s Margery riding her
own black mare, and her maid on a pillion behind a negro groom, had
passed some two hours later.

This was as we had hoped it might be; but when Dick's satisfaction
would have set itself in words, the old hunter made a sudden sign for
silence and quickly flung himself full length to lay his ear to the
ground. Whereat we all began likewise to listen, but I, for one, heard
nothing till Yeates said: "A hoss; a-taking the back track like old Jehu
the son of Nimshi was a-giving him the whip and spur," and then we all
marked the distant drumming of hoofbeats.

The old borderer sprang afoot, kicked the fire into the stream, and
caught up his rifle. "Let's be a-moving," he said. "We must make out to
stop that there hoss-galloper at the ford and find out what-all he's a
rip-snorting that-away for."

The road crossing of the stream was but a little way above our breakfast
camp; and we were out of the thicket in time to see the horseman, a
negro clinging with locked arms to the neck of his mount, come tearing
down to the ford. At sight of us, or else because he would not take the
water at full speed, the horse reared, pawed the air, and fell clumsily,
carrying his skilless rider with him.

We picked the black up and soused him in the stream till he found his
tongue; and the first wagging of that useful member gave us news to fire
the blood in our veins--in Jennifer's and mine, at any rate.

"Yah!" he screamed, choking out the muddy creek water that had well-nigh
strangled him. "Yah! red debbil Injins kill ebberybody and tote off
Mistis Marg'y and dat Jeanne 'ooman! Dat's what dey done!"

XX

IN WHICH WE STRIVE AS MEN TO RUN A RACE

It was some time before the affrighted black could give us any connected
account of what had befallen; and when at length the story was told, all
save the principal fact of the carrying off of Mistress Margery and her
maid was hazy enough.

Pruned down to the simple statement of the fact, and with all the
foolish terror chatterings weeded out, his news came to this: the party
of homing revelers had been ambushed and waylaid at the fording of a
creek some miles to the southward, and in the mellay the young mistress
and her tire-woman had been captured.

So far as any actual witness of the eye went, the negro had seen
nothing. There had been a volley fire from the thicket-belly of black
darkness, a swarming attack to a chorus of Indian yells, shouts from the
men,