The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-04-05

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caste engine, which drags royal person
ages and special trains, and goes to race
meetings and meets distinguished for
eigners at Dover, and is fed with the
finest coke and supplied with per-
| fumed waters This, at all events, is
one of the lower orders and yet it is
not good train that it is drawing it is
train of empty trucks crowded with
men. All, yes, it is the ballast train,
bearing gang of men to clear the line,
and that is a signal to me to make my
way through the wood once more, or
else 1 may be left behind.
And yet somehow 1 didn't like plung-
ing into the wood; it seemed SO dark and
lonely. 1t was far safer, however, than
walking along the line, where 1 might
be knocked down unawares by strange
engine. At that moment L remembered
the face had seen in the window of the
carriage outside. For the first time it
struck me that the two points where the
foot path impinged on the line were the
places at which the phantom face had ap-
peared. Ii almost seemed as if it were
some ghostly creature that haunted the
wood. L felt momentary tremor at the
thought. My nerves were little
shaken, and this harmless pine wood was
to me as some baneful enclosure from
which I could not escape. That was
folly, of course; few minutes would
bring me safely to the spot where the
train stood. / did run, as my blood be-
gan to chill But midway in the wood l
was stopped.
Right in my path, staring at me with
distended eyes, was the specter face.
The moonlight broke through an open
ing in the forest, and there it waited for
me.
Iperceived nothing but the face at the
moment, but it belonged to fgure-a
pale, gray figure. L was not exactly
frightened, but little awe struck. At
moments such as these it isn't the rea-
soning faculties that are occupied, but
the inherited fantasies, the influence of
traditional superstition. L remembered
that spirit must be spoken to before he
would speak.
"Who are you, and what do you de-
sire ?" 1 cried
"Keep your distance" muttered a
voice, " or I'll drive my knife into you. "
All in moment the explanation of the
affair flashed into my mind. This was
no phantom, but an escaped convict.
My FRIEND" L said. L am no police
man; 1 am harmless traveller. Let me
pass; I'll not betray you"
How can L be sure of that ?" said the
figure, in deep, husky voice.
The situation, feared, was one of i'm
minent peril. For 1 was not far from the
land slip. could hear the mems spades
at work, could hear their voices. Should
[ shout for help? No, not that.
thought of the man standing on watch
with his loaded carbine, and the figure
; looked SO haggard and miserable that l
} felt sorry for him and felt inclined to
! help him. And yet he might attempt to
cut my throat.
| "1ll give you my word L won't betray
, you," said "Put your knife away;
, don't like the look of it,
| "Well, I'll trust you, said the man,
looking at Inc keenly for a moment.
"After all, it doesn't much matter. I'm
, tired of this work, God knows, and you
can get the reward if We please
"Thank you, I'm not thief taker,
said, for didn't like the mans tone.
"Who was it said the word of thief tc
me ?" he cried fiercely.
~ beg your pardon" L replied
: quietly. 81 ought to have said mur
: derer,' suppose?"
"By japers, there's some one that will
. say that of me before long if ye rouse
2 me to desperation, said the man. Come
= pass oD, whoever We are"
a "Ncw, look here" said, " if you're
, not either thief or a murderer, II
9 help you. 1 suppose l oughtn't to have
/ offered this. L dare say my duty, strict
: ly defined, is to assist the officers of the
D law to recapture convicts; but my sym
] pathies are always for the mice agains
i the cats, possibly because I'm something
K in the way of a mouse myself, and know
e the fierce touch of Grimalkin's claws"
"Youll help me !" cried the man
S seizing me by the hand-it wasn't felo
NOUS kind of grasp either. You're
good fellow; but how? Look you here,
he said, taking me by the arm; "I'v'
, been out of yonder pandemonium fo
g three days, and all that time L have no
tasted food OF drink except the acorn
A.; I've picked up from the ground unde
the oak yonder, and the raindrops tina
t I've sucked from the leaves. L had
/ burrow, mark you one that had beel
- made for me beforehand-and that
crept into when the hue and cry was frs
t raised; but it's all in ruins now; tn
: earth has slipped and buried it up en-
y tirely. And they know I'm in the wood
and at every fifty yards round it there
a man with frelock; but I'd not min,
- them if I'd the strength to run when
g got out, but l haven't. | can hardl,
crawl. L thought to get away last night
!, and risked my life by jumping on tn
train as it passed; but there was n
d empty carriage 1 could creep into, an,
e the train was running into the station
and 1 jumped off. And then 1 trie
e again at the other end of the footpath b.
n my hole in the ground, but missed m
!. footing and fell backwards Just as / ha
S reached carriage, and but that the trail
!, was going slow, I'd have been killed
g The night was dark, by good luck, an
t nobody detected me, and 1 crawled bac
n to my hole and lay there all this day
Il and when night came on again / though
a I'd try once more. You see the men
: eyes are off the wood for minute whe
:, the train comes past Well, did it tc
e night; I jumped safe and clean on tn
>. footboard, and found an empty carriage
k crept in and hid myself under seat.
n could hear the peelers jabbering to on
Il another, and they took stock of ever
e man that got into the train, and then th
doors were slammed to and the trai
n went off, and says -" Mike, you'l
/ free |" And then there was this mise
If able stoppage. I bore it till then, an
a then broke down. 1t seemed as if til
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