Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1884-10-08
lying in her coffin than married to such

Ii seems ages before the horses are in,
so impatient am TO be off; and, even
when they are ready at last, the coach
man informs me that one is going a lit
tie lame, and must be driven slowly.
What miserable journey this is We
seem 10 be crawling along. try to re-
assure myself by thinking that May is
not alone with him. | think of every
possible misfortune before | reach my
wlshed-for destination, my fears adding
To themselves as proceed When | am
home at last, jump out without wait
ing for the footman TO descend, and run
up the garden To the house, beckoning
To him and the coachman to follow. AS
l approach, can hear voices and laugh
ter from the servants downstairs, and
for moment am ashamed of my fool
ishness, and feel inclined TO tell the men
to come no farther. But directly set
foot IN the hall my agony of mind re-
turns, for a chair is thrown down in
the middle of the passage, and on the
pale green Gado which is painted by the
side of the stairs there is a mark of
five fingers i'll blood, scarcely yet dry.
My feet seem TO acquire wings. 1t
takes me not more than twenty or thirty
seconds TO look INTO all the sitting
rooms, and then | find myself before
Mays bedroom eoOr. Here there Is a
small pool of blood on the white fur
mat outside, and | see that the handle
OF the door is blood-stained as well, as
| TRIP in vain to turn it. As l struggle
with it breathlessly. the men come up
To me, and | call out TO them, in the
I 90 hot / -.
burst It open, and let me See the worst
at once.
But, in spite of all that have feared,
| am not prepared for what meets my
sight now. There on the floor is
the lifeless form of my sister, in long
black dress, as | had seen her in my
dream; her hair has fallen too, but its
| gold is dimmed and Soiled with blood.
/ StrangeSt of all, and what impreSSes
me most even in this awful moment, Is
the fact that there are wounds on her
/ right arm and left shoulder correspond
ing exactly with the red light that had
| fallen on her in the church that morn
I ing.
With one long wild shrek | throw
myself upon the ground beside her
and then, III very mercy, consciousness
leaves me, and for time | know no
more.
When | recover, | find myself in my
own room the blinds are drawn down,
and my maid is moving about on tiptoe
She comes up TO the bedside when open
my eyes.
Have they found him ?" ask fe-
verishly. as in an instant all that has
happened flashes across nv mind.
About my darling there is no need to
ask the lowered blinds tell their own
story; besides, have | not seen her ly-
ing dead
Whom do you mean, ma'am 2"
1.-The murderer-RusSel Browne"
of that just yet" she answers uncom-
fortably, making a movement 10 go;
but catch hold of her dress.
do you think any truth can be
worse than this uncertainty? Tell me
all at once"
"He WAS found dead on the marshes
yesterday. They say he must have
fallen into dixie when it was dark.
But indeed, ma'am, this is not fit for
you: the doctor said"
''HOw can he have been found dead
yesterday, when it was only to-day it all
happened 2" l interrupt impatiently ;
then. glancing round the room, and see
ing the long array of medicIne-bottles
and glasses, the truth strikes me ut
last. 'Haye been i'll, Martha f''
Indeed, yes, ma'am-worSe nor
Miss May herself's BEEN
Il,,~ \
poor weak brain In trying to take i'll
this new idea, tine doctor comes, and
wisely deems it more eXpedient to tell
me all himself then than let me be wOr-
RED by half-knowledge of what has
occurred.
May is not dead and in my gratitude
for that everything else sinks into in
significance. Her wounds had been Sc
we're, that on her,,shOulder causing great
anxiety; but now she Is cut of danger,
cured as well of her Inflated love for
the man who would have murdered
her.
1t had all happened 50 strangely and
| think the story told on Christmas
Eve played its part in the deRottemeHt.
If so, do not regret it, for the short
ter than the lifelong misery to which
she would have been subjected had she
become the wife of Russell Browne.
Almost directly after l had left they
had gone into the garden, and, once
there, he has commenced by upbraidlng |
her for loving Inc best, and then had |
spoken wildly about a love which only |
death could keep true. By his stronger |
will he had fascinated her into a spur |
ious passion for himself; and, now that |
he fancied he saw his influence abating, |
he tried vainly to persuade her to let |
him regain 1t by submitting to his mes
meric powers. She fought against it |
SO strongly that his suspicious were
aroused, and he Interrogated her angrily
for reasons. Then, in explaining, all |
the truth came out and she ended by |
telling him the story that l had told to
her.
What he must have felt at hearing
the secret of his own life thus ruthlessly |
exposed who can tell? ? Suffice it to say |
that the latent madness of the man
broke out, and, drawing knire from
his pocket, he stabbed her several times
with demOniacal fury. Then, when
she escaped into the house, he leaped
the garden wall and fed away from the
scene of his intended crime, wandering
on aimlessly, until at last he met with
his death on the lonely Esher marshes.
1t is all so terrible that | can only
cover my face and weep silently rs L
listen; but, when the doctor ceases
abruptly, | raise my eyes to see the
cause.
There, coming across the room, with
an expression of earnest thankfulness
on her sweet face for her own recovery
and mine, is white-robed girl with
bandages still bound about her shoulder
and on her arm. In another moment,
with low cry of JOY, she has sprung
on to the bed beside me; and, holding
my pretty May in my arms safe from
all the dangers that have surrounded
her, can afford TO forgive the dead