Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1873-10-04

II child, like an old miser as he's ke,
v for nighon twentyyears, growing wors
e with every day. Well" he addes
e philosophically,. as he knocked th
5 ashes out of his pipe against the to
81 bar of the CRATE, 'ssuch trial as tha
Il might turn you or me as much, sir
a who can tell ~ -g1ssai iakg Iol bs
The old man lives entirely alone .
e the ferry house ?
e F'Yes, sir, and people do say he
f scraped together tidy lot of money
r By dint. of starving, and begging, an
= ferrying, and that when be dies it'll b
found hidden about the house Ii
2 'heaps.'hB ls2AsA 10 ssiis4 s4'ia
D rs he not afraid of thieves p dila.
; Thieves in Mantle, sirl / neve
. heard of such a. thing e-.v-i
) ~ So this was the story that the old maj
J had declined to tell-I knew now VIII,
he did not care to relate the same him
self And it told its moral, too--ths
old moral to the old, old story-tha
one false step from right may be leap
ing into a gulf from the depths o.
which there is no rescue. [ could noi
sleep after its narration-I was pain,
fully wide awake, and the, least noise
i Jared upon my nerves and made me
restless. The woman at the table was
bssilisk from which [ could not dis
tract my gaze. / felt that she had
been eager listener, and that she
alone of all the world might possibly
be able to add further details. This
fancy took so strong hold upon me
that L began to grow anxious for a
sight of her white face again--fOr4 a
chance of studying it in search of that
I lost beauty that had been her utter
ruins Was it speculative romance, or
a strange coincidence? Had /, indeed,
been a witness at the ferry to the silent
meeting between those whom crime
had parted twenty years ago Twenty
years land the woman had gray hair
now. and the face of hag--erime had
changed her more than tine, if she
were Jennie Wisford. l-f.
L remember that night setting in
wet, the heavy drops peltihg against
the windOw-glass, and the wind sud-
denly rising and whirling wildly round
the house. | remember listening to
the rain and the signing Of the wind
! till the American clock struck two,
then three, and the fire burned hollow
and collapsed, and the landlord fell
asleep with his pipe in his mouth, and
his arms folded, bravo fashion, on his
chest. bus. oHduq aai io nsil a-l
Suddenly / was reused to my feet,
and the pipe frightened from the land
lords lip into the fender, by an exela-
nation from the woman, who had so
long retained her sleeping posture
Il can't stop here! / shall go
mad if / stop here II lri,5sr. -.sri
She had raised her head from the
table, ON which she had smitten her
large hand passionately. d
"Halloo here what's all this noise
aboutl'' exclaimed the landlord. = r.
Unlock your door and let me be
going on my way. / have many miles
to travel before sunrise" /" i7f.l
Don't you hear the rain lass p said
the landlord. Z v-a e. a-f.t1
I'm tramp pand rough weather does
not frighten me. I've roughed it many
years,,now, and / m not afraid of catch
ing cold and dying of il. No such
luck for one sick of life as | am. Is
but you have had no rest, | sug-
gested there is a small room up
stairs, and [ am sure our landlord will
allow me to defray.n- s1rl I7fl1|
Il want no mans charity said the
woman, rudely, as she spatched her
bonnet from the floor. "Unbar the
door, and let me out into the night.
Don'tyou hear, i must be gone?
5"OhI / don twish to keep you against
your Will, : said the landlord, beeom-
ing warm in his turn; '"'only, as you 've
had shelter here for hours, called for
nothing, and been asked for nothing,
l would ha tried and kept a ciya
tongue. This way, marm. .E si
You mustn't mind me, said the
woman, in milder tone; ~I'ye seen
trouble. and am hasty-like. q Thank
you for your kindness, though | wish
to pay for it. 4" g, .-...l r-.. ..-i. en-
She began fumbling in the pocket of
her tattered gown as she rose to her
feet, but the landlord told her to keep
her money-he wanted none of it, and
he had no charge to make for house
room. -r.t .-....-T
"Are you going far?" I ventured
to inquire. q" Back to London, I've
walked from London every step, on
the faith of fools dream--but then
I'm a mad fool, and whim leads me
anywhere. But oh that dream - with |
a shiver t'it was like call to be pre-
pared-a warning that there was one
chance left me even yet. But am |
mad-stark mad -rr--
TO start forth in the rain like this |
right you be, observed the landlord.
The woman made no answer, but !
followed the landlord to the door,
which was unbarred and open for her |
egress. Without bidding either of us
goodnight, she stepped across the /
threshold, drew her shawl round her,
and stood for moment as if doubtful |
of her way, The landlord had not |
closed the door, and | was looking /
over his shoulder at the strange wom-
an who had yentured forth in such
rough weather, when the clear, sharp
report of pistol rang suddenly through
the air. As the landlord caught me
by the arm, aud gave vent to an ex-
cIamation of surprise, the woman flung
up her arms, and came, with Wild
scream, back upon US. tt E..
"The dream the dream Oh my
God, it's true at last, and he is mur-
dered l saw it all week ago; his
white hair dabbled with blood, and he !
lying on his face on the wet grass out
side, Oh is there no one here to help
me?' she cried, wringing her hands.
was about to assert that at present /
there was little reason for her excite
ment, when there was walled family
from the distance word that blanched
all cheeks, and paralyzed US for a mo-
ment with its awful meaning Muir
der y 'lldrfl st 20 -l.. --i 1
r. An instant, and thewoman was run
ming down the lane bareheaded, ber
bonnet in the roadway, and the land
lord had seized stick and hat from
the passage, exclaiming: There's
abroad tonight !! Will you
follow. sir =? .t e. 90.
ran into the room fpr my hat. and |
then the landlord Of the Lion and
] we're Fastening down the lane after !
the woman. who sped swiftly on before
Us, and whom there was ho oyertakIng.
As we hurried toward the ferry, voices
q. paopie awakened in the village
sounded in the rear, and dog, break
ing from its sleep in the coach yard,
came bounding TO aaF side. | have
said the distance was not far to the
ferry-hOuse; the bend of the lane
brought it once more to- yiew-a dark
IL. roar tho 1rafar's ad0a ccarealv