Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1871-01-06

She had struck upon a rock.
] A moment later crew and passengers
were struggling in the waters.
A few moments of bufetings and
tossings, of vain struggles and agonized,
involuntary prayer, and then Jasper
Lowder 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 a desolate, despairing
wall. The waves beat against the rocks.
Lowder struggled to his elbow.
Wrecked 2 he muttered. 81 am
cast ashore. while the others are drown
led Oh, this is terrible l have lost
my best friend tonight %
He moaned and wrung his hands.
"He is dead, who would have done so
much for me, and | so worthless am
saved All my hopes Of an easy and
luxurious life must be resigned nowr'
At that moment he beheld dark OBJ
/ Ject at little distance in the water The
waves hurled this object against the pro-
jecting head of a sunken rock. AT the
1 same instant LOhAE1 LECOEtf1LCn II d
the body of a man.
He crept toward it, and the waters
dashed the body on the shore at his feet.
| He put his hands on the face. How
cold and wet It was 1t felt like the
face Of a dead man Lowder's fingers
came in contact with the soft, silken
mustache, and he knew that the body
was that of Guy Tressiliani
Of the five who had 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
waistcoat of his friend, but he could not
perceive the beating of his heart. De
spair took possession of him.
"Deadi !" he said shrilly. Dead
And he would have done so much for
me if he had lived And his father and
the young girl he was to have married
viii wait in vain for his coming His
place at Tressilian Court is empty. Who
can fill it ?"
It seemed to him that some demon at
his side echoed the question: HIsO could
III tie place Asff 5'acaHt BY noble Galy
IreSSiFaR ?
A thought came to hin-a thought so
strange and sinister that he shivered in
voluntarily. Again he felt of Tressilian's s
heart. 1t gave no throb against his
hand. He passed his hand over Tres
silian's head and discovered a gaping
wound in the skull The hair was
clotted with blood.
Putting his hand into his breast pock-
ct, Lowder drew out his little waterproof
match-safe. He opened it with tremb-
ling fingers and struck light. The red
flicker danced on young Tressilian's S
face.
How ghastly 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 its ter
rible character.
IF he is not dead, he soon will be, ,"
| he muttered. "His brain has received
an awful injury. He will never know
who he IS again. He won't live till
morning, and he is perhaps dead al
ready. He must be dead p
Again it seemed to him as though
some demon echoed his words.
The match dropped from his fingers
into the water. For a 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
stealthiness, his hands stole into the
breast pocket of Tressilian and drew out
his private notebook, a packet of letters,
a few trinkets. He secured these among
his own wet garments Their posses
y lsi0A-seeAaSet se=zisee- hfEsa- eesEaee,-a44eE
his face hardened, and he knelt beside
the body of his friend and rifled his gar
ments of all that they contained, be-
slowing his plunder on his own person.
Then he took his own purse, his note
book, a few receipts and trihes from his
own pockets, and put them in the pocI-
cts of Tressilian.
1T is doner' he whispered to him
self, looking with wild defiant eyes
through the darkness ''No one is
harmed. He is dead. If he had lived,
he would have provided for me. AS he
is dying or dead, l must provide for my
self. This likeness RetzoeeH akS mil make
my fortune His friends will be spared
a terrible grief, and II shall live at
last Fortune gives me a chance to
! gain name and wealth at one lucky
stroke p
As if to give himself no chance for
repentance, he arose to his feet and
turned his searching glances in an in
land direction A light, as from a cot
tage window, glimmering family through
the thick haze, caught his gaze.
Raising his voice, he called loudly:
Help Ho, there help 20
The wind had abated, and his cries
rang out through the night with startling
distinctness. The light he had seen
moved and disappeared. A minute
later, answering cries reached Lowder' S
ears, and he heard hasty steps, and saw
the approaching light of a lantern, borne
aloft by mans upraise arm.
This way Z shouted Lowder. 1--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 Ian
tern bearer was rough Sicilian fisher
man, a grade above his class. His COM
+ panioa was also Sicilian, but evidently
of somewhat higher degree. Both were
all excitement, astonishment and SYM
pathy.
In as few words as possible Lowder
told the story of the shipwreck, and
called attention to the condition of his
noble young employer.
Il think he is dead - he said. in a
choking voice. Gary him up to your
cabin. Let everything be done that can
be done to save him. ] will pay you
well for any kindness to him. Poor fell
low! He was my travelling companion.
loved him as if he had been my
brother instead of only my hired at
tendant! Poor Jasper p
The two Sicilians lifted the helpless
form Of poor young Tressilian, and car
ried it between them toward their cot
tage, Jasper Lowder followed them, be-
wailing his loss. The above we publish
as a specimen chapter; but the contin-
uation of this story will be found only in
the N. Y. Ledger. Ask for the number
dated January 9TH, which can be had at
any news office or book store,-If you
are not within reach of a news office,
you can have the Ledger, mailed to you
for one year by sending three dollars to
/ n = L II Il