Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1872-09-07
loose rope, he swung down, almost

face; but when the bandagc was tied
she looked at it, and saw his lips mov-
ing, though his voice was too faint to
sound over the noise of fight and roar
of breaking waves. Her ear almost
touched his lips before she caught the
words.
Hide me, hide me, and let me die in
peace y
For a minute Bessie sat staring at
the black rocks and thinking; then "a
light crossed her eyes. She said to her
self:
"We mays well risk it, May be
there's no boats about. and he's hand
some young chap to be hanged Garge
maun look after himself, allow
Excitement lent extra strength to
her arms. Shooting through the Du.
rele archway, she ran the boat into the
beach just in the quiet little nook be-
hind the Door," where the projecting
rocks made perfect haven, dragging
the boat up as far as she could.
The man was moaning now, and as
she couldn't lift him out, the only al
tentative was to make him shift for
himself.
You'll hev to land, young man. |
allow it's difficult; but yo' maun do it.
There's Il cave here yo' can lie in till the
cutters men and soldiers are out of the
way"
For answer he got up. and scrambled,
with many groans, out of the boat, drop
ping upon the shngle.
You're good lass, and if you're as
pretty as your voice is sweet, I'll have
the best of it hiding away here"
"We'll see about that, my man.
Yoor all tarred with the same stick.
The moor a woman does for q man the
moor she'll hev to do. The ferst sarcy
word yo' says to |, my fayther he cooms
to nus yo'. So yo' best keep a civil
tongue"
The natural result of this nursing was,
that Bessie lost her heart-pity is,
we know; near akin to love; and so it
was. By some means or oth9r, the reve-
nue. officer, left to keep a look out at
Lulworth, began to get some inkling OF
the truth, and one day, meeting Bessie,
rather questioned her closely as to her
friend. Bessie was too sharp to tell
anything, and the name he went by
{" Kit Roberts") could give no clue to
the officer came across Kit himself, and
began chatting bim about Bessie. Boast
ing little wildly of his knowledge on
domestic matters, there was row. The
officer threatened-Kit retaliated. Then
some of the elder men stepped in, and
separated them before blows had actually
been struck. Harry Walters, however,
came in in time to hear his daughters
name banded about; and it being
Christmas Eve, the old man was not
perfectly sober SO he gave the officer
a bit of his mind and, warming with
the subject, ended by threatening to pitch
him over the cliff if he ever said a word
against Bessie again. Then Kit, who
had been standing by, got the old man
away, and tor a few hours the matter
was at rest.
Next morning Bessie started for East
Lulworth, to attend high mass. Re
turning, she went down the long, steep
path leading to the ruined chapel of
Bindon suddenly she stopped. Surely
that was Kit, walking along the cliffs
yes, going slowly, as if watching or
waiting! Then he stood still, crouch
ing down. There, within hundred
yards, wrapped in night cloak and
hood, to keep off the keen east wind,
stood the revenue officer, watching with
his glass passing vessel. Behind him,
creeping like panther down the steep
cliff, was Kit Roberts
A thousand sparks seemed flashing
before Bessie's eyes, her lips opened, she
tried to scream, but her voice was gone;
she tried to start forward, but her knees
gave way; and falling, she lay still, i'm
PEELED by a horrible attraction to watch
the murder-to see her lover, the man
who, in few weeks, was to be her hus-
band, deliberately steal upon the officer,
and with a sudden spring and blow, with
his outstretched hands, strike him over
the cliff. She Eeard the murdered
mans deathyell, but no more; a cold
hand seemed laid upon her heart, and
sense left her.
When she recovered, Kit was sitting
by her. His face was white, and a
terrible expression of fear and anger
glaring out of his blood shot eyes.
How did you come here?' he asked,
making no attempt to raise Bessie up,
or excuse himself.
Bessie told him his face grew wilder.
Sprirging up, he dragged her up, too,
almost crushing her wrists as he did so.
"There's only two ways to silence
you-and by heaven you shall take the
alternative-follow him, or go with Inc
to the priest at Dorchester, and be mar
ried. You came out of chapel to meet
me; they'll hear we're off to Dorches-
ter, and I'll be safe both from them and
YOU"
Three days after Bessie was bride.
The girl hardly knew how those days
had passed. She had been kept prisoner
in small room at the top of house in
some back street in Dorchester.
Meantime the body of the coast guard
had been found Harry Walters threat
was corroborated by dozen voices, and
the old man hurried off to Jail. The
village was in ferment of wonder and
excitement, for simultaneous with the
murder was Bessie Walters elopement
with Kit Roberts.
The trst news that met Bessie and
her husband was that of her fathers
arrest.
Who can describe the girls horror and
misery, the perplexity VIII ch beset and
crushed heron the one hand, to see
her father hung for crime of which
her husband was guilty and the other,
| to denounce the true murderer, and
save her father by the sacrice of her
husband.
There was one thread of hope, the
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