The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1878-06-09
THE GHOSTS OF CHATE.
LOUISE.

Of that sort was when l WINS travelling up IN
lapuda. We were in the fur limo, you
know. and I happened to fall in with o
gentleman by the name Of Flint, who
agreed TO go across b country with me.
He was rot at all the sort Of fellow one
would choose for a travelling companion,
bring extrrmely t~aciturn and grim /; but,
apart from sharing expenses, there was the
necessity for some sort OF sympatby and
Affection IN suoh q confoundedly bleak and
forbiddinf country. Our sturdy team OF
Canadian horses took us further and further
from civilization hostelries Of any sort
were few and far between. But an honest
sheep-doe could have been a jollicr COM
paninn than Flint his thin lips couldn't
sssm to take the shape Of a healthy laugh.
Without div,lginz sny commercial secrets.
I tJti Flint what I could Of my euand into
this wilderness. haping to get some little
eouhisrce in ret1sn- He did go so far as
TO hin that he al-o was connected with
hunting and trapping, but he was extreme
" dose morthcd and reticent rs to partic-
nlar>. and after little spurts Of chat on my
part the conyarsation lnnguished.
tho third morning of our journey we had
a little cuntroversy. Flint and /, about our
.oute for the day. We wanted to get on 10
CbateIousse. where Ibad letters Of intro
iuotion, and where Flint hoped to find out
the wh-reabouts Of o Monsieur Bernard, In
whom 1 was also interested, rs Flint had
Ioid me he had been a dealer in skins. We
we're told there was q short cut across the
country, but 1t would be safer, perhaps, to
take the public roai- Flint was rather in
favor Of the latter plan. being Of q cautious
and prudent temperament; but although
the words of our senior partner came into
my head, they only seemed to push me the
other way. Never take o by-path when
you can get a highway" were the parting
words Of Mr.. Frost but considered them
some Of his oracular ~oldfogyisms.
Its only 20 miles, Flint" I said.
Twenty Of these Canadian miles," he
added.
with fresh horses" i went on: " and
cur host here has pointed Us out the way"
Yes. yes" said the inn-kceper,
straight ahead, gentlemen, till You sec o
zig cross set up at the end Of o three-cor-
uered field. Turn to the right, and you'll
soon sec a forest Of fir-trees that II the
beginning of ohatelous1e, and close at hand
lives Adrian Bernard. There Ia n house q
and empty, and has about 1t the melan-
choly OF the grave 1t is-pardon me,
messieurs-it Ia given over to the devil.
They sAy It IL haunted"
Yea, yes" broke in Flint, ~craning his
neck eagerly forward; what Ia 1t about
thh house2r ~ 4tt
, [-1tis that n crime has been committed
there, messieurs-that lights are seen, queer
noises are heard, gruans and shriekB Of ter
ror. I have Il for a fact that night after
night the tragedy Is repeated over and
over again"
Let us go on said Flint, sin the d.
rection Of this house"
Six hours later we had reached q big bar
of wood that had fallen aud was plunged
fathoms deep in the snow. As for roads,
there were none, neither to the right nor
to the left. That mbecile Of an innkeeper
must have known that at this season Of the
year ordinary landmarks were obliterated.
We bad long since been gliding over an un-
broken surface Of snow but dimly shad.
owed upon the horizon I had seen the
forest Of frs, and I pushed the jaded beasts
onward. 1t was weary work, rs we were
perceptibly going up hill.
The shost Canadian day was drawing to
. close. If you want IN idea, my friends,
Of complete and utter desolation, take q
cAmpgna Of that sort when day Is expiring
at the hands Of q pitiless and unrelenting
night the vast sheet Of white, unbroken
by fence or forest, becomes in the shifting
and fading light like a pail drawn over a
dad world From carly morning we had
aS k800&4 n AO0k " rGGA y utkuk CItAluIO.
The bitterness Of cold was somewhat amo-
Eorated, but this was another source of
anxiety, A. 1t limited Of snow, and to think Of
this was 10 shudder; q snowstorm would
be utter aud irretrievable ruin. To add to
my alarm, / could no longer distinguish the
line Of fr.treea
This must be snow~. blindness" I said.
Can you see those f~ir-trees, Flint ?"
MO" he replied calmly; ~ have not
seen them for some time. They'll proba-
bly, come in sight when we get to the top
Of this hiIl.p
But having redched the summit and be-
ginning to descend, I said again, Can you
see them now, Flintf"
mo" he replied.
1 refined In the horses and got upon my
feet. One unbroken, glittering desert Of
mow surrounded us. In the yellow light
Of b western sky 1t glistened like the
folds Of o snake; further on, under the
stormy clouds that scudded along, 1t grew
hvid and steel-colored, and looked more
horrible to me than the widest and black
est Of seas.
At that moment q fiimsy particle, soft as
down. touched my cheek. In an instant
We were e~nveloped by the soft, white, &C.
NY Godi FInti" 1 cried, sinking
back IN the aled, we are lost I"
I'm afraid So" said Flint.
Great heaveni" 1 exclaimed. g our
bones will lie bleaching here for months.
Our families won't even know what has
become Of us-n
haven't any family" said Flint.
Neither have I for that matter" said
l. But that doesn't make 1t any pleas.
Anter, does it, 10 die here like dogsY"
"Of course not" said Flint. You'd
better take some brandy, Scott. It's uu.
fortunate I'd like to have hunted out
that bernard, but 1t can't be helped"
He took q pull ut the brandy flask and
handed IL over to me. He was as cool as
the climate my friends. In the mean
while the homes, feeling the rcins falling
loosely from my fainting hands, trotted
rapidly on Heaven help those cyclists
that hold the human Intellect supreme!
The ponies chose the right direction. In
Less than ten minutes those blessed ponies
took al within sight Of the line Of 6r-trees.
l was transported by the felicitous view Of
some honest smoke wreathing up between
the scraggy branches which sheltered q
long, Low, Smuggling building, red-roofed,
WIN diamond shaped panes in the Windows,
through which We could see the red lights
% the household ere. The squawk Of q
fowl suggested its speedy co~nveysnce TO a
~ns8Ghboring spit; the eruntiur Of ufv.
nsnx-by was more melodious to INV ears
nan the music Of the spheres Wonder In
n seorm-tossed, binding snow.
WON aved, Flint, my boy " I cried.
{ God, we are sayedi"F
"11is must be Bernardo said Flint
looking about him with his keen gray
gyrps rand over yonder / think 1 can &c
6slC1f1Du a The haunted house,