The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1894-11-10

understanding away from uoS0'
ON that road, was surely beyond me.
While waiting for another flash
tried, vainly, to reassure myself by
thinking the apparition was nothing
but barked and bleached stump, and
even if ghost, only that OF young
woman, not of pirate or slugger or
headless horseman or some other IN
herently dreadful creature. But how
earnestly wished it might be only
stump!
The next flash came. 1t was not
stump, and it was not ghost. 1t was
woman! She had sunk down in
sitting posture on rock with her
face in her hands. / dismounted, went
to her-dragging my unwilling horse
along-and laid a hand upon her
shoulder, whereupon she sprang up
again and let out another OF those
banshee yells. twas minute or two
before ] could restrain the horses
frantic eagerness to go somewhere;
but when / had hauled him up so close
| that he could touch his nose to her. he
did so, and from that on seemed salts
fed to behave himself, being finally
convinced that she was simply another
human being. The noise OF the rain,
even when there was no thunder, was
such that / had to shout in the woman's
ear to make myself heard, and in that
gentle way sought to reassure her.
Don't be alarmed" said, 81 don't
intend to bite you"
Perhaps l unconsciously put most
vehemence into those last two words;
at all events she affirmed afterward
they were all she heard, and naturally
she shrieked louder than before. But
when the lightning occurred again and
she saw me, her senses seemed to re-
turn. and in a little while / had her
calm enough to mount my horse, when
l resumed my journey, trudging ahead
of the beast and leading him. BY good
luck / remembered a hunters shelter
in a ravine crossed by the road, not
more than a quarter of mile from
where met the woman, and to that
directed my course, hating when we
. reached the ravine, until the lighting
showed it to me. The shelter was
,, merely leaky roof of clapboards sup
ported by poles on forked saplings,
but it kept off most OF the rain, and
was welcome.
Having hitched the horse and put
= the saddle on the ground, under the
roof. for the woman to sit on-clearly
$ explaining to her each step in the pro
. ceedings to spare her unnecessary
} alarm-I stood aloof in the darkness
as far as the limited shelter would per
T NIT, and waited for her to commence
l talking. OF course 1 did not have t.
wait long. AS soon as her fear was
2 dissipated she spoke freely enough
and, well-her voice was that of {
Young woman, melodious and fresh
her speech, the utterance of a lady
:; Under pretense of lighting cigar
: with her permission, got good lool
= at her face, and found her decided.
. pretty; also ! obtained glimpse o
her dress, and saw she had been hand
x somely attired, though her summe
9 finery was now in sadly bedraggle'
- condition.
s 81 am ashamed to tell you how
come to be in such plight" she said
but do owe you an explanation Il
Z return for your kindness, and doubt
less deserve even more punishment
!" than that for my folly. The fact is
n you see before you-or, more correctly
E you hear near you-the wretched re
q mains of a wrecked elopement."
II IAN elopement of one or two"
N "Only one is left, but there wer
two"
e, Tell me about it, and you shall hav
q my sincerest sympathy"
II ''Oh! There's no sympathy deserved
m was q goose, and 1 know it, nov
But 1 have no objection to telling 20,
particularly as we are in the dark.
y am stopping at the Royal. A youn
E. gentleman, also stopping there, pal
1t me great deal of attention, an1-ft
re lack of anything better to do, l SUI
pose-I actually made myself belie'
he / was in love with him, as he professe
Is to be with me. But papa-you don
ie know how violent papa can be whe
It anything crosses him-papa said if IL
L nonsense between us was not stoppt
De he would break the young mans bae
IS and sp-punish me. Well, it made q
q, mad to be talked to in that way, as if
ST were only child in a pinafore. and
90 for the young man, he was real
IN alarmed for his spine; SO we made ,
our minds to run away and get ma
ne ried.
d. .It was the most foolish thing in Il
ne world, as have been saying to myse
for two hours; but it was all papa
ur fault. II he had not interfered, Il
ed affair would have passed off as me
le. ordinary summer Irritation; but,
ut course, when he put his oar in
yes made mischief. l thought it w
awfully romantic to elope; and so, IL
at afternoon, while was supposed to
III botanizing, / was really scurryil
II through the woods with Clarence,
Ter reach the point In the road where