Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1850-09-28
"He won't eat that quarter of meat il

"Oh no." L answered. "You are quite
right--he won't eat it. He never takes
anything that's not his"
Saying this, l wished them good night,
and closed the door.
They had provided me with dim tai
low candle, and the first thing did was to
examine everything in the room. 1t was
pretty well numbered up. Various kinds
of vegetables occupied different corners,
among which were pumpkins, potatoes,
melons, &C., &c., together with a quarter
of venison, some jerked beef and skins Of
animals.
examined the bed next. 1t was poor
concern, the frame being made Of round
poles in the same state they were taken
from the wood and the clothing upon it
was coarse enough for hermit. But what
struck me as being little singular was that
the head of the bed was turned towards The
partition separating the two rooms, and right
opposite the pillow was a wide crack,
which had the appearance of having been
left by design.
l began to feel queer, land that is not just
the word to express what l mean.) I had
large sums of money about me, enough to
tempt the cupidity of my entertainers at
any rate, as their actions had already con.
vinced me. How easy it would be for
them to shoot me through the crevice as |
slept. The idea got possession of me fully,
aud | could not drive 1t away. l would
have fastened the door but there was moth.
ing to iasten it with, and was impressed
with the idea that the danger would not
come from that direction. If it should, Liz
on was there 10 apprize me of it. laid
off my coat and hustled about as though ]
was undressing. | put my pistols under
my pillow and laid down; but such an un-
accountable and terrible sense of evil press
ed upon me that could not think of sleep
ing. Lion, too, appeared uneasy-came
and put his fore paws upon the bed every
few minutes, then went back TO his post by
the door, and laid down in kind OF fever
ish anxiety.
At last feigned sleep, and snored most
unsteady but did not fail to look through
the crevice TO see what my host and hostess
were doing. They laid down upon the
bed which stood in the room without taking
off their clothes, and were quiet until be-
gan to snore, when | heard them whisper.
What were my sensations when | heard
them arise softly, and the man take gun
from behind the bed | saw him assisted
by the hag, draw out charge Of shot which
was in the gun, and reload it with a hand
ful of slugs. turned over heavily and
pretended 20 awake. My plan of action
was arranged IN moment.
had worn a wig for several years, on
account of losing my hair by fever. how
determined to make It of more use to me
than it had ever been before. lifted my-
self quietly from the bed and felt about dbl
etly in the dark, until had found one ot
the pumpkins | had sven. Over this
drew my wig, and it HAPPENED to be an ex-
celent fit. Having dressed it in this un-
common manner, I ctept back to my bed,
and placed It upon the pillow, in the exact
position my head bad occupied. When it
was thus adjusted il WAS in juxtaposition
with the long crevice through which
now took another look. Heavens! the
fends were loading a brace OF pistols with
the same internal slugs.
can't say but left d little dry about
the throat then. looked towards old Lion.
| could just discern his great eyes through
the darkness. He was still upon the alert.
The perspiraton began to roll down my
face In great drops, not that felt absolutely
atraid--for | fatter myself that | am not
co@ard-~but | did not like the idea Of ta-
king human life. | was confident | could
defend myself yet even that confidence was
not enough to make me feel altogether COM
Portable.
Taking my pistols in my hand, bent
over the bed, and comthenced snoring, at
the same time watching the movements of
the man and his amIable spouse. Every
explosion from my nose seemed to give
them the greatest satisfaction. They look
ed at each other-nodded and smiled grim
ly. He took the gun, and in his stocking
feet approached the crevice opposite my
bed, followed by the hag with the pistols
and a carving knife. STOPPING, he peeped
into my room, and brought his feroCious
looking eyes to beat upon my wig.
knew it would be dangerous to see any
more. raised my head enough to get out
of harms way, and omitted now and then
snore. heard him distinctly fix the
muzze of the gun against the fissufe oppo-
Site my wig, and then with trenior of in
dignation, and kind of creeping sensation
all over me. drew back and awaited the
result. 1t was moment Of awful suspense
to me. What if he should discover the
cheat and elevate his piecel A thousand
such thoughts rushed through my mind in
an instant, The cold sweat ran down my
face in streams Thank Heaven was
not long in suspense.
A terrible explosion followed the fearful
pause. A storm of slugs poured INTO my
bed perforating the wig, and scattering the
pumpkin in every directions
"He won't never tell no stories," heard
the assassin say, as be dropped the breech
of the gun heavily to the floorl SNOW for
the dog" g
During these operations, Lion had placed
himself by my side, with his fote=feet upon
the bed, while, to keep him still, | put my
hand over his mouth. He knew well what