The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1884-12-24

i know it 10 my sorrow. Have you seer
Jem lately?'
No; where is hep
lie has gone to London to bring down /
= new cob the master has bought. Master is
last growing a rich man, he knows how &c
invest his money!
Yes, he is shrewd enough; he was only
hoodwinked once, and that was when he
: made Alison Lee, Alison Penfold. Lord
what life led him. / wonder Ise keens
you and Jem on; he must know my mother
vaS your sister"
Yes, he knows; but he is a lust man. and
does not visit your sin on innocent heads.
lie knows Jem and serve him faithfully, :,
Il can twist Jem round my little finger. y
Leave Jem alone, you're no honest man 5
cattle"
Keep civil. cid girl, or the next time YOU
go to Cardiff Dock to see Jem's father. vou'll
get ducking; there are plenty out there
ready to do my bidding"
Il am not afraid; the Lord Will look after
his own"
Don't cant. You've got piety enough
for regiment of soldiers"
Alison threw herself into a cosy armchair.
pulled out a tiny case Of cigarettes, lighted
one, and pUffed the smoke out in a big blue
cloud looking 80 insolently beautiful that
tA4t O4u IAGA loull OtiN admire while she con-
[ demned her.
Meanwhile Ally and Dorothy had eaten
their dinner and sat before the fire in a big
chair reading fairy-ta!es. The room was
warm and bright, and after a while Ally
eoaXed Dorothy to sing "Froggy would a.
wooing GO then, Ten Little Niggers."
and stlIl the little voice pleaded, GO on
Dorothy sang lot of nursery-rhymeS, and
! then, coming TO the end of her resources.
thought of the Duchess's song in Alice in
Wonderland and sang brightly
Someone outside the room Joined in the
chorus, and Drift reused up and Staiked to
the door with growl.
/ Dorothy got up and opened the door: she
could hear the swish of siiken garments.
None of The maids wore silk. Who could it
| beP
If it were one of the maids dressed up
| for an evening cut, it was very rude of her
to mimic me" thought poor perplexed Dor
| othy.
| She felt decidedly uncomfortable. and
| took Ally up in her arms, and sat down in
! her old seat by the fire, thinking to herself:
/ 'One would think the house was haunted
by an evil spirit, but it is perfectly idiotic TO
| feel so frightened. l am getting quite a
baby"
( But had she known by how evil a spirit
/ the house was haunted. she would have
! found her fears eXcusable.
"Will papa be home by the Twelfth Night,
! Miss Snow; if he is not, shall we eat this
| Twelfth Cake? 1t is so pretty; Agnes frost
! ed 1t over with sugar till it looked like
SNOWFALL; it has holly and fairy doll on
the top. Jane dressed the doll so pretty
Prettily, you should say, dear. Yes,
hope papa Will be home soon; the house is |
lonely without him, is it not?'
Yes; love papa. Do you love him, Miss
Snow?'
Yes, do indeed, darling, dearer than
life. You are sleepy. Shall take YOU to
bed, and let you go to sleep in my armsg'
Ally nodded drowsily, and Dorothy car
ried her Off.
As she went she had a sensation of being
followed, and fastened on breathlessly.
When little Ally knelt down to say her
prayers, the door opened quietly as if Dor
othy had not properly secured it.
She noticed, her nerves were at such cruel |
tension, every noise, however slight.
Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, look up |
on little child,'" said Ally in her softlisp- |
ing baby language, and Dorothy saw the |
door open little wider
When the prayers were ended, and the |
baby lips kissed into silence, and Ally lay
snug and warm in the pretty white bed,
Dorothy went to the door to lock it. and lol
the key was gone.
Dorothy looked on the floor, all over the
room, in the corridor, and still it was not TO
be found.
Then she rang the bell sharply. Old Ag-
mes came to answer it little sulkily; all
the maids were out and it made her breath
short to mount the stairs.
Il can't find the key Of my door, has any
one removed it?"
"Why should they? The keys in this
house are rarely touched; we can trust one
another, Miss Snow"
Yes, of course, but 1 am accustome TO
lock my door, and can't sleepunless tits"
Pm very sorry, but it Is no fault of mine.
Put a chair against the door; no one will in
| terfere with you-why should they? | never
locked my bedroom door in my life. What
should l do in case of fre?''
Unlock it and get out if you value yoar
| life, suppose. L am annoyed. The key
was here this morning. Well, L suppose l
must get to bed, but / don't believe l shall
| sleep"
Il don't suppose you will, it is not ten
o'clock. Shall bring You little negus?'
''Yes, please | wish you would. | feel
tired and nervous"
| Old Agnes went down again, and got the
hot wine-and-water, grumoling as she did
so about the loss of the key; it was so
| strange, she could not account for it, and it
worried her.
| After seeing Dorothy drink her wine in
| bed, and turning the gas down to faint
| glimmer, old Agnes said goodnight and left
her, closing the door securely behind her,
and went down to wait up for the maids.
Dorothy went to sleep after laying awake
some time; little Ally slept serenely by her
-.
dragging the child away from her to de-
stroy.
The dream was horribly realistic, and she
fancied someone was lifting Ally above her
while she sank lower Oyerpowered by a
sickening odor that seemed TO sdffocate
her.
She made desperate niiort to break this
! spell Of horror, and awake to find herself in
total darkness except where the moon made
| light just where the window cleaned n
glimmering square.
A handkerchief that had coveredher face
sha had torn away just in time to see little
Ally lifted from her side by a dull dark
| shape with plume of feathers on its head
like hearse.
Weak, sick, and faint felt Dorothy, but
her promise to protect the child was vivid
In her mind. No one should take her away
while she had power to prevent it.
''Who are you? What are you doing with
| that child?" cried Dorothy. springing out of
bed, and pulling at the bell-rope-it only
hung by a thread and gave way at her
touch.
Dorothy screamed with terror, and took
hold of Ally to wrench her out of the
strange woman's arms.
She might as well have tried to move a
marble column.
''Silence, you fool, or by the Heaven, I'll
kill, you, l only take my own. Keep off
OF shall do you deadly HARM"
The low fierce voice-never failed. In vain
Dorothy tried to rescue the child, hand of
iron grasped her throat.
| She tore fTantically at the hand; the lace
at the wrist came away, the silk gave way to
her maddened grasp, but she could not
loosen the cruel fingers.
With horrid thud she was thrown
against the bed-post and rolled over, he avi-
ly stunned.
. Then the woman, spurning the PROSTATE
, fornt with her foot as il she had been a
loathsome reptile, picked up Dorothy's fur
lined cloak from the foot of the bed,
wrapped the still sleeping child in it, and
went silently away like a night shadow that
: many may dread but few grasp.
CHAPTER VII.
When the maids returned, merry and
well satisfied with their evenings amuse-
ment, they found the housekeeper fast
asleep, and on the hall-table, after search
ing everywhere else when asked about it
they found the missing key of Dorothy 8
| room.
l Jane said she would put it in the bed
: room-door as she passed. and supposed Miss
Ally had taken it to play with.