Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1895-01-03


could see nothing, and, soothing the
animal with hand and voice, urged
him on. There was still light
sufficient to see around clearly
enough to distinguish objects near
the trail. Raymond thought as he
started again that the horse went
slowly forward, but with great
reluctance, and when they reached An
open spot where the light was suffi-
cient to show objects for some distance
he again stopped. trembling, and Hay
mond for moment could rot persu-
Suade him to start. At last. the horse
started with a bound and as he did
! so Raymond saw Maggie Rodden on
the trail, her hair hanging around her
| pale face, her hands stretched plead
| ingly toward him and an expression
of mute agony upon her white face.
| Reigning up as quickly as possible,
Raymond turned to speak to her, but
she had vanished He rode back and
called her name, but there was no
answer He dismounted and looked
for tracks at the spot where she must
have left the trail, but found none
Puzzled and annoyed, he mounted
and rode as rapidly as possible to the
! Rodden cabin.
| Hurriedly dismounting Raymond
called Rodden out and asked if he
knew that his wife was wandering a.
lone through the snow away I'D the
mountain trail. Rodden was too much
unnerved for a moment to reply Then
he managed to say that the express
rider must have dreamed he saw her.
as she had gone home, gone back East,
more than month before. Raymond
stuck to his story, but at last he was
obliged to conclude that his magma
ton had played him a trick He could
frightened the horse
After supper Raymond opened his
saddlebags, saying:-
"Wel1, as Maggie is not here to take
her package and as it was intended
for you, anyway, | suppose I'd better
give it to you, and you can write her
that her Christmas present got here a
little ahead of time"
He tossed the package across to the
man, who stared at it as if petrified
He stretched out his hand slowly and
opened it with shaking fingers The
package contained a pair of thick,
warm gloves, nothing more.
"When did Maggie send for these?''
he asked.
''The last time I was here You
came near not getting them at all, for
she had no chance to tell me to buy
them while I was here and had to run
after me to give the order"
"Was that all she ran after you
for?"
''That was ALL"
Rodden settled back into his chair
with a groan and hid his face in his
hands.
Raymond sat silent for awhile, then.
finding that the man did not intend to
speak, he concluded that the best thing
he could do was to go to bed. He was
soon sleeping and knew nothing more
until the morning light, shining
through the uncurtained window, a
woke him.
He dressed hllrriedly and went out
into the room where he had left his
host. 1t was silent and deserted. A
glance into the side room showed that
the bed was unoccupied. and Raymond
went out to look after his horse. as
well as to see if he could see any signs
Of his host The horse had been
stabbed in a deserted cabin, and Hay
mOnd pushed open the door and then
sprang back into the open air Swing
ing by a halter from the rafters was
ROdden's dead body.
Raymond cut the body down and
laid it carefully in the bunk He could
do nothing for it. as the snow covered
the frozen earth. so that one man
could not hope to dig a grave. Hastily
saddling his horse he drove away.
after searching the cabin in the faint
! hone that he might find some note of
explanation. but in vain. Not a line
! of writing. new or old. could be found
| Raymond stopped at the first settle
ment and gave notice of the suicide at
the deserted camp, but the snow was
again falling and no party could reach
the place for weeks. if before spring
! When he reached the city he wrote
. a iNtt'L w lilH IIdltltlS '1ShIAiS tlit-lI "
break the sad news to the widowed
, Mrs. Rodden. Weeks passed before he
I received any answer. and then he was
astonished to learn that Maggie had
never returned home-in fact. had new
err even written since she left Califor-
MIA.
By this time spring had come and
{ be was about to make his trip to the
mountains He reached the town
where he had given notice of the sui
eide in time to learn what had been
discovered at the lonely cabin.
A thorough search had been made,
but nothing had been found to explain
the suicide. Hidden away in one of
the distant cabins they found Mrs.
Rodden's clothing, her ornaments. even
her workbasket, and, in fact. so far
as they could judge, every article that
had belonged to her.
Raymond told the men of the events
Of that last night and his interpreta-
ton of them, but he said nothing of
his meeting with the wronged woman
in the storm.
That was Greed Haymond's one
ghost story. Years passed before he
could speak at all of that meeting in
storm and darkness, but till the day
49, s l,1 ~ Ill., ~, -