Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1871-09-06

AAOAAAG AAACe III WAAEF " ALlA l4EA Atceu4 III
her arms, and looking wild. 4 strsn-
ger had ridden up, and asked for me
+ saying that there was an appointment.
, She had invited him in, and given him
i, food; but his manners were so queer
that she took fright, and making an ex-
cuse about attending to supper, had slip
ped out. Surprised not to see any OF
our people about, she went to the stable
!, it was empty; the horse Of the stran-
: ger being picketed in front OF the house,
and our Own-gone!
, Thoroughly alarmed, she had come
: to meet me, and now urged immediate
flight. I demurred 10 this; the man
might really have come to buy bullocks.
But the disappearance of the horse p
Queer, certainly; yet it was serious
thing TO leave home and property, not
to mention the exposure of a woman 70
long night march. I determined to
go back, and judge whether her presen-
timent was we'll founded. Before we
had gone far, however, l saw CLINT
among the trees in the distance, and
threw myself down among the brush-
wood, whispering my wife TO do the
same, and keep the child from crying.
Two men rode leisurely up following the
path close to which we lay hid. One of
them was speaking.
80, he is strong enough to hold half
a-dozen such as Mildmay. He will seize
him when he hears the whistle; then
We rush in, and"
Here the cold blOoded villains threat
ened horrors, in language the brutality
OF which l was thankful for; it prevent
ed my wife, whose acquaintance with
English was as yet imperfect, from un-
derstanding him.
recognized the voice of Tom Blood
They passed on. There was no ques-
tiOn now about necessity for flight. My
plan was to cross the mountain ridge;
strike the idle-path which took the
route of the cataract; descend to the
shores Of the lake; take boat, and
cross to Grenada. Once down by the
lake we were safe; for though could
not reckon the people in the small set
Element there as my friends, they were
honest folks, and would not see me /
ruined and murdered by men like Tom
Blood, were it but for theirOwn security. |
The distance was about thirty miles on
~, but such miles part through tam
gled forest; part over steep mountain
paths. Alone, indeed, I should have /
thought nothing Of il; but how could |
my wife, burdened as she was for had
to use my axe too often to be able to
carry the child-hOw could she bear it?
No use asking that; it had to be done.
Night soon fell upon us with its trop-
ical suddenness, and after we had gone
some five miles, our progress was slow;
for I had to clear the brushwOOd at every
step, disturbing many noisome, dead
ly reptile, which glided kissing away.
We feared them not, for they sought
not to harm those who left them in
peace; it was Man, Cain-stamped Man,
that we dreaded.
FIVE hours work, and the wood grew
thinner, huge masses of rock bulging up
among the trees. Then ! was able to
take the child, and we pressed on, up,
up, toward the summit of the ridge
The trees grew yet sparser, until there
were but few clumps of dwarfed frs {
here and there; and then we were often {
forced to halt. heard the sound of the
ever-roaring cataract, and knew we
were among the precipices. Nothing l
but the most immediate peril would
have justified our pursuing our course /
by night; for though the path was famil- :
liar to me by daylight, it was easily
missed in the dark, and there were I
many places where a false fOotstep
would be fatal. Then, how should our c
enemies trace us? how guess the route I
we had taken? We crOucted under the
lee of shelterihg rock-fOr at that al Il
titude tile air was cold, and my wife I
was lightly cIad-and rested. Fortu-
nately my flask was not empty, and Il
had the remains of my midday meal in
my pocket; we finished what there was, t
and watched for the dawn. The baby
cried with the cold, ana even in that L
solitude 1 shuddered lest the sound d
should betray us.
Light in the east ut last We hasten. !,
ed on, and soon came in sight of the
bridge over the cataract One of the b
tributaries of the Great Lake made two
caps here as it rushed along its rocky o
course; the first, shorter one Of some
thirty feet, into pool, where its volume d
was swelled by the rush of another Il
mountain torrent which sprang stimuli
aneeusly from the side; then terrible, II
appalling, suicidal dash into the un- v
Known depths. The edge of this water
paved abyss was broken by q mass Of g
'Ock which rose above the torrent, and Il
his had been made use OF as the GENITAL
luttress of rude bridge a fragile re
passage over such a nasty place-mere- o.
y couple of poles laid perpendicular
y from a peak which actually hung W
,ver the cataract, and few logs nailed
Icross them, then n similar continue al
ion to the further side. But the trav-
,ler to the shores Of the Great Lakes Fl
must cross there or go ten miles out Of B
lis way; so that the most delicate
lerves must have braced themselves to
he passage. Of course, we inhabitants Y
hought nothing Of it; we hailed the -,
light Of it now with joy indeed.
Hark the bay Of bloodhound? =,
glanced along the way we had come, u
md saw our pursuers-a dozen Of them,
It least, two on horseback.
ITpnka Nle rhIIhl nnickn t.rlnh - h'