The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1874-11-12
to terror had been reading Coleridge,
and the lines from the ''Ancient Mari
ner" came rushing through my brain;

Doth close behind him tread.
'Iet us walk a short distance back"
said Mr.. Moon. Fifty PAGES or there
about brought us to a sharp bluff of the
precipice. As we turned it he stopped
"You can still see theshelf-like ledgeY"
he said, pointing backwards and upwards
Distinctly" replied.
When reached this spot that night |
looked back, as we do now.
"Well, what did you sect" queried /
smiling. s.
81 saw" said he with emphatic earn
estness, "the beast walking down the
smooth face of that dead rock to the riy-
er-wall1ing with the stealthy precision
of the wild cat"
"Impossiblel" broke in. "Why, the
Alpine chamois would hardly dare such
descentp p
He does not head the interruption, but
proceeds calmly as before.
called Bob back, and we stood trans
fixed with wild surprise-as if turned to
stone-until the beast safely reached the
stream and crossed it. Then we moved
silently round the corner here, and swift
ly up this weary range of rugged steps to
the mill.
Mr.. Moon and were now toiling up
the break-neck steps referred to.
When we reached this stile Bob said
he would like a smoke and producing
flint, steel, and "touch-paper" began to
strike a light AS he did so | looked
back, and to my horror saw the beast
down the pathway there, some thirty
steps or so below MS.
felt the blood rush to my brain. A
maddening impulse instantaneously alb
sorbed me. | grasped the salmon spear
and bounded at the brute. In my head
long fury | reached the riverside again
before | was aware! of it. But | had come
apparently not an Inch nearer the white
OK. AS | rushed towards him he sOme-
how glided or floated away from me- lust
as dense cloud or a shadow might glide
away. ~. H q E
In paroxysm of rage, goaded to fren-
zy, / bawled, or rather shrieked, horribly
blasphemous execrations at that ghostly
form. With morbid intrepidity and dis
regard of consequences | charged at him
again and again With liendish malig-
nifty projected a shower of sharp stones
at the spectral head But it was all to no
purpose. | could neither touch the white
OK with spear nor missile. And when
Bob Railton came down the bank, the
brute was still standing with his face to-
wards me, switching his tail, his black OF
red ears sharply pricked up, his short
sharp, polished, black cones of horns
pointing defantly forward, and his large
round eyes all aglow with devlish fire.
Come on Willy" said Bob, with an
oath, "let's get tout of thisaccursed wood
l was rather exhausted, and | leaned
on his arm as we clambered up the steps
and over the stile out of the wood. Then
We were under the open sky, and oul
way home lay westward, through the
fields. There were no miners villages
nor iron mines here in those days; il
was rich pastoral country, diversified
with woodland and glade. The moon
too, was shining in the blue, uncloudeC
armament, and as we walked away from
the wood felt the reassuring influences
of the softly Illuminated landscape. Bot
and almost jocularly discussed our re-
cent experiences, and l remember sayinl
jokingly to him. 'I
DODj bliO gilOlutb Vi UllunlSnt IlhNk
been exerting mysterious Influences
probably toprevent us poaching salmon
He had evidently been thinking of the
witches scene in Macbeth, for the slowl,
repeated Banquo's words
The earth hath bubbles, as the water has
Just then an angry resounding below
from behind startled u.s. I...a.
Instantly and simultaneously we halt
ed and looked back Thirty PAGES be
hind us stood the mysterious white OK
switching his tail and savagely garing
A strange dread stole over me as watch
ed the beastly phenomenon
Let us walk backward" said Bob. "anC
watch the movements Of this accurseC
apparitiOn,"
Linking our arms, with our faces to TIN
brute, we walked backwards awkwardl
enough for a hundred PAGES or so. TIL,
animal followed, maintaining the samt
unvarying distance. We turned our ia
ces and ran homewards-not from fear
but to experiment; yet we could not gail
an inch on our four-footed doppelganger
We crossed another high, narrow
awkward stile, and then a babbling brool
by a narrow plant plank. The brutt
followed with an ease and precision ap
pallingly marvellous. We were now ini
grass-teld, our follower at his usual dis
trnce, and about as far from the planl
across the stream. '''I
by heavenp said Bob, suddenly
this is some trick; some legerdemaiI
, business If that fellow in the beast
/ skin doesn't feel that spear-point befor
he gets back across that plank and owe
that stile-well, I'm damned, that's all,
and he pulled off his strong shoes and hi
heavy coat.
HE hasn't moved, has he, Bill2" Thi
as he grasped the spear.
mot an inch."
Here goes, them t.tH ah
He darted off with the speed of wilt
, roe. There were few that could run lik
/ Bob Railton in those days, but he couldn'
get a hairs-breadth nearer that unearth
ly animal 1t seemed to float along tn
f plank and soar over the stile. Whel h
2 stopped, breathless, it stopped, and whel
e he slowly came cursing back to me, tn
t beast followed at a uniform distance
r standing when he stood-walking wheI
he walked ply. "'
! ] need not necessarially prolong tn
D strange story We had dabout three mile
t to travel, but we followed no regula
4 pathway. In the clear moonlight, owe
a hedge and ditch, through turnstile an,
8 over gate, the mysterious quadruped fol
t lowed US. A five bar gate was no imor
i trouble to It than stile-a high st0n
8 wall was as easily passed as a plank acros
brook. ull. .,I sltl
: On the outskirts and at the eastern en-
r of the,straggling village Of Upleatham a
t that time, standing on the hillside wher
j you now see that ventilating shaft of tn
t iron mine beneath, there were the wall
Of an old dismantled cottage which athe
y had informed me used to be the residenc
|, i of Dave Mordue--a noted poacher VIII
!, had lost his life in an affray with form
1 er Lord Dnndasss keepers. y" ,' 'Jf'h', y