Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1872-06-20
-beAtlast i began to grow grow weary
TAano uSEA aIaAEUG uoCn

resembled some one ham meriDg in
the distance. / suppose it was
the peculiarity y of the sound that
awoke me, for it was not loud, but
conveyed to me the idea Of some
one striking iron with mufiled
hammer. rose from my bed and
went to the window. The moon
was now in the western horizon,
by which | knew it must be near
morning. The sound I have be-
fore referred to reached me more
distinctly than Hhen in the back
part of the chamber. 10 1t appeared
TO come from-s9me ou.houses which
were situated a hundred yards
from the house,
Nuw,I am naturallyol an in
quiring mind, and the sound oc-
curing as it did in the middle of
the night, piqded my curiosity,
and I felt, an irrepressibte desire to
go out and discover the cause ofit,
The desire, as, the. sound contin-
ued, grew upon me with such in
tensity that L resolved to crafty
it at any price, sIkkaE ER.
- ! put on my boots, the only ar
tinlo, Of attire T he'd discardesl I can.
tiously opened the door of my
chamber, and noislessly,descended
the rickety staircase. A few steps
brought me into the lower apart.
ment, which i found; entirely de.
serted, l crept quietly to the win
dow, and unfastening it without
making the slightest noise, was
soon in the moonlight. ; ~jas
Not soul was visible: bpt -the
sound | have mentioned grew more
and more distinct as l approached
tie place from whence it proceeded.
At length found myself before
long, low building, through the
crevices of which / could perceive
a lurid glare issuing. I stopped
down and peeped through the key
hole, and to my surprise, | saw.
half dozen men, with their
sleeves up and coats off, perform
ing avariety Of occupations? Some
were working at a forge, others
were experimenting the castings
of moulds, and. some were engaged
in milling coin. In a moment the
whole truth burst upon me, Here
was the gang of counterfeite1s |
was in search of, and the landlord
and his wife evidently belonged to
the same band, for inone corner l
saw them employed-the man
polishing off some half dollar pie
ces, and the woman was packing
the finished coin into rolls. T
had seen enough, and was a..
bout to return to my apartment
when suddenly felt a heavy hand
placed on my shoulder, and turn
ing my head around, to my horror
| found myself in the grasp Of as
i'll looking a scoundrel as ever es-
caped the gallows5 Io1Ii
a"What are you doing here; my
good fellow" he exclaimed, CIV
ing me shake. Take stroll in
side, will your continued the ruff.
fan, pushing open the door and
dragging me in after him. ao-faa
All the inmates Of the barn
stopped work, andsnushed towards.
us when they saw me..q To! ,sfst
"Why! what's all this?' they
exclaimed = 3',LA4 afy-m
"a loafer ] found Peeping out
side,"g, said my captor.,r 80 ~ -, :
! ''He's a traveller that come to
The tavern last night and asked
fo- a lodging; the last ] saw Of
him he was safe in bed," SAID The
landlord. tst .',' t..,- 'D'
The men Withdrew, to a corner
of the apartment, leaving one. to.
keep guard over me. / soon saw
they were In an earnest 'conshta-
ton, and were evidently debating
some important question. sa I !.
The man keeping guard over
me said nothing but scowled
fiercely. / had not said a single
word during all the time / was in
the barn. j was aware that what
ever / might say would in all
probability do more harm than
good, and it has always Sbeen a
maxim of mine to'hold my tongue
when in doubt. ! At last the cpn-'
snltation seemed to be ended, Tor
the BLACKLIST ofthe party came for
ward, and, without any introduc-
ton, exclaimed: aaiIs''-" I.
81 say, stranger, look here, you
must die.Hyb4 e6i q, alfO1
did not move a muscle nor pit
ter a word. -. :; - -. w
""You have found out our secret.
and dead men. tell no tales, d
was silent.
"We will give you ten minutes