The Florida agriculturist., 1889-01-09
CHAPTER w.
THE sTROLL-A MYSTIC BEAUTY

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it may only have been by accident that Mr..
Strong came into the Office just an hour af-
ter his political opponents visit. Having
seated himself, Strong said:
s'There isn't any doubt, Mr.. Gray, that
Simmons is onto my racket. He knows I'm
gwine to run for sheriff, an he'll beat me If
he kim
ssI don't think he knows any thing about
it, Mr.. Strong said the editor.
Eyer mistaken; tell ye yer mistaken.
That man is just watching me all the time.
He's alters tryin' to spile my plans. be-
heve the devil owes me a spite an is payin'
me off with bad neighbors. Wasn't he in
here to-day?"
eyes, but we were talking on a business
matter" said Allen, with some hesitation, II
wanted to buy that corner lot of his"
eye did. What did he AK yea"
zone thousand dollars"
Mr. Strong gave prolonged whistle,
"That's moren twice what it's wuth:
wouldn't give him three hundred dollars
fur it; fur the house is no account at ALL"
Three or four days later, when Mr.. Strong
had almost induced Allen to purchase some
of his property, Tom Simmons, having heard
of it, determined to ''spoil the trade,'' if he
had to injure all the property in Turley's
Point to do so. A large number of the
citizens of Turley's Point seemed to be
watching each other, trying to prevent
their neighbors' success, even to their~own
detriment AS nearly every body seemed
pulling against every body else, the busi-
ness outlook of the village was not bright.
On Sunday afternoon Allen Gray deter
mined to set all warnings and rumors of
danger aside and take stroll to the hill on
which the mysterious stone house stood. 1t
was a delightful day, and he found the
woods pleasant. The trees were clothed in
their richest green, and wild flowers nodded
their saucy heads in the gentle breeze which
stole through the forest. The nimble squir-
reIs ran before him, frisked about among
the branches or chatted from some leafy
retreat He followed an old disused car
riage road once macadamized and an ex-
cellent thoroughfare, but now in dilapi-
dated state, and partially >overgrown with
grass. The grim old forest on either side Of
him seemed dark and gloomy.
The distance was much greater than Allen
had supposed. Though the top of the old
stone house could be seen from the village,
he lost sight of it the moment he entered
the wood. Having paused to rest at the foot
of long hill, he discovered a narrow but
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through che trees, and decided to follow it.
Through forest of grand old moss-covered
oaks, winding about among huge masses of
rock which in centuries past. had tumbled
from the bluff above, the path took it's
course until he found himself at delight
FIJI snring of clear, cold water at the foot of
She hill Here Allen paused and gazed about
him
On his right beneath a wide-spreading
beech was an old rustic seat. 1t had eyi-
IDENTIFY been there a great many years.
Lovers may have sat there and breathed
vows with only the gray old forest to hear
them long before he was born.
At one time the whole forest seemed to
have been grand park, but allowed tc
run wild, it had become labyrinth of tan
gled underground and vines. Throwing
himself on the rustic seat Allen gazed into
the spring, which, gushing out from the
side of the hill, formed a sparkling rivulet
that glimmered over bed of many colored
pebbles This cool retreat was haven OF
rest to the tired editor, and he hattered
himself that here he might frequently
find security from the prosecutions and an
noyances of poets and politicians.
But the afternoon was wearing away, and
as he had determined to visit that mystic
rious old stone house, he could waste no
more time at the spring.
AS he rose to return to the main road,
something bright on the side OF the patE
caught his eye He stopped to see what 1t
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