LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume XXI, Issue 1817, 17 December 1879, Page 3

LITERATURE.

THE F.OBBSRS OF THE BLUE RIDGE. (Concluded.) ' Take the door,' I said, ' and fire through if they attack. I am going to shoot that fellow holding the horses.' ' Lordy, Mars Ralph, it's de tavern-keeper. He ain't no count Drop de big man!' was the sensible advice, which I determined to adopt. Noiselessly drawing aside the curtain, I rested the muzzle of my pistol on the sash where the light had been broken away; and drew a bead upon the tallest of the two men who stood holding the three horses, out in the bright moonlight.' The sharp crack of tho weapon was instantly followed by a yell of pain, and I tho ruffian reel backward and measure his length upon the earth, and then from tre main building there rang out : 'Murder ! murder ! Oh, help!' Like lightning it flashed across my mind. There were three horses out in the open lot! There was, then, another traveller besides ourselves. A heavy blow descended upon the door, <md a voice roared : ' Quick ! Burst the infernal thiDg open, and let mo get him. The scoundrel has killed Dave !' 'Let them have it, Bose,' I whispered, rnpidly reloading my pistol. ' There, second panel.' With a steady hand the plucky fellow levelled the huge weapDn and pulled the trieggr. A deafening report followed, and again a shrill cry of mortal anguish told me the shot had not been wasted. ' Uabo us! how it do kick !'exclaimed Bose under his breath. The blow had fallen liko an unexpected thunderbolt upon the bandits, and a moment later we heard their retreating footsteps down the corridor. ' Dar'll be more of 'em h9ah 'fore long, Mars Ralph,' said Bose with an ominous shake of the head. I 'spect dese b'longs to a band, and if dey comes an' we still heah, we gone coons for shuar.' This view of the case was new to me ; but I felt the force of it, 1 know that such bands do exist in theee mountains. Stunned for a moment, I turned round and stared hopelessly at Bose ; but h?, brave fellow that he was, never lost his head for an instant. ' Bound to leab here, Mars Ralph,' he said, quite confidently. ' An' dar ain't no way gwine 'cept tro dat window;'and he pointed to the window overlooking tho cliff. I merely shook my head and turned to watch again, hoping to get a shot at the rascal on guard. Bose, left to his own devices at once went to work. I heard him fussing around the bed for some time time, but never looked to see what he was after until he spoke ' Now den for de rope,' I heard him eay, and in an instant I caught his meaning. He had stripped the bed of its covering, dragged off the heavy tick and the stout hempen rope with which it was 'corded.' In five minutes he had drawn the rope through its many turnings, and then, gathering the coils in his hands, he drew up the sash and prepared to take soundings. It failed to reach the bottom ; but nowise disheartened, he seized the cotton coverlet and spliced on. This succeeded, and the cord was drawn np preparatory to knotting it in places of crosspieces. In the meanwhile the silence without was broken once. A shrill, keen whistle, such as we had heard before, was given by the man on the watch, and replied to by some one seemingly a little way off. Then I heard footsteps—soft, cat-like ones—on the verandah outEide, shewing that robbers were on the alert at all points. At length Bose announced the ' ladder' ready. It was again lowered from the window, and tho end was held and made fast to the bed we had dragged over for the purpose. ' Now den, Mas'r Ralph, I'll go down fust, and see if 'em strong enough to bar us." And he was half way out of the window before I could spsak, ' No, Bose, you shall not,' I answered firmly, drawing him back into the room. ' You must ' The words were lost in the diu of a furious and total'y unexpected attack upon the door. The dull heavy Btrokos of tho axe were intermingled with the sharp, quick clatter of hatchets as they cut away at the barrier, and once in a while I could hear deep oaths as though they had been rendered doubly savage by our resistance. ' Hero Bose, your pistol! Quick !* I whispered, and the heavy charge went crashing through, followod by shrieks and curses of pain and rage. ' Now then, out with you ! I hold the place,' I said, rushing back to the window. 'Come Bose, hurry, or all will bo lost.' The brave fellow now wished to insist on my going first; but he saw that time was wasting, and glided down tho rope, gradually disappearing in tho shadows. The fall of one of their number has caused only a momentary lul', and I heard them renew tho assault with tenfold fury. I dare not fire again, for I felt that every bullet would bo needed wh6n affairs were more pressing. It seemed an ago before I felt the signal from below that tho rope was ready for me; but it came, and I lot myself down, pausing an instant, as my eyes gained a level with the fill, to take a last look into tho room. As I did so the door gave way, and the bloodthirsty demons poured over the threshold. I knew that I had no time for deliberate movement. They would instantly discover the mode of escape, and either cut the rope, or else fire down on me.

I had taken the precaution to draw on my heavy riding gloves, and my hands, thus protected, did not suffer aB much as might have heen expected. With my eyes fixed upon the window, I slid rapidly down, and struck the earth with a jar that wrenched every bone in my body. Quick as lightning I was seized by Bose, dragged some paces on one bide, and close against the face of the cliff. INot a second too soon, for down came a volley, tearing up the earth about the foot of the roj.6, where a moment before I had stood. ' Thunder, they will escape ! After them, down tho rope !' yelled a voice, almost in. articulate with rage. And I saw a dark form swing out and begin tho deEcont ' Now, Mars Balph,' whispered Bose, significantly, and with a quick aim I fired at tho swaying figure. Without a sound the man released his hold, and camo down like a lump of lead, shot through the brain. Another had started in hot haste, and was more than half out of tho window, when suddenly the scene above was brilliantly lit up by the glare of a torch. Again tho warning voice of the watchful black called my attention to the figure now struggling desperately to regain the rcom, and, as before, I threw up my pistol, and, covering the exposed side, drew tho trigger. With a convulsive effort the wrotch.springing far out into the empty void, turned onco over, and came down with a rushiug sound upon tho jagged rocks that lay at the foot of the precipice. A single look to see that the window was clear —we knew there could be no path leading down for a long distance either way, or they would never have attempted the rope—and wo plunged headlong into the dense forest that clothed the mountain side. Wo got clear, it is trne, bat with tho loss of our animals ond bagge ; for the next day, when wo returned with a party of regulators, we found the place a heap of smouldering aaheE.and no living soul to tell whlthor the &d fled.