Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1867-02-21

~ boGes LQulti w w ~ uS ~ ~ flf<ssfsssi
without changing al your life?
al should hope sois I cried, with the
impetaesity of youth. 6 man love is
not worth much otherwise ~
She stretched forth her longwhite hands
and laid them on my shoulders. ~
win you. be my love, young English
man?" she murmured, in a hoarse, tremu-
lous voice. II can make you rich. You
need toll no more. | can save you from
great dangers, too like your face"
/ started up blushing, for the thing came
upon me suddenly after all; but L repllea
without hesitation EE.K IL
"Were to saw I could love you, Frau.
iein, should be false. have left behind
me in England one whom l have long
loved and to whom my word is l'leddgg-
ed. L"
----ssL isten,n she interrupted vehernently,
but in whisper. as thOugh streaettngqto be
overheard - have more in Gplyy power
than you know of Do not reject the love
4 ofer3 it maybe the worsefor you if you,
do, I would save you, young MANI
" I understood her to refer to my poverty
and her own wealth, as | replied, with
little flourish of gallant1y,-
q" Ifmylove for another m9Aes me proof
against your cllarmsy aFra91iein, / am not
likely to yield to the temptation OF .riohes.
Poverty and / are well acquainted already.
Its dangers and hardships cannotlscare me,
for ] have experienced them hem al 3ugiai :.
80. There are some dangers you have not
experienced. A comely young fellow
may run risks sometimes that he knows
not Off, ' 7'.i|.,-' ~
There was wild look ii her eyes as she
spoke, and. her words left a, vague ,uncom-
Portable impression on me. But Lori en-
tered the room at this moment, carrying
my bedding, in her arms; and further con-
versatiOn with Gretchen was impossible.
She helped her sister to spreadcthe bed up
on trestle in the corner of the rooms then
she fetched sheets and a. patchwork coun-
terpane, the design of which / can distinct
" Tecalleven now. There were triangular
bits of red cloth inserted here and there,
which looked to. me like SO many small
toRgIes St , IRE have g ood reason 70 70 re-
When her task was. done, Lori stood be-
fore he, with her arms akinibo.i T.
20 'sY6u feel sleepy, young man, no doubt,
after your long day. Wekeep early hours
for we are up betimes. 20 You shall have g
cup of coffee and slice of black bread at
five before We. bid you God speed May,
no excuses. 1t is in our vow. Sehlafen
Sic wohl. yb9aao4e rod, breaG 9hr =
Il Had / spoken the truth, I, should have
|, said that, far from being sleepy, had never
| felt more wide awake, than did then.
Ever Since supper a strange restlessness Of
mind. had taken the place of the languor
which had oppressed me- Gretchen made
aslif she would have spoken when Lori
ceased She turned towards Inc. z [ saw
her fingers working nervously at the black
apron. Il believe it was her sisters silent
ascendancy over her which restrained her,
! for intercepted a sideways glance frora
Loris stealthy eyes which she shottowards
Gretchen. With a,face in whichtierceness
and terror and anguish seemed to be con-
| t1icting, the latter looked at me- as she fol-
lowed her sister from the room, without
even wishing me the customary ''good
| night
Wnat did it all mean Now, for the
first time / think, 1 began revolving in my
mind all that | had seen and heard since
entered that house, and a disagreeable sense
of something strange and my sterious grad
ually took possession of me. What was
there about these sisters to inspire mis-
trust?, With the elder, indeed, could UNI
| derstand it. There was a physical repul-
sion which made the blood curdle in my
veins when thought of her. But the
younger was beautiful to look upon. She
had shown herself tenderly inclined to-
wards me; why should / find myself think
ing of her with a feeling akin to dread !?
| Her words REQUIRED to me. At what dam
ger had she limited? There had been some
thing wild about her eyes-abont her talk,
at times. Then there was her eXtraordina-
ry proposal. Was she mad remem-
| bered her strange conduct at supper; the
|. fierce, authoritative look with which her
sister had overawed her 1t seemed like
| ly solution to much that was otherwise in
exp.icable about them~both But, if SO,
how unaecountable that Lori, knowing her
sister to be subject to fits and fancies like
these, should offer hospitality to stran-
ger? There was nothing immodest about
the demeanor of either of them; there was
nothing that could suggest the suspicion
that this was a gls6t7a-peqas Of any sort! The
idea of robbery was ridiculous. Was not
my poverty, so apparent in the threadbare
students blouse wore, a sufficient. safe
guard I? Why, I had not even my KNAPP
sack with me, as they knew; and was
young and muscular-not an easy victim
for open violence, had any been intended.
l racEed my brain with endeavors' to ar
rive at some definite conclusions; for as to
trying to sleep, found ituscless. My brain
seemed on fire by this time Every mo-
ment felt myself growing more excited,
more keenly alive to every sound, and all
my mental perceptions cquiekened. The
single candle they had left me burned dim !;
it seemed to fill the room with all sorts of
grim shapes and shadows. After long
interval, during which everything in the
little house was absolutely still, | got up,
in my restlessness, feeling that anything
was ,etter than to lie tossing there, a prey,
to feverish fancies / walked about the
room with the candle, examining every ar
/ iticle in it. First, there were the colored
prints upon the walls-among others, one
|. of the Loreley,.I remember, and one, a
Eseene from Schilleris q Robbers,P which
.mademy blood run cold as / looked at 1T!
There was a. cupboard, which Iopened;
nothing but few plates and one old knife
[ sat down again upon the bed, and my eye
was attracted once more to the red tongues
of the patch work. quilt. 1t was very iri-
genious piece of work I tried to follow
the kaleidoscope pattern into which the va
rious shreds had been wrought, with that
strange device of crimson cloth at regular
intervals Regular TO. flAto one place
in the cOrnerI perceived now that three or
four tongues seemed to have been sewn to-
gether. L held downrthe candle to exam
Inc them, and, started back What l had
taken for crimson cloth was a stain of CO.
agulated blood, III ro;I.a, IN ~
I shuddered. ,l,tt' Perhaps some some one cut
his finger here" I said; but I didn't be-
lieve my own words and then l tried to
laugh at myself and said my brain was Civ
ing way I started up Il saw nothing
clearly. The Robbers and Loreley were