Rosebud County news. [volume] (Forsyth, Mont.) 1901-1906, 1901-12-26
A Brave Coward.
BY Robert Louis Stevenson.
BY Robert Louis Stevenson.

my supper. My horse I picketed farth
er In the wood where there was a patel
OF sward. The banks of the den mo-
only concealed the light of my fire, bu
sheltered me from the wind, which wa,
cold as we'll as high.
Inc life l was leading made me both
hardy and frugal. never drank hui
water, and rarely ate anything more
costly than oatmeal; and I required SC
little sleep that, although l rose with
the peep of day, would often lie awake
IN the dark or starry watches of the
night. Thus in Graden Sea Wood. al
though l fell thankfully asleep at 8 in
the evening, l was awake again before
IL with full possession of my facul-
Ties, and no sense of drowsiness or
fatigue.
| rose and sat by the fire. watching
the trees and clouds unanimously toss
Ing and fleeing overhead, and harken-
Ing to the wind and rollers along the
shore, Till at length, growing weary OF
lnactlon, quilted the den, and strolled
toward the borders of the wood. A
young moon, buried in mist, gave a
faint illumination to my steps. and the
| light grew brighter as | walked forth
INTO the links. At the same moment,
the wind. smelling salt of the open
ocean and carrying particles of sand,
struck me with it's full force. so that
| had to bow my head
When | raised it again to look about
me, was aware Of light in the paw
lion. 1t was not stationary; but passed
from one window to another, as though
some one were reviewing the different
apartments with lamp or candle. I
watched it for some seconds in great
surprise. When 1 had arrived in the
AFTERNOON the house had been plainly
deserted; now it was as plainly occu-
pied. 1t was my first idea that a gang
OF thieves might have broken in and
be now ransacking Northmour's cup
boards, which were many and not i'll
supplied. But what should bring thieves
to Graden Easter?
And, again, all the shutters had been
thrown open, and it would have been
more IN the character of such gentry to
close them. | dismissed the notion.
ana fell back upon another. North
mour himself must have arrived. and
was now airing and inspecting the ma
vllion. In the morning l would pay
him short visit.
But when the morning came
thought the situation SO diverting that
l forgot my shyness Northmour was
at my mercy; | arranged good prac-
tlcal jest, though l knew we'll that nv
nelghbor was not the man to jest with
IN security; and, chuckling beforehand
over It's success, took my place among
the elders at the edge of the wood,
whence I could command the door of
the pavilion. The shutters were all
once more closed, which / remember
thinking odd; and the house, with it's
white walls and green venetians, look
ed spruce and habitable in the morning
light. Hour after hour passed, and
still no sign of Northmour.
MY mind at once reverted to the
original theory OF thieves, and blamed
myself sharply for my last nights in
action. l examined all the windows on
the lower story, but none of them had |
been tempered with; l tried the pad
locks, but they were both secure. 1t
thus became problem, how the thieves
II thieves they were, had managed to
enter the house.
| followed what supposed was their |
example, and, getting on the roof, tried |
the shutters of each room. Both were |
secure; but | was not to be beaten; and. |
with little force, one of them flew
open, grazing, as it did so, the back
or my hand. l remember l put the
wound to my mouth. and stood for per-
maps half minute licking it like a dog.
and mechanically gazing behind me
over the waste links and the sea: and,
IN that space of time, my eye made note
OF large schooner yacht some miles
to the northeast Then l drew up the
window and climbed in.
l went over the house. and nothing
can express my mystifcation. There
was no sign of disorder, but, on the
contrary, the rooms were unusually
clean and pleasant. l found fires laid
ready for lighting; three bedrooms pre-
pared with luxury quite foreign to
Northmour's habits, and with water in
the ewers and the beds turned down: q
table set for three in the dining room:
and an ample supply of cold meats.
game and vegetables on the pantry
shelves. There were guests expected.
that was plain: but why guests, when
Northmonr hated society?
And, above all, why was the house
thus Stealthily preDared at dead or