The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1890-08-30
A LADY'S ADVENTURE.
| am a single lady.

| am a single lady.
There is no disgrace in that. I be-
lieve. nigh have married, more than
once, had I pleased, when I was a silly,
rattlepatted girl, with more yellow
curls than ideas, and a general mania
on the subject of waltzing and baud
music. I thank my guardian stars that
l have outgrown that .callow and silly
age. I am quite independent now, aud
beholden to nobody. / make my living
by lecturing, and a very little snug liv-
ing it is. / came to be a success. after
q little practice, and u good deal of
hard work, and made money. I took
a suit of pleasant rooms in a quiet
family hotel, and kept my own little
coupe. .
But one day there came a request
that l wonld deliver my lecture upon
The Woman of the Period" at Baggs-
Vile. .m. -"
l sent the waiter for an atlas and q
gazetteer, and hunted up Baggsville.
1t was an unp%retentious village, among
the hills well up towards the northern
lakes.
"Baggsville, indeed" said I to my
self. "A place with a church, a post
Office, and seven or eight young men
who call themselves a Lyceum. They're
mistaken in the lectures they want.
They never can afford to pay my price"
So / wrote back to Squire Jones at
least / fancied from the big fat shapes
of his capital letters, and the general
pompousness of his phraseology. that
the 'Orville JONES' who wrote to me,
as Chairman of the Literary Com
mittee." was an esquire, with a bald
head, a blunt nose and light blue eyes.
l politely mentioned my terms, and
straightway forgot all about the matter.
until a letter came back, asking me TO
fix a date for the delivery of my lect-
ure at Baggsville Lyceum.
looked over my engagement book
that it was quite necessary for me to
keep such a volume-and settled on
the night of the twenty-third of De-
cember.
The twenty-third of December was
a day of driving storm and tempest,
and it was nearly six o'clock when we
reached the station at Baggsville.
THANK goodness" l said to myself,
II shall have time for a good rest and
a cup of strong tea"
But, to my dismay, when I got out
at Baggsville station, blinded by the
lights that flared through a driving
rain, confused by the everlasting groan-
ing machinery, I learned that the vii.
lage of Baggsville itself was ten miles
further up the billy road.
We've just been telegraphed from
there" said the station-master. THE
Lyceum is filling up fast. You'll have
a good audience, miss, in spite of the
weather."
:But how can I possibly get there in
timeg' I demanded, in hopeless per.
slexity.
Squire Jones, the chairman of the
committee, is here with his close car
rage" said he complacently.
"And you'll find it mighty snug and
comfortable" added the little man,
rubbing his mittened palms together.
Here it is now"
Through the flying snowtlakes, i
could just discern the dark opaque
body drawn up close to the platform.
l stepped into what seemed to me
bottomless pit of blackness. guided by
the station masters hand; and was re
!, lieved by finding myself in q warn
carpeted carriage, with well-stuffee
cushions, and a figure seated opposite
Here. she is squire!"cried the station
master. banging the door to. "Now
20 ahead, Perkins" to the driver, ''ane
don't let the snow drift under your
horses feet!"
There had been so much noise anc
confusion that l felt awkwardly con
: scious that I might have been ad
/ dressed by the squire without answer
ing, and as a silence reigned in the car
: riage, I said hesitatingly:
: II beg your pardonw .
AS I received no reply to the remark
[ repeated it. in a somewhat louder
> key. Then I waited a little, and haz
srded: "
"A very stormy nightp" "
Still I received no acknowledgment
of these conversational efforts. I be
gan to feel somewhat offended. blu
= then / remembered just in time t,
, : assuagge my rising choler, that SOUR
. Jones might very possibly be deaf. ,
t could always get along we'll with dea
. people. My voice was clear, and m,
enunciation was distinct; SO l trie'
again. r..
Bad weather for the lecturer"
r bawled out in stentorian accents. Th
. driver stopped, and leaned down t.
: the carriage door: 49,
Eth, missP said he, did you wan
anythingp"
NOT said, somewhat confusedly
!. Thought / heard you holler," san
: the driver, Must ha' been the wine
= bowling down the gorge" "
: As we started again l began to thinl
I must have been mistaken as to tn
fact of there being anyone in tn,
q carriage with me. Determined t.
: solve the problem, I put my hand softl,,
out towards the opposite side OF tn
carriage. To my embarrassment,
encountered another warm huma'
t hand, which was drawn away wit
electric quickness. a.:
Pardon me-" I said, awkward
enough. I'll dropped my bag, an
I was feeling for it."
Still no answer. I began to feel sci
t III you do not feel disposed for cor
4 v~ersation," said ], with some spiri
..pray, hold your tongue!"
: Apparently my ris-a-vis took me .
my word. Total silence reigned g,
cept for the occasional voice of m
I charioteer. shouting at his horse.
: Had / come to the land Of total bar
barismP Had | left civilization behind
j Was Squire Jones q heathen-or 4
idiotp
While / was revolving these question
in my troubled mind, we reached q Iii
- tia hamlet where lights gliSteneC