The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-12-09
THE DAILY STAR
A WILD GOOSE CHASE.
CHAPTER /.

CHAPTER /.
Snow, yer honor, jist lie quiet and
aisy, keep the gun on full cock and all
ready, but never shtir limb till give
the curlew's cry, and then look out, for
the birds'll be just within shot of ye."
So spoke Shawn, my herculean hench-
man, as he lay the last bunch of heather
on nay quiyering body, and, having salts
fled himself that / was perfectly weIlcon-
cealed from human sight, he prepared to
creep off to the spot where he had seen
the wild geese alght, in order to drive
the unconscious victims directly over my
head. | nodded as he gave his instruc-
tions, and ere he crept away promised i'm
plicitly to obey his commands.
But 1 felt anything but COM
Portable in my novel positinn. My bed
was the bare bogland, oozy and soft with
the soaking of the heavy winter rains,
my covering the half-wifhered heather
which Shawn had uprooted from the hill
side. And the month was March.
There had been no snow in Storport for
many weeks past, the hills all around
me were black and desolate rs the sky
doomed above, but the bitter March wind
came creeping over the hill and smote
ms with chilly hands. lay patiently
for some time, the sportsman-like ardor
in my heart preventing the wind from
utterly freezing my limbs, but at length
my patience got exhausted, and / hegan to
stir. Suddenly i heard the faint whistle
of the curlew-two minutes after saw
flock of wild geese pass almost directly
over my head I fired iaimlsssly, and
missed!
Then | found that my garments were
completely soaked with bog-water, and
that my limbs had sunk several inches
deep in the oozy ground; nay more, that
they were only prevented from sinking
further by seme obstruction which was
50 hard and cold that it made my bones
ache. My first care was to exhnme my
half-buried limbs, my next to unesrth
the substance which had prevented me
from sinking utterly. Thislatter proved
to be no easy matter, but with the help
of the spade which Shawn had brought
with him to prepare my boggy bed, I at
length succeeded in clearing away good.
deal of earth and discovering that my
iife-preserver was a deal box some FIVE
feet long, stained almost black with bog
water, and fastened down with hall al
dozen rusty nails.
| had heard, during my childhood's
days, Of fortunate people being enriched
by the discovery of buried treasures, but
| need hardly add all such romantic ideas
had long since vanished from my mind;
and yet, as | gazed at that peculiar-look-
lng box, | felt as if cold hand had
passed over me, and a succession of the
widest thoughts surged through my
brain. Exhume and open it I must; and
the wish became estronger within me when
Shawn, who soon returned from his goose
driving, did his best to dissuade me from
such proceeding.
"sure tits no affair Of ours, yer homer"
said Shawn, looking, at the same time,
50 profoundly uncomfortable as to cause
my curiosity to increase. Maybe it's a
little potheen THAT the boys have
buried" \
But | cut him short, and insisted that
he should assist to exhume and open the
box. Seeing that l was determined, he
at length set to work; but he was so slow,
and evidently SO unwilling, that at
length my patience got exhausted. I
took the spade from his hand, inserted it
in the crevice upon which Shawn had
been working, and, with powerful
wrench, forced the lid from the box.
We both reeoiled in horror and dismay-
the box contained corpse!
After the first shock of the discovery
was over looked again, and my dismay
increased tenfold
why, Shawn" I exclaimed, eff it
ism TT
"les, in troth," broke in Shawn; "sure
enough it is" and we both stared into
the box again.
In order to explain the strange circum-
stance which enabled me TO recognize
this corpse, | must chronicle events
which took place several weeks before /
exhumed it.