The Columbia Democrat. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1837-1850, 1840-02-29

deer skin, fastened down by wooden pins.
the toor laid Of loose boards, were
separated an inch or more, end wonid have
afforded the occupants Of the chamber an
opportunity 70 hear any curtaip lecture that
the iandord's spouse might have been dis
posed TO read him' A trap door shut down
over ,be hole through WHICH myself and
dog, would beg his pardon it alive for
mentioning myself 6rst had assembled.
had taish asleep, as said before, and
lay, don'! know hOS long, when dream
ed heard the landlord ask his wife in the
room below il il WIS lime 10 which she
replied 1T is--but be carcful-nake no
noise OF you'A disturb tie pedlar. ('Tho
landlords wife was an Americana Then
/ heard BoniIacc arise, sip on his clothes,
and so to the bar-roou! I though, then
tina! he made all immense tIe, cut the throat
OF the traveller who lay ON the bench, and
threw MIN on to burn lis body--lhat my.
self a!temIed 10 escape through the gable
window, but could not, (il Being too snail, J
and that my dog lay dead, having been pois
oned by the landlord, The imaginary ago,
ny that suffered awoks me, when or look-
ing up, sure enough there lay my dog as
believed, deadb and q large FIRE below threw
tilckerlng light into my chamber through
The creYlccs IN the floor, and the rays danced
in all oarts of gro.csque figures ON the clan.
boards overhead
In state Of terror which cannot de-
scribe, ! raiaed myself on my elbows and
Listened / heard What though, was the
distant roar Of the head wa:efs of The spb.
quehanna, which dowo down The tayine we
have just crossed, and wondered how hap
pened to hear !! as ! had rot da..a &C before
Bat, Imagine my horror, on observing that
the trar-docr vas partially raised, as if come
one intended to ascend to where Law, and
soon heard fooetepts stealing from the
room beneath to the tar-room. Then a
confused noise, dcor opened and shut, the
man on the bench greaned audbly, and |
distinctly heard dropping IS if ho were
being bled 10 death. This belief now took
possession Of my mind, and IinvcIuntarily
grasped a dirk-kni(e and pistol that always
carried with .no. What courie to take |
knew not. had ne doub! tllatif ATTEMPT
ed 10 descend the landlord had come trap to
secure me, and that iC | would attack him.
the fray nigh! cost no my life; or if | slew
HIM 1t would not bling back the dead man,
Tor took i! for granted the man on the
bench was murdered, )bui the landlords wife
might charge me with the murder of both.
in this dilemma my impulse Wss 10 es-
cape from one Of the gable windows and a.
arm the neighborhodd, but when reflected
That tie nearest house was two miles OF,
the idea wac abandoned nor could it have
been e1ecnted,as my dream prove truc tha.
the windows were both to small 10 receive
my body!
'Moanwhlo the dropping cottiaued,--.
Plup, Plup, plup, it went at regular inter.
walls, into a tub of water as thought from
the sound. Again the poor fellow gtoaaod
and the dog by this time awakened, pricked
his ears and growIed angrily This render
ed me- yet more certain that evil was going
on below. A second gyonl of tie dog loud.
er and more angry than the first seemed to
have alarmed the murderers, for | heard
them whisper together and thon foolslep
approached the ladder, and saw by the
sh9dow on tile roof that some one Wes lis.
tening l also heard heavy tread towards
the outer door, after which horse neished
another certain sign tina. mischief was
going on and the grOanins had ceased en-
tlrely.
My situation was now indeed horrible,
6us had determined TO resist any attempt
TO take my life to the uLtermost, and careful.
ly cooked my pistol.
'sdll The poor fellows blood continued
to drop at regular intervals, a little slower
than at first, ard owing TO the roaring of The