Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1879-11-12

ed. I extemporized a seat in the boat
and tried to make things as comfortable
as possible.
l noticed, although ALI and Tom were
so cool, they hardly took their eyes off
him for more than second at time.
His behavior before their furtive gIances
was peculiar; he saw he was being
watched; he couldn'. sit still he looked
first at one bank, then at the other; his
eyes travelled everywhere, resting no.
where; his hands fdgeted and trembled !;
he seemed all of CULVER, / expected
him to break into paroxysm every Sec
ond. If / had not called out he would
have run us right into the shore; when
/ called he clutched the other string vic.
lently, jerking the boat almost round.
I heartily wished him ut Jericho before
he had come near us.
No one spoke. We went slowly along
watching each other. At last he said
something.
CT will get OUT" he said, in an odd
nervous way.
With pleasure" said ALI; in a
minute
"Why not now? Why not now, sir ?"
he said, seeming to shake from head to
foot.
" Where are you going to get? into
the river?"
I admired Alf's GOODNESS, envied him.
| only hoped it wouldn't let it carry him
too far.
The man glowered at him; for mo-
ment he looked him full in the face. I
never saw q look in q mans eyes like
that in his. ALI returned him look for
look. Slightly, almost imperceptibly,
he quickened his stroke. A little lower
down was little hamlet with q well
known inn and capital landing stage.
When we came alongside the stranger
said:
"This will do; I'll get out here"
He turned the boat inshore. No soon.
er were we near enough, than he rose in
his seat and sprang onto the beach
There were several people about, water
men and others. ALI was after him in
an instant; he rose almost simultaneous
ly and leaped on shore; he touched him
on the shoulder.
CHOW come" he said, "don't be fool.
ish; we know all about it.'
The other turned on him like flash
of lightning. "What do you meanW
But Tom was too quick for him; he
was on the other side, and took his arm
"Come, he said, don't let's have row."
The stranger raised himself to his full
height and shook off Tom with ease.
He then hit out right and left in splen-
did style. Tom and ALT went down like
ninepins. But my blood was up.
scrambled on shore and ran into him,
lodged his blows, and closed. / am
pretty strong. He was old enough to be
my father; but / found I had met my
match, and more. I was like baby in
his arms; he lifted me clean off my feet,
and threw me straight into the river.
It was splendid exhibition of strength.
Tom and Alf, finding their feet, made
for him together; and scrambling out as
best could, followed suit. You never
saw such set-out. We chung to him
like leeches. The language he used was
awful; his strength magnificent; though
we were three to one. he was match for
all of us. Of course the by-standers
seeing row, came up; they interfered,
and pulled us off.
"What's all this?"
"Stop himl lay hold of himp' said
ALT; she's lunatic!'
GA what?" said the man.
"He's lunatic escaped from DR..
Rawle's asyluml"
Instead of lending hand, the man
went off into roar of laughter, and the
others Joined. The stranger looked lit
orally frantic with rage. A gentleman
stepped out from the crowd. "There's
some mistake" he said "this gentleman
is Mr.. Travers, of Tollhurst HALL"
You could have knocked us all three
down with a feather 1 do believe.
Could it be possible? Could we have
been such consummate idiots as to have
mistaken a sane man for lunatic? and
that man Lillian Travers' fatherl I
could have shrunk into my boots;
could have run and hid myself in bed.
To think that we should have logged,
and watched, and insulted, and assaulted
the man of all others in whose good
books we wished to stand--LiIian Ira
vers' father! Never did three men look
such fools as we did then. We were so
confoundedly in earnest about it, that
was the worst of all. 1 don't care what
you say; you may think it frst-rate
joke; but he must have been an eccentric
sort OF elderly gentleman. If he had
behaved sensibly, if he had made one
sensible remark, he would have blown
our delusion to the winds.
We rendered our apologies as best we
could to the man we had so insulted; but
he treated us and them with the Hottest
scorn; and we got one after another into
the boat amid the gibes and jeers of an
unsympathetic crowd. And as we rowed
from the wretched place as fast as our
oars would take us, we each in our secret
heart declared we never would forget
our adventure up the river with luna
tic. And we haven't. From that day
to this have never seen Lillian Travers,
nor do I wish to-Chousber's Journal.
a Frontier Wedding.
A story comes from the scene of the