The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1912-05-08

that devastated region, as I noticed
on one shoulder it said Corn" in
very prominent letters and then the
color reminded me greatly of sack
sometimes used by Uncle. Her free
dom from affectation impressed me;
in act, she encompassed my whole
mind. A natural consequence, /
imagined my comrades would say,
for young man OF % years when
brought in contact with so lovely a
being on such a sudden and inoppor-
tune time. She seemed to be taken
up with our unfortunate condition
so much so she loaned me a shawl
to cover my bare bosom while in her
presence.
Having refreshed ourselves from
their meager stores, the command un-
der our rosy-cheeked guide moved
on into the wilderness of the noun
tain. At every tree, bearing a GER
tain mark, cut into the bark, our
little lady would sound her rustic
whistle and from behind some rock
up the mountain side signal in sim
liar whistles would be "eturned, sig
nifying all was clear to proceed. At
one signal tree we received but one
whistle, where we remained some
twenty minutes before the proper
number of whistles were returned.
When at last we reached the end
of our heroines beat, she led to a
prominent point away from the path
and from this elevation pointed
away in the distance on the course
we were to pursue to Bald Mountain,
saying: When you will have pass
ed that point you are then in the
nf
ney. A wild, desolate, uninhabited
part of these mountains often held
by men of either side in their fierce
contests for supremacy. Also by
lawless gangs of men who have no
country or naught else at stake but
plunder, but from my observation
(pardon me) they would pass you
by"
We were then reconducted to the
blazed tree on our path and with low
ing words for our success that dear
form vanished behind the rocks to
climb up the mountain side and ap-
prise her father of our presence,
who would come and arrange for
our continued journey.
A short, stout man with a pinched
face, as most of them had who lived
in the hills, made his appearance IN
due time. After some moments of
conversation he opened a sack, TAX
ing therefrom four Remingtons and
20 rounds of cartridges for each
gun. For the first time in nearly
two years four of our party held in
their hands weapon of defense. A
sunbeam crossed each face, signifi-
cant of a self-reliant, important
feeling of which we had been so
long robbed, creating a reliance that
swelled our Importance as actors in
that great drama. Not only armed
with a simple repeater that would
be destructive to any one daring to
obstruct our way, but with an eX-
perience and an object in view that
meant a power behind the gun more
formidable than had our numbers
been doubled, yea, trebled, under
ordinary circumstances.
How we fondled those dear shoot
ing irons. How we eyed each other
as pride cropped out in the knowl-
edge we held in our hands, a pass
port to the outposts of the Union
army. A ticket of leave from the
unfriendly sections of the South, and
a compass that would navigate our
wrecked and frail craft towards the
shore of home and plenty. Oh,
glorious, could but half express our
joy at this simple yet powerful
agency in our behalf at this critical
time.
ITO be Continued.)