The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1880-08-20
THE MISSING NAN.
THE STORY OF PAcT.


She was curious sort OF a woman: could
never quite make her ont. Evidently she
had "a past but she would not tell me much
about it, until Ct mere accident opened it all
up. / viii not stop to relate how l knew her,
but come to the point al once.
Her husband must have been man of
good family, but an utter scamp, gambler
spendthrift and drunkard all his own peo-
pie turned their backs on him. Dropping
lower and lower, lie reached very low ebb
indeed, at last, and she Lad a. bad time of it
with him. They had been living somewhere
. in Yorkshire, he racing betting-Heaven
knows what. The Dsncastcr meeting was
coming round, and he found the region get
ting too hot for him, so he made bolt OF IL
and came to London, bringing her with him
(they had no chidren) came, as ] under
stood, with couple of poTtmanteaus and
I under an assumed uame-of course she never
told me his real one. He took a small, old
fashioned furnished cottage for three months;
a dilapidated place somewhere near KiIburn,
quite on the outskirts, and where the new
neighborhood, which has now sprung up,
was only then first beginning to be thought
Of
They had been in this precious abode but
three days, when what happened, happened.
/ They were without servaut-in the house
alone, in fact, the wife becoming the drudge
meanwhile 4 nigh wall surrounded tile
garden in which the cottage stood, it having
been neat little box in its day, quite III the
country. An old ana now almost disused
road ran along one side Of this which had a
door to it amongst some thicI trees. Wei, it
yy~aE i'm
close and sultry, and on the third evening as
it was getting dark she strolled out and sat
down on a bench under these trees near the
door, leaving him sulkiiy smoking in the
house
''Sad and miserable indeed, was as sat
there" went on my friend, thinking, think
ing, thinking, in the silent cleaning Every
thing was still as death IN that dreary neigh
borhOod, so that when the sound of a foot
step coming slowly alongthe road by the side
of the wall caught my ear I almost started ::
but when | heard the fOOtstep suddenly tot
ter, then stop close to the door, and some one
stagger against it, I rose from sheer nervous
ness When to this sound succeeded a long
drawn gasp and moan, and then a heavy
thud, rs Of the person falling to the ground,
with an instructive pity I flew 70 the door,
and, drawing back the lock, gently opened
it. There, on the step, lay, as well as / could
see 10y the twilight, a young, .weIl-dressed
man. He made an effort to rise when he 81 "
me, partly recained his feet, caught at the
door-post, staggered and fell headioug into
our garden. Al this was but the work Of a
moment and now. thoroughly alarmed and
hardly knowing what I did, ! closed the door
and rushed into the house. Ny husband met
me on the threshold.
d" what now WHAT'S all that scrinmago
about?' he said.
"Timidly / told him.
% you fool, are we not hard mp enough
already, but you must be playing the Good
Samaritan, ard let the man in Do yol
want TO turn the place into an hospitaI?-
Hes drunk, no doubt
''With this he reached the spot where ths
unfortunate man lay face downwards upor
the edge Of the soft, unknown lawn. Gently
turning him over, my husband went on.
Sc why, he's dying, if not dead we mus
fetch doctor. \ pretty mess you have 60
US into, but we must go through it honestly
or else who knows what we may be charge,
with-murjer, perhaps! Be off and get
doctor: there's red lamp at the secon,
turning to the left down this road
'.I few to do his bidding, terrified By hi
words, which I saw had some reason iu them
and bad nearly reached the house, when b
called out:
Here, 90 ont this way, By this door here
into the road; its nearer.
81 returned, and was about to open th
garden door, close towhich he was still bend
y c,..r +I,o l,,l,- y.-Isels sa ~ m was a,-l nj
lining the contents of a large portemOnnaic
which he had taken from the pocket Of th
PROSTATE, unconscious man. Itseemed to b
full Of notes and gold. hesitated, but fe3I
ing to demonstrate, was drawing back tli
J bolt, when he whispered:
g 'Stop-wait minute. Did any one Sc
you let him i'm .?
% ~ one LAeIe i not a creature about