The Bloomfield times. [volume] (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1867-187?, 1874-09-29
A Woman'S Secret.
CONCLUDED.

| what is passed he can never be, under any
circumstances, more to me than he is at
this moment-lately returned from Amer
lea much richer than he left England, and
renewed his addresses, which were accept
ed. This came to the knowledge of Mas
ters, who was once engaged to me, and he,
as you know, met and quarreled with
Harpur. The injurious hints thrown out
against me ON that occasion were dismissed
from Harpur's mind, after an explanation
with me; and Masters, foiled in his selfish
and malignant purpose, had the audacious
insolence to write me word that unless l
broke with Harpur he would send him
some foolish letters of mine, long since
written, of no harm whatever if read and
interpreted by reason, but which would
l knew drive Harpur mad with jealous
fury. l so far controlled my mind as to
write note to Masters, demanding, in the
name of manliness and honor, the return
of those letters to me. Judging by his re-
ply he was in some degree affected by the
justice and earnestness of my appeal, and
promised if would meet him at niue
o'clock that evening at an old trysting-
place he mentioned, he would return my
letters, should he not succeed in persuad-
ing me not to marry Harpur. determin-
ed on meeting him the evenings were
light and calm, and have ever felt an al
most man-like want of fear. Yet as the
hour approached, and / set off for the
place of meeting, was disturbed by a
vague sense of misgiving, as of the near ap-
proach of calamity and misfortune, and /
called at Harpur's lodgings, with the pur-
pose of informing him of what had occur
red, and guiding myself by his COUNSEL
Unhappily he was not at home, and after
waiting some time 1 again determined to
keep the appointment with Masters at all
hazards. AS turned to leave the room,
an open case containing two small pistols
caught my eye, and 1 Immediately seized
one, precisely why hardly know myself,
except from an underlined thought of
shielding myself from possible insult,
should Masters rage at finding me invin-
cible to his entreaties prompt him to offer
me any. l concealed the weapon beneath
my shall, and did not, well remember,
bestow thought even as to whether it
was loaded or not. l met Robert Masters
-he urged me by every argument he could
think of to discard Harpur and renew my
long since broken engagement with him
self. refused firmly, perhaps scornfully,
to do so, and passionately insisted upon the
fulillment of his promise respecting the
letters. In his evaporation, Masters
swore he would do no such thing, and TAX
ing one from his pocket, he opened and
pretended to read from it a love-passage
which, had not been almost out of my
senses with rage and Indignation, must
have been sure l never could have written.
l sprang forward to clutch the letter, a
struggle ensued, and, how it happened
know not, certainly by no voluntary act of
mine, the pistol in my hand went off {; there
was flash and report, sounding to me
like thunder, and Robert Masters lay dead
at my feet What followed can only con-
fnsedly describe for time was trans
|
presently the stunning sense of horror was
succeeded by apprehension for myself; and,
by what cunning l know not, though
doubtless with wild hope of thereby in
ducing belief that the deed had been COM
mitted by robbers, threw myself on my
knees beside the corpse, and not only
possessed myself of the letters, but of
the slain mans watch and purse. had
scarcely done so, when / heard footsteps
approaching, and l started up and fed with
the speed of guilt and fear, leaving the
fatal pistol on the ground. The footsteps
were Harpur's; he had reached homo soon
after left and followed me only to arrive
too late ] disclosed every thing to him f;
he had faith in my truth, as l am sure you
have, and swore never to betray me he
has, you know, faithfully kept his word,
though himself apprehended for the crime
Judith Morton ceased speaking, and
Penson, aghast, stupe6ed, could not utter
a word.
swell, Richard Penson," said she after
a painful silence Of some minutes, "baye
you no counsel to offer me in this strait2',
"Counsel, Judith" replied Penson, with
white lips, "what counsel can offer ?
The only effect Of this confession, If made
public, would be to consign you to the
scaffold instead of Harpur for those who
would sit in Judgment upon your life