Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-10-30

| NHdFlle lldl nlght, DuI knowing HHaI
master knew, made no doubt that she
would be stopped from doing it.
| expected to hear his ring at the door
| every hour, and fancied the scene there
would be in the parlor when he came
And sure enough, he did come at last
but, instead sOf what | believed would
happen, there was long, pleasant talk,
| wine taking, and Miss Ruth played the
piano. At last, the old lady sent out
word that | was to come in.
Chow do you do, Alf, - asked my mas
Ter, when l entered, as if we had not
seen each other for months before. 81
wanted to see you. find you give sat
isfaction to Mrs Burt "
"Oh, yes, every satisfaction replied
Mrs. Burt.
81 am glad of;that, " said master, rev
cry servant is not as faithful. | dis
missed clerk from my employ to-day
who had betrayed my trust unmerciful-
ly. Alph, you knew him - Charles
| Podmore?"
eyes, sir" said l.
''He had embezzled two thousand dol
lars, said'master. 81 have not punished
him save by dismissal. was merciful.
| Evil companions have led him astray,
poor fellow. Glad you know your duty,
Aft. Ladies, good day. Show me out,
Alph."
/ did it.
SIS it true ?" I whispered, at the door
He said, Eyes"
That night Miss Ruth waited for her
| lover to come in vain. He neither came
| then or at any other time. The men at
our old place told me that there had been
a row between Charlie and s'Old Bleak,
and that they left them in the office
| "fighting.it out" | told them what he
told me- Charlie had no relatives no
one asked rhe went, and. no one
ever saw him. Poor Ruth Burt fretted
lf.almost into heTgrave, andtmas-
ter came to see her every day. After
while / saw that going on
! all right-for him-and in the end they
were married. I shouldn't have. liked 10
have my wife look as his did on our
| wedding day 3 She was as sadfa thing'as
/ ever saw, even beside a grave. Still,
| she was beautiful and master, beside
| his old looks, had taken on another-a
| frightened look "a queer, watchful,
/ frightened look. that neversleft him.
| After they'were married, aud 1.liying
/ in my own little"cottage,sI Il went out Of
\ gratitude to pay him my respects. /
!
| happy. He always sat in the same spot
at the old desksin his Office, and he new
er said much = He had grown queer.
/ and swOre at any one, except me, who
/ came into that room. = His private Of
| flee, he declared. should not be invaded
/ 1t was dingy enough, for he would not
| have il cleaned, and the rats had died in
/ the surbase, and 1T had a bad, foul
| smells Fl supposed it was the rats. He
never noticed it, he said. g So things
went on for year.
YousknowihOw they've BEEN widen
/ ing streets and all that, in New York.
| The city does as it pleases, whatever
| private folks think. At last it bethought
| il to widen our street. Our building
was TO be sliced away, and masters
office was to 90. That and a piece of
/ the main room, and all above and be-
/ low. Master was furious. If he was,
no one cared. They wouldn't stop for
him. He behaved like a mailman at
/ last, and bolted himself into his Office
with a pair of pistols, and vowed he
would shoot any one who came near
him.
1t was terrible time-I couldn't help
| believing that his senses had forsaken
! him, and | couldn't understand his feel
/ ings either; he had never'seemed to love
/ a place so much.
It was I that went for Mrs Bleak |
| felt as-though she could do anything that
| any one could do with him, and |
! brought her in a carriage. He had
grown quiet when we reached the door.
and we all stood about 1.-THE little dark
door of his Office, | mean-and listened
as she called:
''Mr. Bleak, she said, softly. ''AIr.
| Bleak. II is /, Mrs. Bleak"
He made no answer. We couldn't
! even hear his moving.
Then she called again-and again.
| After a while, crying and using hig
christian name, saying:
Jordan, its Ruth. Jordan, ny..dcar.
| let me in"
But it was of no use. At last she
said: ...
There is something the matter
| force the door.
We forced il.
While we worked there was no sound
but that which we made ourselves, and
when the lock yielded we were all afraid
! to go in.
She stood leaning against the wall.
shaking ike a leaf. The rest Of US called
| to each other not to be so cowardly.
| After mi mute, as be did not rush out or
fire upon US, one man peeped in.
Why he's pulling the house TO pieces
I himself" he shouted.
1t looked like il as we all burst In.
Two great patches of the flooring had
been ripped up, and the. carpet torn
| away. All the books and papers that
had been crammed into a great carved
chest, that had beer a sort Of curiosity
in the office, had been hauled out. and
the chest stood empty, with the lid
thrown back. At first we could not see
master anywhere, but in a minute we
spied him as he laid on the floor, like a
! bundle of rags-not on the floor exactly.
but mostly under il; and, as we picked
him up, we saw something else, so hor-
rible that | can't bear to think of il.
Ii had been a man, and on one of5its
dreadful hands stillIsparkled TiDg-a
broad ring with purple stone in it.
1t was a horrible. sight horrible
enough without seeing masters wife go
down on her knees beside it, screaming
out that it was her murdered Charles.
Yes, sir; master was dead. Paralysis
the doctor said and of course there was
an inquest on the two bodies. What
they made out was that master-had muir
dered Mr.. Podmore and hidden him
under the floor, and that his fright about
the place being torn down came from
that. He was trying TO hide the body
in the chest when death struck him
down beside it and what masters wife
told them made his motive clear.
As for me, l was glad that they never
guessed that the old messenger knew
much about his masters doings, and didn't
question him.
No, sir; she didn't die. She's married
again, and is very gay I'm told.
ST. Paul Minnesota, has had its-gos-
pei revol1tionized by banker'sfwife
who recently eloped with a master me-
chanic of that place. A pleasantsfea
ture of this singular proceeding is that
Of l,r,r,I L d.