The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1878-06-05
THE BLUE RIDGE.

In the carly autumn OF the year l64J, hD0ut
half an hour Of sunset, I drew rein In front Of
Of the BlueRidge Mountains of EastemKen-
lucky.
The place was evidentlykept as q TAVERN Of
least so . sign proclaimed, and hero ! deter
mined 10 demand accommodation for myself
and servant, Bose, q dark-skinncd body
guard. Bose and 1 had been playmates In
child and boyhood. and / need hardly saythnt
the faithful fellow was attached to me, a. I
WINS TO hin, and on moro than one occasion ho
had shown his devotion.
There had been n.shooting match at tho
Mountain House that day, and as l dismount-
ed I sawthrough the window OF tho barroom
o noisy, drunken, and evidently quarrelsome
set Of ba~ckwoodsmen, each Of whom wns
swearing by oil possible and impossible oaths
that he was not only the best shot, but that he
could outright, outrjump, outwrestls, run
fastsr, jump higher, dive deeper, and come
up dner than any other man ION tho noun
tain" iiiJ $40 IL
II say, Mars Ralph" said Bose, in . low
tone, as I handed him my bridle rein, II don't
like de looks OBJ dem in dar. S'pose we goes
on 70 do next house. 'Taint fur"
Nonsense, Bose" I replied; these fell
lowsareonly on q little spree over their shoot
Ing. We hnvo nothing to do with them, nor
they with US. Take the horses round to the
stable, and SOC TO them yourself. You know
they've had a hard dry Of it"
And throwing my saddle-bags over my
shoulders, Iwnlked up the narrow path TO the
house,
I found. as I has Unlimited, tho bar-room
filled with q noisy turbulent crowd, who one
and all stared at mo without speaking as I
went up to the bar and inquired il l and my
servant could have accommodations for the
night
Reoeivingan affirmative reply from tho lind
lord, q little, red-headed, cadaverous-lookinR
specimen Of the "clay enter, +" I desired 10 be
al once shown to my room, whittier went.
butnot until had been compelled todsoline
q score of invitations to take O drink, much
to the disgust Of the stalwart bacchanalians.
The room towhich ! was shownwas at the
far end Of n long, two-storeyed structure, evil
IDENTIFY but recently added to'the main build
ing, which II intersected nt right angles. A
galleryextended along the front, by means of
which the rooms were reached
found myapartment to be largeand com.
parativelywell furnished, there being besides
the beds comfortable cot half o dozensssplit.
bottomed" chairs, n heavy clothes-press, and
a bureau with n glass.
There we're two windows, one alongside the
door, and the other in the opposite end Of the
room. Tho aforementioned was heavilybarred
with stout oak strips, aprotection, I presumed.
againstintrusion from the porch, while across
the Inter WINS drawn a heavy wooden curtain.
In thecourse of half IN hour B~oseentered.
andannounced that thecattle had been prop.
erly attended to, and a few moments later n
bright-faced mulatto girl summoned us to
supper.
Supper over, I returned To my room, first
requesting to be reused for an early break.
fast. as 1 desired to be on the road bysunrisa
Thoroughly wearied with my days ride. I
Mt once began preparations for retiring, and
had drawn Oh one boot, when Bose came ID
rather hastily, looking furtively over his
shoulder, and then cautiously closing and
locking the door.
Mars Ralph, dar's gwine to be trouble In
dis house afore mornin', F" he said.
And l saw in q moment that sometime
had occurred TO upset the faithful fellow2
equilibrium.
why, Bose, what Ia II? Whit do Won
meant 2 l asked, barely restraining q smile.
I tole you Mars Ralph, we'd better trAh.
BILE furder, "was the rather mysterious replv.
You. see dat yaller gal dere toie me az
would be o muss IL we stayed in this 'foun.
ded ole house all night"
By close questioning I elected the fac,
that the girl had really warned him that fo6s
men whom / had noticed talking tooethes
were a desperate set of villains, and probabH
had designs upon our property, II mot otf
lives.
The girl had seen two Of them atthe stable
while 1 was at supper, and by cautiously
creeping into a stall, next the one in which
they stood, had heard enough to convince
her thai they meant mischief. Subsequently,
TO this, abe also saw the landlord In Close
confab with the entire party, and from his
actions judged that hewas urging the mon to