Middletown transcript. [volume] (Middletown, Del.) 1868-current, 1912-03-16

Il knowed that there muIe,' said
Kirkby, I'D sold it to Teller named
Newbold, that had come out yere an
married Louise Rosser, old man Ros-
ser's daughter, an him dead, an bein'
an orphan an this Teller bein' a fine
young man from the east, not bit OF
a tenderfoot nuther, mimi engi-
neer he called hissef"
well, 1 happened to be there, too,
you remember" continued Maitland,
"and they made up a party to go and
hunt up the man, thinking something
might have happened"
You see," explained Kirkby, I'VE
was all mighty fond Of Louise Rosser.
the hull camp was actin like father
to her at the time, so long s she
hadn't nobody else; we was all at the
weddin', too, some six months afore.
The gal married him on her own
hook, Of course nobody maxim her,
too happy, although Newbold, who
was a perfect gent, treated her white
as far as we knowed."
The old man stopped again and re-
sumed his pipe.
"Kirkby, you tell the story" said
Maitland.
mot me-" said Kirkby. Il have
seen men shot afore for takin' words
out n other mems mouths an amt
never done that yit."
you always were one Of the most
silent men I ever saw" laughed
George. why, that day Pete yere got
shot accidental an had his whole
breast tore out wen we was lumber
ing over on Black mountain, all you
said was, Wash him on, put some
axle grease on him an tie him up"
That's So" answered Pete, AN
there must have been somethin' pow
erful soothin' in that axle grease, for
here am safe an sound to this day.
ut takes an old man." assented
Kirkby, Ito know when to keep his
mouth shet. learned 1t at the muz-
Ele Of gun"
IT never knew before" laughed
Maitland, how still a man you can
be. Well, to resume the story, having
nothing to do l went out with the
posse the sheriff gathered up"
Him not thinkin' there had been
any foul play" calculated the old man.
mo, certainly not"
"Well, what happened, Uncle Bob?'
inquired Enid. 4
"Just you wait" said young Bob,
who had heard the story. This is
an awful good story, Cousin Enid"
Il can't wait much longer" returned
the girl. please go on"
1.-TWO days after we left the camp,
We came across an awful figure
ragged, blood stained, wasted to a
skeleton, starved"
II have seed men in extreme cases
afore," interposed Kirkby, but never
none like him."
Nor l." continued Maitland.
"Was 1t Newbold?" asked Enid.
Eyes"
"And what had happened to him?"
'He and his wife had been prospect
ing in these very mountains; she had
fallen over a cliff and broken herself
50 terribly that Newbold had to shoot
her"
What" exclaimed Bradshaw. You
don't mean that he actually killed
herr"
That's what he DONE" answered
old Kirkby.
Poor man." murmured Enid.
But why?" asked Philips.
They were five days away from a
settlement, there wasn't a human be-
ing within a hundred and fifty miles
of them, not even an Indian" contin-
ued Maitland. "She was so frightfully
broken and mangled that he couldn't |
carry her away"
But why couldn't he leave her and
go for help?" asked Bradshaw.
The wolves, the bears, or the vul-
lures would have got her. These
woods and mountains were full OF |
them then and there are some Of them
left now ! guess"
The two little girls crept closer to !
their big cousin, each casting anxious
glances beyond the fire light.
"Oh, you're all right, little gals
said Kirkby reassuringly, they |
wouldn't come nigh US while this fire
is burnin' an they We been pretty
well hunted out guess; sides there's
men yere who'd like nothin' better'n |
DRAWN a bead on q big bar"
And So" continued Maitland, when |
she begged him to shoot her, to put |
her out Of her misery, he did SO and
then he started back to the settlement
to tell his story and stumbled on US
looking after him."
What happened then?"
Il went back to the camp" said
Maitland I'VE loaded Newbold on a
mule and took him with us; he was /
90 crazy he didn't know what was
happening; he went over the shooting
again and again in his delirium. 1t
was awful"
did he die?"
81 don't think So" was the answer,
"but really 1 know nothing further
about him., There were some good !
women In that camp; we put him in
their hands and l left shortly after. !
wards"
81 kin tell the rest" said old Kirk
by. KNOWN more about the noun
tains than most people hereabouts 1
led the men that didn't go back with
Bob an Newbold to the place Were
he said his woman fell, an there we
found her, her body leastways." 1
But the wolves?" queried the girl.
He'd drug her into a kind of a
boiler and piled rocks over her. He'd
gone down into the canon, witch was
something frightful, an then climbed
up to were she'd lodged. We had
plenty Of rope, havin' brought it along
. purpose, an we let ourselves down
to the shelf where she was a lynn.
We wrapped her body up in blankets
an roped it an finally drug her up
on the old Injun trail, leastways sup
pose 1t was made afore there was any
in1uns' an brought her back to Ever