Bonny Jean, and A Severe Threat — page 63: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

56 BONNY. JEAN. The preparations were made with expedition. Two sturdy negroes, upon whom they could depend, were called in from their cabins, their duties pointed out to them, and weapons placed in their hands. Then they all repaired to the barn, to be ready for the expected horse-thieves, and Mrs. Lee and Lady would not hear to being left behind, first locking and fastening the house securely, and loosing the two great blood-hounds upon the porch. It was a lovely night. ‘The moon had arisen, and its silvery beams illumined everything around. JLady knelt upon a heap of fragrant hay, and applied her sharp eyes to a crevice in the planks of the building. All at once the hoarse growls of the hounds indicated the approach of some enemy, and soon a party of horsemen rode around in front of the barn, while one, evi- dently the leader, in a cautious tone, commanded the party to halt. Then followed the sound of subdued voices, and then the fastenings of the stable door rattled a trifle, the door swung softly open, and a man appeared on the threshold. But he never entered, for at that moment John Averill, kneeling in the loft above, unseen and unsuspected, leveled his rifle and fired. A terrible volley of oaths and curses followed, and the vigilantes, in a body, rushed intothe barn. ‘Tall and powerful, their faces concealed by crape masks, they were a formidable looking set. A general melee took place ; some shots were fired, half a dozen vigilantes hurt badly, but, as yet, the leader was untouched. He was bent on getting possession of Flirt. ‘The practiced eye of the fiend in human form had taken in all the fine points of the mare, and long ago he had determined to possess it. In the midst of the noise and confusion—the firing, shrieking, oaths, and curses—Gabriel Black contrived to slip around out- side the barn, and loosen a couple of planks in the side of the building next to Flirt’s stall. _ Softly he threw a bridle over her head, and succeeded in fastening it. Then, still unobserved, he led the horse through the opening. At that moment, from above, Lady’s eyes fell upon the ruffian, and, like a flash of Eomichooks (E(0) =)