The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1885-02-12

to the door to see me start-the elders
inveighing against my foolishness m
setting off at that time of night; the
young people plying me with horrors
and telling me to be sure to come
round next morning-if alive-and give
an account of my adventures. To all
gave merry reply, and lighting my
pipe, swinging myself into the saddle.
sld shouting ''GoOd night" cantered
of down the avenue.
For couple of miles the road led me
down a deep wooded glen. On both
sides the mountains lowered aloft to a
height of more than two thousand feet,
their lower slopes thickly clad with pine
and birch, their shoulders and SUBMITS
white from a recent heavy snowfall.
The river poured along unanimously,
close beneath the road, swirling past
frowning cliffs of rock, brawling and
battling with heaps of powders, shoot
ing in sheets of glancing foam over cas-
cade and rapid. BY daylight the scene
was sufficiently grand and impressive :;
| Illuminated as it now was by a faint
moonlight, it was much more so. The
night was calm and slightly frosty: but
overhead a strong breeze was blowing.
and from time to time the moon was
obscured by the flying clouds. The
play of light and shade brought about
| by this was very beautiful; at one mo-
ment the shaggy hillsides and deep
pools of the river were plunged in
| deepest shadow: in the next a food of
pale glory poured over them, paint
ing the rushing stream with Silver,
shooting shafts of light among
the tall trees, tracing mosaics
on the dark surface of the road. Each
clump of ferns, each bush and stump,
took uncommon shape, and it required
no great stretch of Imagination to con-
vert the powders and reefs of rock out
in the stream into waierbullS and KEEL
pies. The rush and roar of the river
drowned all other sounds; but with the
exception of the echoing tread of my
pony and the occasional bark of fox
from the hill there was nothing else to
be heard. On my way down the glen
passed a few scattered cottages, but
their occupants were long ago in bed,
although it was not much past ten
o'clock.
The wilder part of the glen ended in
a fine pass, where the hills lowered al
most straight up from the river, and
the pines threw so deep a shadow that
for few yards it was impossible to see
the road. just beyond, the mountains
retreated to right and left, and through
a short and level tract OF meadow-land
road and stream made their way down
to the shores of the loch Ahead of me
| could see its broad bosom glancing in
the moonlight, and the great snOw-clad
mountains beyond it. As the improved
condition of the road now made rapid
progression easier. / gave the pony his
head and he went along in style that
promised soon to land me at my des-
tinatiOn.
There was only one thing that
troubled me-the haunted bridge. Once !
past it, and | should thoroughly enjoy |
my moonlight ride. | do not know |
whether it was the thought of the ghost |
stories with which we had beguiled the |
hours after dinenr. and which now kept |
recurring to my mind in spite of all eff
forts to the contrary, or whether it was |
the solemn and impressive scenery had |
passed through in the glen. that had
unStrung me; but the nearer | drew to |
the bridge the more uncomfortable |
felt regarding it. 1t was not exactly
fear, bat vague presentment of evil
the Highland blood asserting itself. l
could not get rid of the sensation. | !
tried to hum and whistle, but the forced
merriment soon died a natural death.
| was now on the lonelieSt part of the
road. From the bottom Of the glen as
far as the bridge-about three miles
there was not a single cottage; and more
than a mile on the other side of it Law a
scattered hamlet. The moon. too,
which had hitherto befriended ME, Eow
to withdraw its light, and
where clumps of trees overhung the
road the darkness was deep. The pony
carried me along bravely ly-he knew he
was going homeland in short time a
turn in the road showed me, some dis
tance ahead. ribbon of white light
upon the dark hillside. 1t was the
stream that ran beneath the fatal bridge
Better get out of this as soon as posi-
bic, thought; and with voice and stick |
encouraged the pony to increased speed.
On we vent The roar of the haunted
stream was loud and near now: the
gloom increased as we plunged deeper
into the wood that filled its basin; in
another minute the bridge would be far
behind, when, without the lest warn
ing, the pony SHE'D to one side and
then stood stock still, quivering all
over. The shock all but sent my'flv-
ing over his head; but by an effort |
kept my seat. had not far to look for
the cause OF the beasts fright. Not
dozen yards away were the dimly seen
of the bridge; and on one of
them crouched an object that froze me
with terror. There are some moments
IN which the events of a lifetime pass in
review; there are some glanceS in which
IN inSnity of detail can be taken in
quicker than eve can close. This was
one of them. | do not suppose that my ,
eve rested on the terror for more than
/ second; but in that brief space | saw I
what seemed like the upper part of a
distorted human body. hunchbacked
md without legs, with face that
ylowed with the red light of fire! l can .
augh now when think of my fright;
)ut at the moment l remember getting {
he pony into motion somehow with G
tick, bride and voice, and speeding a
lcroSs the bridge like a thunderbolt, q
down. Tam O'Shanter-like,
md momentarily expecting to feel the :,
rip of a clammy hand on my neck! q
lard, hard we galloped through the t
amlet | have mentioned; nor did L v
lacken the pace until the lights of my C
bode had cleaned through the planta- /
ion and we were safe and sound in the 4