The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1916-04-08
A Girl of
| ennessee
By DWIGHT NORWOOD

in the Union army-thought that fine
opportunity offered TO go south. buy
some of the plantations that were TO be
had for q song and grow up with the
country under the new system OF free
labor.
was one of these deluded beings.
| say deluded. for the south needed
fully a decade to right itself after the
scourge Of war and the change from
slave to free labor. However. this has
nothing to do with my story | had
been a solfier during the war and had
campaigned in the region Of Tennessee
which takes in the Cumberland pla
teau. An admirer of mountain seen
cry. ] had fallen in love with this
country and aimed when peace came
to settle there.
One day | was riding along the base
of the mountain. armed with drafts on
Louisville with which to buy a small
farm. when overhauled couple in
buggy. q man about thirty and a girl
perhaps twenty | made some in
quiries of the man and judged at once
from his want of the dialect Of the re-
gion that he didn't belong there. The
girl was evidently indigenous to the
country. not only from her looks. but
her manner Of speech.
The man told me that he was bent
on the same errand as HE was look
ing for farm. / was some time get
ting on to the relationship between
him and the girl. but at last learned
that the night before he had stopped
at her fathers house. In the morning
when he continued his journey she
| said she wished to visit a friend In
| Chattanooga and insisted on going
with him. Since there was a vacant
seat in his buggy. he could not well
refuse to take her.
For the sake of company l rode di-
rectiy behind the couple and had am
| pie opportunity to observe them. 1t
! soon became evident TO me that the
| girl was not a welcome travelling com
| panion TO the man. An unlettered
poor white" country girl. she could
not talk on any subject that would
| interest him. Besides. something
know not what-indicated that her
presence troubled him. He was con-
stantly making excuses for parting
company with her. but they all failed
| TO enable him to get rid of her.
| Finally when evening came he told
her that he was intending to bivouac
for the night and she must find a
| house in which to sleep. She looked
at me appealingly and said:
stranger, whar yo goin' to Sleep
Il don't know Why do you ask?'
IF you uns and he uns are goin' TO
sleep in the open reckon | mought
sleep near by"
/ | saw that this was an invitation in
her crude way for me to constitute my
self chaperon. and | could not re-
sist her appeal | said | would be
one of a bivouac party, and We all
| stopped where there was water. and as
each one Of us had something eatable
| for a luncheon we ate our supper and
soon after dark found soft spots on
which to sleep. | had blanket, which
| offered the girl, but she declined it,
wrapping a shawl about her shoulders
instead.
Puzzled as TO the reason for the de-
sire of the girl to stick to her fellow
! traveller. | lay awake thinking about
it. Presently | heard the man breath
Ing as If asleep. thought | heard a
sound come from where the girl was
sleeping. some fifty feet distant |
looked In that direction and saw her
silhouette against the sky line. With
out the slightest sound she disappear
ed to the eastward. which was toward
the mountain.
What did IL all mean? The man had
all day been trying to get rid OF the
girl, and now she had evidently shaken
him. | debated i'll my mind whether
| should notify him of her disappear
ance, but | had come to believe that
there was more between them than
appeared on the surface. and my sym
pathies were rather with her than
with him. SO lay still and said moth
ing. After awhile | slumbered.
am a light sleeper and presently
was awakened by a movement of the
man who was close beside me. He
was getting up stealthily. and | saw
In the dim light that he had his hand
on a rifle.
What are You going to doY' | asked
lie clapped hand on my mouth
and whispered: Don't wake that girl
I'm a revenue officer and am going Il
, capture a still a short distance from
here up in the mountain. She has
, suspected Ine from the night | stopped
at heF.father's house and has stuck e
me ever since fancy she thinks I'm
going 10 trap some one In whom she
has an Interest Keep still while
steal away
You're too late. my friend" said
The girl lit out some time ago
As soon as he came ~ believe whal
had told him he went over to where
the girl had been lying and confirmed
what had said
shes beaten me- he said ruefully
These country girls are not 50 stupid
a. they appear
Not where lover is concerned. Ten
10 one you were after her best fellow 2
Il FnrE8u fraft- 50 ~ f.aw I .sfor,t.l.1