The Orangeburg news. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1867-1875, 1873-02-22
THE MIDNIGHT PERIL;
OR SAVED BY A PHANTOM.

-
OR SAVED BY x PHANTOM.
i'. Aiei8 5taI.l ycifygE
The night, of the 18th of October
shall ever forget its pitchy darkness,
the, roar of the autumnal wind through
the forest, and the incessaut d rwu. pour
of rain? HoH b7}, .Eal .a,fa ..,,
This comes of short cut l. muttered
petulantly to myself, as | p!odded along,
keeping close to the trunks Of the trees
avoid the deep ravine through whic!, /
could hear the roar of turbulent stream
forty or fifty feet below, My blond ran
cold as / 'housht of tho possible conse.
quenccs of "a misstep or move in tho
wrong direction, Why had | not been
conlented to keep in the right road
Hold on! Was That light, or arc
my eyes playing ME frlsc?n 5l 8di
~ stopped, holding gsuoh q to Sthe low
resfnous ,boughs, Of a ,henlock, that grew
on the edge, of the. bank for it actually
seemed as if the wind would seize me
od'iy and huri me down tho pr cipito,us
descent. >%@S l-ilnl ~ tsdi naa
IL was aiight-aitlan nix Providencc-it
was light, and no ,gnus /ufu,.s, to lure
nssn n to deairpf'ipn ,apd. death. ~
'Halloo 90! @ n
- - ~ 81 v..s,
Ny voice rang through the woods like
clarion. / plunged oawars through
tangled vines, dense briers al d fcsgy
laoks, until gradually nearing, I o,uld
PERCEIVE .a'feure wrapped in au oil cloth
sale,or cloak; carr, ipg q lantern. Al
the dim light fell upon his face alm.s,
recciled.7 Would not solitude in the
weeds be preferable to the Icompanion.
ship'of rheswi,hered, wrinklcdaold, IN an
But 1t was too late TO reccde, now. e
o What's ,waniing, he suarled forth;
with "a peculiar m"tiou of the lips tina
seemed TO leave his yellow teeth all bare,
I am lost IN the wosds; can you
direct 'mesto RI istatidntYessl1, ~
yes; R station i4 twelve miles
troni here Z
Twelsess smil-s =. IA,
stocd agl,yast, ss32 ssu
Can you tell me OF any shelter could
obtain for the night7
No, @ ~ ''H
Where arc you goings' . :"
To Drew,,s, fdowu herc by the m pie
swamp t'e"b 'ta! aca.- in,
rs it a tavern r,J bla qo.biss,g
NO H4agls Js.u
Would they take me for a night ?
icould pay them iwell.'ia. uoa.u
His eyes cleaned : the yellow stumps
stood revealed once q more. il. a1 q
81 guess so folks do stop there some.
timss.'si' 7a @@s,l il !saa aa- bss
is it far from here e?'ibn1> f.,
Not very; about half q mile
Then let us make haste and reach it.
i am drenehed to the skin. ans
iar Vie 7plodded Oh, my companion more
than keepiuglpac with me. Presently
We leit the edge Of The ravine, entering
what seemed like trackless woods, and
keeping straight on until lights gleaued
fitiully through tho wet foliage
1t was resinous old place, With the.
windows all drawn to one side, rs if the
foundation had settled, and the pillars
of n rude porch nearly rottcd away.
A woman answered my fellow travel.
lers keock. BY companion whispered
word or two ssto her, and she turned To
me with smooth, voluble words of wei
come. 20 i6<s
She regretted the poverty of their
accommodations but vas welcome 10
them, such as they were. III
Where is Isaac p dsmanaed my
guide, s' ~
He has not come 10 yea q
sat down on wooden beuch beside
the fire, aud ate a few iaouthfuls of
bread. h@" -1.t .tIf
i should like to retire as soon as
possible, said T. for MY wcariaess was
excessive, = ~" ,''r} si
Certainly, The woman started up
With alaerity, "''s''o'1t '''' =