Meigs County telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy [Ohio]) 1848-1859, 1852-02-03


child was sleeping TRANQUILITY rs rosy cheeks
hail buried in nglhe pill6wsae 'le room was
full Of ,pale, trembling shadoN but she had
mo superstitiousl fears. SoulEihing positive
could alone raise her alarm$ She listened
lotendyeIyg bntlcouldshear Ibshing but the,
howlng Of the wind over iht roofsnnd the
paitering oftlhedrainl agninsl the window
Ipanes. sgAslher excitement diminished, ia
shadq been lotgpAen--began
againtolmalser ilselfilfeli, and she resolved
10 golto bed 4 ,sai-l atl2 As,iai =
y Her heaaleapediin,o her ,'ree, For a
moment she seemal aperfee 1l0:
she had undressed and put n u ldAdI6,'
when she accidentally dropp h6fIwa.eh.
S,opping,o pick il up, her ey lnyoIuhtari.
.ly gIuhced towards the bed. great mass
of red ha'f, and d cleaning faiIe. were re-
vealed BY The light ofA4he Alisr the'
FIRST moment Of terrible alarni lles presence
of mind returned. lea She Gel Ibhrshe had
herself Gu, off ali means oi seape;byiqhe
door, and was left entirely d Iief ownBre-
sources. Without utterihg ysbnttrenl..
cling in every limb, the pd woman got
into bed by 'thelside H her chi An.idea4-
"a plan had suggested use bad flashed
through her brain like lighlnI as the onl y
chance left. 51c4is in,fi a1s -
Her bed was so disposed dat The robber
could only get oul from benel 3 II BY d mar.
row Aperture at the head, wi I.'ou. making a
noise; and it is probable al he would
choose, from prudence, this ID lbs Of exit -
There were no curtains in iha H'ay, SO Mrs,
Marin, with terrible decision ana noisless
energy, made a, running kItih her silk
scarf, and held It poised ov lbe, aperture
by which her enemy was ID nlake his ap.
pearance. She had drcsolved strangle him
in self defence Of her own Il and thar Of
her child. ~, y, Y
The position was on awful 1lIe, and prob.
ably had she been ablelto duct her ,alIen-
lion 10 the circumstances a0pnd her she
might have given way 10 her Ears, and en-
deavored 10 raise The house screalns.---.
The fire on the hearth, unai1 1aaed 10, had
fallen. abroad, and now CAV oiily "a dull
sullen light, with an occasiona bright gleam.-
Every object in the vast apa pIent. showed
dimIy and uncertainty, and aened 10 be
endowed with restless mot Now and
then mouse advanced steal y along the
floor, but startled by some nd Q'tment under
the bed, went securing back serrorto its
hole The child brea,hed idly in its
unconscious repose; the mot endeayored
also 10 initiate slumber; but nan under
ihe bed, uneasy in his posihon, could not
avoid occasionally making slight noise.
Mrs, Martin was occupied only with 1--WE
ideas; first she reflected onihe extraordinary
deuson by which she had been led 10 see
enemies in The people OF the house, and a
friend in this red.haired man and, secondly
il struck her, that as he could fear no re.
sislance from woman, he might push aside
the chairs that were in the way, regardless
of the noise, and thus avoid the snare that
was laid for him. Once even she thought
that whilst her attention was strongly direct.
ed to one spot, he had made his exit, and
was leaning over her; but she was deceived
by Pickering shadow on the opposite wall
In reality there was no danger thai he would
compromise the success of his sanguinary
enterprise; The shrieks Of a victim put on its
guard, might alarm the house. .a
Have you ever stood, hour after hour,
with The ferocious patience Of an angler for
q nibble If you have, you have some
faint idea Of the s,ate Of mind in which Mrs
Martin-wilh far greater interest at stake
passed the tme,, until an old clock on the
chimney piece told one hour alte midnight.
Another source of anxiety now presented
itselr-the fire had nearly burnt out. Her
dizzy eyes could scarcsly see the floor, as
she bent with fearful attention over The head
ofIhe bed-lhe terrible moose hanging, like
the sword of Damocles above the gloomy
aperture. WHAT" she lhought"if he de.
lay his appearance until the night has com.
pletely died away? Will it not then be
impossible for me TO adjust the scar(--io do
the deed-lo kill the assassin-to save my.
self and my child : Oh, God deliver him
into my handsl" .a pap ., as
A cautious movement on Ihe foor--ihe
dragging OF hands and knees along the floor
"a heavy suppressed breathing---announ.
ced that the supreme moment was near NJ
hand. Her white arms were barred 10 The
shoulder; her hair fell widely around her
face, like the name of lioness about TO
leap uponils prey, the dislended orbs Of her
eyes glared down upon The spot where The
question of life and death was TO be soon de.
cidcd Time seemed immeasurabl length.
ened .out-every second assumed the pro-
portions ola hour. But at last, jusr as all
lines and forms began TO float before her
sight through an indisIincl medium Of lgaI
and darkness, black mass inlerposed be,
tween her eyes ard the floor Suspense
being over, the time faction having arrived
every thing seemed 10 pass with magica
rapidly. The robber thrust his head for
ward Mrs. Martin bent down. There
was q halCchoked cry-ihe sound Of tht
knife falling on the Aoor--a convulsivt
struggle. PULL pull pull Mrs. Mar
, lin heard nothing--sawn nothing butthe scar
: passing over the head Of the bed between
, her two naked feet. She had half throw
, herself back, and holding her scarf will
} both her hands, pulled with desperate ener
J gy for her life. The conflict had begun
| and one or the other must perish. TIL
t robber was powerful man, and made furi
+ Gus efforts; but in vain. Not sound es
) capped his lps--not sound from hers. Tn
dreadful tragedy was enacted in silence.
( Ah*
!, swell, mother Guerard,'' cried yopn