Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1859-09-01

voluntarily aloud.
Chou mayst we'll groan, Claude Milton
replied the invisible.
Stop! you kn-kn-ow me not-1would asi
thee somewhat-I-I-I-Oh! God can l
be thusp
what woulds't thou ask ?-thou con
science.stung william = said che unknown
sTh-th-the boy !-where-? Hold! !
will open the window, thatyou may see me-,
and Wentworth, half frenzied by the horri
BILE suggestion, and mysterious insinuation'
of the unknown being, sent the shutter quiv
ering upon the hinges, and admitted the
rays of the getting sun. To his surprise
there was no person in the room but himself
and, after a thorough search Of the apart
ment, he threw himselfupon an old leather
covered sofa and burst into tears.
The long, and fatiguing journey from Lon
don to the Growing Cock Inn'-the rela
tion of Barney's singular adventure-the
travel to the deserted House'-the unac
countable sights and sounds there-and the
idea of being imprisoned in suck place
together with the fact of there being some
invisible being under the same roof possess
ed of some terrible secret of the utmost i'm
importance to him-all these things so affect.
ed him that he could not for the life Of him
restrain his tears.
Was it all dream ; or did he really hear
Claude Millions name in connection with
murder? Was the 'boy' in the house, and
if so, how did he get there and who is he!
Such questions naturally occurred to his mind,
as he reflected upon the mysterious language
of the unknown.
How is it, said he, 'that this Milton is
in possession of the key to this house? Why
has he closed the door upon me and what
did he mean by stating that young D'Vilton
was living with him? I cannot understand
it at all !
However, he continued, starting to bis
feet, and looking out the window, 'the sun
is gone, and my candle will burn not more
than an hour; so I will do the best 1 can,
under these singular circumstances So
saying, he closed the door and window Of
the room and after placing his pistols and
candle where he could reach them at mo-
ments notice, he stretched his weary frame
upon the Old sofa, and prepared to pass the
night as comfortably as circumstances would
permit.
Of course the intelligent reader expects
an explanation of the strange sounds heard,
and the wonderful things done, in the 'Des-
erted House Perhaps, the more careful
and attentive portion of readers have alrea-
dy unraveled the apparent mystery but, at
the risk of being thought tedious, we invite
you to brief retrospect.
jim, the match-vender, after rescuing
Rosa from drowning, walked Immediate
ly home. That home-if home it could be
called-was beneath the roof of small tav-
ern, known as the Red Lion Inn,' and kept
by an old man named Pete Muggins, or
'one-eyed Peter This Pete Muggins was
blessed with worthy and frugal wife, we'll
known in hometown by the rather strange
title of 'our Bessie
Jim could not remember the time when
he did not live beneath this roof; and to all
inquiries as to hoo he got there, Bessie would
reply: The good Lord sent ye, my bonny
bairn =
The true version of the story, however,
was something like this: thirteen years prior
to the time when our story opens, Bessie
was returning, rather late in the evening,
from 'harvesting,' held some miles from
hometown, when she stumbled against bas-
ket lying on the roadside. Upon examina-
ton she discovered that an infant was lying
in the basket, either asleep, drugged, or
dead. She took it home-leaving the bas-
ket where it was-and succeeded in res
toring the infant to consciousness. Hav-
ing no child of her own, she persuaded her
husband to adopt the little stranger as son ;
and in this way did Jim get into the RED
Lion Inn
Many and many time during the thirteen
years that the beautiful boy lived with the hon.
est and worthy couple, had they wondered
who he was. Pete Muggins swore that he
was the child of some misguided and sinful
woman,' and gave it as his opinion, that the
sonnatural mother would come to no good
while Bessie, who had consulted the fortune.
teller, declared most positively that 'bonny
Jim was no bastard. There was a most mag.
nifceut bracelet found upon the right ankle
of Jim, when he was first brought TO the
house and this piece of jewelry Bessie had
shown to every new customer that came into
the tavern, in hope of finding one among the
many, who would recognize and claim it.
So much by way of preface-let us return tt
our little hero, whom we have just seen en-
tering the 'Red Lion Inn,' after Rosa's res
cue had taken place.
why, JIM exclaimed Bessie, throwing
her arms around the neck of the boy, anc
looking enquiringly upon his wet garments
where have ye been all the morning ?-wha
has happened to my BARN p
sBeen selling matches-got two crowns
sound thrashing, and good ducking,' re
piled Jim, throwing his cap upon the floor
what IT,! ? exclaimed Pete, with an EN-
phasis which cannot be expressed by the pen
tyou been thrashed and ducked?'
sAnd have I not begged ye, Jim, not tt