Rensselaer Republican, Volume 14, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 July 1882 — A MOUNTAIN RIDE. [ARTICLE]

A MOUNTAIN RIDE.

or course we girls all pitied Rachel Tinkham, but we never quite made her one of us. She was such a shy Httle tiling, and blushed if you -spoke to her, and acted afraid of her own voice, and wore print dresses all of fee time, and never was invited to our parties. She lived in a tumble-down old house which had been a very grand mansion once. The Tiukhams had been great people in my grandmother’s day. Nothing was left of their grandeur now, however, for there had been wine in one generation, and whiskey in the next, and deli rum tremens in the ■ext, Ray’s father was the third. She had a wretched time-keeping home for him. Her mother was dead. “We” were the girls in Mrs. Bland’s private school. A dozen of us were out on the front veranda one morning. We were all talking at once. Some one had said the high school girls were better scholars than we were. “Very well. So they are.” This was Kate Avery, and she was ■landing by the lattice where the morning-glory vines grew, and where a hundred clusters of little bells swung—blue and purple and rosepink. If Kate was anything, she was honest, though she 'was handsome too. "We have music and French conversation, and Lou has a phaeton, and 1 have two donkeys, and Queenie has been to Europe,-but,” lowering her voice, “it’s an awful secret, though it’s the truth, the high school girls are miles and miles beyond us in Latin and mathematics.” "Indeed they sire,” said I. “I’m what the mademoiselle calls an fidgit’ in arithmetic. I really suppose that two and two make four, but if one of those girls was to tell me that they made live, I shouldn’t dare dispute fer.”

"The fact is,” said Kate, “little Tinkham is the only one who is sure •f her multiplication table. But then aft» doesn’t really belong to us. She would not be here if it were not for ■weeping and dusting to pay her tuition. There she is this minute.” A small tired looking figure in a emrse dress came in sight around the corner; it was Rachel with a load of books in her hands. "She has worn that dress every day fer three months,” said Lou Steadman ; “I verily believe she goes to bed when it is done up.” "My dear, she can’t, she has to wash stud iron it herself. Oh, there is Queenie,” cried Kate. It was a gentle, graceful airl who came walking feet to overtake Ray, caught step as ahe overtook her, and began to talk pleasantly to her. “Does she not look nice in that seal brown suit?—• And isn’t it just like her to carry lixy’s books?” Queenie’s real name was Alice. You would have known why we called her Queenie, if you had seen her walk beanie little Tinkham this morning, ■pen the gate, st ind still, erect, with that grand way of hers for the girl to pass through. I believe we all rather worshiped Queenie. Kate met them with her forehead all tied up in hard knots, and asked Ray, “diun’t she ‘want to be an au■pl,’ and help her with those dreadful inactions.?” So they two sat on the doorstep, ■nd the rest went into the schooi■teotn. Then Lou called out to Ray to come and dust her desk. She said It "wasn’t half dusted.” Queenie ■aid: • "Bay is busy, I will do itand she ■Rent, and looking prouder than ever, Ansted Lou’s desk heroelf. It vu that mornimx Frldav that

Mrs. Bland told us that to-mofrow would bo “Mountain Day,” Ail the schools in our town drive'' to the ipountain once a year. Our day always comes in September. This time Mrs. Bland couldn’t go, so she sent along her cousin to matron* Ize ns. She was a fidgety person afraid of spiders and no good any way. “We are to start at nine o’clock,” Queenie said. “Ray can you be ready so early?” Queenie was a new scholar. She didn’t know that Ray never went with us to such place* Now she Hashed ami replied: “I don’t til Ink I cal jo ic *hs mountain.” “Certainly, you are going,” Alice said in her queenliest way. “If you can’t go to-morrow we will put off going.” “Saturday is my day to clean the school-room,” Ray answered. “We will clean it. Let’s begin this minute,” and off came Queenie’s cuffs and Kate’s, all the cuffs, in fact. We went to work and had such fun sweeping and scrubbing. Just imagine Kate and Queenio washing the floor. They did it well too. “Now, remember,” Queenie said the last thing, “everybody is to wear her oldest dress. And, Ray, would you be kind enough to bring hard-boiled eggs for your luncheon? One apiece for us all round?” Now I think it was just beautiful of Queenie to think of that She knew little Tinkham couldn’t bring frosted cake and French rolls as the rest of us did. So she spoke of the eggs. We all remembered that Ray had wonderful chickens. lam sure the word about old dresses, too, was meant to help her. The next morning Obed Tainter came round with his uncovered omnibus and his two great horses and picked us up. We went after Ray last. She was standing in front of the old house, beside the tumble-down gate, with her basket of eggs in her hand. She looked perfectly happy,and her dress was so clean and smooth Kate whispered to me; “That dress has been washed and ironed since last night. Just think of it!” It was a clear warm morning, and every one was in such a glow of spirits. I think we were all glad that we had Rachel with us. But if it hadn’t been for Queenie, Ray would never have gone; and if Ray hadn’t gone the rest of us would never have come home, and this story —for there is a story—would never have been told. It is eight miles to the mountain, and there is a carriage road to the top. The last two miles are very hard and steep, because you rise nearly a hundred feet above tho Connecticut river in that distance. But Obed was a steady, good driver, and his horses were steady, good horses.

We always drew lots for the seat beside Obed, and it was one of our treats to get him talking about his “team,” as he called it. “What are their names?” asked Queenie. “Well”—a pause. Obed was a slow talker, but he had a great deal to say. “The off one there is Caesar, an’ the nigh one he is Alexander.” “Are they afraid of the cars?” “Ain’t afraid o’ nothin’ in natur.” Obed paused for us to think this over, and then went on: “Know too much, them creeturs do. They have carried a loSd to the mountains four times a week all summer.— They’d take you ’bout’s well es I was not along. They know—well—beats all what them animals know. Understand’! I’m talkin’ ’bout ’em this minit’s well’s you do. They’re used to being talked to. My wife, she thinks a sight of’em. Beatsail! She’ll go to the barn, and she’ll carry ’em apples, and she’ll be all over ’em; one week when she was sick, and kep’ in the house, you c’n believe it or not, it’s a fact that them creeturs lost flesh. She braids up their front hair for ’em, and ties it with a red ribbon one day, and then tho next day she unbraids it, and it’s crimped in the fashion, you’ll understand. As they was a coming to a to a party to-day, they’ve got their hairscrimped.” * But alas for Caesar and alack for Alexander. It was a terrible piece of work you came near doing that day, though we girls never shall feel that you were much to blame. You see that this was what happened. We were all tucked into the wagon as tight as figs in a box, that afternoon, ready to start for home, when Lou called out that she had left her parasol. She must get out and run up to the tower and get it. “You just keep y’r siltin’,” said Obed, “I’ll fetch yer umbrilland he started for the tower. It was about ten rods off. The tower and stable are built in a small cleared space at the top of the mountain. All around and oelow are thick woods and groat rocks. Obed had just gone out of sight when Queenie gave a little scream, and put her hand to her eye. “Something has stung me,” she said, and then, that instant, while we were looking at her, it happened. The horses both reared, and then gave a plunge, the omnibus seemed to rise from the ground with a great leap, and, sooner than I can tell it, we were all being borne at an awful speed down that narrow rocky road. I glanced toward Caesar and Alexander, and saw a terrible pair of wild animals. I looked toward the irirls

rows of white, frightened z The reins were dragging on the ground. Some of us were shrieking “Whoa I” A few of us were getting ready to jump. All this in an instant, and then suddenly, above the noise of the wheels and of everything else, we heard a voice ring out clear: “Sit still, girls! I think I can stop the horses!” It was Ray Tinkham, of all people in the world.' She stood up with a steady look in her eyes. _ I must explain here that the road from the tower runs down a gentle slope far half a mile, and then comes a sharp turn. Beyer..i iha*, Is a long hill, the steepest, most dangerous part of the way. Kate seized my hand, and whispered: “If the horses are not stopped before they get to the turn, we shall all be killed.” Ray was climbing over the driver’s seat. She always could climb anywhere like a cat. She didn’t pause an instant, but she called back to me: “Natty Brock, put on the brakes. The rest of you sit still, only pray as hard as you can.” I sprang to the driver’s seat, and jammed down the handle of the brakes. I prayed too. I believed I should never pray again. I saw and thought of a hundred things at once. I saw the great tree trunks and the huge black rocks close upon us. I remembered the clematis over the front door at home, and wondered who would tell my father that I was dead. Meanwhile Ray was over the dashboard, and down with her feet over the whiffle tree. . . How she did it, I shall never know,’ but the next we saw of her, she was creeping along the pole between the horses, steadying herself with her hands on their backs. The horses went tearing on.like wild horses, their manes flying, and their great bodies quivering all over. Every instant the girls were becoming more excited. Queenie was holding Mrs. Blank’s cousin with both hands, to prevent her leaping out. Kate cried : “We are almost to the turn. What is Ray doing? She will frighten the horses worse than ever!” and she covered her eyes. The brow of the hill was not forty feet off. Far behind we could hear Obed’s voice screaming to the horses to stop. The keeper of the tower was flying toward us. But they were too far away to do any good. There seemed not one chance in a thousand for us. But that very instant, when we. all believed we were lost, we looked at Ray. We saw her reach forward with one hand, and grasp the reins which joined the heads of the horses together. Just where the connecting straps crossed one another her fingers clutched them. One sharp, fierce jerk of those great heads backward, and the horses slackened their speed, and in an instant more stopped. The wagon stood still, although the creatures were snorting and plunging yet. But that small hand of Ray’s held on with a death grip, and in a moment more Obed caught the horses by their heads. His face was as white as ever it could be, and he spoke one word only. It was: . “Hornets!”

The horses had been stung in more than twenty places. They were unharnessed ai once, and we were all out on the ground directly. We laughed and we cried, and Mrs. Bland’s cousin distinguished heroelt' by fainting away. •‘I don’t blame the horses in the least,” Queenie said. “One sting is bad enough,” and she showed where her eye was beginning to swell. “The hornets came swarming out of the woods there.” As for Oued, he was a humiliated man. “But I was the one to blame,” he said. “1 thought the horses would ’a stood till their hides dropped otl’n lhe’r ribs; but I tell ye ther’ never was* the team hitched up yet that ’nd stand hornets. Blarst the creelurs!” he added, in an undertone. “But Kay Tinkhaml” cried Kale, and she went up to where the l.ttle thing was sitting on a rock, looking pale. “You saved us all, you blessed child, flow did you ever think of doing that?” “My grandmother stopped some runaway horses in that way once,” gasped Bay. “I didn’t know whether I could stop these. I knew somebodt must do something, or we should ill be dashed to pieces.” “Well.” spoke Obed, “I’ve known o’ that bein’ done just once afore in my lifetime, but it was a boy that did it. There’s a saying ’mongst teamin’ men that, when you hain’t got the reins you can stop a runaway if you walk out on the pole and grip hold o’ the bridles, but taint every horse that’ll stand it.” “But wasn’t it splendid of Rayl” cried Lou, going over, and putting her arm around her. “Never knew a girl c’d have so much pluck,” answered the driver, — “If she hadn’t a’ been light on her feet, and level in ’er head she never c’d ’a’ done it. I tell you if these horses hadn’t been uncommon good horses, nothin’ on airth would ’a’ stopped them.” And Ray ! I never meant to make so long a story of it, but I must tell you that we gave her a party after this. All the fathers, and mothers, and brothers went, and we carried her a carpet for her room and a new chamber set. and nice * new clothes all

through; and a few of |he gentlemen gave her a bank book, whatever that may mean. I only know that she was to nave the income of certain money, and that was enough to educate her thoroughly. We had the best time that night, and Queenie’s father took Ray out to supper, and she sat at his right hand, and everybody treated her as though she been a princess of the blood. Ido believe there never was a hapoier srirl on earth than Rachel.