, 1884-12-21

- ~ AIs lC alAIA lucIo just
before the train arrives, and ! should prob
ably meet him about half way on his jour
ney. 1t would be dark, but l should know
him. / should know him among a thousand
There on tho open lonely road Sir Mervyn
Fcrrand, coming gayly. and in his worldly
cynicism certain OF c~ajoling. buying off, or
In some other way s~ilencing the woman who
had in an evil day trusted TO his honor and
love, would meet, not her, but the man who
from the first had sworn that a wrong to
Philippa should be more than a wrong to
himself He would meet this man and DO
called TO account
Stern and sinister as were my thoughts
freely and unreservediy as i record them,
as indeed l endeavor in this tale to record
everything-I do not wish to DO misjudgod.
1t Is true that in my present mood / was
bent upon avsnging Philippe with my own
hand; true that ! meant. II possible, TO taks
ut some time or another this mans life; but
at least no thought OF taking any advantage
OF an unarmed or unsuspecting man entered
into my scheme OF vcngeancs. l designed
no murdarous attack But IL was my inten-
ton to stop the man on his path; 10 confront
him and tell him that his villainy was
known TO me; that Philippa had fed to me
for aid: that she was now In my custody;
and that /, VIII stood In the position OF her
brother, demanded the so-called satisfaction
which, by the old fashioned code Of honor,
was due from tho man who had ruthlesaly
betrayed a woman. Well / know that il
was probable he would laugh at me--tell me
that the days Of dueIling were over. and re-
fuse TO grant my request Then l meant to
SEQ II insults could warm his noble blood; IL
my hand on his cheek could bring about the
result which l desired II this failed |
would follow him abroad, cans him and spit
upon him In public places
A wild scheme for these prosaic, law-abid-
ing days; yet the only one that was feasible.
IL may be said that I should have taken
steps to have caused the recroant TO be ar
rested for bigamy. But what proof OF his
crime had we as yet. save his own, unsigned
confessioni Who was to move in the mat
ter-Philippa-myselfi We did not even
know where this wife Of whom he had
spoken lived, or where she died. There were
a hundred ways In which he might escape
from justice, but whether he was punished
for his sin, or allowed to go scot-free,
Philippa's name and wrongs must be
bruited about. her shame made public. No;
there was but one course TO take, and but
one person to take IL It rested with mo
TO avenge the wrongs Of the woman I loved
by the good old-fashioned way Of a life
against a life.
Truly. as l said. l had now plenty to live
-rofI
The hours went by, yet Philippa came not
] grew restless and uneasy as tho dusk be-
gan TO make the road, up which I gazed al
most continually, dim and indistinct. When
the short winters day was over. and the
long dark night had fairly begun. my rest
lessness turned into fear. l walked out Of
my house and paced my garden to and fro.
! blamed myself for having yielded so light
ly to Philippa's uish-her command, rather
that ] should on no account fetch her.
But then, whenever did / resist n wish,
much less a command, OF hersl oh, that l
had been firm this oncei
Tho snow-storm OF tho previous evening
had not lasted long-not long enough TO
thoroughly whiten tho world. The day had
been fine and frosty, but / know that tho
wind had changed since the sun went down.
IL wns warmer. a change which | felt sure
presaged n heavy downfall Of snow or rain.
There was "A moon, a dtful moon; for clouds
were flying across 1t, dark clouds, which l
guessed would soon gather Conference and
volume, and veil entirely that bright face.
which now only showed itself at Irregular
intervals.
The minutes were passing away. ! grow
nervous and excited. Why does she not
comei My hope had BEEN 70 500 my poor
girl safely housed before / started to execute
my other task. Why does she not comet
Time, precious time, Is slipping byl In the
hope Of meeting her, | walked for some dis
AunIu uU u IuhAs ny Quca $40 ueluNI
groanod. Even now l SHOULD DO on my
way to Roding. or I may mis- my prey.
Heavensl can II be that she is waiting to soc
this man once morei Nsverl neverl Poriah
the thought
But. all tho same. every fibre in my body
quivorod at tho bare superstition OF such a
thing.
Icould bear the suspense no longer. For
ihe hundrsdth time I glanced at my watch.
IL wanted but ten minutes to seven O'Clock,
and at that hour ! had resolved to start from
Mr.. Wilson's on my way to Roding. Yet
now ] dared not leave my own house. Any
moment might bring PhilippaL What would
she think II I waa not there TO receive and
welcome bert
Five more precious momenta gonel |
stamped in my rage. After all. I can only
do one-half OF my task tho sweet, but not
the storm half. Shall l. indeed, d. citheri
Tn train must now be close to Roding. In
an hour everything may DO lost. The man
will SEQ her before she leaves tho house. He
will persuade her. She will listen to his
words; for did he not once love herf He
must have loved heri After all, he broke
the laws for the sake OF possessing her, aud
Cursed thoughti-she loved him thon; and
she is but a womanl
SO l tortured myself until my state Of
mind grew unbearable. At all hazards l
must prevent Ferrand from meeting Philip
pa. Oh, why had she not come as she PROM
issdi Could IL be sho was detained against
her WIFI In spite Of her unintorested man
ner / distrustod the woman l had seen last
night IL Is now past seven O'Clock. Phil
ippa's house, from which l had reckoned my
time, was nearly three miles away. I must
give up my scheme OF vengeance. | must
go In search Of Philippe. II l do not meet
her / must call at Mrs. Wilson's, find out
- -a-4.- - - "a Ia -
away by force.
By .his time my steps had brought me
back to my own house. called William,
and told him / was going to walk up the
road and meet my expected guest. II by any
chance 1 should miss her he was to welcome
her on my behalf. and toll her tho reason for
my absence.
Best take a lantern, sir" said William;
''Doon1i be hidden. and them roads is pre-
cious rough"
Il can't DO bothered with that great horn
affair, " l said, rather testify.
Take the little one-the bulls eye-thats
better than nothing, " said William. To hui
NOR him / put 1t into my pocket
ran at the top OF my speed to tho house
at which l had last night left Philippe. 1t
took mo nearly half an hour getting there.
Irang the bell impotuously. The door was
opened by a maid servant l inquired for
Mrs Farmer, knowing thht fhlippa had
passed under this name to all except her
hostess To my surprise / was told that she
had left the house. on foot and alone, some
little while ago. The maid believed she was
not going 10 return, as her luggage had that
morning boon sent for.
The first effect OF this intelligence was to
cause me to blame my haste. 1 must nave
missed her no doubt passed her on the road.
No; such a thing was impossible. The way
WIS a narrow one. The moon still gave
A Walking Skeleton.
Mr.. f. Springer. of Mechanicsburg,