An Unpleasant Companion.
"It was one bright evening, in the fall of 18--," said my uncle, "while
I was traveling on horseback through the northern part of Missouri,
that I reined up before a pleasant little tavern, where I purposed to
stop for the night. The landlord, a bustling little Englishman, soon
had supper ready for me, and as I had not eaten a mouthful since
morning, I sat down to it with a most ravenous appetite, and ate until
I began to feel ashamed of myself, and finally stopped, not because I
was satisfied, but because I had eaten every thing on the table, and
did not wish to call for more. As I was rising from the table, the
hostler entered the room, and said:
"'What be the matter with your 'orse, sir? He be so lame he can 'ardly
walk?'
"'The matter with my horse!' I repeated; 'there was nothing the matter
with him when I gave him into your charge;' and, in no amiable mood, I
started for the stable.
"My horse, which was the gift of a deceased friend, was one of the
finest animals I ever saw. I had owned him for more than six years,
during which he had been my almost constant companion; and as I had
neither wife nor child to love, it is no wonder that my affections
clustered around him. I found that he was indeed lame; one of his legs
was swollen to twice its usual size, and it was with great difficulty
that he could move. I was for some time entirely at a loss how to
account for it, and felt very much like giving the hostler, who stood
at a little distance, eyeing me as though he expected a kicking, a
piece of my mind, when I happened to remember that, as I was that
afternoon descending a steep hill, my horse had stepped upon a rolling
stone, and almost thrown me from the saddle; and I noticed that he
limped a little afterward; but I thought it was nothing serious, and
had almost forgotten the circumstance. This I explained, in a few
words, to the hostler, who drew a long breath, as if a mighty load
had been removed from his breast. After rubbing the animal's leg with
some liniment, which I had brought with me, I saw him plentifully fed
and bedded down, and returned to the tavern. After spending an hour
listening to the 'yarns' of the occupants of the bar-room, I went up
to bed, and was soon fast asleep. Near the middle of the night, I was
aroused by loud voices under my window; and, as soon as I was fairly
awake, I found that something unusual was going on. The shrill,
frightened voices of the females mingled with the hoarse ejaculations
of the men, and every thing appeared to be in the greatest confusion.
I sprang out of bed, and after hastily drawing on my clothes, ran down
into the bar-room.
"'What's the matter, landlord?' I inquired of my host, as he hurried
by me, pale and almost breathless with excitement.
"'Matter!' he repeated. 'Come and see. Giles Barlow has been around
again, and there is one poor fellow less in the world, I'm afraid.'
"He led the way to a small bed-room, which opened off the bar-room,
where I found several persons crowded around a bed, on which lay the
form of a man, and a surgeon was engaged in bandaging an ugly-looking
wound, which he had received in his breast. As soon as the operation
was completed, he informed us, in reply to an inquiry of one of the
bystanders, that the wound was dangerous, but that by careful nursing
the man might recover; and ended by requesting us to leave the room,
as much depended on his being kept quiet. We moved back into the
bar-room, and I inquired of one of the men who Giles Barlow was.
"'Why, don't you know?' he asked, in surprise. 'I thought everybody
had heard of him! I guess you are a stranger in these parts, ain't
you?'
"I replied in the affirmative.
"'You must live a good piece from here,' said the man, 'or you would
certainly have heard of Giles Barlow. He is a highwayman, that has
been about here for almost ten years, murdering folks and stealing
their money. He goes on the principle that "dead men tell no tales."'
"'Why haven't you arrested him before this time?' I inquired.
"'O, yes,' answered the man, 'that's all easy enough to talk about.
Haven't we tried that game? We've hunted him with rifles, and tracked
him with blood-hounds, but you might as well try to catch a
will-o'-the-wisp.'
"'What sort of a looking man is he?' I asked.
"'He's a small man,' answered my informant, 'and looks like a dried-up
mullen-stalk. But, the Lord love you, he's quick as lightning, and
he's got an eye that can look right through a common man. And such
hair! It is long and curly, and looks like snakes stuck on his head.
I've seen him once, and I never want to meet him alone in the woods,
now, I tell you.'
"I felt some curiosity to know something more of this noted robber,
but before I could ask another question the man had walked away,
shrugging his shoulders, and joined a group of his companions, who
stood in one corner of the room, talking over the matter.
"After the exciting scenes through which I had just passed, sleep was
of course out of the question; and I stretched myself out on a bench
by the fireplace, and waited impatiently for the morning. It came at
length, and, as was my usual custom, I hurried out to the stable to
look after my horse. I found him much better, but his leg was still
swollen, and I knew that he would not be in good traveling condition
for at least a week.
"'Landlord,' I exclaimed, as I entered the bar-room, 'where can I hire
a horse for two or three days? I must be in Bennington by day after
to-morrow, and my horse is too lame to travel.'
"'Well,' said the landlord, 'you are in a nice fix. I don't believe
there is a horse about here you can get.'
"'I must have one,' I answered, 'for I must be in Bennington as soon
as possible.'
"'Well, I'll see what I can do for you,' said the landlord, and, going
to the door, he shouted to the hostler, who stood in the stable,
rubbing down my horse, 'Tom, go over to Bill Parker's and see if you
can get his mare. Tell him there's a gentleman here who wants to hire
her for two or three days.'
"Tom started off immediately, but soon returned with the information
that Mr. Parker had gone off into the country to buy cattle, and would
not return in less than a week.
"What should I do? I had an important case to attend to in Bennington,
and must be there in time. I was about making up my mind that I would
start off on foot, when the landlord suddenly exclaimed:
"'I'll tell you what you can do. This creek' (pointing to a wide, deep
stream which flowed by a little distance from the tavern) 'runs within
half a mile of where you want to go; and I guess you might hire Jim
Hilton's boat.'
"Mr. Hilton's dwelling was pointed out to me, and, in a few moments, I
found my man chopping wood in the yard. I made known my wants. After
rolling his quid about in his mouth, he concluded to let me have the
boat, or rather dugout, provided I would 'do the fair thing' by him.
To this I readily agreed. After giving emphatic directions as to the
treatment of my horse, I stepped into the canoe, and was soon out of
sight of the tavern. I used my paddle with a will, and made good
headway. When I became weary, I would cease paddling, and allow the
canoe to glide along with the current, giving only an occasional
stroke to direct its course.
"About noon, I began to grow hungry, and turned the canoe's head
toward the shore, to eat my dinner and rest myself, for I had become
very tired from the cramped position in which I was obliged to sit. In
about an hour I made preparations to continue my journey, and was
about pushing the canoe from the shore, when a strong, cheery voice
called out:
"'Hallo, friend! whither bound?'
"I looked up, and saw a man, dressed in the garb of a hunter, standing
on the bank above me, leaning on his rifle.
"'I am going to Bennington,' I replied.
"'Are you? That's lucky. I am traveling in the same direction. Would
you have any objections to good company?'
"'No sir,' I replied. 'Come on.'
"The hunter came down the bank; depositing his rifle and knapsack
carefully in the bow of the canoe, he took up one of the paddles, and
we pulled from the shore. As soon as we got out into the current, I
turned, with some casual remark, to take a nearer look at my
passenger. Merciful Heaven! how I started! He was a small man,
considerably below the medium hight, very slim, but well formed, and
wiry as an eel, and the enormous muscles on his limbs showed plainly
with every motion he made. But his eye! How it flashed! and when he
turned it on me I felt as though he were reading my very thoughts. And
then there were the long 'snaky' ringlets, which the man at the tavern
had described to me. My companion was none other than Giles Barlow,
the highwayman and murderer.
"You may be sure I was not very well pleased with this discovery, and
the cold sweat started out from every pore of my body; still I did not
feel afraid, for I was accustomed to scenes of danger, was well armed,
and had the reputation of being a tough customer to handle. But the
situation in which I was placed would have tried stronger nerves than
mine. I thrust my hand into my pocket, and felt that my revolvers were
safe. I concluded that, if the worst came to the worst, I could at
least have two pulls at him before he could reach me; and, as I was a
good shot, I had little fear of missing my mark.
"My companion was a very jolly fellow, and joked and laughed as though
he felt extremely happy, and I, of course, joined with him, keeping a
close watch on all his movements.
"The afternoon wore slowly away, and as it began to grow dark, I
became doubly watchful, for I knew that if he intended to make an
attempt upon my life, the time was approaching. About nine o'clock my
companion suddenly said, as he wound up one of his stories:
"'There's no need of both of us sitting up. It's a good forty miles to
Bennington, and we shan't reach it before morning.'
"'Very well,' said I, 'you may go to sleep first, and I will call you
at midnight.'
"'O, no,' said he, 'I'm not in the least sleepy; I will steer the
canoe, and you can lie down here in the bow, and sleep as long as you
like.'
"Of course it would not answer for me to raise any objections to this,
for I knew it would arouse his suspicions; so we changed places, and
the highwayman took his seat in the stern of the canoe. After wrapping
my cloak around me, and placing myself so that I could see every
motion he made, I drew one of my revolvers, and waited impatiently to
see what course things would take.
"For almost an hour my companion steered the boat very well, and I
began to think that perhaps I had been mistaken in my man, when I saw
him carefully draw in his paddle, muttering, as he did so:
"'Ah, my chicken, you little thought that you had Giles Barlow for a
passenger. I'll just quietly douse your glim, and take what money and
other little valuables you may have, to pay your traveling expenses to
the other world.'
"As he spoke, he bent over and drew out of his knapsack a long,
shining bowie-knife, and, after trying its edge with his thumb, rose
slowly to his feet. In an instant, I threw aside my cloak, and,
supporting myself on my elbow, I raised my revolver, and took a quick,
steady aim at his breast. He uttered a cry of surprise, but without
hesitating a moment, threw himself forward. But the sharp report of
the revolver echoed through the woods, and the robber sank back into
the canoe, dead.
"I arrived at Bennington the next morning about ten o'clock, and
delivered the body to the authorities. The news spread like wildfire,
for the name of Giles Barlow was as familiar as a household word.
"I prosecuted my case with success, and, in a week, returned to the
place where I had left my horse. He had received excellent care, and
was entirely cured of his lameness; but the landlord stubbornly
refused any remuneration. He had heard of my exploit, and that was his
way of showing his gratitude."