Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1861-11-30

!, IT, pC" ner ups, when her father comes hasti
: L0m tne room and bushes her with ,
J SNOW the gentleman to his room Mary
E"o~ calmly polite murderer can he I
'naI cnainber ut the head of the stairs q,
'f The leit, you mind. ''o ''"'' '' > "
p s,Hy Mary 'akes the light trembling and pale
She leads The soldiers up the old opksr
s'a"~ Ihey stand at the landing in the
wing 0I the iarm house, composed of two
rooms, divided by thick wsIls from ,bs
main body Of the mausion. On one stie
the right, is the door of MAry's cha mbsr .
on the other. the left, was the cbam,oI,
VI the soldier, to him the chamber of
death. -.a sr4r. 80 -
For moment Mary stands there. tremb.
ling and confused Washington gazps .up.
on that pale girl with look Of surprise
Look she is about to warn him of hi,
danger, When see there her father,
rough face appears above the head of thu
stairs.
Mary, show the gentleman into that
room on the left Aud look re girl its
getting late and you had better 20 into
your room and go to sleep. .
| While the tory watches from the head
OF the stsirs, Washington enters the
chamber on the left Mary the one on the
right, reg agY
An hour p asses. Still the storm beats
on the roof; still the suow drifts in the hills.
before the hre, in the dim old ball Of the
farmhouse, are seven drunken men, with
.aat 'alt tory, Jacob Mannheim, sitting in
.ue'r mlast, the murdeyer's knife in his
hahH tor9the lot has fallen on him. He
is 10 go up aud stab the sleeping man.
Even the half drunken murderer turus
pale at the thought bow the knife tyem.
| hles in his guilty .hand---trembles against
the pistol barrel the jeers of his comrades
arouse bum to the work the light is in one
hand, the Knife in the other he goes M
starirs +; he listens, first at the door of his
daughters room gu the right, and then Mt
lhe door OF the solders'S on the left. All
Is stIIi. Then he places the light or4 the
uoOr he enters the chamber on the left
he is gone momeut Sleuce there is a
faint groan. lie comes forth again rushes
down stairs, aud stands before the Gre with
the bloody knife in his hand. .a
Look he shreks, as he scatters the
red drops over his comrads, aud over the
hearth 'uto the IRE. Look IL is the trail
| tor, Washington ......
4 h's comrades gather around him with
yeHS OF Joy already, in faBcy, they count
The gold which will be theirs for this deed.
when ical the stair door opens, and there
witbouta word, stands George Was hington.
asking calmly for his horse I gg -
What shrieked the tory Mannheim. can
nellhersfeel nor bullets harm you Are you
living man Is there no wound in your
uniform
The apparation drives him mad.
ne starts forward; be places his hand
tremOlingy upon the arms and breast of
Washington. He then looks at the bloody
knife, clasped in his right hand, stands
there quiVering in the death spasm. ...-..,
While Washington looks on in silent won. |
der, the door is thrown open the bold
troopers from Valley Forge throng the
room with The gallant aud broPzed visage
OF Capt. Williams 10 their midst.
Al his moment the old clock in the room |
struek IL r.r.
Then horrid thong BIT ru lshed through
the brain of the tory, Mannheim. He seizes
the light rushes to the room of his daught
er, ou the right. Some one had Just risen
from The bcd-the chamber was Vacaht-l
then towards the chamber on the left, with |
steps of lcaden heayiness. Lo now the
knife quivers in bis hand. He pauses at
the door-he li't.us-hiS. blood curdles in his
veins GATHERING courage, he pushes open
the door-went towards the bed through
whose curtains be had struck so blindly a
moment ago. Again he pauses--not
sound Stiffness more terrible than the
grave. He fngs aside the curtains.
There, in the full light Of the lamp, her
form bat half covered, bathed iu her own
hay his daughter Mlry.
Aud do not look upon the face Of her
father, as he starts Silently back, frozsh
stone but in his pause of horror, listen TO
the mystery of the deed.
After the father had gone down stairs an
hour ago, Mary silently stole from the
chamber on the right. her soul shaken from
a thousand fears. She opened the doof on
the left, aud bebeld Washington sitting at
the table. She thought her existence was
in the act, she asked bin, In a tone of calm
politeness, to enter lhe room on the right.
Mary entered the chamber on the left.i
Can you imagine the agony of that
girls SO al as lying IN the bed intended as
the death couch of Washington, she silent
ly awaited the knife, although that |
knife might be clenched in a fathers
hand ! a .das 20 H ai hag.l
Aud now that father frozen to stone,
stood there holding the light in one
hand, the other still clenehing the red
knife -5t s.laa t
There lay his child, the blood streaming |
from TINT wound in her arm. ber eyes COW
cred with CLASSY 6lm laa
"Mary 2 shrieked the guilty father-for
robber and tory rs be was, be called to her,
but that was all be could say.
Suddenly sue seemed to wake from that
stupor. She sat up. The strong hand OF
death was upon her. As she sat there
erect, the room was tbrongsd with solders-
Her lover rushed forward, and called her
by name No answer, Called again
spoke TO her in thai familiar voice Of oldeu
time still no answer. She knew him
no.. Yes, it was true-the strong hand of
death was upon her, .H ...r
he has escaped 7 she said with husky