The Washington critic., 1888-03-24
A NARROW ESCAPE.

NOW, luISs Ddllty, ~ y yVuI lllln4
We were spending our Christmas holi
days at the DonaIdsons' beautiful
home on the Hudson, and had Just
had a real English story-book week,
ten of us, old friends together. On
this last night of the year, as we sat
in a cosy semi-circle around fire.
place that looked ancestral even If Il
was not, and watched fire that GER
tainly equaled anything our ancestors
could have enjoyed-on this most ap-
propriate night, we had fallen to
storytelling.
Handsome jerome Cole had given
us an exciting account of tiger-hunt
in India. Mrs Carlisle, naval Off
GERS wife who had been much about
the world, had thrown us into agonies
of laughter by her descriptions of
some Of the nobility in the Sandwich
Islands. Captain Crawford, just re-
turned from the plains, had thrilled
our hearts with Indian adventures,
while our genial, elderly host had
stirred the ashes Of his memory until
there rose from them q wonder
full and weird tale Of psychical
mystery, magnetic power, and
the unexplained forces of nature
at work over the human will. We
were left in state Of mind and
body where the fall of stray ember
made us start and look over our
shoulders gingerly into the deepening
shadows of the wide old hall, which
we still refused to have illumined
by any other means than the flicker
ing, uncertain freight. And now it
was Mrs. Bailey's turn-gentle little
jamie Graham who had married a
talented young clergyman soon after
we all left school, and whom only
now, after the lapse of years, we had
met again.
She blushed and smiled as we all
turned to her, seconding our hosts
request.
"Mine is such a small story, after
the weird one we have just heard
from Mr.. Donaldson" she said,
simply. 'But it relates to q terrible
experience, and it has at least one
merritt is absolutely true"
"What exclaimed Mr.. Donald
son, in pretended wrath. "Do you
presume to doubt mine? You.shall
fell yours now Madame Bailey, at
all hazards, and our friends shall de-
eide between your veracity and
mine"
"Well," began the narrator, as the
easily-aroused laughter died away and
we all settled ourselves afresh for
the tale, "when Mr.. Bailey and
! were married we went out
into the far Northwest as
home-missionaries. Our station
ID IL.
longer exists, in Central Oregon, and
we had some very funny experiences
can assure you. But the one want
TO tell you about was anything save
funny.
"one day in the month of June
there came letter from the settle
miles distant, asking Mr.. Bailey to
be present at the approaching cele-
bration Of the Fourth of July and to
make speech for the occasion.
''Of course we knew that it would
be hard journey, as more than half
of the distance had to be accom-
plished either on horseback or on a
dreadful blackboard sent over a
mountain road to meet us, But we
were young and strong and did not
mind it then; besides, Mr.. Bailey was
most anxious to see the little settle
ment of X, and to make friends
of its people. So he wrote accepting
the invitation for us both and APP
pointing the day Of our arrival. And
then-being manl-he at once de-
voted all his leisure hours to that
speech.
eve started on the I'd of July;
went as far as possible by stage;
stopped over night at forlorn little
wayside inn, and on the following
day accomplished the dreaded buck
board. journey Of more than fifty
miles, which quite tired me out.
''On my last tour of this kind I had
found that many of the natives of
that new country-even the rich ones
lived most primitively, and you can
imagine my dismay when found
that my bedroom was only corner
partitioned of bysa sheet from the
family sleeping-room.
''Mr. Bailey and L ON this occasion
were taken to pretty cottage few
yards distant from little stream not
quite ambitious enough to merit being
called river, and ushered into q good
sized bedroom on the ground floor.
little dreamed how dearly / was too
pay for the convenient location of
that room.
"Our host and his wife were pleas
ant people, who had made good deal
of money in their new home, and
were as cordial and hospitable as West
ern people proverbially are, They told
us that the little village was full
of strangers and that our room had
been but very hastily prepared for
our reception, begging us to
let them know should anything be
lacking for our comfort. We prom
ised and went to bed we'll satisfied
with our quarters.
"0ur room had long windows open
ing on the veranda, which ran quite
across the front of the house, very
unusual luxury for X in those
days.
con the morning following our ar
rival, as my husband and stood gaz-
ing at the lovely scene from the win
dows, he turned to speak TO me, and
his eyes wandering to the back of the
room, apparently discovered some un-
expected object of interest there.
"fWhy, Jane, said he, what can
that be-?
81 looked in the direction he
pointed, but only saw that under the
table, in the corner opposite the foot
OF the bed, the carpet seemed oddly
loose, appearing to be untacked and
heaped up.
ooh, said, Mrs. White told me
that they had arranged this room in
great haste for us, and no doubt the
Garnet which ia QVidQntlU naw was