The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1860-02-25

stranger in England, it was evident that
she had anticipated and was prepared to
| embrace the alternative OF carrying mat
tiers to extremity should l by resistance
| render it necessary
The man at once, as though any pre-
tence at Disgusting his purpose were per
fectly useless, said, Hand me over your
watch and what money you have about
you, and he added. seeing / showed no
disposition to comply with his request, but
remained motionless by the fireplace, be
quick about it or it will be the worse for
! you.
As he spoke he advanced toward me
with his arm upralscd. AT the same mo-
ment the woman, who had hitherto re-
manned passive spectator of the scene,
threw herself between us and exclaimed
| in tone which thrilled me: 'Oh no
blood, Tim And YOU she added turning
to me, give up, without resistance what
! ever he requires, and no harm shall bcfall
| you
As she spoke q sudden idea struck me
lr1nx moment wns at her side and grasp
ing her arm with one hand, with the other
| ! drew pistol from my breast and pre-
sented it within a few inches of her head.
Advance one step and | fire. | cried TO
/ her confederate, who, so rapid had been
my movement, stood for moment gazing
at Us with an expression OF stupid bewil
derment on his coarse features. Rutiian
as he was, the wretch paused irresolute-
/ Whatever might be the nature OF the tie
which bound him TO the woman held in
my grasp, 1t was at least such as rendered
/ him not Indifferent to her safety, and the
energy Of my language and manner left
him no reason To doubt that | would exc
cute my threat if driven 10 ii. Now mark
me, ! continued, addressing myself 10 the
woman. YOU will taka that light in one
hand, we will proceed togetherdown-stair
and when We reach the strcet-d0or ! viii
release YOU But remember, should YOU
attempt to play me false, at the first sign
Of treachcry on your part or that Of your
confederate your life shall pay the forfeit
Iou. ! said 10 the man VIII remain here,
if you attempt to follow Us, you know the
consequences
Without further Tarlev ! advanced to-
ward the door. still holding firmly the wo-
mans right arm; in her lett hand She bore
the light, and il this position We passed
from the room. A. we did 30, ! noticed
that her face. which excitement bad mo-
mentarily sutiu-ed with a slight color was
again deadly pale This gave cause for a
new apprehension on my part What II
she should faint; In that case the light
would fall from her nervec-, hand. while
at the same time ! should lose the adyan-
tage which her fears NJ present afforded
me Fortunately. however, We reached
the lower hall without my fears being re
al:zed. and a the street-dpor swung open.
! addressed my companion for the last
time.
Your project said. was not iIl-con-
ceived, but has failed somewhat in the eX-
ecutiou; and you have given me a lesson
III phy-io-gomy which may be u-ciUl t.
ne Were il not that owe YOU some
slight consideration Tor YOUR iuLe.position
when YOU thought ny life In,naced. !
would deliver both YOU and your accom-
plice into the hands Of justice. bUt as i Is,
/ spare You
Sine made no reply, and IN another mo
mput ! wa- IN the street. ! walked rapid
" down the alicv. and on arriving az tle
street with which it communicated. ! was
30 fortunate a. to meet a policeman, by
whose direction ! easily succeeded IN Te-
gaining tge strand. Ia iy,y minutes
more I vI- at mv uotcl As I entered /
heard q churrh clock strike twelve Can
it He possible I thought. that | Quilted
this house only two hours ago: il seems as
though whole days had elapsed since last
passed - portals. - true Is the remark
of N1ntai-n- that we measure time often
rather by events khan by duration, and
the greater the number of incidents that
occur in any period, the longer that period
appears when we look back upon il.
/ retired To my chamber, but for some
time sought repo>e in vain When sleep
did at last visit me, il was titful and dis
tuIb-d, and in my dream. ,-cuacted the
scenes Of the e-euing. / awoke in the
morning. feverish and unreire-hed, and it
was some days before | fully recovered
from the effect on my nervous system q:
my ti:-t night IL London