Des Moines courier. ([Ottumwa] Iowa) 1848-1854, 1852-06-03

worthy pair lighted up, returned an
took it, and they fell in a moment. Thi
was not ALL passed in first and tn
woman attempted TO shut the door Of
Lion; but the latter putting forth hi
strength sprang after me in an instant
aim os: upset,ing the bag in the operation
I'll thought the creature would like I,
stay by the fire." said she by way of a
pology. ,.t.. ..s..'
"Call The varmint out, tain'i likely Oh,
man wants to sleep in a room with /;
beast" added mine host, in q manne
that expressed great deal Of christiat
anxiety for my welfare.
81 prefer to have him with me, | an.
swered." " ..a# a
"He won't eat that quarter of mea, il
there. will he!'' . s
"Oh no." | answered. "You art
quite righl-he never takes anything
that's no, his"
Saying this wished them a good
nigh. and closed the door. .a lie
They had provided me with a din
tallow candle, and the first thing l did
was to examine everything in the room.
II was pretty well numbered up. Vari
Gus kinds of vegetables occupied differ
ent corners among which were pump.
kins. potatoes, melons, &c., together
with quarter Of venison, some Jerked
beef. and skins of animals. The BET
was poor concern, the frame being made
OF round poles in the same state they
were taken from The wood, and ;he cloth
ing upon il was coarse enough for her.
init. But what struck me as being lit
tie singular, was that The bed was turned
towards the partition separating The two
rooms, and right opposite the pillow was
wide crack, which had the appearance
of being left open by design.
began to feel queer, and tha. is no,
Just the word 10 express what | mean.
| had large sums OF money abou, me e.
nough TO tempt the cupidity of my enter
tainers at any rate. as their actions had al
ready evinced. How easy it would be
for them to shoot through the crevice
while | slept. The idea got possession
of me fully, and could not drive i, from
my mind. ] would have fastened the
door, but there was nothing to fasten i,
with, and | was impressed with the idea
that the danger would not come in thai
direction: If it should, Lion was there
to apprise me of it. laid off my coat,
and BUSTED as though was undressing
| put my pistols under my pillow anc
lay down, but such an unaccountable anu
terrible sense of evil pressed upon me
that could not sleep: Lion, 200, appear
ed uneasy-came and put his fore-paws
upon The bed every few minutes, and
went back to his post by the door.
Atlasl feigned sleep, and snored mos
musically but | did not fail to look
through the creyice and see what my
host and hostess were doing. They
laid down upon the bed which stood in
the room, and were quiet enough until
began to snore; then | heard them whis.
per. What were my sensations when
saw them rise softly, and the man take a
gun from behind the bed. | saw him as,
sisted by the hag draw ont charge oi
shot that was in the gun. and reload il
with handful of slugs. l turned over
heavily and pretended to have awakened.
My plan of action was arranged in a
moment, wore wig for several years
on account of loosing my hair by fever.
| determined TO make il of more use than
i, had ever been before: lifted myself
from the bed, and fel, about in the dark.
until found one of the pumpkins | had
seen. Over this drew my wig, and il
happened TO be an excellent fit. Having
dressed i. in this uncommon manner, |
crepi back 10 my bed, and placed it on
my pillow, in the exact spot which my
head had occupied. When it was thus
adjusted il was in juxtaposition with
the long crevice. through which took "a
mother look. Heavens! the fiends were
loadinga brace of pistols with the same
Internal slugs!
can't say bu, felt little dry about
the throa, then. / looked towards old
Lion. l could see his great eyes through
the darkness. He was still upon the a.
lert. The perspiration began to roll
down my face in great drops, not that |
felt absolutely afraid--for | hatter my
self that was no coward-bu' did not
like the idea Of taking human life. l was
confident | could defend myself, yet ev-
en- that confidence was not enough TO
make me feel comfortable. ...--...
Taking my pistols in my hands, |
bent over the bed, and commenced sEor-
ing again, at the same time watching the
movements of the man and his amiable
spouse. Every explosion from my nose
seemed to give her infinite satisfaction.
They looked at each other, nodded and
smiled grimly. He took the gun, and in
his stocking feet approached the crevice
opposite my bed. followed by the hag,
with the pistols and carving knife
Stonping, he peered into the room, and
brought his ferocious looking eyes to
bear on my wig l knew it would be dan
gerous to see any more. raised my
head out of harms way, and emitted now
and then a snore. l distinctly heard
him fix the muzzle of his gun against the
fissure opposite the wig, and then with
tremor OF indignation, and kind OF