The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1880-09-30

NOIiiCll ttlC'
"If you will promise to forgive me-"
she said, 81 will tell you all
81 don't know about that ducky," says
|. 'If you've been doing anything very
wrong"
'Perhaps you won't think so,' inter
rupted she. ''for it was all out Of love for
you, and fear that you wouldn't have me,
that | did not tell you before we were
married"
"out with it, then, and III see" says
|, little roughly, "don't keep me on ten
ter hooks"
"Doy you remember of course you do
that about three years ago a woman came
to YOU one dark, muddy night, in the
street, and told you that a murder would
be committed if you did not watch 4 Ger
tain store, number 96?"
'Of course do, as You say" and the
truth flashed upon me at once That un-
known woman was my Wife, and now she
acknowledged it. "IIeaN ems" said /,
aghast at the information, and looked
at her SO that she turned pale and nearly
tainted.
"Do not kill me with your looks said
she, crying bitterly. II did all for the
best, and You shall know ALL"
You can imagine that neither She nor
felt very pleasant about that time. One
thought OF mine was, for a second, that
had married a murderess, or at least an
accc nplice Of gujlt and then even her
beauty for She is handsome, seemed very
loaths0me to me. What if She had been
Il bad character for knew nothing of
her relations more than She had told me,
and the old proyerb rang in my ears,
"MaTry in haste and repent at leisure :"
"Gou must know" said she. in the
same musical voice which had first at
tracJed my notice on the night OF the
murder, "that ON the day before that
h0rrid affair, my brother came home
from New Work. He had been to sea.
squandered all his money. and i'm some
low tavern where he stopped had faith
fully watched by the bedside of Il dying
man. That man told him that he had
formerly been prosperous tradcSman III
this city, bat that things had finally gone
behind hand. and that he had been forced
To tfN from IN examination Of his affairs
What goods he had left had been seized,
but he had concealed Il thousand dollars
in specie in a box buried in the cellar, on
the night when fear Of sudden arrest for
fraud had caused him to lccdmp Since
then he had become a Wandercr. not dal-
ing to return, and now sickness ana des-
ttution had come to avenge his creditors
on him. He described where he had
placed the box. and with hi, diving breath
urged NV brother to secure it. and give il
to those he had detrauded, in partial
atonement for the wrong. Ny brother
promised but Oh coming home he told
me the story. and said that poverty had
made the prize too tempting.
"'lou viii not use the money Yourself,
said |. God never pruspcrs the dis
honest.
'l cs he does, said John angriIl. If
He didn't there wouldn't be s. many Yich
people, and the poor would Get their own
II told him the money wasn't his own:
but he wouldn't listen to me, and that
VERY dav he brought home with him tWo
ough-looking men, and he agreed to give
them Il share if they would aid him in
getting the money that NIGHT. Then
they Sent out for drink, and rarouscd and
SWore, and when John was asleep heard
them in another room say how much bet
ter it would he when he got the money.
To Kill him and share it between them
When John awokc | tried to persuade
him not to 90, but he was furious and
would not listen, and 50 | came to You as
my only resource. q, if had only wait
ed there and given the alarm, concluded
my wife, moaning aloud, "What happcn-
cd would not have happrncd But
thought you would be there To prevent
it,"
a =
uoW suspected TINT the man who gato
the false alarm Of fire must have been
one Of the accompIiccs.
"Why didn't YOU appear as a witness
against the men ?" | asked.
II didn't know What might happen to
me. and was afraid The accounts in the
papers frightened me- But remembers
ed Your name in the reports ana when
we became acquainted by chance. | rec
ognIzed YOU but feared to tell You, not
knowing what YOU would think of me.
But now YOU know all. it has been a
sad secret for me to keep, and often when
YOU have spoken of the murder | longcd
to tell YOU it was my poor brother. John
IIugner, who was murdered"
comforted her as we'll as could and
asked if She knew the mems names; but
she said she had never known, though
She remembered their having said they
had been sailors in the navy. and she
thought at the time that they might have
shipped in sloop-of- f-war which, shortly
after the murder, had put to Sea on d
three years cruise But of this there was
no certainty.
My wife seemed greatly relieved when
She had revealed the secret to me, and
concluded that for time. at any rate,
would let the matter rest between US: for
saw no good that could come from MAX
ing it a public fact
Not long after our marriage again Be
came a watchmen, traversing the same
old beat. believe | know every store
| in it. Never did pass the Old store
which still remained unoccuped, the