Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-05-17

| Tandem club, and considered rather
crack hand. / exulted in my skill
now, as I bore my rosy companion fly
ing through the air, and the whip went
crick-crack! like double-barrel 60
ing off, and the sweet bells sung and
chimed. ooh ! sweet echoes of far
distant wedding bells, !" thought, and
the crisp snow was split and scattered
into diamond dust under the grinding
of the hoofs and the attrition of the
runners, and with an exhilaration l
could not repress, gave a vigorous
"Hurrah |" which conveyed itself to
Lota, wrapped up in moose and bear
skins, and warm as a toast. A sweet,
girlish laugh echoed my exulting shout.
You appear to enjoy this, Mr.. Ions
dale" she said,
elf DON'T Crack-crack 7"
filled up the HIATUS. What pair of
beauties! Phoebus Apollo never drove
the like down the steps Of heaven The
willy Ithacan never raised" such cat
tie when he cleared the stables of Rhe-
sus of his horses. Crick-crack !" and
the horses neigh and toss their arching
necks, and the bells are Ginning and
tinkling, and the mad, exulting rush
uplifts one like wine
/ remark to myself that the sky has
deepened into an intense, still, darken-
ing blue-darkening with strange, I'M
earthly, tenebrious inkiness, betokening
a coming snow storm. No matter,
"Windy Gap" is right ahead, aud the
welcome lights will blaze out of the
easements soon, for the afternoon is
wearing.
On we go, but do not see them yet;
and yet-but nO-it's all right
Are you warm-quite snug, dear
Lota % said 1, half turning to look atthe
rosy, exquisite face peeping forth with
so much furtive coquetry from its e1aco-
aren,ent of white coy furs.
ooh, SO comfortable" she answered,
with nesting movement, and a smile
which made my heart leap joyously
upward.
But my attention was called away to
the creeping, crepuscular mkiness Of the
sky 1t was light, yet not daylight, but
blue light-to coin word; that wintry
hue of livid darkening steel, always the
precursor to fierce change of weather.
This only made the long, level plain Of
snow CLEAN with a ulster the more daz-
zling and intense. [ remarked this, but
with a momentarily dividing and way
ering sense.
had never (familiarly as we had
grown, and [ was "honest as the skin
between your brows," as she was in
fact)-I had never said "dear Lota
before, and the words were yet in my
ears, like sweet old burden. loved
| hov. II hno r. h,,t
had never told it. Iyearned to tell her
so now; but I thought it scarcely fair,
not up to the mark of my manhood, to
take what seemed an unfair advantage
of the protection was supposed to ex-
tend over her. 1 magnanimously re-
solved to wait, choking down the words
but not for long
Meantime, crick-crack" went the
long whip, and still " cling-clang" went
the Ginning bells, and the horses held
on with undated pace and splendid
vigor, but-where had Windy Gap"
gone to all this time for time was up,
and we should be there by this.
Goodness p exclaimed Lota, all at
once, how strange the sky looks We
shall have more snow-a heavy fall,
too"
II fear SC" I replied; "but, m'impo,te,
We'll soon be out of it,
eve are very long, Ifancy," she con-
tinued, refectively; "you have driven
there quicker than this before. ooh,
Heaven" she cried, with the sudden
ness of a revelation, can we have lost
the track?"
The blank question warped with a
horrible jar on my most vivid fears.
Now or never was my time to be cool.
"No, think not" replied, with as
sumed carelessness; eve shall come to
our landmark presently"
"A clump of fre-an old mill, fur
ther on; eyes," she added, "I recollect.
But we should have passed them long
ere this. Oh, I fear we are lost %
A cold chill seized me as [ tacitly adj
nitted that she was in the right. !
could not account for my error, if such
was the case. [ looked round the hori-
ION, but beheld no friendly sign; it was
only circle gathering closer and darker
the while. Suddenly my brave deer
hound lifted up his head and uttered a
low growl. The horses gave startled
swerve just as suddenly. A strange,
lugubrious, but appalling sound came
all at once from windward, wailing like
death cry-a prolonged, awful, groan-
ing discordance-over the wnite gleam-
ing snow; and then it died away.
The horses halted trembling, only the
shivering tinkle of the bells broke the
death silence that fell like an eclipse
over all,
"What is that?" asked Lota, in a
shuddering whisper, as she clutched my
arm.
I listened. cit is the wind signing
and dying away in the pine forest" ]
answered.
"And we do not 60 near the forest, y
she said. clark there it is again.
Oh, what-what can it be?"
Again this indescribably hideous and
lugubrious sound broke forth; clearer,
nearer. 1t increased; it multiplied,
the horrible vescenado bowling, shrek
ing and ravening was not Of the wind
this time