Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1873-10-04

il some one loved, or near, or .dear-call
In the last moment, perhaps! Yon ar,
a scholar, and may have read of them.
4 I" | may have read of some peculiar
Il condolences of the kind that might b,
put down to call by any one of su
perstitious turn ofmind. What of it p
Nothing, said the woman, mood
9''If the ferry man has been calling
d my good woman, L think it must hays
{ | been in the flesh, while you were doz,
ing here, for there is light In the
window of the hut yonder, and L take
it for a sign that am heard" ri8sae
80 Thank God, thenl"i said the wo-
man, looking in the direction indicated
where, surely enough, faint light had
suddenly appeared, sli % I
so" Is that the usual signal to late
travelersg' / inquired. laid
" l believe so;j am stranger here, -
was the answer, in a changed, almost
sullen, tone of voice. s3lur7
fl" That is the ferry mans hut across
d the river?p aels 39Hsiossoo ,..
(" Most likely" oasEeas "a ''''
4 | doubted her ignorance, though I
kept silent ON the point, and intruded
no further conversation on my strange
companion, who stood watching the
! distant light with great intentness. /
was interested in that light also, for it
augured safe transit to Mantle. and [
had nearly given up the hope of it. l
called once more, and while the hills
were muttering mywords the light was
moved little to the left, as if along a
window sill. oAi9f
Good news. The ferryman is wax
! ing up. hod- .Hii hoilsll1 ~...
No notice was taken of this asser-
ton; my strange companion evinced
no satisfaction at the prospect of fair
end to her journey. / was speculating
as to the object of that visit, and won
derlng If any superstiti0us feeling had
really brought her at so late an hour
on the same road as myself, when the
distant dip of oars in the water assur-
/ ed me that the ferryman was still in the
flesh, and had an eye to business. Pleas
ed at this promised termination to my
adventure, | lighted my cigar, and
stood smoking it on the bank, while
the dark outline of the boat gradually
become more evident. | few mo-
ments the ferry man was a couple of
boats length from our side of the riv-
er, at which distance he ceased rowing,
and stood up in the boat with lantern
in his hand. nat Uo.ta +
How many are there of you on the
! hnnEn (Nnuan %ha Erh& u
Two, L answered, stepping for
ward as directed. The woman did not
move, but he turned the lantern full
on her. and she seemed to finch a lit
tie; ssa 5.,,s
Both strangers" he said in a some
what suspicious tone. Do you know
any one in Nantle?" lgst - --..-
The woman gave name that appear
ed to satisfy the suspicious ferryman,
whose ross-questiOning was becoming
trying to my self-pOssession. Howev-
er, there was no help for it but civili-
ty, if l wished to be ferried to Mantle
that night, therefore briefly respond
ed that | was tourist, and making for
Lion Inn "
1.-The Lions full, replied the man;
there are people about the railway.
You II get no accommodation to- night"
e A seat by the fire will be sufficient
for me. u dun.
Its only seven miles to Berksham."
i have just left there. Bring your
boat nearer, my good man it's cold /
work standing here" ,- I
Maybe, maybe; but it's an uneo'
time of night to cross the ferry-wak-
ing honest men out of their first sleep. |
There's moighty talk of queer custo-
ers about, though I'm q poor man that /
it would ma be profitable to harm"
" Will you ferry me across, or not?"
demanded, losing patience
To be sure You're gentleman, |
Who'll make it worth my while, know.
I'm very old and poor, and my nerves
won't get over this shake up for a
month. Now then sirp'
The boat shot toward the bank, and
the keel grated against the pebbly bot
tom of the river As the woman step
ped into the boat, he held the latern
toward her again, and tried to peer into
her face as she passed to seat in the
stern, the tattered fringe OF her shawl
hid her face from view, as she kept
one large, upgloved andpressed tight
ly to her forehead. .-.1 IN,
:" Tired, mayhap?" he asked.
:" Tired to deathi" was the reply.
" Deaths an ugly word at such a
time as this-in such a place, too,
grumbled the ferryman, as though the
observation had been an insult direct
ed to himself. II. .-.-... iUa
Why at such time-or in such a
placer" | said, as | followed the
woman into the boat, and felt the glare
of the lantern on my face again.
Don't ask me-it's hard story,
and | woant dwell ON it, was the re
ply. It's story that's no business
of yours, sir. ]. "a .....-.-. |-1r
Possibly not" - -..g -tsr-
They will tell it you at the Lion
for mug of ale, You'll know, then,
why Jacob Wisford don't care for such
a tale. Wough how late and cold
for an old man to be abroad gentle
folks should make it worth his while.
I'm seventy-seven come November
next .,,-Eg4s5 fy.- ril ' /
Having obliged me with this very
significant hint, the old man relasped
into silence, and rowed us slowly across
the river, keeping his small, keen eyes
upon me and the woman, as though
still distrustful of his company When
We were landed ON the other side, and :
the woman had thrust something into
his hand, and hurried away down
narrow lane. at the side of the hut |
from which he had signaled us few
moments since, he said: fT hsr7
"Who be she, sir, may / ask ?" Jir (
i don't know, ! found her waiting
at the ferry" Il
"No friend of yours, them" II
''Oh mol"
Shes a sight more liberal than |
expected from the look of her." said
he, stopping and critically inspecting ,
the sixpence in his hand ''She feels I
for the poor, whose lot is hardly east.
All! mayhap she's got father herself ,
The Lord be yood to you, sir-you're
very koind." 49, gfrt ~ !
I could see the cid mans eyes snar-
kle at the sight of the half-crown
which | had rendered him, and the
blessing that rewarded my liberality
came freely from his heart ~ j,
'Real gentlefolks know how to be-
have to us hard workers. God bless
you, sir, for remembering old Wisford.
Straight down the lane to the Lion,
sir-the only inn in the place, and
that's ehock full T. -o 4
He oava rather n p,aIieiaus chuckIe ,