Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1891-11-04
A FAIR SMUGGLER.

arrived very late at nlghs III a
wretehed telega. The cOachman stopper
his tired horses close to STONE ouiu-
inc which stands by itself at the en-
trance to the town. A Black sea Cos
seek. who was on guard, heard the oeiis
of INV carriage and cried out, Win the
sharp accent OF a person suuueniy
walked up, "Who goes there!
Ont came the sergeant and corporal
told them l was an officer, traVelink
bv order of the crown, and tnat WANT
ed a billit somewhere. an
The corporal took US Into town' an
the houses we tried were already occu,
MED. The weather was cola; nau
been three nights withoutsleep' was
very tired and our useless inquiries emu
ed by irritating me.
ssNy friend" said to the corporal,
s.take me to some place where i can AT
least lie dove, no matter where IL Is
III know a hut in the neighoorhood,
renlied the corporal, "where you might
sleep; but l am afraid it would scarcely
suit your honor"
"Go on" said, paying no attention
TO his observation. ~,
After much walking through dirty
little streets we az last reached sort OF
cabin on the edge OF the sea.
The full moon cast IT'S light on the
matched roof and the white walls OF
nv proposed habitation. In the court
surrounded by sort OF palisade Sa"
hut, older and more broken down thah
the principal one. From this nut the
ground sloped rapidly through the
court down toward the sea, and saw
at nv feet the foam of the troubled
waters. This will do" said to my
self. Tomorrow morning snail
start for Ghelendchik.
A Cossack of the line was &C ting as
nv servant. / told him to take out my
trunk and send away the position, after
which called the master OF the house
could get no answer. l knocked, but
there was still no reply. What could IL
mean? knocked again, and al last
how of about fourteen showed himself.
'Where's the master Of the house?'
sThere Is none," returned the child,
In the dialect of Little Russia.
''No master! Then where is the mis-
tress?"
''Gone into the village"
"Who will open the door, thenP" l
cried, at the same time kicking at 1t.
The door opened itself and out came
wave Of damp steam.
struck match and saw by It's light
blind boy standing motionless before
me.
Imust say here that am strongly
preiudiced against the blind, the deaf,
the lame, the hunchbacKed, in short,
against the deformed in general.
have remarked that there is always
singular correspondence between the
physical formation OF man and his
moral nature, as though By the loss OF
a member the individual. lost certain
faculties OF the soul.
Iexamined the child's face; but what
can one make Of physiognomy with
out eyes? l looked at him for some
time with a feeling Of compassion, when
suddenly / saw on his lips o cunning
smile, which produced upon me a very
disagreeable impression. could this
blind boy be not so blind as he appear
ed? | said TO myself. Answering my
own question I said that that the boy
was evidently suffering from cataract,
and that the appearance Of cataract
cannot DO simulated. Why, moreover,
why should he affect blisdness? Yet
I'm spite OF my argument still remained
vaguely suspicious.
'Is the mistress OF the cabin your
mother?" said to the boy.
NO"
"Who are you, then?"
"a poor orphan, he replied.
HAS the mistress any children?"
''She has one daughter, who has
gone to sea with a Tartar"
"What Tartar?"
''How do l know? A Tartar Of the
Crimea, a boatman from Kertch."
! went into the hut. Two benches,
table, and large wardrobe placed near
the stove composed the whole of the
furniture. No holy image against the
wall-bad signl
My COSSack took possession OF the
other bench. Ten minutes afterward
he was fast asleep. l, however, was still
awake, and could not drive from my
mind the impression made upon me by
the boy, with his two white eyes.
An hour passed. Through the win
dow fell upon the floor the fantastic
light Of the moon.
Suddenly a shadow was cast where
before there had been bright light. l
sprang up and went to the window. A
human figure passed once more aud
then disappeared - heaven knows
where. / could scarcely believe that it
had escaped by the slope into the sea,
yet there was no other issue.
Throwing on my OyercOat and taking
my saber l went out Of the cabin ard
saw the blind boy before me. con-
cealed myself behind the wall, and he
passed on confidently, but with cert
ain cautiouSnesS He was carrying
something under his arm, and advanced
slowly down the slope toward the sea.
This is the hour" l said to myself,
sin which speech is restored TO the
dumb and sight TO the blind"
He vas now so near TO the sea that
with another step he would be lost.
But this was not the first Of his noe
turnal expeditions; so at least l con-
cluded from the agility with which
he now Sprang from rock TO
rock, while the sea poured in be-
meath his feet. Suddenly he stopped as
though he had heard some noise, sat
down upon a rock and placed his bur
den by his side. Ee was now joined by
a woman walking along the shore. /
hid myself behind one of the rocks and
] overheard the following conversation:
''The wind" said a woman'S voice,
''is very violent; Janko will not come"
"Janko," replied the blind boy, "Jan-
ko is not afraid Of the wind"
"But the clouds get thicker and
thicker"
''In the darkness II Is easier to escape
the coast guard"
'And what IL ne gets drowned?"