Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1875-06-12

old Job Silver's cabin yonder; We can
put up with him, | guess, until morn
in.
As the driver had already began to
unhitch, there was nothing to do bat
beg hospitaliiy 4ofx SilEerss aad
the ed gent enia n and myself seram
blesl but b he .fofmer growing sayagely
whsn he found Tie road ankle deep ID ]
ste. sick iHises and sis raia p0PPrlps n
81 should ike to throttle that vii
lain, and shoot that cursed leader on
the spot" said the cd gentleman,
making off toward the miserable shan
ty, TO the right some thirty yards. AT
ter supper Of frizzled bacon. fried
eggs aud excellent coffee. which was
not so bad d s;upper, eaten before
spanking fire Of birch logs. the host,
tall, grim old man, with the face of
one of Napoleon is soldiers, albeit
with certain look of simplicity i'm
possible to a soldier, conducted me up
a rude pair of stairs to sleeping
apartment The room ssloped low 10
the ceiling on two sides. being jua
under the roof, and was furnished with
two narrow beds and two chairs.
took off ms coat and waistcoat,
and flung myself into bed, putting my
pistol and watch under my head.
The grim old man excused his pow
erty and took away the candle, his
cowhide shoes creaking on the stairs
as he descended. Ga second thought
| took my watch from under the pill
low and placed it between the mattress
ses on the further side of the bed,
next the wall, aud soon fell asleep,
lulled by the droniDg voices under
meath, and the rain fell ON the shingled
roof. a sound | used to love in my boy
hood a tgF3 1a8 - sfaiLfI
was awakened by the creaking Of
the board floor under stockinged foot
The room undoubtedly owned another
occupant than myself, whether legiti-
mately so remained to be discovered.
What money | had with me | ear
ried in the right pocket of my trousers,
the safest place, by all means. |
also carried large and clumsy jack
knife. such as sailors cut tobacco with.
| don't know why | should have re-
membe,ed the knife, but | did. The
walking had ceased, but / heard
stiaed breathing in the room; this
m ght have been only fame. How
ever, gently drew myself to the side
next the wall, between which and the
bed there was just room enough for a
human body, and slipped to the floor
| think | smiled at this impulse, but
at that moment the creaking recon-
menced, followed by a smothered oath,
and knew that some one was softly
approaching the bed. | had ceased to
smile did not admire the idea of a
struggle in the dark, and unfortunate
ly my tapers were in my walstcnHt
which | had thrown on chair when
retiring. Nevertheless, had no no.
ton of being a quiescent party TO Il
murder, and | began TO work my way
to the foot OF the bed, which [ had
succeeded in doing very quietly.
| thought of the knife again, and
opening it, stuck it IN my waistba nd. Il
thing would not do again under the
same circumstances. If | had only
removed the pistol
As the novelist would say, all this
occurred in much less time than it
takes to write it, or to read it either.
and only a very few moments had
elapsed since my first waking.
My next move was rather singular.
had noticed light print spread on
the bed, gaudypiece of calico like our
attic window curtlins at home. |
snatched this from lhed bed and sprang
to the side whence the noise proceed-
ed.
A man leaned over the bed; he turn
cd with growl of rage, but being
1.-THE as eat, | enveloped his head
with the calico. my hands at his throat
in an instant Then began a dreadful
struggle, ms we rolled on the floor to-
gethcr. My assailant dragged me
nearer the bed, and it flashed upon me
in an Instant that the recovery of the
knife was in his mind.
| felt now with my left hand for
mine; it was gone. 1t had slipped out
during the scuffle, and | was thankful
that had net been thrown on its sharp
point.
The burlyruffian had torn the muller
from his head, and was altogether fix
ing me in short order. The dominant
idea in both of us now was to seize the
knife By the bed. My chance was not
worth the flip of a penny, yet if any
thing would be calculated TO lend Il
man supernatural strength, It was con
ditions Ike these, and | astOaished
myself. With superhuman effort, l
got on top, and planted my right knee
OH his breast, and again sciZing his
throat with desperation, soon had the
satisfaction of feeling his clutch relax,
until he was pOwerlesS as a child.
My own strength began to fail now
and a cold, sickly sweat broke out Of
my body at every pore.
My would-be murderer lay very still,
scarcely tremOr betraying that there
was life in him.
There was a hurried trampling Of
fcct below, and pale light glimmered
on the ceiling as the grim old man and
/ two or three others assembled the stairs,
bringing candles.
We had aroused the household, al
though neither of us had cried out.
As nm not fighting character, and
my courage nothing to boast of, think
| may safely acknowledge that | show
ed the white feather when it was all
over, and dropped over from exhaust
ton and excitement.
My man with the black beard, who
had followed me three days with an in
tent to take my life, believing me to be
another person (this | aiterward learn
ed), was held in charge until daylight
-by the coach driver and Silvers, and
at last aStonished these worthless very
much by knocking them both down
and making good his escape.
have this knife yet; n keen italian
stileltO, perfect beauty in temper and
carving, and keen a. a razor
There are many pleasing adventures
in the life of a commercial traveller, or
drummer, as they are calico, but there
are also drawbacks.
Queries!
What holds all the snuff in the
world? No one nose.
How did Ou.an Eliz,hnth IA 10 hnr