St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1867-10-04

L
supper.
My host looked up with the air Of {
man intent upon other things. | re
peated the enquiry.
les he said, wearily; you cal
eat, traveller"
With this he crossed to the other side
OF the hearth, stopped over dark object
which until now | had not observed
crouched in the corner, and muttered ;
word or two OF unintelligible patois. The
object mcancd, lifted up white bewild-
cred woman'S face, and rose slowly from
the floor. The herdsman pointed to the
table, and went back to his stool and his
former attitude. The woman. after
pausing helpiessly, as if in the effort tc
remember something, went out into the
dairy, came back with brown loaf and
a pan of milk, and set them before me or
the table.
As long as | live | shall never forget
the expression of that woman's face.
She was young, and very pretty; but
her beauty seemed turned TO stone. Ev-
cry gesture was mechanical In the
lines that iurrowed her brow there was a
haggardness Of aye In the locking of
her lips there was an anguish beyond the
expression of words Though she served
me | do not think she saw HE. There
was no recognition in her ewes no APP
parent consciousness OF any object or cir
cumStance external to the secret of her
own despair. All this | noticed during
the few brlct moments in which she
brought me supper. This done, she crept
away, abjectly. into the same dark cor
ner, and sank down again, a mere hud-
died heap of clothing.
As for her husband, there was some
thing unnatural i'll the singular immo-
bllity of his attitude. There he sat. his
body bent forward. his chin resting on
his palms. his eyes staring tixedlv at the
blackcned hearth, and not even the in
voluntary quiver of nerve to show that
he lived and breathed. | could not de-
termlne his aye, analvze and observe his
.eatures as | might, He looked old
enough TO be forty: and was fine mus
cular mountaineer, with that grave cast
OF countenance which is peculiar to the
Nalai>an peasant.
| could not eat. The kecnneSs of nv
mountain appetite was gone. | sat as if
fascinated in the presence of thi, strange
pair observing both, and, apparently.
10y both as much forgotten as If | had
never crossed their threshold. We re-
manned thus, by the dim LIGHT of the lam
tern and the monOtonous ticking OF the
clock, Tor some forty minute, or more
all profoundly silent. Sometimes the
woman stirred, as if in pain; sometimes
the cows struck their horns against the
manger in the clubhouse. The hcrllsman
alone sat moti"nl"s-, lik" n man cast III
bronze. AT length the clock struck nine
| had by this time become 30 nervous
that almost dreaded to hear nv own
voice interrupt the silence. However,
pushed my plate noisily aside, and said,
with as much show of ease as | could
muster
''IIave you any place, friend, in which
| can sleep tonight ;"
He shifted his position uneasily. and,
without looking round, replied, in tie
same form Of words rs before:
"lcs; You can sleep, traveller"
where? In the left above ,"
He nodded atiirmativcly, took the Ian
tern from the table, and tuned toward
the dairy. As We passed, tie light
streamcd for a moment on the crouchinI
form of the woman in the corner.
is your wife i'll :" | asked, pausing
and looking back.
His eyes met mine for the first time.
and shudder passed over his body.
"lcs,' he said, with an effort.
WAS about to ask what allied her,
but something i'll his face arrested the
question on my lips know not, to thi.
hour, what that something was. could
not define 1t then, | cannot describe il
now but hope | may never See it in
human face again.
followed him to the foot of ladder,
at the farther end Of the dairy
sup there he said; placed the Ian
tern in my hand, and otrodc heavily back
into the darkness.
| went up, and found myself in a long,
low granery, stored with corn-sacks, hay,
onions, rock-salt, cheese. and farming
implements. In one corner were the
unusual luxurieS of mattress, a rug,
and three-egged stool. Ny first cart
was to make systematic inspection o.
the loft and all that it contained; my
next, to open a Titled unolazed lattice
with sliding shutter just opposite my
bed. The night was brilliant, and {
stream of fresh air and moonlight pourcc
in. Oppressed by a strange, un1efine,
sense OF trouble, extinguished the Ian
tern, and stood looking out upon th'
solemn peaks and glaciers. Their soil
tude seemed to me more than unusually
awful their silence more than usual,
profound. | could not help associatin:
them, in some vague way, with the mys
terry IN the house. | perplcxed mysel
with all sorts OF wild conectures as t,
what the nature of that mystery NIGH
be. The woman's face haunted me lik,
an evil dream. Again and again | wen
from the lattice to the ladder. back t,
the lattice, valnly listening for any soun'
III the looms below. a long time wen
by thus, until at length overpowered b,
the tatlsues OF the day. | stretched my
self on the mattress, and fell fast asleep
L can guess neither how long my slee
lasted, nor from what cause | awoke.
only knew that my sleep was dreamles
and profound and that l started from
suddenly, unaccOuntably, trembling i
every nerve and possessed 10y an over
whelming sense Of danger.
t Danger. Danger of what kind
From whom From wheHce l look