Semi-weekly interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1881-1905, 1894-12-21
AN ALPINE YARN.

ucai SORT OF youth, ike You fellows, and
I'm bound 20 say was Just idling abou,
there, staring nc mountains, finding out
the places famous in history, sketching
and all the rest Of il, but ! enjoyed my.
elf uncommonly in my own way, and
30 ono evening i got 90 Brieg, which
YOU ms. - may not know is an old
town on tho o,..ss side Of the celebrated
simplon pass leading into Italy.
was q good deal too late TO clash
with many British tourists Tho fact Is
IL was December, and had the hotel 20
myself. But the winter that year was
altogether abnormally late, and there
was, they told me, hardly any snow on
the pass mp 10 Berisal. IL chose 20
walk into Italy the next day. l might
easily do IL, spending one night at tho
bospice on the way.
Tho hotel proprietor who told me this
aided with wink:
But you must bo careful, sare. There
IS bad characters about There has been
found several dead bodies in the Saline
the last year. and they was all with
empty pockets. -
ibhAhNh nv iulS nhlt'ttu DnNttli
that my revolver and could account
for any moderate dangers Of that kind.
As for concerted brigandage, tho time
for that had long Como by.
Tho next morning was lovely, with n
blue sky aud thin mist which did not
hide either the snow or the high Alps
or tho heavens above them. ! stroda out
Of Brieg toward the mountains, feeling
rs one docs feel In youth on tho eve Of
splendid excursion
had got 10 tho last little cluster Of
dark oolored houses before tho pines on
the slope ON the north side 81 the Gan
ten when a good looking Italian accost-
ed me- / was In the humor 10 be socia-
bic and readily accepted his offer 20 rest
moment OF two In his chalet, which
was close by.
IL was here that saw the girl who
is my wife. though she is not n girl
now, rs you may suppose l lost my
heart 10 her as one does now and then
20 girl. I'm not going TO describe her
rs she then seemed 10 me-you follows
can hardly expect it-but very soon
saw that she felt an interest in me- and
the realization quiokened my pulse, l
can tell you.
Well. l rested longer than I intended
and was mighty yexed % have To stir nt
last
III might hope TO call again when
! return" l said rs I held the girls
hand for moment in mine
Her face satisfied mo she was inter
ested In me. and yet when her father
with a cheerful sat of grin, said that
he meant To accompany me for n milo
or two Ito show you the old road.
signor, which Is much shorter" she
made objections which struck me at the
time as very odd. "Made objections. +"
say. but il was deal more than that.
She began TO cry. in fact, so that SEQ.
onded her and tried to persuade her IA.
Their that lie had better stay where he
was
Tho man insisted, howevor-politoly
enough, i must admit-and SO We start
cd, no looking rather wild. as IL he
didn't appreciate that domestic scene,
and feeling rs IL I'd willingly give
up tho Simplon and everything else TO
spend day in that quiet chalet, with
that pretty girls gentle, kindly face
beaming upon me- There ws sadness
about the girl that won me rs much as
anything else.
But we hadn't been gone more than
half an hour from the chalet when i
understood what it all meant.
BY this time we were about ii, 900
feet above tho Saltined stream, which
brawls from the high Alps at the bot.
tom Of this fearful ravine. We were
on the old road, just a mule track
scratched in tho side of the perpendicu-
lar rocks only four or five feet wide and
with this alarming preoipice to the
right
One Of us had TO precedc tho other,
aud it was who took the lead
was still thinking more of tho pref.
~ girl than tho scenery when i felt
cruel blow on the back Of my head. 1t
laid me down in an instant, moro than
half unconscious. was robbed-watch,
purse, passport and all except the re-
volver, which / carried on the hip.
Then tho wretch tilted mo over tho
rock, and il seemed to me / was dead.
But of course l wasn't dead, though
il was well on in the afternoon before
1 could stir to realize it, had caught
in one Of those gnarled old fir trees
which grow out from the Simplon rocks
almost at right angles to them. My God,
what position it it was, to be sure! A
fearful depth of sharp mountain side
below me and the Glisshorn's precipice
across the ravine, with the roaring
stream in the gully.
Well, gentlemen, i got out Of that
hole-I don't much care 10 think how
and late in the night crawled back
TO Brieg, looking, as they told me, like
a dead man. But l said nothing about
my adventure, for though / owed Ca
terina's father something considerable
i'm the matter of vengeance was loath
TO do anything to cause pain to Caterina
herself You see, knew now what
her entreaties had meant and loved /