St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1871-09-29

hnrl at their teams, but for ingrniol
| flights Of fancy profanity lave ncv(
met the equal Of my host. With til
| most perfect good nature and unmovc
} cOuntcnancc hc uttered ilorid blaSpht
l mics, which, think, must have take
l hours to invent. | was glad when bed
: time came, to be relieved of his presence
: and especially pleased when he took IN
TO the little separate building, in whic
was Il narrow single bed Next thi
building on the left was the cook -hous
and dining room, and upon the right Ia,
his own sleeping apartment. Direct,
across the square, and not more than G.
feet off, was the gate Of the corral, whicl
when moved, creaked on lis hinges in Tn
most dismal manner.
As l lay upon my bed | could hea
hawcah occasionally stamp; the snorin.
OF the ChInaman Oh one side, and III,
low, mumblcl conversation of my hos
AMI squaw on the other. | iclt no in
cllnatlon 10 sleep, but lay there in llal
doze, quite conscious, yet withdraw
from the present.
think it must have been about |
when | heard the clattcr of Il couple o.
lorsemen, who galloped up 10 my hosts
building and sprang TO the ground, then
Spanish spurs ringing On the stone.
sat up in bed, gra>ped my pistol and list
ened. The peach tree next my window
rustlcd. The horses moved about 50
rcstlc,sl y that heard but little of the
conversation, but that little | found OF
/ personal interest TO myself.
the fragments OF dialogue between my
host and the man whom recognized rs
the elder OF my two robbers.
When did lc come p
Wall, the sun miaht have been about
four hours
Has his horse @Ivc out ,
failed to hear the answer, bat was
tempted TO shout out, "No."
Gray coat, buckskin bre,rhr~.' (My
dIcs>)
Going to Maripo>a at seven in the
morning.
Il .uce, wouldn't, round here
y low, muttcrcd >oliloquv in Spanish
wound up with growI.
No, Antoine, not within mile OF the
place
sta burn'
Out OF the compressed lumblc Of the
final sentence | got but the one word,
"buckshot."
The Spanards mounted, and the sound
OF their spurs and horses hoofs soon died
away in the north, and lay for halt an
hour revolving all sorts of plans. The
safest course seemed to he 10 slip out in
the darkness, and fly on foot 10 the
mountains, abandoning my good ka-
weah but thought of his noble run,
and II seemed 10 me 80 wrong To turn
my back upon him, that | resolved to
unite our fate. rose cautiously, and,
holding my watch up TO the moon, found
that l. o'clock had just passed, then TAX
inS from my pocket Il five dollar gold
piece, | laid it upon the stand 10y my
bed, and in my stocking feet, with my
clothes in my hands, started noiSclcS-ly
for the corral. \ fierce bull dog, who
had shown no disposition 10 make friends
with me, bounded from the open door
OF the proprietor TO my SIDE. Instead OF
tearing me, as had expected, he licked
my hands and tawned about my feet
Reaching the corral gate, dreaded
opening it, at once, remembering the
rusty hinges, 50 | hung my clothes upon
an upper bar "t the fence, AMI. cautious
ly lifting the latch, began to push back
the gate, inch 10y inc:, an operation
which required me ci 9ht or ten minutes
then | walked up 10 kawcah and pattcI
him. His mangcr was empty he had
picked up the last kernel Of barley.
The creatures manner was iull of Gu
rlosity, as if he had never been approach
ed i'll the night before. Supprc>sing his
ordinary whinnying, lie preserved Il mo-
tionless, statue-likc silence. | was in
terror lest by a neigh, or some nervous
movement, he should awaken the sleep
ing proprietor and expose my plan.
The corral and the open square were
half covered with loose stones, and when
| thought Of the clattcr of kawcah's
shoes | experienced feeling Of trouble,
and again meditatcd running Oft on foot,
until the idea struck me of mutlling the
iron feet. Ordinarily kaweah would
not allow me TO lift his furc-ieet at
all. The two black smiths who shod
him had done 50 at the peril of their
lives, and whenever | bad attempted to
pick up his hind feet he had warned me
away by dangerous stamps; SO l APP
preached him very timidly, and was sur
priscd TO find that he allowed me to lift
all four of his feet without the slightest
objection. AS stopped down he nused
me over, and nibbled playiully at my
hat. In constant dread lest he should
make some noise, | hurried 10 muiile his
fore feet with my trousers and shirt,
and then, with rather more care, TO tie
upon his hind feet my coat and drawers
knowing nothing Of the country ahead
Of me, and fearing that | might again
have TO run for it, determined at all cost
to water him. Cropping about the cor
raj and barn, and at last finding buck
ct, and decending through tine darkness
TO the stream, / brought him full
drau9ht, which he swallowed eagerly,
when | tied my shoes on the saddIc-pom-
mel, and led the horse slowly out of the
corral gate, holding him firmly by the
bit, and feeling his nervous breath pour
out upon my iand.
When we had walked Ihaps quar-
ter of mile, | stopped and listened
All was quiet, the landscape lying bright
and distinct in full moonlight. l un-
bound the wrappings, shook from them