The Benton weekly record. [volume] (Benton, Mont.) 1880-1885, 1880-09-17

y
golden hail, and made tle laughing f:ic
and flne. profile altogether lovely.
~ Six O'Clock came and went, amt /, d
this time feeling on familiar. terms witt
my fair friends, and unwilling that the,
should defer their gaIlop until too late ii
! hour, proposed tlgat / shouCf4ssfsfen9 10 in7
lodgings, procure my horse, and jrejoil
them. Then ii Jerry had not returned,
would act as their escort a. fat ';is CIaW
fortl,s, where could put ip for the night
Ny plan proved acceptable to. The ladies
who We're loud in.their thanks, and I start
ed to carry itinto execution. All the way
II kept asharp lookout fofssJeiay,s butlln.
4.successfttilY; and when at length haC
reached the house (which Ihal made my
headquarters. and fastened to make /
change i'll my appearance for the better, il
was without having seen or heard ut1ght OF
tlle missing servant. again. on my re-
turn, this time in the saddle, all inquiries
were frutIess, Jerry evidently WAS not to
be found. &5H
u nF arrival was hailed with delight by
81 my fair acquaintances,. and at half-past
eight we were on the road to CraWford's S,
ehattinga as pleasantly as if nothing had oc-
cured at all unpleasant or troublesome
The moon was not yet up, and it was quite
dark; nota cloud marled the sky, which
Was ablazc with myriads of stars Maud,
1 remember, commented pom it, before
going on to say, 80, you an'tguess what
tbsuro stories All old farmer told lls He
said that iii the gorge OH the other side OF
0ailey ,s-you remember the place, don'l
you--an old black house with tavern
Isign o.
/ nodded assent, and she continued:
Well, just the other side is & clump OF
rees, where q man was murdered-O, Il
eng time ago!-al1d the place is haunted. :.
remember the spot-We passed it this
znor1ing-and it did look the least BIT ho1-
id: but it was mean in him, wasn't it, tc
7ry aud frighten us?'' -" sz+
.es5el,o I returned "But, Miss Maud.
his is no kind Of a night for a successful.
| ghost scare. There should be heavy
Iouds, and Il thunderstorm, if convenient.
o bring out the spirits IN full relief"
sNonscnse!" laughed Nellie, and ther
We changed the subject, until at last Bail
.yss and. the bridge were both passed, ant
| he mouth Of the gorge was entered.
| z"This IS the place; now let's hurry on, =
Whispered Maud; suiting her actionsto to hell
lords hy striking her horse Il sharp blow
en- tile funk. I. Aren't you frightened,
Sell ~ NJ
10, not.a Bit was the response. Anti
hen we rode on in silence at a somewhat
taster gait, drawing near and finally pass
lng tl1esdreatled spotWithout noticing any
hing at all extraordinary. 2Ss@
| was closely Watching Mant's face;
I.If had paled a little at first but now had
resumed its natural. color She hatl jl,st
ope1cd Iet.zliI@ to speak, ] think, whe1l.
suddenly, from behind; came two OF three
noals, proceeding, doubtless, from TIL. 1
aaunted eItliilp. We drew rein BY com com
mon Impulse, and listened Both girls
we're pale now, but c;fin. ssz -
sHark - Il was Neil thar spoke. ';Lis-
ten. There Is something moving, should
thi1k. - so /
And, sure enough, asszWe listened we
heald something forcing its way through
the underhlush, and then came a shrek ct
lelnoniac laughter, chilling ones blood, /
and almost stopping the channels II
Please, Mr. Alden,n whispered Maud, |
at my elbow, don think me deficientin |
courage, but is there: amy thing to be gain
ed by staying here? And O! look there!''
I followed the. direction Of her finger, /
md there, inst issuing from the woods, /
was a horseman, clothed in white, and /
whose figure, as the rays of the rising
.noon feH=uporI it, looked ghastlv against a |
sombre background
Let us go, = Urged Nellie, and [ was
only too ready.
OFF, then, at It eantel we started, gradu-f
lily qaiclening our pace to a galiop, and |
ltlength at tthe=end of the gorge drawing
seln and looking toward each other will /
unused faces, when suddenly to our ears T
anne the clatter Of horses feet, which hat7t
1een drowned before, and round the las, +
oend came the white Horsen1an at Il gallop.- |
Once more we went at a wild pace, -;tlIsfof-sI
setful of jokes which were about to be- +
Uttered when the phantom figure came in
view. On-on-tt d terrible gallop, anu
till our pu1suer gained. - tztsszs 8zsz= sst
"0!'5 cried Maud atomy side, sswill
zraNford's never appear?" E#zsS#5 sf f@f=
As.sl1e spoke, it seemed as if the white +
igure We're already upon.us, when, ! q: An An'
Vii ye lliyer sthop, mum Ye'll kill Che
torse..' came from behind; and as pea
i fisughter came from Maud's coral lips, i +
rev up my horse, to find our dead pur-
uer was none other than Jerry himself, il,
white Cluster. = ii Nellie ex plaiIled, +
when 1T length she could cease her latlgh-
e. for q noment-osaly Jerry, who haf.
sof some Whiskey, in lieu of maple sugar, +
md who was as yet hstlf-seas-o y
What merry tiineWe had, though, fol
he remainder Of the ride, and how JerrY,S
discharge was only eonmuted 70 4 nlil1el
punishment at my earnest solicitation, II
.leed not s:ly. " could easily forgive
lin hi5. delinqH qHenc.y and our scafetfn rel
.sIlrn ffor the acquaintance which otherwise
never. would have beer1-=Ilof any Thing
more serious, Is Maud, .Ashois ut my side, III
suggests with tWink ling eyes. III =ttfEa shE
! 4=s- - - at5ss#
Glealllilless.-Last sunaagta gentlemanI
went into drug store. and asked1toE buy yea,
pieee1of soap 1ssall4any thing butf3
sundaysa IL .#ss'' Bur, 5malnalire,
Ion n,tyell ISloWEfhat eleanlinessHis next to L.
soeslilless ss's Well, can't help it, il .it1
-; 1ou don't half Try :, responded !,
5eareher for soap, as he. .WeIt ont without