Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1886-07-01

ahd II platter Of meat, and then went
out for the coffee. AS she set the cup
and saucer on the board she partly up.
set the cup and spilled half the con-
tents on the table
Excuse me Pm so1y,'' she said,
rs | showed back to keep the hot liquid
from dripping on my legs.
'Ncyer mind mo harm done" re-
piled.
1T was so careleSs of me. You had
better change your seat to the end
while sop 1t up
''Oh, don't mind. Pm not hungry
and shall eat but Il few mouthfuls any
way. forgot to tell you that prefer
red water to Coffee
''But-you-you-''
Ppm all right
She gave me one of the queerest
looks | ever got, first flushing up and
then turning pale. Spilling that coffee
was a put up job to get my back to the
kitchen door. l suspected it then /; a
few months later had plenty of hor-
rible proofs. Before the meal was fin =
ished old Bender looked in from the
kitchen door and drew back, and when
l showed away and entered the office he
was.not there and did not show up for
five minutes. When | went tu dinner
a double barrelled shotgun stood in a
corner of the office. When came out
it was gone. The old man came in af-
ter a while, and it was easy to see that
he had to force himself to converse.
paid him for the meal and was ready to
go. 1t was "a lonely road had to trav-
ell, with no other house for miles, and
il suddenly st uck me that the younger
man had gone on to lie in ambush and
shoot me in case l escaped assassina.
tion at the house. For minute or
two quite lost my sand, and you can
Judge what a relief it WAS to see team
drive up with three men in the vehicle
and room for one more. They stopped
to water the horse and chat few mo-
ments, and readily gave me lift on
my way. did not impart my suspic-
ions TO them, and it was not until the
horrible stories came out that felt sure
In my own mind what close call | had
had.
DO know what became OF old Ben
der and his family ? You remember
that they fled the country, or that the
papers so reported, and for months we
used to hear from one locality and an
other of the fugitives being seen or cap
tured. have reasons to believe they
never got out OF the State, nor yet
hundred miles from that lone tavern
on the prairie, with its horrible cellar
underneath and its graveyard in the
rear. Bands of men were riding in this
or chat direction, bent on vengeance,
and one Of these oYerhauled the party.
| have been told this on the best au-
tholity. AS Bender had sho&n no
mercy toward the unsuspecting travel
ers who were shot in the back from
that kitchen door as they ate at his Ia
bic, none was shown to him or his.
They were wiped out and planted
where their bodies will never be turned
up to the light Of day.
Il have also been pack peddler for
years, said the man who had decided
limp in his gait, anu who seemed to he
about 45 years old, 'and I have had my
fair share of adventures with the rest
of the fraternity. For years [ have
travelled in Tennessee, the Carolinas
and Georgia, ard my line of goods has
been cutlery. l have sometimes car.
ried pins, needles, and thread, but more
as an accommodation than from any
hope of profit. Ny line inclues raz,rs.
shears, scissors, pocket knives, table
knives, and forks. Sometimes | add
few sheath knives, which are bought
by lawless characters, and sometimes |
omit them, according to the route | have
laid out.
On two or three occasions my life
has been put in peril by the cupdity of
others, but the closest shave ever had
was in.the mountains of Tennessee, "a
bout fifty miles from Knoxville. had
sold my stock pretty we'll down, and
had about $500 with me. when, one af-
ternoon an hour before sunset, the ap.
proach of a terrific thunderstorm drove
me to seek the shelter of roadside
cabin. It. was lonely place, on lone
ly mountain road, and the time was in
1867. While the war had long been
over, as Of course you know, there was
good deal of bitterness among the
mountaineers of Tennessee, and there
were great many men who had not
yet settled down to anything like work.
AS was not in the war on either side,
and am English born, got along very
well with the Gre-eaters +; but the fact
was every day before me that there
were plenty of lawless characters, both
Union and Rebel. who wouldn't hesi-
f,fn n TO 1c 4 ho