Litchfield enquirer., 1879-04-03
From Harper's Weekly. - The Ghosts of Chatelousse.

sort was when 1 was travelling for Frost & Co., up in Canada. We were in the fur line, you know, and l happened to fall in with gen tleman by the name of Flint, who agreed to gc across the country with me. He was not al all the sort of fellow cue would choose for g travelling companion, being extremely tacturr and grim but, apart from sharing expenses there was the necessity for some sort ef sym pathy and affection in such a confeundedly bleak and forbidding country. Our sturdy team of Canadian horses took us farther and father from civilization hostelries of any sort were few and far between. But an honest sheep-dog would have been jollier companion than Flint; his thin lips couldn't seem to take the shape of hearty laugh. Without divulg. ing any commercial secrets, told Flint what could of my errand into this wilderness, hop ing to get some little confidence in return. He did go so far as to hint that he also was con- nected with hunting and trapping but he was extremely clOse-mOuthed and reticent as tC particulars, and after little spurts of chat or my part, the conversation languished.
 The third morning of our journey we had a little controversy, Flint and 1, about our route for the day. We wanted to get on to Chatel ousse, where had letters of introduction. and where Flint hoped to find out the whereabouts of Monsieur Bernard, in whom 1 was also in terested, as Flint had told me he had been a dealer in skins. We were told there was a shortcut across the country, but 1t would be safer, perhaps, to take the public road. Flint was rather in favor of the latter plan, being of a cautious and prudent temperament but al though the words of our senior partner came into my head, they only seemed to push me the other way. ''Nevcr take by path when you can get a highway" were the parting words of Mr. Frost; but I considered them some of his oracular old fogyisms.
 Its only twenty miles, Flint" said.
 Twenty of these Canadian miles, he ad- ded.
 "With fresh horses" I went on; ''and our host here has pointed us out the way"
 "Yes, yes," said the innkeeper; straight ahead, gentlemen, till you see big cross set up at the end of three -cOrnered field. Turn to the right, and you'll soon see forest of fir trees; that is the beginning of Chatelousse, and close at hand lives Adrian Bernard. There is house little thie way, mcssiouIs, that IS all black and empty, and has about it the mel ancholy of the grave. It is-pardon me, mes sieurs-lt is given over to the devil. They say it is haunted"
 "Yes. yes," broke in Flint, craning his neck eagerly forward; "what is it about this house!''
 1t is that crime has been committed there, messieurs-that lights are seen, queer noises are heard, groans and slirieks of terror. have it for fact that night after night the tragedy is repeated over and over again.
 "Let us get on," said Flint, Gin the dlrec- tion of this house."
 Six hours later we had reached a big bar of wood that had fallen and was plunged fathoms deep in the snow. As for roads, there were none, neither to the right nor the left. That imbecile of an innkeeper must have known that at this season of the year ordinary land. marks were Obliterated We had long since been gliding over an unbroken surface of snow; but dimly shadowed upon the horizon I had seen the forest of frs, and l pushed the 1aded beasts Un"aiu. It "ao weary work, as we were perceptibly going uphill.
 The short Canadian day was drawing to 8 close. If you want an Idea, my friends, oi complete and utter desolation, take a cam. paign of that sort when day is expiring at the hands of a pitiless and unrelenting night the vast sheet of white, unbroken by fence or for. est, becomes in the shifting and fading light like a pail drawn over a dead world From early morning we had not passed roof or seen living creature. The bitterness oi cold was somewhat ameliorated, but this was another source of anxiety. as it hinted of snow, and to think of this was to shudder: a snow storm would be utter and irretrievable ruin. To add to my alarm, 1 could no longer distin- gush the line of fir-trees.
 ''This must be snow blindness" I said. 'Can you see those f1r-trees, Flint ?"
 ''Ne," he replied, calmly '.I have not seen them for some time. They'll probably come in sight when we get to the top of this hill"
 But having reached the summit, and begin ming to descend, 1 said again, Gan you see them now, Flint ?"
 ''No," he replied.
 1 refined in the horses, and got upon my feet One unbroken glittering desert of snow sur. rounded us. In the yellow light of the western sky it glistened like the folds of snake; fur ther on, under the stormy clouds that scudded along, it grew livid and steel-colored, and looked more horrible to me than the widest and bleckest of seas.
 At that moment filmy particle, soft as down, touched my check. In an instant we were enveloped by the soft, white, accursed flakes
 My God Flint. cried, sinking back in the sled, i've are lost!
 'Tm afraid so," said Flint.
 "Great Heaven !" exclaimed, "our bones will lie bleaching here for months Our fam lilies won't even know what has become of us"
 'I haven't any family" said Flint
 ''Neither have l, for that matter" said I.
 ''But that doesn't make it any pleasanter, does it to die here like dogs?"
 ''Of course not" said Flint. ''You'd better take some brandy, Scott. It's unfortunate: I'd like to have hunted out that Bernard, but It can't be helped"
 He took pull at the brandy flask and hand. ed it over to me. He was as cool as the eli. mate, my friends. Th the mean while the horses, feeling the reins falling loosely from my fainting hands, trotted rapidly on. Heav- en help those egOtists that hold the human in- tellect supreme! The ponies chose the right direction. In less than ten minutes those bles- sed ponies took us within sight of the line of fir-trees was transported by the feliciteus view of some honest smoke wreathing up be- tween the scraggy branches which sheltered a long, low, struggling building, red-roofed, with diamond-shaped panes in the windows, through which we could see the red light of the house. hold fire. The squawk of a fowl suggested its speedy conveyance to neighboring spit; the grunting of pigs near by was more melodious to my ears than the music of the spheres yon- der in the storm tossed, blinding snow.
 We're saved, Flint, my boyr' 1 cried. ''Thank God, we are saved P
 This must be Bernard's, >" said Flint, look. ing about him with his keen gray eyes; land over yonder think can see the outlines of the hauuted house."
 Five minutes after, we sat in long low. eeiled apartment that covered half the ground floor. The oaken rafters almost touched the head of a tall trapper who was lodging with Monsieur Bernard. He had long blonde beard and singularly melodious voice. There were quite number of guests there-all ei them trappers, so Monsieur Bernard said ; but this tall fellow they called Cameron had the shoulders of a Hercules with the face of an Apollo. Isuppose was somewhat dazed with the sudden relief and rescue, for it appeared to me that a young woman who sat by the fire, pairing carrots the very color of her long braids of hair, was as beautiful as an angel. Her eyes were soft and luminous, her forehead low and white an indescribable air of tender melancholy shadowed her face. The chemisctte she wore was as white as the snow upon which it was bleached her bodice was of heme-spun the knots in her knitted stock. ings must have been made by her own little hands; the big buckles in her shoes could net hide the pretty arch of her instep. She sang under her breath little couplet, of winch the refrain was "Jamais, jamais l" Hungry as was, l could scarcely touch the fine grilled fowl prepared for us, but my soul devoured Nn rfrIlk lkN,n ~e NJ.