Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1869-04-29

stant be had seized the reptile firml,
between his thumb and finger. auc
dragging il from its COW nest. he car.
red il writhins across the room. and
throwing oPcn back window. hurled
il with all hi. strength for out into the
frosty night. His next proceeding
was TO take piece Of livc-coal from
the fire. and holding it with the tongs,
to press it firmly on his wrist at the
spot where the reptile had bitten it.
till he had burned away the flesh al
most to the bone. The agony was SO
intense that great drops Of perspira-
tion.burst out on his forehead. and he
bit his lip till he lett a mark on it
which was visible tor several days
When be had put back the coal into
the fire, hc hasienc,l ,,o pour out and
drink OF halt aiumbler OF nca, bran
dy and after that ne proceeded to
handage up his W ist. as well ss he
was able. with his discngagcd hand
Now for the letter. Poor Jerry
still Law without sense or motion. ut
teTly unconscious Of the fate which
hat bc.allca his favourite. Brack-
enridge took the letter without fear.
Hc saw. with seine surprise. that the
ad.lrcss was unmistakably in a mans
writing; but a. the envelope was
merely fastened in the ordinary wav,
and not scalcl, there would be no
difficulty in mastering the contents.
\ little copper kettle was boiling
chccriIy by the FIRE, and all that it was
requisite 10 do WIS 10 let. the cu.ren,
% steam play II, the gummed part of
the envelope for little while. and the
thing was done. The chemists fin
gers trcnblcd little as he took the
folded paper out Of the envelope. and
turned & the lamp 10 real it.
Next moment. a wild intense pang
of baiiied rage and despair shot from
the chemists heart. and held him as
though he were possessed BY demon
while from his lips, As blue as those OF
dead man, proceeded string OF i'm
precautions 80 intense AMI dreadful
that they could only make themselves
heark in a sort Of hali-chockcd whis-
per. The letter was not from Lady
Spcncelaugh at all. but was merely
a note from Sir Castor TO some
friend in London, stating that. in con-
sequence of certain unpleasant pro-
cee,lings at home, he should no, be
able 70 keep an appointment, as agreed
upon. In the first access Of his ragc.
the chemist crumplcsi up the letter be-
tween his fingers. and flung it into
the fire. and was only reused to a
sense Of what he had done BY seeing
il burst into blaze. TIE sight so-
bcrcd him in an instant. What cx-
cuse could he possibly make to Jerry.
who was the most faithful Of lncssen-
gers. for destroying the letter.
There WAS only one excuse possible
for him. and that was to deny ever
having seen the let,er-he could lie
a, hard a. anybody if needs were
and TO persuade the simrleton that he
hal los, it on the road from Belair.
Yes. that was the only way practical
bic out OF the contoundcd mus. he had
70, himself into.
Going up 10 Jerry, he shook the un-
conscious lai roughly By the shoulder,
and called him by name. But Jcrry's
sleep was far too sound 70 be broken
by such simple means. or. indeed, by
any earthly means whatever. as the
chemist. with A horrible, sickening
dread gnawing At his heart-a dread
in comparison with which his pre-
vious anxiety about the letter had
been as child's play-was not long in
discovering. Again and again he
cried aloud. with strange agony in
his voice: Jerry, Jerry wake up,
man-come, wake up but Jerry re-
mained suprcmely indifferent 10 ali
such eutreaties. Then the chemist
tried to find his pulse, but there was
II pulse to find. Next, in hot haste.
he fetched looking-glass out of an
other room, and held it over the lads
mouth; but obstinate Jerry refused To
breathe ever so family the glass re-
mained unsullied. Not even the weak
est heartbeat was perceptible To- the
fingers that hungered SO keenlv to de-
tect it; the delicate mechanism had
stopped for ever: Jerry was growing
cold al,eady,
Convinced at last that all his efforts
at resuscltation were utterly useless.
the chemist sat down with bitter
grown opposite poor dead Jerry; and
taking his head between his hands. "a,
though it We're a loose portion of him
self which might chance to fall off and
get damaged, he contemplated his
handiwork in silence. But presently
he grew frightened. That same sweet
" solemn look still rested ON the face
Of the dead lad. and it troubled the
chemist wofully it spoke Of something
-of heavenly peace and serenity
80 entirely beyond his ordinary ex-
periences, that he could not bear to
contemplate it any longer. With that
instructive desire which We all have to
cover up our lost ones. he fetched 4
clean cloth out Of clothes-press in
the next room, and spread it gently ov-
er the face ofthe dead boy. 1t may
be that at that moment some paug Of
regret, pure and simple, for the friend
he had lost--a friend, even if a sim
pleton-made its way to the chemists
hardened heart. Ii such were the