Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-09-05

on Su our lives, Or even worse. If
I nau my revolver with me /"
~ ~ ina you might have IL stolen
~ ~ TESTED the fair fend. There,
upon she opened the carriaoe door
oraco 1eIore l could prevent her, leapei
what u1ly u into the darkness. ooh.
the aas a lovely night! How fragrant
s sne forest is! How the glow Worms
re aI Me- Look at them, dear Baron!n'
n;+oh Lo sa what am 1 to look at? It is
pt. "M uark, ! q not see ANYTHING"
~Noth'ng? Is not that a Ii ght CLEAN
ny under the trees yonderp'S
MY blood curdled. We were close 70
.ne robbers den. The coachman had
also deserted the light; he now said in
. voice which resenb!ed that Of q a'', man ~
VINO was being hanged:
o,,o nnat IS the inn, My Lady, fire.
quenled by the poor men,"
"Capltal! Drive to the inn, coach
1nan, Tor we have no other refuge Tor
l was in despair. .sFor heavens
sa5e' Countess, what are you going to
no! 1hls is a notorious den OF thieves.
where we shall all be assassinated: the
most Is a confederate; many travellers
nave already met their death. Only
l"teiy lreadln the papers"
Inc %dlabolical creature interrupted
me with a loud laugh.
"1hese are only old women's tales
she said; who is afraid of such imap;n-
airy bogeys? If there were a hotel anv.
where near, we should of course drive
TO it. AS it is, we must put up with the
tavern"
So saying, she told the goodman tc
follow her slowly with the carriage;
she meant to advance on foot, 10 show
MIN the way. Remonstrances were
useless; she threatened to penetrate the
csardG alone if we would not accom-.
pany her. The little Countess would
nave done it, too! AS we approached
the building, strains of gypsy music be-
Strange" tested the Countess, eve
wanted to go to a ball, and here we have
sudd My lit upon one. How very for.
the door.
For a moment l reflected that it
would be wisest to leave her here, and
betake myself to the forest; but it
would not have been right to forsake
hsr, and, besides, 1 had no choice, for
Mdlle. Cesarine, the c%haperon, had
seized my arm, which she would not re-
llnquish, Pooc creature, she was half
dead with fright, and shook like an
aspen leaf. At some distance we could
hear the wild shouts with which those
assembled in the tavern accompanied
their dance. Nothing daunted by ali
this, the Countess boldly opened the
door and walked in.
We entered q long, low room, stained
with smoke. In my first fright l fan
cied that l heheld at least Fifty bandits
dancing and singing before me. Suisse
quently, when l had somewhat recoy-
cred myself, I counted them, and it APP
peared that they amounted to nine in
all, including the landlord and the
three gypsies who formsd the band.
them h sli e at jer aff plenty FIVE m i wishea
gigantic fellows! Their heads almost
touched the ceiling. Their pistols
each had one-were lying in a corner
of the room. I noticed them at first
"Well, we shall be lucky if we
ever leave this den alive" thought I.
When the fellows saw us they paused
in their dance, and stared at us with
great sparkling eyes. Our temerity as
tonished them. My little Countess ad-
vanced into the room, and with a be-
wltching smile addressed them as fol-
lows: .
'Pray forgive us for having disturbed
you in your entertainment; we have
lost u way, and, as the darkness
prevented us driving any further, we
beg you to give us shelter for the
night"
One of the five bandits advanced to-
ward her-he was the handsomest and
slimmest of them all. He twirled the
ends of his mustache. took off his hat,
ratified his spurs till they rang again,
and, bowling low to the smiling Count
ess, he said that he did not feel the
least disturbed by her appearance. but
was delighted at the honor. He, Fekete
Jofzi (my blood ran cold-Fekete Jofzi,
the notorious brigand of the day!) was
paying the reckoning that evening, and
SO as host he took the liberty OF inquir-
ing who 1T was he had the honor to ad-
dress. Before I could make a sign to
prevent her, the Countess recklessly
answered.:
'Countess Repey , residing in your
immediate neighborhood."
Il have the good fortune to know the
name. The old Count once sent a bull
let after me, but missed his aim. Pray
be seated, Countess"
Here was a pleasant acquaintance!
The Countess sat down on a bench.
Fekete seated himself beside her. He
never asked me to sit down; he seemed
utterly unconscious OF my presence.
"Where were you driving at such q
late hour?' he inquired.
"Don't tell him! Don't tell him?" ]
telegraphed with my eyes.
''To Arad, to the casino ball.
Farewell to your ball-dress and jew
els!!" thought I.
"Indeed! 1t was a lucky chance fol
us that brought you here. We arr
giving a ball, too, and, if Her Ladyshil
does not despise our invitation, l thinl
1 can promise her a delightful evening;
Our gypsies are excellent musicians
they play csardas which make the blood
oo,1rSa like fro throurh One'S veins