Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1869-11-25

she again enjoined upon the invalid.
eDuring all these fourteen years of agony
I have not once doubted either the good
ness or the justice of Heaven. Blessed
are they that mourn for they shall bel
comEorted.' l believe that we shall yet
rejoice more keenly than we have mourned,
and that we shall come to glorious day
of joy beyond all this long night OF sor-
row ~
The face of the invalid lighted up with
an answering glow, and he murmured:
"Glorious faith! My wife, You are IN
deed blessed comforter Perhaps, after
all, you are right"
A knock resounded on a slde-door at
this juncture, and the next moment Dr.
Hutton, the family physician, for whom
Mrs. PEBBLE had sent, entered the room.
He was an old man, portly in figure,
with white hair and beard, but with al
fresh and ruddy complexion, pair of
shrewd blue eyes, and with an exuberant
boyishness of manner that sat well upon
him. He had kind heart and clear
head. He approached the sofa, after
greeting the husband and wife, and lifted
the thin, restless hand Of the invalid, feel
ing his pulse.
'sQuite high fever" he said, after a
brief pause. "Worrying again, Ell, Mr..
Preble You are wearing yourself out.
Medicine will do you no good so long as
your mind is in its present condition. |
must give you an opiate-"
"Not now, DOCTOR" interposed the
banker. Il cannot-must not-sleep to-
day | need TO be broad awake now, Tor
| cannot tell at any moment what the
next may bring forth. am looking for
the elimination Of all my years OF an
guish = for the browning agony OF the
! whole. Perhaps even now All, what
gss that ~
lie started up wildly, and then, as the
sound that had disturbed him was not re-
peated he sank back again on his cushions
pallid and painting.
The doctor looked AT Mrs. Preble with
an anxous, questioning glance.
at IL the anniversary" she replied TO
his unspoksn inquiry-"the anniversary
Of our loas."
"Ah, yea" said the doctor. = remem-
ber"
eyes, it's another Of those terrible
days" cried the banker, ia a hollow
whisper. "Sit down, doctor, and ! will
tell you the whole story. can think Of
nothing else TO day, and am almost wild
with apprehension and anxiety. Sit down.
Dr. Hutton drew up chair, and seated
himself, HE face expressing the double
solicitude Of a friend and physician.
"Yon knew us fourteen years ago. doc
tori gaid Mr.. Preble. awe lived then
where we do now, in cottage on the site
of this great mansion. There we're bIt
the three of us-Eelen and j, and our
three-year old Jessie. And i was four
teen years ago to-day that our little Jessie
was stolen from US
~ remember it, said the doctor, softly.
"Yet might she not have been lost Mr..
Preble She went out to play in the
garden, if | remember rightly, and was
never seen by you again. She might have
strayed away
$50 we thought for whole year, doc
tor" interrupted the banker 1--WE never
dreamed that she had been stolen. We
searched everywhere for her, and offered
immense rewards for her recovery.
employed detectives, but all to no purpose
| When our little Jessie ran down tie steps
into that wer-garden," and he pointed
to the front OF the house, ''as II the earth
bod nnened and swallowed her NJ. we
never saw her again.
"She must have found the gate oI-n
and wandered out" suggested DR.. Hut
II ton. "She might have strolled DOM 4
Z, thewaters an been drowned"
The banker fixed his burning eyes upon
G the physicians face, and whispered
+ 81 said we never saw the poor child
J. again. did not say We had not heard Of
her. She was lost on the 9Th Of August,
i 1854. For year we thought her dead.
q But on the anniversary Of oar loss we
received written message concerning
n her."
g "a messager cried Or. Hutton, start
i ing
I "a mere scrawl-a single Inc in a
hand evidently disguised, SAID The banker.
''Here it Is"
;. He produced dingy scrap Of paper
= from a drawer in the table, and held It up
d to the view Of the physieian, who real a
/ follows:
: August ., ls55. J,,si., h4 kq. Lssis.
Ia Dr. Hutton looked, with puzzled ar,
from the scrap Of paper, which he turned
Is over and over 70 tlse conntenance Of the
banker
Il can make nothing 81 thu, lie lie
e clared. 81, Is merely date with the
e name OF your lost daughter. i tells me
d nothing.
IS Nor did it Us, at first sand Mr..
/ Prebe Then that name and that date,
u with the demon laugh connecting them.
al A hr.t. ny.
10 agouized over the dreadful problem, and
n then we received another message, which
YOU shall see.
At lie thrust second slip Of paper, ideut-
: zeal in shape and appearance with the
he first, before the gaze of pr Hutton, who
d read it aloud:
August .. 1SJG ToVr ,l..si, an H5,s.
/ The physician started. as if electrified.
he .:Ah! this Is something delinite-some-
e thing decisive he muttered. 1t convinced
'e YOU that Your daughter was still living"
a Eyes, DOCTOR" SAID Mr.. Preble, sand
g every anniversary of that day has brought
rs some message. The disappearance oil
Pr the child, mysterious as it is, does not
p seem TO me half so strange as that the vii
lain who took her away could contrive tc
70 communicate with us every year since
IL and always on particular day-the ami
versary Of that on which she was stolen
without orr being able to discover who he
u is. And a still greater wonder to me Is
T. what can be his motive. Ii seems incred-
ible If ii was stated in novel, many
r people would not believe it. But truth
5 is stranger than felton,
Mrs. Preble drew from her husbands
breast-pocket his notebook, opened IT &c
,e the proper page, and presented it 10 tbs
- !. physician.
N DR.. Hutton adjusted his spectacles
Il glanced over the page, and then slowly
er read the group Of entries aloud. The