The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1875-07-14

away. Margaret read q little, anG
drummed q few tunes lisilessly On
TIE old-fasbioned piano, played with
TIE black and white kitten, and bed
tbe old car carled Up II ber lap Ike s
i sleepy. ealerplllar, and al last il wa:
T sunset
Tine 10 milk the cows and sd;
the barn doors for the night.
Il was evident enough that there
WIS going 10 be q storm, Tor the ncIt-
and west were dark and gloomy
/ with ominons black clouds, and The
west winds sigLeJ drearilF On 1be
( pine woods back Of the house And
indeed, before Margaret had done uF
the odd jobs al the barn, the frsi
great drops Of 1he frozen raia began
10 fall, and by the tine she had eaten
( her supper a1d strained tbs mix.
+ the storm had set il deadly earnest.
She closed an3 barred the doors
lie windows were already fastened
drew the shutters, and piled The
kitchen FIRE place fuIl Of dry hickory.
The kitten had gone 10 sleep IN .
cushioned chair in the corner, and
the old black cat sat on The hearth
blinking her eyes slsepilv 81 The
cheerful blaze
Margaret read : little, ard dream,
Cd q great deal, IS girls Of her age
+ are prone 10 do when left 10 them
selves. She made 8 very pretty pie
1Ure, If only there had been someone
10 see her.
Her soft brown hair was unbou-
and fell ripping 10 her waist; her
4 fair round face was tinted as deli-
cately pink as the inside Of a sea
shell, ber brown eyes were dreamy
and faI Of IaBgnor; and her red lips
were sweet and womanly enough
1 for any true lover 10 fBd his rarest
+ happiness II kissing.
Slowly, al length, the old coffin
shaped dock il the corner struck ten.
/ Msrgaret started Up She had not
tho1rht il was so late. The even
/ ing had gone Of much quicker than
she had expected it would Ii was
+ 50 dreadful 10 stay alone, af,er ell,
she said 10 herself
She opened 4 shutter, ard peered
out into the night Il was as dark
as Erebus, and TIE wind and rain
beat against the pane II perfect
. torrent The Judge would no1
think Of returning on such night.
Wen Tommy, said she 10 he
cat, i guess yuu and l and kitty
viii 20 10 bed. We must be up be
times in tke morning, yen know,
since 1here'l be none but rs 10 DO
the chores
As sshe spoke, Margaret stopped to
stroke old tommy, but 10 her Infinite
surprise, she saw that The animal ;
paw and tail We're erect-ber eyes
had changed 10 CLASSY green Of rage
and terror, and with slow, panther
/ Ike tread, she was making her way
toward the door which opened upon
the cellar stAlrwa-
j And while she gEzed, Margaret,
saw with horror that the latch was
slowly lifting, and the next moment
the door swung open with an Ouin-
Gus creak, and man stepped into I. e
room. de was 3 short, thick-sel
fellow, with sandy hair and whiskers
and q pale, feroeious looking eyes set
far back II his head.
So, no, ny dear said be, you
! are sole proprietor it appears
Tor Gn instant Aargaret's heart
stood still, but she was naturally
brave, and she was proud as well
and would not allow THIS man 10 see
that she feared him.
Il have that honor, she said
4 eoolly-~Eho are you? and what do
you want27
i trust you VIII excuse me If !
neglect 10 introduce myself" said
The man with much courtesy 'as
for nv business, I an quite happy 10
inform yon about that. l want The
eight thousand dollars that the Judge
brought from Ridgely bank last
evening, and depend on you to
point il out 10 me.
The indignant blood rushed 10
Margaret's face, and she answered
sharply;
4 VIII die before I viii do as ron
ask
You shah have your choice
He produced Z pistol which lie
cooked deliberately and pointed a.
her head.
Show NE the place where the tn
IS hidden, o. III blow your brains
ouL.D
Like lightning q varied train Of
thoughts rushed through the head
Of the girl; in that one instant OF time
she thought Of a score OF plans to
evade the rascal, and simultaneously Y
discarded them as impracticRble.
There she was alone, helpless, z
weak girl, almost q mile from any
other human habitation, and in such
q storm il was by no means likely
thai any one would be passing by
from WHOM she could claim assis-
tance.
For a second she thought OF risk
ing everything 10 escape by the
other door, ana trusting TO the dark
ness and her knowledge Of the way,
10 attempt to reach Mr Turner's ana
seek protection.
But the man seemed TO divine ber
thought Tor be stepped between her
and the door.
No my beauty you don't play
that game on me.7 be said, with
ssr1onie smile,-And now III give
y0a just three minutes 10 decide
what you'll do. L you viii show
NE where the money is, / swear not
10 do yOu harm; il you refuse, !
swear to xiii YOU, and trust 10
luck Tor fading i without your
help"
he took out his watch and stood
regarding Ii and Margaret alternate
". As she stood there faint and gid
dy with fear, new idea penetrated
Margaret's brain, and she was in
Just that stare OF desperation which
stops at no sacrifice however great
Come life or death, she must save
the money for which her friends had
toIled so long and earnestly, and the