CHAPTER XV.
The distance that Milton Derr had to go to reach the New Pike gate, fromwhere the raiders halted and held parley, was but a short one, measuredby paces, yet during that brief ride many irrelevant things camecrowding fast upon his memory--indeed, it seemed that his whole life'shistory was swiftly reviewed in that brief period.
His boyhood days arose to his mind--those careless, happy days of earlyyouth that were spent amid the wild, sweet freedom of the hills, fromwhich he had just now ridden--the old schoolhouse in Alder Creek glen,that unforgotten spot where pretty Sally Brown had first ensnared hisboyish heart and held it a willing captive ever since.
He recalled to mind the sharp pangs of jealousy Jade Beddow took adelight in arousing in his youthful bosom by showing marked attention tothe object of their mutual admiration--then of gloomier matters, hismother's illness and her death, which had wrung his heart with thebitterest grief that had ever crept into his young life. There came tomind a memory of the subsequent home with his uncle--a home that meantlittle else than a mere shelter, and an opportunity for much hard work,for the Squire was a grasping man, close and calculating, and requiredof every one the last atom of effort.
Most clear in his memory was that eventful day when his uncle firstlearned that the smiles of the pretty toll-taker were rather for thenephew than for the uncle, and this discovery seemed suddenly to changethe Squire's indifference toward his ward into an intense hatred, whichsmoldered for a while, then at last broke forth into a fierce flame ofpassion, when there was a bitter quarrel, and the young man was drivenfrom his uncle's roof, and went back to live amid his native hills oncemore.
When Milton Derr made up his mind to join the raiders, he was actuatedby the two strongest passions that sway the human heart--love and hate.The first and uppermost one urged him to join the band in order that hemight be able to influence the members to spare the New Pike gate, forthe present, at least; the second made it evident that, by aiding in thegeneral destruction of toll-houses throughout the county, and theabolishment of tolls, he would be in a position to do his kinsman muchdamage, and affect the most vulnerable spot in evidence--his pocket.Thus, in Derr's bosom, love and hate held almost equal sway.
All these things passed in hurried view through the rider's excitedmind, like a fleeting panorama, brief, yet clear and intense as theglimpse of a surrounding landscape seen by the flash of the lightning'spath across the starless heavens.
He once more recalled to mind the conversation that his sweetheart hadoverheard and repeated to him, which had taken place between his uncleand some unknown man upon the public highway. Could this mysteriousperson have been Jade Beddow, and had they arranged it between them tohave him sent forward so that he might be shot, or taken prisoner? Thiswas evidently the trap that had been so adroitly set, and into which hewas now riding, though not without protest.
Won to this belief, he still rode onward unflinchingly toward thetoll-house now looming up before him like a ghostly warning, and dimlyoutlined against the cold gray midnight sky.
Nature herself seemed steeped in profound slumber at this wan, latehour, and neither life nor movement was visible about the place. Thesolitary horseman appeared to be the only living object in all thatcheerless, dimly-defined landscape. There was no sign of danger on anyhand, no suspicious movement of a lurking enemy. The deep silence ofnight's midhour brooded over the quiet scene, and its peace fell heavilyupon it like the mantle of darkness round about.
The lone rider began to look about him with growing confidence. It wasall so quiet, so still, so filled with the hush of midnight--surely themonition he had received that the gate would be guarded must have beenbuilt on mere rumor without the foundation of fact.
When he came to the gate, he found the pole up, as it was wont to be atso late an hour of the night, and after pausing a brief moment, thinkingtenderly of one within the darkened toll-house, he passed from underthe raised pole, and rode a short distance along the road.
Once again he paused, and looked back, and listened. No sight or soundbetrayed the presence of guard or officer. It must be that the posse hadfailed to materialize, believing the rumor of an impending attack mereidle talk. With a feeling of relief the horseman raised a whistle to hislips and blew a sharp call as a signal that the raiders might advance.
In quick response the clatter of many hoofs came beating down the roadin rhythmic measure.
Suddenly--breaking harshly into the musical ring of the hurryinghoof-beats--rang the discordant note of a shot from out the darkness,and quick upon it came another, while the advance rider, startled andsurprised by its unexpectedness, heard the bullet singing keenly pasthis ear.
An answering fire from the oncoming raiders, shooting at random, seekingan unseen and hidden foe, awoke the echoes, and speedily a volley ofshots from both raiders and guards filled the quiet night withtumultuous sounds.
For a brief space of time Derr sat motionless on his horse, making noeffort to escape, stunned by the surprise of his attack, then realizingthat a fight was really on, that the gate was under guard, and, despitehis warnings, the band had gotten themselves into a jeopardoussituation, while he, being a sworn member, must now stand or fall withit. He turned quickly about and dashed back to join his comrades.
The first shot had been the premature discharge of a gun in the hands ofa nervous guard, who had fired before the raiders had reached the spotwhere the men lay in waiting.
This, coupled with the fact that the stone wall behind which the guardswere concealed, was on a stretch of ground sloping from the road, causedthe later volley of shots fired on the raiders to speed harmlesslyoverhead, while the raiders' answering fire was quite as futile.
The latter had been quick to respond to their unseen assailants, and hadpressed on, reassured by the first single shot, but when met by adetermined volley, the captain gave orders for a hasty retreat, quicklyrealizing that the band had ridden recklessly into an ambush, and thatthe odds were greatly against his men.
As the raiders turned, the advance rider dashed back to join them.Several bullets sang a keen note of danger as he galloped by, but he wasunscathed.
A little beyond the gate one of the riders fell, or was thrown from hishorse, which seemed to stumble, then quickly regain his feet, and,riderless now, dashed along the road after the retreating band.
As Milt came up, he suddenly checked his horse at the spot where theaccident occurred, for the fallen man had risen to his feet, and wassorely in need of succor, since his horse had taken flight without him.
As he stood in the road, a dark shadow on a light background, seeminglydazed and uncertain what to do, Derr pulled up alongside, and bracinghimself in his stirrups, leaned forward and cried hurriedly, "Leap upbehind me!"
The man quickly obeyed, though clumsily, for his right arm appeared tobe of little service to him, but with the mounted man's assistance hemanaged to climb up behind, and throw one arm around his deliverer, thenboth men bowed low over the saddle, yet not a moment too soon to avoida parting volley fired at the two on the fleeing horse.
"The rest rid off an' left me, but you risked your life to take me up,"muttered Steve Judson, as they galloped on through the night. "MiltDerr, I promise you I won't forget tonight."
"That's all right; hang on!"