The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1863-01-22

fTUG e.. anu Il Gail OI W 10 q hoh We ~ g. Z
me help.
He was silent for a moment then he repi-
sd: 'as a magistrate and q man l should De
bound TO help, if t~hisIwere so but pardon me, II
seem a wild story, and l should hardy IKE
without strong proof, to enter q man ; house
with such a charge
L laid my hand upon his arm; listen said;
L can give you this proof only that on she
truth If W hat / may say hangs my own charac-
Tor II Won 90 with me, and find it false, you,
have been deiuded by a madman or a rogue; if
| vou refuse TO go, after my words her bio cd and
mine he upon your head for l, at any rate,
sbsl instantly return there He hesitated then
said: 'You speak strongly; and, at least, as you
say my doing so can.do little harm, l am ready.
l stopped him again. Not alone. Let some
Of your servantsjgo with us Not for my own
sake | added as a half smile curled his lip;
only ask one mans aid, but would not dra"
You into 3 niger and they are both strong men
/ and may have 10 be secured
And if not2' he said
If not. YOU have been deluded,' / replied.
Very well, so be it, he answered
Half an hour later, Mr.. Archer and myself,
with two servants, stood before tho door of
Brocklehurst Grange. All seemed IS undis>
turbed and quiet as when / left it, hardly more
than an hour ago. Was it as peaceful withinl
Were they still going about their daily work
expecting my return, while the solitary prison
or up stairs waited and watched in suspense
that would be ended now? / rang. but no one
came at fret in answer to the luminous A ter
ror seized me. Could they HAYS murdered her
and fed, leaving the house deserted? There
had surely not been time for that. No there
were steps sounding on the floor, aud the rattle
of the door chain as it fell. A moment more,
and l should know. The key turned, !
and the door opened wide this time by old
Pierce alone, quietly regarding US with the old
sullen look and no more They had guessed
nothing yet, and now it mattered little that
the three men by my side must show him all.
You have had a long walk sir he said
and what may this gentleman want! as Mr.
Archer stepped forward.
| looked him full in the face. He has come
to take Ann Forrest from this house.
At that name, l thought to see Tim turn pale
or spring upon me, but no feature sltered-no
change came over the logged face. Then sll at
once my heart misgave me. Mr., Archer looked
embarrassed.
L would not willingly be said, intrude upon
you, OF suspect you of the horrible crime with
which this gentleman charges you but he is
so positive, that if you can, you ought, for
your own sake, to clear yourself
Pierce looked at him unmoved. You are
Mr.. Archer of Holme Green, l think. Why
sou ale here, and what this man means, per-
haps YOU can tell, for / cannot
This is what I mean l said. Ann Forrest
whose master you maTdersd two years ago is
now secretly detained in this house, lest she
, shout accuse you as the murderer She is in
the room which you call a lumber room, and |
am going there Uow.'
'Yoa are welcome to 60 there or any here,
: all OF YOU, though / know no right you have to
search this house. 1t signifies little to me what
you do, and this is all of a piece with your CON
r duct this morning and turning on his heal,
i he went back 10 the kitchen.
My companions exchanged looks, and [ saw
that the old Williams cunning words had
strengthened their suspicious of me. That
a strange, that horrible composure, what could
. it mean? With q sick heart, | led the way up
= stairs to the locked door where / had stood the
J. night before it was locked now, and above il
hung the key. Could | have mistaken the
8 place? No, theIe was the narrow passage Just
i before me, the winding staircase above and be-
low. l snatched down the key, unlocked the
n door, and entered a desolate room half filled
Ii with boxes and old furniture bevond IL was
another room quite empty, with no sign of HUI
d man habitatioR. This, then, was what the ole
Il mans caImness meant; yet | searched, search
Is ed despairingly on every side, in every nooE
and corner, MIR. Archer looking on silently tn
winnie All in vain She was gone, and not
trace Of her left. l went into the other rooms
a | left no spot unvisited l groaned aloud in NJ,
bitter remorse for having left her to her fate
Whaf had that fate been? That was the tho
that lay heavy at my heart, as we went at las
| to the kitchen. AS we were about to enter il
Mr.. Archer drew Inc aside.
You remember, he said, your ow nwords
ar when you brought me here. | have been pa
k lient; | have given you every chance nov
d comes your turn. For my go Ike and your own
W as well as the men who you have wronged ,yo,
must confess openly either to a cruel Islander
d Or
h An insane fancy | had said, finishing tn
at sentence. Not yet. There are gardens and out
lie houses; | must search Them. They may eve
ID have carried her Off
How could they in broad daylight? Yo
N here till an hour ago, ana no cart or h0rse abol
p the plAce-that at least Is Impossible. Beside
the man is here
l said nothing in reply. What could / say
ID The old man was still alone and sitting by tn
q. fire as we passed through the kitchen to tn
back door. He raised his head, and pointin
to to a basket on the table, said My wife &c
those ready before she went to market. l don
ask ifyou have found anything upstairs, becaus
ut there YVES nothing to find but l hope you ar
satisfied
was silent but Mr. Archer paused to say
few words before following me out upon M
fruIt!ess quest. Every where, in lofts and she'd,
- summer houses and stables, round the garden
and yards-on ali sides l hunted, and hunte
in yp3n. The fowls in the chickep>yard, tn
" old dog in his kennel, were the only living bt
ID lngs that met my eyes and turning to NJ
Archer, l said at last i give it up
AZ And withdraw your accusations ? he asked
1t Is useless pressing Them | answered Bit
terly but how can l dsbelieve my owu sens
ID es?
Even our senses may deceive us, he sal
II quietly.
/ knew what he meant very well. His frs
le step, when he turned again to the kitchen, wa
to go 20 ole Pearce, and apologize graveiy an
,e torma lily for The disturbance he had caused
:, HE next was to turn to me saying: There ca
be no further reason for my remaining; | wi
wish you good morning, hoping that your pain
ey tl N IMPRESSIONS may wear Off
His words came in strangely with the though
q us my own mind. Was il. after all, s. dream,
i, detusion OF nay own, created by the lads stur
au1 the desolate house? Had that midnight Wis
q, existed in my own fancy alone ? Vas Mr. Aarcf
er light, and was l going mad WITH .hat ten
rible idea now first striking me, / stood sileu
~ Gatll hr. Archer again repeated his farewell
Then | reused myself. Good bye | said
After eli ou may be right, and l wrong. Stop.
And my voice III q new tone echoed through th
: room. 1 was standing by she window and clos
10 my right was & common kitchen cupboard
aud At that very instant had heard a moai
come from it. | never could have heard it hat
| not been so near / could hardly hear it now
but / turned and laid MY hand upon the key
Il aud AZ L did so, the old man With an cat
sprang up and rushed upon me. There was
q confused str uggle,s loud outcry, and be was OF
"a the ground and l was wrenching open the door
d 1t yielded to my strength, and there, upon tn
floor of that narrow closet, bound hand ant
foot, and gagged, lay the poor woman 70
whom | had been seeking, powerless to NOV,
a or cry out, though with help so near, and onr
able, by her desperate efforts, to utter that on,
faint moan which had just reached my ears
We lifted her up, and unbound her, but she
% spoke no word, only her wild eyes roamed in,
cessantly about, aud she chung to me with ,
= fha annnnnA ~ IL