Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1873-12-26
s,rAIJNTON VIRGINIA FRIDAY DECEMBER 26, 1873

| PAGES down the road to where 1t was
crossed by small stream, and saturathe
her handkerchief returned, and without
hesitation drew aside the clothing ana
placed it upon the wound-a small bullet
wound in the left side over the heart.
sYou must keep perfectly quiet, and l
will soon return she said softly, hardly
knowing whether she was heard or not and
then in an instant she was in her saddle
dashing at her utmost speed towards the
nearest farmhouse.
Dashing like the wind up to the door, and
startling quiet Farmer Jessop, and his fam
ily nearly out Of their wits, Leone cried:
Mr.. Jessop, let your son ride at once to
Dr.. Wells, and tell him a gentleman lies
dangerously wounded on the road near
Hillside Spring; tell him to come there at
once, and you, Mr.. Jessop, please come on
with your carriage, and bring all that you
think necessary Alaos $50 .lssse
| Everyone in the county knew and loved
Leone, Lightfoot, and rapidly her orders
were obeyed, which observing, she wheeled
her foaming horse, and again sped away
upon her return to the wounded stran-
ger. ~ aifa a51 .4.4e-.i.st III
| There he lay just as she had left him. but
groaning slightly; and each instant damp
Eening the blood-stained handkerchief, and
[wiping away the blood, the girl awaited
the coming of the surgeon. q yp5 .&l
| Would they ever come ? she thought; but
at length when it seemed hours instead OF
minutes, the sound of wheels broke on her
ears, and the next instant the surgeon
drove up at a rapid pace.
sYou are anoble woman, Miss Lightfoot,
and if this man lives he owes his life to
you, said the good old physician, as he ap-
preached and knelt beside the PROSTATE
form.
But will he live, Doctor?'
For some minutes 10 reply was given by
the man of science, who carefully probed
| and examined the wound, and then hesaid
slowly: ,ss,et. .... 81. i.ss s,3s
1T is serious injury-ha here have
the ball; yes. [ hope he will live; and Dr..
Wells took from the wound a small bullet,
while he continued :ud4 a.si3
Now he needs the most careful nurs-
ing .Hirsf h.re M. bi9ae.
HE shall have it. Thank God, here
comes Mr.. Jessop,' and Immediately after
the carriage drove up, and telling the doc
| tor to come on with the wounded stranger
to her brothers house, Leone again noun
ted her horse and rode on to have all in
readiness for hisEarrival.
It was weeks before the stranger was
sufficiently recovered to tell his story re-
garding the wound that had so nearly pro-
ven fatal to him, and then he informed
Leone, who had been untiring in her devo-,
ted care of him, that his name was Clar-
ence Ainslee-was an Englishman, who
nearly year before had come to America,
and purchasing few acres of land in the
West made it his home.
He also stated that business had called
him to New York, and while enjoying
horseback ride he had been suddenly
fred upon, was thrown to the ground,
and had an indistinct remembrance that
some one was robbing him, for his watch
and pocket-book, and all the valuables ne
had about him were gone. ,
That Clarence Ainslee was no ordinary
man Leone Lightfoot knew when she hrst
saw him lying by the roadside, but that ne
would ever possess the power to control hef
life she had not believed. Hi
But 50 it was, for each day proved to her
that she had met her beau ideal; and yet
was he for her Might he not already
have loved? Might he not already be
married " laI,... ,..t......'. !. s.,,.,a E.,.
The thought chilled her very heart; and
vet. when she saw the dark fascinating
ewes turned upon her with admiration and
read-or hoped she did therein deeper
holier feeling, Leone felt happy, and locnllged
to be a very slave, and become mereeau
tomaton to the caprice OF Clarence AIMS
lee. f'.q .,,.ss,'l,,.g f..,s.l.e, ,G.fj-.
Now, Arthur .Lightfoot and his pretty
wife looked upon the matter in different
light. for though hospitable in the extreme
to the stranger guest, they looked upon
him as poor English emigrant, a petty
Western farmer, and did not like the IDEA
that he should wholly control the heart OF
Leone, for they were not blind to her de-
votion to the wounded man.
Still they could not but admire the cour-
teo,1s manner of their stranger guest, when,
after six weeks, he sufficiently recovered
to ioin them in the parlor and at dinner.
,rbat he had been reared gentleman
was evident, and that he had travelled and
seen something of the world was also evil
dent. and Mr.. and Mrs. Lightfoot had
never seen a handsomer man, they were
compelled to admit; but that Leone, the
belle the heiress, and most lovely woman
Of the day, should love an unknown and
moor Englishman- bah, the thought, even,
was ridiculous. st~
When the trunk of Clarence Ainslee ar
rived for he sent for it as soon as he was
able to speak, Mrs. Lightfoot paced around 70
# half an hour, in the vain endeaVor to
find something plebian about it; but the
trunk was a good one, English make, and
bore on it simply the letters g. A., Eng
land. = ID ,i@.,esfr .t..{ .,.rst9,.s
With a disappointed look the.inquisitiye
little woman ordered it to be sent to the
sick mans room, and sought her cham
Der. Il il4i ot.a1f 2Ga g
ARTHUR, Leone really loves that wound
ed man. and what will become OF it all r
| sT+,e Toono,c romance little wife she
will recover from it; a few tears at part
ing; hard riding for herpoor horse ) a lew
eo,,+;n,on+al sonos and all will be over.