The Bedford gazette. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1805-current, 1869-11-25
gests nothing ng-except that 1t is evi
1anfIxy d7S0tFicnd ~

gests nothing that 1t is evil
IDENTIFY disguised !"
Again there was profound silence.
sour child would be seventeen years
old now" at length murmured Mrs.
Preble, her voice trembling. 'She
is on the threshold of womanhood.
No doubt, during all these years, she
has yearned for us, wherever she may
be, as we have yearned for her "
"But where is she?n asked the ply
| sician-and now his voice was broken
by his deep sympathy with the ago
nized parents. 'Where can she be ~
Heaven only knows" answeredthe
mother. perhaps in San Francisco
perhaps in some rude hut in the lnte-
| rior, with some obscure farmer, and
| under name that is not hers think
| her abductor would have carried her
to some lonely region of the interior,
among the valleys and mountains.
Yet never see young girl in the
| streets without turning to look at her.
/ never hear girlish voice without
| listening eagerly, half fancying that it
may prove the voice Of my lost Jes-
sie!''
"Oh, plying heaven ~ sighed DR..
Hutton, dashing a food of tears from
his eyes. "Will this long agony new
| er be over?'
1--WE hope so, and even believe SO"
answered Mrs. Preble, with the firm
ness of an unfaltering trust in Gods
mercy. 1.-THE last message we receiv-
ed from our enemy seems to point to
some kind of a change"
"True," assented DIR. Hutton, look
ing at the message in question. at is
unlike the others. 1t says that his
reward is at hand He means either
that he intends to marry your daugh-
ter, or that he intends to demand
money of you for bringing her back
or BOTH"
'We shall soon know" said Mrs.
Preble, with forced calmness. To
day we shall have another message,
| no doubt What will it be ?'
The banker turned restlessly on his
sofa, and his face grew paler.
"WhateYer it is, let it come J" he
murmured. Anything can be borne
better than this awful suspense. Let
it come ~
As if his impatient words had pre-
cipitated crisis, a step was heard on
the walk at this moment, and ring
at the front door followed.
another message!" breathed the
banker.
A servant soon entered, bearing a
letter, which he extended to Mr.. Preb-
lie, saying:
1.-THE bearer is in the hall"
With an eager gaze, the banker
glanced at the superscription of the
missive.
at is from him :"
He tore the envelope open.
1t contained slip of paper, of we'll
known shape and appearance, upon
| which was scraWled single line, in an
equally well-knoWn hand writing,
which the banker exhibited to his wife
and the physician.
This line was as follows:
'AUGUsr 8, 1868. At sac 1 lOW
caUp'
A shock of wonder and horror shook
the three simultaneously.
"Will call ~ cried Mr.. Preble, s,art-
ing to his feet, and glaring wildly a
! round.
SIS coming here?" cried Mrs. Preb-
| lie, also arising.
at seems so, said DIR. Hutton, his
| eyes again reverting to the message,
HE will be here at six o'clock, and
see it is six already ~
Even as he spoke, the clock on the
! mantel-piece commenced striking the
appointed hour, and at that instant
| heavy footsteps resOunded in the hall,
approaching the library.
| 'It is he :" cried the doctor, also ri
sing.
AS the last stroke of Fthe hour re-
| sounded, the door leading from the
| hall again opened.
One long and Mortified glance cast
| the banker and his wife in that diTec-
! ton, and then she fell heavily to the
/ floor.
| Her senses had left her. The above
/ we publish as a specimen chapter; but
| the continuation of this story will be
found only in the n. Y. Ledger. Ask
| for the number dated December 4th,
| which can be had at any news office
or bookstore. If you are not within
reach of a news Office, you can have
| the Ledger mailed to you for one year
by sending three dollars to Robert
Bonner, publisher. 182 William street,
New York. The Ledger pays more
for original contributions than any
other periodical in the world. 1t will
publish none but the very, very best.
Its moral tone is the purest, and its
circulation the largest. Every body
who takes it is happier for having it.
Leon Lewis, Mrs. Harriet Lewis, Mrs.
Southworth, Mr.. Cobb, Professor Peck,
! Mary Kyle Dallas, Fanny Fern and
Miss Dupoy will write only for the
Ledger hereafter.
Mr.. Bonner, like other leading pub
! fishers, might issue three or five papers
and magazines; but he prefers to con-
| centrate all his energies upon one, and
in that way to make it the best. One
| Dexter is worth more than three or
five ordinary horses.
One science only can one genius At,
/ So vast is art, so narrow human wit.