Whig and tribune. [volume] (Jackson, Tenn.) 1870-1877, 1876-02-19

self growing sympathetic. Ii must Be
| dreadful to be RlOneih the world. In her
turn, Nellie was By no means rsticent; !;
though, at the outset, she had intended
| TO be very cautious
The stranger did not appear 10 be at all
inquisitiVs, and yet he eOntriYed TO draw
! from her as much information regarding
| herself, her past, present, and fature, as
| the prince of detectives could have doHo
in the same length of time.
|. Then he glidsd away from the subject,
and fell to talking Of his travels, Of mu-'
sic, Of poetry. Did she remember such
poem? No, she had not seen 1t. Then
She must; IL was such Alittle gem, and he
produced from his portmanteSu couple
of tiny blue and gilt volumes, and the
pair looked them over attsntiYely.
! They were marked At the most exQuisit
I passages-Was not that charming.
Harry had always laughed at her for
marking her books, called it schoolgirl
isl aud e fOEs.sir- Bri1aois. e RsxsE read
I poefry at All.
! Why Rad she never been so fortunate
/ as TO meet with such paragon among
| her brothers. friends? Would she be
| obliged in little while TO part from him,
and his dark curls, and his little blue and
| gold Volumes: Might she never again
4 listen to the music of his tones.
She was rather faRcifHl as TO the tones,
for, in the din of the train, he had been
] compelled TO speak at the top Of his voice.
Evidently his thoughts took . similar
1 turn, and ha felt as keen regret AZ bid
| ding farewell to her blue eyes and bright
/ hair, though, maR-like. he made up his
mind that, if he could prevent it, the
| goodbye should hot be a lasting one.
He alluded cautiously to the parting
| was soon TO come, expressed himself sar-
ncstIy, and vet with the utmost delicacy,
( as to the delight which the brief acquaiRt-
| anceship had been to him, and then rsked
If he must, indeed, look upon 1t as ended
when they should reach their destina
/. ton.
Nellie hesitated wanted to say "No''
- felt that she ought to say Yes; cut
the knot of difficulty by saying nothing.
The stranger-or MIR. Vernely, TO give
him his pretty name-saW his sdVsn-
tage. and grew eloquent.
WHY should they heed conVentienality
For his part, he conld not endure the
thought of living for ever so
brief period, in the same city. seeing
her, perhaps, daily, aud yet forbidden
even to speak TO her.
The picture WAS a wOSful one, it melted
Nellie's heart. After all, why should he
not call upon her st her uuele's? Harry
noed never know it, unless-but Nellie
did not pursue that delightful possibility
any further.
So it was arranged that he should call
upon her the next day; theP, half-frisht-
ened, and a good deal guilty, Nellie re-
lapsSd FOR little while into silence.
1t was fast growing dark; brakeman
entered the ear and lighted the lamps;
very soon they would reach New York.
After brief chat, Nellie began TO |
gather up the packages, which might as
well have been bestowed in her trunk; |
which would have been, but for the pleas |
ure that 4 woman takes in enCumbering |
herself when travelling with articles of !
which she has not the slightest need. |
Ar. Nernely CourteOusly assisted her,
-''PeKInit me to relieve yeu," he said, /
filing his arms as he spoke.
"There is really no need of your being |
thus troubled" said she; ''my uncle viii |
take charge of all these so soon as he /
comes"
''AtIssst,' - he replied, laughingIy, "I
will stand guard over them till then;"
and she asseRted. i
The train slackened speed-stopped-l
crawled on again almost imperceptibly-l
then came to a final stsndstili In the great |
depot of the road.
Nellie kept her seat while tho car emp /
tied itself, waiting the appearance of her |
uncle. Again and again she glanced at |
the door, in the hope of seeing his rosy, !
good -natured face, but he did not come.
The stranger remained by her side, |
mounting guard over basket and bundle, !
with self-sacrificing gallantry.
q do not know what TO make OF II,
Nellie said, at length little :treROr in
her voice; 81 am afraid that uncle has /
been detained"
"Do not be alarmed,'' Mr.. Vernely re- /
piled; people are not always punctual to
.train-time. Suppose we step into one of
the waiting g-rooms."
People were hurrying to and fro; OTn-
nibus drivers and hackhnen yelling and
gosticulatinS; porters hauling about |
? baggage Nellie drew close to- her es-
corts side, with the involuntary terror
which always seiZes = woman In thS
midst Ofsuch scene, and ne looked down
upon her conpassionately.
Entering n Waiting-room, they sat /
down. Minutes passed, but still there
was no uneie. Nellie went 10 the door
and looked out. The passengers had I
vanished; the busseS and other vehicles
gone their way. What should she de?
o.. With an appealing look she turned once
more to Mr.. Vernsly, ard he came quick
" to her side. Together they stepped
out upon the platform, whose only Oecu-
pants were two inOffensive looking pO-
licemen, who paced indolently, OccesiOn-
ally stopping and leaning against lamp
post to recover from their exertiOns.
"Shall l not order a carriage for you?"
Mr.. Nernely asked; and Nellie assented,
feeling extremely helpless.
In few moments the carriage WAS at
hand, and after seeing Nellie and her
valuables deposited therein, the stranger
entered and seated himself opposite TO
her.
81 could not think of permitting you to
go Unattended her said; and she adj
mired him more than ever for the new
display of galantry, and felt correspond
ingly veXed with her delinquent uncle.
After a ride of ten minutes the carriage
stopped Nr. Vernely assisted her out,
then walked up the steps with her and
rang the bell. A servant came to the
door; they entered. Nouncle nor cousin
came forward to greet her-all was still
aud deserted.
Dazzled by the light, Nellie did not, at
first, see the strangcness of her surround
ings; but soon the truth flashed upon
her.
''There has been a mistake" shS said,
trembling in spite of herself; ''this is
not my uncle's house. Let us so imme-
diately."
He closed and locked the door before
replying, and NeIiie's heart sank within
her at the sction.
''Fhere has been no mistake" he said.
changing his deferential tone for one of
sternneSS and menace. cit was not my
intention 10 go to your uncle's house
that did not enter my plans. l have
brought YOU here he went on, with
grim smile, because / am in urgent need
of mOney-0f which yOur brother is so
fortunate a. TO possess an abundance.
When he shall of offer i sufficiently large
sum for your return TO him, | shall see
that you are placed in his hands. You
will not he mOlested in any way unles
you undertake to escape-in which case
you will pay the penalty. / snail be un-
der the necessity of asking you to give
me your watch and chain, and also your
pocket -boOk-that is all. Thank you,
u Nellie hastily complied. This room
and the adjoining one are at your dis
posal, and l trust YOU will make yourself
as much at home as possible during your
stay. And now l will you goodnight,
he said, resuming his former courteous
manner, and bowling profoundly as he
withdrew.
Nellie heard the key turn in the lock, /
and at the sound she threw herself upon !
sofa and wept bitterly. /
Oh, the wretchedness OF the next lew |
hours the self-reprOaeh with which /
she recalled her broken promise, and re-
Elected that her own imprudence had
brought such trouble upon her and those
whOm she loved. Ir.ANernely s :BlqTds 4
rang in her ears. How long, she thought, /
might it not be before she cOnld be res
cUed-beferc the sum offered would meet 4
the mOuster'S demaRdsE AeanWhlle, 4
what would Harry-and Edward dor I
Poor, honest, true-hearted Edward!
who did not smoke, nor read poetry, nor Z
talk Sentiment-if only he were near her
/ now,