The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-07-16

was lHHNt Alauit' ! lt4 ne ANA.tA op
quickly
The station master down there" he
said. fixed il up with the conductor of
the midnight, and put her on that train"
Good" gasped Merrill with % sense
of relief that was abruptly terminated by
something in the look Of the station mas
ter at the side,
THE midnight does not stop here.
said the station master.
Merrill was ready to faint. His bride
would be carried through to pittstOn
without him. How soon can I follow
that train 2" he chOked as if with some
expectation that the station master might
have the decency to modify the time Ia
bic.
The station master looked cOmmiSerat-
ingly at him as he replied THE next
train stopping at PittstOn is at 80"
Merrill sat down on the nearest bench.
He could not think. The situation had
| become absolutely Supplying He would
not be able to reach his wife for over six
hours. What would become of her in
that dreadful interval? And how could
he live during such CHA silly period of
waiting? Merrill made up his mind that
he simply could not stand the torture of
such prOtraCted uncertainty. He would
| have liked to hire special train. People
had done such things. Perhaps all of his
honeymoon money would hire an engine
to take him to PittstOn. He fancicd
himself riding madly across the country
in the cab of a snorting locomotive.
Pretty soon he abandoned this thought
and began figuring on the distance to
PittstOn They told him it was thirty
one miles. He asked to be directed to a
public stable. They didn't know OF any
body but Gibbs, and very uncertain about
him at that hour. After fifteen minutes
delay Gibbs was found in a barrOom half
a fire
wouldn't drive anybody anywhere for
anything. Then he compromised by say
ing that he wouldn't drive anybody to
Pittston at which Merrill took hope.
The fact is said Gibbs, "that I
haven't horse thatl stand it. Youwill
want to be driven like the devil"
Il will give you dollar mile" said
Merrill
Gibbs shook his head. Then he said:
'I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll drive you
to Mandys, that's twenty miles and you
can get something at Mandys for the
other ten miles. I'll do that for S25."
It's a bargain" said Merrill. eff
You'll hump yourself and hump that
horse"
The ''midnight" went shrieking by
them as the horse was getting down to a
stiff troU. Merrill stared gloomily at the
muffled "sleepers," knowing that his
heroine was being carried away from
him by the laundering train. Gibbs
horse was good stopper, but Gibbs did
not seem to be pressing him. After they
were fairly started Gibbs admitted that
the horse had been driven rather hard
the day before and that he couldn't af-
ford to be harsh with him. AS it was he
did not intend to bring him back from
Mandy's until daylight.
When about half the distance had been
accomplished Gibbs suddenly said: Il
guess you had better let me have some of
| that money. OF course I don't know you,
and this is pretty heavy job. The horse
is acting mighty queer, and I'm not sure
this racket won't do him up
To Merrill there didn't seem to be much
danger. Are you afraid you won't get
me there?' he asked.
''I'll get you there returned Gibbs.
Merrill gave him ten dollars. THE
fifteen when we get there" he added
Then the horse began to go lame. Gibbs
muttered an oath, stopped the horse and
got out. Merrill saw that he was looking
at the hoOfs for a stone. Evidently he
didn't find anything of the kind. The
limp continued and Gibbs kept the beast
at walk, pace that made the sweat
start on Merrills temples.
Merrill wondered if ever a bridegroom
was in such plight before. If he had
read of such a thing in book he would
have imp tiently condemned the eXagger-
alton of the author. 1t began TO be a
comfort that the Gibbs contract only ex-
tended to Mandy's. AT the sickening
rate of the Gibbs horse the bridegroom
calculated that he would reach the bride
at about u. m, which seemed like a
preposterous thought. There could not
be worse horse at Mandy's
Merrill twice asked Gibbs how much
further they had to go, but as Gibbs each
80 H.
a still slower pace, Merrill concluded
that it would be unsafe to say another
word.
At the foot of long hill the horse
stopped 1t was a quarter to three. Il
guess Wen have to leg this, " said Gibbs,
"if we ever want to get there" At the
top of the hill Gibbs told Merrill to get
in, but he himself continued walking at
the head of the horse, The sky had be-
come overcast.
Going to be a bad night" growled
Gibbs Merrill mentally remarked that
the night had already been pretty bad
for him.
They reached Mandy's at four o'clock
The rain was falling. Gibbs called up a
man who lived in white house, after
having made Merrill wait until he had
bestowed the horse and buggy in the
barn back of the village store. "Giles,"
said Gibbs to the head that appeared at
window, this gentleman wants to get
to Pittston. Have you got horse y
can let him have2"
''Waal, I Dunno responded Giles
"Got to go south with my mare at six"
"Hain't y got that bay?'
9TH bay amt fit" said Giles. He add
ed whats it wuth2"
"Ten," said Merrill, eff you'll drive
me over in hurry"
Gibbs disappeared after getting the
balance of his money. 1t was twenty
eight minutes later by Merrills watch
when the second start was made, and it
was at the end of the first mile that the
second horse stumbled in the wet morning
twilight and splintered the shaft Of the
buggy.
Merrill sprang into the road. Good
morning." he shouted, striding off
through the soft clay. But when he
heard protesting snort from Giles he
turned about for moment and showed a
five-dollar bill into the mans hand, For
an hour he struggled on through the dim
road, which grew but little lighter dur
ing that time, and became increasingly
wet At a fork of the road he had to de-
Law for ten minutes until he could find a
sleepy man with red whiskers who gave
him instructions to keep to the left all
the way Merrill looked at his watch
with q shudder A quarter past five. He
kept to the left with perslstency born