The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1877-12-13

tnlnK1ng OF nothing but Its beauty. y.,i,A A
little, way up, the dusk shadow of the
~rocks cut sharply into the; silver of the
shore. ~I'eould imagine that on stormy
days this place might wear. a forbidding
aspect, In old times it,. was said that
smagglers had lurked about those rocks,
hidden lin Ii their overhangino,
lodges, and ~'wepiags to their
useful shadow it must have been to
them, 1 said to myself. taHow rcould,any
one discern them as they lay there on the
sand watching for their boat ?,a Peerflg
into the shadow with. this. thought. on
~ my mind, I felt my heart ier q. moment
almost cease beating, ffoE ,thereI ON the
sands, in that very shadow ,i"a man lay
asleep, apparentl ls,a,T The next moment
il, occurred TO me, that i Jacob ilSEeariied
out with his ,1day'sr work, q, had fallen
asleep down here. IN H9Tihad done SO
once before, poor ,felloW,, thotigh' that
was before night & sa'', nai,.,,r ,.s,
L approached very cautiously j think
ing perhaps he might be playing apiac
tioal }Gke On e as he rsed t4 @ 90 sor
~, But it. was otgJaceb.l p The sleeper,
whoever he was, twas not so tall Il he was
slight, and elegantly dressed, apparehtz
ly..' But went no nearer. =. Sometime
thrilled through me like AN electric
shock--a weird and fipreternatural tele-,
gram. This was the man whom Jacob
had pointed out to me, lying here prone
and fnsensible.' And where was rJacoetb5ss ! 4,
Ia Them I f-gathared courage. and ap4
preached him.tllI touched him with my
trembling hands, but he did not move. motv,es.'
It was Death, then, Keeping watch
by the moonlit shore-Death that, had 1
lured me to COME down and meet
him here, terrible and face to face II
turned and fed down the sands, wildly
with flying feet, to, escape the vision OF
terror that. chased me as / went .sneiia,
At my own threshold, stunned and
fainting, sank upon the stepping stone.
A figure standing in the doorway stopped
and lifted me up. f.g zqAJ,pHod Ie..a 10 iIi7otl
l-"Why, Matte : why, how is this, my |
lassP l thought you Safe in bed:''a o'lo .,ts
q. L. Withdrew from j, the embracing
arms; L stood aloof, e shitering and |
gasping. .ss ,.iuate''eis eiiito sf-N.s1'
=" have @ been down vsa57ddo down ywglloot tootha Sea-
'iui w ,;ipgad ,,ta ,,i-e:t-9l.ss is sisfral |
e And something has scared the wee,|
woman,' said Jacob, in his most win
some and soothing toneH 'sWell, rest
a bit, rest a bit, pooE little birdie.''
The, sweetness and softness of his
voice as he, said these words seemed to
me like that Of one who feels the hour
of eternal separation draw near. He
came toward me. . L ) 0i131
| held up my hands beseechingly.
" Do not, come near me nowrsJacobrt
Oh, not now, for r have 4seenAI Have
seen terrible sight down on the sands. |
Stephen Risdale--' y s-s'sex
Jacobs face gathered color, his eve
shot fire. 6tsDid he insult you. thecvil-1
lain?" he said n-ts-
"He is dead" | answered, sharply |
and su1dsnly!QIo t5EA8liil s5IBWEIslE
aa!lfrepeated Jacob S9'0h, eome
light Has made You DAFT ~ - I " AL !
!, 90, 81 wish that i had,1 erieds l bitterly.
Jacob picked dip his hat, which LAY
upon the Shore 4'rs! ~ ID. ,siss 40 -
s.'Come, Mattie,n he said, let us 90 I
down that way AGAIN.; it's some I'll
shadow, I doubt, has unsettled your !
nerves. Come!"i,9:asz 1ea s7s .1sai,io ID
He took me blythe arm, not roughly,
but hastily, and hurried me up the road
at a breathless pace. 1t was not, long
before we came to the great shadow of
the rock where had seem thex figures
yinf. : But itwas not on the spotswhere
[ had left it. A strange relief, the Light
ness from a, terrible load, came to niy
neart7git almost seemed asifI Ihad really
1een dreaming. "a dsed 10 &S1ef
Jacob laughed, i ss.Yeu7fairly seare1
ne, little woman, y he said.
At that moment I heard a rtistling in /.
he bushes fringing the foot Of the rock, If
md turning my strainedleyes thither, l
saw a figure sitting there. 1t made, the:t
blood tingfein my veins, that sighgss,fof |,
he droopingg recllmbenlt h shape was .a.liE-l
It was, was; ii nfdsed, stsbReSs Risasia. and
when Jacob awkwardly but determined
y drew near, we saw that he vast
tunned and bruised, that the frill of his
hirt was torn, and the splendid dia-l
nond was gone from his breast aail III
Looking down from the rocks. at that /
moment saw the broad warped face Of
Iigger Jim. He nodded tonne know 4
ngly, I;;tting his finger to his lips, thent
ttering one of his ear-splitting yelis,
crambled ont of sight. e. 1i'' s,' @ls'''l'8 I,
:" What sort Of idiots are all you peo- ,
lie here. y = gasped the, Victim. as the
pe-hke figure disappeared, "that youi,,
ct a-erazy dog like that prowl around
vithout;a keeper ax3sssn0S3 sFH,
Jacob made some gentle ansWer.i He
vas thinking, perhaps,i. of ethe hard
words he had spoken that evening. He b