The Irish standard., 1890-04-19


stumbled as il were upon 1t by accident.
The thoughtof finding those who had q;
hand in the death OF the man had left
in the road did not occur to me, and
walking up to the door, I gave loud.
| rap thereon. Some one commenced to
move about. The light was taken from
the window, and, little later, the door
was thrown open, and woman stood be-
fore me. She was not very progresses
ing, and there was scared look upon
her face, as she said:
'Who are you, and what do you want
here?''
81 am stranger travelling through the
country on business. This morning
was told ] should find cabin here
abouts, where could get entertainment
for the night"
"You had better go away. This is no
place for an honest man. They may be
back soon, and your life will be in dan
ger.''
| She would have closed the door, but
raised my hand to prevent it. At that
moment she uttered cry of terror.
'What is it?'' said.
Murderer! Look at your hands,"
| she cried.
Iheld them up. They were covered
with blood which I had got upon them
while feeling in the dark to find what it
was that lay across the road. The blood
| of the murdered man.
| The next moment she had slammed
| the door in my eace, and then heard
her secure it with heavy bars.
A man could hardly find himself in a
more forlorn condition than that [ was
| now in. No road which a man could
follow before him; a dead man lying in
the forest behind, and band of cut
threats liable at any moment to put in
their appearance at the cabin.
The sound of running water put me
| i'm mind that there was a chance for me
\ to wash the blood from my hands.
Guided by the sound, / passed around
| the cabin to the spot where, doubtless,
it's inmates got their water. Here I
proceeded to give them good washing,
although In the darkness I could not
stains. I was about to move away from
the spot, when I was startled by the
sound of voices hardly a dozen yards
away. Listening, Icaught the words ut
| tered as they drew nearer:
ssLet him lie there and rot. An above
ground grave is good enough for dog
of spy"
Doubtless he was speaking of the
man over whose body had stumbled.
'But some one may find it, and so get
us into trouble said another.
ssThere is little chance of that. No
one hardly ever comes this way now"
s'You forget that there is stranger
somewhere near here now. We have
got to see that he don't get out of here
| alive"
My blood ran cold. Of course he could
mean no one except myself.
eyes, he has seen too much already.
If he came along the road he must have
run across the dead man. Who knows
but what he may be in the cabin now
| He would want shelter for the night
and the light in the window might bring
him here"
They had reached the doorway now,
and one of them demanded admittance.
| The door opened, and they went in,
closing it behind them. Now was the
time for me to make my escape. A
minute later they might learn Of the
| woman that I must be somewhere near
at hand. Almost holding my breath,
and moving so that not dry leaf rustled
beneath my feet, crept away into the
darkness, going / knew not whittier.
To my dying day I shall not forget
! that night in the forest. Morning
found me more dead than alive; but to
my great JOY it was on the edge Of a con-
siderable town.
/ at once sought out the authorities,
and told them the story OF my nights
| adventure. They knew Of the where
| abouts Of the cabin, and had long sns-
pected it to be the home OF gang of
robbers and moonshiners. When they
got there, they found it empty. Taking
| alarm at my escape, fearing that I had
learned too much, they had fed to new
quarters for safety.
The body of the murdered man was
brought in and buried. Who he was
was never known to certainty, but it
was suspected that he was some one who
was trying to earn the reward offered
for clew to the gang Of moonshiners
by whom he had lost his life.
! "A few years afterwards, I heard that
they had been caught and had paid tho
penalty Of their crimes at the halters
end.
Every now and then that night Of
danger comes wildly to my mind, and !
reyerently thank Providence, who car
ried me safely throug h.-Arthur 2.
Meserve, in Yankee Blade.
| How Some Kings Died.
Some kings have died in mean fash.
ion, pallidamors assuming the shape OF
indigestion. Did not dish OF lam
preys kill Henry T.? and was not over
eating fatal to George i? ssPallid q
death pressing upon him, as Thack-