The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1892-05-18

with screw and drawing the cork for
look inside. But though the wine of
the gods had been in them, you couldn't
have climbed that bottle. There wasn't
anywhere chance to catch on with fin
gers or toenails. And if there were any.
thing harder that the quartz in that pill
lar, dynamlte-makers may be acquainted
with it; I'm not.
Our settlement was proud of its bottle
Dragging about it at barbecucs, and
camp-meetings, and turkey pullings, and
corn-husklngs. We were forever daring
climbers to try their nails, and spurs,
and chisels, and augers on it. Every
stranger that came our way was certain
to be challenged to try his skill. There
wasn't soul in the settlement but
claimed share in Bottle Pinnacle, aud
reckon there wasn't a shareholder that
didn't take look at 1t every day. .t
No wonder, then, that on one certain
morning the villagers were running abou.
before breakfast, calling on one another
to look at an unusual object perclred up
there, on the stopper of Bottle Pinnacle
Sure enough, there was something up
there. 1t was parti-colored red and yell
low, as far as could be made out. Its
size well, you know it is with the moon.
You can make it seem to you the size of
dnner-plate or as large as the hind
wheel of lumber wagon. The size of
that object on the stopper was anywhere
from that of butterfly to Il calf, accord
ing as you allowed for the distance or
didn't allow.
I. Most OF the people of the settlement had
cold breakfasts that morning, or burnt
biscuits, because of the disputes they
got into about tie "thing" perched on
the cork, disputes, too, that didn't stop
for weeks. ats shiny like gold" lit
is gold" ats gold nugget sticking
out of the quartz" SITS no more like
a gold nugget than cat is like cattle. "
'lt's like face that's up there-there's
n nose as plain as there's u nose on your
face!" ''It's human iace!" "How In |
reason could face get up on that stop
per when hands and legs couldn't do it
to save their souls!" "Nobody means
its a mortal face; it's ghost-face. "If
we could only get up there!"
The people twisted and screwed their
brains over plans and schemes for seal
ing the Bottle Pinnacle. There were
not any bridge builders in the settle
ment, nor any tower of Babel architects.
There were no acrobats or gymnasts to
Jump over the moon, or swing to the
stars.
The discussions, the excamations
went on; "We might blow mp the PIN
nacle and find a gold mine!" "Aud
spoil the great natural curiosity of the
"If we had cannon, we
night shoot out the cork"
"There is a magnifying glass at the
1illaae down the valley; we'll borrow
hat" sand some one at last.
The magnifylng glass was brought,
md most of the men and boys from the
'illage of the valley came along With it.
rho people pestered so about their turns
O look through the magnifier at the OBJ
ect on the bottle that a guard had to ,
taud around the glass and. let in one /
'erson at a time to the gazing, beginning I
With the AS. This made the waiting
rs and rs fighting mad.
The remarks went on: sits not O {
luggetw 'l,'s not gold" "If it's gold, t
is gold face, for face it isl" ats
faccl" "It's a face !'-everybody said.
Its like the face of George w. Gillett!"
Its the ghost OF George W. !" "But S
e died the day after that face took up {
IS residence on the stopperl" "The
ace looks heap more like Grandma t
'uttle'sl" 'Its sin to speculate about I
ghost facet" /
There was one person who at least un- {
ertook to do something beside speculate. q
his was Gcyann, a spry youth, with I
air as yellow, or red, as the object
Inning on the pinnacle. There was a (
trong, tall tree standing near the bottle.
ioyann climbed this tree nearly to its
Iptop. Then he walked out on side q