Over
(Copyright, 1903, by KolH-rt l!arr.)
CHAP IKK VII.
Co lurid i n re.
jr t i im a . . .
yitini;iiu ji iii;iiruiiK roue n LS
I I'l n'lid black Meed like one mora
mm
Huddle leather than to the wearing
out of the name material In the
form of boots. Horse and man were j
Subtly suited, cu h to each, that such an
other pair might well have given to some
early artint the first Idea of a centaur.
Armstrong was evidently familiar with the
distilrt he traversed, for ho evinced no
surprlso when, coming to the rrown of a
height, he saw In the valley below Mm a
one-storied stone building, whole outhous-s
and general surroundings proclaimed it a
solitary Inn, but the horse, less self-contained,
r.nd doubtless more fatigued, thrust
forward Its ars and gave utterunee to a
faint whinny of pleasure ut the near pros
pect of rest and refreshment. The hind of
the rider nffectl jnati ly atrok.-d and patted
the long, black mane, ai If In silent cor
roboration of the animal's easer anticipa
tion The young man was fair aa hU mount
was dark. A m.is.' of yellow hair flowed
out from under his Foot's bonnet and over
bis broad shoulders. A heavy blnn.1 mjs
Lache gave him a semi-military air, a look
of the cavalier, as if he wire a rimnarit of
that strkkrn band across the border whl:h
was fighti: g fur King Ch-.iWs again .t duly
increaj,j: odds, but something of jaunty
avlf-conP.-5cr.ee In Armrtrong's manner be
toker.ed that the civil war raging tn Eng
land was no concern to hiin.
Both prowess and grriality were on the
tilant of U!nj put to the test as be ap
proached the li-.n. where a wayfarer la
usually certain of a welcome If he ha but
money In his pouch. A lar.ceman. his tall
weapon held upright, stepp-il out Into tha
road from the front of the closed door be
fore which he had been standing, when he
aaw that the traveler was about to bait
and dismount.
"Ve'll be fur dawnerln' on a bit faurer
forret," hinted the sentfncl In a cautious.
Insinuating manner, as If he w. re but sir
ing expression to the other's unspoken In
tention. "A wise man halts at the first public
house he comes to, after the sun Is down,"
replied Armstrong.
"Ah'm thlnkln' a man's no verra wis
that stops whaur he's least wanted. If
them that's no wantin' him hlx good airn
tn their hauns."
"Aye, my lad. steel's a bonny argument,
lightly used. What's a" th' steer here that
a tired man, willing to pay his way, Is aent
doon th" road?"
Armstrong adopted for tho moment a
brogue as broad as that of his questioner,
lie flung his right leg Across the horse,
and now sat sideways In his saddle, an ac
tion which caused the sentinel to grip sud
denly the shaft of his pike with both hands,
but the equestrian making no further mo
tion, conversing In an easy, nonchalant
tone, aa If ho had little personal Interest In
the discussion, the vigilance of the man oa
guard partially relaxed, probably thinking
It aa well not to provoke so excellently
quipped an opponent by any unnecessary
how of hostility.
"Wee!, ye see. there's muckle folk In ban
yonner that hlx many a thing to chatter
aboot, an' that's a' Ah ken o't. forby that
Ah'm ta let nane Inside ta disturb them."
"Whose man are you?"
"Ah belong to th' erl o' Traqualr."
"And a very good friend of mine th
aarl of Traqualr Is. Will you just go In
Ide and tell him William Armstrong la
Bitting here on his horse?"
"That wull Ah no. for If th' king hlmsel'
Were to auk. Ah munna let him by th' door.
Ba Jlst task a fule's advice fur ylnce, and
gam? awa' ta th' next botha afore It gets
darker an' yer like to lose ye'r road amang
th' hills."
Tho descent of young Armstrong waa so
Instantaneous that the man-at-arms had
o opportunity of carrying out hla threat,
r even of leveling the unwieldy weapon
In hl own defense. The horseman dropped
on him aa If he had fallen from the clouds
and the pike rang useless on the rough
cobblestones. The black horse showed no
Ign of fright, as might have been expected,
but turned his Intelligent head and calmly
Watched the fray as If accustomed to any
ccentrlclty on the part of his master. And
What the fine eyes of the quadruped saw
was startling enough. The widespread
limbs of the surprised soldier went whir'lng
through tha air like the arms of a windmill
la a gala. Armstrong had graspod him by
the waist and turned him end for end re
volving him. Catherine-wheel wise until
the bewildered wlta of tha victim threat
ened to leave him through the action of
etjtrlfugal foroa. By the time tha unfor
tunate aentinel tost all reckoning of tha
direction In which solid earth lay with re
Bard to his own swiftly changing position,
ba waa sprawling on his assailant's shoul
r, gaping Ilka a newly landed trout, and
thus hoisted aloft, he was carried to tho
eloaed door, which a kick from Armstrong's
foot burst crashing Inward. The Intruder
flung his burden Into the nearest corner of
tha large room, aa If he were a sack of
orn. then facing tha startled audience tha
young man cried:
"Strong orders should hava a atronger
the Border
guard than you set, gentlemen. I hold to
the right i every Scotsman to enter a
public dramshop when he pleases."
A dozen umazed men had sprung to their
feet, oversetting a chair or a stool here and
there bihlnd them, aid here and there a
flagon before them. lOleven swords flashed
out, but the uprnlH.'d right hand of tha
chairman and his command; "ig voice caused
the weapons to hang suspended.
"The very man! ISy God, the very man
we want! In the fiend's name, Will, where
have you dropped from?"
"Krom the back of my horse a moment
since, as your henchman lure will bear
witness, Traqualr."
"Armstrong, your arrival at this June-
ro$en
(Mi ift
iu uteir jeez:
V LLJ
ture is providential; that's what it Is, provi
dential." "It must be, my lord, for you did your
best to prevent It. Tour stout plkemaa
would not even let you know 1 waj within
call, so X Just brought htm In to give tho
message properly."
"Loah, if ha knew you as well as I do,
ha would have thought twice ere he stood
In your way. Coma to the table, man. and
fill a flagon."
The young man drank long and well.
Tha sentinel had by this time got on his
feet and was staring at the company Ilka
one daxed.
"Where's your pike?" demanded Tra
qualr. "On the stones ootslde, ma lord."
"Very well, go out and lift It. and sea
that you keep a better grip of It when the
next man comes along. Attend to Arm
strong's horse, and keep an eye up and
down the road."
"I'll look after my own beast, Traqualr."
"No need for that. Will. We have mat
ters of Importance to discuss, and Angus
here will feed the horse as well as you can
do it."
"I'll eat and drink whatever' set before
me, and never ask who is tha cook, but I
trust no man to wait on my horse. You
blda by your sentry march, Angus, and
I'll sea to tha beast."
With this Armstrong strode out of tha
house, the Ul-used sentinel following him.
As the door closed tho Interrupted hum of
conversation rose ogain. Who the inter
loper might bo was tha burden of tha
Inquiry. -
"Armstrong's tha very man for our pur-
A Tale of tbe Days of
by Robert T. Barr
pose," said Traqualr. "If anyone can get
through Old Noll's armies by craft or by
force. It la Will. I had no Idea he was
near by or I would never have wasted
thought on any other. I have known him
for years and there Is none to match him,
hl'lan' or lowlan'. We need seek naa
farrnr if Christie's Wull la wullin'."
lie ceased, for the door opened and Will
entered.
"We hare some employment for you,"
cried Traqualr, "If you are ready for it.
There are papers that we must get through
to King Charles at Oxford. Then, what Is
much mora Important, we must get his
signed warrant back to us before we can
act to any real purpose In Oils play. The
atnqQd tneti had
victorious rebels pretend that they are
fighting for certain so-called liberties, but
we have reason to know that their de
signs run much deeper, and that they aim
at nothing less than the dethronement and
possible murder of tha king. It is neces
sary to get proof of this to tha king and to
obtain hla sanction to certain action on our
parts, for if wa move without his written
commission and our plana fall, we are
likely to get short shrift from Cromwell,
who will deny us the right of belligerents.
"Whether tha king believes this or not,
tha documents we wish to send him are
less to tha purpose than that you should
bring back to us his commission, so you
will know that your homecoming is much
more vital to us than your outgoing."
"I e. Still, if they kill me on my way
there, it is not likely I will win my way
back, so both Journeys are equally vital to
me."
"The pick of my stables is at your choice.
Had you better not take a spare animal
with your
"No. That would be advertising the im
portance of my Journey. If I can get
through at all It must be by dawnering
along as a cannle drover body, anxious to
buy up cattle and turn an honest penny by
selling them to those who want them
worse than I do; a perfectly legitimate
trade, even during these exciting times.
They all know the desire of a humble
Scotsman to make a little money, though
the heavens and kings bo falling."
"That's an admirable Idea and you know
the country well?"
"No ouo belter. Indeed, III trade my
Charles I,
way to the very gates of Oxford If time ta
not too great an object with you."
"Time Is an object, Armstrong, but you
will have to do the best you can, and we
shall await your return with what patience
we may. You will tackle the job, then?"
"It's Just the kind of splore I like. Can
you allow me three weeks or a month?"
"If you're back inside a month, Will,
you'll have dono what I believe no other
man In all Scotland could do. Well, that's
settled, then."
CHAPTER VI IL
Espied.
The earl wns Interrupted by a roar from
the sentinel outside, which caused every
sprung
man in tho room to start to his feet, but
before they could move Angus came burst
ing In.
"Somebody dropped from the hole on tha
loft above the stables, an' wui aff ta th'
wood afore I could stop him."
"To horse!" cried Traqualr. "Mount In
stantly and let's after him."
"It's useless, my lord," said Armstrong,
quietly, the only unexcited man in tha
group. "Ye might as well look for soma
particular flea in all the hl'lan's. He'll
have a horse tied to a tree, and a thousand
cavalry couldn't catch him, if he knows
the wilds hereabout."
Traqualr stood frowning and Indecisive,
his hand on the bill of his sword.
"Where's the landlord?" he asked at last
"Annus, bring him in here."
Tho sentinel left the room, and speedily
reappeaied with a cowering man, evidently
as panic-stricken as any of his guests.
"Have there been some stragglers about
today?" demanded Traqualr.
"Not a toul, my lord, on my oath, not a
soul."
"Is there connection between the room
altove and the loft over the stable?"
As he spoke they heard tha tread of tha
sentry In the loft.
"Is that you, Angus?" asked Traqualr In
an ordinary tone of voice.
"Can you hear what I aayT
"Perfectly, ma lord. There's a very cun
nin' trap 'tween th' stable loft an" this,
thut one wnuldna bev foun' In a hurry
but the thief left It open In his sudden
flight."
Tha lips of tha landlord turned white.
