The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-03-06
THE TIME HE WAS SCARED.
cgEERFUL STORIES FOR a GREEN
caro- Err IN THE MOUNTAINS.

..,,., or uoonuhining where Pistols Are
r.,,n,cuous. Yeusa Girls Get Threats. and
ns,,h In Many Forms HAS % ne Faced.
Tho storm caught tho party In the library,
itch was separated from tho main building by
lang dark veranda; the rain boat deafeningly
an The low roof: the wind howled and moaned;
,hrndcr shook the windows and lightning Hum
,ned the room at intervals. One OF the young
,yomen in the party remarked that sho was
tr,ghtcned. Jim Page roso and walked the
foo-. his hands in his pockets.
Frightened he repeated. This 10 nothing.
III tell YOU what came nearer making me q
christian than anything that ever happened
70 me-"
Wv hat !" no was asked.
"Caurinr brandy out there in the mountains
IN pulasky county among those moonshinerS."
,T,ll us about it." his hearers said, land
no ke us forget this storm"
No took a chair in the centre Of the group and
,ho others moved nearer to him, glancing fear
tri,v now and again at the lightning flashes
Thai seemed bent upon illuminating the world.
well" he began. you know out there In
ehose mountains a mans life amt worth any
moro than q yellow dog's-not as much, by o
long shot. II the dog happens to belong to
moonshincr-so it's mighty ticklish business
oaueing brandy or whiskey with a dozen or
more natives bQuNttihk eiouiiu Sou as y NV
You can't get out Of without shooting q man or
two. no telling how many of them moonshiners
{o,ins for you with q knife up their sleeve or o
connie of loaded horse pistols stuck in their
belts."
"Hush, Jim" said his wife. "You make tho
cold chills run all over me-"
MAYBE you think they didn't run all over mo
She whole time / was there" ho retorted. "It
was summer time. but I couldn't have been
rolder in the middle Of the winter. / wish you
could have seen me once, gauging brandy up in
an attic that didn't have but one exit, q ladder
going down below. And 1 didn't know who was
down below l gagged that brandy with one
eye and watched the exit with the other. 1t
d@ @b6p sft lax RI s 'SSH i, ha said his Ii s' wife. Tell us
something funny.
A clap Of thunder that seemed to rend the
nkies drowned her voice. When IL had died
away across the hills in q series of throbbing
echoes he went on:
1t wasn't a place where many funny things
happened; but III never forget tho FIRST night I
spent in the mountains. stopped at q log hut.
There were holes in between the logs big enough
10 throw a dog through, and only one room in
The most hospiteble people in the world. those
ifthey happen to kill you some morning before
you have a chance TO wake up because they
have taken a fancy to your gold watch. why
live their usefulness
He looked from ono to the other expecting an
argument, but his hearers were silent, They
were not certain whether the storm In blowing
the roof of. It ratified SO. might not also blow
them into eternity. The subject, accordingly.
This hut" he continued. was hanging on
the edge Of the mountain by the skin Of its teeth.
next to a perpendicular corntield out of which u
man had fallen the summer. before and broken
bis neck. l asked il l might stay all night.
There WIS only one room, as said before. and
eight In the tamily. In this room there were
three tultgrown bets and a trundle bed in ono
t tSers TO The fru ind bed and retire ct Twas Ssea
little bashful about retiring before SO many. but
q % my sh %ss,st TSen M e saS%sa u SS%set he &C covers 'sas
with all nv clothes on"
Jim Page" said his wife, ~sternly, you have
1t Yourself"
Iii amt true" said he with an injured air.
Just then there was another clap of thunder,
90 loud that the young women buried their
face, ,sss in En their p, hands ,eI t. avoid TSt the b binding ding fi nsh
they looked up again. no still sat there alive
somewhat TO their surprise.
thanking them for their hospitality and con.
Eratulsti1g myself that my throat wasn't cut.
p p%Su at she my sdR ess 81 a tSe T pssei E1iasefh1S yld hiloRT mS q
breath and the reins at the same time. One
slip OF the animals hoof would have sent us
below"
lie was silent for an impressive moment or
You face death in a good many forms up
,yi fash, lighting up his face. gave i a Ger.
many forms; though, from his own account, he
s had faced sd, It with a quaking and cowardly
II heard the sound Of horses. feet behind
me" he said presently, land my heart went to
ny mouth: In fact It stayed there all the time
and fall over the cliff. but / came near il when
a 4 rider urged his horse close to my side.
path. but at a time ike Ike that I'm / make a 'f Il a poins
10 be extremely courteous. They tell mel am
noted noted for my ,gentlenanly ways among the
land incidentally to the jaws of death) and
made room for him. preferring the fall and sud.
S1a eftnGIion to a cory demise at the hands of
VT my surprise he was most polite. He
ialked about the weather. I was not particu-
IAfly Interested In the weather. / had my eyes
on ne pistols sticking out of his belt. The tops
o. bis boots hulged. too. as though they might
matter SO much to me- whether the sun was
INNING: was wondering, how much longer /
"a @F giOiIE TO live to see II shine.
otner nut, where he %alighted. begging me to en-
Sr. ~ was bis home. He genially offered mo its
IN hoihp, y. = but was not pleased with the look
Come in said he. I've got wild hog an
Sems y efErnoread a'plenty. an %you'uns is wei.
@l hadn't any special fondness for yellow
SdGI5sn n, and had never tasted wild hog. I
a. ShS "uSh " lhbt0 IL, elIn0T, Dut i
snoaght II best. under the circumstances to &C.
,spt ms invitation. 1t was mighty lonesome on
saat mountain. There wasn't q human being
Witnln miles and miles, and the butt ends OF
%bhotRunB.
After our dainty fepast we came outside
snat was glad to get out aliye-sat on o log,
nimoEed and talked. That is, he talked and /
ttssIhtehed' shall never forget that log or that
,o mae began 70 tell me stories, Now, there are
foshe stories like and some / don't like. These
aaIdnt like. They might have been all right in
sroom IKE this with a lot of cheerful people
t.sEuna; but out there. on that desolate noun.
IAN, with u little old path leading to nowhere,
Snip, poor.wil calling from a dismal pine tree,
ana the old man talking on and on and looking
Oh Lord!
First he told me about a lonely tavern
aui.ner down the mountain and a man who FREE
HSently s.opned there with cattle on his way to
tennessee. There was a little girl living at the
on nerh, ne SAID. The man was very fond Of her.
u night no noticed the child was sad. He
,tbpok her In his arms and asked her whit was
" matter. She looked over her shoulder to
pepe5 5int no one was listening, then she whis-
IN ~ feel bad because ma and pa are out there
y mare Kitchen now sharpening a knife to cut
Innn I-l =