Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-09-11

- $Eg9&
"Q7aite right, Sarah" he said. "Never
neglect your religious O~bSerrances."
afraid you can't pray yourself out Of this
situation; but theresno harm in trying"
The sound of his voice gave another and q
fresh turn to her thoughts. At that mo-
ment her prayer was answered and every
thing grew clear. The clouds which trou-
bled her rolled away, or it may be, closed
round her to break no more.
She shivered, and still kneeling, turned
her face to the speaker. Her look for a mo
ment startled him in spite Of the contempt
he felt for her religious vagaries. And we'll
it might startle him.
Now she knew all She knew why she
had lived. She knew to what she was pre-
destined Cycles ago this moment had been
decreed. 1t was she whom God had ap-
pointed to remove this man from the path
which led che Of elect to happiness. The
belief that ages and ages before she was
born, her place, not only in this world, but
also in the next, had been ~irrevocably fixed,
the terrible conviction that she was one of
the many doomed by Gods will to eternal
torture, a fate which not the prayers Of a
lifetime, or the conduct of a saint, could
avert or in the slightest degree mitigate;
this fearful belief closed round her like the
walls of q prison from which there Is no
escape, from which death itself there is no
release How in such a state of mind could
she turn with feelings of love and alteration
to the Supreme Being Who had doomed her
to. such unutterable woe9 No, she could fear
HfVo tranoh1n haforo Hiyn ohoen horso1e ~
His feet, pray her wild hopeless prayers, but
such love as she had to give was fain to be-
stow itself upon an earthly object, and for
the want of q better that object was
Beatrice.
Even as Jael, even as Judith, had their mis-
sion so had she, Sarah Miller, a mission
equally terrible, that Of Staying a man whom
God haddoomed. With her brain flooded, per-
meated by this one fearful thought, the
woman rose from her knees and resumed
her seat
Everything, she fancied, with her mind
hew1ldered in reality, yet to herself SEEM
ingly clear, pointed to the carrying cut of
this decree Of destiny. The solitude, the
night journey, even the mans half helpless
condition were but details Of a settled
scheme. The opportunity was here, only
tine way and the means were wanting.
These in good time would be vouchsafed to
her. She would be shown how she, a weak
woman, was to take the life Of a strong
man
Little did Maurice Hervey, as from the
effects Of fatigue, cigars and brandy he sat
half doing in the corner of the compart-
ment, dream what thoughts were passing
through the mind Of the woman near him.
T ohm she was nothing more than an ad-
dle-headed sort Of creature, who once upon
a time had done a great deal towards bring
ing him to ruin; an act for which he rightly
believed he was now paying her in full.
How was she to do it9 Time was passing,
/, and yet the path was not yet pointed out.
See, the mans eyes were closed Had the
moment Gomez If she had a knife she might
3 even now drive it into his heart! But she
had no knife; had nothing which would
serve her need, or rather Gods need. Sud-
denly she remembered, as one remembers o
dream, that hours and hours ago she had
seen a fellow passenger opening a bag, and
had noticed on the top of that bag a pistol.
+ Had she Teen allowed to catch sight Of the
s weapon for the purpose which she YVES
deputed to carry out2 If so, where was that
pistol, and how could she get it into her
bands3 She rose, and without any settled
object, passed Hervey and stepped out into
8 tho gnngway.
o Her movement awoke him. He put his
y head through the door and watched her as q
cat watches a mouse. Sarah went the
a length Of the long carriage, but found
I nothing to guide her to her end. Every
= door was Theoretically sealed. 1t seemed as
n if cba onA b, oorouo1to, ,,oN Nba ,a1r ron
g sons awake. The only sound heard was the
y c~easeless rush Of the train as it tore its way
o on and on through the night.
The woman returned and resumed her
seat The means had not yet been given
e her. A phantom Of common sense also
fitted through her mind. If she killed this
mar in such a manner it meant arrest and
It trial Of herself. 1t meant shame and ex-
g posure to her loved mistress. No, she must
wait yet a while. God had not yet spoken
g the last word; not yet shown the exact way
}, in which His work was to be done. Yet her
belief never swerved, never wavered:
Q Or not until she knew that the end Of the
long, dreary journey was close at hand; not
n until a kind Of instinct told her that in a
t few shortminutes Munich would be reached.
Hervev, whom necessities had deprived Of
the means of telling the time, was still
Q sleeping his wakeful and suspicious dogs
sleep. Suddenly the long, shrill whistle
l. sounded The man started up, wide awake,
and for the first time for hours a doubt as
d to her true reading Of Gods purpose flashed
? through Sarah Miller's brain. The time
r was so short. There was SO much-so much
+ to be done. The way was still in darkness.
b Would the last few moment light it up9
: She clenched her hands convulsively, dig
glng the nails Of one into the flesh Of the
other. She glanced once more at Hervey's
D face which, from his fatigue looked pale and
wan. She rose, and mechanically, like one
in a dream, stepped out Of the compartment
into the dimly lighted gangway. Hervey
followed her.
= Without knowing why or wherefore, she
walked the whole length Of the carriage. In
a dazed way she opened the door at the end
and stepped out into the open air. Hervey
| followed her and the door closed behind