The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1870-12-31


sea in maddened rage.
There is no time for talking now. The
wind rose so high that words would
scarcely have been distinguished. TIL,
storm that had gone before had been but
play to this awful outburst. The vesse
drove on, creaking and greaning, mere
cookie shell on the pillows.
"Mother of Mercies." walled the cap
tain. cts all up with us, signores
can't make out the Cape in this darkness
We shall go on the rocks. st. Anthony
save us.'
The seaman echoed his cries.
The two young Englishmen, compre-
hending their peril, clasped their hands il
silence.
For the next few minutes it seemed thai
a Pandemonium reigned
Then a noise like the report of cannon
suddenly doomed through the storm and
the darkness. The little vessel shivered,
staggered, and careened upon her side
She had struck upon rock.
A moment later crew and passengers
were struggling in the waters.
A few moments of bnffetings and toss
ings, of vain struggles and agonized invol-
untary prayer, and then Jasper Lowdel
felt his senses slip from him, and became
UNCONSCIOUS.
When he came to himself he was lying
upon rocky beach of the Sicilian shore,
sore, bruised, and weak as child
He opened his eyes. The wind had
spent its fury, and now moaned along the
coast with desolate, despairing wall. The
waves beat against the rocks.
Lowder struggled to his elbow
"Wrecked!" he muttered. 81 am cast
ashore, while the others are drowned, Oh,
this is terrible! l have lost my best friend
tonight"
He meaned and wrung his hands.
He is dead, who would have done sc
much for me, and 1 so worthless am saved
All my hopes of an easy and luxurious life
must be resigned now!"
All that moment he beheld dark object
at a little distance in the water. The
waves hurled this object against the pro.
jecting head of a sunken rock. At the
same instance Lowder recognized it as the
body of man.
He crept towards it, and the waters
dashed the body on the shore at his feet
He put his hands on it's face. How cold
and wet it was! 1t felt like the face of a
dead man! Lowder's fingers came in con.
tact with the soft, silken moustache, and
he knew that the body was that of Guy
Tressilian!
Of the five that stood on the sloop's deck
a half-hour earlier, these two alone were
left. The captain and his crew had found
their deaths among the cruel, yawning
waters.
Lowder thrust his hand under the waist
coat of his friend, but he could not perceive
the beating of his heart. Despair took
possession of him.
"Dead!" he said shrilly. "Dead anC
he would have done so much for me if he
had lived! And his father and the young
girl he was to have married will wait in
vain for his coming! His place at Tres
silian court is empty. Who can fill t?"
1t seems to him that some demon at hi.
side echoed the questions: Who could fill TIL
place left rucant By noble Guy Tressilian?
A thought came to him-a thought SO
strange and sinister that he shivered invol-
untalily. Again he felt of Tresslian's
heart. He gave no throb against his hand
He passed his hand over Tressilian's head
and discovered a gaping wound in the skull
The hair was clotted with blood.
Putting his hand in his breast pocket
Lowder drew out his little water proc
match safe. He opened it and with trem.
bling fingers and struck light. The red
flicker danced on young Tressilian's face.
How CHASTITY and terrible it looked! The
eyes were closed, the smile was gone. The
seal of death seemed set on the noble
features.
Lowder examined the wound. 1t had
been made by contact with the sharp rock
and even Lowder perceived it's terrible
character.
eff he is not dead, he soon will be-" he
muttered. His brain has received al
awful injury. He will never know who he
is again. He won't live till morning, and
he is perhaps dead already. He must be
dead!'
Again it seemed to him as though some
demon echoed his words.
The match dropped from his fingers into
the water. For little while he crouched
on the wet stones in silence, battling it
may be with the better and nobler instincts
of his nature.
At last, with sudden and abrupt steal
thiness, his hands stole into the breast
pocket of Tressiilian and drew out his
private notebook, a packet of letters, q
few trinkets. He secured these among his
own wet garments. Their possession
seemed to give him courage, and his face
hardened. and he knelt beside the body Of
his friend and ritled his garments of al
that they contained, bestowing his plumber
on his own person.
Then he took his own purse, his note
book, few receipts and tritles from his
own pockets and put them in the pockets
of Trcssilian.
at is done!" he whispered to himself
looking with wild defiant eyes through the
darkness. "No one is harmed. He is
dead. If he had lived, he would have pro-
vided for me. AS he is dying or dead,
must provide for myself. THIS likeness
bet,oeen as aoW make my fortune. His
friends will be spared a terrible grief, and
IL shall live as last! Fortune gives me a
chance to gain name and wealth at one
lucky stroke!'
As if to give himself no chance fol-
repentance, he arose to his feet and turned
his searching glances in an inland direc
ton. A light, as from cottage window,
glimmering family through the thick haze.
caught his gaze.
Raising his voice, he called loudly:
"Help! IIo, there! help.'
The wind had abated, and his cries rang
out through the night with startling dis
tinctness. The light he had seen moved
and disappeared. A minute later, answer
ing cries reached Lowder's ears, and he
heard hasty steps, and saw the approach
lHr ll0HG Vi IL DoluC eaioAo ~ q
mans appraised arm.
"This way!' shouted Lowder. "We
are wrecked on the rocks. For the love Of
Heaven, hasten!
The bearer of the lantern attended by {
male companion, came running to him
and was soon at his side. The Lantern
bearer was a rough Scilian fisherman, {
grade above his class. His companion was
also Sicilian, but evidently of somewha
higher degree. Both were all excitement
astonishment and sympathy,
In as few words as possible Lowder tolC
the story of the shipwreck, and called at
tention to the condition OF his noble young
employer.
u think he is dead"' he said, in chok
ing voice. Garry him up to your cabin
LetNcverything be done that can be done tt
save him. ! will pay you well for an.
kindness to him. Poor fellow! He wa
my travelling companion. loved him a
if he had been my brother instead of onl.
my hired attendant. Poor Jasper.'
The two scilians lifted the helpless form
of poor young Tresslian, and carried il
between them toward their cottage. Jas
per Lowder followed them, bewailing hi
loss. The above we publish as a specimen
chapter, but the continuation of this stor.
will ba f,un1 onlv in tbn " V a6rar -