Litchfield enquirer., 1880-07-01
ii. ,sz,x-.mr-wife,s old friend and schoolfel:

senewhst angrily as he said: See here, ol'
 fellow, there are matters sometimes in man
 life that he doesn't care about having raked ul
 and don't quite like this kind of joke" ''N'
 joke, on my word,"I continued; ''and if
 am touching on anything unpleasant, pleas
 forgive me for have purpose. Not that
 imagined you were so sensitive on the subject
 especially as you contemplated turning it te it&sary account.
 vI?-liserary account? What do 70,
 mean ?p he ak red indignantly .1 should a lief think of turning cannibal as of turning
 anything connected with that young lady tt account, as you call it." 1 was 2 little pug zled now % I said: 'sWell, but who do yot say the young iady is ?" "Her name-if yor mean that-was Miss Naughton, Rose Naugh tnn when I knew her but confess l don' see that because she happens to bea friend o1 your wffe's you are warranted in referring thus abruptly to my acquaintance with her. sslIv dear fellow" I cried, "I had DO idea o1 this, believe me hadn't notion that you knew her name. and we are evidently little at cruss purposes. But bear with me q min. ute longer. Admitting that this is a portrait of the Miss Rose Nanghton whom you seem to have known, though never could have guess cd that, just look at it carefully again and see if it does not reu1ind you of seme one else 40tf1& one WHO you OuCS SAW, TcpcdL, veTy peculiar circumstances.
 He bends forward to examine the photo graph, and presently says, "No." Then say, Twill this help your memoryT and while he is still looking at the portrait I put down on the edge of the easel, just under his eyes, an earring. Good God!" he cries, 'iwhat are you up to? What have you taken this out of the cabinet for ?" ''I have not been near the cabina, if you mean the place where yea keep your jewels" ''Then what on earth" He hesitates, and, taking up the ear ring, walks with it across the room to his trezsuress0re Icannot help, with my dramatic instincts, watching him eagerly; and it is as good as ! play to see his surprise and wonder when, opening the cabinet, he takes forth the earring he picked up in the railway carriage, and finds that he has the fellow to it in his other hand
 les; there they are, clearly the pair-two birds claws, each holding 8 revolving wheel. Now lock al the portrait again" 1 say, when he had stood for minute regarding me with blank amazement sI don't say that you will, because ii is mere speculation, but do you not see in the portrait of Miss Naughton sorne- thing to remiad ysu of the young lady, your mysterious travelling companion?" ?" He is ex- amining the photograph again. 'tWell, 1t is very shsurd, but really, now you put it to me, there might be something of the same look in ii, and" He pO1ders. Was it she, then R0se-after all, that in a measure was re- minded of that night On my honor seem to think it must have been" Then, turning to me, he asks: But what is the meaning of all this? Why do you want to know whether can see any resemblance iu this photograph to that girl. and where, above all, did you get this other earring from? Explain yourself, for Gods sake
 '.Bec4use, as say" replied, ''it seems to be just possible that, if there be such thing as ghostly inf1ueuce, or spiritualism, or clair voyance, or whatever one may cheese to call such myste.ies-because, say. if such things exist you may have received the warning to leave your seat as you did through the mys- terisus influence of Miss Naughton herself, for she was in that railway train tha. same night, and those earrings belonged to her." Again the wonder in his face would have been amus- ing had it not been mingled with an expres- sion cf pain. "Incredible, prepOsterOus l' he said al length You say that Miss Naugh- isa is friend of your wife's?"
 -'Ye81 will explain how came upon the fact forfhwith- Yesterday, as my wife was aressing. She asked me to fetch her brooch from the drawer in her dressing case. On spen:ag 1t the first thing which caught my eye among lot of little trinkets was that earring, and ( moments examination showed it to be the counterpart of the one you had so mys- leri0Esly come by. The device was not easily tO be forgotten You may judge of my sur prise, and how it led to my telling her about Tour strange adventure. Then we went into the matter, and she on her part told me now the earring had belonged to a school-fellow of hers. Rose NsughtOn by name, who had lately gone abroad, and bow two yeats ago she had been in fearful railway accident one eyen- ing. while Ou her way from Peterborough to ball d Grsnthzm-how two of her party had been killed while sitting beside her how she escaped, bya miracle, uninjured, and how, among -ths sriEiEng events connected with the terrible circumstance. she had lost one of her eArrings-0ne of pair winch had been given to her that night by the man to whom she was engaged, and wh0 was himself killed"
 Ny friends face, with a strange perversity seemed Tor a moment to lose it's pained expres- sioa as uttered these last words. resumed ''Whsn Miss Naughtsn went abroad she gave my wife her photogrsph-that on the easel and amongst other souvenirs that odd earring |; Ter it appears the tragicai accident brought about cue good result for her-it cut short an engagement entirely distasteful to her. and in- tO Whicn she had been forced-well, didn't hear exactly how; al any rate, she never I0Eed the mAn-disliked him in fact, my wife says. and so had no cOmpunction about giving the caring 10 my wife, who was struck with the qu2iu1ness of the device. You will read ily understand how this story instantly asso- c54ted itself with you in my mind. A con- pzrlssa of dates and other circumstances left no dOabs- was bound to come and tell you; and hope. my dear fellow, you will acqut me 1ow Of an idle intrusion upon your affairs. assure yOa I hadn't the faiutest idea that you knew Miss Nanghson by name. thought you @i<ht have sen her. Ss believe you did !; for sSSaresdly her presence-either in the flesh or in the spirit, whichever it was-saved your life" My friend, full of amazement held ozx his hasa. and in shaking mine warmly evI7rei more feeling than I had ever given k5n credit fOr.
 --h coQrse, cf course, old man." he said, II kHow yOa didn't mean anything; only Wzz taken by surprise, as well 1 might be, foI | VAS tremendously fond of Rose Naughtou sSc~-2z 90 xxiLl, for the matter of that-and the SSxha of her face rather took me aback We were hAIf-e1g2ged once, only her old moxhs< h<ukc i9 of; and was angry and h&Scy, an3-11d dropped them, and have hexz sagry ever since; and then I was too pEu4sd &ad, in short, have made an ass of my sell Do yea know where she is now? Dc y~1a E19w WneTc S0e B g00cg Z
 s-Nss bal I e41 find out"
 T wzA yoa would; for after all you tel use have strong inclination to follow her z1d TT 1y l0ck agzin-try if fortune will tG<z hsr wssees Ecr my benefit l"
 ''Mass certainly do 90; you would be fly. t@g la he< face If you did not; for really thil H Ehe @sse astounding thing, on the whol thai ever kxppe3ed 10 afellOw. There mus k<Se bcea soase mysterious agency at wOri when ya1 were thrown s0 close together tha ES<As w1rh0aE either of you knowing it. Sa, gh41 tke &pPsar4nce was but a vapor of tn, h<zi2. partly due to iIl-health and uneas, xs<Sp. GiH Is aspect and nature are clearly E<zcezase ss aiss Na1ghtoa's presence harI eSs &z2 @zre c0iRcade0ce ss not sufficient t, scc~zzx fer all thai happened"
 Vs<y marxelhOus, truly" said he; ''ans we eza oagy cal it. as the guard did, 'th xAsss sE . ghaace' Still. whatever it was, i kzzdlv sccs1zss fer the earring being in m, cn@z@zszenR. thai. as originally wrote, wa
 EG EAe gASsz oz &a caring. How do we ge 0xer gh3zg~ ~-Ah." I answered, s'we ar
 ss Ger o9 ta the solution of that as ever
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