The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1892-04-13

whish her brother had strobe some ago.
"And don't care nothin' about pianos"
Miss Stuart colored, and shrank back.
She felt as if this hard, handsome bru-
nette had slapped her in the face.
"Perhaps, then," said she, "you can
tell me the nearest way home. It's
quite dark, you see, and," brushing
some white, needle-like particles out of
her face, "it's beginning to snow"
"Keep right along the path till you
come to the old stone tavern" said
Naomi, indifTerently. "Then turn to
the right, and it amt more'n half mile,
or maybe three-quarters
The bright-tressed girl still fingered
on the doorstep.
~ am not very well acquainted with
the roads around here" said she. eff
you could send boy to show met"
"We don't keep no boy" said Naomi.
"And we've no one to send"
Again Miss Stuart recoiled.
"Good-evening she said, gently.
"Good-evening"
And Naomi banged the door shut.
AS she sat eating her supper, aud help
ing granny to fresh supplies of home
made bread and butter,a sudden thought
darted into her mind.
In giving Miss Stuart the directions
for finding her way back to Skene's
Corners, she had forgotten the young
strangers total ignorance of the neigh
borhood characteristics.
1t was true that the regular road
branched off to the right of the ruined
pile which had once been an old stone
tavern; but there were was also a dis
used thoroughfare which led through a
dismal swamp, towerd long abandoned
stone quarry, across a rotten corduroy
road, which had nearly sunk into one of
these frightful, quaking bogs which
sometimes appear in dense and swampy
woods.
To one uuaccustomed to the local
topography, it might be perilously easy
to stray off into the weed-grown and de-
serted track, especially when everything
was whitened with fast falling snow.
Naomi sprang up and went to the
door. She looked out, with one hand
held above her her eyes.
"Am l losing my wits9" she thought.
"Of course cannot see half dozen
rods down the road; It's dark as pitch,
aud showing into the bargain. Let her
go her own gaitl l amt responsible !"
A sudden light blazed in her eyes, as
if Satan's self had flashed lurid bomb
shell across hersoul. John Classon, her
own "steadJ company" had been dazzled
at least so spoke the tongue of popular
rumor-by the glitter of Eda Stuart's
sea-blue eyes. She, the late belle of
Skene's Corners, was quite out of fashion
nowl
Eda had danced every dance at Squire
Marbury's corn-husking, and Naomi had
sat by among the wall.howers, her heart
swelling with secret anger.
Though Naomi hated the beautiful
blonde, she rose up again and reached
down the lantern that David had re-
placed on its hook by the kitchen chin
ney.
"Granny," said she to the doing old
woman, "Im going out few minutes. "
"Ehi What9" shrilly questioned
granny. 'Be you a-goin' to see the new
forte -pianry2 B you bewitched arter
the new schcolma'am too2"
Naomi made no reply. She lighted the
lantern, bundled a shawl around her
head, and rushed out into the frozen
darkness.
1t was showing bard now; the wind
rustled the pine tees with a mournful
sound, and had neaIly blown out the
faint beacon of Naomi's lantern until she
sheltered it with her shawl.
She gained some distance by climbing
nimbly over a stone wall aod traversing
a stubbly meadow, instead Of following
the windings of the road, aud presently
arrived, painting for breath, ,at the ruined
stone tavern.
She held the lantern high above her
head and looked around. Nobody was
visible. She called aloud, "Miss Stuart!
Miss Stuartl" No answer came.
For one second she hesitated; then,
changing the lantern from one hand to
the other, she stasted on a run down the
disused track until she came to the spot
where here aud there partially sub
merged log betokened the former traces
of the corduroy road.
Was that something white that moved
against the dazzling whiteness of the
storml
Once more Naomi called:
"Miss Stuartl Miss Stuartl"
"Oh, is that you2 Do come here and
belp mel" terrified voice answered.
81 stepped on broken log, and think
the ground must be swampy here; the
log seems to be sinking in. But I've
got tight hold of a young birch tree"
Naomi sprang to the rescue. Eda had
already set her feet upon the doomed
spot. In another moment the rescuer
would have been too late
With a strength at which she herself
marveled, Naomi seized Eda
around the waist and lifted her out of the
morass.
"Do you know" she gasped, "that
you have been standing face to face with
deathl Do you know that you have
wandered out of the road into the Shak-
ing Bogs"
Eda's face, in the glimmer of the lamp
light, was very white.
"And you have saved me !" she ex-
"Oh, how can l ever find
words to thank youl"
"Never mind that now," said Naomi,
in the old, brusque way. "Let us make
haste back to Skene's Corners. It's
showing faster every moment, and your
feet are wet in that awful morass. Look.
Here's whore you missed the right road.
OF course you couldn't be expected to
know that this old track was closed nm