Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1880-08-06
A MYSTERY.

She was curious sort of woman. /
could never quite make her out. Evi-
IDENTIFY she had past" but she would
not tell me much about it, until mere
accident opened it all up.
Her husband must have been a man of
good family, but an utter scamp, gam
bier, spendthrift and drunkard; all his
own people turned their backs on him.
Dropping lower and lower, he reached a
very low ebb at last, and she had bad
time of it with him. They had been
living somewhere in Yorkshire, he rae
ing, betting,-heaven knows what. The
Doncaster meeting was coming round,
and he found the region getting too hot
for him, so he made a bolt of it and
came to London, bringing her with him
(they had no children); came, as l un-
derstood it, with a couple of portman-
teaus, and under an assumed name-of
course she never told me his real one.
He took small, fashioned furnished
cottage for three months-a dilapidated
place somewhere near Kilburn, quite on
the outskirts, and where the new neigh
borhood, which has now sprung up, was
only then first beginning to be thought
Of.
They had been in this abode but three
days, when what happened? They were
without a servant-in the house alone,
in fact, the wife becoming the drudge
meanwhile. A high wall surrounded
the garden in which the cottage stood, it
having been u neat little box in its day,
quite in the country. An old and now
almost disused road ran along one side
of this wall, which had door in it
amongst some thick trees. Well, it was
early in September; the weather was
close and sultry, and in the evening as
it was getting dusk, she strolled out and
sat down on a bench under these trees
near the door, leaving him sulkily smok,
ing in the house,
"Sad and miserable indeed was I as
sat there" went on my friend, thinking
; and thinking in the silent cleaning
Everything was still as death in tina
dreary neighborhood, so that when tht
sound of a footstep coming slowly along
the road by the side of the wall caugh
my ear, I almost started; but when
heard the footstep suddenly totter, thel
stop close to the door and stagger agains
it, rose from sheer nervousness. Whel
to this sound succeeded a long draw
gasp and moan, and then heavy thud
as of the person falling to the ground
with an instructive pity l flew to tn
door, and drawing back the bolt, gentl
opened it. There on the step lay, as wei
as l could see by the twilight, youn
well-dressed man. He made an effort t.
rise when he saw me, partly regained hi
! feet, caught at the door-post, staggere
and fell headlong into our garden. A
this was but the work of moment, an
q now thoroughly alarmed and hardl
knowing what | did, closed the doc
and rushed into the house. My husban
met me on the threshold.
"What now? What's all that scrin
mage aboutP' he said.
"Timidly I told him.
a "'Y ou fool, are we not hard-up enoug
already, but you must be playing til
, Good Samaritan, and let the man in! d
! you want to turn the place into an ho
pitalP He's drunk no doubt
Il "With this he reached the spot whel
: the unfortunate man lay face downward
> upon the edge of the soft unknown law
Gently turning him over, my husban
went on:
"'Why, he's dying, if not dead; v
must fetch doctor. A pretty mess yc
have got us into; but we must 60 throug
it honestly, or else who knows what v
may be charged with-murder, perbap
Be off and get a doctor; there's II
g lamp at the second turning at the le
down this road
81 flew to do his bidding, terrified
his words, which l saw had some REQ
in them, and had nearly reached t
house, when he called out:
$. "'Here, go out this way, by this do
into the road; it's nearer.
= 81 returned, and was about to op
r the garden door, close to which he W
:, still bending over the body, when | Sc
he was examining the contents of lar
70 portemonnaie, which he had taken frC
le the pocket of the prostrate, unconscio
man. It seemed to be full of notes a
to gold | hesitated, but fearing TO reno
strate, was drawing back the bolt, vii
he whispered:
" "'Stop--wait minute. Did any {
see you let him imp
"'Noone; there is not creature abo
and the road is not overlooked
- swered
"'No, nor this corner of the gart
"' where we are--no, it's too much shut
+. by trees and It's getting too dark