The Secret Shot; Or, The Rivals Of Misty Mount — page 32: what you’re looking at

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

es Ss Fei —_——— wee ss = a Oe Re ee Oe a et ae 30 THE SECRET SHOT. on her knees before him, and extending her |'ducive to the brilliant battle which’ this clasped hands with an imploring gesture. | chapter is intended to deseribe, “Pity! for God’s, for your mother’s sake, pity !” “4 He paused, totteringly, like a man ina dream. Her tears were washing away his evilness ; something of the old, inborn an- gel illuminated his passion-torn features, “Yes, I wil! pity,” he muttered, brokenly ; “TJ will not harm you. Liye—he free !” She sprung to her feet with a joyous look. ‘“ But Cleaveland — Colonel Cleaveland !” cried a mocking, fiendish voice, through the thick door from without. “ OCurse him! curse him!” groaned the irresolute villain, relapsing into his former fury. “Ida, it must not be! You are mine, and shall be wedded to me. Cleave- iand never shall claim you as his,” Ida had drawn the dagger from her bosom, and held it aloft with frightful ear- nestness of intent. The villain reeled back, disconcerted, amazed, “ Another time!’ he muttered ; “ another time !” and, without another word, he slunk back through the entrance, and swung. the ponderous door behind him. ' She waited till she heard the strong bolts shot back into their places—what a. glad, sweet sound it now was !—and the footsteps of her retreating enemy echo far off along the floor of the outer cavern, when the sud- den iron which had entered her being to support it in her hour of need, melting in the hot revulsion, she fell upon her knees, and, amid tumultuous sobs, poured forth prayers for deliverance from the danger which confronted her. In spite of the entreaties and taunts of Judith, Heartstead immediately mounted his steed, and set out for the field, whither he had been called by the British leader, who had resolved to court a conflict then and there. CHAPTER IX, King's Mountain. Some love to roam on the dark sea’s foa Where the wild winds whistle free; 5 But a merry band in a mountain land, Anda rifle good for me!—OLp Sona. We beg: the reader's attention for a moment, while we set forth more fully than already has been done in the introductory chapter, the military occurrences which im- mediately preceded, and, in fact, were con- From the first dawn of the Revolution throughout the Northern colonies—from the inauguration of war at the battle of Lex- ington, a desultory struggle was kept’ up throughout the Southern colonies of Virgi- nia, the two Carolinas and Georgia, between the patriotic fighters for liberty, on one hand, and the English forces, or red-coats, as they were popularly called, on the other. These latter wefe materially aided, from time to time, by those of our early popula- tion more generally known in history as Tories, who were stilt faithful—many, prob- ably most of them, honestly so—to the king’s cause.. Some of the most interest- ing of the military movements which took place between these parties toward the close of the war, chiefly in the course of their respective efforts to gain possession of the State of North Carolina, will be of interest as relating to the affair at King’s Mountain, in. which Colonel Cleayeland, as well as most of the Tories who have thus far figured in our story, was engaged. | Charleston, and the American army there, under General Lincoln, having surrendered, as we have seen, to the British commander, Sir Henry Clinton, who had returned to thé North, leaving Lord Cornwallis behind to finish the subjugation of the Southern colonies, the latter had passed the early summer months of this year in traversing the interior counties of South Carolina; but, on the whole, to little purpose. But, the embers of patriotism, which had been, with difficulty, kept alive in that dubious State by the efforts of suck noble spirits as Marion, Sumter, Pickens and others, were almost utterly extinguished, as we haye seen, by the susequent disaster to the American arms at Camden, under General: Gates, whose Northern laurels were fast turning to Southern willows, according to the predic- tion.* This unfortunate event left the State of South Carolina almost at the mercy’ of the invaders. Gates retreated to Hills. *Gates was a resident of Berkley county, Virgi- nia, and in this vicinity lived several daicers of emi- nence in the Revolution, among them Generals Lee, Muhlenburgh, Morgan and Stephens. So great had been the success of General Gates at the North, his” maneuvers having culminated in the defeat and cap- ture of Burgoyne aud his army, that he at-one time rivaled even Washington in popularity; a1 a it was: with an unusual desree of confidence that Congress appointed him to succeed the unfortunate Lincoln at. the South. But, about this time, Charles Lee, one of the neighbors, made a prediction that the * Northern laurels"? of the popular General would” not be long in turning to “Southern willows,” which was afterward, in some degree, verified. 1 : Ghook com