vo od wonder" began the pa ed as he into the & coud aust of du of many aw the crow d betoro the tavern ped It, & cloud from the tramping irs of feet, and that swept 1, thick and impenet and no bigher than a tall man's head in the lifeless air *“l wonder if missed anything?” continued judge, finishing what to say The score or more of men quite near, and the judge and Ma- hafly made out the tall figure of the sheriff in the lead And then crowd, very excited, very dusty, very nolsy and- very hot, flowed into the Judge's front yard. For a brief mo ment that gentleman fancled Pleas: antville had awakened to a fitting sense of its obligation to him and that it was about for its churlish lack of hospitality. &e envel came towar the did florid gesture, “It's the pussy volee. "OR, know iy. “Gentlemen blandly. “Get the wellrope!” The judge was rather at loss prop- etly to Interpret these varied remarks. He was not long left In doubt. The sheriff steped to his side and dropped @% heavy hand on his shoulder. “Mr. Slocum Price, or whatever your name 1s, your little game is up!” “Ain't he bold?” It was the wom. an’s voice this time, and the fat land. lady, her curls awry and her plump breast heaving tumultuously, gained a place In the forefront of the crowd “Dear madam, this 1g an unexpect- ed pleasure!” sald the judge, with his band upon his heart, swept off his hat, fellow!” cried a shut him?” up-—-don't you think | retorted the sheriff tart. began the Judge (Dy Commas t and throug behind more distant voices h ‘Am as he ran CHAPTER The Family on the Raft That would unquestionably been the end of Bob was shot out Into the muddy waters Elk river, had not Mr. Hich- ard Keppel Cavendish, variously known as Long-legged Dick, and Chills-and-Fever Cavendish, of lLin- coln county, In the state of Tennes fee, some months previously and after unprecedented mental effort on his part, decided that I.fmcoln county was no place for him Mr. Cavendish's paternal grandpar ent had drifted down the Holston and Tennessee: and Mr Cavendish's father, In his son's youth, had poled up the Elk. Mr. Cavendish now de termined to float down the Elk to its juncture with the Tennessee, down the Tennessee to the Ohio, and if need be, down the Ohlo to the Mis glesippl, until he found some spot ex- actly suited to his taste With this end (n view he had tolled through the late winter and early spring, bullding himself a raft on which to transport his few belongings and his numerous family. Thus it happened that as Murrell and Slosson were dragging Yancy down the lane, Cavendish was just rounding a bend In the EIk, a quar ter of a mile distant. Leaning loose ly against the long handle of his sweep, he was watching the lane of bright water that ran between the black shadows cast by the trees on either bank. He heard a dull splash, and caught sight of some object In the eddy that swept alongside. Mr. Cavendish 1x, VAUGHAN KESTER. Mey 1 Cameirarey from pled ehe Rrouseq raft draped “I reckon we'd better lift him on get his wet clothes hime up warm,” sald of the beds t him In bed!” cried all {ttle Cavendizshes, Yancy was bor the two shanties. where andaged head rested i Then his wet dry along ne into the * Ld » The sheriff had brought the judge's ipper. He reported that the crowd! was dispersing, and that on the whole | public sentiment was not particularly hostile; Indeed, he went go far as to say there existed a strong undercur | rent of satisfaction that the jail | should have so speedily justified It self. Presently the sheriff went his wey into the dusk of the evening, and] night came swiftly to fellowship the! Judge's fears. A single moonbeam | found its way Into the place, making & thin rift In the darkness. The Judge sat down on the three-legged stool, which, with a shakedown bed, furnished the jail. Where was Solomon Mahaffy, and | where Hannibal? He felt that Ma-| hafty could fend for himself, but he | experienced a moment of genuine! concern when he thought of the child. | Then--there was a scarcely audi ble rustle on the margin of the woods, a dry branch snapped loudly. Next a stealthy step sounded In the clear ing. The judge had an agonized vision of regulators and Iynchers. The cautious steps continued to ap proach. A whisper stole into the Jali, “Are you awake, Price?” It was Ma. haffy who spoke. “God bless you, Solomon Mahafty!” cried the judge unsteadily. “I've got the boy-