Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1884)
384 THE WEST SHORE. MOUNTAIN MYSTERIES: A MIDHCMMER HCHEItZO. " T)ER 1UCCO! It is of no use! We shall have to L turn back! and if your Excellency had only lis tened to mo in the first " What more the driver of the little mountain cnrriiige would lmvo siiid is uncertain, his voico being silenced at this point by the explosion of a terrific peal of thunder coming almost simultaneously with the electric flame which illumined the whole landscape. It showed dis tinctly the wild precipitous road skirted by forests of great chestnuts bending and creaking before the furious blast, while lieyond were lofty clifTs crowned with isolated villages, and the AieuninH range upon range in the distance. The next moment all was dark again, but the sudden gleam had served to show a group of buildings, high alxivo the road on the right; one of tho houses seemed HUxriur to tho rest, and in good preservation. Tho solitary traveler answered the unfinished remark of tho vcHuriw by proposing to soek shelter for the night at this dwelling. The driver either did not hear or would not heed this remark, Ixdng engaged in a struggle with his horse. The rxxir creature, terrified at tho storm, had involved itself iu a dilllculty with his irajijx'lu. A Iropjwh, w it known, is an extra horse, ox or mulo, harnessed loosely with ropes in front of tho driven one; it is added at the foot of any steep ascent in the mountain roads, and is under the charge of some villago urchin or country lass, who take it buck to its owners when the ascent is accom plished. Tho two animals iu their fright had tangled their harness and tied themselves head and tail, a complication which it took the driver and tho lxy a considerable time to disentangle, and involved a great deal of discussion. They Ixith talked at once, and made more free use of their hands in conversation than in loosening the roes; and as all the chances were talked over of what might have lmpKned had tho mule reared on tho other side, which whs a sheer precipice, instead of on the inner side of the riNid, and various theories were propounded as to how she got reversed at all, the two energetic voices rising nlxve the continued roar of the storm, it may easily Ikj imagined the traveler lost his patience ere he found a hearing, and again proposed to take shelter at the house he hod mmmi jUNt alxve them. Hut hens alas! a new discussion arose. Regardless of wind and rain, the man and lxy, ouo gesticulating at each side of the storiu-ltenten carriage, urged their opposite opinions on the Englishman, the ninu counseling their going on to the next village, tho lxty advising their return to the one they came from-his own house, by the by ami both denying that any shelter was to be found nearer. " Dut 1 saw several house close by," exelaiimxl the traveler. Two forefingers black in the light of the dim lamp were shaken in his face from optosite directions, and for once the two voices agreed in saying that he hud V.r. mistaken. A sheet of lightning illumined the scene at that instant; the two Italians crossed themselves, and the traveler cried in triumph, " There, you have seen! there is quite a hamlet clime by; let us have no more dispute, I insist" a terrific peal of thunder finished the sentence for him. The driver shmgged his shoulders, and with that un. answerable " come vuole lei" (you must do as you choose), Buccumlwd to superior power. Not so the Imy, who began some disparaging remarks on the house, but the driver cut him short with a word and a push, tolling him to " look after his trappela, who was going over the precipice this time," and turning to Mr. Mostyn, suggested that ho should himself go up to the house and ask for shelter, as they could not leave the horses. Inwardly grumbling at the discomfiture of his posi. tion, and stumbling in the darkness over stones and frag ments of rock, our traveler floundered into a pool, and then emerged on a damp lawn with long grass. Another flash showed him'the house, which seemed to be of solid construction, standing a few yards in front of him. That the windows and dxr should be tightly closed was not to be wondered at during such a storm and at that late hour. Something, however, in the aspect of the building seemed to tell him that it was abandoned, and indeed his urgent knocks elicited no sign of life within. Hesitating iu perplexity what to do next, he observed in a window of one of the adjoining cottages a glimmer of light. Making his way as quickly as possible toward thn beacon, he knocked vigorously at the nearest door. After what seemed a long interval the casement was cautiously opened, and an old woman's head appeared, showing darkly against the light within, which touched her groy hair with silver. To her "Chi eT" (Who's there?) he replied with an urgent request for refuge from the storm; but her answer was doubtful. She was evi dently suspicions of entertaining an unknown guest, arriving in mystery, like the demon of the storm. She withdrew, and the sound of several voices arguing to gether was hoard within. All the while Arthur Mostyn was Ixjing drenched without, for mountain rain falls iu cascades, not iu single drops. At length the door was. opened slowly by a young man, and the traveler entering found himself in one of those large, low chambers, at once kitchen and sitting room, common to tho mountains. The walls were per. fectly black with ago and smoke; the ceiling, of loose poles laid across beams, was equally black. This might be explained by the fact that the fire was in the middle of the floor, bricked round for the purpose, and that the smoke ascended through the open roof and escaped alxve. The scene was jierfectly Rembrandtesqiyglowing fire burned in the centre, while a Luge caldiWlmng from beam steaming in ite midst, and around were grouied large family party grandmother and grandchildren, stal wart sons and their wives, a kitten and a lxiby, curled op tegethor fast asleep on the floor, another sleepy child