Delaware tribune, and the Delaware state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1877-18??, 1877-10-18
I replied from Lagrange"

Lagrange and Indian Spring, but somehow
sorter disremsmber your face and name. >
Not particularly caring that he should
remember either, replied, half laugh
iugly, that a. I lived the other side Of
Indian Spring, it was quite natural lie
took the rebuff ssch 1t was-so quietly,
that o. an act of mere perfunctory polite
ness, asked him where he came FROM"
Lagrange"
"And are going to-"
"Welli that depends pretty much On
how things pan out, and whether can
make the zifls." He let his hands rest
quite unconsciously on the leathern holster
Of his dragoon revolver, yet with . strong
suggestion to me of his ability .'to make
the rifle" IL he wanted to, and added :
" But Just now WAS reck'ni on taking a
little pase0r with you"
There was nothing offensive In hia
speech save its familiarity and the re-
dsction, perhaps, that whether I objected
OF not he was quite able to do a. he said.
I only replied that II our pdsear was pro-
longed beyond Heavytree Hill should
have to borrow his beast. To my sur
prise hs replied quietly, "That's 90" "
adding that the horse was at my disposal
when he wasn't uaing II and holt Of II
when Re was. "Dick has carried double
many time before this," he continued,
land kin do it again; when your mus
tang gives out III give = Lift, and room to
spare"
I could not help smiling at the idea Of
appearing before the boys at Red Gulch
On groups with the stranger; but neither
could I help being oddly affected by the
suggestion that his horse had done double
duty before. son what occasion, and
why ?" was question I kept to myself.
We were ascending the long, rocky flank
Of the Divide; the narrowness Of the
trail obliged Us to proceed slowly and in
fle, 10 that there was little chance for con.
versation, had he been disposed to satisfy
my curiosity.
We toiled on in silence, the buckeye
giving way 10 chimisal, the westering sun,
reflected again from the blank walls beside
us binding our eyes with its glare. The
pines In the canon below were olive gulff
OF heat, over which hawk here and there
drifted lazily, or rising to our level, cast a
weird and gigantic shadow Of slowly NOV.
ing wings on the mountain side. The
superiority Of the strangers horse led
him often far In advance, and made me
hope that he might forget me entirely, OF
push On, grown weary Of waiting. But
regularly he would halt by q boulder, OF
reappear from some eAimisal, where he
had patiently halted. was beginning to
hate him mildly, when at one of those
resppesrpnoes he drew up to my side, aud
asked me how ! liked Dickens.
Had he asked my opinion of Huxley OF
Darwin, I could not have been more
astonished. Thinking it were possible
that he referred to some local celebrity
of Lagrange, said. hesitatingly:
"YOu mean-"
Charles Dickens. OF course you've
read him? Which Of his books do you
like best p
Ireplied with considerable embarrass,
ment that I liked them alias I certainly
did.
He grasped my hand for moment with
fervor quite unlike his usual phlegm,
and said "That's me, old man. Dickens
amt no slouch. You can count On him
pretty much all the time"
With this rough preface, he launched
into criticism of the novelist, which
for intelligent sympathy and hearty
appreciation had rarely heard equaled
Not only did he dwell upon the exuberanct
Of his humor, but upon the power of hi
pathos and the all-pervading element O.
his poetry. looked at the man in aston
ishment. ! bad considered myself rathe
diligent student OF the great master o.
fiction, but the strangers felicity of quo
tation and illustration staggered me. IT j
true that his thought was not alway
clothed in the best language, and oftel
appeared in the slouching, slangy undres
OF the place and period, yet it never We
rustic nor homespun, and sometimes strucl
me with iA precision aud fitness. Con
siderably softened toward him, I tried hin
| with other literature. But vainly. Beyon'
. few Of the lyrical and emotional poet
he knew nothing. Under the inAuenc
and enthusiasm of his own speech, b
himsek had softened considerably; otfere
To change horses with me, readjusted m
saddle with professional skill, transferre
my pack to bis own horse, insisted upo
my sharing the contents Of his vhisk
flask, and, noticing that I was unarmed
pressed upon me q silver-mounted derriu
ger, which he assured me he ooul
nWarxant." These various offices Of goo
will and the diversion Of his talk beguile
me from noticing the fact that the ira
WAS beginning to become Obscure and VI
recognizable. We were evidently pursu
ing . route unknown before to me.
pointed out the fact to my companion
little impatiently. He instantly resume
his old manner and dialect.
"Well, reckon one trails ss good {
another, and what hev ye got to say sbo'
I'll"
pointed out, with some dignity, that
preferred the old trail.
"Mebbee you did. But you're jiss no
tAkin' pasear with me. This yer ira
will bring you right into Indian sprinl
and onnotised, and NO questions aske'
Don't you mind now, III sec ye
through"
It was necessary here to mako SON
stand against my strange companion.
said firmly, yet as politely as I could, tn
/ had proposed stopping over night with
, friend.
"Whar!"
hesitated. The friend was an eccentr
Eastern man, well known in the locali'
for his fastidiousness and his habits as
, rscluse. A misanthrope Of ample fami
, and ample means, he had chosen
secluded but picturesque valley in u
, Sierras, where he could rail against Il
world without opposition. 'Lons Valley
or Boston Ranch" as it was more fam
0 iarly called, was the one spot that tho ave
age miner both respected and feared. N
Sylvester, its proprietor, had never afiiliat
with ''the boys" nor Ind he ever lc
: their respect by any active opposition
4 their ideas. II seolusion had been
! object he certainly was gratitied. New
n theless, in the darkening shadows of t
4 night, and on lonely and unknown ira
q / hesitated little ut repeating his nal
a to stranger of whom knew so lit
' But my mysterious companion took
y matter out Of my hands.
y ''Look yar," he said suddenly, "tf
IS amt but one place twixt yer and Indi
= Spring whar ye can stop, and tha
Sylvesters."
IS 1 assented little sullenly.
to "Well," said the stranger quietly, a
9 with alight suggestion Of conferrint
a. favor on me. "Ef you're pointed
Sylvester don't mind stopp,