Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1872-10-24

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could reach them at any instant. An
Iother hour passed away, and by tina
: time I had become assured that th.
robber would make no attempt dipossl
me until after pightfall.. He sal,
that it would be convenient that W
we're together for we. could run al
night, as one could steer while tht
other slept a!o9 .i'e'a l's1@ ssAEk1
q" Aye,7' I added with a, smile
"that is good for me, for every hou,
is valuable. .Iswould net miss meet.
ing my friend for the world"
"ohl you'll meet him, never fear,
said my companion.
Ah-he spoke that with too much
meaning. 1 understood it well. ]
knew what the sly tone and that
strange cleaning Of the eye meant.
He meant he would put me on the
road to meet poor Knapp in the 9th
er world. II only wondeEfnow that
had not detected the robber when |
first saw him. for the expression Of
| Fhis face was 80 hsaftless, 50 icNan
his eyes had such a. wicked look
that the most unpracticed physiogno-
mist could not have failed to detect
the villain at:once. -
= During the rest Of the aftetnoan we
conversed some, but not so freely as
before. I could seethat the Villains
eyes were not SO frankly bent on; me
as he spoke, and that he seemed in
clined to avoid my direct glances.
The movements on his part were not
studied, ,-or evep.intentiopal. b9t3they
were,instinotive, as though his very
nature led thus. J.AtSlength night
came on. I'VE late our supper and
then smoked OUR pipes, and finally
my companion proposedthattI should
sleep before he did. At first 1 thought
of obiocting; but a few moments re-
Aection told me that I had better be-
have as though be were an honest
;man; So I.agresd to his speoposition.
He took my seat at the stern, and |
moved further forward, and having
removed the thwart upon which my
companion had been sitting, spread
my cloakyin the bottom Of the canoe,
and theh having placed my Valise for
a pillow, I: laid down. As soon as
possible I drew out one Of my pistols
and beneath the cover of cough /
cooked it. Then I moved my body
so that my arm could be 3at liberty,
and grssping my weapon firmly, With
my finger on the guard, I drew up
my mantle, slouching my hat, and
then settled down for my watch.
Fortunately for me the moon was
up, and though the forest threw a
shadow upon me, yet the beams fell
upon Karl, and I could see his every
movement. We were well into the
Wabash, having entered itabout three
o'clock. 9f.if
You will call me at midnight, :"
said I, drowsily.",
eyes" he returned.
"Good night" -.
"Good night-and pleasantdreams.
I'll have you further on your way
than you think ere you wake up
again" a'ai ~
{" Perhaps so," 1 thought to- myself,
as lowered my head, and pretended
to compose myself to sleep.
For half an hour my companion
steered the canoe very we'll, and seem
ed to take no notice of me but at
the end of that time could see he
became more uneasy. i commenced
to snore with a long and regular.
drawn breath, and on the instantithe
villain started as starts. the hunter
when he hears the tread of game in
the woods.
But bark! Aha-there was before
one lingering fear in my mind that |
might shoot the wrong man, but it
was gone now. AS the fellow stop
ped the motion Of the paddle, I.dis-
tinctly heard him mutter:
90 hol my dear sheep-you little
dreamed that Gus, Karl was your
companion. But he'll do you good
turn. If your friend is dead you
shall follow him, and I'll take your
traps to pay for your passage to
heaven u
l think these were, the very words.
At any rate they were; theft drift. AS
he thus spoke he noiselessly drew in
the paddle and then rose to his feet.
I saw him reach over his left shoul-
der, and when he: brought back his
hand he had a large bowie knife in
it. could see the blade CLEAN in
the pale moonlight, and I saw Karl
run his thumb along the ,edgeY and
then feel the point Ny heart beat
fearfuny, andmy breathing'1as hard.
1t was with the utmost exertion that
I could continue snoring, but 1 man
aged to do it without interruption.
Slowly and, noRelessly the foul wretch
approached me. O! his step would
not have awakened a h9qnd1and
his long, cleaning knife was halErais-
ed could hear his breathing plain
ly, and I could hear the grating of
his teeth,. as he nerved himself for
the stroke. ~ liss5 ss3'ii..Fii,33:: & .F!ii,3 !
The villain was by my side, and he
measured the distance from his hand
to my heart with his eye. In his
left hand he held a thick handker-
chief all wadded up. That was to
stop my mouth with. Every nerve
in my body was now strung, and my
heart stood Still as death. Of course
my snoring ceased; and at that in
slant the huge knife was raised above
NV bosom Quick as thought brought
nv pistol up-the muzzle was within
a t foot % of the robbers heart-he ut
tered quick cry saw the bright
blade glitter in the moonlight, but it
came not upon ,ne. pulled the
trigger, and the last fear was. passed.
had thought that Il the weapon miss