Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1896-08-05
THE WHITE STONE.

THE WHITE STONE.
Between Odense and Middelfrat the
highway used to pass, years ago,
through wild but fertile region. In
the parish Of Vissenbjerg it entered an
| old forest of beech and oak, where the
branches SO rooted over the road that
even in the brightest daylighta a traveller
found himself in the densest gloom.
Deer would spring out through the ferns
and raspberry bushes, foxes steal among
the blueberry vines, and blackbirds dart
back and forth among the thick foliage.
For few minutes at midday single
ray of sunlight found its way through
the leaves, and cast a trembling glim-
mer upon the green moss which lined
the wayside, but it would soon pass,
and the road be as dark and gloomy as
before.
The whole region, and especially this
forest, stood in bad repute. No one
cared to journey over the Vissenbjerg
road at night. Travellers waited until
morning, and then hurried through the
forest in as large companies as possible.
Many were the stories of murder and
assault and robbery which had taken
| place in there. Were these stories true
or exaggerated? Who could say? But
! at any rate they were told, and the peo-
pie believed them.
At one place the road wound around
hQt fxT7n Tn, nq
banks it was said that the highwaymen
had dug a cave, where they lay in wait
for victims. That no one might escape
them a cord was stretched across the
way, which sounded a bell in the cave
when any one passed.
Toward the village Of Skalbjerg the
forest became thinner; trees gave place
to underground; the landscape showed
open fields and plowed land, and was
dotted here and there with cottages and
farmhouses. OF these latter the largest
and finest was that of Terkel Dam. He
owned large part Of the Vissenbjerg
| forest, and had many cattle pasturing
on its outskirts, tended by q young girl
/ whose name was Karen.
T: She was a little. insignificant person,
| was Karen; thin and i'll featured. and
! she was lame When the other girls had
(, driven home their cattle il the evening,
| and came together to sing their gay
| songs, Karen kept at a distance. She
; seldom spoke, and seemed to care little
/ for the people around her. And they
| paid little attention to her. Sometimes
!. of a pleasant summer evening, when
! they heard q soft morrnful song sung
out in the forest, the other girls stopped
for q moment and listened. cts the
lame Karen singing said one. Then
they went on again. She felt herself in
some way inferior to other people, but
her desires were few, she was content
| ed, yet she always seemed sad; no one
had ever seen her laugh. at all comes
from the day when she fell from the
rock and hurt her foot, :" said the grand
mother "God must have taken away
| all gladness from her then" But Karen
shook her head. Silence and timidity
were her nature, and so she liked best
to be by herself.
/ And yet Karen loved her masters
son. She, the lowliest Of all the serv-
ants, poor lame creature, had dared
to love fine young fellow like Ebbe /;
Ebbe, who might have any girl he
| pleased. What presumpticnl what sim
pie mindednessl In spring she brought
him the first flowers that came forth
after the snow had gone, i'll straw berry
time a dish Of the finest berries always
| stood by his plate. Ebbe ate them, the
others laughed, and Karen said nothing.
One day as she placed a dish.of the
fruit before him on the table and then
went away, Terlzel smiled and rubbed
his hands and looking over his shoulder
said: "You two might make couple.
| What think you, my son?" Ebbe laugh
ed. "She's faithful and industrious, the
little wench, but she limps so," and
there the matter dropped.
That year there were. rough times out
in the forest. Several travellers were
held up and robbed, and there was much
| talk of q horse dealer, who had on his
person a large sum of money, and VINO
had not been seen from the time that he
started off down the Visscnbjerg road.
His friends had searched everywhere
and had sent men out into the forest,
but in vain; they got no trace OF the
horse dealer One day a solitary rider
approached the passageway between the
banks Karen lay resting in the bushes
not far away. She heard a bell t1nkle
and then saw three men with heavy
cudgels in their hands rush out and cast
the rider from his horse. In her excite
ment she ran hurriedly to the village
and told all that she had seen. An
alarm was given. The sherdf's deputy
gathered together all the strong men OF
the parish and hastened down the ROAD.
They succeeded in capturing two men
who had just finished burying the muir
dered horseman among the bushes. They
were two soldiers, recruiters, who foI
some time had been making trouble ana
disturbances wherever they had showed
themselves in the country round about
The third robber had escaped.
The deputy took Karen to his office.
She stood trembling and clutching the
folds of her dress as he closely questioned
her, having first commanded her, III tne
name of God and Jesus, to tell the whole
truth as to what she had witnessed. But
she knew nothing more than she mao
told at first. ''You are sure that there
were three men?" Yes, she was sure.
"And you were with your cattle, Out
there by the clearing?" 81 had been
there since early in the morning "
: CHOW tell me the names OF all those
whom you had seen go by" She did so
Among them was an old man who max
been collecting brushwood by the ROAD
He too was summoned and mace +"
name those whom he had seen go Dy
) They were all brought to the deputy
who went from one to the other, VIII
' the girl and old man, remained stand
5 ing for moment before each, and ask
] ed: ssWas this the other robber?' hare'
shock her head each time he questioned
: At length they stood before her oW'
: master, the rich Terkel Dam; he wa
, among these whom the brush gathere
t had seen pass, and he had been sum
0 moned with the rest. Terkel stood an.
r ratified the cover of his pipe Loo
e sharp now and see if you can recoshlA
: me,'' he said with a laugh. But agail