Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-08-28

/ at Roding at Z o'clock. The weather was
cold; a man would naturally walk fast
Mrs. Wilson'S house must be four miles from
The station. Let me start from there just
before the train arrives, and I should prob
ably meet him about half way on his jour
ney. 1t would be dark, but | should know
him. / should know him among a thousand.
There on the open lonely road Sir Mervyn
Ferrand, coming gayly, and in his worldly
cynicism certain Of c~ajoling, buying of, or
in some other way silencing the woman who
had in an evil day trusted to his honor and
love, would meet, not her, but the man who
from the first had sworn that a wrong to
Philippe should be more than a wrong to
himself Hs would meet this man and be
called to account.
Stern and sinister as were my thoughts
freely and unreservedly as l record them,
as indeed l endeavor in this tale to record
everything-I do not wish to be misiudged.
1t is true that in my present mood l was
bent upon avenging Philippa with my own
hand; true that l meant, if possible, to take
at some time or another this mans life; but
at least no thought of taking any advantage
of an unarmed or u~nsuspecting man entered
into my scheme of vengeance. 1 designed
no murderous attack. But it was my inten-
ton to stop the man on his path; to confront
him and tell him that his villainy was
known to me; that Philippa had fed to me
for aid; that she was now in my custody;
and that l, who stood in the position of her
brother, demanded the so-called satisfaction
which, by the old-fashioned code of honor,
was due from the man who had ruthlessly
6akua,oI = rovoao Wal I 1y,a1v Ahnt ~
was probable he would laugh at me-tell ne
that the days of duelling were over, and re,
fuse to grant my request. Then l meant to
see if insults could warm his noble blood; if
my hand on his cheek could bring about tho
result which l desired. If this failed l
would follow him abroad, cane him and spit
upon him in public places.
A wild scheme for these prosaic, law-abld-
ing days; yet the only one that was feasible.
1t may be said that l should have taken
steps to have caused the recreant to be ar
rested for bigamy. But what proof Of his
crime had we as yet, save his own, unsigned
confession7 Who was to move in the mat
ter-Philippa-myself2 We did not even
know where this wife of whom he had
spoken lived, or where she died. There were
a hundred ways in which he might escape
from Justice, but whether he was punished
for his sin, or allowed to go s~cot-free,
Philippa's name and wrongs must be
bruited about, her shame made public. Mo-
there was but one course to take, and but
one person to take it. 1t rested with me
to avenge the wrongs of the woman l loved
by the good old-fashioned way of a life
against a life.
Truly, as l said, had now plenty to live
for!
The hours vent by, yet Philippe came not.
I grew restless and uneasy as the dusk be-
gan to make the road, up which l gazed al
most continually, dim and indistinct. When
the short winters day was over, and the
long dark night had fairly begun, my rest
lessness turned into fear. l walked out of
my house and paced my garden to and fro.
l blamed myself for having yielded SO light
ly to Philippa's wish-her command, rather
that l should On no account fetch her.
But then, whenever did I resist a wish,
much less a command, Of hers7 Oh, that l
had been firm this once!
The snow-storm of the previous evening
had not lasted long-not long enough to
thoroughly whiten the world. The day had
been fine and frosty, but l knew that the
wind had changed since the sun went down.
1t was warmer, a change which 1 felt sure
presaged a heavy downfall of snow or rain.
There was a moon, a ftful moon; for clouds
were flying across it, dark clouds, which /
guessed would soon gather conference and
volume, and veil entirely that bright face,
which now only showed itself at irregular
Intervals.
The minutes were passing away. l grew
Aervous and excited. Why does she moi
Gomez My hope had been to see my poor
girl safely housed before 1 started to execute
my other task. Why does she not come
Time, precious time, is slipping byl In the
hope of meeting her, l walked for some dis
lance up the road. "Why does she delayP
l groaned. Even now l should be on m
way to Roding, or l may miss my prey
Heavensl can it be that she is waiting to see
this mar once more9 Never! never! Perish
the thought!
But, all the same, every fibre in my body
quivered at the bare supposition of such {
thing.
could bear the suspense no longer. Fol
the hundredth time / glanced at my watch
1t wanted but ten minutes to seven o'clock
and at that hour l had resolved to start from
Mr.. Wilson's on my way to Roding. Ye'
now l dared not leave my own house. Any
moment might bring Philippa. What would
she think if l was not there to receive anC
welcome herr
Five more precious moments gone!
stamped in my rage, After all, I can only
do one-half of my task; the sweet, but no
the stern half. Shall ], indeed, do either
The train must now be close to Roding. Ii
an hour everything may be lost. The maj
will see her before she leaves the house. Il,
will persuade her. She will listen to hi
words; for did he not once love herr H,
must have loved her! After all, he brok,
the laws for the sake of possessing her, anC
cursed thought!-she loved him then; anC
she is but a womanl
So l tortured myself until nv state O.
mind grew unbearable. At all hazards
must prevent Ferrand from meeting Philip
pa. oh, why had she not come as she prom
isedl Could it be she was detained agains
her will9 In spite of her uninterested man
ner l distrusted the woman l had seen las
night. 1t Is now past seven o'clock. Phil
ippa's house, from which l had reckoned my
time, was nearly three miles away. l mus
give up my scheme Of vengeance. mus
go in search of Philippa. If l do not NEE
her / must call at Mrs. Wilson's, find on
what detains her, and IL needful bear he
away by force.
By this time my steps had brought M
back to my own house. l called William
and told him l was going to walk up tn
road and meet my expected guest. If by an,
chance l should miss her he was to welcom
her ON INV hahalf md fnll hnr Tho rnasnn fn