The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1884-04-17

He needed me no more than if I had
been myself phantom of the tempest
instead of being of flesh and blood. l
felt that l had no power to restrain him,
so shifted my hold and caught him
round the knees. We fell together on
the ground at the very verge of the
precipice.
Then began a terrible struggle. He
fought with the strength of a mailman,
/ with the desperation of a man who
contends for his life The storm howIed
about rs, and the whole air seemed fun
of hooking voices, shrieks and laugh
ter. Slowly but surely he was dragging
me to the edge. / would gladly have
r leased him now to save myself, but n
would not loose his hold. Soon | felt
that he had got himself half over the
cliff, and l knew that l was too eX-
hausted 10 hold on much longer. Near
er and nearer / came to the fatal spot.
gave myself up for lost, and tried my
best to frame a prayer. At least, L
thought, if | die, it is in a good cause.
Suddenly a strong hand caught me
by the collar and drew me violently
| back. The wretched man lost his clutch
of me and fell. A long shrek came up
from below and mingled with the eXult-
ing shrek of the wind.
was borne into the house and lad
on couch. / am not given to faint
ing, but it was some moments before
my nerves could recover the shock they
had received. At length l looked about
me and saw my Sergeant, the landlord,
and another well-dressed man whose
face 1 did not know.
well, sir" the Sergeant was saying
to the latter your work seems to have
been taken out of your hands tonight.
We were only Just in timer
''Only Just in time, indeed!'' was the
answer. ''Now, sir, | see you are your
self again; and / must ask you to tell
me how the scene came about that we
were fortunate enough to interfere in.
/ am police officer from Bow street.
As we'll as [ could, l told him all that
| had occurred. He heard me to the end
quietly, and the Sergeant, meanwhile,
at the earnest request of the landlord,
translated the story into Welsh as
went on. When l had finished the de-
/ tective shook his head.
50 1 see | must make up the best tale
! can for my superiOrs, he said ''NO
! offense to YOU, sir; but they wouldn't
| believe n word of what you have just
/ been telling me. / cant say just what
think about it myself; | never heard
! of such a case before. Why, he must
/ have gone quite mad! ! knew lie was
/ very fond of the woman, and l thought
/ something of the kind was likely; but
| what you told me YOU heard is beyond
! me, | confess. Had YOU known any
thing of the murder sir?''
mo" said 1; "smely you don t
mean to tel me that that man was a
murderer"
"He was, indeed, sir, and 1 came
here tonight to arrest him. He had
evaded US all for the last week; but
| yesterday l got a clew as to where he
! had gone, and followed him down.
rot your Sergeant here to act inter-
/ prefer for me with the landlord, when
! / met them both in the village, and
from what he said l knew that his
quiet gentlemen who collected bits of
rock was the man l was after; so ]
came on here at once, and you know
the rest. 1t was lucky for you that we
did not enter the house by the back
way Five minutes more would have
done for you, SIR
=" They would. indeed" I answered,
shuddering a little at the recollection.
but who, then. did he murder?
"His own wife, sir; woman from
all accounts as fond of him as she
could be. Some one I have yet to find,
forged a letter that made him
think she had ceased to care for him.
| fancy he was always subject to fits o.
madness; anyhow, no one knows eK
actly how it happened, but she was
found dead in her bed, with the mark,
of fingers on her throat, ard he had
disappeared, taking with him all the
loose money hc had in the house. He
had a good sum lying in the bank
which he could ha,ve withdrawn at any
time bv writing a check, and his no
having done 50 is proof to me that he
had not premeditated the murder.
daresay the temptation came to him al
on a student usually does, / have OBJ
served Anyhow, he is dead now, poor
gentleman, and may God have mercy
on his SOuln
Amen l answered.
That is the story OF my night of al
venture. | have often thought owe
what appears the supernatural part 0
it since, but without much effect. Tn,
only theory | can frame to account fol
it is the somewhat lame one that tn,
Authorizations OF my mad companion
were so powerful that his mind haC
succeeded in impressing them upon my
own, as the mesmerizCr can force al
idea upon his patient. | confess l an
) not myself Statistic I with such an eX
PLANTATION; but if any OF my reader
have not a better one ready they mus
take it for the true one.-LOndOR So
| cLet2L