The Southern herald., 1889-07-12

haa carefully seefeted It in nv cloth
ing. But this bag Of gold was muci
more difficult TO conceal.
How large Is the baepo / asked
Thompson drew it out Of his pocket
could hold Il easily in my palm. but i
was 80 heavy / nearly dropped it
We'll, ! win try to hide il for you. ,
said. I put 1t In my travelling bag
and when wo stopped for dinner / wen
% room in the hotel and transferred
the precious bag to a pocket in the
lining OF my dress. which / recollected
my far-sighted grandmother had put
there.
II was about 5 o'clock in the after.
noon when. after a steady climb Of
some miles up the steep ridge Of mount
aims that divided the park horizontally
We entered Black Forest It was q
stretch Of twenty-five miles through this
wilderness, for we ran due west along
the ridge Of the mountain range till we
came opposite the cantor Of the southern
portion OF the park, when the road de-
scended and wound about for fifty miles
through the undulating plain, itself
broken by mountains and hills Of lesser
sizes In every direction.
] confess that 1t was not without
some fear that I saw the stage plunge
into the wilderness 10 add to our dis
comhture heavy rain began to fall,
and we had not proceeded q half hours
journey before it became SO dark we
could not see fifty feet ahead Of us.
REvoLyERs COOKED.
The driver leaned back ID his seat
with eyes and ears alert, and let the
reins all loose. for the horses knew their
way better than he could guide them
In that darkness.
we went on In almost unbroken al
lence for over an hour, and then | no
ticed that the men had their revolvers
out Henderson sat at one window and
thompson at the other. AS we came
% the foot of Horr's Hill they raised
me weapons to the window sill and
rested them upon 1t with their barrels
pointing into the heavy darkness with
1ut.
Another hour passed YEARLY by. We
had reached the summit Of the hill and
we're well along its ridge. Indeed, the
men had begun to breathe more freely.
or we wore scarcely a mile from the
irst clearing, when there was a sud
len noise, something that sounded like
shout and loud cracking in the
pushes.
1he coach gave tremendous lunge |
md the horses tore like mad through
ne woods. On, on they few as If pos
'essed OF supernatural power. The
nen clung to their revolvers, with pale
aces and bated breath. A moment
more and they sprang out into the
learing, and we knew we were safe. for
'yer the hill top we could see the ranch
mems houses. The driver got down
nd caressed his horses as they stood
here trembling from head to foot The
assengers stepped out and looked
bout and came to the conclusion that
ur scare must have beon over a grizzly
ear rather than robbers, else we
hould not have escaped SO easily.
The stage then began its descent, and
ist before the twilight settled into the
arkness Of night the coach rolled up
the ranch. where we stopped for the
light
This stage carried the mails, and its
oming was the occasion of the gather
lg OF cowboys from all parts of the
ark and mountains thereabout There
ere full fifty OF them there that night.
nd before 10 o'clock they were nearly {
i drunk There was but one other
oman on tho place tho ranchman's s
lie. Her bed was in the dining-room.
I'd was to sleep with her, for there +,
ere no private apartments in this
lbin.
When we went to bed laid off nv 8
'ess, but took the precious bag of gold !
lder my pillow. and committed nv !
III in prayer to the great and tender !
ather who protects His children. / /
ked especially in prayer that night t
at | might be enabled to preserve un- q
uched the money committed to nv n
re. The lights were burning in the 4
ning-room all night, and once some 4
% came 10 but went out again. f
SCARED AND SPARED. d
1t was we'll in the night when / was Y
'akened by hearing voices. looked II
over my head in the direction of the u
lnd. The bed was close to the cabin v
III, and just above my pillow the mud n
Inks had fallen out from between the ii
rs Nearly opposite this hole two O.
N were standing, and could hear il
lat they were saying. d
Curse It'll We've got nothing from C,
other fellows. suppose we try her." IL
Il don't believe she's got any thing, al
II she should raise rumpus we'd u,
Ve big fight before morning" &c
Where's she sleepin''" "
~ ~, 'se.- eSsssafluOa
'e!' They walked over to the win ri
= then; / heard their voices a few nc
ments longer, and then their foot o,