The Osceola times., 1881-01-29
THE NIGHT IN THE FOREST.
BY MARY v. SPENCER.

How far ls IL through tne FOREST!
Fifteen versts, my lord"
"Ahw
The speaker, q young man Of five-and-
twenty, and with an air of distinction
justiying the rank assigned to him,
shrugged his shoulders as he spoke, and
looked up at the wild, wintry sky, that
frowned down, gray and gloomy, on the
wastes of snow that covered the land
s,ape.
Hadn't you better wait till morning,
my lord7' said the postmaster. 1T will
be quite dark in an hour"
But we can find our way, can't weP
il isn't going to snow, is it? The Moujik
isn't afraid2'
"Ohl the Moujik obeys orders, and asks
no questions. He dare not"
"Well, then, we will go on. ] ought to
have been at my destination early this
morning, and would have been but for
an accident, q station back"
He lit q cigar, with these words, and
sprang briskly into the sledge, which dis
appeared, at once, in the forest.
II know, now who he is" said the 9TH
or, rs he went back to his warm room.
ut is the young Baron Won Berg, who is
10 marry pretty Countess Olga. The
wedding comes off tomorrow, and he
was due this morning. don't envy him
his cold ride" spreading out his hands
before the stove, "or the risks he runs. |
had mind TO speak of them more plain
ly but its best as it is perhaps; he'd only
have laughed at them as idle fears, and
thought me coward for mentioning
them"
Travellers by post, in Russia, change
horses about every ten miles. For this
purpose there are stations on all the
main roads Usually, the same sledge is
used for the whole journey; but the driv-
er is changed with the horses.
For some time, the baron smoked on
in silence. The air, meantime, became
keener; the rising wind whirled the
snow into his face; the darkness gathered
denser and more dense.
"You know the road?" he said, at last,
addressing the driver.
"Yesl my lord. have travelled it, day
and night, for twenty years"
"But not often on q night like thls?"
"No! But ] can't mistake il. 1t runs
straight through the forest, as you see"
"But l don't see. This fine, drifting
snow almost blinds me. If it should
come on TO storm, We couldn't see an
inch before us"
"In that event." said the Moujik, "we'll
have TO trust TO the horses. They'd know
the road, even if didn't"
"Ah!' said the young man, and again
relapsed into silence.
How the wind howled. How the
branches Of the lcafless tress writhed and
groaned. How ghost-like the sombre fire
looked in the gloom. The travellers
cigar had gone out, and he now took an
other. BY its light he looked at his
watch. Twenty minutes since we left
the post-house," he murmured. "a quar-
ter of the journey completed. So far, so
good"
He smoked on, after this, in silence.
The jingle of the horses bells, the rattle
Of the harness, the whiz of the runners
over the snow, and the crack of the
Aoujik's whip, became so monotonous, at
last, that he began to be drowsy; and no
wonder, for he had not been in bed for
two nights, having been travelling all that
time.
He thought of his betrothed. The
Countess Olga was not only as lovely as
dream; she was witty and charming
also. The marriage was one Of pure love
on both sides. The baron had met her
first, at Baden Baden, the year before
An engagement had soon followed, and
the wedding fixed for the winter lie
was now on his way to claim his bride
The delay, ne felt sure, was making her
anxious. Dear girl" he said, Il can see
her now, with her eager eyes and pale
face, going TO the window, every few min.
utes TO look if my sledge is coming oh,
how happy we shall both be, when ar.
rive, an hour hence"
Suddenly he was woke from his rev.
erie, by the furious swish of the Moujik' +
whip. The horses seemed to be wild
with terror. They were going at full gal.
lop, snorting fiercely.
whats the natter" he asked, rousine
himself.
Don't you hear?" cried the Moujik. in
a frightened voice. THE wolvesl There
are score of 'em-Saint lzaak protect
us!'
The young man had often heard of this
peril TO the traveller, during winter. in
Russia; but had regarded these narratives
as more or less exaggerated. Even now
he could hardly understand the Moujik' S
terror. Ii was not till he became aware
Of a peculiar sound, that appeared to be
coming nearer every instant, that he
awoke to full consciousness Of the dan.
ger. II was a sound compounded of q
bark and a snarl; and with it came tn,
patter as scores of rapid feet on the hard
crust Of snow; sound that rose over the
tinkle of the bells the snort of the horses
the swish of the Moujik's whip, and ever
the moaning of the wintry wind. Hi,
very blood ran cold he as he heard it
There was in il something indescribabl,
fearful. Shading his eyes with his hand
he peered into the twilight, behind. from
out of which the sounds proceeded. We
say twilight, for though night had actu
ally set in, the glare from the snow threw
a ghastly halflight over everything. Ii
this dim radiance, he saw, or thought b,
saw, what seemed wild torrent of blacl
forms, tumbling madly over each other
like some black food shooting. dowr
rapids. But now it was gone. Only tn,
dark shadows Of the fsr-off fin wer,
seen, and above these shadows the spec
tral 6fs themselves, shivcrins. now ant
! then, - Il were, In the Icy atmoa4here