San Antonio Sunday Light (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 17, No. 276, Ed. 1 Sunday, November 6, 1898 Page: 9 of 12
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San Antonio Sunday Light
PART TWO. November O
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w'AhrH 1 J- *• S| . CMtIWWr .aU ...» Lj- >•
»TBIw
W su< • 7 • *4 «■
Brewers of Absolutely pure beers on Jy. No Corn Preparations or other
substances used in the manufacture.
DRINK OUR FAMOUS
Cabinet Erlanger Standard
elephone 13 Metallic Circuit.
ELMENDU < F & CO..
North Side Military Plaza.
DEALERS IN
HARDWARE
AND ALL KINDS OF
Gm Farmins and ini Machinery
Mechanics’ Supplies. Cassidy Sulky Plows (warranted lightest draft
made) Thrashers Engines Scales Mowers and Reapers and
Agricultural ImolimeDts. Agents for the celebrated
Mmw Barbed fir*.
ftiwisil and Mig Iron.
Secure Our Prices hetore Buying Liberal discount to the trade.
A True Home Industry.
Ato Ato A'•-Ato Jilz. Ato
to? wS to? to?
All Tiie Stock Owiad By San Antonio Citizen.
*
“ JUi E S
Largest Brewery in the South
Cto M Ato Ato
us « «mi ishio as
. More Than Any Other Brewery South of St. Louis
The Cause Of this is the Excellent Quality of The Beer Prod u ceC
PUBLISHED AT BAN ANTONIO BR KAB COUNTY. TEXAS. AND REGISTERED AT TNI POSTOFFICE AB SECOND CLASS MAIL MATTER.
BUPFLEM EITT.
'^‘-TY T YrV? A
* IL J \ I .Xiiiszl I/• । I
EPL/ODE
CZW IN THE LIFE OF AMELIA BUTTEPkOIIIH
BV ANNA KATIIAPINE Gi?Ef.N--i"
Al/THOT? OF * THE LEAVENVJORTH CArt*
• BEHIND Q£ZED DOOE/* "THAT AFFAIQ NEXT DOOfc*
— CDPTOGHT. 1897. Bf AHHA K. ROHLFJ — EIC. EK
it st my leisure on the cars. The latter
course would be far the easiest for ri!y
hands were cumbered with the various
mall articles I consider indispensable
to the comfortable enjoyment of the
shortest journey and the glasses with-
out which I cannot read a word were
in the very bottom of my pocket under
some other equally necessary articles of
smaller size.
But something in tins man's expect-
ant look warned me that he would nev-
er leave me till I had read the note so
with a sigh I called Leia to my aid and
after several vain attempts to reach my
glasses succeeded in pulling them out at
last and by their help reading the fol-
lowing hurried lines:
Dear Maoam— l send you thia by u swifter
messenger Hum myself. Do not let anything
that 1 may have said last night. Influence you
to leave your comfortable home. The adven-
turn offers too many dangers tor a woman
Read the indent'd. D
The inclosed was a telegram from
Obadiah Trohm sent during the night
I aud evidently just nceived at head-
quarters. Its contents were certainly
not reassuring:
Anoiher person missing. Seen to have on
tored Lost. Mau's lane. Never wen to have
come out of it. A harmless lad known ns Silly
Rufus What's to be done ; Wireorder* F
I “Mr Gryce Vado mo say that ho
would be up lure some time itefore
noon ” said the nmn seeing ate look
with some blankness at these words.
Nothing more was needed to pull me
together Folding up the letter. 1 put
it in my bag
“Say to Mr. Gryce from me that my
intended visit cannot be postponed” I
remarked. “I have telegraphed to my
friends to expect me aud only a great
emergency would lead me to disappoint
them I will be glad to receive Mr
Gryce on my return." And without
further parley I took my bundles back
from Leia anti proceeded at once to the
carriage Why should 1 show any fail-
ure of courage at an event that was but
a repetition of the very ones whi<4i
made my visit necessary? Was I a like-
ly one to fall victim to a mystery to
which my eyes have been opened? Had
I not been sufficiently warned of the
dangers of Lost Man’s lane to keep my-
self at a respectable distance from the
place of peril? I was going to visit the
children of my once devoted friend If
there were perils of no ordinary nature
to be encountered there was I not all the
more called upon to go if only as a moral
support to these young people who pci
haps themselves were paralyzed bv fear? I
Yes Mr Gryce and nothing not
should hold me back I even felt an in
creased desire to reach the sei no of the.
mysteries ami chafed some at the h.ngth I
of the journey which was < f a mere tc
dious character than I expected. A p< ;
beginning for events requiring pitieme
as well as great moral courage but 1
little knew what was before mo an I
only considered that every moment
spent on this het and dustv train I. :
me thus much longer from the erabra. s
of Althea’s children
I recovered my equanimi however
as we approached The • cnery was I
really beautiful and the consciousness I
that 1 should soon alight at the mouti
tain station which had played a more j
or less serious part in Mr. Gryce’s nar
rative awakened iti me a pleasurable j
excitement which should have been a
sufficient warning to me that the spirit •
which had led me tl trough that affair
next door had seized me again in a way I
that meant equal absorption if not equal '
success.
The number of small packapes'l car- |
ried gave ine enough to think of at the j
moment of alighting but as soon as 1 j
was safely again on terra Anna I threw
a hasty glance around to see if any of
Althea's children were there to meet
mo.
I felt that 1 would know them at
once She had been so characteristically
pretty they could not fail to show some
likeness which would lead to an instant
recognition while they could not fail
to know me.* But while there were two '
or three country maidens to be seen
standing in and around the little pavil '
ion known here as the mountain station 1
I saw no one who by any stretch of im- 1
agination could lo regarded as of Al
thea Burrough's blood or breeding.
Somewhat disappointed for I had ex-
pected different results from my tele- 1
gram I stepped up to the station mas-
ter and asked him whether I wonld 1
have any difficulty in procuring a car 1
ri ago to take me to Miss Knollys’ house 1
He stared it seemed to me unnecessari-
ly long before replying.
"Waal”’ said he "Simmons is usu- '
ally here but—l don’t see him round 1
today. Perhaps one of these farmer lads 1
will take it”
But they all drew back with a sort of I r
scared look aud I was beginning to tuck *
up my skirts preparatory to walking *
when a little old man of very meek ap e
peaiance drove up in a very old fash-
ionod coach and with a hesitating air
springing entirely from bashtulness
managed to ask if I was Miss Butter-
worth I hastened to assure him that 1
? was whereupon he stammered out some
words about Miss Knollys aud how sor-
ry she was that sho could not como for
mo herself Then ho pointed to his
coach and made me understand that 1
»•
f was to step into it and go with him.
It was not an altogether encouraging
outlook especially as I saw the heads
of the various onlookers draw together
and many curious looks directed at us
। both aud the conveyance that was to
carry us. But I was in no mood to bo
d?mited now and accepting the old cod-
ger’s apologies with what grace I could
I stepped into the wagon and prepared
myself for a ride into town
But it seems I was not to be allowed
„ to enter upon this adventure without
another warning. While the old man
1 was engaged in bringing my trunk the
station master approached mo with
1 great civility and with a touch of his
’ ‘ hat asked if it was my intention to
spend a few days with the Misses Knol-
r lys. 1 told him that it was and thinking
it best to establish my position at once in
| the eyes of the whole town added with
” a politeness equal to his own that I was
an old friend of the family aud had been
< coining to visit them for years but hud
। never found it convenient till now and
; that I hoped they were all well and
would be glad to see me.
He made some sort of reply showing
t. considerable embarrassment then pluck-
ing up his courage said with marked
j constraint:
( “Perhaps you have not heard that
■ I this village just now is under a cloud. ”
t ! “I have heard” I said innocently
[ • “that one or two men have disappeared
’ from here somewhat mysteriously. Is
t that what you mean?”
“Yes” he answered. “One person a
j I !• v disappeared only two days ago.”
. I “That’s bad.’’ I said “but what has
f । that to do with me?” I asked smilingly
j for I saw he was not at the end of his
. talk.
“Oh nothing ’’ he cried eagerly
I । "only I didn’t know but you might be
timid”—
“Oh I’m not at all timid!' 1 has-
tened to say. “If I were 1 should not
have come here at all. Such matters
don’t affect me.” And I spread out my
skirts aud arranged myself for my ride
as if the horrors be had mentioned had
made no more impression upon me than
if his chat bad been of the weather.
Perhaps I overdid it for he looki d at
me for another moment in a curious
lingering way; then he walked off and
I saw him enter the circle of gossips on
I the platform where he stood shaking
। his head as long as we were within
! sight.
Before taking his seat my driver es-
cort gave me a furtive glance as he. ;
stooped to tear from one of the spokes a
bit of rag that seemed to have been '
caught there. He was evidently prepar-
ing to make a good impression and to ’
do me suitable honor.
My companion who was* the shiest 1
man I ever saw did not speak a word
while descending the hill. I talked ami
endeavored to make him too but his re- I
plies were mere grunts or half syllables j
which conveyed no information what-
ever. As wo cleared the thicket how-
' ever he allowed himself an ejaculation |
or two as he pointed out the beauties < f I
| the landscape And indeed it was well i
| worth his admiration and mine bad my j
1 mind been free to enjoy it. But the I
! houses which now began to appear on !
I either side of the way drew my atten- ।
' tiou from the mountains. We were still
somewhat remote from the town were
' rapidly approaching the head of that
lane of evil fame with whose terrible
history my thoughts were at this time
full. I was so anxious not to pass it
without one look into its grewsome re- I
cesses that I kept my head persistently i
turned that way till I felt Iwas attract- ; '
ing the attention of my companion. As '
this was not desirable I put on a non-
chalant look ami began chatting about |
what I saw. But he had lapsed into his I
early silence and only answered by
snap of his whip at the horse whose jog
trot needed a little urging.
Suddenly I myself grew still. The
houses were growing fewer on the left
hand side of the way and I saw beyond
the dark boughs of a pine thicket. We
were nearing Lost Mau’s lane we were *
abreast of it we were—turning into it.
I could not repress the exclamation
that escaped me I J
"Where are we going?” I asked. .
“To Miss Knollys’ house ” he found
words to say smiting his horse again .
but with a sidelong glance at me this
time full of uneasy inquiry.
“Do they live on this road?” said L J
remembering with a certain shock Mr.
Gryce’s suspicious description of the
two young ladies who with their broth- .
er inhabited the dilapidated mansion
marked in the map be had shown me
K 1
"Certain” was the laconic answer
and obliged to bo satisfied with this I
drew myself up with just one longing
look behind me at the cheerful highway
we were so rapidly leaving. A cottage
with an open window in which a
child’s head could be seen nodding
eagerly toward me met my eyes and
filled inowith quite an odd sense of dis-
comfort as I realized that I had caught
the attention of one of the little crip-
ples who according to Mr. Gryce al-
ways kept watch over this entrance in-
to Lost Man's lane. Another moment
and the pine branches had shut the vi-
sion out but I did not soon forget that
eager childish face and pointing hand
marking me out as an intruder if not a
possible victim to the horrors of this ill
reputed lane. But I was aware of no
secret flinching from the adventure in-
to which I was plunging. On the con-
trary I felt a strange aud fierce delight
in thus being thrust into the very heart
of this mystery which I had only ex-
pected to approach by degrees. The
warning message sent mo by Mr. Gryce
had acquired under it a deeper ami
more significant meaning as did tlx
looks which had been cast mo by the
station master aud his gossips on the
hillside but in my present mood these
very tokens of the serious nature of my
undertaking only gave au added spur
to my courage. I felt my brain clear
and my heart expand as if even now
before I had so much as set eyes on the
faces of the v *i young people I recognized
the fact that they were the victims of a
web of circumstances so tragic ami in
comprehensible that only a woman like
myself would be able to clear then
away and restore these girls to the c u:
fideucc of the people around them
I forgot that these girls hail a broth*
and that— But not a word to forest?
the truth I wish this story to grow m
I SAW A FLASH FN ONE OF THE UPPER WINDOWS.
on you just as it did upon me anil with
I just as little preparation.
The farmer who drove me and whom
I afterward learned was called Sims-
' bury showed a certain dogged interest
I in my behavior that would have amused
j mo or at least have awakened my dis-
j ilain under circumstances of a less
j thrilling nature. I saw his eye roll in a
sort of wonder over my person which
may have been held a little more stiffly
than was necessary and settle finally on
my face with a look I might have
thought complimentary had I had any
thought to bestow on such matters. Not
till we had passed the path branching
up through the woods toward the inoun-
’ tain did he see fit to withdraw it nor
J did I fail to find it fixed again upon me
1 as we rode by the little hut occupied by
the old woman considered so harmless
by Mr. Gryce.
' Perhaps he had a reason for this as 1
was very much interested in this hut
and its occupant about which I felt free
to cherish my own secret doubts —so in-
terested that I cast it a very sharp glance
and was glad when I caught a glimpse
through the doorway of the old crone's
bent form and toothless jaws mumbling
over a piece of bread she was engaged
In eating as we passed her.
“Mother Jane ” explained my com-
panion breaking the silence of many 1
minutes. “And yonder is Miss Knollys” |
he added lifting his whip and pointing
toward tne half concealed facade of a |
large and pretentious dwelling a
rods farther on down the road. “She '
will be powerful glad to see you miss
dompany is scarce in these parts. ”
Astonished at this sudden launch into
conversation by one whose reserve even
I bad found it impossible to penetrate I i
■rave him the affable answer he evident- 1
I’ACEfci O TO 1-2.
ly expected aiid tnen looked eagerly to-
ward tho house. It was as Mr. Gryce
had intimated eminently f.u-biddiug
even at that distance and as we ap-
proached nearer aud I was given a full
view of its worn and discolored front I
felt myself forced to acknowledge that
never in my life had my eyes fallen
upon n habitation more given over to
neglect or less promising in its hospital-
ity-
Had it not been for tho thin circle of
smoko eddying up from ono of its bro l
ken chimneys I should have looked up-
on the place as one which had nc(
known the care or presence of man for
years. Thero was a riot of shrubbery in
tho yard a lack of the commonest at-
tention to order in the wav the vines
drooped in tangled masses over the very
face of the desolate porch that gave to
tho broken pilasters and decayed win
dow frames of this dreariest of facades
that look of abandonment which only
becomes picturesque when nature has
usurped the prerogative of man and
taken entirely to herself the empty
walls and falling casements of what
was once a human dwelling. That any
one should be living in it now and that
I who have never been able to see a
chair standing crooked or a curtain
awry without a sensation of tho keenest
discomfort should be on the point of
deliberately entering its doors as an in-
mate filled me at tho moment with
such a sense of unreality that I descend-
ed from the carriage in a sort of a
dream and was making my way through
one of the gaps in tho high antique
fence that separated tho yard from the
gateway when Mr. Simsbury stopped
me and pointed out tho gate.
I did not think it worth while to
apologize for the broken palings cer-
tainly offered as good an entrance as
tho gate which had slipped from its
uiuges aim mmg out a lew incues open
। But I took the course he indicated bold
ing up my skirts as well as my pack
ages would allow and treading gingerlj
for fear of the snails and toads that in
cumbered such portions of the path as
the weeds had left visibla As I went
on something in the silence of the spot
struck me. Was 1 becoming oversensi-
tive to impressions or was there some-
thing really uncanny in the absolute
lack of sound or movement in a dwell-
ing of such dimensions? But I should
not have said movement for at that in-
stant I saw ;. flash in one of tho upper
windows as of a curtain being stealth-
ily drawn and as stealthily let fall
again aud though it gave me the prom-
ise of some sort of greeting there was a
furtiveuess in the action that was so in
keeping with the suspicions of Mr.
Gryce that I felt my nerves braced at
once to mount the half dozen uninvit-
ing looking steps that led to the front
door.
But no sooner had I done this with
what I am fain to thing was my bee’
air than I suddenly collapsed with what
must have been a movement of sudden
and to me quite comprehensible fe'*
for while I do not quail before m<
and have a reasonable fortitude In the
presence of most dangers corporeal and
moral I am not quite myself in face of
a rampant and barking dog. It is my
one weakness. I can divulge that much
now. and while I usually can and un-
der most circumstances do succeed in
hiding any outward manifestation of
my inner trepidation I always feel that
it wonld be a happy day for me when
dogs would be banished from the affec-
tions and homes of men. Then I think
I would begin to live in good earnest
and perhaps enjoy trips into tbeosuutry
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San Antonio Sunday Light (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 17, No. 276, Ed. 1 Sunday, November 6, 1898, newspaper, November 6, 1898; San Antonio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1683538/m1/9/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .