CHAPTER XXXIX.
BARKSDALE'S WARNING.
Edward was awakened by a cowhorn blown just before the peep of day andthe frantic baying of the hounds that Charlie Possum was bringing to thehouse. As he dressed and came forth the echos of horses' feet were heardin the distance upon the public roads and the cry of other hounds, andas the gray dawn lighted the east the outer yard presented an animatedscene. About a dozen riders were dismounting or dismounted were tryingto force a place between the multitude of dogs, great and small, thatwere settling old and new disputes rough and tumble, tooth and toe nail.
There was little of the holiday attire that is usually seen at clubmeets; the riders wore rough clothing and caps and their small slenderhorses were accoutered with saddles and bridles that had been distinctly"worn." But about all was a business air and promise of genuine sport.Many of the dogs were of the old "July" stock, descendants of a famousMaryland dog of 40 years before, whose progeny scattered throughoutGeorgia constitute canine aristocracy wherever found--a slender-flanked,fullchested animal, with markings of black and tan. Among them weretheir English rivals of larger form and marked with blotches of red andwhite.
The servants were busy getting light refreshments for the riders. Marywas the superintendent of this, but at the same time she was presidingover a ceremony dear to the old south at all hours of the day. Into eachgenerous cut glass goblet that lined her little side table she poured afew spoonsful of sweetened water, packing them with crushed ice. Downthrough the little arctic heaps, a wineglassful of each, she poured aruby liquor grown old in the deep cellar, and planted above the radiatedpyramids little forests of mint. Nothing but silver is worthy to holdsuch works of art, and so getting out an old, well-worn Montjoy silver,its legend and crest almost faded into the general smoothness of theirbackground, she placed them there and began her ministry in the longdining room. She made a pretty picture as she passed among the men, hershort, narrowskirted riding dress and little felt hat setting off herlithe, active form perfectly. The ceremony was simple and short.Everybody was eager to be off.
Just as they mounted and rode out, Mary appeared from somewhere, mountedupon a half broken colt, that betrayed a tendency to curve herself intoa half-moon, and gallop broadside against fences and trees that wereinconveniently located.
Edward viewed the mount with alarm. Though a fairly good rider, he wasnot up to cross country runs and he questioned his ability to be of muchassistance should the half broken animal bolt, with its fair burden. Heproposed an exchange, but Mary laughed at the idea.
"Lorna is all right," she said, "but you could never get her out of theyard. She will steady up after awhile, and the best of horses can't beather in getting round corners and over fences."
"Daughter," said the colonel, checking his horse as he prepared tofollow, "are you sure of Lorna?"
"Perfectly. She is going to do her worst for a while and then her best.Steady girl; don't disgrace yourself before company." Lorna danced andtossed her head and chewed upon her bit with impatience.
At that moment Barksdale rode into the yard, mounted upon a tallthoroughbred, his equipments perfect, dress elegant, seat easy andcarriage erect. He seemed to Edward a perfect horseman. He gravelysaluted them both.
"I see that I am in the nick of time, Miss Mary; I was afraid it waslate."
"It is late," said the girl, "but this time it is a cat and doesn'tmatter. The scent will lie long after sun-up." They were following thenand the conversation was difficult. Already the dark line of men wasdisappearing down the line in its yet unbroken shadow. A mile away theparty turned into the low grounds and here the general met them ridinghis great roan and, as always when mounted, having the appearance of anofficer on parade. He came up to the three figures in the rear andsaluted them cheerily. His old spirits seemed to have returned.
They entered into a broad valley that had been fallow for several years.Along the little stream that threaded its way down the middle withzigzag indecision, grew the southern cane from 6 to 15 feet high; themass a hundred yards broad in places, and at others narrowing down tofords. This cane growing erect is impenetrable for horses. The rest ofthe valley, half a mile wide, was grown up in sage, broomstraw, littlepines and briars.
The general shape of the ground was that of the letter Y, the stem beingthe creek, and the arms its two feeders leading in from the hills. Tostart at the lower end of the letter, travel up and out one arm to itsend, and return to the starting point, meant an eight mile ride, if thecat kept to the cane as was likely. It was a mile across from arm toarm, without cover except about an acre of sparse, low cane half waybetween. When Mary came up to the leading riders, with her escort, theywere discussing a fact that all seemed to regard as significant. One ofthe old dogs, "Leader," had uttered a sharp, quick yelp. All other dogswere focusing toward her; their dark figures visible here and there asthey threaded the tangled way. Suddenly an angry, excited baying inshrill falsetto was heard, and Evan shouted: "That's my puppy Carlo!Where are your English dogs?"
"Wait," said one of the party. "The English dogs will be in at start andfinish." Suddenly "Leader" opened fullmouthed, a second ahead of herpuppy, and the next instant, pandemonium broke loose. Forty-seven dogswere racing in full cry up the stream. A dozen excited men werefollowing, with as much noise and skill as they could command.
"A cat, by ----" exclaimed one of the neighbors. "I saw him!" Barksdaleled the way for the little group behind. Edward could have closed in,but his anxiety for the girl was now developed into genuine fear. Thetumult was the signal for Lorna to begin a series of equinecalisthenics, more distinguished for violence than beauty. For sheplanted her heels in the face of nature repeatedly, seemingly in animpartial determination to destroy all the cardinal points of thecompass. This exercise she varied with agile leaps upward, and bunchingof feet as she came down.
Edward was about to dismount to take hold of her when Lorna, probablydiscerning that it was unnecessary to get rid of her rider beforejoining the rout, went past him like a leaf upon a hurricane. He plantedspurs in his horse's side and followed with equal speed, but she was nowfar ahead. He saw her skim past Barksdale, and that gentleman with but aslight motion of his knees increased his speed. And then Lorna and thethoroughbred went straight into the wall of cane, but instead of aheadlong plunge and a mixture of human being and struggling animalfloundering in the break, he simply saw--nothing. The pair went out ofsight like an awkwardly snuffed candle.
He had no time to wonder; the next instant he was going through a hogpath in the cane, the tall stems rattling madly against his knees, hiseyes dazed by the rushing past of so many near and separate points ofvision. Then he rose in air. There was a flash of water underneath anddown he came into the path. The open world burst upon him again like abeautiful picture. He only saw the flying figure of the girl upon a madcolt. Was she trying in vain to hold it? Would she lose her head? Wouldher nerve forsake her? Heavens!! She is plying her whip with might andmain, and the man on the thoroughbred at her heels looks back over hisshoulder into Edward's white face and smiles. Then they disappear intothe green wall again and again the world is reborn on the other side.
The pace tells. One by one Edward passes the riders. The old generalcomes up at last. As Mary goes by, he gives what Edward supposes to bethe old rebel yell of history and then they are out of the end of onearm of the Y and heading for the clump of cane.
There has been little dodging. With so many dogs plunging up both sidesof the creek, and picking up its trail as he crossed and re-crossed, thecat had finally to adopt a straightaway program as the cover wouldpermit. If it dodged once in this little bit of small cane it was lost.It did not dodge. It went straight into the end of the other arm of theY and to the astonishment of all the hunters apparently went out againand across a sedge field toward the hills.
It was then a straight race of half a mile and the dogs won. Theysnarled and pulled and fought around the carcass, when Lorna wentdirectly over them and was "sawed up
" at the edge of the woods 50 yardsfurther. One of the hunters jumped down and plucked the carcass from thedogs and held it up. It was a gray fox. The dogs had run over him in thelittle cane and indulged in a view chase. The cat was elsewhere!
Exclamations of disgust were heard on all sides and Evan lookedanxiously among the gathering dogs.
"Where is Carlo?" he asked of several. "Has anybody seen Carlo?" Nobodyhad, apparently; but at that moment in the distance, down the arm of theY which Reynard had crossed, they heard a sharp, puppyish cry,interspersed with the fuller voicings of an old dog.
"There is Carlo!" shouted the old gentleman in a stentorian voice. "AndLeader," interpolated Montjoy.
"Come on with your English dogs! Ha, ha, ha!" and Evan was gone. ButLorna was done for the day. She distinctly refused to become enthusedany more. She had carried her rider first in at the death in one raceand the bush had been handed to Mary. Lorna responded to the efforts toforce her, by indulging in her absurd half-moon antics. Barksdale andEdward turned back.
"It will come around on the same circuit," said Barksdale, speaking ofthe cat; "let us ride out into the open space and see it." They tookposition and listened. Two miles away, about at the fork of the Y, theycould hear the echo of the tumult. If the cat went down the main stemthe day was probably spoiled; if it came back up the other branch asbefore, they were in good position.
Nearer and nearer came the rout and then the dogs swarmed all over thelone acre of cane. The animal had dodged back from the horsemen standingthere and was now surrounded.
The dogs ran here and there trotting along outside the cane careless andfagged suddenly became animated again and sprang upon a crouching form,whose eyeballs could even from a distance, be seen to roll and glarefrightfully. There was one motion, the yelping puppy went heels overhead with a wound from neck to hip, and Carlo had learned to respect thewild cat. But the next instant a dozen dogs were rolling in horridcombat with the animal and then a score were pulling at the gray and tanform that offered no more resistance.
"Thirty-five pounds," said an expert, holding up the dead cat. A frontfoot was cut off and passed up for examination. It was as large as aman's fist and the claws were like the talons of a condor.
The general was down, examining the wound of poor Carlo, and, allrivalry cast aside, the experienced hunters closed in to help him. Itwas not a question now of Maryland or England; a puppy that would hold atrail when abandoned by a pack of old dogs whom it was accustomed tofollow and rely upon its own judgment as to wherein lay its duty, andfirst of all, after a 16 mile run, plants its teeth in the quarry--wasnow more than a puppy. Ask any old fox hunter and he will prophesy thatfrom the day of the killing of the cat, whenever Carlo opened in a hunt,no matter how much the other dogs might be interested, they wouldsuspend judgment and flock to him. That day made Carlo a Napoleon amongcanines.
Edward was an interested observer of the gentle surgery being practicedupon the dog. At length he ventured to ask a question. "What is hisname, General?"
"Carlo."
"And I presume he is not what you call an English dog?"
The general looked at him fiercely; then his features relaxed. "Go away,Edward, go away--and give the dog a chance."
Barksdale had ridden to one side with Mary and was gravely studying thescene. Presently he said abruptly:
"When is it you leave for Europe?"
"To-morrow."
"There is a matter pending," he said quietly, "that renders itpeculiarly unfortunate." She regarded him with surprise. "What I say isfor you alone. I know Mr. Morgan has been out here for several days andhas probably not been made aware of what is talked in town." Briefly heacquainted her with the rumors afloat and seeing her deep concern anddistress added: "The affair is trivial with Mr. Morgan; he can easilysilence the talk, but in his absence, if skillfully managed, it canaffect his reputation seriously."
"Skillfully managed?"
"Do you suppose that Mr. Morgan is without enemies?"
"Who could be his enemy?" She asked quickly, then flushed and wassilent.
"I will not risk an injustice to innocent people," he said slowly, "buthe has enemies, I leave it to you to decide whether to acquaint him withwhat is going on or not. I do not even advise you. But I came on thishunt to acquaint you with the situation. If the man whom I suspect isguilty in this matter he will not leave a stone unturned to destroy hisrival. It is nearer home from this point than from the hall and I havebusiness waiting. Good-bye."
He saluted Morgan, who was approaching, and went rapidly away. Mary rodehome in silence, returning only monosyllables to her escort. But whenshe spoke of being doubtful of their ability to get ready by morning andEdward proposed to cancel his order for berths, she hesitated. After allthe affair was ridiculous. She let it pass from her mind.