Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1879-09-25


might perhaps have made her relax her
hold would have been by aiming one
or two tremendous blows with my right
fist (Which was at liberty mt her face
Had II been n mans, there would have
been no hesitation; had il been indeed
that of an ordinary woman, at such n
pass | should not have hesitated 10 strike
her, to stun her, If could, by any
means; but that face, that ! seemed To
know so well, yet so mystoriousiy,
could not raise my hand against il, and, j.,
as my arm swung up with the first inn
pulse to deal her blow, It fell helpless
by my side Vain were my efforts to get
her hand away from my throat; there
was terrible swaying to and fro for Il
minute or two, felt the grip Of the long
fingers tightening, and myself choking.
Suddenly we fell, the whole carriage
seemed TO be fnlling-there was n fearful
Jerk or two, "A strange upheaying of the
floor, IL tremendous rattle and crash--1
appeared TO be thrown hcadlong 10 some
great distance, and-all was darkness"
The termination of that deadly strug-
gle was brought about in "A manner IA
marvellous and unlocked for ~ could
well have been imagined.
Some fifty SOUS, say, were travelling
in that train-all, save one, in apparent
security. Jacks life alone was in dan
ger, when, 10! by one ofthose marvellous
condolences which do happen at times
in the supreme moments of existence,
the rescue came, but ut the cost Of many
n life. which but Just before would have
seemed worth treble the price Of jacks.
At the very instant that his might
have dcpen led upon another tightening
grip or two from the hand of a maniac "a
frightful catastrophe occurred TO the
train. The tire of an engine wheel
broke and half dozen carriages were
hurled down n steep embankmcnt. The
scene that succeeded is, unhappily, of
too common An occurrence TO need more
than word Of reference here. Seven
passengers were killed outright and
double that number slightly or badly
hurt, the remainder escaping, as by "A
miracle. with nothing else than "A severe
shaking.
Ny friend was among the shnkcn. He
had been thrown clear of the debris on
To soft, grassy spot, half bank, half
hedge; emphatically. his life was saved
But what followed it was that which
caused the sufIcring-tlat wrought the
terrible change in Jack.
In the darkness of that soft autumn
night he stroye, foremost among those
who had been spared. tn render such
help rs was possible To the less fortunate.
When the official assistance came, and
fires were set blazing to give light, nj
most his first care was To try and seek
out his dangerous fellow-tTavcior. In
the confusion nobody was prepared. of
course, To listen To Jacks account of
her. even had he been prepared then to
give II. She was not. evidently, moving
about among the crowd he assured him
self of that; but suppo-ing her. like him
self. to have escaped injury (and lac con-
cluded that this was likcly). might she
not, with the stealth and cunning Incl
dental to her malady. b. hiding. and be
thus further cluding detention. become.
with her homicidal manin. "a dangerous
10 the community at large as some fierce
wild animal would be ? The thought
made him shuddcr; he must lose no time
in assuring himself Of her fate.
As soon rs AN approach tp order could
be evolved out Of that awful chaos, he
had convinced himself that she was not
among the injured. Then he turned 10
the dead. His eye fell upon several mu-
tilated and moiionlcss forms. which haa
been laid in an ominous row at the foot
Of one part the embankmcnt. Hers
Wa Hpt Ah'HE 1hthl ~ 'putb lihu no
trare Of her.
At length. rs a sfckly dawn was b..
ginning to mako the search easier. he On
deavorrd to discover the spot where the
carriage he had occupied had fallen, and
to rrtracc his steps (quitc 10 the rear of
tho train, by the way)to the place where
lac found himself lying after the catas-
tTophc.
BY this time lac had made known
briefly In some officials that a woman
was missing who had been in the
carriage with him. and one or two of
them followed him in his quest. Pres
entity he realized pretty well where he
had been thrown; he ali but identified
the spot. Then lac scrambled through
the hedge. and there. on the opposite
side. on the sloping bank Of ditch. he
beheld. lying quite still, her dark, un-
mistakablc form.
lie ran forward. and. bending over
her and looking down upon the marble.
up-turned face, saw Mt q glance that
there was nothing dangerous about her
now--those terrible eyes were closed for
ever. Except for a slight wound on one
temple. whence n little blood had trickled.
and the distorted but now rigidly closed
hand. which had been so lately Mt his
throat, she looked rs calm and unin-
jured rs if she were merely sleeping.
while death had restored for n brief
period much Of that beauty, the traces of
which had struck him when her vail
was first lifted.
One of the surgeons here came hurry
ing up, in answer to summons.
Good heavensw he exclaimed; here
she Is, then, at last Why. she must
have been in the train. How on earth
did she manage it?"
who is she9" inquired Jack, earn
estly, with strange return OF the old,
inexplicable sensation. "Who is she
You appear TO know her. Pray tell me. -
"Oh, one of our inmates; she got away
yesterday morning; no on knows how -
was the answer.
you are from Longmoor, ticn. How
long has she been there9 What is her
name9n
"Oh, she has been there upward oil
twenty years. ] believe; long before my
time"
And her name7"