Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1893-03-17
AN ADVENTURE ON THE ROAD.
A Drummer's Evening Ride and Its Un-
pleasant Incident.


the drummer, apparently going far
back In his memory, ''whcn had one
Of the queerest experiences that ever
fell to my share"
1--WE all have them," ventured a
youngster, who was out on his first
trip.
The drummer merely looked at him
and then went on with his story.
II was going to see customer who
lived about ten miles from tho rail.
road" he said, ''and as reached the
station about Z o'clock in the evening
and it was q half moon. light night, /
concluded I'd drive over at once and
get hack In time for the train at 10
o'clock next morning. The road was
fairly good, though it was a lonesome
one. and / felt pretty sure I could
drive 1t in three hours, carrying u
heavy trunk. 1 got away byS o'clock
with pair OF horses, doing my own
driving, and for the first five miles
nothing occurred. In fact, everything
was going so smoothly that began
to dOze. After a number of rods l
was suddenly awakened by the noise
of the wheels just behind me, and
looking back was almost frightened
by u horses nose nearly over my
shoulder. He was hitched to a buggy
in which sat man and Il woman.
Look out, there yelled, and
VIII. 1ped up my team.
''rheir horse fell back, but they
made no reply and Idrove on and
nodded again, only to be awakened as
before.
':Then / became angry and said a
number of things to which received
no answer. Indeed neither man nor
woman so much as looked up at me,
but kept their faces down, and did
not even gull up their lines. The horse
fell back, though, aud followed
twenty feet or more behind me. The
moon was beclouded at this time and
Icould not sec very distinctly, but l
did not nod any more, for I was not
exactly satisfied with my company.
/ called to them several times, but
they remained silent. They kept
right along behind me, though, for
three miles, and ut one or two places
l took little side roads / knew of,
which led back again to the main
road, and the others did the same.
Once or twice on long stretches 1
touched up my horses, but the horse
behind mc followed at the same
speed. The longer this thing kept
up the more nervous became, and
once or twice I thought l must be
having nightmare. The last mile
of the road was good, and l con-
cludcd rather than to have row
with these midnight intrudcrs I
would run away from them, and as
turned into the home stretch, let
my team go at its best, and went
along at a four-minute gait but right
behind me came the other horse, trot-
ting smoothly and whinnying every
now and then. Somehow l felt the
cold chills down my back, anda panic
seized me. l didn't know why, laid
the whip on and my team broke into
dead run, evidently feeling my own
fright and showing the signs of fear
they say animals show in the presence
of ghosts
''But running was of little avail.
The other horse was much better than
mine and he came after me with his
nose nearly in my buggy, and the two
people never making a move to pull
him up. With yell at last dashed
mp to the store of my customer, who
hadn't gone to bed yet, and he came
out with three or four men on the
rush. and almost fell out of my ri.
as he asked what was the matter"
'''There.' l screamed, there, there
and / pointed back to where had
seen my ghostly visitants, but they
disappeared:
".He's got the iim-jams,' loudly
suggested one of the men, and i
thought possibly I had, but rubbed
my eyes and looked around, and fifty
yards down the road I saw the thing
that had followed inc. 1t had evil
dcntlylpassed me when pulled into
the store SO suddenly, and / told the
men to 90 after it. They did SO, and
in a minute they came back with u
yell that beat mine.
.Jim-jams, is it?' asked scorn-
fully.
".No; dead people, replied one
with his teeth chattcring.
'It was SO, too, I found out when
We had got drink, and braced up
enough to 20 after it again. They
had been stranglcd for pure malice
evidently and had been tied in their
buggy and sent adrift. The horse
being stragc one in that section,
had been simply following my team
by instinct, and was probably as
badly frightened as was and didn't
know half as we'll where to 90.
"My customer took care of the
horse and buried the bodies and 1t
was a week before he learned that
the people lived about hundred
miles to the north and were en- a
driving trip 1t was never known
who had killed them, but it was sup
posed to be tramps, who had expected
to get money by murder, and were
afraid to steal the horse and buggy"
When the drummer finished the
youngster got up and stretched his
legs.
.'Wcll," he said, sif that sort of
fI,inn voao xui<I, <I{o