The River Falls journal. (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1857-1861, 1858-06-23

! 1T ctud not have been far from ma
night when / came beneath Holdings
worth's window, and, finding it open.
flung in tuft of grass with earth at the
roots, and heard it fall upon the floor
He was either awake or sleeping very
lightly, for scarcely q moment had gone
by, before he looked out, and .discerned
me standing in the moonlight.
SIS it you, Coverdalew he asked
"What is tie lnatter?"
"Come down to me, Hollingsworth =.
1 answered. 81 am anxious to speak
with you." o-
The strange tone of my own voice
startled me, and him, probably, no less.
He lost no time, and soon issued from
the house door, with his dress half. ar
ranged.
"Again, what is the matter Z" he asked
imratiently.
''Have you seen Zenobia," said ],
'since you parted from her, at Eliots
pulpit?"
"No," answered Hollingsworth :" nor
did 1 expect it."
His voice was deep, but had a tremor
in it. Hardly had he spoken, when S.las
Foster thrust his head, done up in cot
ton handkerchief, out of another window,
and took what he called-as it literally
was-a squint at Us.
2" Well, folks, what are We about here q
he demanded. AHA! are you there,
Miles Coverdale? You have been turn
ing night into day, since you left us, 1
reckon; and so you find it quite natural
to come proving about the house at this
time o night, frightening my old woman
out of her wits, and making her disturb a
tired man out Of his best nap. In with
you, you vagabond, and to bed p
"Drcss yourself quietly, Foster" said
I. 1--WE wsnt your assistance"
could not, for the life of me, keep
that strange tone out of my voice. Silas
Foster. obtuse rs were his sensibilities,
seemed to feel the ghastly earntstness
that was conveyed in it rs well as Hol
lingsworth did. He immed ately will
drew his head, and heard him yawning,
muttering to his wife, and again yawning
heavily, while he hurried on his clothes.
Meanwhile, l showed Hollingsworth n
delicate handkerchief, marked with well
known cipher, and tod where l had found
it, and other circumstances, which had
filed me with q suspicion SO terrible that
l left him if he dared, to shape it out for
himself. By the time my brief explana-
i,n was finished, we were joined by S.las
Foster, IN his blue wooden frock.
"Well, boys" cried he, peevishly,
"what is TO pay pow?'
"Teli him, Hollngsworth," said |.
Hollingsworth shivercd perceptbly,
and drew in hard breath betwixt his
teeth. IIe steadied himself, however,
and looking the matter more firmly in the
face than l hid done, explained to Foster
my suspicious, and the grounds of them,
with d.st;nctness from which, IN spite of
my utmost efforts, my words had swerved
aside. The tough nerved yeoman, in his
comment, put finish on the business,
and brought out the hideous idea in its
full terror, as if he were removing the
napkin from the face of a corpse.
" And so you think she's drowned her
self?" be cried.
/ turned away my face.
"What on ea.s.ssin sts;;i,, rho roura
woman do that f,,r?" exclaimed Silas, his
ewes half out of his head with mere sur
Prise. "Why, she has more means than
she csn use or waste, and lacks nothing
TO make her comfortable but husband,
and that's an article she could have, any
dav. There's some mistake abou: this, |
tell your
"Come," said 1, shuadering: " let US
GO and ascertain the truth"
"Well, WE'LL" answered Silas Foster; ;
"iust as You say. Wen take long
mole. with the hook at the end, that serves
to get the bucket out of the draw-well,
when the rope is broken. With that, and
+. couple of long-handled hay rakes, III
answer for finding her, if she's anywhere
to be found. Strange enough! Zenooia
drown herself! No. no; | don't believe
it. She had too much sense, and too
much means, and enjoyed life great deal
too WELL"
When our preparations were completed
we FASTENED, by shorter than the custo-
mary route, through fields and pastures,
and across portion Of the meadow, to