The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1881-02-02

Icy SCpSlk.SLSo ihSisilllS, "A" oeS3N>
as she saw him, shrank back against the
hedge, while every vcstige o. color faded
from her face; she looked as though she
would have fallen. Only for q moment,
though.
The blow POOR Dick had received had
been so sudden, so unexpected, that his
powers of SPEECH had perfectly deserted
him. He could find nc words, eithel If
anger or reproach. He stood like one
stunned. Then, as Susie, recovering her
wonted spirit, came up to him and said,
with her old coquettisn laugh, "Only q
last farewell! Dick, line gave one
look at her; n great sob, in spite of all
bis effort at self-control, burst from
him, and, involuntarily putting out both
his hands as though to ward Oft her ap-
proach, he said but one word, and turn
ing his back upon them to, K his way
homeward.
The word he uttered, scarcely know
ing himself that he did SO, was
"~Good-byew
AS he pursued his way mechanically
his rapid gait increased almost to a run /;
carried away by the great agony he was
enduring, he involuntarily sought relief
in action.
Only for q while. AS he left the town
behind him and reached the more soli-
tarv path across the fields he staggered
in his walk, and as q hasty glance round
satisfied him of perfect solitude he flung
himself down on The grass, and upon the
bosom OF mother earth shed tears which
his manhood would have denied him
elsewhere.
Hours passed. TIE force OF the shock
he had received was so great that, when
at last he attempted to rise and collect
his thoughts, he could not recall the
actual time at which he had received it.
He pulled out his great, o~ld-fashioned
silver watch, and could scarcely credit
the evidence Of his sight as he found
that it was nearly eleven O'Clock.
He tried to think. Little by little the
scene came back to him; more than that,
the recollection ofthc thoughts that had
filed his mind in his walk haunted him
as well. With the dream of Susie and
the little ones which had filled his brain
came tie horlid remembrance Of the
man in whose arms he had seen her.
Never in all the years that he had
courted her and her white arms been
round his neck; never in her life had
her head rested upon his shoulder in
the utter abandonment that he had
witnessed.
Curse her!-yes, curse her!-the jade,
the jill, faithlesS, wretched woman that
she was! And So fox the man, for him
no curse could be deep enough, no
anathema sufficiently stern.
The blood boiled and surged in his
brain. Murderous thoughts entered his
mind. He saw himself wrestling with
Joe, b%elaboring him. killing him! Yes,
that was it-killing him!
OF course, that WAS the only thing to
do. Put the wretch out of the way;
kill him-ay, kill him! He repeated it
sloud again and again. But not all at
once. Oh, no! Let him suffer SLOW
torture; let him taste all the horrors OF
death; let him be punished as he de-
served.
His thoughts began to take shape. He
saw himself waiting an opportunity to
waylay Joe; he clinched his fist, and
reveled in the thought. He gloated over
it. lie half rose, end, beating the
ground with his fist, was about to take
o solemn o tn never TO rest till Joe waS
put away-neTer 70 give up his ven
geance, never to forgive or forget that
injury, when upon the stiffness Of the
night breeze came the sound OF the vii
lage church clock as it chimed the
hour.
The first stroke arrested his attention.
1t came with such weird distinctness On
the air that he paused to listen.
One, two. he drew a long breath;
then in%voluntarily he began to count.
7 ;l-o , o1;1S ba won't M ts11 hn roonhn2
eleven. As the last stroke fell, he sc
he uttered the twelve in expectation OF
trihing as it seems, recalled him; but
The mechanical effort had done his mind
good. He was not thinking Of Joe
now.
How was i. that his thoughts had
gone back far, far into the past? He
saw q homely room, q bed, on which a
figure covered with q patchwork quilt
was lying; q large, old fashioned, eight
day clock in the corner, stribing-yes, it
was striking-how many? Eleven;
yes, that was it; now he remembered.
He saw more. He saw himself, q far
younger man, standing by that bedside,
holding o fragile hand in his; he heard
his mothers voice; it seemed to him
distinct as when the words fell on his
ears ten years ago:
inject me- there, Dick"
He started, turned, rose from his
crouching position, and drew a long
breath.
"Meet her there!"
He had often thought OF it. In the
long watches at Sea he had told himself
often enough that he was q sinful man
and must heed his ways, if he meant to
DO it, and yet he had never heen very
bad-not neal so bad as others.
He badn't drunk till he was no better
than s beast. No, the thought Of his
mother and Susie had KEEP him from
that. He did not like 10 think of some
of his sprees on shore. He hoped his
mother would never know about them;
81 j, it wasn't so very Uad, after a]l. lie
had never committed q crime, done
murder. or even hurt any one in 8
blawl. No, his record was pretty clean.
But now-how was it now? There
was Joe. Well, Joe certainly must die;
be ought to; but
Dick rose and began walking toward
his own home. i feeling he would not
acknowledge had entered his mind. He
reached the village green. The lights
were neatly all out. Only in the inn
they still burned. and would till mid
night, he knew. He had signed the
pledge long ago, when he first asked
Susie Willis to be his wife. For her
sake he had kept it-but how nowp
He hesitated. then resolutely turned
homeward. His good angel had not tor
saken him. Worn Out in body through
his troubled mind, lie threw himself on
to his bed in his clothes, land fell i1to
an uneasy stumber.
He could not have slept long when he
was awakened By a confused sound, a
noise of hurrying and shouting.
He started up and went TO the win
dow. He threw it open and called out
in a voice which could have been scarcely
recognized as his:
whats amiss?"
"Fire! frew shouted many voices.
"Down in Upton. Look across the
ields~
Hurrying to join the speakers, Dick
soon recognized the meaning of the ex-
element.
The village was on high ground and
overlooked the town, from which great
volumes Of smoke could now be seen as
cending.
The villagers were hurrying across
the fields. Dick Joined them and was