Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-12-22
Katie fnpr e,'b herself on her knees.

! you said those fearful wprdsl r Father, faith
| er, say that you are innocent, or | shall die
| of shame and horror" 20 "H"s p '4efj D
The over-wrought girl now lay on the
! fioOriin hysterical attack, and neigh hors,
who heard her cries aud moans. hastened
to proffer their assistance. But Morris, re-
covering his usual acuteness, civilly dis
missed them, and aided his wife ineonvey-
i ing their miserable child to bed. .,f s.,..l
There for many weeks she lay in the de-
lirium of low fever, unable to reply co.
herently when questioned respecting her
! partial disc )very of the murder; uncOn-
scious that when the doctor pronounced her
recovery hopeless, Hugh Weston had stolen
to her side to kiss her burning cheek, and
that her own rawlings, added itoother cir-i
cumstances unfavOrablyo construed had
made Harvey marked and suspected man:
No traces of the guilty parties, who had
possessed themselves of large sum of
ready money, had been discovered. .Jyfl
1t was surmised that, after securing the
door and flinging the key into the mill
pool they had made their way across the
wood to some convenient retreat; but the
absence of any evidence-no one but Katie
having encountered them-involved the af-
fair In mystery.
In vain did Hugh offer large rewards; no
one came forward to claim them! And as
time went on, the belief which had arisen,
none knew how, that Harvey Morris was
concerned in the murder, gained ground at
| Hazeley. ..5-ih n
There were more than one ready to prove
| that he had gone in the direction of the
mill that morning deeply angered with the
miller; and the.old woman pickingup sticks
for her fire, had partly overheard his COIL
ference with his daughter.
From that moment he had not been seen
near Hazeley until nightfall when, as the
door of the miller's house was wrenched
open, he had made his appearance without
his jacket. And, in strange, and as it
seemed, remorseful silence, he had assisted
in raisiug the miller, who still breathed,
and carrying him up stairs.
| Where had he been all this time, and with
whom? HrmF
So strange were the doubts of his inno-
cence, that he was examined by the country
magistrates; but his explanation, though
| improbable, was possible. ' t..'
He frankly acknowledged the angry feel
| ings he had cherished, and the idle menaces
to which they had given birth; and he al
legged that too much annoyed to resume
| his work, he had gone to small out of the
way public house on the roadside, where he
drank deeply, spending all the money he
possessed; and on awaking from the stupor
which followed this unusual excess, had
found the jacket on which he had pillowed
his head, stolen. That ashamed to return
| home by daylight or to confess his folly to
| his wife, he had skulkcd about the wood
| until the evening, arriving at the mill on
his way home, just in time TO be among the
| first who entered. ...... ... ...,...l
! Although many shook their heads over
this tale, yet the mans previous good char
acter obtained his release. But he grew
moodyand sullen as people began to avoid
and point at him, and the men with whom
| he worked to. utter covert insinuations, TO
which his readiness to resent with his fists,
only gave a deeper coloring. ~-...
"Mary," he said to his wife one night,
"we must go away from here as soon as
that poor child can be removed, or l shall
be goaded into worse deeds than they ac-
cuse me of. Even you," he said fiercely
"when Katie hides her face from me, shrink
away too, as If you believed me guilty.
God help a man when his own wife and
children turn against him." h .Hyl-
The faithful wife put her arm round his
neck. r"Don't speak so bitterly, Harvey!
| Ii now and then dreadful fear has come
over me, that you went to the mill that
night to ask for Katie, and a quarrel arose,
only tell me that it wasn't so, and III be-
lieve you,p l-..... ....L- L,... 49,. ......,
Il didn't think that should ever have to
| say to you, Mary, I'm an innocent man. i on
ought to know me better, if no one else
doespHu rsafi fl.i sdJ 5car! ft,.sl5i.
Forgive me, Harvey" she pleaded; and
putting his arms about her as she knelt be-
side him, the harassed and depressed Nor
| ris forgot his manhood aud wept. ar s.lf a
We'll go away, Mary. Perhaps in some
new home, where there's no one to throw
this in my teeth, l shall get back my old
spirit and work with a will. But can't
| here! I'm like Ishmael; every one seems
set against me. And though ltry to keep
a bold front to em, my heart gets heavy,
and I'm sick of the struggle" " a.
SO it was resolved that Harvey should
start on the tramp for work the following
morning, and in the course of another week
his family lett Hazeley also. Katie, though
| fearfully weak, was recovering, and was
equally anxious to bid farewell to the
scene of so much sorrow. ..s ltr.E ANA.
!, Hugh Weston, who only heard OF their
projected departure an hour before it oc-
Cured, hastened to the cottage, and bent
| over the fragile form of her he loved.
"Kat,e how can let you 60 away from
me? But it is only for little while, is IL?
By-and-by shall come and fetch you
| back" " f-'
"No, Hugh, no Il must never see you
|
your poor uncle's disapproval, you could
not marry the daughter Of the man whom
people" Her voice died away in o
| sob. $3.50 lt meg sI
"But / do not believe him guilty, Katie.
| He came to see me before he left Hazeley,
and we did not part like men who mistrust
each other. You will come to me by and
| by, dear?" $500 aIti ol sl DG sI 1I
But She repeated her "Non with equal
firmness. For your sake, Hugh,,it must
not be. If ever my father is cleared, then
but in a little while yOn will marry some
one more suited to you in station, and [
mustn't wish it otherwise However,
Katie wept bitterly as she sobbed this.
Hugh said but little more, for she was
| evidently unable to bear the agitation it
occasioned, but his last words were, %Trust
me, Katie We're not parting for ever, re-
memberp .-H
And in spite of her better judgment she
did trust liin and cherished secret hope
| that they should meet again, even when q
report reached her that Hugh had sold the
mill and fitted to distant country. Eleven
months elapsed, and no sign came
from him. But these were not the days Of
the penny postage, and Katie felt herself
amply rewarded for her faith and patience,
when on her birthday, a parcel arrived by
the carrier, containing handsomely bound
Church Service. and within Its cover tiny
simple locket, which helda wave of Hugh's
black hair.fi lo a ,psqtlysa.sr. -, ss.. -
Long before this, Harvey Morris had Sc
cured constant work at excellent wages;
and Katie, restored to health, was the acE-p,
i've and intelligent. manager of q large