The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1890-12-21

That WaS to have been your dlnnoT,
the old gentleman said, turning to me
'sThat pleasure must defer to pleas
this small puss with her whins. =
Tho mayor seemed to me a great dis
lance off. His words came to me through
sound in my ears like the boom of The
sea, for that c-lrsed gray still sat like 1
circus horse, and the sorrel pulled till hi!
nose almost touched the snow.
And, oh, papar' cried Miss Bette with
timely little scream of recollection
'snow don't forget thered wrapper for OLD
Patience that's dearl"
give that gray devil the whip,
Jones growled to me in savage whis
per, rounded off with something very
like an oath. you'll have all the fat in
the fire with such - driving"
Give him the whip!
I thought before Tom Jones of the
Boomerangs had gone crazy. Now
knew, like all maniacs, he believed me
as stark, staring mad as he was.
'.And, papa, dear, don't forget the
brandy peaches for DR. Lindsey your
present, remember ran on that dear
voice. Then it punctured through all
my fear with the words, Now do go on,
please
Whether the electric spark that
thrilled through me at that whisper
ran down the reins and magnetized the
gray. ] never knew. Somehow we were
in the road, the dasher full of snow, and
that devils team going at a wild stroke
that sent acute agony to the marrow of
my every bone.
Splendid Perfect Bravoi' shout
ed Tom from the back seat. "Your
start was picture; and that run into
the drift and barking the pear tree don't
count, as the bend hid them from Uncle
Bob"
] thought madly I heard gurgling
sound Of female laughter. was wrong,
though, for that second she said to me:
you do drive splendidly, indeed.
And how good Of you to rest Toms
armsl Poor Tom! why, how the reins
have cut your handsr'
my arm is stiff as a poker, Bet.
All. baby, that's de1iciousl''
Had been driving the horses Of the
Sun, with the pit of Acheron gaping be-
fore me, must have turned at that
exclamation. There was misery in my
spine and torture in my legs, but I did
turn a little. Tom had pulled off his
gauntlet, and she-yes, she was chatting
his purple. ugly hand between two be-
witching fur glovesi
See what a good cousin ami" The
black eyes danced before me, and once
more the musical laugh trilled out beau
tiful and birdlike. With agony in my
back and bitterness in my soul I tried
to echo it, but the hollow mockery
ended in q CHASTITY groan as the brutes
gave an extra plunge that nearly carried
me over the dasher.
The next twenty minutes were q
nightmare hold in memory vague
tumble of binding sunlight on the snow;
a whirling rush of trees and houses on
the hill sides; a racking and torment in
back, knees and arms; a whizzing WHO'D
of wind IN nay half frozen ears. Twice
essayed to look around at the couple
behind me, but the commandante in
don Juan" was not more rigid than
those strained feathers held me, while the
molten fire rushing down my spine re-
fused to let me bend my neck. I felt
my hands must soon come off-my ell
bows and shoulder blades pull clear
from their sockets; but still I held on.
madly, wildly. in a sort of dread
full trance, for those twenty minutes.
Then remembrance vaguely paints a
roadside inn; collection of sleighs and
men running into the road and waving
their hands then crash, a cutter flying
wildly aside and man in somersault.
Last came a grinding jar, and awoke
from my nightmare, half lying between
Tom and his cousin on the back seat,
the horses neck deep in snow drift and
rough coated men running for their
heads.
Splendid, by jingoi" yelled Tom to
me as, hastily extricating himself from
the buffalo, he ran to man foundering
in the road. You're not hurt, hope?
I'm deuced sorry for the foul, but young
horses-hard mouths-couldn't help it.
Beasts all right, see. Come in and
have something to drink"
l drew a long, deep, gasping breath. /
tried to spring, but could only crawl,
over the scraper, and helped Miss Bette
into the road. We were at the Bulls
Eye" tavern, five good miles from Pike
toni
Awkward fellow that" I said very
cheerily, AL things considered. I was
hugely elated at being once more on
terra firma, notwithstanding strong pro-
clivities displayed by my legs for shut
ting up like jaclrknives. And l could
scarcely resist pulling on the little white
hand in mine, as though Miss Bette
were the gray. Awkward fellow! Sin
gular he conldn't take care of his trap
when he saw me coming. But some peo-
pie never will learn to drive"
"Never!" meekly responded the little
lady; but the eyes that met mine for a
single second literally played in flashes
OF luminous merriment What could
she mean?
rTApTEp TT