Produced by Duncan Harrod, Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. [Illustration: MISS LADY] THE LAW OF THE LAND _Of Miss Lady, whom it involved in mystery, and of John Eddring, gentleman of the South, who read its deeper meaning_ A NOVEL _By_ EMERSON HOUGH Author of The Mississippi Bubble The Way to the West WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY ARTHUR I. KELLER COPYRIGHT 1904 EMERSON HOUGH TO R.E.B. TO T.A.D. CONTENTS BOOK I CHAPTER I Miss LADY II MULEY III THE VISITOR IV A QUESTION OF VALUATION V CERTAIN PROBLEMS VI THE DRUM VII THE BELL VIII THE VOLCANO IX ON ITS MAJESTY'S SERVICE X MISS LADY OF THE STAIR XI COLONEL CALVIN BLOUNT'S PROPOSAL XII A WOMAN SCORNED XIII JOHN DOE vs. Y.V.R.R. XIV NUMBER 4 XV THE PURSUIT XVI THE TRAVELING BAG XVII MISS LADY AND HENRY DECHERD XVIII MISFORTUNE BOOK II I THE MAKING OF THE WILDERNESS BOOK III I EDDRING, AGENT OF CLAIMS II THE OPINIONS OF CALVIN BLOUNT III REGARDING LOUISE LOISSON IV THE RELIGION OF JULES V DISCOVERY VI THE DANCER VII THE SUMMONS VIII THE STOLEN STEAMBOAT IX THE ACCUSER X THE VOYAGE XI THE WILDERNESS XII THE HOUSE OF HORROR XIII THE NIGHT IN THE FOREST XIV AT THE BIG HOUSE XV CERTAIN MOTIVES XVI THE NEW SHERIFF XVII THE LAW OF THE LAND XVIII MISS LADY AT THE BIG HOUSE XIX THREE LADIES LOUISE XX THE LID OF THE GRAVE XXI THE RED RIOT OF YOUTH XXII AMENDE HONORABLE THE LAW OF THE LAND CHAPTER I MISS LADY Ah, but it was a sweet and wonderful thing to see Miss Lady dance, a strange and wondrous thing! She was so sweet, so strong, so full of grace, so like a bird in all her motions! Now here, now there, and back again, her feet scarce touching the floor, her loose skirt, held out between her dainty fingers, resembling wings, she swam through the air, up and down the room of the old plantation house, as though she were indeed the creature of an element wherein all was imponderable, light and free of hampering influences. Darting, nodding, beckoning, courtesying to something that she saw--it must have moved you to applause, had you seen Miss Lady dance! You might have been restrained by the feeling that this was almost too unreal, too unusual, this dance of the young girl, all alone, in front of the great mirror which faithfully gave back the passing, flying figure line for line, flush for flush, one bosom-heave for that of the other. Yet the tall white lilies in the corner saw; and the tall white birds, one on each side of the great cheval glass, saw also, but fluttered not; since a lily and a stork and a maiden may each be tall and white, and each may understand the other subtly.