Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1886-08-27

tered that dining room, aud the very
first thing I noticed was that tho table
was set lcngthwise of the room. and that
my chair and plato had been so placed
that my back would be toward the
kitchen door, which was not over five or
six feet away. Had it been at the other
end my back would have been toward
the office door. The first move made
was to turn tho chair around to tho side
and sit down. / now faced tho bedroom
door, and had the other doors to nv
right and left, where there was no win
dow behind me. Tho younger woman
was in the room, and she looked at mo
in queer, strange way as I upset tho
arrangements sho had perfected. Bender
did not look into tho room for two or
three minutes, and then retired without
speaking. A minute later ho passed
around the house and entered the kitchen
by the back door. While 1 could not
see him, heard him and the woman
whispering together, and I caught tho
words as spoken by her:
"T tell you he did it himsolfp
81 could not catch word from him,
and directly he went out and she came
in with the rest of the catables. Her
face was flushed and her manner very
nervous. She put on plntc of bread
and 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 tho contents
on tho table.
"Excusc mc-rm sorry shc said. os
I showed back to keep tho hot liquid
from dripping on my legs.
"tNcvcr mind-no harm donc.' I re-
piled.
1T was SO careless of me- You had
better change your scat to tho end while
sop it up
"'Oh, don't mind. Pm not hungry
and shall eat but a few mouthfus any
way. 1 forgot to tell you that pre-
fcrred water to coffee
ut-you-you'-
"Tm oil right
She gave me one of the qucerest looks
1 ever got, first flushing up and then
turning pale. Spiling that coffee was
n put-up job to get my back to the
kitchen door. suspected it then; n
few months later had plenty of horri-
bic proofs. Before the meal was finished
old Bender looked in from the kitchen
door and drew back, and when I showed
away and entered the Office he was not
there and did not show up for five min
utcs. When went to dinner double
barrellcd shotgun stood in n corner of
the office. When I came out it was
gone. The old man came in after n
while, and it was easy to sec TINT he had
to force himself to converse. paid him
for the meal and was ready to go. 1t
was n lonely road 1 had to travel, with
no other house for miles, and it sudden
ly struck me that tho younger man had
gone Oh to lie in ambush and shoot me
in case I escaped assassination ut tho
house. For minute or two quito lost
my sand, and you can judge what re-
lief it was to me to see team drive up
with three men in the vehicle and room
for one more. They stopped to water
the horses and chat few moments, and
readily gave me a lift on my way.
did not impart my suspicious to them,
and it was not until the horrible stories
came out that felt sure in my mind
what close call had had.
"Do 1 know what became of old Ben
der and his family7 You remember that
they fled the country, or that the paper,
SO reported, and for months VIC used to
hear from one locality and another of thu
fugitivcs being seen or captured.
have reason to believe they never got Out
of the State, nor yet hundred miles
from that lone tavern on tho prairics
with its horrible cellar underneath and its
graveyard in the rear. Bands of men
were riding in this or that direction,
bent on vengeance, and one of these
oyerhaulcd the party. I have been told
this on the best authority. AS Bender
had. shown no mercy toward the unsus.
pecting travellers who were shot in the
back from that kitchen door as they ate
ut his table, none was shown to him OF
his. They were wiped out and planted
where their bones will never be turned
up to the light of day. ."-MeU Yorl
Sun. sr,-