Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1885-07-16


SO noble and true. was false to every vow
he had spoken, to every loving sentiment
he had expressed. Her father murderer,
her husband base deceiver, her young
| life desolate, utterly miserable, she lay ST.
lent and cold and broken hearted, and
prayed for the oblivion Of the grave
| She's quiet enough, lnuttered the old
crone, as she stood silently regarding the
girl for some time; If dared to risk it. !"
Her long, bony fingers clutched the
empty bottle, her eager eyes viewed it with
a hungry look, her thick, bIoated lips
moved az if jim authorization Of the feast 9
her.
| There's key to the door, she mumbled,
as she limped toward it. and the room has
iron shutters. Deary."
| She had applied the word to Edith in as
| soft and lnsinuating a tone as she could as
sumo. There was no reply.
| She's asleep, she muttered. $50 much
the better; can hurry away and back
| afore she wakes.
/ She opened the door leading into the
hall and locked it softly after her. Once in
| the open air, as she viewed the blank dis
| tance her face fell.
"Its far" she muttered but I'm safe
! for an hour-she can't get out"
Her pace T1 : lirnning run. as she hur-
ried down the road: but on reaching the
nearest rum-shop she glanced around her,
and seeing no form in sight pursued her
| journey.
If she had taken the precaution to 90
around the building, however. she would
have discovered lurking form near by-a
| figure which, as she moved away, surveyed
her cautiously around the corner of the de-
serted old structure
Revealed in the garish morning light,
face and form were those of q strange, un-
| couth creature. Yet the keenest intelli-
gence flashed in the large dark eyes, and
| the mobile face expressed varied and
sensitive emotion. The dress was coarse
and ragged, but did not conceal a
! figure graceful and 1.-THE. For all
that the attire and features told when in re-
pose, Wild Nan" might have been the
daughter of some Door mechanic instead of
the uncanny creature she was believed to
be.
Her home was with an aged couple who
had adopted her since her fathers mysteri-
GUS death two years before John Osgood,
employed in rolling mill, had earned
wages which were far in excess of those Sc
cured by the ordinary artisan, but the
profits of his skilled labor went lightly.
His little daughter Annie was the sole sur
viving member Of his family, and while he
bestowed unusual affection on her. he also
enjoyed life in wild fashion, little accord
ing with the usual tastes of a humble la
| borer. His weakness for gambling had led
him to disburse the greater portion of
his wages among the sharks and swindlers
who worked through the faro tables of a
great city.
| Tita Yoocf rnay, xubo ora fba viof;,,or ~
these willy rogues, he was the loser. But
one night John Osgood arose from the
gaming table with his revenge complete.
He had broken the bank, and with five
thousand dollars in his possession had
risen from the table of q Clark street faro
game, flushed and triumphant, with vow
that he would never touch another card.
Two nights later, after he had retired aftel
counting over his boarded wealth with little
Annie, and making glowing arrangements
for the future, his house was broken into
and his money stolen. In the struggle
with the robbers he had bloody encoun-
ter and sank to the floor stabbed fatally Il
he spoke any name to his child, who, like
wise aroused, had fastened to the scene-ii
she caught sight Of the face of her fathers
murderer-the coroner never ascertained the
fact; for when, the next morning, the in
sat with stony face and staring eyes, the
light of viyacity and Joy gone for
ever from the gentle eyes, and tht
bright mind darkened in its earliest hours
Unmoved, mute, she heard all that was said
but could not be induced to speak word
and then, leaving the old home, she become
o wanderer among the scenes of he. early
youth. Gradually she became more cheer.
full, wilder and brighter, cared for by one
and then another of her sympathizinf
neighbors. But ever and anon, as the fate
full night of her fathers murder was re-
ferred to, only fash from the dark eyes, {
quick movement of the clenched hands, o,
deadly pallor of her face would indicat,
that, demented though her mind might be
it yet entertained dark secret which TIM
might bring to revelation fateful to thu
murderer Of her father.
Such was the being who, by some mys
terious chance, had fitted upon the scenI
50 prolific in its past enactments with Sc
crecy and crime If she had possessed
thorough knowledge of all that had trans
pired. if she had been purposely waitin.
for the old woman to depart, she could no
have moved more quickly to gain the rud'
apartment in which Edith Leslie lay.
Familiar with every turn and winding o
the rambling old structure, her rapid fee
soon ought her into its confines. Sh,
paused with an ejaculation of dismay d
she tried the door, and, then going AROUND
to the rear of tho building, entered littl
hallway. Two minutes later she entered
the room by the glass door, through whicl
Elmer Warren had appeared to confron
Leslie after the terrible elimination of hi
interview with the messenger Armitage.
[To be CoNrlNuED.l