Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1877-02-23

IL smut Win Sharp ctlck-ShU
and locked at the same time.
A fierce oath escaped from tn
burglar.
"What do you meanl" he cried
"Hell and furies! 1 shall suffocat
here! Open the door, or 1 will shoe
you"
''Do as you please" said Marga
ret, defantly, ''the door has a sprin,
lock, and can only be opened from
the outside. And unless some on
comes to our release we can only liv,
a few hours at the most"
'SYou-she devil! Why have yor
done this?" be demanded, hoars
with rage. "Don't you know tha
you will die too?"
Certainly; but l prefer death t.
the ruin of my best friends. If W,
die here-as we shall without {
doubt-the money will be saved"
The oaths and threats, and curses
of the man were fearful, but Marga
ret felt no fear. Something above
and beyond herself sustained her
and she was happy in the conscious
ness that her life would purchase the
old home for her kind benefactors
The close, torpid air weighed up.
on her like already had the
wretch who was her companion, sank
stupefed to the floor. All her past
life came up before her-she remem.
bered things long ago forgotten
she saw faces dead and buried-she
heard voices long and mute beneath
the grave elods-and then life and
sense faded out and she knew nc
more.
Judge Wallace found his sister
better, but the storm coming on, it
was deemed best to remain all night,
but early the next morning he set
out for home accompanied by his
wife.
Arriving in sight of the house, he
was surprised to see the shutters
still closed, and the chimney giving
out no smoke of welcome.
At the gate young man was ty
ing a horse, and the Judge exclaim-
ed to his wife:
"Bless me, Annie, that's Algernon!
There's no mistaking him; he's home
a month earlier than we expected
him. But 1 greatly fear something
amiss with Mag! She's an early riser
and the shutters are yet closed" :"
He whipped up his horse and
soon had his long absent son by the
hand.
The first warm greetings over, the
Judge raped at the fastened doors,
but elected no response; his alarm
increased, and after shouting for
Margaret at the top of his voice, and
receiving no reply, with Algernon's
help, he burst the door open and en-
tered the kitchen.
All was as she had left it the pre-
vious night; the fire had burned
down, the black brands covered the
hearth; the chamber door stood sug-
gestively open. Father and son as
cended the stair; half way up the
Judge stumbled over the keys of the
closet.
"Good heavens!" he exclaimed,
"the key of the closet where l left
that money! / greatly fear that
something has befaIlen Margaret!"
They found the closet door lock-
ed, and to their repeated knockings
there came no response from with
in.
Algernon applied the key and the
opened door revealed a fearful sight.
With frightfully distorted, purple
face, the robber lay on the floor,
stone dead; and little removed
from him, pale and quiet, lay Marga-
ret.
Algernon bore her down stairs
and into the open air, but it was
very long before she gave any sign
or token of life. And it was a week
before she was able to give any ac-
count of what happened in the old
oak closet.
But she had saved the money, and
the son undertook to pay the debt
of gratitude owed by his father; and
before the winter was over AlgernOn
married Margaret, and together
they dwell in the old homestead,
and on stormy nights they tell their
children the story of the oak closet.