St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1863-12-24

- = Il
= -. NQa2
he b ent over the4sa 5we1pt
The {ewelsAtts iii Is Is lf
two 1hlainate = l.sE allso-
'egethe er,ass stilerhe KEW
that ipastfsS 89 1flit ihat tisi1S ~ Her o.
so lbsgea SSt she >s1h;a@d spell
bouaa That friehtfal ,1pment, when
the Steel had touched hef neck had paf-
alfred her powe's, and an unspeakabte
horror was upon her,: She struggled
with that horror; she thought IF her
hush band, Of ali to whom her life was
precious, aud with one inward prayer
for s strength,; for courage, slipped. noise
,lessly to the floor. 5. He had not heard
her; his head wRa btill bent, his f77sieieirs II,
were still busy with Tie JEWELS, Bsre-
f9oted q, her eyes. still fixed upon his, fg- i
-ure, Phot: stole, .pn, softly .gropipg her,
way to the aoor, past the end Of tho
bed By. the dressing-table; she wa5
close upon it now, her hand was stretch:
ed out to grasp it-there were but two
more sstaps otake, when her foot, struck,
with a dull sound against an unnoticed
stool and she stun mbled she reeo1esed
herself instant1y:;;* hut flint 'sath5 nioiss
was, |his ear had caught tKe sound, and.
he t urned and saw her. r. Fo., one mo-
ment they stood face to face gazing up.
on e3 Oh other. fid tAeh thy both made
for tfe' daat: She vas TIE nearer o5f
the fwo,,' and She was there first; she
had hold ef.:it, she pushed It to, but ere :
she 4ould turn the key, his fingers werc,
upon the other handle. It was strugr
gle fpr life and death, between strong
man and a desperate woman. It could
pot lhst long. Inch BY inch tho door.
was yieiding to his pressure, when gath,
eringssvher strength for one Last effort:
with a power beyond her own, she for ''
ccd it home. 1t closed the Key rat
tied in the lock. and With avid hoarse
screa 20 she fell baok'.upon the: aoor..--:
She wss still conscious; sAs. s.Aserd, him
beati rs the strong oak .panpeks in his
;vailp fury; she heard his passionate i'm.
preca tions; and after: aa,xkile. othef
sounds, to, reached her ear--hurryipgss
feet ] ln the gallery, many voices outsidea
her ! oor. That. piercing yhad rous-
ed very sleeper 10 the house. and they
were all gathered there now, sntreating
admi ittance She rose, she tottered
as. tHey came 4pqHl&;; ;teek q gazing ,hor:.<
ror:stricken at her wild eyes, her blanch=
ed lips, she parted out her tale, ever
pointing to that inner door; then; lay
ing her head on Hester's shoulder, and
moan ing out, 70 husband, save me-. !.
swoo ned away. ,= ~. - -. i,
It was still early on the morning Of
the $elf-same day, when Sir Richard
followed BY a groom, galloped up the
Beech avenhc!. The white autumn mist
hung like shroud over the park, the.
golden leaves. fell in showers around
him, but he noted them not, a. with,
spur and whip he: urged:M bis aasa
ging stecd. Ills rudy. face was pale
as death-his teeth, we're set.in dread,
ankle fty, tot,, lie: .haeN; all. They had
sent to summon e9. hime, i! and SINCE he left
Chester he had r6t Ht1Ha dravwvn: reinii
He was Here at last: at his own door;
and throwing himself off his exhaust
ed horse, he flung the reins to his SER
want, and ,sprang up the steps. No
wife was there to welcome him. All
was still and quiet. Withcut-thc'
dew1 grass, the red sun struggling
through the mist, the falling leaves.
Within-tbe dark old hall, .theservants
sadly watching fer bin, and low sounds
Of XIeepibg,s; He /, looked from .Qne. to
anot her, then his parched tongue slow
ly, ,f rmed the words: "Where IS she"
They led him to the room where she
was lying, hut when he knelt beside
her, and pressed his quivering 9 lips up
on i er, feverish brow, she only greeted
him with wild laugh, apd y gazing at
him yacanty, began again her misera-
ble, rambling talk Of emeralds and keys,
lone ly rooms and glitering knives.-7:
For b yhih,he fingered looking dokn
uro1 her haggard face; softly stroking
her angled hair, then unable to endure
it lop pger, hurried away. They wanted
Elm elsewhere, for Marston was etill
in the house, and had asked to see him.
Bat Sir Richard ishook his head !; he
dateA H.; not trust. himself just nov acar
that man; let: thenn'o4tt} him far away
from his sight. There ,.w9s nothing
fresh to hear, for .Marston had already
told all -ho& iis flrst dislike had deep
ened dainto deadly hatred, and how; find;
ing that Sir, Richard; would be, absent,
he trfsolyed to. wreak his hatred, enrich
himself, and flee; how, feigning that
night journey; and leaving his 9horse
some three miles of, he had returned
uhsaenato tho house. I. ssHee had thought
to dp the deed, and then escaping with
.Xhak treasure he might fnd, be far up
on d is way to London before morning
brok e. His horac: was feet ; the ser
vante thought hing 1T Chester, ,rAnd lapg
hetof suspicieancouldf have turned up
on ,Aimsshe, would .bage been sqfeaI;: qfeS-I
DogEaalY land calmly He spoke all this,