Stevens County tribune. (Morris, Minn.) 1877-1880, 1880-02-12
A WILD GOOSE CHASE.
CHAPTER L


Now, yer Honor, list lie quiet and
aisy, keep the gun on full cock and all
ready, but never shtir limb till I give
the curlew's cry, and then look out, for
the birds1l be just within shot of ye."
So spoke Shawn, my herculean bench
man, as he laid the last bunch of heather
on my quivering body; and, having
satisfied himself that 1 was perfectly
well concealed from human sight, he
prepared to creep off to the spot where
he had seen the wild geese ahght, in
order to drive the unconscious victims
directly over my head. I nodded as he
gave his instructions, and, ere he crept
away, promised implicitly to obey his
commands. But 1 felt anything but
comfortable in my novel position. My
bed was the bare bogland, ooZy and
soft with the soaking of the heavy win
ter rains, my covering the half-withered
heather which Shawn had uprooted
from the hillside. 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
as the sky doomed above, but the little
March wind came creeping over the
hill and smote me with chilly hands.
l lay patiently for some time, the sports
man-hke ardor in my heart preventing
the wind from utterly freezing my
limbs, but at length my patience got
exhausted, and began to stir. Sud
denly I heard the faint whistle OF the
curlew; two minutes after I saw
flock of wild geese pass almost directly
over my head. I fired almlessly, and
missed.
Then T found that my garments were
completely soaked with bog-water, and
that my limos had sunk several inches
deep in the oozy ground, nay more,
that they were only prevented from
sinking further by some obstruction
which was so hard and cold that it made
my bones ache. My first care was to
exhume my half buried limbs, my next
to unearth the substance which had
prevented me from sinking utterly. This
latter proved to be 10 easy matter, but,
with the help of q spade which Shawn
had brought with him to prepare my
Doggy bed, I at length succeeded in
clearing away a good deal of earth and
discovering that my hfe-preserver was
a deal box some five feet long, stained
almost black with bog-water, and fast
ened down with half a 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 roman
tic ideas had long since vanished from
my mind; and yet, as I gazed at that
peculiar-looking box, felt 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 stronger within
me when Shawn, who soon returned
from his goose-driving, did his best to
dissuade me from such proceeding.
Sure It's no affair of ours, yer Hon
or" said Shawn, looking, at the same
time, 80 profoundly uncomfortable as
to cause my curiosity to increase.
maybe it's 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 I was determined,
he at length set to work; but he was too
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 a powerful
wrench, forced the lid from the box.
We both recoiled in horror and dis
may-the box contained corpsel
After the first shock of the discovery
was over I looked again, anc my dismay
increased tenfold.
why, Shawn" exclaimed, IF ii
isn't"
Eyes, in troth," broke in Shawn
sure enough it isl" and we both stared
into the box again.
In order to explain the strange cir
cumstance which enabled me to recog
nize this corpse, must chronicle event
which took place several weeks befor
I exhumed it.
II