The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1875-05-13
ALoNEH's utsE

had Young mNd-ot-all-Wu Wurk named
Marie De La Font. Marie was a sweet,
pretty girl. aud lively aud pjquant "a her
manners, although modest ia the extreme,
and this was tho reason that the two
brothers kept her in their employ They
knew that she was frugal, economical,
sud dressed Ia the most moderate man
ner imaginable. One day Marie surprs
ed her employers by informing then that
youug artizau, residing In Paris, had
asked her hand, They stroye to dssuade
her from accepting the offer Of marriage,
but she told them that she could not be
happy unless that she became the wife Of
her dear Henri So il was arranged that
she should quit the service Of the two
brothers at the end Of the coming month
One day during the interval the two
brothers sold some valuable real estate,
which they owned jointly, aud the sum
realized amounted to lo6 600 francs. II
was an IN bills on the Bank Of France,
and was paid too late for deposit the
same afternoon.
Night came aud as the old bachelors
seldom had such large amount In the
house they were considerably concerned
lest robbers should attempt to rob them,
Their fear was strengthened by the uu-
merous burglaries that had recently ta-
ken place in that vicinity,
The residence of the old men was some
distance from the main road, and stood
near The river Seine. II was lonely,
gloomy location, and on the night in
question the winds swept through the
tall larches surrounding the mansion
with doleful and moaning cadence.
About midnight the old men retired
but scarcely had they fallen asleep whom
Marie raped at their door aud informed
them that robbers were at work below.
Both the bachelors were terribly fright
ened, and while one commenced to bar
the door the other began removing tile
from the hearth to hide the bills.
"You have gun" said Marie; "take
it aud shoot the villains"
But the two trembling men paid no
heed to the advice.
"Cowards' p said the brave girl, scorn-
fully, 81 wish that were man for
five minutes"
Just then there came heavy crash
from the apartments below.
The brothers crept beneath the bed,
where they shivered and oringed unable
to speak from terror.
"We shall all be murdered in our
BEDS" said the girl. awe will be found
by the police in the morning with our
throats cut from ear to ear Peste fools,
give me the gun"
She seized the double-barreled gun
that laid upon the shelf, and started
down stairs, while the two frightened
men watched her without saying a word.
Presently bang went the gun, and
groan was heard. Bang went the sec
ond barrel, and screech of pain resound-
ed through the house that caused the
blood Of the brothers TO run cold
A brief pause ensued, and then Marie
came tripping up stairs, but her face
wore determined, dissatisfied look .--
She asked for powder and ball TO reload,
which were furnished; but before she
flushed loading, footsteps were heard
retreating from the house.
No one slept in the house that night,
nor were they again molested. But at
early dawn, on going down stairs, pool
of blood on the hall floor showed that
one robber, at least, had been seriously,
if not mortally wounded; aud 1t was
plain to see by the bloody path In the
earth that the victim had been dragged
to the river. Gore marked the whole
distance, and the police were at once put
on the alert for the arrest of the living
thieves and the recovery Of the body Of
the dead one.
But all efforts proved vain, and the
bravery Of the young girl was discussed
far and near,
The grateful bachelors were so over
wbelmed that they offered TO give Marie
a dover.
"Ah! messieurs," replied she, atTec-
tionately, chow can leave your You
may again be attacked by robbers o"
"But we will not, nevertheless, stand
between you aud happiness they repIi,
ed. "IIere are thirty thousand francs
you have saved our lives, and richly de-
serve the money. If you choose to live
iu this house with your husband, we will
repair the lower part for that purpose,
aud you can also be hired to keep our
room neat as at present"
Henri married Marie, aud they accept
cd the dover aud the house.
Years passed, and recently the real
facts Of thi. midnight robbery came to
light Both Of the old bachelors were
dead, and had willed Marie another thir-
ty thousand francs. The brave girl did
not refuse IT,. II turned out, however,
that the robbers were not plural. Henri
acted as the burglar, the blood was from
q lamb killed for the purpose, and the
whole was but ruse Of the two lovers to
open the hearts and purses of the two old
msers.
-e . -
rL1HoUrH cHCHoH nHEAH.
While Sir. and Mrs. Beecher we're talk