St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1869-03-26

/ Leaving the hills, the road dips dow
|. into Treacle Hollow, and runs Il straight
e smooth mile, through thick, dark wood
e of hickory and oak. / felt little anx
lous about this mile of gloom ahead Ii
" was not just the road one would choose
4 to ride on dark night, with twent,
c thousand dollars in notes and bonds.
tapped up the mare, and we dashed down
the slope and into the woods blacL
shade. She was brave horse rs evcl
tod or trampcd, that fiery roam mare
I Skylark. | let the reign hang loose
; She doubled her neck, sprang out. anC
galloped fierce as fire. | kept kcer
| lookout; though might have saved nv
pains. 1t was dark as the pit in that
I cIose-grown tunnel Of shade Once ou
OF this gloomy hollow. should not fear
There were only two miles of the open
, high road beyond, with houses scattered
every little way. We trampcd alone
through the hollow: | kept the mare up
TO her best. The long level slipped be-
hind. The woods began TO thin and
tighten little. \ little further on we
struck slight a>ccnt-the foot of our
llllbury hills y minute more and We
should be clear OF the woods. and safe
i"lt the ground stcepcn under us. Sky
lark siackened her pace The road was
steep before Us | had ridden her hard.
up hill and down. | felt safe BOW.
didn't care to urge her She lahorcd up
the ascent. j breathing quick and hard
y bright glare flashed i'll my eyes g., \
crash III the bIsht>-the mare shied and
plunged. \ mans form. dimly seen.
was hanging by her bits | struck my
heels in her tiankS. drew my pi~tol-ircd
The mare was pIuneing widely | was
blind With the glare in my eyc,-I miss
cd. | felt myself grasped from behind.
drawn heavily backward felt the
mare going from under me kicked at
her turlous flung the pistol AT her
head Is tell. She snortcd and plunged.
made one treat, frightened leap HIGH in
the air, flung the fellow that held her
heavily into the fence, ami shot away up
the hill
As fell, the light glanced one side
from my face, and showed me the man
who held me. full and plain. Tall and
light made, with small, white hlu,>.
pale face, black. silky >jle-bcarl and
mou>tachc, keen grey eyes, thin lip-, and
perfect teeth. Ion" hair, glossy jet black
He was dressed in tine black cloth, linen
>pot!cSs and unrufiIed, aud hi.h >Ilk
hat. saw the light Glance from h.>
polished boots, from Il diamond rlug on
his hand. lie had a cigar in his mouth.
There was no passion or excitement in
his lace. He looked a. cool, a. fearless
a- dcvili>h ~ ever hope To sec the face
OF man. ~ hc lragg,d me back and
threw me on the grounl-hcll me down
10y the throat.
'.Iibcr,, :" he called. "Quick, will
you -
did not fight. The mare WAS oti
with the money. knew there were
other two at hand. was .unarmrd. |
knew they could quiet me quickly enough
| knew that that cold. white cruel face
above me would Kill me without re-
morse, ii it came to need. | thought ui
Nell. and lay still. The man called .Iib-
rr came crashing cut with hi dark liant
crn III his hand. lie wore a ~iourLrd
black hat, wa, roughly Observation-Disclosures
cr "a commomcr, roughcr man than the
other, with Il cunning. sncakInL face,
written all over i'll struggling characters
with his proper name OF thief. lie light-
rd IN open lantern and set it Oh Il stone.
The third robhcr crawlcd up out OF the
bushes and stones where the mare had
thrown him The other, called linn
Chi>el. He wore Il cap and suit OF
dark %rcy coarse cloth. did not sec his
face. He plainly studied to hide it
kept it i'll the shadow, or turned away.
He seemed younger than either OF the
othcrS-mot stout, but 1.-THE and quick as
Il cat.
1t was only a minutes time from the
first flash till | WAS lying quiet on my
back in the road, with that whtc-iacccl.
.jewclIcd devil, holding me down, and
the others knccling by Us. Tney called
him the Parson. They called the rough
one, with the brutal face and >louchcd
hat, Jlbcr, and the other Chiscl, IL |
said.
"Chiscl," he said-his voice was clear
and calm-''ChiScl, hold the lantern
Jiber, cock your pistol. Put it TO his
head. Are you ready ?''
"Wc'rc ready, Parson."
1t was .JIbcr who spoke. The other
held the lantern between my face and his.
.Jiber cooked his pistol, examined the
cap, and put the muzzle close to my
head. | felt the cold iron touch my
skull. y strong, convul>iye shivcr went
through me, shook me from head to foot
knew there was little danger-that it
was not TO their interest to peril their
precious necks. But | SAW the rufliln'S
villainous face, and | knew that a single
twitch of the brutal fellows hand was
all that stood between me and the awful
mystery beyond. In broad dav, when
there is no present danger, when lite
swclls strong in pulse and limb, when the
pale horse gallops far off beyond the sun
set hills of hope, | take us calm view
of that certain but shadowy consumma-
ton us the rest, suppose. But wien
the grlsly phantom comes quite close
when you feel his terrible numbing touch
and his blasting breath on your check
well, "not all the preaching since Adam
has made 1eath aught but death.'
IF he makes any trouble, Jber," the
Parson said, elbow out his brains
lie loosened his hold. The tramp OF
the flying mare had died away over the
hills. | had not five dollars about me.
| lay quite still. The Parson searched
me thoroughly. He took my pocket
book, took out the money, and threw