THE
TIMES,
NEW BLOOM FIELD, PA., OCTOBER ), 1877.
My Strnnpco Traveling Compnuion.
i
" QTHANQEIll"
0 The voice wan not loud, but clear
and penetrating. I looked vainly up
ami down the narrow, darkening trail.
No one In the fringe of alder ahead ; no
one on the gullied slope behind.
" Oh I stranger I"
This time a little Impatiently. The
California vocative, "Oh," always
meant business.
I looked up, and perceived for the first
time, on the ledge, thirty feet above me,
another trnll parallel with my own, and
looking down upon me through the
buckeye bushes a small man on a black
horse.
Five things to be here noted by the
circumspect mountaineer : First, the lo
calitylonely and Inaccessible, and
away from the regular faring of tenm
Bters and miners. Secondly, tho strati
ger's superior knowledge of the road
from the fact that the other trail was un
known to the ordinary traveler. Thirdly
that he was well armed and equipped.
Fourthly, that he was better mounted.
Fifthly, that any distrust or timidity
arising from the contemplation of these
facts hod better be kept to oneself.
All this passed rapidly through my
mlud as I returned bis salutation.
" Got any tobacco V" he asked.
I had, and signified the fact, holding
up the pouch Inquiringly.
" All right, I'll come down. Ride on,
and I'll jlne ye on the slide."
"The slide?" Here was a new geo
graphical discovery as odd as the second
trail. I had ridden over the trail a dozen
times, and seen no communication be
tween the ledge and trail. Nevertheless,
I went on a hundred yards or so, when
there was a sharp cracking in the un
derbrush, a shower of stones on the
trail, and my friend plunged through
the bushes to my side down a grade that
I should scarcely have dared to lead my
horse. There was no doubt he was an
accomplished rider another fact to be
noted.
As he ranged beside me I found I was
not mistaken as to his size ; he was
quite under the medium height, and.but
for a pair of cold gray eyes, was rather
commonplace in feature.
" You've got a good horse there," I
suggested.
He was filling his pipe from my pouch,
but looked up a ' little surprised, and
said, " Of course." He then puffed away
with the nervous eagerness of a man
long deprived of that sedative. Finally
between the puffs, he asked me whence
I came.
1 replied from "Lagrange." - .1
He looked at me a few moments curi
ously, but on my adding that I had only
halted there for a few hours, he said : "I
thought I knew every man between La
grange and Indian Spring, but somehow
I sorter disremembered your face and
your name." ,
Not particularly caring that he should
v remember either, I replied, half laugh
1 ing, that as I lived on the other side of
Indian Spring, It was quite natural. He
took the rebuff if such It was so quiet
ly, that, as an act of mere perfunctory
politeness, I asked him where he came
from.
"Lagrange."
" And you are going to "
" Well I that depends pretty much on
how things pan out, and whether I can
make the riffle." He let hia hand rest
quite unconsciously on the leather bol
ster of his dragoon revolver, yet with a
strong suggestion to me of his ability
"to make the riffle" if he wanted to,and
added : " But Just now I was reck'nin
on taking a little paeear with you." . -
There was nothing offensive in his
speech save its familiarity i and the re
flection, that, perhaps, whether I ob
jected or not, he was quite able to do as
he said ; I only replied that if our pasear
was prolonged beyond Heavytree Hill I
should have to borrow his beast. To my
surprise he replied quietly. " That's so,''
adding that the horse was at mydisposal
when he wasn't using It and Aa of it
when he was.. " Dick has carried double
many a time before this," he continued.
"and kin do it again ; when your mus
tang gives out I'll give you a lift, and
room to spare."
I could not help smiling at the idea of
appearing before the boys at lied Gulch
en croupe with a stranger ; but neither
could I help oddly being affected by the
suggestion that his horse had done dou
ble duty before. "On what occasion,
and why?" was a question I kept to
my self, we were ascending the long,
rocKy nantc or tne Uivide ; the narrow.
ness or the trail obliged us to proceed
..1 1 t , dl. A . . . .
iowiy ana in nie, so mat ' mere was
little chance for conversation, had he
been disposed to satisfy my curiosity.
We toiled on In silence, the buckeye
giving way to chimUal, the western sun
reflecting again from the blank walls
beside us, blinding our eyes with its
glare. The pines in the canon below
were olive gulfs of heat, over which a
hawk here and there drifted lazily, or
rising to our level, cast a weird and eL
gantio shadow of moving wings on the
mountain side. The superiority of the
stranger's horRe led him often far In ad- '
vance, and mnde me hope that he might
forget ine entirely, or push on, grown
weary of waiting. But regularly he
would halt by a boulder, or reappear
from some chimUctl, where he had pa
tiently halted. I was beginning to hate
him mildly, when at one of those reap
pearances he drew up to my side, and
asked me bow I liked Dickens I
liud he asked my opinion on Huxley
or Darwin, I could not have been more
astonished. Thinking it were possible
he referred to some local celebrity of La
grange, I Bald hesitatingly :
" You mean I1"
" Charles Dickens. Of course you've
read him t Which of bis books do you
like best V"
I replied with considerable embarrass
ment that I liked them all as I certain
ly did.
lie grasped my baud for a moment
with a fervor quite unlike bis usual
phlegm, and said, " Thut's me, old man,
Dickens ain't no slouch. You can count
on him pretty much all the time."
With this rough preface, he luunched
into a criticism of the novelist, which
for intelligent sympathy and hearty ap
preciation, I had rarely heard equalled.
Not only did he dwell upon the exuber
ance of his humor, but upon the power
of his pathoB and the all-pervading ele
ment of his poetry. I looked at the
man in astonishment. I had considered
myself a rather diligent student of the
great master of fiction, but the stran
ger's felicity of quotation and illustra
tion staggered me. It is true that his
thought was not always clothed in the
best language, and often appeared in
the slouching, shaggy undress of the
place and period, yet it never was rustlo
nor homespun, and struck ' me with its
precision and fitness. Considerably
softened toward him, I tried him with
other literature. But vainly. Beyond
a few of the lyrical and emotional poets,
he knew nothing. Under the influence
and enthusiasm of his own speech, he
himself had softened considerably ; of
fered to change horses with me, re-ad
justed my saddle with professional skill,
transferred my pack to bis own horse,
insisted upon my sharing the contents
of bis wiskey flask, and, noticing that
I was unarmed, pressed upon me a sil
ver-mounted derringer, which he assur
ed me he could "warrant." These vari
ous offices of good will and the diversion
of bis talk beguiled me from noticing
the fact that the trail was.: beginning to
become obscure and unrecognizable. We
were evidently pursuing a route un
known before to me. I pointed out the
fact to my companion a little impa
tiently. HeinBtantly resumed bis old
manner and dialect.
" Well, I reckon one trail's as good as
another, and what hev ye got . to say
about it?"
I pointed out, with some dignity that
I preferred the old trail. '
"Mebbee you did. But you're JIsb
now takin' a pasear with me. This yer
trail will bring you right Into Indian
Spring, and onnotleed, and no questions
asked. Don't you" mind now, I'll Bee you
through."
It was necessary here to make some
stand againBt my strange companion. I
said firmly, yet as politely as I could,
that I had proposed stopping over night
with a friend. '
" Whar?"
I hesitated. The friend wbb an eccen
trics Eastern man, well known in the lo
cality for bis fastidiousness and his hab
its as a recluse. Amisanthroye of rni
ple means, be had chosen a secluded but
picturesque valley in the Sierras, where
he could rail against the world without
opposition. " Lone Valley" or "BoBton
Ranch," as it was more familiarly called
waB the one spot that the average miner
both respected and feared. Mr. Sylves
ter, its proprietor, had never 'affiliated
with "the boys," nor had he ever lost
their respect by any active opposition to
their ideoa. If seclusion had been his
object, he certainly was gratified. Never
theless, in the darkening shadows of the
night, and on a lonely and unknown
trail, I hesitated a little at repeating his
name to a stranger of whom I knew bo
little. But my mysterious companion
took ine matter out of my hands.
" Look yar," he said suddenly, " tbar
ain't but one place twlxt yer and Indian
Spring war ye can atop, and that's Syl
vester's." ' , '"
I assented, a little sullenly.
" Well," said the stranger quietly .and
with a slight suggestion of conferring a
favor on me. " Ef you're pointed for
Sylvester's why- don't mind stop.
ping thar with ye. It's a little off the
road I'll lose some time but taking it
oy ana large I uou't much mind.
I stated as rapidly and as strougly as
i couiu, mat my acquaintance with Mr.
Sylvester did not Justify the introduc
tion of a stranger to his hospitality that
he was unlike most of the people here
in snort that be was a queer man, &o.,
To my surprise my companion an.
swerea quietly : "O, that's all right
I've beard of him. If you don't feel
like checking mo through, or If you'd
rather put ' C. O. D.' on my back, why
It's all the same to me. I'll play it
alone. Only you Just count me In. Hay
'Sylvester' all the time. That's me !"
What could I oppose to this man s
assurance I I felt myself growing red
with anger and nervous with embarrass
ment. What would the correct Sylves
ter say to me ? What would the girls
I was a young man then, and had won
an entree to their domestic circle by my
reserve known by a less complimenta
ry adjective among the " boys" what
would they say to my new acquaintance?
Yet I certainly could not object to bis
assuming all risk on his own personal
recognizunce, noroould I resist a certain
feeling of shame at my embarrassment.
We were beginning to descend. In the
distance below us already twinkled the
light in the solitary raucho of Lone
Valley. I turned to my companion.
But you have forgotten that I don't
even know your name. What am I to
call you."
" That's so," he said, musingly. "Now
let's see. 'Kearney' would be a good
name. It's short and easy like. Thar's
a street in 'Frisco the same title. Kear
ney It is."
" But" I began impatiently.
" No you leave all that to me," be In
terrupted, with a superb self-confldenee
thut I could not but admire. "The name
ain't no account. It's the man that's
responsible. If I was to lay for a man
that I reckoned was named Jones, and
after I fetched him I found out on the
Inquest that his real name was Smith
that wouldn't make no matter, as long
as I got the man."
The Illustration, forcible as it was, did
not Btrlke me as offering a prepossessing
introduction, but we were already at the
raucho. The barking of dogs brought
Sylvester to the door of the pretty little
cottage which his taste bad adorned.
I briefly introduced Mr. Kearney.
" Kearney will do Kearney's good
enough for me," commented the eoUdi
sunt Kearney half aloud, to my own
horror, and Sylvester's evident mystifi
cation, and then he blandly excused
himself for a moment that he might
personally supervise the care of his own
beast. When he was out of ear shot, I
drew the puzzled Sylvester aside.
" I have picked up I mean I have
been picked up on the road by a gentle
maniac, whose name is not Kearney. He
is well armed and quotes Dickens. With
care, acquiescence in hhviews on all
subjects, and general submission to his
commands, he may be placated. Doubt
less the spectacle of your helpless fami
ly, the contemplation of your daugh
ter's beauty and innocence, may touch
his fine sense of humor and pathos.
Meanwhile, heaven help you, and for
give me."
I ran up stairs to the little den that
my hospitable host bad kept always re
served for me in my wanderings. I lin
gered some time over my ablutions,
hearing the languid, gentlemanly drawl
of Sylvester below mingled with the
equally cool, easy slang of my mysteri
ous acquaintance. When I came down
to the sitting-room I was surprised.how-
ever, to find the self-styled Kearney
quietly seated on the sofa, the gentle
May Sylvester, the " Lily of Lone Val
ley," sitting with maidenly awe and
unaffected interest on one side of him,
while on. the other that arrant flirt, her
cousin Kate, was practicing the pitiless
archery of her eyeB, with an excitement
that seemed almost real.
"Who is your deliciously cool
friend?" she managed to whisper to me
at supper as I sat utterly dazed and be
wildered between the en rapt May Syl
vester, who seemed to hang upon his
words, and this giddy girl of the period
who was emptying the battery of her
charms in active rivalry upon him. "Of
course we know his name jsn't Kearney.
But how romantic I And Isn't be per
fectly lovely ? And who is he ?"
I replied with severe irony that I was
not aware what foreign potentate was
then traveling incognito In the Sierras
of California, but that when his Royal
.Highness was pleased to Inform me. I
should be glad to introduce him proper
ly. "Until then," I added, I fear the
acquaintance must be Morganatic."
" You're only jealous of him," she
said, pertly. "Look at May she is
completely fascinated. And her father,
too." And actually, the languid, world
sick, cynical Sylvester was regarding
him with a boyish interest and enthu
siasm almost incompatible with bis na
ture. Yet I submit honestly to tho clear-
beaded reason of jay own sex, that I
could see nothing more in the man than
I have already delivered to the reader,
In the middle of an fcxcitlng story of
adventure, of which, to tho already
prejudiced mind of his fair auditors.
be was evidently the hero, be stopped
Buuueuiy.
" It'B only some , pack train passing
tne bridge on the lower trail," explained
(Sylvester. "Goon."
' "It may be my horse is 'a trifle on
easy in the stable," Bald the alleged
Kearney, " he ain't used to boards and
covering." Heaven only knows what
wild and delicious revelation lay In the
statement of this fact, but the girls look
ed at caeii other with cheeks pink with
excitement as Kearney arose, and, with
quiet absence of ceremony, quitted the
table,
' Ain't ho Just lovely," said Kate.
gasping for breath, "and so witty."
'Witty I" said the gentle May, with
just the slightest trace of deflanoe in her
sweet voice. " Witty, my dear? why,
don't you Bee that his heart Is Just break
ing with vathos ? Witty, indeed ; why,
when he was speaking of that poor
Mexican woman that was bung I saw
the tears gather In hU eyes. Witty, in
deed 1"
" Tears," laughed the cynical Sylves
ter ; " tears, idle tears. Why, you silly
children, the man Is a man of the World
n, philosopher quiet, observant, un
assuming." "Unassuming!0 Was Sylvester In
toxicated, or had the mysterious stran
ger mixed the " insane verb" with the
family pottage ? He returned before I
could answer this self-asked Inquiry ,and
resumed coolly bis broken narrative.
Finding myself forgotten in the man I
had so long hesitated to Introduce to my
friends, I retired to rest early, only to
hear, through the thin partitions, two
hours later, enthusiastic praises of the
new guest from the voluble lips of the
girls, as they chatted together In the
next room before retiring.
At midnight I was startled by tho
sound of horses' hoofs and the jingling
of spUrs below. A conversation between
my host and some mysterious personage
in the darkness was carried on in such a
low tone that I could not learn its Im
port. As the cavalcade rode away I
raised the window.
"What's the matter?"
" Nothing," said Sylvester, coolly,
only another of those playful homi
cldal freaks peculiar to the country. A
man was shot by Cherokee Jack over at
Lagrange this morning, and this was
the Sheriff of Calaveras and his posse
hunting him. I told him I'd seen no
body but you and your friend. By the
way, I hope the cursed noise hasn't dis
turbed him. The poor fellow looked as
if he wanted rest."
I thought so, too. Nevertheless, I
went softly to his room. ' It was empty.
My impression was that he bad distanc
ed the Sheriff of Calaveras about two
hours.
' A Reverend Rascal.
The Rev. Charles Steinbach, of Chi
cago, engaged Margaret Murphy ,a maid
en of nearly forty, as a housekeeper. Ho
told her that his wife was dead and gone
and he wanted a good woman among hia
children. Soon be beat and abused hia
children and often locked her up with
them to starve. At length she resolved
to save one of the children a twelve-
year-old girl from his abuse. She left
the house with the girl, took some of his
things and pawned them for needful
money, and put the child for safe keep
ing in the Home of the Friendless. He
had her arrested for larceny. The papers
spoke of the Steinback trouble. Anoth
er woman saw the case In tho newspa
pers, went to the jail to see Miss Mur
phy, and announced herself as Stein-
bach's lawful wife, deserted by him. and
the mother of bis children. Then the
two women became fast friends to work
out a scheme of vengeance on Steinbach
But he cannot be found.
Rising glory occasions the great
est envy, as kindling Area the greatest
smoke. Envy is the reverse of charity ;
and is that is the supreme source of
pleasure, so this Is of pain. Envy has
under its banner ' hatred, calumny,
treachery, with the meagrenesa of fam
ine, the venom of pestilence, and the
rage of war.
At Dartmouth Park, England, a boy
three years of age was given an old wooden
pipe by his father, with which to , blow
soap bubbles. The father washed out the
pipe before letting the child have it. After
using it the boy was taken ill, and three
days later he died, his death, according to
the medical evidence, being undoubtedly
caused by the nicotine contained in the old
pipe, which he had Bucked while blowing
the soap bubbles.
t3T Turkish women do all their shop
ping at the doors of the stores In Fera,
and the merchant generally a Greek or
an Armenian who speaks Turkish must
go to the carriage window with the things
they wish to purchase. An ordinance of
the Minister of Police prohibits a Turkish
woman from entering any- store in the
Frank quarter.
EST " This little affair places him high
upon the roll as a most unmitigated, ex
ternal, internal, and infernal 'cuss,' " said
Deacon Brower, In a church meeting in
Trigg county, Ky. The allusion was to
the pastor, who had turned his wife out of
doors. ' ,
tW The Iowa Methodist Conference re.
solved to entreat all ministers and members
who use tobacco to desist for conscience's
sake ; and to vote for the admission of no
one to the conference who uses tobaooo,
without a pledge that he will abandon it
JOSSER & ALLEN
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NEWPORT, PENN'A.
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THE subscriber has now on band at
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Good Sole Leather,
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LININGS, ROANS, &c.
F. Mortimer,
, .:. NEW BLOOMFIELD, PA,
TRESPASS NOTICEL-Notlce Is hereby by glv
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8or v. Oret :
J. B. Comp ;
SOLOMON BoWEBt
P. Johnson s
W. B. Ghat ;
Andhrw Trobtls i
S.. Smith :
June 19, 1877. pd
I?AAO HOIXENBAtJOH I
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jEKHXIAft B SNtll J
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ftU PWfwM of a PHTt Baton, multing from aarly
ar Infection of attbar haa. BoamraaJ WMkMii praduc.ua;
SMtlwdon LMf MeMor, lmpU-4 bW&l JUi
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fcatt had a Ufe-ktffg MucritDc, ud eimwbmothM tali. Ha .
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Utm( jwrnrtioaia tha O. 8. IA DIFM raaoMag InMimitt wttk
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MAEEIAOE GUIDE ISJEL.Tt:
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namam, How to ba naftlthy and truly bappy la ! unfed rabt
ttoD. JCnrkdj abooU f lU buoa. frida M) aactth t a
A PHYSIOLOGICAL
View of lilarriao !
xninauiiai Trelia. ou th
dwtw mt auriRw tod tii
iuM that undt tor It ; ih aa--
of Apr-aduation u4
tU DUflwMg f Women.
A took lor privtM, conaioW
On Alt dwortlcm ot 1
A bum, &xoe4a, or Ber Dismuoa, wiUi Uu tat
vat IS ntr axiaiiLtf from Balf
lniMWrtiiinrt I mi ii n
A CI, INK-AX I.tK'TlTU oa 111. tun dlMUn tM
tho of Ui TbMAtand I.uu, fimwi ,"rmra Ui
Opium Ubit.c, price Wcu.
Lithur twK-k mat po.ip.idoa raertpt of prlei or all (hit.
ontaiaiiu fUc t-utiAillT liiuatiuiMj, tor 7 eta
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