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Show 178 "'J'he devil knows I l had the rope fair pnoug~l, j thonght; but somehow he twis;etl ronnel, or r:ds('d his lwJnl just when I dropped it over him, and threw it oil' a Lit quicker than I threw -it 011 • He's a stout fellow that, nnil went over the taLlc bkc n. b:dl. ·I'm dubious he'll get ofl'. Look out, John, ~nd sny what you'l 'hsecc f."e llow complied, and returned after a few moments wt.l .h : 111 unsatisfactory ~1nswer. Some further conference cusuetl between them touching tbc l)robt~blc cl.anccs of Carrington's cscnpc, and my heart gre~v painfully intcr~stcd, ns l ltcard th.cir cold and cruel c::dculatJons as to the wJscst course of actwn mnong the pursuers. 'fhcir mode of disposing of the difficulty, summary and reckless as it showed them to be, wns enough to inspire me with the most anxious fear. If they, unvexcd by flight, and unexcited by the pursuit, coulc1 yet deliberately resolve tk1.t the fugitive should be shot down rather than suffered to escape, the event was surely not improbable. I could listen no longer in silence. "I hear you, sir/' I said, inten·u11ting the fellow who was sty loll Geofl'roy, nm1 wl10 seemed tlLc most humnuc among them; "yon coolly resolve that wy friend should he murdered. You can 11ot mean that VVebber will llo sucl1 a deed 1 I will not believe you. If you only t iLi nk to annoy and frighten me, you arc mistaken. 1 am in your 11ower, it is true, and you may put me to death, ns your companion, who thinks to make up in cruelty what l1e lacks iu courage, 11ppearcd just now to Ucsircbut is tllis your policy 1 'Vhat good can come of it 1 It will neither help you in present fligl1t nor in future safety. As for my money, if it is that which you want, it is quite ~~s easy for you to take that as my life. All tlH\t I have is in your posses· sion. ~ly horse, my clothes, my cash -they Hre all togctherj ancl, having these, the mere sl~.cdtling of my blood cnn give you no pleasure, unless you have been schooled mnong the savagc~As for your men overtaking my fricm1, I doubt it, unless t~1e1r h orses are the best blool1 in the country. 'l'hat which he ndes I know to be so, and can not easily be caught." "A bullet will make up the difference," said Geoffrey; "and, sure as you lie there, \Vcbber will shoot if he finds l1e can't cntch . lie cnn 't h elp doing so, if ho hopes to get off snfely 179 1Limsclf. If the clwp escapes, he brings down old Grafton upon w;, and \Ycbhcr ,·cry well knows the daugcr of falli11g into his clutcbcs. \\rc must tic you both up for to-nigl1t if we can. As for killiug you or scnring you, we want to do neither one nor t'othcr, if we can tie up your hands and shut up your mouths for tiLe next twenty-four hourg. lf we can't- " He left tiLe rest of the sentence unuttered-meaning, I sup· pose, to Le merciful in his forbearance; and nothing more wns said by either of' us for some time, particularly affecting the matter in ltand. A full hour had elapsed, and yet we hoard nothing of the pursuit. My anxiety began to be fully shared among my keepers. 'l'hey went out to the road alternately at different periods, to make inquiries, but without success. Geoffrey at length, after going forth with my gambling acquaintance of the Tuscaloosa tavern for about fifteen minutes, returned, bringing in with them, to my great surprise, the saddle-bags of \ Villiam Cnrrington. In my lirst fear, I demnnded if he was taken, and my surprise was great when they told me he was not. "llow, then, came you by tl10se saddle·bags 1" was my ques· tion. " \ Vhat! arc they l1is 7" replied Geoffrey. "Yes." "Then he's taken your horse, and not his own," was the an· swcr; "for we found these on one of the nags that you brought with you." They were not at all dissatisfied with the exchange, wl1on they discovered the contents, which they soon got at, in spite of the lock, by slashing the leather open with their knives in various places. The silver dollars rolled from the handkerchief in which they had been wrapped, in every direction about the floor, and were scrambled after by two of the fellows with the avidity of urchins gathering nuts. But I obscrYed that they put. cm·~fully together all that they took from the saddle-bags, as 1f w1th refe~·ence to a common division of the spoil. The few clothes wluch the bags contained were thrown out witl10ut an~ hee~ upon the floor, but not till they had been c1ose1y ex· am me~ 1~1 every par_t for concealed money. 'l'hey got a smaH r oll of b1lls along w1th the silver, but I was gl ad when I recol |
