Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1878-05-29

| Scch lhchi toSCtiltI, usiN amer Qdh Only
too happy that they seemed to appreci-
ate each other. Only of late the demon
of suspicion had entered my mind.
Then frankly acknowledged my fears,
and asked that they should see each
other no more, And both had refused.
not gently or considerably, but with a
cool insolence that maddened me. |
saw that there was secret between
them, and | knew il meant that had
lost the woman | loved, and that the
man whom | had so befriended had
robbed me of her.
The thought had rankled in me like
the sting of a scorpion. had become
moody and i'll, separating myself from
both of them that might not witness
the happiness l had lost. This day Ed
mund had come TO me and with affected
pity, offered me a letter from her.
which he said would explain all. Ay,
explain with cool Indifference the false
ness of them both. | had done we'll.
My act was justice, not revenge.
heN 'SSh SUING Niti NY tst e bCit
upon the floor; as / raised them they
rested full on the portrait of Edmund,
which hung upon the wall before me.
Ny gaze fastened upon it with a kind of
fascination. The frank, boyish eyes
looked down upon me with what seemed
a mute appeal for the man slowly dying
in the safe. | tried to turn away my
head, for l felt my evil resolution melt
ing away beneath its influence; but |
could not. With the swiftness of
thought sense of horror for my medi-
tated crime, and pity for my victim,
rushed over me. Deeply as he had
wronged me, | felt that | must forgive
him.
arose and went to the safe, intend
ing TO release him: but first called his
name. There was no answer. The
iron walls were thick, but still his
voice, had he spoken, would have pene-
trated them. Was he dead already?
With fingers weak as child's, |
turned the index plate controlling the
bolt, and pulled at the knob. The door
remained immOvable. | had lost the
combination by which had fastened it.
Ny insane fury had banished every
number OF il from my mind. Overcome
with the horror of my position, | stag
gered to chair and sat down. My re-
pentance had come too late. l must be
a murderer in spite of myself.
| was aware that once having lost
the arrangement by which | had locked
the door, it might be the task of days,
perhaps weeks, to recover it again.
Meanwhile Edmund must die of sufio-
cation. BY the closest calculation the
atmosphere of the safe would be ex-
hausted in little over an hour, and
there was not the smallest crevice by
which it could be renewed.
Once again ran to the door and tried
every combination | fancicd might be
the true one, but the great metal panel
remained as firmly closed as before.
Half an hour had already gone: but
thirty minutes of life was left to the
poor creature had so madly sacrificed
TO my jealousy.
To the latest day of my life | shall
remember the awful experience of those
few, short moments. All my love for
the poor boy came back with redOubled
intensity. | forgot his baseness to me;
| forgot all but the years we had lived
together as brothers. Vague thoughts
of Fastening for aid and tools to blow
the safe apart came TO me, but | knew
that Edmund must be dead many hours
before even that could be accomplished.
Back | went to the combination and
whirled it round and round until the
figures seemed to glare like sparks of
fire before my dizzy eyes. Still the
safe refused to render up its victim.
But fifteen minutes more of life re-
mained for him.
L arose once more, uttering a wild
prayer to Heaven for pardon and help,
and gazed vacantly around the room.
My rowing eyes fell upon the three
heaps of ashes from the burnt letters
lying upon the floor. Whether it was
from some vague recollection or
whether they really existed as | saw
them, know not, but the three heaps
seemed to have assumed the shape of
three distinct figures.
They were the numerals, one, five
and nine.
For a moment | stared at them
blankly, then the blessed hope that
they might represent the one out of
the MANY thousand combinations that
would open the safe aroused me. With
out pausing to find a reason for the
fancy, set the numbers one above the
other on the dial, and with a thickly
beating heart pulled desperately at the
knob.
Who can imagine the passion of joy
and relief that swept over upon me, as
the massive doors swung slowly back, |
exposing the interior of the safe. Ed |
mund lay partly upon the floor, pallid
as death itself, and utterly insensible,
but, thank Heaven, the heart still flut-
tered feebly; he was not dead.
1t was the effort of an instant to lift |
him out of the safe into purer air. but
the work of an hour to call back the |
life | had so nearly deprive him of.
At length, with deep sigl. he opened
his eyes and looked up at me inquir-
ingly. .---.-..--.
Forgive me, Edmund" | cried, in |
an ageny of shame and remorse, 81 was
mad. | knew not what ] was doing. |
Take her, l am too sinful, too selfish to
be worthy of her love-
81 forgive you" he answered, with |
his kind smile, call but your self-con-
demnation; but / cannot take her i'm |
the sense you mean. | told you we
loved each other, but it was only as
relatives may love. For, Arthur, she
is that sister whom, you know, l lost
in childhood. We learned that from
each other long ago, and meant TO keep
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