The bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-1877, 1877-07-12

WAS proposed to gng me, but they con-
cluied that my cries, II I made any,
could not be heard, and handkerchief
bound over my mouth.
The door Of fhe wash room was closed
and locked. Alice stood undiscovered,
Then the light was blown out, and the
ruflans left me, locking the door after
them.
There was long silence. Outside /
could hear the step Of one of the men
pacing up and down, watching. l rub
bed my head against the wall behind me,
and succeeded in getting the handker-
chief on my mouth " fall around my
neck.
had scarcely accomplished this when
there was tap on the inner door.
Robert !" Alice said.
YES, love Speak low, there is a man
under my window"
Are you alone In the room ~
Yes, dear"
~ am going to Postville. There is no
man under my window, and can get
out there. l have six long r.ller towels
knotted together, and l have cut my
white skirt into wide strips to join them
The rope so made reaches nearly to the
| ground. l shall fasten it to the door
knob and let myself down. 1t will not
take long to reach home, saddle Selim,
aud reach Postvile in time. Don't fear
for NE. When you hear hen cackling
under my window you know | am safe
on the ground"
Little Alice My heart throbbed heayi-
| ly as | heard her heroic proposition. but
| dared not stop her.
"Heaven bless and protect you," l
said, and listened for the signal. Soon
the cackling noise told me that the first
step Of her perilous undertaking was ia.
| ken.
1t was dark, cloudy, and threatening a
storm, and near as can guess, close
upon nine o'clock. She had to 20 six
miles and could only wait and pray. /
was too much stunned even yet to realize
the heroism of this dark ride through a
wild country, with storm threatening.
was drenched with perspiration,
wrung from me by mental agony in one
hour, chilled with terrurs the next No
words can describe the misery of waiting;
as the minutes dragged along. In the
dead silence a faroff sound struck thrill
of horror to my heart, far exceeding even
the previous agony. Far, far away, a
faint whistle came through the air
Nearer and nearer, then the distant rum.
ble of the train growing more and more
distinct.
The midnight train was coming swift.
| ly, sure, to certain destruction. Where
was my wife2 Had the ruffians inter-
cepted her at the cottage? Was she lying
somewhere upon the road ? Her heroism
was of no avail, but was her life saved
In the agony of that question the rum
BILE of the approaching train was lost /;
far more did feel the bitterness of Alice
dead than the terror of the doomed lives
the train carried. Why had let her 60
upon her mad errandp
| Nine O'Clock As the bell of the clock
ceased to strike, rumble, a flash, told
that a thunder storm was coming rapidly.
Oh, the long, long minutes of the next
hour.
Ten o'clock. The rain falling in tor.
rents, the thunder pealing, and light
ming flashing. Often had held her,
white as death, trembling, almost faint.
ing, in such storm as this. Had she
feared to start with the storm in pros
pect, or was she lying somewhere strick-
en- by lightning?
Eleven o'clock. The storm was over.
though the night was still inky black
no sounds TO cheer me, none to make
the hideous suspense more durable. A
host of possibilities, like frightful
nightmare, chased one another through
my tortured brain.
| Would the next hour ever pass? Once
the clock tolled midnight all was safe.
| Tried to move, and wrilhed in impo-
tent fury upon my chair, forcing the
cruel cords to tear my flesh as / vainly
sirove to loosen even one hand. The
heavy train rumbled past tue telegraph
Office. 1t was an express train. and did
not stop at my station. but as ! listened,
every sense sharpened by mental torture
1t seemed to me that the speed slackened.
Listening intently, knew that it stopped
| nj the pmbankmept as nearly rs | could