Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1903-12-17
A STRANGE
ADVENTURE.
continued Jyom end RageJ

tween the sisters wished 10 throw
them of their guard, If possible,
MY spouse to be arose from the table.
ana going TO tall dresser drew from
the interior of a small but deep drawer,
an earthern vessel, which she brought
to the table and inverted As she did
so glittering stream poured from It's
INTERIOR and pile Of golden CONS rest
ed on The table. Then she drew close
TO me and said as she gave me look Of
bleary tondness, "All this is yours if
you Will only say that you will marry
me-"
Loathing her caresses 1 jumped to my
feet
The harsh voice OF the elder bag then
broke the silence. She was standing
beside the awful pit af the night before.
Choose qulckly-the pit or marriage.
Dost thou remember last night?'
l shuddered. My fate was before me.
But while there was life l.still thought
OF escape, but that they would carry out
their threat of hurting me into the pit
II refused | had not the slightest
doubt. Weighing carefully the chances
In the balance of my mind | decided
that preferred matrimony to a misera-
BILE death at the bottom of that dismal
hole,aud SO l weakly murmured II would
rather marry"
With cries Of Joy and cackles of pleas
ure both hags clasped me, and so vigor-
Gus were their embraces that / was be-
ginning to feel very faint, when an idea
struck me by the carrying out of which
hoped to regain my liberty. Accord
ingly l allowed myself to become limp
in their nauseous clutches, which so
startled them that they let me
slip to the floor, where lay feebly call
ing for air, finally ending by simila-
ting dead faint. That the hays we're
alarmed was beyond question, but after
a moment of indecision on their part
felt myself being carried toward the
door which was opened, and | was laid
on the threshold. / waited a moment
to determine clearly where my tormen-
tors we're. Then, summoning all my
strength, leaped to my feet, pushed
one bag one way and the other another
and darted down the slippery path as
fast as | could go, falling over and over
several times IN my haste. My action
was so sudden and unexpected that my
captors had been taken off their guard,
and was free. But there was not a
moment to lose for the hays were al
ready in pursuit, and the demon cat
yowling horribly, was coming, too,
With the speed of despair rushed to
the clump of cedars whore my horse
stood trembling with excitement and
sore afraid of the internal clamor a few
yards behind, tore loose the bride
rein, leaped on his back, and with a
wild shout sent him gallopping madly
over the snow covered rocks down the
cove. And none too soon did he wheel,
for the eldest bag reaching forward hei
long and skinny arm, almost grasped
his flowing tail, while the demon cal
snarled alongside, as il watching a
chance to leap on me. But we soon left
them far behind, and | could only heaI
their wild cries echoing in the noun
tains.
Next day in company with the sheriff
of the county and a determined posse
went back to the scene Of my wild ad
venture, but when We reached the spo
few smoking logs and grey ashes We're
all that remained Of the wierd hut, anC
its uncanny occupants had disappeared
as completely as if they had mounted
brooms and flown away.
We peered into the well-like opening
into which | had gazed with such hor
ror-stricken eyes the night before, and
from the bottom of which | had fanciet
the eyes of the dead gazed up at me
But whether it was an hallucnation o
my disordered nerves, or some trick per
petrated by the hags IN order to fright
en- me, or it really was the body of SOM
traveller who had been murdered in thi
lonely place-perhaps robbed for thu
very gold l had seen poured in glitter
ing stream upon that rough table b.
my unwelcome bride to be--will eve
remain an undecided question. The pi
was simply one of those well-like open
ings in the ground, found in those sect
ions OF country where limestone is tn
principal surface rock, and caused b.
gases while it was still in molte
state
Near the brink of the pit embed
ded in ashes / picked up the handle o
the dreadful trap door, with the face G
the bag leering horribly upon it, and a
often as l see it from its posi- ton abov
nv study door / am reminded OF NJ
strange and thrilling adventure in tn
Cumberlands