The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-04-16

looking up, l beheld skeleton standil'
there before me. Accustomed rs I WI,
TO lonely encounters with strange men {
all kinds, my hair stood on end as
stared at the spccter. lie was thenercs
boy in years. pretty and delicate by M
ture, and evidently reduced to thi
hadowy state by starvation. His stor
was soon told. He had left Boston o
board vessel bound for the northwcs
coast. had been wrecked at the mouth O
the Umpaqua, and been wandering abou
in the mountains ever since, subsisting o.
roots and berries"
"Hc was"-
"No, assure you, interrupted Joseph
with an amused look ut my wife, "th
boy was not a young woman in disguise
if that's what you are thinking. He wa
just Docr, weak, half starved lad name(
Edwards. l fed and nursed him until
got Sam Chong Sung to let him take VI
a claim alongside Il Chinese camp, promis
ing to favor the Chinaman in 4 beef con
tract if he would be good to the boy.
still continued to see q great deal o
him"
"And did Edwards succccd"
"Yes; he got on. One day two China
men stole some Of Sam Chong Sung
horses, and he offered four hundred dol
lars to Edwards if he would 90 after th'
thieves and track them. Edwards asked
my advice, and encouraged him to 60
telling him where fancicd he would tint
the men. So he started in pursuit, ant
I confess missed him.
Again Joseph paused. We did not in
terrupt him.
a man came to my fort one day who
was naked and starving. He was :
bad looking fellow, very; but you vii
say man naturally docs look bad wher
his clothes are nowhere and his bones
protrude through his skin. l clothed
him, fed him, cared for him kindly unit
he was able to travel, and then he went
away. The next Sunday | was sitting
outside my fort, rs was customary on
that leisure day. reading some transla-
tions from the Greek poets-fOr dare
say YOU remember | was never much o1
hand at the original-whcn, CHANGING
to look off my book, l beheld vision.
"A what?"
"a vision. A vision Of lovely
woman. She was riding up the ap-
proach to my fort on a fine horse, riding
gracefully and slowly, as if to give me
time to get over my surprise; and | be-
lieve l needed it. The picture she made
is in my mind now; see the very flicker
Of the shadow and the sunlight across
the road, and the glitter of some steel
that fastened her horses trappings rs he
arched his neck in impaticncc of her re-
straining hand. Are you tired, old
friend?"
Never less so in my life"
"Tllat vision, breaking in suddenly as
it did, upon my solitude, gave me the
queercst sensations. | was just spell
bound. Not so she. Refining in hel
horse at my gate, she squared round Oh
her saddle and looked at me, silently ask
ing my assistance to dismount. | helped
her down-what else could I do ?-and
then, at her request, gently preferred.
went to put up and feed her horse. Had
she dropped from the clouds? did not
know"
"Well?"
"Ifyou'll believe me, when I turned in
doors, my guest had got her habit off.
Evidently she meant to make herself at
home A tall, young, beautiful, we'll
dressed woman Her eyes were large,
black and melting; her hair was superb,
her manner easy. She was hungry, she
said; would give her something to eat?
And while was making preparations to
give her of my best she read aloud one OF
the Greek transations, an ode to Diana.
commenting upon it herself. That she
was Il woman of culture and education,
whatever might have brought her into
her present strange position. was obvious.
Well, now," continued Joseph, "you can
guess whether young man. isolated or
the mountains. ruined by the grasSlop-
pcrs and Tilted by the girl of the Walla-
met valley, was bcwildered or not. En-
tcrtaining goddesscs was not in my line. .
"How long did she stay?"
"Wait bit. What with reading and
eating, our acquaintance improved fast.
She offered to sing song, and gave me
Kate Kcarney.' l might have lost my
head to her perhaps, to say nothing OF
my heart. but for q certain inward latent
doubt. I did not care that my girl
should ride about, elegantly attircd, on
prancing horses, and drop down uneX-
pectcdly on hermits. Still, it was q
pleasant feeling to find ones self neal
her, and certainly novel one. ] asked
her history and She told it me. She was
of good New England family, reared
in afllucnce, well educated and accom-
plishcd, but by 4 freak of fortune she
had become reduced topovcrty and cxilcd
| from home"
"What was it, Joseph?n
"Ah! what indccd? The old story, !
suppose; but did not ask her. She had
made her way to California, resolved to
ret on and get money; and She had got
it. She went about from camp to camp
with stationery and various articles
needed by the miners and others, sold
J them these things, wrote letters for
them, sang to them, nurScd them
when sick. and carried their letters cX-
press to San Francisco to be noStcd. Fol
all these services she received large pay
ments, and she had also had Il good dea
of rough gold given to her :,s specimens
Did she like that kind of l:fc? asked
her, SO contrary to her early habits, ant
she answered me quickly: 1t is moi
what we choose that we do in this world
but what fate chooses for us. l have
made 4 competency and gained 4 ricl
and varied experience. Life is not wh;i:
| once pictured it would be, but I an
content She sighed US she said it; ant
l didn't believe in the content ,"
But what had Drought her to yol
that day."
"Shc had not told me herself then, bu
presently | asked her. I shall never
forget The smile with which she turned
to answer. 1t pretty nigh disarmcd nc
We were sitting pretty, close, too; hei
flowing silk gown touched my knees
Altogether, began to think of those
useless pegs in the house down in Rogue
river valley. But what she said pulled
up my wandering thoughts and turned
them to present things. Shall you b'
Asurpriscd to hear that I came to do you
real scrvice?' she asked. And she wen
on to relate that, having had to pass TIN
previous night at Il place not many mile
away, in i house where the partition;
were thin, she had Glanced. to overhca
n plan for numbering and robbing mo
the villain-in-cllicf of the plot being TIN
starved and naked wretch whom ha(
sheltered and sent away rejoicing no
many days previously. All in mo
mcnt. willie | was pondcring on TIL
doubtful problem of gratitude, Il fame,
came over me that she might not be tell
ing the truth; that it might he ust III
excuse got up to justify her own visit
and l playfully limited rs much. :
woman does not trihe with subjects lik
these, nor docs she deceive when sh
goes out of ll"r way to do Il service" sh
answered. L rode off from that hous
the other way this morning, made lon:
dctour, and came here to warn you
And now that have done it, if you vii