Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1859-04-20

. S"S "'"5hii'enV BdnDllng hall which ha
. been already described, thin man of me
a dlum height, was gazing, with eager ewes
ac the scene before him. and watehin
with lnquisitive scrutiny the folm and fcn
n lures OF every newcomer into tho room
In short time four men. all newly arrive,
}. IN the hail. seated themselves for n gonc
y at a table, not far from the place wber,
n TINS observer was StanGing. So inten
q were they upon their approaching game
0 or so used to the huSlling scene aroun,
0 them, that they seemed utterly upubser
0 want OF all other persons and things in tb,
room. BY accident, the largest and mos
,, repulslye looking man of the four seated
himself directly opposite to the shaded re
cess above alluded 20, and thus Orme ar d
A. Al were brought riS -a-vis to each
other, the one standing in the onlvsbadow
and the other seated in the midst of IN,
blazing light of that brilliant hall.
The play began. The stakes, though
moderate in amount, seemed to excite the
cupidity and to kindle the zeal of the
players, quite as effectively as if the sums
had been large. Their eyes flashed, their
feelings rose, and the demon of the place,
possessing them all, .eemed to be driving
them, fast and furious, whittier he would,
At the moment when the excitement
seemed TO have become the greatest and
while they made brief pause in the plav
to gulp down the fuming toddy Just
brought in by the waiter, servant appa-
rently stranger to all present, entered,
inquired for James Orme, and having him
pointed out, approached, delivered let
ter, and Immediately withdrew from the
room,
I The eye of Orme instantly caught the
address, Mr.. James Orme, vastly impor-
tant, open and read without delay" and
he at once broke the seal, and read as fol-
lows
My DEAR ORME,-I came over by the
mail>boat from Mobile to-day. When !
left, it was beginning to be whispered
about town that a pair Of silver sleeve-but-
tons which lou lost at play with Hughes
and Reid, once belonged to man who
was murdered, and thirty or forty years
ago, in what was then the Mississippi ter
ritory, and that you were one of the two
men that killed him. II was also rumored
that one or more of the detective police
were already in New Orleans, or would be
here in few days, in pursuit of you. As
a friend, | give you notjce~of these facts.
If you are innocent, you have nothing to
fear by remaining where you are. But if
you are guilty, | would advise you to leave
here Immediately. Go to Galveston by
the steamer which leaves early to, morrow
70: that city. Cut otlyour whiskers, shorts
en- your hair, change your dress, and in
every way disguise yourself as much as
you can. Register your name as Philip
Peas, keep to yourself while on board, and
stay in Galveston until | write to you
when it will be safe, if ever, for you to
come back. And it is that may be able
to write to you, that | suggest the name
to you. | give you all these directions as
TO what you ought to do, because, if you
arc guilty and have to fly, you will be so
excited that you will scarce know what to
do, and then these hints of mine will be of
service to you. | should have seen you
and told you all this, if had not been
overwhelmed with business. | am CON.
PEELED to return by the mail-boat to>mor-
row, and have thousand things to attend
to. ] shall not put my name to this, Tor
if did, and the bearer should be unfaith /
full, or the letter fall by accident into other
hands than yours, might get into diff
Guilty. You shall hear again from rue al
most as soon as you reach Galveston, and
then, as l shall sign my name, you will
find out that am truly, A FRIEND.
Orme had scarcely finished the perusal
of the second sentence of this letter, when
his face became almost as white as tho
sheet on which IT. was written; as he pro-
gressed, his hands trembled so violently
that he could scarce hold the paper, and
by the time he reached the conclusion, he
seemed ready to faint and fall upon the
floor. All Immediately around noticed
his extreme agitation. Rising, or rather
from his seat, he stated to his
associates in the game and those around,
that the letter he had just received con-
tanned most distressing news in relation to
n near kinsman, and Offering that as an
excuse for not continuing the game, he
left the room.
Rapid, however, as was his exit from
the hall, there was one who had already
preceded him, and stood, deep in the
shadow of the veranda, close to the door,
awaiting him. Orme rushed out like q
and seemed utterly bewildered
in both mind and vision. As he passed
the spot where A. Al was standing,
he was muttering audibly-the fumes of
liquor he had drank, and his mental perS
combining to make him both
Ioquacious and imprudent. The only words
which the eager ears of A. NJ dis /
.inctly caught, were these =" Found out
1t last; who'd have thought it? Confound
The sleeve. buttons; must leave here quick"
Thus he went on, muttering as he walked,
md increasing his pace almost to a run be-
before he reached his hotel, into which he
larted, or rather hurr.edly staggered, and !
lis, ppcaied. !
A. NJ M--- remained stationary in his s
30 sition near the door of the saloon, while
he retreating Orme was staggering across s
he street. His stratagem had been crown. S
ID with complete success. He had now !
,licited indnbitable proof of the guilt of
)rme, and il only remained to select the {
means, the time, and the place of his pun
shment. {
nj % l. l..