The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-03-16

~
at Was in These Very Mountains"
Said Robert Maitland.
! mule came wandering into the camp,
saddle and pack still on his back
Il knowed that there MULE said
Kirkby, I'D sold 1t 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 fine
young man from the east, not bit of
tenderfoot nuther, mimi engi-
ueer he called hisself."
We'll, 1 happened to be there, too,
you remember" continued Maitland,
land 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,
+! but somehow she didn't seem none
| 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
Kirkhv
seen men shot afore for takin' words
out n other mems mouths an 1 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 off, 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"
at takes an old man." assented
Kirkby, ito know when to keep his
mouth shet. I learned 1t at the muz-
zle of gun"
II never knew BEFORE" laughed
Maitland, how still 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
| Dol
inquired Enid.
Just you wait" said young Bob.
who had heard the story. This is
an awful good story, Cousin Enid"
| 81 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
'T have seed men in extreme cases
afore," interposed Kirkby, but never
none like him"
'Nor l." continued Maitland.
WAS 1t Newbold?" asked Enid.
YES"
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
SO terribly that Newbold had to shoot
| her"
What" exclaimed Bradshaw. You
don't mean that he actually killed
her,"
That's what he DONE" answered
old Kirkby.
1 rod 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" scontin-
ued Maitland "She was SO frightfuIly
broken and mangled that he couldn't
carry her away"
But why couldn't he leave her and
go for heIp?" 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 bead on a 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 them"
Il went back to the camp" said
!, Maitland. We loaded Newbold on a
mule and took him with us; he was
80 crazy he didn't know what was
happening; he went over the shooting
again and again In bis delirtum. II
, was awful"
did he die?"
81 don't think so," was the answer
"but really I know nothing further