Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1875-10-22
NUMBER Z.

down towards you when up comes the
ladies' cab, and in you gets long afore I
could near you. TELLS my missus, and
she says: Pend upon it, the gentleman's
eloped;' and when Iheard at the Cove this
morning as you 'adn't been home all
night | thought she was aboutright; may
hap
| Here WYE stopped abruptly, looked
round as he saw the station master coming
out OF the office, and called to him
Here, Muster Coombs, didn't the two
ladies 60 away last night with the gentle
man in blue pants and brown coat, same
as | drove over to the Cove three weeks
ago?n
g Yes; surely" answered Mr. Coombs,
] but with little hesitation as he looked
at me- II certainly thought it was the
same gentleman, from his dress and short
hair; but we were rather busy, and
didn't take very close notice. Wasn't it
he, after all? Now look at you again,
| sir, how is it? You have just come from
Weymouth. | don't rightly remember
you, either. Anyhow, gave two ladies
and the gentleman took to be you three
! firstclass tickets to Southampton by the
| 10 :45 last night; more, can't say"
Here was a complication! What asso-
citation could there have been between the
convict and these two ladies? And was
it really he, disguised in my dress, that
wye and MIR. Coombs had seen?
AS pondered tor moment, the sta
| tion-master had gone back to his Office,
and came out again with a large brown
paper parcel in hand. "By the way,
WYE he said, "you may as well take
this to Richards, at the Cove. I'd almost
. forgotten it; came down mid-day there's
nothing to pay" and he handed it to the
fisherman.
OF course, it was not unusual to make
Nye carrier; and very soon he and |
were again iolting toward Lulworth.
The parcel lay in the bottom of the cart
at my feet, and | remember observing
quite casually that it was directed merely
to the Proprietor of the Cove Hotel,
Lulworth" and that the handwriting was
that of a lady, and had rather foreign
character about it. Intense CONSERVATION
and wonder prevailed at my arrival at the
inn. Everywhere it had been clearly set
tied that had eloped and though none
of the gossips [ spoke to had seen the man
in the blue pants and brown coat go off
with the ladies, except Mr.. Wye, his &C
count of that event and my absence were
the two and two which, put together, left
no doubt in the minds of the astute
natives.
Indeed, I could not find that anybody,
cOast-guardsman, or the owner of the
lady's lodgings had seen the fellow; and
but for the station masters confirmation
ofVyes storyI should not have believed it.
My room and lodgings had been left un-
disturbed and it was with no small relief
that once more found myself wearing
clothes of my own. Whilst | was setting
myself a little to rights, and pulling over
the connection which there seemed to be
between the ladies and the man to whomI
owed somuch misery, the landlord APP
peared with the parcel we had brought
from the station in his hand.
This ERE for you, sir, 'spcct, cord
inc to the direction inside it,"
He had undone the outer cover, and
within was a second parcel, directed as
follows: "For the Gentleman who wears
Blue Spectacles, staying at the Cove
Hotel" [ cut the string and found
what? NY clothes and w1de-awake, and
the contents of the pockets intact!
AS | examined them, a sheet of note
paper fell to the floor; on it were written
in the same hand as that of the two direc-
lions, these words: Beyond restoring
the inclosed articles, it is improbable that
any reparation can ever be made to the
gentleman to whom they belong for the
outrage to which he has been subjected.
IF his looks have not belied him, however,
it is Just possible that he may find some
consolation, and an apology, in learning
that his clothes have been the accidental
means of restoring to mothers and SIS
ters arms an erring and repentant man.
If the law has been outraged, the gentle-
man has been at least an unintentlonal &C
cessory, and whether this fact allays his
scruples or not, it is believed that, by the
time these words are in his hands, the cul-
prit will be beyond the reach OF any Ell
forts he may be the means of helping the
authorities to make toward q recapture."
As far off as ever, almost, from the de
tails which led tothis strange affair." broad
ly speaking, the letter., nevertheless, gave
me an inkling of the truth. Whether IL
was preconcerted plan between the I'M
happy ladies and their unhappy relative,
this meeting on the DorsetshiTe coast;
whether he had managed to escape for the
second time knowing where they were;
whether they, in their misery, were led to
that out-of- the-wa retreat by helpless
longing to be near him, and had SO for
ever been sitting watching his rocky
prison, and that he as accidentally lighted
on them as he had on the opportunity my
clothes gave him Tor getting OUT Oh tne
way, l shall never know. 1t was quite
enough for me to remember that young
girls face to stay any promptings / might
have had to aid the law Her appealing
look had more than once made me long to
help her, and had done so, if through
no merit, at least through no fault OF my
own, and was not detective.
More than. ten years have passed since
all this happened. have been long
married, and it CHANGED that | spent last
autumn at Weymouth with my family.
One day paid visit to Portland
Prison-a second visit. How different
from the first! Governors had been
changed The system of discipline is SO
immensely improved as to render such an
event as | have described next to impossl-
BILE. The chief warder, though he did not
remember me, remembered the escape OF
= 5755 Raschkoff. Yes, sir; and 900
Raschkoff is still at large"