Litchfield enquirer., 1877-12-27
and explain Oh, if he would only come and tell her, open his whole mind to her, and put

tell her, open hls whole mlnd 10 her, ana put
 She stood suddenly stiIl as though the air had grown solid, ,andshe were cased ina shroud of bronze. Neither sound nor light had reach cd her, but she had troddenon something soft, lying right in the middle of the road.
 A moment she stood in nlmbed horror. No thoughts formed in her mind, her discovery suggested no idea. Her foot rested on some thing soft that was all.
 With frigid slowness she stopped forward until her hand might touch the ground. Then she stretched it tardily forth listening with all her nature as she did so. Herhand discovered nothing. She drew it back toward her feet and encountered a garment of some kind. She raised this, stood erect once more listening with all her nature-but no sound came.
 Then handling the garment cautiously, as if it were living thing and arude touch might kill it, she made out that it was but half gar-s ment.. only one sleeve......The left sleeve. ..... Half man'scoat. ...... Torn from the back of the neck downward.....TwO pockets
 ...in the buttonhOle flower. In the breast pocket two letters. .... One letter sealed with wax......a a small seal ..... .Andnear the seal two arnal round spots of wax. Exactly cores bonding to two small spots s0f wax which had fallen on letter she had sealed two days ago. ......She sealed no letters but those to John Maine. Her letter to him. The texture of the coat such as he had worn when last she saw him. light Summer dust-coat. In the other pocket @ small leather case such as she had seen with him......In In the case ribbon such as she had given him. y; -
 She replaced the portion of his coat where she had found it, crossed the road, and, step ping slowly and cautiously over the low dike stood beside one of the clefts of deep, still wa ter. There was not ripple washing in the rushes-not a breath of, wind stirring. She felt her way to the edgeof the water and lean ed fJrward and listened. After little time she stopped down and softly thrust her hand into the chill, mute waters. She drew her hand out slowly. The drops falling from it made sharp, clear, hissing whispers as they touched the surface. Save for this, all was hushed. She rose, regained the road, and talk ing up the portion of the coat, walked delib- erately in the direction of the house, holding what she had found in both her hands clench- ed on her bosom. She moved as though she feared by sound to wake sonething-to wake some hidden spirit that could tell hideous history, or to wake her own benumbed facul- ties into active dealings with the terrible dis covery she had made. e %5+ -t
 She did not move her head to the right or to the left. She kept the upper portion of her body rigid. That might be nightmare, but the waking might be still worse. What when there was light to see2 There was flower in the button-hole. A rose. If it were a red rose, would that be the only red thing on that coat? Hush? Stop all thought Hold all conjecture. Dismiss all temptations of imag ination. Hold the coat fast, and yet not too tightly. Something might be crushed by holding it too tightly, and nothing of his ought to be crushed Cherish the thing the relic no! no! Oh, Godl not that thought. But hOW-?re ;at.s.. l-1..- .H H.-s E-5..R{
 Hush! Stop all thought. Hold the conjec- ture. Dismiss all temptations of imagination.
 There was no use in going quickly. She would be at the house in time, and then there would be light, and she could see. See what?
 Away away away with such fancies
 There was no use in hurrying for nothing could be done-nothing could be done but look at the coat and see if there, was a red spot! ......-, s.
 Oh, madness! No-no! Down! down with such thoughts!
 Marion would be waiting up with light. With light Would it be best to pot away what she had found until morning, and then ---The daylight would give her more cour- age to look. The fuller light would be better. for all could then be seen at a glance. But with candle they should have to turn what she had found over and over, and who could do such an appalling thing as turn that coat ofOA otlA WI OOPPODO1 0c NAAO SNAAOA ~ w CT in the candle-hght, her hand touched some- thing damp, something damp and clammy!
 Mercy oh mercy. Keep still keep quiet! what is above the earth there overhead, hell or heaven? and Who reigns? and =
 Should she now, as she walked along, pass one of her hands down it, and try to discover if there were anything damp? No. If she fell on the road, before she saw the spot, she could not die satisfied in the dark........
 Here was the house. She would not call Marion, but enter at the open door. What could be the meaning of the sweetbrier having the same smell now as it had a month ago-as it had even an hour ago? Tom must cut down that sweetbrier in the morning. rsa
 III.
 70, Lisette how long you have been! I thought you would never cOme.n Marion had risen, and was standing face to face with her sister. Lisette had paused in the doorway. She still held what she had found in her clenched hands against her bosom. She did not look down at it, although the light of two candles now fell full upon it. She fixed her dilated eyes upon Marion without uttering a word. Marion perceived that something terri ble had happened. @ He
 "What is the matter Have you seen him?" Marion asked. ....
 ''NO, l nave 1OunQ LnlS.
 ''What is that?" Marion shrank back and covered her eyes, 8. .s sfcsI.. z-s - "Part of his coat I found it lying on the road, in the middle of the road. It is torn in two"
 His coat torn in two! Did you see him? Did you hear him? Did you fnd-T'
 'sNo, nothing but the Coat. Marion, look Is there anything red upon it? Can you see anything red upon his coat" Marion drew near. Her face had grown deadly pale. She took up a candle and look ed. .--..a... .s4 s...E
 ''No, Lisette. Nothing red. It may be all right. There's white rose in the button hole" "as.s-.
 The two now approached the table, and placed the portion of the coat on it, and look ed at it cautiously, fearfully. On the outer side there was no stain. Marion turned 1t ov- er.. The inner side was also free from spot. Nothing red. Nothing red, But oh, Ma rion! what can have happened 9'a She sat down and buried her face in. her hands. Marion proceeded to examine the contents of the pockets.
 ''There is leather case, with the ribbon you gave him, in one pocket" she whispered, land two letters in the other. One of the let ters is from you to him. The other letter is in woman's writing also."s ,s s sd. 4se a'sA woman's writing?' She raised her head and looked at the envelope held by her sister. Addressed to him ?" ,..z...@s.e fssYes. But not to his own house. Not to l Daisy Farm, but to house in Barrowleigh." ! IA house in Barroweigh! Marion are you sureY' ifa s fa@ Et. sag 5a 3oH a.&a' ! Read it yourself" s-so -.4jsre.as fa
 Lisette read the superscription, "John Maine, Esq, Cross House, Barrowleigh." There was no stamp or postmark It had been sent by | q v,rivafo y,,oaoarnr He had m relative in the neighborhood \. Daisy Farm was his own place. Gross House was the residence of a friend of his. Why had he changed his place l of abode and not told her of it? Or could it be that hewas getting letters from some one else addressed to him at a friends, lost-it was too bad of her to allow such thought to en- 1 ter her mind. Besides, what sgnifed letters with that torn coat lying thete, that black night abroad, and the dull, weary inability even to wonder what had occurredl l. l The two sat silent awhile At length Marion rose and said ssI.et us call Tom and take a