The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1870-01-28
CHAPTER LII.
WHAT HAPPENED IN TENwOOD PRE-
SERVES.

WHAT HAPPENED IN TENWOOD PRE-
SERVES.
They viii talk of il for many a year
to come, i'm and about BIazen, though
it was only cowardly blow that
did not do much harm TO the man who
received it-yet its consequences, en-
bracing, as it did, the cruel persOnds
of nv story, were very serious and
singular, and much more worthy of
talk than the usual topics of the Cos
sips of that country town.
Ralph TatesOn, as i'm defiance of
young Thickley's prohibition, he leap
ed the hedge that bounded the Ten
wood preserves on the BlaZen side,
he had no presentiment of the misfOr-
tune that was about to befall, and, for
a time, Overwhelm him. Although
he was seeking a clandestine inter
view with the object of love "night-
ier than DEATH" he was in the ordi-
nary mood of health and high vital
ity, thinking. most unOrthOdOXly, not
of her, but of BilsOn-thinking of the
spectacle of the butchers bruised and
scowling face on the morning after
the fight. Thence his thoughts wan
dered, as thoughts will wander, ab
hoe ct Ib hCtc, to the fact that BilsOn
was a fishmOnger as well as butcher,
and a poulterer as well as a fishmOng-
er, dealing in salmon and oysters as
beef and mutton, and game as well as
! the former, and thence to many more
matters, until he found himself face
| to face with Amy i'm a violet-tinted
dell, about half a mile from TenwOOd
Hall.
1t was one of those days so rarely
seen in England, and of such frequent
occurrence in the States; its sky was
as cloudless as, temporarily, were the
/ hearts of her lovers, and its atmos-
phere as pure and balmy as that of the
| ATTITUDES of the southeast "trades.u
| Never had the beams of the sun, as
they stole through the Overarching
foliage, and trembled adOwn the
| trunks of the grand old trees, fallen
athwaPt brOws so worthy of their
sheen; never had two human beings
since Adam and Eve embraced in
Eden, appeared so much in accord
with the scene around them. He, so
tall, and strong, and handsome, with
the blood of untaXed health and love
flashing like fire i'm his rounded checks;
she, so 1.-THE and lovely: setting his
color off with matchleSs blending of
fthe lily and the rose, under her wealth
of curling, blue-black hair Well
might Quatrechique dream and rave
about her; and well might Squire
Tcnwood account her his winning
card-aIways providing that she would
armOr-rObed and armOr-hearted, who
~, IL
sweet, foolish dallying under the love
promising sky?
There was one near them, however,
who thought of making his espionage
profitable; one who overheard all
they said, and saw all that took place
"a long, lOp-sided cripple, with a
squint, and a gaunt unshaven face,
who stood for awhile between two
overgrOwn brambles, watching them,
his little black eyes glistening like
dew-bright blackberries. He wore a
smock-fFOck, a battered, time-brOwned
hat, and an old pair of riding boots,
from which the lacquer had long dis
appeared; and he carried a stout,
blackthOrn cudgel.
Giles Tubing was in n dilemma.
Selling his secret would have been an
easy matter, had the sale not invOlv-
ed an admission of the fact that he
himself was in Tenwood preserves at
the time of its requirement.
In no county in England were the
game laws so strictly administered as
in SOuthdOwnshire,a and his conscience
marshaled in review before him a
whole host of violations of them.
"MOney lost, Pm afeered," he NUT
tered, as he turned away; "But / mum
think about ii. pll e'en set them
snares, and then I'll start for Blazen.
I nun ha' talk VII Bilson about t.
matter, | num-"
Treading cautiously, and looking
about him, in the manner we ascribe
to guilt, he came to the little stream
that runs from one end of Tenwood
Park to the other. Leaping across the
babbling obstacle, he parted the thick
underground that encrOached upon
and Overhung it, and entering mar
row glade, came upon young Thick
ley, who stood with his back toward
him, his head a little on one side, as
if listening-came upon him so sud-
denly and Unexpectedly that Giles fell
back like one struck.
Worthless rs the man was, he was
not without one element of greatness.
He knew that detection involved ru-
in-ruin to his wife and children; and
he adopted, without delay or tremor,
the only line of action that could save
him and them. Baising the black
thorn cudgel he carried, he brought it
down with murderous force on Hen
ry's unconscious head, and, without
waiting to see the effect of the blow,
dashed through a belt of bushes that
skirted the Blazen road, like hunted
hare.
When young Thickley came to him
self, he made the best of his way
home, and told the squire why he had
gone into the preserves that after
noon, and what had there befallen
him. Some yOkel employed on the
estate had seen Ralph walking in the
direction of TenwoOd, and knowing
all that was said in the town, had
thought it worth his while to seek an
interview with the squire's son;
whereupon Henry had gone in search
of the lovers, armed with his riding
whip. Squire Thicllley, a man of lit
tie Judgment or heart, swOre, without
moments hesitation or reflection,
that the wrong was Ralph's doing;
but his son thought he knew the lad
better. Amy cried herself to sleep
that night.