Litchfield enquirer., 1871-01-12
LIToHFIELIp"q =1lE'sS RsT F V,

as :. 117 TTTfTE7 F.EaT EssssE IT FEz 7Tf ISelina intEusted. it to Peter, who took tito Ia gnarled monarch of the forest-an oak ftEee iii fact-and concealed it from all hu. Ianan gazein .asisnall hollow: cavity some
 ten feet from. the. gfonnd vhess' at f,a .latel 1hopr, found it, and deposited my answer, Ito be conveyed by' the same process into Il mv dearest Cfafas iiantls :%s' 'sF'''tafssa'4 .h Peter wasa Ian k, old man, alSasvery wiry T lie could, climb. .a tree .ike.a squirrel and Twas agile myself. The whole conception l.wwaiss romantic if you will. but grand! T'l [thought so,. Clara thought so, Peter thought l sp! ., The idea wass from Millais's picture, T which We had both carefully studied and 11f Peter had not generally. deposited his {sndaii notes Fto myself ats tbe same time, Easking nay ''kind, consilerashan4a as. & geai'
 tlemap born with, a warm, hearts .to. an nf I fltcting kase in the parish" the &amapce .f would have ten pure and sunalloyed. '
 ltl Clara defied sthe sobdurate qguardiai1 foi T two months It, was, .Febrqary. when Seli I fna Muggins betrayed us. was advancing .ff,, af innocent and unsuspecting manner, It'd thefseeret postsofice in the wood half a mile from Mir. Rowley's. house, when | be.
 came conscious of the whole perfdy. l was close upon the tree-that brave old sf sfo$k-wIlich had held so many secrets when ! ESices in another direction filled my =sonl I:vfth horror. They were the. voices. ,oi
 Samuel Rowley, Esq., J. and Peter Stokes, my Mercury T sank down in the
 long grass -tliere was aarapid sthaw that
 morning, and the damp struck meat. once,
 and trembled for my love. I was not an
 instant too soon; their footsteps were hp-
 ol me. MT. Rowiey's right foot wassneaf'- fN upon me also;. he shaved my features by I.a hairs. breadth. and passed on, The Fa4 instant afterward.. ''st'":' f7s'' a's' a*r !
 .l |''Yeu don't eonsider yourself. an abomi-
 pable scamp. I suppose. MT. Rowley said,
 s'dn unprincipled old vagahond. to act as a I gd-between to silly schoolgirl and that idiot of a boy! You. never thought of the
 harm of encouraging this. did you?,'as,, os fI,m lq very sorry' sir" whimpered Pe1 l4' F'Teaching my ward to be deoeitfuh for Fthb sake of few sixpences, I suppose?' ] .l five never hadEai ha.penny your honor,
 much more g sixpenee. ? ne4a sss,,asI ss.l a,as :, Neither had he. They were generally
 half crowns he was ih the habit Of recefv- 1 ink from me-. t:v..ae s.il 5tES .4aass# F.You deserve to be kicked out of, my service, Stokes--drummed out of the village
 fpf d wicked old hypocritep "'' ''s''''
 s'They were werry fond of each other, | sir, and Miss ClaraIused to ask. me, so. be-
 sedching; and when I told. her. there was
 hahn in writing to Master Huskisson with out her dear gardewan's s Knowing anything
 ab9utsit, she allers saidlis was for the last time, sir--really,l T ...:.sia .-i; pc4 fIf it was not for your age, Stokes, I'd
 send you about your business this very
 day, .%ha:Tf < ssi *;t'A: i,'aa t4t,f E see
 1I'mswersy sorry, ,sir. 2 Stokas:said again, shedding many tears. .. n,.. .z...... !. Ills this the tree?" 7 @@~ 'tYes, sir, that's the tree" o'ii .sn iAnd Clarass last letter is snp %thera now sh q !..y I,a F. 4hat heeie R NOW .nq n1ore vi Jy-r
 TlYes, sir, in that hole.'' f,,,s @f''' 4'''''7 w. How on earth do you get at ite'p pi2 4:' sI Master Huskisson climbs up there. sirst for his answers. .'I'll go. up and fetch down Miss Clara s letter in mint"
 There was a small epistle Of his own l1e wis he'd ito obtain as well, perhaps; or it
 was possible that his noble miud had sug7 gested some scheme to save dear Clara's misBive from sacrilegious eyes. But MT. RoRley suspected this old serVitof. .jai.e Stop where ypuia are, Stokesl" be ,roared forth ;I1l have no more of your monkey, 4trick ks. Give me back '''7" 1''''''' "
 .s'Hive youea wot, sir?"' ,'t*a t.s7s'' ''' ''''
 d Bend your backs you rascal, and Tlls jump on it, and get the letter myself."" ...s,. ,-~ stJump on it!" repeated EStokesl with look of dismay at Mr. Rowleys portly fig ure fs.it dont strike me that I eanD bear yohf weight, master.", ,laa a..st ..,tst4.e,. q r s'It will Do only for a minute, said Mir. RoMley, quite brutai1y ;tsind if T break youf back, it. will servea you7right Fenouglf f I'm hot an elephant, man. and, Twill have no rhore of this nonsense"
 MT. Stokes resisted no farther. He made his back as if about to 0icommence at 2 game of leap frog with g, justice of the. peade and with more agility than I had giveh Mir. Rowiey credit Tor, the guardian was Ealoftj and within an inch .or''tvo aef our lettarsbQx.leai "a ..si..ts.. !. ese asa.I't tRaise your shoulder, you rascal a little more, cried his employer.
 Stpkes did 50, and from myshidihg- place I saw theihand of Mir. Rowley striEey with some dificnlty-for it. was fats gouty hand, I have already said-to force itself into that 'casket.. which had 'coiitained Sd I many of my dear Clafa's .epistless bamuel Rowley was an excitable man; for he swore a little in his efforts, and turned very red, and moved his feet restlessly upon poor Stokes''ba linda a 1T .aatsfasss |" 7sSE'
 ':I have got it!''' he cried. at ,laskI 1.-The artfh jade-the cunning, plotting little minx, to serve her own guardian in this, nhPfn L"n .>astatlssss' ,:'.lla5s s!t tps 3sWhat's the matter, sifa'' eit@ssd 4ae.is :, tI anything partickler the matter. sir ? Not } hadder, hope, or nest of sarpents, or an nything?" and old. Stokes hid bis head a little more-tucked in his tuppenny we rcaaleH-ittat school to conceal his langhiDg and $ardonic conntenance. s,:.,.,...t s.,izs.s J I'm i 5oi4y to say.."h ! ' s''''-sf ss's s's' as.aggus, sira'h said Stokes; awhonleft off laughing immediately si.i ga aa, ,.ai,.'i
 .sYes; IT can't get my hand out!"
 as'It's twisted somehow, or swollen, or the woodaaaiis gripped imej aN Wait a mol Fment, Stokes-Oh, it's all up with me hI can't u. 'i"Take 1t quiet, sir:a Keep cool .ot7you'n never do it--don,t .hagitats gourseafs I'm sa'
 Don't move, stokes-as you are man, don't moves If yoh were t5 dfop:a F can not imaginezwhat would become fmeat 1t will be- alright in minnte.'l l. e.iii4ls a.i lt:a'AMake. it less. if you car, groaned Stakes; 'all the blood s got into my head orfuI Are you out sir?'' sss'tsFaa' ts af MdNSo Tsvn Ts,n. Hvol Qfakoc T,D, o