Evening star., 1927-12-08

hension subsided. He even ventured,
when no eve was fixed upon him, to
taste the beverage, which he found
had good flavcr. He was natu-
rally a thirsty soul, and was soon
tempted to repeat the draft. One taste
provoked another. and he repeated his
visits to the f1agon so often that at
length his senses were overpowered,
his eyes swan, and he fell into deep
sleep.
On waking, he found himself on the
green knoll whence he had first seen
the old man of the glen. He rubbed
his eyes-it was a bright, sunny morn
ing. Surely" thought Rip, I have
not slept here all night" He recalled
the occurrences before he fell asleep.
oh, that fiagon, that wicked f1agon"'
he thought. what excuse shall /
make to Dame Van WinkIe?"
He looked round for his gun. but
in place of the clean, well oiled fowl
ing g-piece he found an old firelock
lying by him, the barrel incrusted
with rust, the lock falling off and the
stock worm-eaten. He now suspected
that the grave roisterers of the noun
tain had played a trick on him, and,
robbed him of his gun. His dog, too,
had disappeared. He whistled after
him, but there was no response.
He determined to revisit the scene,
of last evenings gambol, but the way
was blocked by a mountain stream.
AT a loss, and with q strange feel
ing coming over him. he made his
way down the mountain and back to
the village. AS he approached he
met. number of people. none of
whom he knew. Every house was
strange. The dogs barked at him. the
children hooted-and he discovered
that he had a long white beard.
He saw for the first time that his
clothes were in rags.
At first the people thought him
madman. But at last he convinced
them that he was Rip Van Winkle.
who had disappeared 20 years before.
1t gradually came out that he had
slept 20 years on the mountain, while
many a change had come in his native
village. The rule Of England had been
thrown off; the idol of the tavern
people was now George Washington
instead of George III. Finally, some
| old dame recognized Rip, and every
one was fairly convinced that his
story was true.
KIP tOlQ tnem ABOUT the queer men
of the glen who had played at nine
pins with such solemn faces. An old
inhabitant OF the village then added
confirmation of the story by explain
ing that there was a tradition that
the Kaatskill Mountains were haunted
by strange beings. The great Hen
drick Hudson, the first discoverer of
the river and the country, kept kind
of vigil there every 20 years. with his
crew of the Half-moon, being permit.
ted in this way to revisit the scenes
Of his enterprise. and keep a guardian
eye upon the river and the great city
| on it. This old inhabitant said his
father had once seen these queer men
in their old Dutch costumes playing
| at ninepins in a hollow of the noun
tain, and that he himself heard. one
Summer afternoon, the sound Of the
balls, like distant peals of thunder.
To make long story short, Rip Van
Wrinkle found one Of his daughters
| we'll married. and went to live with
| her. Dame Van Wrinkle had died
| meanwhile. He again became popular
| in the village, although it took him
some time to catch up with events.
He told his story over and over, and
| it was the especial delight Of the chill
| dren for years afterward.