52.</td><td> CYNTHIA’S WAY.</td><td class="tdr"> Mrs. A. Sidgwick.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">51.</td><td> RAFFLES.</td><td class="tdr"> E. W. Hornung.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">50.</td><td> THE FOOD OF THE GODS.</td><td class="tdr"> H. G. Wells.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">49.</td><td> FRENCH NAN.</td><td class="tdr"> A. and E. Castle.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">48.</td><td> SPRINGTIME.</td><td class="tdr"> H. C. Bailey.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">47.</td><td> MOONFLEET.</td><td class="tdr"> J. Meade Falkner.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">46.</td><td> KIPPS.</td><td class="tdr"> H. G. Wells.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">45.</td><td> THE GATELESS BARRIER.</td><td class="tdr"> Lucas Malet.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">44.</td><td> MAJOR VIGOUREUX.</td><td class="tdr"> “Q.”</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">43.</td><td> OLD GORGON GRAHAM.</td><td class="tdr"> G. H. Lorimer.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">42.</td><td> MRS. GALER’S BUSINESS.</td><td class="tdr"> W. Pett Ridge.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">41.</td><td> HOUSE WITH THE GREEN SHUTTERS.</td><td class="tdr"> George Douglas.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">40.</td><td> SELAH HARRISON.</td><td class="tdr"> S. Macnaughtan.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">39.</td><td> MARCELLA.</td><td class="tdr"> Mrs. Humphry Ward.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">38.</td><td> HIS HONOR AND A LADY.</td><td class="tdr"> S. J. Duncan.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">37.</td><td> THE DUENNA OF A GENIUS.</td><td class="tdr"> M. E. Francis.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">36.</td><td> OWD BOB.</td><td class="tdr"> Alfred Ollivant.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">35.</td><td> EIGHT DAYS.</td><td class="tdr"> R. E. Forrest.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">34.</td><td> LADY AUDLEY’S SECRET.</td><td class="tdr"> Miss Braddon.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">33.</td><td> THE WAGES OF SIN.</td><td class="tdr"> Lucas Malet.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">32.</td><td> AN ADVENTURER OF THE NORTH.</td><td class="tdr"> Sir Gilbert Parker.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">31.</td><td> THE PIT.</td><td class="tdr"> Frank Norris.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">30.</td><td> MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE.</td><td class="tdr"> Booth Tarkington.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">29.</td><td> WOODSIDE FARM.</td><td class="tdr"> Mrs. W. K. Clifford.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">28.</td><td> RECIPE FOR DIAMONDS.</td><td class="tdr"> C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">27.</td><td> A LAME DOG’S DIARY.</td><td class="tdr"> S. Macnaughtan.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">26.</td><td> MAN FROM AMERICA.</td><td class="tdr"> Mrs. H. de la Pasture.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">25.</td><td> SIR JOHN CONSTANTINE.</td><td class="tdr"> “Q.”</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">24.</td><td> THE PRINCESS PASSES.</td><td class="tdr"> C. N. and A. M. Williamson.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">23.</td><td> WHITE FANG.</td><td class="tdr"> Jack London.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">22.</td><td> THE OCTOPUS.</td><td class="tdr"> Frank Norris.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">21.</td><td> TRANSLATION OF A SAVAGE.</td><td class="tdr"> Sir G. Parker.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">20.</td><td> MATTHEW AUSTIN.</td><td class="tdr"> W. E. Norris.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">19.</td><td> THE ODD WOMEN. </td><td class="tdr"> George Gissing.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">18.</td><td> THE LADY OF THE BARGE.</td><td class="tdr"> W. W. Jacobs.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">17.</td><td> THE GOD IN THE CAR.</td><td class="tdr"> Anthony Hope.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">16.</td><td> THE HOSTS OF THE LORD.</td><td class="tdr"> Mrs. F. A. Steel.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">15.</td><td> HIS GRACE.</td><td class="tdr"> W. E. Norris.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">14.</td><td> THE AMERICAN PRISONER.</td><td class="tdr"> Eden Phillpotts.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">13.</td><td> IF YOUTH BUT KNEW!</td><td class="tdr"> A. and E. Castle.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">12.</td><td> CLEMENTINA.</td><td class="tdr"> A. E. W. Mason.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">11.</td><td> JOHN CHARITY.</td><td class="tdr"> H. A. Vachell.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">10.</td><td> THE KING’S MIRROR.</td><td class="tdr"> Anthony Hope.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">9.</td><td> DAVID GRIEVE.</td><td class="tdr"> Mrs. Humphry Ward.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">8.</td><td> INCOMPARABLE BELLAIRS.</td><td class="tdr"> A. and E. Castle.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">7.</td><td> QUISANTÉ.</td><td class="tdr"> Anthony Hope.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">6.</td><td> NO. 5 JOHN STREET.</td><td class="tdr"> Richard Whiteing.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">5.</td><td> ROBERT ELSMERE.</td><td class="tdr">Mrs. Humphry Ward.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">4.</td><td> BATTLE OF THE STRONG.</td><td class="tdr"> Sir Gilbert Parker.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">3.</td><td> THE FORTUNE OF CHRISTINA M’NAB.</td><td class="tdr"> S. Macnaughtan.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">2.</td><td> INTRUSIONS OF PEGGY.</td><td class="tdr"> Anthony Hope.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdr">1.</td><td> THE MARRIAGE OF WILLIAM ASHE.</td><td class="tdr"> Mrs. Humphry Ward.</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="center"><i>Others in the Press. A new volume appears on the first -and third Wednesdays of each month.</i></p> - -<p class="center"> -THOMAS NELSON AND SONS,<br /> -And at all Booksellers and Bookstalls.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="transnote"> -<p class="ph1">TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:</p> - - -<p>Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.</p> - -<p>Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.</p> - -<p>Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.</p> - -<p>The cover image for this eBook was created by the transcriber using the original cover as the background and is entered into the public domain.</p> -</div></div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WAR OF THE CAROLINAS ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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