FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163  
164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   188   >>   >|  
en he got this letter, then he said, "Harry, how long is it since Barron ran away?" "About eight weeks," said Mr. Harry. "That's strange," said Mr. Wood. "The money these English people sent him would get to Boston just a few days after he left here. He is not the man to leave it long unclaimed. Something must have happened to him. Where do you suppose he would go from Penhollow?" "I have no idea, sir," said Mr. Harry. "And how would he go?" said Mr. Wood. "He did not leave Riverdale Station, because he would have been spotted by some of his creditors." "Perhaps he would cut through the woods to the Junction," said Mr. Harry. "Just what he would do," said Mr. Wood, slapping his knee. "I'll be driving over there to-morrow to see Thompson, and I'll make inquiries." Mr. Harry spoke to his father the next night when he came home, and asked him if he had found out anything. "Only this," said Mr. Wood. "There's no one answering to Barron's description who has left Riverdale Junction within a twelvemonth. He must have struck some other station. We'll let him go. The Lord looks out for fellows like that." "We will look out for him if he ever comes back to Riverdale," said Mr. Harry, quietly. All through the village, and in the country it was known what a dastardly trick the Englishman had played, and he would have been roughly handled if he had dared return. Months passed away, and nothing was heard of him. Late in the autumn, after Miss Laura and I had gone back to Fairport, Mrs. Wood wrote her about the end of the Englishman. Some Riverdale lads were beating about the woods, looking for lost cattle, and in their wanderings came to an old stone quarry that had been disused for years. On one side there was a smooth wall of rock, many feet deep. On the other the ground and rock were broken away, and it was quite easy to get into it. They found that by some means or other, one of their cows had fallen into this deep pit, over the steep side of the quarry. Of course the poor creature was dead, but the boys, out of curiosity, resolved to go down and look at her. They clambered down, found the cow, and, to their horror and amazement, discovered near-by the skeleton of a man. There was a heavy walking-stick by his side, which they recognized as one that the Englishman had carried. He was a drinking man, and perhaps he had taken something that he thought would strengthen him for his morning's walk, but which had,
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163  
164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   188   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Riverdale

 

Englishman

 

Junction

 

Barron

 

quarry

 

beating

 

skeleton

 

clambered

 
wanderings
 

thought


cattle
 

strengthen

 

autumn

 
morning
 

Months

 
passed
 
amazement
 

horror

 

Fairport

 

creature


carried

 

fallen

 
recognized
 

return

 
smooth
 

disused

 

resolved

 

broken

 
curiosity
 

walking


ground

 

discovered

 

drinking

 

suppose

 

Penhollow

 

unclaimed

 

Something

 

happened

 
Perhaps
 
slapping

creditors

 

spotted

 

Station

 

letter

 

strange

 

Boston

 

people

 

English

 

fellows

 

struck