The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1874-10-16

time to no purpose, he exclaimed, with
pure vexation, " By the big bridge of |
Mallow, it is no head at all he has p
"Look again, Charley Culnane," said
q hoarse voice that seemed to proceed
from under the right arm of the figure
Charley did look again, and now in
the proper place-for he clearly saw,
under the aforesaid right arm, the head
from which the voice had proceeded,
and such head no mortal ever saw be-
fore. 1t looked like a large cream
cheese hung around with black pudding
No speck or color enlivened the ashy
paleness of the depressed features the
skin lay stretched over the unearthly
surface, almost like the parchment head
of drum. Two fiery eyes of prodigious
circumference, with strange and irreg-
ular motion, flashed like meteors upon
Charley, and a mouth that reached from
either extremity of two ears, which
peeped forth from under prefusion of
matted locks of lusteYless blackness.
This head, which the figure had evident
" hitherto concealed from Charley's
eyes, now burst upon his view in all its
hideousness. Charley although Lad
of proverbial courage in the county of
Cork, could not but feel his nerves
little shaken by this unexpected visit
from the headless horseman, whom he
considered this figure doubtless must
be.
The crop cared head of the gigantic
horse moved steadily forward, always
keeping from six to eight yards in ad
vance The horseman, unaIded by the
whip or spur, and disdaining the use of
stirrups, which dangled useless from
the saddle, followed at trot by Char
ley's side, his hideous head now lost be-
hind the lapel of his coat, now starting
forth in all it's horror as the motion of
the horse caused his arm to move to and
fro. The ground shook under the weight
of its supernatural burden, and the
water in the pools was agitated into
waves as he trotted by them.
On they went-heads without bodies
and bodies without heads. The deadly
silence of night was broken only by the
fearful clatter of hoofs and the distant
sound of thunder, which rumb1ed above
the mystic hill of Cecauno a Mono
Finnea. Charley, who was naturally
merry-hearted land rather talkative
fellow, had hitherto felt tongue-tied by
apprehension but finding his COM
panion showed no evil disposition toward
him, and having become somewhat
reconciled to the Patagonian dimensions
of the horseman and his headless steed,
plucked up all his courage, and thus adj
dressed the stranger:
''Why, then, your honor rides mighty
well without stirrups."
"Humph - growled the head from
under that horseman's right arm.
"This is not an over civil answer, +"
thought Charley but no matter, he was
taught in one of them riding houses,
maybe, and thinks nothing at all about
humping his leather breeches at the
rate of ten miles an hour, I'll try him
on the other tack. Ahem % said
Charley, clearing his throat, and feeling
at the same time rather daunted at this
second attempt to establish converse
ton. '' Ahem that's a mighty neat
coat of your honCr's, although It's a
little too long in the waist for the pres
ent cut.
s.Humph - growled again the head
This second humph was n terrible
thump in the face to poor Charley, who
was fairly bothered to know what sub
/ ject he could start that would prove
more agreeable. 's 'Tis sensible head. "
! thought he, although an ugly one for
it's plain enough the man doesn't like
fattery." A third attempt, however,
/ Charley was determined to make, and
/ having failed in his observations as to
| the riding and the coat of his fellow
| traveller, hethought he would just drop a
| trifing alIusion to the wonderful head
! less horse that was Jogging on SO socia-
| bly, by the side of the old mare and as
! Charley was considering about Carrick
| to be very knowing in horses, besides
| being private in the Royal Mallow
Light Horse Volunteers, who were
every one of them mounted like real
Hessians, he felt rather sanguine as to
+! the result of his third attempt.
:, = L.
honor rides, recommended the persev-
ering Charley.
' You may say that, with your own
ugly mouth" growled the head.
Charley, though not much fattered
by the compliment, nevertheless chuck
led at his success in obtaining an an
swer, and thus continued
"May-be your honor wouldn't be af-
ter riding him across the country p
''Win you try me, Charley % said the
head, with an inexpressib1e look of
CHASTITY delight.
Faith, and that's what I'd do re-
sponded Chaaley; ''only I'm afraid,
the night being so dark, of laming the
old mare, and I've every halfpenny of
hundred pounds on her heels.
This was true enough. Charley's
courage was nothing dashed at the
headless horseman's proposition and
there never was a steeple-chase, riding
or leaping in the country that Charley
Culnane was not at it, and foremost
in it.
''Will you take my word ?'' said the
man who carried his head so snugly un-
der his right arm, IS for the safety of
your mare %
"Done," said Charley, and away they
started, heller skelter, over everything,
ditch and wall, pop; the old mare never
went IN such style, even in broad day
light, and Charley had just the start Of
his companion, when the hoarse voice
called out /; ]" Charley Culnane, Charley,
man, stop for your life; stopl''
Charley pulled up hard. cay" said
| he, "you may beat me by the head, be-
cause it always goes so much before
you but if the bet was neck and neck,
and that's the go between the old mare
and Desdemona, I'd win it hollow u
It appeared as if the stranger was well
aware of whaT was passing in Charley g
mind, for he suddenly broke out quite
loquacious.
"Charley Culnane," says he, "you
have stout soul in you, and are every
inch of you good rider. I've tried you
| and ought to know; and that's the
sort of man for my money. A hundred