Feliciana sentinel., 1892-10-01
"You're the Evil Ones; all

we shall sec OF ye
With q queer, ehuckling laugh she
hobbled off. Her words must have
made a deep impression on Tim, for il
is said that he never dared to look her
in the face again, but if he saw her
coming hurried into his den, calling
his dog after him; and SO Aunt Hannah,
of (all Rowsiclk and Hockanoclk, alone
had the freedom OF his bridge and re-
ceived no attentions from Scrap
But the years rolled by and brought
no evil visitation upon the tollman. He
grew richer and richer all the time,
and with his wealth his sullen avoid
ance of his fellowmen increased. He
seemed to regard them all with hos
tile suspicion and to have no friends
but his dog, who daily grew dingier
and uglier and more distrustful.
OF what was going on in the world
Tim knew nothing and cared no more.
a book was not to be seen in his
house, and he never read 4 newspaper.
OF railroads and steamboats,, which all
the world had begun to talk about, he
did not even dream. Civilization
marched on from one height of prog
ress to another. great inventions and
discoveries were followed by those yet
more wonderful, but no sound of it
came to him.
II he had any pleasure besides count
ing his heaps Of money, he found it in
annoying the navigators OF the reach
by obiiging them to blow and blow for
half an hour at Il time before attend
ing to their signals. Often would he
keep a skipper waiting until the wind
had changed or the tide had turned,
and a good days work was lost, and SO
oppressive did his ill-natured tricks be-
come that some Of his indignant mari
ncrs openly threatened to tear down
his bridge.
But Tim and his bridge held unmo-
Tested sway over the reach until a cer-
| tain summer evening in IS, when just
as the shadows were falling the toll
man was startled by terrific screech-
| ing that seemed to come from around
| the bend.
! 1t was as loud and piercing as if all
| the horns and conch shells in the Clam
river fleet had blown at once, and it
! surprised him into an unwonted alac-
rity. Leaping out on the bridge hc
seized his bar and swung open the draw
! without u moments delay.
The strange noise was heard again,
| this time nearer and still louder. Never
could horns and shells have blown such
q blast as that! Pcrplcxcd and half
| frightcuesl, Tim leaned over the side of
the draw. and, through the fast gather
ing shadows, looked eagerly down the
! reach.
suddenly he jumped back, his eyes
bursting from their sockets.
With a rush and IL roar, a frightful
apparition had suddenly turned the
bend and was heading for the bridge.
1t loomcd up in the dim light, huge,
uncouth and uncanny. 4 monster
neither OK the sea nor of the air, but
, alive and on fire, breathing out grca,
puffS of vapor, vomiting biotchcs ot
smoke and showers of sparks, churninS
the waters with its feet and piercing
the skies with its voice. AS Tim still
looked, another cloud of steam hisscG
from its nostrilS and it shricked again
That was enough. Tim stared nc
longer. With a loud cry of despair he
bounded to the upper end Of the draw
jumped into the water and disappeared
The monster passed through tho
opened drawbridgc with q sputteriuE.
trembling and a groaning. 1t lashct
the murky waters Of the reach higl
against the piers, frightened the birds
from the SpruceS and sent the cattl,
sporting and scampering to the ends o
the pastures. Then in moment O
two it had vanished. and the face o
nature was serene again.
The draw still stood open, pointin;
up and down the river as if 10 mark th'
course of the strange visitor. Travel
crs came up on both sides, halted an,
turned back. supposinG the interrup
ton to be the latest device of Tim
,lalice. For two days traffic betwcel
| A.. L., I
Then some of the UockamocIl worthless
after rainly trying to arouse the toll
man, went out in I. boat, climbed u
the pier and swung the draw back
Travel thercupon resumed its wonte,
course, and from that day to this Tim
bridge has been free to man and be asst
After waiting q due time for Tim [
reaprcar, the selectmen of the tow
made u thorough search Of his house
but no trace of Tim, or his dog, OF
strange to say. o-his bags of money
could be found. Not even Il button
nor Il penny piece. nor tonc!
Aunt Hannah Kicks always elaine
with many a chucillc that her prcdi,
ton had been literally fulfilled; br
after she had gone the way of a
the prophets, there came to the ears {
the townspcople Il rumor that in one c
the interior villages of Maine an ol
man, apparently very poor, had bee
found dead of starvation and neglect i
a ~retchcd hovel, his body guarded b
a half-blind, snarling old dog an
stretched upou-a heap OF straw
) which were hidden several bags {
) money, amounting to a wondrous sun
Whether these were the relics of Tit
Stubbs or not nobody ever took pain
to make sure, though many Of the GOO
people of RoswiclS and Hockanoc
firmly believed the bones of the do
+ and the gold were his. Some Of I'll
l neighbors were fully persuaded ths
: Tim was never seen on earth after h
: jumped into the reach, and at the pre-
: cnt day one opinion has about as man
champions as the other in these tw
/ old towns-Lewiston (Me.) Journal.