The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-09-14
TheFIaunted
Stranger
By F. A. Mitchell


Harte and his followers, but quiet.
sober place, with no fighting. no gam
bling. no horse stealing, no lynching.
The only objection to the town-so
said Miss Virginia Keating-was that
nothing ever happened there.
No new invention ever penetrates to
Cherryville. There is neither gas nor
electricity. the lights used being oil
lamps and candles. The fuel used Is
wood, of which there is en- abundance
In the neighboring forests. No shrek
of locomotive or honk Of automobile
is heard. Occasionally an OK team
meanders slowly through the town, or
the sound of a trotting horse breaks
the stiffness. Nevertheless Cherry
vile liz stable town. There is one
main street half mile long, crossed
at right angles by a number OF less
important ones.
One day a man came into town
whose appearance broke the 1ethargy
that overhung the place. He was NIL
nus an arm, there was scar on his
forehead. and number of his teeth
were missing, their disappearance be-
ing accounted for by a hole in his
cheek. He gave his name as Erastus
Clarke, but seemed disinclined to fur
nish any further account Of himself.
III any one asked him about the loss
of his arm or other deficiencies he
looked scared and turned away with
out reply.
Where there is no solution of mys-
terry one Is very soon invented There
was but one opinion in CherryYilie
about Mr.. Clarke. Some enemy had
mutilated him Here the main view
of his case branched. One side felt
sure that he had swindled some one
the other that he had aienated the ar
fections of a wife from her husband
and that that husband had mauied
him. But never a word OF expiana-
tion could be elected from Clarke.
Miss Heating had all the curiosity
that is usually attributed by unterrl-
fed bachelors to her sex and resolved
to find out the mystery enveloplng DIT.
Clarke il she had TO marry him TO
do so.
Miss Heating on walking down the
main street of Cherryville behind MT.
Clarke noticed that when he came
TO a cross street he would stop, look
to the right and then to the left be-
fore crossing This he repeated at
every street Miss Heating, being
true investigator. did not make up her
mind definitely as to the cause or MS
doing this, but she naturally assign
cd II TO the fact that he was on the
watch for an enemy. She made
mental memorandum of the fact put
realizing that Clarke would not ex-
plain the matter, RETAINED from ask
inc him TO do 80 until she had pre-
pared the way.
However reticence was not one OF
Miss Keatings traits, and she talked
about this popularity OF Mr.. Clarkes.
From that time whenever he was seen
On the street he was followed at
distance by curious persons who were
anxious TO be on hand to see the hght.
for they were now sure that Clarke
had come TO Cherryville TO escape an
enemy and was expecting that enemy
IN anpear at any time to batter MIN
some more.
Miss Heating made but poor success
in getting up an affair of the heart De
tween herself and Mr.. Clarke. The
trouble was that he seemed TO have
had the spirit OF man Knocked out
Of him. She smiled on him sympathet-
ically, but could not for long draw
him away from the dread OF that mys-
terions something for which he seemed
to be looking.
One day she met Mr.. Clarke In
store. and they walked out on TO the
street together. Suddenly from the
other end of the town there came the
honk of an automobile, the first that
had ever been heard in Cherryville.
Mr.. Clarke trembled and turned pale.
The honk was repeated nearer and
louder. Mr.. Clarke ran back into the
store. Miss Heating followed him and
found him crouching behind counter.
Has 1t gomez" he gasped.
Gone? What gomez"
1.-The auto"
Miss Heating looked at him wonder
ingly; then a beam Of light burst In
upon her. do you mean to say that
ali this terror has been caused by an
automobneY" she asked
Mr.. Clarke. stlffened by the contemp-
tuous look she gave him. came out
from hiding and confessed
II came from large city. where
there are thousands Of autos. i never
rode in one myself. so was not inJur-
cd that way. My only hope was not to
ret killed while crossing street. Once
was knocked down. My arm was
crushed. and II was amputated- A
second time 1 received this scar on
nv forehead. A third / got this hole
In nv cheek and lost all the teeth on
that side Of my face. A fourth gave
Ne three broken ribs. A 9Th
Never mind the fifth. My father is
mayor Of this town, and I'm going to
get him TO prohibit any automobiles
from entering the limits. ! don't won
der at your looking M and down 4
street before crossing or having been
terrorized and having come 10 this
uuiet place TO escape further injury"
aIre w~sse