The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1878-05-22


And its murmurings gently soothed to rest;
But the Father had need Of one angel more,
And he opened for it the heavenly door.
"Oh, the world is beautiful, bright and fair =
Sighed the aged one with silvery lair,
"But over it all is the serpent's trsil-
With the merry laugh comes the mournful wall
but tarry awhile till the summons come
To join my beloved in our heavenly home"
CALLED TO ACCOUNT.
DETECTIVES STORY.
Some years ago, when I was quite
q young man, was sent down to Evans
Corners, about a big robbery that had
occurred, and while I was there, work
ing the thing up, my attention was at
tracted by pretty girl I used to see at
the hotel where I stopped. Nobody
could help noticing her, she was such
beauty. Her hair and eyes were very
dark, but her skin was as fair as lily,
With Just dash of red that came and
went in. her cheeks. Her form was
slender, but we'll rounded, and her hand
was as white and finely formed as any
lady's in the land. Her name was Rose
Wynne, and of course. she had plenty
of admirers, but she coquetted with them
all. However there were two who we're
long way ahead of the others. I used
to wonder which she liked the best, but
Icould never guess, for while she smiled
sweetly on one, she would fling merry
word at the other, and SO on. Both
young men were. good looking-one fair,
the other dark-and both were carpen-
ters. One was called Andrew Davis,
and the other Mark Sheldon.
Sheldon was jealous fellow, and
showed it. Davis was jealous, too, but
didn't srow it so plain. Sheldon was
always in a quarrel with her. Davis, I
fancied, was angry enough ther coquet-
teries sometimes to eat her, but he never
let on.
- Rose Wynne knew I wss detective,
and had sort Of awe and cariosity about
me. Many yarn told her, some true,
some not. It was 50 pretty to see her
big eyes kihdle and grow bigger.
used to Joke her sometimes and try
and discover which she liked best, Davis
or Sheldon. But she would never tell
me.
"See here, Rose" I ssid to her one
day when she had been playing those
two chaps off against each other pretty
lively, "youll have those foolish fellows
fighting about you if you're not care
full"
~ "I'm much more afraid of one Of them
fighting me-" she laughed.
(Which one % asked, laughing too;
but thought of Davis glowering looks.
"Guess," she said.
"Theyve both got temper, too much
ofit."
"Andrew Davis hasn't much tenn
per-" she said.
III shouldn't like to be in your skin
if you ever jilt him for the other" I
answered.
"Why not ?" she asked.
"Never mind" I said; "but if you
ever make ul your mind to marry any
body beside Andy Davis, don't do it
while he's around-that's ALL"
Rose glanced to where Davis was
standing, at the other end of the ver-
andah, watching us, though he pre-
tended not. Then she looked back at
me.
"Well, you're solemn enough about
it," she said; "any one would think
you meant it,"
Z We both laughed, but I said, shaking
my head:
b" "You' know that I do mean every
word" T.
- "Wen, I'll tell you what I'll dc" :"
=, said Rose. "H any harm ever comes
to me through either CT them, I'll prom
ise to come to you, Mr.. Sharpe, or send
my ghost to tell you who did it. And
you must hunt him down for it. Will
you promise me that ?"
eyes, I will, I said "and there's
my hand upon it"
! And we shook hands, had a laugh over
II, and thought that the last Of it of
course. Well, I went away soon after,
and it was year almost to day before
~. ever saw the place again. ThenI had
almost forgotten there was such per-
son as Rose Wynne.
The case was on was O very import
ant one, and I didn't wart it known I
was around at all. So I had disguised
myself in farmer kind of rig, that I
don't believe my own mother would
have known me in. I had stopped at q
cheap lodging house at the end of the
town, because suspected some of the
gang was after frequnetcl it.
I'd had my supper, and gone to my
room to sit by the window and study q
bit about the business in hand. I am
positive I wasn't thinking OF Rose
Wynne. I don't believe had thought
of her since got there, my head was so
full OF business.
My room was on the ground floor, and
the window was open. 1t was growing
dusk. It wasn't very nice part of the
town-lots of roughs about, you know !;
80 when I saw a woman standing all at
once there under my window-alone too
Il though it was very queer !; but when
she looked up, and saw 1t was Rose
Wynne, T thought that was queerer yet.
She was all in black, even her head
was wound about with thick folds of
black, and never had I seen her so sad
and solemn. She came close to the
window and looked up at me.
"Mr. Sharper" she said.
I jumped for you see I did not
think any one would know me, fixed
up as was, and I said in whisper:
"Is it really you, Rose? Don't
speak loud, please, for don't want
to be known here"
She went right on without seeming
to have heard me.
Charm has come to me, she said,
"and it was Andy Davis. Remember
your promise
And then, all in fash, she was gone,
and I couldn't have told where, up,
down, or round the corner of the house;
only she'd gone, and I hadn't seen her
go.
As sat staring out. with her words
going through and through my head,
I began to feel kind of creepy and odd.
Now, don't believesany one who knows
me would call me 'superstitious. But
all at once, as I sat there, it came ovel
me that may be had seen Rose Wynne't
ghost instead of herself. She had GER
tainly spoken and looked very strangely
for a living woman.
Then I laughed at myself for tht
f.c,t.. la fo11o,,D so;d tf1o,