Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1877-10-05
" WHO WAS MY QUIET FRIEND2"

a
"Strangerp .IGat sIc
The voice was not loud, but clear and
penetrating. l looked vainly up and
down the narrow darkening trail No
one in the fringe of alder ahead; no one
on the quilted slope behind. isgVf
D strangerp aa,sE.4ss
This time little impatiently. The
Californian vocative, 40, always meant
business. hrUUUGa-
l looked up, and perceived for the first
time, on the ledge, thirty feet above me,
another trail parallel with my own, and
looking down upon me through the
buckeye bushes a small man on black
horse. rurfFrFE
Five things TO be here noted by the
circumspect mountaineer: First, the
locality and inaccessible and
away, from the regular faring of team
sters and miners. Secondly, the stran-
gers superior knowledge of the road, from
the fact that the other trail was unknown
to the ordinary traveller. Thirdly, that
he was well armed and equipped. Fourth
Ly, that he was better mounted. FitthlV,
that any distrust or timidity arising from
the contemplation of these facts had bet
ter be kept to oneself.
All this passed rapidly through my
mind as / returned his salutation.
"Got any tobacco?" he asked.
had, and signified the fact, holding
up the pouch inquiringly.
CAN right, III come down. Ride on,
and Ill jine ye on the slide"
=" The slider" Here was a new geo.
nAI ha
trail. had ridden over the trail dozen
times, and seen no communication be-
tween the ledge and trail. Nevertheless
! went on hundred yards or so, when
there was cracking in the underbrush,
a shower of stones on the trail, and my
friend plunged through the bushes to my
side down a grade should scarcely have
dared to lead my horse. There was no
doubt he was an accomplished rider
another fact to be noted.
AS he ranged beside me found l was
. not mistaken as to his size; he was quite
under the medium height, and, but for
pair Of cold, gray eyes, was rather COM
monplace in feature.
You've got good horse there" l
suggested. ran b
AAO Woo plpC llOIn my
but looked up little surprised, and said ::
"Of course" He then pulled away with
the nervous eagerness of man long de-
priyed of that sedative. Finally, be-
tween the puffs, he asked me whence l
came.
replied from Lagrange"
He looked at me few moments curl
ously, but on my adding that l had only
halted there for a few hours he said:
81 thought knew every man between
Lagrange and Indian Spring, but some
how sorter disremember your face and
name"
Not particularly caring that he should
remember either replied, half laughing
ly, that as / lived the other side of In
dian Spring it was quite natural. He
took the rebuff-if such it was, so quiet
ly that as an act of mere perfunctory DO.
liteness asked him where he came from.
:. Lagrange"
o." And you are going to"
Well that depends pretty much on
how things pan out, and whether | can
make the rifle" He let his hand rest
quhe 'unconsciously on the leathern hol-
ster. of his dragon 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'nin'
on taking little pasedr with you"
There was nothing offensive in his
speech save its familiarity and the refec.
tion, perhaps, that whether objected or
not he was quite able to do .as he said
only replied that if our passar was pro-
longed beyond Heavytree Hill should
have to borrow his beast. To my sur.
prise he replied, quietly; "That's So"
adding that the horse was at my disposal
when he wasn't using it, and half of it
when he was. Dick has carried double
many time before this" he continued,
and kin do it again; when your mus
tang gives out I'll give you lift, and
room to spare"
I.could not help smiling at the idea of
appearing before the boys at Red Gulch
en- crOupe with the stranger; but neither
could / help being oddly affected by the
suggestion that his horse had done double
duty before. "On what occasion, and
whyS" was question kept to myself.
We were ascending the long rocky flank
OF the Divides the narrowness OF the trail
obliged US to proceed slowly and in file,
SO that there was little chance for con.
yersation, had he been disposed to salts
fymy curiosity.
We toiled ON in silence, the buckeye
giving way TO chimisGl, the westering
sup, reflected again from the blank walls
beside us, binding our eyes with its
glere. The pines in the canon below
were olive CULTS of heat, over which
hawk here and there. drifted lazily, or,
riding to our level, cast a weird and gi-
gantic shadow of slowly-moving 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 a bowlder, or reappear
from some chimisGI where he had pa
tieptly halted. i was beginning TO hate
hi a mildly, when at one of those reap
peRfepces he drew up 10 my side and
ask bed me how liked Dickensl
Had he asked my opinion of Huxley OF
Darwin could not have been more as
LOnighed Thinking II were nossihla