The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-06-17

terialistic. even in his most romantic vein;
and as the day was warm for the time of year,
il immediately occurred to him that it would
be pleasant to smoke pipe under that oak
and mediate upon his new emigration
scheme But be had hardly gone far enough
from home to sit down and rest yet; would it
not be better to continue his walk Curl
osity decided this question; for while he was
looking toward the tree, be fancied that one
of its lower boughs shook; and as there was
not a breath of wind stirring, he wondered
what was the cause, and went toward it to
ascertain.
The motion was not repeated perhaps it
had been only fancy. But stay-what was
that dark object dimly showing through the
leaves? A queer growth of wood, surely!
Tom sauntered quietly up to within twenty
PAGES of the oak, and then suddenly sprang
into run. for the object took human form;
and presently he found himself Immediately
under the body of a man, who was hanging
by the neck from rope attached to bough,
which spread conveniently above.
Bv raising his hand, Tom could have
touched the pendent boots, which were in
good repair, aud we'll backed. The rest of
the clothes were respectable, though running
a little to seed, and chimney-pot hat, which
lay on the ground, was o gentlemanly hat.
But Tom did not want to touch the boots,
for to pull the legs of hanging man is not
the best way to resuscitate him. Neither did
he spend time in examining his apparel; the
little matters l have mentioned we're appa-
rent at a glance. On the contrary, he
swarmed up the tree, which was happily easy
to climb, and lay out on the bough with the
readiness of sailor.
In the early and sanguine days of his sec
retarysbip- hunting, Tom had provided him.
self with penknife of superlatve quality,
with which TO operate on the goosequills he
bad expected to wear down by the bundles
and with this he now proceeded to cut away at
the rope. The blade, though unused and
very sharp, was exceedingly small; the rope,
new, hard, and thick. 1t was terribly long
operation, and seemed a hundred times longer
than it was. Fortunately, the weight at the
other end helped the incision by stretching
the gap, and when a strand was half cut
through, it tore the rest of it.
AS Tom lay there on his stomach, with his
left arm round the bough, his right arm
saving and hacking, his head and shoulders
leaning over, he noticed adecided kick in one
of his legs, and motion in one of the arms
of the hangee, which could not be due to the
swaying motion given to him by the opera
ton going on overhead; and the sight gave
frantic energy to the cutting. When the rope
was three parts severed, the rest tore out,
and the body fell lumpily to the ground, the
feet striking first, so that it remained erect
while you could count two, and then tumbled
over with dead thug.
Tom dropped down beside it in moment,
and proceeded to loose the slip-knot from
about the neck. There was an ugly deep red
mark, showing the pattern of the rope, all
around, and the face was not pleasant to look
upon. The starting eyes, the protruding
tongue, were calculated to reappear In dreams
| whenever the digestive organs were out of
order-for years.
| When Tom had turned the body on its
| back, and raised the head a little, he won
dered what to do next, but chafed the hands
and the chest, while he pondered; and as he
was thus occupied he had the satisfaction of
seeing the choking look disappear Whether,
indeed this was a sign of death or recovery
he could not TELL but it made the face very
much less unpleasant to behold.
He had never in all his life felt greater
sense of relief than he did now on hearing the
sound of wheels Running in the direction
he came, after sixty yards, to a lane, masked
by underwood; in the lane was dog cart
just passed.
''Hi! dog-cart ahoy! stop!" he cried, and il
stopped. The dog cart contained a neat gen.
tleman in a frock-coat and spectacles, whC
drove, and a smart adolescent groom, who
folded his arms.
'sIs it Mrs. Bunnythrope?" asked the gen
tleman, as Tom ran up breathless
mo; it's fellow I've cut down. Are yol
q medical MANI"
S'Yes"
''what luckl Come along think he is
alive"
The groom took the reins; the doctor &C
companied Tom to the body under the oak
''ls he ahve?" asked Tom.
80 yes; his heart is beating. But he must
be properly attended to as quickly as posi-
ble."
They carried him to the dog-cart easil
enough, but it was another matter to hau
him up; however, it was managed.
''Where am / to driver" asked the doctor
and Tom, who had the one virtue of prompt
ness, named his own lodgings, regardless O
consequences.
CHAPTER uI.-A PLUNGE IN NEW DIRECTION
The spot where Tom Chatteris had tempo
rsrily located himself was not SO thickly bull
over then as it is now, and they got hom
pretty quietly; but the few people who di
see them showed interest. In front, tn
doctor, driving fast. and the groom kneelin
, on the seat; behind, Tom and body, which
, with the assistance of the groom, he was pre-
, venting from rolling off into the road.
When they arrived the landlady becam
, bysterical; but Tom, ignoring her. had hi
charge carried up into his own room, laid o
, his own bed, and there properly treated.
, First, the patient recovered, and then b
1 went 10 sleep. Sterne tells us that we waite
flower because we have planted it; imagine
then, the interest felt by Tom in this indiv
> dual declared by the tail of his shirt to be
4 ! p Collns), for whose sake he had ruined
I penknife, slept on the sofa, and possibly il
CURED doctors bill.
a 81 suppose / ought to thank you ?" said
f p Collins.