Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1871-12-09
THE OUTSIDE PASSENGER,


nee, like that Of Lindley Grey, a discarded
Ioyer of JAMES, while he, striving vainly To cry
fySed IN every limb, helpless and motionless as
. marble statue!
Ne woke, bathed in a cold perspiration. with
painful sense Ct the viviiness and reality of
The horrible vision which had oppressed his
dreams.
Surely something had happened TO jamie
surely some dark peril hung threateningiy over
bwas some tine before reason and common
sesse came 10 his aid sufficiently to cnlbl. him
70 laugh az the unreal chimer1s. vet he hardly
felt safe the next dav until he had taken jamie
Martin home in his wsy % the once. learning
hom the good boarding house keeper that
Miss Martin was quite weii.''
oil think will see her tor a minute, If she
will receive nle!' he said.
Mrs Reeves came back preseutly-s would
Mr.. RAYMOND walk up to Miss Martins sitting
TseR""
Jane sat on the floor, hurriedly turning things
1870 her trunk, In the midst of a chaos OF femi
nine belongings.
"Janie, surely you are not going away?'
I'll must, Pierre. have just received q tele-
wants me to come to her at once. must travel
night and day, or il may be too late"
:" Let me see the telegram"
JAIME gave him the slip of paper and he read:
Your step mother il very Il-not expected
- live. Come to her at cnce.
"And who is this A. Montague"
Pierre turned the paper over and over in his
hands
"Janie. = he said "are you not acting little
rastly? Wait until you hear more definite It'd
inss."
"Until NV stepmOther is dead? Oh, Pierre,
she was so kind to me when poor papa was taken
away, and the little children will need my care
sorely."
But. jamie,
al There il no use in wasting words PIERRE
nnst 90 by the nooH train"
:. In Darnellsi,le, twelve miles from Court
neld. ] go as far as Courtheld by train, and
there take the stage"
When will you reach there?"
Al midnight. if We meet with no delays
q shall go with you."
&" Indeed Won snail not. Pierre" said the little
aan,ei. Iesolutsly. and flushing up to the roots
o. her hair. :. will go alone"
- I 10 not think il is safe, Janiei"
What nonsense, Pierre" she cried, laugh
aBut listen to me, nv dearest. and urged nv
some strong irresistible power, Pierre told
jamie the story OF his dream. She laughed more
"EOw am determined you shall not accom-
lasy me, Pierre. man to allow a foolish
cream to influence his conduct: Never"
But, jamie, / insist upon it,''
And utterly refuse. Therei"
'' JANET he said almost sterhly.
If you do not abandon the subject once for
AL, she said, resOlutely, " shall consider IL as
asgn and token that you desire our engagement
~ be At an end"
but you will let me-
She put her hand playfully yet imperatively
what did tel you? Come, your business
awaits aS you, and S am in desperate hurry to
am To consider myself dismissed them" he
said, half laughing, half vexed.
jamie Jumped t,, up, ran to him, and gave him
shal write TO you Just as soon Is 1 get
sAere-and We shall be separated but q brief
time, after all"
IL may see you of at the depot?',
mot even that" jamie was beginning 10 be
annoyed again. LET me have my own way
Tor onee-it + woman's privilege, until she is
Pierre Raymond was disauieted still. The
dream haunted him every hour; it would neither
If ! were AZ all inclined to be q superstitious
man" said Pierre Raymond, al should believe
This to be wsrning-I should regard myself as
mad N gave no heed to it,
IL was brilliant starlight night, when the
trim little hgure in the sober grey travelling
dress and yelled face took her seat in the stage
coach which stood at the Courtfeld Depot
awaiting the advent OF all Darnellsdale passen-
Eersstarlight but cold, with frosty clearness
IN the atmosphere, which made closed windows
by no means uncomfortable.
Not but two faces besides the outside pas
seDger, muttered the driver, dscontentedly As
he slammed too the door and mounted to his
place behind the horses, where tall dark figure
already sat; =" Amt goin to make my fortin on
she Darnellsdale road. that's clear!"
jamie Martin glanced curiously towards the
ether paseenger-a MISUNDERSTANDING old wo-
man, IN beaver bonnet, . green bzrege VEIL
and huge old fashioned bombazine CLOAK With
double eapes, who sat nodiing with her elbows
on the lid Of the SQUARE wicker basket she car
red In her lap. jamie felt strangely lonely
even the compsnionship of the uncouth old
creature, she fsneed, would be better than ut
ter isolation, 80 she timidly attempted to begin
An acquaintance.
lit is very cold to- might, - she remarked in a
''Eh?" demanded the old woman. putting
her hand inquiringly To her ear.
"a cold night?" cried JAMIE at the top other
sveet little voice.
Eh?"
Itwss plain that the old woman would not be
much company Tor jamie, and she abandoned
heF social essays in despair. STILL deal old
woman was better than nobody at all, jamie
felt that all alone in the coach, she should have
been very lonely, in spite of the nervous thrills
the experiences once or twice, when, happ sning
- look up. "a the coach ratified through the
sas-lghted suburbs OF COastfeld. she caught
the quick vigilance OF the Old wona 5 furtiVc
sideway glance, instantly " withdrawn.
nw3S not pleasant. and jamie almost wished
thai She had consented to Pierre RaymOni's wish
lonely journey. Pierre's dream laughed at and
forgotten AZ the time, came back to her now with
strange distinctness, oddly blended with IN
pleasant recOllectiOns OfLindiey Grey.
am a goose" mentally protested jamie,
''and III 20 to sleep
But she could not sleep. Onward rolled the
numbering coach past the suburbs beyond the
few scattering habitstions that chung 10 the
outs of the little town into the open country
woods, where the solitary farm houses that thev
OCCASIONALLY had passed were ALREADY closed and
darkened for the nght-wOods where the rust
ling dead leaves, ediying downward, sounded
hke weird whispers; valleys where the moaning
sound OF lovely streams kept up their mouotone:
dresry hill-sides where blsckened stumps and
crooked lines OF tumbled down stone walls pre-
sented dreary prospect; past them all the stage
coach iumbered and jOlted, until suddenly
shey plunged into the dark. fragrant recesses Of
An evergreen wood; where the tall hemlocks and
clusters OF spruce trees seemed almost TO arch
jamie gave quiek stsrt-it was the very wood
that Pierre had described to her Is so yividlv
summed IA hs dream. In an Instant the warn
blood seemed TO CONCEAL ici,y in her yeins
Nonsense! she marmured; cit Is 4 N are ca
incidence; but wish We were safelv ont oS thi.
dismal piace," We havs outlived the az -
highway robbers and Midnight srizandsSyet
The coach came saddsniy to q stand till.
With sick sensation Of terror jamie leaned Out
OF the window.
Through the frosty freshhess Of the nighe-air
came perceptbly 70 her sesses that peculisr
odor OF chloroform- The coash nan had Ssiis.
from bis box, and lay like one dad on the road
side. the reins trailing beneath Ne boon a. -.
docile horses; while the outside ,ss,erSsS s.6
descended, and hurrying round b TIRE coscH
door, ruHR IL open. while \ hoan. .,-Is.-.