The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1869-12-02
TIproN, IOWA, ] EcEMBER 9, 1869.
august 8, 1865.

august 8, 1865. Shes lore''cr
ttan cpcrH'
And the next ;,
august 8, 1866. She's red1ly
chdminy'
And the next /
"August 8, 1867. Mvreu,ud is at
hdadr'
And what shall we get to-day
The physician looked up and fixed his
gaze upon the bereared nus
band and wife. a.,
How did these letters come to you:'
he demanded.
'Invarably by post, replied Mr.. Preb
lie. Casually to the house but some
times to the oilice!"
"And have you never seen their au-
thorw
"Never."
"rhc hast of them is dated, / see, II
year aa;s tGstleptH III. uanxer, u,ru Inc
v,nie has come for another message
This is the 9th of August, lS6S.'
~ sec,' said DR.. Hutton. "And this
is the sccrete otyour great excitement!
You are expecting I" receive another OF
these strange mes>agcs!'
There was brief silence. Mrs. Prcb-
le's hand tluttcred in its task, and her
face grew deadly pale. The banker
breathed gaspinSiy. The physician re-
garded them both in friendly sympa-
thy.
awe shall hear of her again to, day.
said Mr.. Preble; land what will the
message be-"
The mother avcrtcd her fcac. Her
brave heart faltered as that question
echoed in her soul.
"The writer of these letters is I'M
~ al, xNf
child.' said DR.. Hutton. ''llave you
any suspicion as to his identity:'
"Not the slightcst,' said Mr.. Prcblc.
ave have puzzled over the problem for
many years, but we cannot guess who
he is
"Think," said the doctor. "1iave you
no enemy: do not mean people with
whom you arc not friendly stir
ring man has plenty of thcse-but Il
downright enemy! Is there no man
whom you knew in the East who hat
ed you: No one against whom you
were called upon T.. testify-no one
whom you possibly injured ~
The banker shook his head. lie had
asked himsilf all these questions repeat
edly.
ii have no such enemy, DOCTOR" he
answered with sincerity OF voice aud
manner.
"Aud Mrs Preble?" suggested the DIR.
turning to her. "Have you II" rejected
suiior VIII" might be rerengeful enough
to dcsoate your home:'
"No,' said the lady. 81 was married
early. Morton was my first lovcr!'
"rhis is strange-very strange .'mut-
tered the doctor. "lou are not con,
scious of having an enemy in the world
Il vat lnt
foe-a iiend in human form-who is
working out against you a fearful ha-
tired! And you have not the slightest
o"~S%'GttGth ~S%'Gtt tie :' Slightest 81 declared the
banker.
Not the slightest" echoed Mrs Preb-
lc. my husband had stcp-brother
who M light have been capable of this
infamy-but he is dead!"
1.-The handwriting is not familiar?'
"No. 1t is merely Il rude scrawl, as
YOU see. 1t suggests nothing-eXcept
that it is evidently disguised ~
Again there was profound silence.
"Our child is seventeen years old
now" at length murmered Mrs. Preble,
her voice trembling. ''She is on the
of womanhooh. No doubt,
during these years. she has yearned for
us, wherever she may be, as we have
yearned for hertz
"But where is she:" asked the ply
now his voice was broken
by his deep sympathy with the oganiz-
ed parents. "Where can she be-"
"Hcaven only knows,n answered the
mother. "Perhaps in San Francisco
perhaps in some rude hut in the interi-
or, with some obscure farmer, and un-
der name that is not hers! | think
her abductor would have carried her to
some lonely region Of the interior,
among valleys and mountains. Yet !
never see a young girl II, 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 Jessieh
'Oh, plying heaven!' sighed DIR.
Hutton, dashinya Il tloodof tears from his
eyes. "Will this long agony never be
over?'
1--WE hope 80, and even believe so,'-
answered Mrs. Preble, with the firm
ness of an unfaltering trust in Gods
mercy "The last message we Received
from our enemy seems to point to some
kind of Il change
"True,' assentcd Dr. Hutton, looking
at the message in question. 1T is un-
like the others. 1t says that his ire
ward is at hand He means either that
he intends to marry your daughter, or
that he intends to demand money of
you for bringing her bacI-or bothn
1--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 restl essIy on hi,
sofa, and his face grew even paler.
"Wlatever it is, let it comcu' he muir
mered. Anything can be borne bet
ter than this awful suspense. Let it
come.n
AS if his impatient words had precip-
ilated "A crisis, Il step was heard on the
the walk at his moment, and ring at
the front door followed.
another message!' breathed the
banker.
\ servant soon entered, bearing let
ter, which he extended to Mr.. Preble,
saying: 81 ...#
"The bearer is in the hall"
With an eager gaze. the banker glanc-
ed at the superscription of the mis-
sive.
at is from him'' he faltered.
lie tore open the envelope.
1t contained a slip of paper, of well
known shape and appearance, upon
which was scrawled a single line, in
equally we'll known hand writing,