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Show 832 menARD nurmrs. His spirit seemed nnywlH~rc but witl1 l1is associntes-and thoublt his eye :tcknowledged every nddrPss, and !tis tongue replied to every dcm:llld, yet it was C\·idcnt <'llOngh lltnt tltcrc wns a lack of mental consciousness- nn nbstmctcdness of' mood and thought, which left it doubtful wltcn he spoke whcl11cr he was nltogcthcr assured of the words he uttc,·ed, or of those lie hcmcl. After supper our chief rogu<'S renewed tl1c discussion of sundry of their pluns, and fOr a while the cmiosity which I felt at tl10 strangeness of some of tltcir propositions, and the stories of their severa l aclticvcmcnts, ltalf reconciled me to listen to their hein ousness. l~ut there was quite to0 HHH.:h of it in the cnd-n. still-begi nning, ncver-emling rC'petition of the t;mnc business, only varied by the acting persons, place, nnd time; antl, following the lf'ad of \Ycbbcr and one or two other.~, I went aside to the fire which Haller had kindlC'clup, aud under a tent of hark, I lzouscd myself for tl1c night. l ditl not ho1Je for sleep, for IllY milHl wns full of troublesome tlzougllfs, )'f't I was surprised by t.lzc feather-footed visitnnt, and slept soundly for a space of two lwurs. I W<lS awakened by some one shaking me by the shoulder, and, stnrting to my feet, found my COJnmdc llnllcr standing beside me. "Get up," he saitl, u it's time to look nfter JGbcrly. Jlc hns gone out into the bushes, having left \V cbbcr wlwm he slept with. He t!tought ::\lat was nsleep, and stole off. \Yo must get on his trail and sec what he's after." I obeyed and we went together with great caution to the rncle tent in which \V cbbcr slc1Jt. lie gaYC us some directions, nnd following them we soon found our man. lie had gone to the place where Foster slept alone-a bushy dell of the woods scooped out sufliciently to enable one, by crawling through a nmTow mouth to secure an easy, tlwugh perhaps confined, couch within. 'l'he greater apertures made by torn branches or fallen leaves were supplied by sapplings hewn from neighboring I) laces, and twisted in with the native growth of the SJlOt; and with the aid of some t·us},cs, a blanket, :mel a good warm wntch-coat, Foster had a tenement which nrt could scarcely have made warmer, though in social respects, it certainly might have undergone considerable im1n·ovement. DF"~'>PATR OP Till-; WEAK llROTIIER. 333 \Ve rracltcd a f:pot willtin !tcnring cli~;tnncc of tlzis, in sum. cicnt time to note tit(' first appronchcs of Eberly t<J its inmnte. }'oster came forth nt his summonf:, nnd ns my eye tm·ncd upon the com!:;e whith thry took together, lfnllcr touchC'tl my nrm. \YhC'n 1 tmnC'd, I beheld \Vchbcr alr.;o standing brsit!c us, wl10, tnking Jlaller with hitn, procC'eded cautiously to an opposite JlOint, wltcre it SC'cms they expected the t.wo to p;o, \\roLLer giving me instructions to follow them cautiously from where I stood; hy whiclt division of om force, lte scenwd resolute that one of us should succeed in om espio1wp;c. The se\·cral fires of the party were nf'nrly extinguished. But. there was sti ll light enough to cnaLie me to discern the outlines of tltcir persons as they movecl from me. I crept and crawled upon my mission of Lm;cness, ·with nil pains-taking circnmspcctness, Lut every momC'nt. increased the space between me nnd the men I pursued, until I lznd nearly lost. sight of them nltogcther, wltm1, on a sudden, they turned about and cnmc ngaiu toward me. ]tis probable tl~nt tlzcy may_ hav~ been disturbed lJy tltc too enger JlrogrC'ss of the two SJncs on the other side, wlto titus drove them Lack upon me. Wlmtcver may h:n·e Leon the cau~c of their return, 1 hncl barely time to sit rink back into the shade of a large trrc as they nppronchcd it; and tlze spot being suflicicntly dent;C nllCl dark ]Jrompt.cd tlzem to make it the scene of t.l10ir conference. J~'oster wns the first to speak. Stopping short as ltc rcncbctl a cluster of sapli11gs, only a few paces remm·cd from the place where I stood in shallow, lto said:- "ilm·c now, Eberly, we :tre s:tfc. Everything is sti ll hen_·, :mel there is no lllorc danger of interruption. U11fold yourself now. \Vhat secret have you-why do you bring me forth at :m hour when l assure yon a quiet snooze would be more ngrecn? lc to me thnn the finest plot ·which you could fancy for robbmg the largest portm;mtcau in Alabama 1" "Do not jest with me, Foster-! can not jest· it is u mnt.ter of life nnd death to me which makes me disturb you, else I s~10uld not do it. ~Iy life hangs upon your hands-more than lzfe; I can not sleep myself; fOrgive me that I l1nyc taken you from yours." Never were the t0110s of a man more piteously im11loring thnu |
