The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1896-04-10

road unmolested. In this however, she
was doomed to be disappointed for. il
a short time, cracking as of dry
twjgs under the tread of some one
stealtbily advancing, arrested her at
tention, and brought her to stand.
Fortunately no part of her dress was
sufficiently light colored to betray her.
And having nothing to fear from this.
and believing that, by placing herself
in close contact with some natural
objet. she might still have good
chance to he passed undetected, she
glided to the nearest tree and. placing
her back to the side opposite to the
suspected foe, awaited his approach
in breathless silence. Presently he
came up, and, after pausing moment
within few yards of her. apparently
to listen and reconnoiter, he passed by
so near as to Craze the the bark of the
tree behind which she stood, and
moved carelessly on some distance be-
fore again pausing to repeat his recon
noissance. She drew long breath !:
but before she dared to move from her
stand, the sound of other approaching
feet reached her ears. And soon two
more men, evidently on the same
search, passed by her at different dis.
txnces to the east, and like the first
one, bent their courses northward.
After waiting till all sound of their
receding steps had wholly died away.
she again moved forward and soon had
dissatisfaction of finding herself in
the road. but short distance from the
spot where, few hours before she and
her attendant had been captured. IT
remained now to get beyond the tory
encampment. Could she be permitted TO
pass down the mountain in the road.
but a half mile she might then con
slider the danger mostly over, and pro
coed on to the tavern in comparative
safety. And though aware that this
portion of the way might be scarcely
less dangerous than any she had passed
over yet, tempted by the facility with
which it be could accomplished in the
road she resolved to make the at
tempt, and accordingly with guarded
but rapid step began to move down
the sloping way before her But she
had proceeded but short distance
when she was startled by the loud re
port of firearms in the direction of the
tory encanpment. which as already
described, were just at that moment,
being discharged at the escaping
canoe. While pausing in doubt at the
meaning of this unexpected outbreak,
the random firing of Woodburn's party
which we noted as soon following that
of the tories. now burst from the forest
little before her on the left, and
greatly increased her perpexity. Sud
denly conceiving the idea from the
circumstances that the tories had been
assailed in their rear, and were now
retreatng towards her. and this notion
being the next moment confirmed by
the gimpses she caught of a dark
form emerging on from the bushes on
the left. whom she mistook for foe,
she hastily turned ad fed in agitation
and alarm, into the opposite forest
bordering the road on the south, hav
ing thus approached within few rods
of the very men who were in search OF
her. and thus unconsciously eluded
their friendly grasp. Though intend
ing soon to turn her course eastward,
so as to come out again into the road
at such point as should place her
beyond them any danger of a recapture.
yet urged by her fear lest her foes
should cross the road and overtake
her, she pressed on SO far into the
depths of the woods, that when she
paused to change her course, she be
came confused and doubtful respecting
the direction she should take to regain
the road in the manner she had pro-
posed. She had now no further
know ledge of the make of the land or
the situation of the hills. by which
she could be guided But at length,
fixing on course, which she thought
most likely to be the right one, she
again set forward, slowly picking her
way through the swampy and tangled
tract of forest into which she seemed |
now to have entered. In this manner
she pursued her dubious course on
ward nearly an hour, every moment ex
pecting that the next would bring her |
out info the road AT length she fell
in with small stream, which she
rightly judged to be one of the brooks
running into Black River, and which
from what she knew of the course of
that river. she supposed would lead
nearly in the direction she sought TO
go. But on STOPPING down to fell the
current she to her great surprise, found
it running in course directly opposite
from what she expected. Scarcely
knowing now which way to direct her
steps, she passed over the stream,
and, with a sense of desolation growing
out of the thought that she was lost in
the depths of the wilderness which she
had never before experienced, wan
dered on, and on. for several of the sue
cesslve hours of that dark and dismal
night. At last she came to the top
of high swell, where the new aspect
presented in the slope of the forest be-
fore her naturally causing her to pause
she dropped down upon an old messy
log to rest her worn and wearied frame
and try to collect her confused and
scattered faculties. While here en-
to rally her sinking spirits
and compose her thoughts so as to
look more on her situation, she began
to discern through the openings of the
the dark outlines of high
rising at the distance of two
Or three miles, directly in front of her.
1t now occurred to her that like other
persons lost in the woods, of whom
she had heard she might have been all
this time. wandering in circle, and
that the mountain before her might be
the very one she supposed she had
left far behind her, west of the tory en-
If this supposition should
prove correct the long south road must
lie somewhere between her and the
view, and little more per-
in that direction would CON
put an end to those perplex