Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1870-05-19
impression is that you'll be in HanwelI

Ii yon GO, remember, I've warned you.U
ne hung curse at me, and, turning
away, rolled himself up in his cIoak
ana never moved again till the mail ran
INTO the Dover station. Then he rose
suddenly, opened the door, sprang on
to the platform, and disappeared.
en?n '-O-- - .iAoi
IL was some three or four hours after
my arrival in Lindenbad. had forced
the conslgnee, carried Lady Oswestry's
rooms In the Russia by storm, utterly
dlscomfiting the garrison by the sud-
denness and vigor of my assault, mas
much that after brief, hopeless strug-
gle, it surrendered at discretion. NV
darling had spoken the words that bound
her life to mine forever.
Under the summer stars, in the hush
OF the summer night, she and 1 were
sitting on the balcony of their room that
overlooked the river and the purple
woods beyond; at her feet, as I loved
best to sit, and watch the great violet
eyes turn 'lowly on me; at her feet. with
her hand in mine again.
en?u -- -' --'-
"What else could L do? Twas so weak
with YOU Frank; so weak against my
love. And for your sake, l felt e ought
not to be. So ran away. 1t was ter
rlble work to get Amy to start that
night, thought She was horribly cruel
to me; she fought for you. How loved
her when she did! But 1 would go; and
so we went"
safe?"
"Safer. Away from you L were
strong"
"And did you think you would be out
of my reach long?"
She gave me a smile, delicious as
caress. Then she said:
"Qui salt? / thought you would come,
but not so soon. Not till 1 should have
time to harden my heart. / knew 1
was doing right, Frank. But thought,
too, that | might never see you again.
And then" her face told me the rest.
"Enfante! What had you to do with
it, right or wtrong, if you loved me? You
were mine. How could you ever think
L should let you go? Let you go, who
have given me new faith, new hope,
new life-made life precious to me. now
how could 1? Helen, my Helen, moth
ing can take you from me now. You
cannot take yourself from me-"
From my arms, where she had nestled,
ON sudden she started.
''There!" she whispered, pointing to
the deserted river walk; "thereI Did
you not see him?"
On her face, yet wet with happy tears,
had come the haunted look once more;
in her voice was the old fear, though my
arms and my love were about her. I
knew what had done this; the sight of
a man whom l was beginning to feel
something of the hate that kills.
~ saw no one, you know. And if
Alvarez Smith wants to do me q mis-
chief, why on earth should he turn out
and do melodrama in the moonlight,
threaten me with imaginary daggers,
and that sort of thing, to put me my
guard?n
81 saw him standing there" and she
pointed again straight before her.
"And how was he dressed?n
''In a short cloak, it seemed. / saw
him throw il back when he lifted his
arm"
"And then Ehe disappeared-where:"
'Hnto the shadow of the trees"
That was perfectly possible. A couple
of strides would take any one out of
sight who had stood even in the center
of the broad alice.
If Helen had really seen Alverez
Smith, he might be hidden in that
shadow even now, watching Us. My
blood began to stir at this.
1 had been just a week in the Bad
when sthe denoument of this story
came out.
We had gone up the river one morn
ing iu "hen-coop," had landed some
three miles or so above Lindenbad, and
strolled away, out of sight of the boat
man, along the bank, down to which
the low scrub and bFushwood
of the forest.
We sat down on sort of little erag
which Overhung the river, and frcm
which Helen had discovered view
which she was doing her best to sketch
under an organized series of Interrupt
tions from me. Lying there at her feet,
watching her eyes, and drinking in her
voice, thinking of that new life she had
given me, and that1was precious to. me
for her sake, l was terribly near my
death.
There was hardly breath of air astir;
and yet, all at once, my pot hat, that
was tilted over my eyes to keep off the
sun glare, rolled away lazily across the
turf, dipped, so nearly and lightly that
I hardly felt it, Off my head.
a sharp crack and little puff of white
smoke rising above a clump of brush
wood explained this phenomenon.
/ saw at once what it meant. / was
on my feet and half way across to the
cover which sheltered my would be as
sassin in q couple of bounds, Another
bullet wizzed by my ear, and then 1
had sprung into the thicket, struck by
one lucky blow smoking revolver from
the shaking hands, and flown at the
throat of Alvarez Smith.
1t was we'll / had lost no time; he got
no chance of using his knife.
heard Helen scream, and then saw
her fall lifeless on the turf where We
had been sitting, and then l was wrestl-
ing for dear life with madman. He
bad no science, but he held me like a
fiend. / cut him of his legs again aud
again; but he clung so desperately to
me that l couldn't drop him. Each
fresh struggle breught2 me nearer and
nearer the edge of the little crag. i
guessed what he wanted to do, and put
all my remaining strength into one
fierce, desperate effort to fling him.
This time he went down, but my foot
had slipped on the dry, short turf, and
he managed to pull me down upon him.
I felt his arms close round me in agrip
of steel as he twisted and writhed to-
ward the edge; heard his yell of dia-
bolical triumph in my ears; knew that
we must roll over; felt the earth slip,
away from me; felt the mad rush of air
by me; felt shock that seemed to stun
me; and then, locked in each others
arms, the water closed over US liRe q
thick darkness.
He must have struck against some
thing in the fall, and have been stunned
Or dead when he reached the water.
Ina second had wrenehed myself
free from that deadly grip, had risen to
the surface and was striking out for the