The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1888-02-02
who went under the icel" asked Mr.. Har.

! who went under the icel" asked Mr. Har-
| court.
, Drowned, suppose; hoped so at the
! time, at any rate. never saw him again.
Well that is the last time / skated, ;" con-
tinued Mr.. SHINES, rising, and standing
with his back comfortably turned to the
fire. 1--WE never had the least fancy for
the exercise since"
But pray continue your narrative" !"
said Mr.. Harcourt, as he rose and stood on
the rug beside his friend. II can't bear
to think Of you in that thIcket with frozen
limbs and aching bones"
Haven't l bored you enough already
You know 1 cnly promised to tell you my
last experience on the skates"
Indeed, have an intense curiosity to
know how you got along afterwards"
Mr.. SHINES resumed his seat, and con-
tinued: "When l awoke it was almost sun
set. l was in dense wood, with no sign
Of habitatlon within sight. That should
find food and shelter for the night was in
perativeIy necessary; so l slowly got TO nJ
feet and looked around. There seemed to
be no outlet, not even cow-path. 1 CON-
menced my journey inland, however, max
ing my way through the thick underbrush
and over frozen streams, till, finally, after
an hours weary walking, l came across p
little path. This followed for some time,
when. at sudden bend, l saw, few ro0s
before me, comfortable farmhouse, lights
cleaning from the windows, and a general
air Of hospitality pervading the whole
premises.
~ approached with considerable tIepida-
tion. for l judged that my forlorn, bare
headed appearance would be decidedly
against me. Ny timid knock at the door
was answered by young girl, whom ]
| thought the most beautiful creature had
ever beheld, having been thrown for so
many months into the society Of rough men
only. In the most graceful manner that
was possible under the circumstances, ]
begged for nights lodging saying l had
lost my way. The young lady questioned
me closely, and suppose must have made
some very inconsistent statements; for at
length, to my surprise and dismay, she
said: You are an escaped prisoner, are
you not!'
Il was specchless, and could only look
at her beseechingly She laughed heartily,
brit, il a moment, said gravely: DON'T be
afraid, will help you; but father mustn't
| know it, for the world. Come imp and
followed her into coZy sittin room, where
an elderly lady was preparing table for
| supper. She introduced her as her mother,
and, after telling who / was, between them
| they hastily devised means for secretiug
me for the night.
GAS the man of the house was expected
at any moment, was conducted to u little
room somewhat apart from the rest Of the
house. Here this angcl-girl brought me my
supper. You must be off by daylight she
said, but will see you again.
at was hardly dawn wien q tapping at
my window reused me. After hastily dress
ing came out Would you believe me!
there stood my lovely hostess with bun
die IN her hand, and horse, saddled and
bridled, beside her.
"'Y ou must be right off, she said. Here
are some things you might need, and
money! thrusting purse into my hand.
'And this horse is my very own. You must
take him, and may return him "when this
| cruel war is over.'"
''She hardly gave me time to thank her.
1 was overwhelmed by her kindness, as
you may imagine.
81 will most certainly RETURN said,
pressing her hand. Then she gave me d.
rections as to my course, and departed.
"It would ne more tedious than interest
ing to tell how, after long journey across
the State of Ohio, l finally crossed the r.vcr
and reached my Kentucky home. From
exposure and long Imprisonment, 1 fell
very i'll. When l was at last ab. to report
for duty again, the fortunes of the Con.
federacy were about decided. News of the
surrender at Appomattox reached US Just
as was planning way TO join General
Lees army.n Here the narrator ceased.
My dear fellow" said Mr.. Harcourt,
81 am heartily glad to hear OF the success
full termination of your adventure. have
always had quite curiosity as to your
ultimate fate"
"Always!" Mr.. SHINES looked up in
QuirlugIy.
Mr.. Harcourt indulged in a long, low
chucke. "Yes, ever since / came out Of
the icy bath l got on your account. You
don't recognize the officer who pursued yov
to the bitter end,' and 1 tell you it was
bitter cold under that ice. Well, OF course
| twenty years does make difference"
| Mr.. Simmes looked blankly in his COM
panion's face. 'Whatp' he gasped. You!
You don't say so!-and you weren't
drowned after ail?''
s'No, but came pretty near 1t. If some
of the men hadn't seen me so under, and
come up as quickly as they did, would not
now have had the pleasure OF listening to
your interesting story and congratulatlng
you upon its fortunate issue"
| "Well" said Mr.. Simmes with a laugh,
as the qnondam foes involuntarily shook
hands, 1--WE long ago agreed to clasp hands
over the bloody chasm,' and wc' II now do SO
over the icy chasm."
"And how about your return2" asked
Mr.. Harcourt. "Did you ever see your
little Yankee friend againl And did she
ever see her horseg'
MIR. Simmes smiled. early in the az
tumn, when my health was fully restored
and the smoke Of battle had quito cleared
away, l mounted that trusty steed and
made a pilgrimage back to the fair owner"
"And how did she receive you! l am
really quite interested in the lii tie heroine,
| disIoyal though she was"
'Yes, she was shockingly disloyal." re-
sumed Mr.. SHINES, ''for the aid and CON-
fort she gave the rebel prisoner, pur-
| suaded her to continue during life. Well,
the long and short of it is, my dear fellow,
the little Yankee heroine is now my wife,
Mrs. SHINES, whom you have often had
the pleasure of meeting."-Gretna Green, IN
DemOTeSt'S Monthly.