The Portland daily press., 1869-10-04

l! We were five passengers in all; two ladies
on the back seat, midde-aged gentleman
and Quaker on the middle, and myself on
the one in front. "-. ~" e.. 'H 200
The two ladies might have been mother
and daughter, aunt and niece, governess and
charge, or might have sustained any other re-
ilationship which made it proper for two ladies
to travel together unattended. blam
The middle-aged gentleman was sprightly
and talkative. He soon struck up an ac-
quaintance with the ladies' toward whom, in
his zeal TO do, he rather orerdid, the agree
able-bowing and smiling and chattefins over
his shoulder in way painfully suggestive, at
his time OF life, of "crick" in the neck. He
was evidently {. gray Lothario. s.s ..s"A
a,l The Quaker wore the uniform of his sect
and confined his speech, as many q parlia-
mentarian would save his credit by doing, to
simple .yeas" and mays. As for myself
make it an invarabe rule of the road to be
merely a locker on and listener.
Toward evening, l was aroused from one
of those reveries into which young man
auithOut being either poet or lover, aoitt
sometimes fall, by the abrupt query from the
talkative gentleman: uil.l adr
"Are you armed, sirw . 1865 b.
q II am not" answered, astonished, no
doubt visibly, at the question. l...- u.
81 am sorry TO hear it," he replied; "lor be-
fore reaching our stopping-place it will be
several hours in the night, and we must pass
over portion OF the road on which more
than one robbery is reported to have been
committed" ,ilr ,l,.. i.,i.t. -...s.t '7'''
The ladies turned pale, but the stranger
did his best to reassure them.
"Not that l think there is the slightest
danger at PRESENT. he resumed; "only when
one is responsible for the safety of ladies, you
know, such thing as pistol in reach would
materially add to ones confidence.
"Your principles, my friend" addressing
the Quaker. Il presume are as much oppos-
ed to carving as to using carnal weapons"
"Yea" was the response. uty z. l.
"Have the villains murdered any of their
victims ?" the elder lady nervously inquired.
"Or have they contented themselves with
with plundering them?" added the young
er, in timorous voice. -l
Decidedly the latter" the amiabh gentle.
man fastened to give assurance; Sand as We
are none of us prepared to offer resistance in
case OF attack, nothing worse than robbery
can befall u.s."
Then, after blaming his thoughtlessness in
having unnecessarily introduced nsaYIeea- ,t,.s
BILE subject, the gentleman qute eaceLo' LII
self in efforts to raise the spirits OF the coui
many and succeeded so well by the time nieht
set in tbat all had quite forgotten, or only
remembe,ed their fears to laugh at them.
nur Genial companion fairly talked himself
| boorse Perceving which, he took from his
| rocket package of newly-invented "coueb
candy,n and after passing it fir:t to the ladies'
he helped himself to the balance, and tossed
the paper out of the window.
He was in the midst of high enconium on
the new nos,Ium, more than half the efhcacy
of which, he insisted, depended on its pelne
taken by suction, when shrill whistle was
heard, and almost Immediately the coac9
stopped, while two faces. hideously olackened
presented themselves, one at each window.
"Sorry to trouble you" said the man on the
right, acknowledging with a bow two ladyllk'
screa ms from the back seat; but business
business and ours will soon be over, ii things
| 90 smoothly"