The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-07-19

thoughts all the time on Belle and the
happy meeting we would have in little
time, when the extraordinary conduct of
Mack attracted my attention. He had
been lying quietly at my feet, with the
rug which enveloped them also covering
him. He suddenly shook it of, growled
savagely, and began to smell around the
bottom of the sleigh.
Had it been summer time, really be-
lieve 1 should have thought the animal
was going mad. Never before did see
him behave thus and his conduct
troubled me so that shouted to Cheva-
lier, and we skinned away faster. About
sixty rods ahead I saw o tall, blasted
tree, which I had been told was half
way from the settlement to Mr.. Selkirk's,
and, pulling my watch to observe the
time, saw to my surprise that I had
been an hour and three-quarters coming
twelve miles. think was never SO as
tonished in my life. The capacities of
Chevalier were SO well known to me, and
I was so sure that his ordinary gait, with
out the frequent urging had given him,
would carry Mack and me mile in six
minutes, mile after mile, that I could not
comprehend that he had been so slow,
while apparently travelling fast. 1 called
to him again, and he stepped off smart
ly; the dog growled, and, I am heartily
ashamed to say it. kicked him hard in
my unreasonable anger. had cause to
repent of those kicks before another ten
minutes had gone.
Ipassed the blasted tree, and entered
upon the last half of the way. Before
me now.lay long, level stretch of road,
without an obstruction or turn for sew
eral miles, and one dazzling white surface
of snow upon it. [ looked out ahead,
and Just as far as l could see to distin-
guish anything from the snow, probably
not less than mile away, saw black
speck. 1t did not hold my attention
when 1 first saw it; but as Chevalier
sped on, rapidly devouring the distance,
it took form and size, until when within
Thirty rods of it, 1 could plainly see
that it was man. There he stood,
upright in the middle of the road,
without speech or motion, apparently
waiting
Was he waiting for me? Did he know
that was coming with eleven hundred
dollars in cash in portmanteau at my
feet? And, if SO, what would he Co?
For the first time since my absence from
the settlement began to feel nervous,
and thought it would only be safe to
take out my pistols and have them
ready. I felt in my rig ht-hand overcoat-
pocket, and found nothing; felt in the
left one, and found nothing. They had
both been removed, and at Selkirk's. ]
was certain had them when returned
there at night.
A horrible suspicion of intended MUIR
der and robbery flashed upon me; and
here was stripped of my weapons and
defenseless. The horse was now within
four rods of the motionless figure in the
road, and bearing down rapidly upon
him, and with the desperate idea of run
ming over him, 1 shouted to Chevalier,
and lashed him with the ends of the reins.
He bounded like bolt up to the man
stopped in his fright, swerved, and was
instantly seized by the bit, and his head
brought down by the powerful rutfian.
Before had time to think, there was a
shout, which I distinctly heard: "Your
money, quick |" and then came two pis-
tol shots, in such rapid succession that
could not have counted two between
them. One ball passed through my hat,
as l afterward discovered, within an
inch of my head; the other went between
my right arm and my body, cutting the
skin in its passage. Almost at the instant
Mack gave a ferocious growl, and dove
under the seat upon which I was sitting
l heard him swapping and growing, and
heard human voice, half suffocated
trying to say: "Oh, God Oh, God !"
and then thoroughly realized the stu
alton. The man who had stopped me
was struggling with Chevalier, despe-
rately striving to keep his head down,
when happy thought came to my de-
liverance, and I quickly jerked the lines,
one after the other. Quick as thought
the noble brute broke away from the
ruffian's grasp, and reared straight up in
the air above his head, coming down
again instantly. 1 saw that the man was
lying motionless beneath Chevalier's
hoofs, and, at a word from me, the ami
NAL flew onward, while lashed him into
greater speed. The growls of Mack
underneath me had ceased, as well as
the cries of the miserable being who was
suffering in his jaws; and in a few mo-
ments the glorious dog came out
again and put his bloody paws on my
knees, while he whined as if requesting
some recognition of what he had done.
I was terribly excited-I could not help
it; the awful trial had just passed
through was enough to work upon
stronger nerves than mine; but put my
arm around the noble fellows neck, and
hugged him as if he had been a woman.
The last half of the way was passed drather
quicker than the first, and the gallant
Chevalier was covered with sweat when
he stopped at the door of my employers
house.
tumbled in upon my wife and her
parents sitting around the fire, and 1
was Just about speechless from cold and
the reaction of my excitement. found
voice after while to say that 1 wasn't
hurt at all, and to ask my father-in-law
to look under the seat of the sleigh.
What he found there all of you know by
this time. The man was stone dead,
Mack's teeth having torn and mangled
his neck frightfully. Selkirk came to
the settlement the next day, and with his
help the web of villany was completely
unraveled. Both men had been at his
house the afternoon previous to my re-
turn, but had left about an hour before
1 came. Both might easily know that 1
had large sum of money with me, for
no secret had been made of my business,
and it had been talked over in their
hearing. After talking with Mr.. Selkirk,
1 remembered for the first time that 1
had left my overcoat in the sleigh after