Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1898-05-26

awake, else may ma your bones
picked on my return. Or perhaps the
Spirit of the Swamp that you darkies
so greatly fear, may pay you visit,
and trouble your dreams.
At the mention of the spirit of the
Swamp" Sam turned fairly blue with
terror. and cried, in supplicating tones:
PLEASE, marse, don't go for to talk
light oh dat. De Spirit don't like to
I've made fun oh, whateber you do; so
please let de Sperit alone, or dis chile
won't be WORT Il persimmon ag'in for
a week, he won't"
'Well, well. never mind! l didn't
mean any disrcspect to the Spirit. But
see that You keep wide awake, and If
you should hear me halloo, you halloo
back again, that may know in ex-
actly what direction you are. And, by
the way, should anything unusual
happen here, you just try your voice at
a yell which would brighten every
thing in the swamp. including bears.
horse-thieves and the Spirit ITSELF"
and so saying, Rumford called the
hounds and strobe away down the
stream, the dogs running on in adj
vance of him, and was soon out of
sight.
Sam, meanwhile, after muttering and
grumbling at his masters propensity
to make light of the Swamp Spirit"
(Which was a prodigious terror to all
the superstitious negroes. every one of
whom was certain that he or she had
seen 1T gliding Mt dusk through the
swamp, or about the plantation, on
many occaSions,) sat down at the foot
of a large tree near by. and, leaning
his back and head against it. was soon
in dreamy doze, and forgetful of all
the dangers. that he had argued would
be impending over the horses If they
should be left alone.
Astrea, perched in her tree. had
beard all the preceding conversation
between RumfOrd and his groom. and
it had aroused varied emotions in her
bosom.
She feared that her pursuer might
come and examine the tree she was
hiding in. and if he could not see her,
the bloodhounds might detect her
presence by their keen scent. And this
made her think of her cut finger and
the blood upon her handkerchief that
she had wrapped around it. She re-
moved the handkerchief and found it
saturated with blood. This excited
fresh fears of discovery. Surely the
hounds would scent all that blood, if
they should come underneath the tree!
And she could not make away with it.
10 throw the handkerchief from her
would only increase her danger, as it
might fall beneath the tree and arrest
the attention of Rumford if he should
pass that way. OF course. he would
come back again; and he might cross
the brook and come up on that side.
The more she thought Of thse things,
the more alarmed she became: until
at last she felt that to stay in the tree
would lead to her certain detection.
But how was she to find any better
hiding-place? She might be detected
If she came down. In her wanderings
she might come upon her pursucr. At
any rate. the more tracks she made,
the more likely the hounds would be to
get Oh the scent.
Suddenly new thought occurred to
her. Why could she not take advant-
age Of Rumfords absence to get pos
session of Saladin, and so make sure
OF escape, as his fieetness was so great
that the remaining horse could not
long keep even in sight of him! But
low could She circumvent Sam? She
turned the question over in her own
mind, and soon came to conclusion.
There We're three ways in which she
might do it. She might steal so quiz
city upon him as to be able to mount
Saladin and be off before he would be
able to prevent it; or, in case of inter-
ference on Sans part, she might re-
sort to her dagger; or, she might per-
senate the dreaded Swami Snirit
brighten Sam out of his senses, and by
that means accomplish her object.
The last plan struck her as the best.
She resolved to personate the Spirit
and at once began to descend from her
hiding-place to put her scheme into eX-
ecution.