Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1895-03-28

DfOken OUT IN OdlllOrula, anu tne ONer-
land route lay through the city of tho
elect There. toe. were droves Of sheep
and bullocks coming in from the outly-
ing pasture lands and trains Of tired inn
migrants, men and horses equally
weary Of their interminable journey.
Through all this motley aSsemblage,
threading her way with the skill Of al
accomplished rider, there gallGped Lucy
Ferrier, her fair face flushed with the
exercise and her long chestnut hair f1oat-
ing out behind her. She had commits
sion from her father in the city and was
dashing IN as she had done many time
before with all the fearlessness Of youth,
thinking only of her task and how it
was to be performed The travel stained
Adventurers gazed after her in astonish-
ment and even the Unconditional Indians,
journeying in with their peltry, relaxed
their accustomed stoicism al they mar
veled at the beauty Of the pale faced
| maiden
She had reached the outskirts Of the
| city when she found the road blocked by
a great drove of cattle, driven by half
dozen wild looking herdsmen from tho
plains. In her impatience she endeav
ored to pass this obstacle by pushing her
horse iuto what appeared to be gap.
Scarcely had she got fairly into it. how.
ever. before the beasts closed in behind
her. and she found herself completely
i'm bedded in the moving stream Of fierce
| evAl ionr hornaI h,l ArruofounaA
as she was to deal with cattle. she was
not alarmed at the situation. but took
advantage Of every opportunity to urge
Der horse Oh i'll the hope Of pushing het
way through the cavalcade. Unfortu.
| nately the horns of one of the creatures,
either BY accident or design, came in
violent contact with the dank of the
| mustang and excited it to madness. lp
| aD instant 1t reared mp upon its hind
legs, with snort Of rage and. prance6
and tossed in way that would have un-
| seated any but most skillful rider. The
situation was full of peril Every
plunge of the excited horse brought it
against the horns again and goaded it
to fresh madness. 1t was all that the
girl could do to keep herself in the sad.
| die yet a slip would mean terrible
death under the hoof Of the unwieldy
and terrified animal. Unaccustomed to
sudden emergencies, her head began to
swim and her grip upon the bride
to relax. Choled by the rising cloud
Of dust and by the steam from the strug
Cling creatures, she might have aban
| doned her efforts in despair but for
kindly voice at her elbow which assured
her of assistance, At the same moment
a sinewy brown hand caught the fright
ened horse by the curb, and, forcing
way through the drove, soon brought
her to the outskirts
You re not hurt. l hope, miss?" said
her preserver respectfully.
She looked up at his dark fierce face
and laughed saucily. "I'm awful fright
ened," she said naively. Whoever
would have thought that Poncho would
have been so scared by lot of oows?"
| THANK God you kept your seat = the
other said earnestly. He was tall, saw
age looking young fellow, mounted on
powerful roam horse and clad i'll the
rough dress Of hunter. with long rife
slung over his shoulders. II guess you
are the daughter Of John Ferrier, he
remarked. II saw you ride down from
his house When you see him. ask him
If he remembers the Jefferson Hopes of
| st. Louis If he's the same Ferrier. my
father and he were pretty thick.
| Hadn't you better come and ask
| yourself?" she asked demurely
| The young fellow seemed pleased at
the suggestion, and his dark eyes spar
kled with pleasure "I'll do So, he
said. We've been in the mountains for
| two months and are not over and above
in visiting condition. He must take us
as he finds u.s. T"
HE has a good deal to thank you for.
and SC have l." she answered. Hes
awful fond Of me. If those COWS had
jumped on me, he'd have never got over
it.
Neither would !, said her oompau-
| ion.
"You? Well, don see that it would
make much matter to you anyhow.
You amt even a friend Of ours,
The young hunters dark face grew SO
| gloomy over this remark that Lucy
Ferrier laughed aloud.
There, didn' t tmean that. /" she said
"Of course you are friend now. You
must come and see as. Now must push
along, or father won't trust me with
his business any more. Goodby."
"Goodby," he answered. raising his
broad sombrero and bending over her
| little hand. She wheeled her mustang
round, gave it a cut with her riding
whip and darted away down the broad
road in rolling cloud Of dust.
Young Jefferson Hope rode on with
bis companions gloomy and taciturn.
He and they had been among the Nevada
mountains prospecting for silver and
were returning to Salt Lake City in the
hope Of raising capital enough to work
some lodes which they had discovered.
He had been as keen as any of them up
on the business until this sudden incl
dent had drawn his thoughts into an
other channel The sight of the fair
young girl, as frank and wholesome as
the Sierra breezes. had stirred his vol
canio, untamed heart to its very depths
When she had vanished from his sight,
he realized that a crisis had come in his
life, and that neither silver speculations
nor any other questions could ever be of
such Importance to him as this new and
all absorbing one. The love which had
sprung up in his heart was not the sud-
den, changeable fancy Of boy. but
rather the wild, fierce passion Of mall
of strong will and imperious temper. He
L had hno,a ancrrf6,r,nn nd fc, c,,cnr.od IL, al