The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1881-12-27

must have dropped the things as they
climbed the fence, for you keep your
gate locked, believe.''
The widow shuddered. "Then James
alarm in the night may not have been
from her own fancy" said she "there,
take the handkerchief, Davis, along
with the key. You may be able to do
more with such proofs than / could"
The i'll tidings flew as only such can
fly. The whole country round was filed
with grief and horror. Hundreds col
lected at the parsonage through mingled
curiosity and regard for the memory of
the unfortunate young pastor, and
among the crowds that constantly filled
the road, poor Jane received full pro-
portion of sympathy and commiseration.
The story of her strange malady was
soon circulated with the customary
amount of exaggeration, and was specu-
lated upon by many with superstitious
wonder. She remained in her chamber
during the day, and her foster mother
remarked that the unusual hustle in the
house, occasioned by the continual COM
ing and going of the kind-hearted and
the inquisitive, failed to draw from her
single question, rational or otherwise.
The only words that escaped her lips
were the monotonous "Oh, nothing,
nothing !" uttered with a melancholy
wildness that made the listeners tremble.
Night came, and once more alone, the
widow collected her thought, and at
tempted to devise some means of inn
pressing the mind so mysteriously i'm
paired. She drew little table to the
bedside, and taking down from its shelf
the old bible which she had taught Jane
to treasure as the most precious relic of
her departed mother, she commenced
reading in low, calm voice, such pas
sages as, in her lively faith, she trusted
could not strike Intellectually upon her
ear. Whilst she was thus earnestly en-
gagged, she heard the slow tramp of an
approaching horse and then the sound
of heavy footsteps around the house.
She paused to listen. A door family
creaked, and she saw the eyes of Jane,
which had appeared fixed on vacancy,
dilate to an unnatural fullness, and sud-
denly from her palid lips burst forth the
same thrilling scream, that the night
before had aroused her from her pillow.
She looked round in alright, and beheld
her son close behind her.
"Hush, mother !" he exclaimed, with
rapid utterance, "you must hide me, and
instantly; you refused me money yes
terday to pay my debts, and now the
constables are at my heels. Try to do
something to serve me now"
He had opened the door of his moth
er's chamber, and was about to pass into
it, he turned quickly and threw himself
under the bed on which the young suf-
ferer lay, muttering, "If there's safe
place, it is here"
Then came loud rap on the door, and
to the tremulous answer of the widow,
Mr.. Merrill, the sheriff of the county,
presented himself.
"Do not let me alarm you, good Mis-
tress Slade," said he, after brief saluta-
ton bespeaking an old friend; ''but
circumstances, which I will afterward
explain, render 1t proper that 1 should
search your premises. There is an out
building connected with your house
which L wish to look into. Will you
furnish me with lights, and, if not in
convenient, oblige me by leading the
wayY There is an inside door, is there
not Y-this open one, believe; !" and as
pale and silent she complied with his
request, he added, kindly, ''pray let me
assure you, you have no cause for per-
sonal apprehension of any kind"
The out house alluded to was one ad-
joining the main building, serving, in
the lower part, as a woodshed, and
above, as repository for various kinds
of lumber. The sheriff looked carefully
about the neatly arranged woodpiIes, and
then, after ascending the steep stairs, as
carefully among the spinning-wheels,
the reels, the barrels and bundles, and
other articles which generally comprise
the store of farm house garret.
"All appears as it should be-" remark
ed Mr.. Merrill II presume you have
observed nothing which would indicate
there having been an unusual occupant
in the place ?"
"Nothing, excepting this,'' returned
the trembling woman "these bundles