The Opelousas courier., 1893-02-11

0skNSAA ~S
was great on herb tea, inherited it
from her mother-we went to bed, too.
"Sadler had the room just above the
kitchen, and there was a board partition
between his room and ours, which isn't
a very good thing to stop noise, you
must opine. I laid there, a countin' the
sheep jumpin' the fence, which is a
mighty good occupation in case you've
any distractin' thought on your mind
and you want to drop asleep, and I could
hear Sadler tossin' around on his creak,
bed. Finally l went to sleep, the sheer
still a-jumpin', and sadler still a tossin'.
about three o'clock in the morning
was awakened by some one knockin'
on the door of my J got up to
see who it was, and there stood Sadler,
holdin' the candle, and already dressed.
"'Good gracious. mani said L.
You're not going to leave the house at
this time of night?'
"sPut on your Clothes said he, sand
come down stairs
His voice trembled in a curious wav,
and thinkln' somethin' must be wrong,
dressed myself and went down to the
kitchen.
"'Now, Jim,s said l; tell me what's
up7 Are yer going for a doctor, or have
yer seen a ghostp For his face was white
and scared like.
"'I don't think I need a DOCTOR said
he, 'and | don't think I've seen a ghost.
But you recollect what I told you last
night of my feelin' that something was
about to happen9 Well, it's about that.
I've had y dream, ami it s one of the
kind that's sure to be true. Not that
I'm dead certair--not that I'm dead Ger.
tain, he said, sort of excited, but this
dream has come on me SO powerful strong
that 4 can't shake off the impression of
it Tmust go back to Newburg right
away, to see if my store is still standing.
I dreamed that somehow my store caught
fire, aud is this very minute burning up,
with all my goods
"'Pshawl' I said. whats the use of
payin' any attention to a fool dresm9
Take my advice, 60 hack to bed, count
sheep, and before you know it you'll be
fast asleep, with your store still standing
and your stocko all right. You're not
well, that's what's the matter with you.
If your health was good, you'd laugh at
the idea of being scared by a dream
"But no, he wouldn't be convinced,
and was bound to start to town, a mat
ter of ten miles distant.
"Sseing him SO obstinate, anasfearing
that in his weak condition he might get
took down on the road, decided to ride
back with him, especially as there was
some things I wanted to get at hb store.
So, after a-hasty bite OF cold meat aud .
bread, off we started.
eve went by the old ridge road, aud
it was broad daylight by the time we
the hill that fronts the town.
As we looked down from the top of the
hill, Jim exclaimed:
"sGood heavensl Look, Ben, it's
'Sure enough. there was blue smoke
,urling up from the village just about
The location of Sadler's store.
"We made about the fastest time down
hat hill that ever was made, I consider,
md in less than FIVE minutes we were
down the main street OF New
burg.
IA big crowd had gathered, but the
ront of the store was still standing,
the door was open and there was
OTIS OF smoke in the rear. As VIZ came
Up some one saw u and said:
"'Tt's a pretty bad go, sadler, but
saved most of it for you. II it
hadn't been for the doctor, the whole
hing would have gone up. He seen it
ust in the nick of time. Did you have
t insured2'
"tA little said sadler. SITS queer,
nut / dreamed about it last night, and
vas dead sure that the store was on fire.
0 Ben and me rode in to see, didn't we,
,en2'
II agreed to what he said, aud then /
sked him how the fire had started.
"tThat's the queerest part of it, said
he man, AS the doctor was ridin'
long early this morning he saw a light
a the warehouse, back OF the store, and
hinkin' it might be thieves, he got off
nd looked in. It wasn't thieves, but a
re, SO he yelled ssfret' and went to
FORK like a man to do what he could.
lie run into the woodshed and got
be ak, and then he just natur.
lily cut away the little hallway
nat connects the wareroom with the
tore. Then a crowd of us turned in
nd did what we could. We had to let
warehouse go, but we saved the
tore, though VIZ might have damaged
goods a little carrying them out
"'But haven't they any idea how it
| asked again.
.'That fool of q clerk Merrick that I
1T in charge of the store must have
a match!' said Jim.
why, said the man, lit seems that
lsre is Oil scattered all over the store
Dor, and the doctor says the doorway
the store was just covered with oil.
know there was no oil in the stove,
you kept it all in the warehouse
"tThen somebody must have set It
ire,' said |. Where's Merriek, the
erkf'
He says he left the store at SIX
clock, and spent theeveniny at a party
id the man. But here comes Sheriff
Ilson; he'll be ah!a to tell you all about
for he was tie first maa here after the
,ctor.'
49,
II heard sadler say something just
en-, but couldn't quite catch it, and
9 next minute he was making his old
rSn u . dnI..n-