Tom Anderson, Dare-Devil: A Young Virginian in the Revolution — page 54: what you’re looking at

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

38 Tom ANDERSON, DareE-DEvVIL witness a duel between two unknown men, —he was gone. It was swift obliteration! Carr’s cabin door was open; on the floor a cow-skin full of field pease. Carr and Sehoy were pounding the heap with “‘hickories,’’ — threshing pease. Tom burst in upon them. “Come and see if he’s dead! For God’s sake, come!” He tried to tell his story. : While he was about it, Unaka led the Gray Goose up to the door. Her head hung down. She was empty of nervous energy as a pot-rag. But the firelight streaming through the door disclosed a secret: from her quarter to her hock a long, wobbling red line. Blood! And there was not a scratch upon her. Tom pointed to it. “He was wounded. I took his horse away from a wounded man!’’—a remorseful sense of cruelty over- whelmed him. “But I didn’t know he was wounded! Can’t we start? Up with you, boy! Pat can ride the Gray Goose.” So they set out. It was snowing again now. Without the lantern they must have lost their way. “Yez say he lies beyant the sloe-thicket, Tom? We’s close to him, thin,” said Carr. To Tom it seemed day would break before they got * anywhere.” ‘On the right side of the road, within twenty steps of the sloe-bushes. You go, Pat —” choking. Carr and Unaka dismounted. Like one in a nightmare Tom watched the lantern zigzag about in the whirling flakes. Why were they so long! The light was coming back. Carr called out, — his voice “mighty queer,” — “No man here!”’ “What do you say?” ‘Somethin’ ’s come av him! What? Faith, I don’t know mesilf.”’ “Gimme the light!’ and, furious with distress, Tom rushed away with the lantern, peering into fence corners and the wattled thicket, tumulous with snow. Wheel and ECOMMICLOOOKS.(e© m