The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1882-12-08

Quilted the ball In the presence OF the butlei
and porter. Before he went. and In the
hearing OF the butler, Hugh said:
Here Is the jewel case. Give Marian
(the bride) these diamonds ss q gift from
her uncle"
Then when the butler was gone he said:
Pass down the main roadway and lei
Mother Ramsden at the lodge see you
Then 90 along the path BY the river till You
reach the stone stile. Pass over that, turn
| up by the side Of the copSe and then cross to
| the hall, and will admit you"
When Major was gone, Hugh locked the
/ study door, put on q slouch hat wrapped
himself in q huge travelling cloak, took an
enormously thick stick from under q book
case, extiuguished all lights but one at his
desk. drew the screen around the desk so a.
70 render it impossible to tell from the out
eide whether any ona was sitting there, and
| Quilted the room by the window Then he
passed round the trees and shrubs to q
copse, and hastened downward until he
reached stone stils leading to path by the
river side
As he looked toward the direction Of the
lodge at the entrance to Cor Park. he saw
awaited his coming. Unsuspectinely, and
whistlinR an air, Major came along. mount
/ ed the stile. and descended into the small
track By the side OF the eopse.
Like fash the murderous stick which
Hugh carried fell upon the groom's head
and crushed IN his skull. Then Hugh
searched the murdered mans pockets uatil
he found the jewel case. This be opened
and flung to one side. It is not necessary TO
say that It never contained any Jewels.
Hugh next dragged the corpse over the
stile and toward the river, which at that
point was deep and somewhat sluggish
Laying the corpse on its back, he beat
and hammered the face until It was, as he
rightly supposed. unreeognizable. Then he
dropped the body into the river. He re-
turned to the hall as he quilted it,
The next morning at dawn he visited the
| secret passage, taking the bloody cloak with
him and leaving It there. He left food and
drink for the prisoner, whom he found only
half conscious. OF the scenes which occur
red between the iailor and his victim on that
| occasion and on their daily meetings after
ward, it is unnecessary to dwell
! Next day. of course. Arthur was missing
and so was the groom. The empty Jewel
case, evidences OF a bloody crime, was found
by the stiIe, and bloody track was diseov-
cred 10 the waters edge. few hours later
the body OF the murdered man was ished
| from the water and identified as that Of Ar
thur. by the clothes chiefly, as the face was
beyond recognition. Then 1t was discover
ed that the groom, Major. was missing
he hfrfT e.
thur the jewel case, and 10 his quitting the
hall. Mother Ramsden svorp TO his having
passed through the lodge, and the rest was
plain. The groom had not been at Wake
ley's, II WAS true that day. nor had he been
seen outside the park but It was supposed
that he and Arthur had met, on the latter's
way 20 the Scour and that Arthur had asked
him to accompany him. a. he had valuable
Jewels I'm his possession. It was true that
the distance from the lodge gate to the stile
was less than a mile, but nevertheless the
jury was satisfied that the crime had been
perpetrated by Major to get possession of
the Jewels. Moreover. the story Of his for
mer crime OF a similar nature pointed to him
as the man likely tn commit the deed. A
verdict was returned against him, and re-
wards were offered for his apprehension. OF
course not jot Of evidence Of his ever have
ing been seen anywhere since the fatal
night ever came to light.
The supposed Arthur Was buried with
proper decorum, and Hugh Urpeth, as heir,
took possession OF Cor. In five months after
Artbur's supposed murder, It was announced
that Hugh was to marry the lady who was
to have been Arthur's bride By wiles and
stratsgem he had got the girls father into
his power. and to save him from impending
ruin, as he supposed, she agreed to marry
the uncle OF ber former lover. The day was
Fixed, and the old chapel was to be especially
adorned for the occasion. The rough walls
we're hung with tapestry and siIken curtains,
and the rough floor was richly earpeted, so
that all the ugly Irregularities and blemishes
were covered up and hidden from view
The winter Of that year and the year fol-
lowing was very severe. and In the spring
freshets were heavy.
John Parsley, an old retainer Of the Or
peth family, went out 5shing in his punt,
and as the sun went down the man fell
asleep. The freshet came upon him with
out warning and swept his punt from It's
mooriDgs. AS he was carried along he saw
the old bridge in q distance, and by good
luck he was carried near the buttress on the
of-bank. He chung to the large sill OF the
embrasure and the punt was swept away
Drawing himself up he managed to sit on
the sill, and, leaning back, was able to
grasp the wall Inside, and so get q secure
hold
Imagine bis surprise and terror when he
! heard q human voice within. He received
| courage, however. supposing it might be
some one who had been carried away like
himself, and had fortunately found foot
, hold, He was soon disabused of this notion.
dreadful secret which the reader already
knows. In return he Informed Arthur Of
his supposed murder and his uDcle's intend
ed marriage, and promised to give him the
| date at some future time. He also related
how the old chapel had been eOrgeouslv 1T
ted up for the occasion. At dawn Parsley
managed TO descend and make bis way
homeward The next night be returned
with flies, q picksx, crowbar, chisel,
hammer, 9 lamp and other tools. He threw
a ball OF twine into the open embrasure,
which Arthur caught. and vas thus enabled
, to hoist up and secure tAe tools. Then they
were hidden away. After bis uncle left
him on the night before his wedding DAY, Of
which Arthur had been Informed BY Parsley,
Arthur filed OF his CHAINS. Then he worked
on the door and speedily opened It. Moth
ing. then, SO far as be knew, lay between
him and the chapel