The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1886-05-22

the murderer, felt uneasy, thinking the
murderous william might possibly strike a
match to see his ghastly work, and thus
discover my hiding place, so near to him.
However, | was soon little relieved when
| heard him articulate:
He's dead enough, and dead men tell
no tales. Ha, ha!-he'll not split ON me
now, that's certain He's gone to his last
home. Now l must make for the road
quickly. They'll find him stiff enough in
the morning
"Thc murderer descended the hayloft
steps and quilted the building, and | now
mustered sufficient courage to venture
cautiously in pursuit of him-or, perhaps
1 should say, to the inn to get others to do
so, as my nerves had sustained shock
from which they did not easily recover. l
soon entered the inn, fell back heavily into
a chair, and told my tale 1t so happened
my parlor was filed with goodly company
of farmers, their sons, and others, some of
whom were playing game of cribbage,
while the others were watching the game,
as two or three bets had been staked on
the result. They soon dropped the cards
on hearing my story. placed three old
fint-locked guns at their service, and out
tfstv weat i-1-qufcK pursuit, WIN an uffe-
tap-room customers closely behind them.
"My potman and others went to the hay
loft, where the village doctor soon arrived,
and at once declared the ostler had been
dead some time. As my wife, the doctor,
and others interrogated me, 1 answered
them as reticently as if I had some hand in
the dreadful business. In fact, | was lost
in horrid reverie. My thoughts went
back to the murder of Sir Walter Harold
at Oakly Hall some two years previously.
Where, oh, where, Thought, lis the poor,
wrongly-accused butler, and she whom he
had loved, his young mistress 2 Had she
not cursed him, cast him adrift, and brand
ed him as her fathers murderer? Yes,
and l, in league with all the village, had
morally condemned an innocent man, [
could not help believing that Providence
had placed me in that old hayloft to witness,
with my minds eye, scene which at once
solved the mystery of the Oakly Hall muir
der. 'Ah, perhaps, too,' thought, heaven
has decreed it to bring together the inno-
cent butler and his young mistress as man
and wife
Again my thoughts would drift in the
direction Of the party in pursuit. Would
they catch the murderer, whom | felt GER
tain, in close quarters, would not hesitate
to bury his dagger or knife in any breast in
order to effect his escape? Would they
find him +? And, if so, would they be able
to capture him without more bloodshed? :?
Then, asked myself seriously, the ques-
ton, Am l not a coward?' There | sat
trembling from the shock to my nerves, and
my head aching and burning as if brain
fever had set in. Each minute seemed
like an hour of wretched suspense, and the
excitement, noise, and rushing to and fro
both within and without-for the whole
village was now stirred by the news-only
added more misery to my shattered nerves.
turned from the chair, and threw myself
on an old sofa, with my hand on my aching
forehead, and in few minutes | was lost
in swoon.
son returning to consciousness | saw all
those whom 1 had previously seen going in
pursuit of the murderer standing around
me, and they soon assured me that my de-
scription of the william had enabled them to
secure him.
"Where is he ?" | asked.
aHe fred three shots at us, answered
Farmer Lingford- two shots from double
barrelled pistol, but Providence sent them
clear of us, and as the last one whistled
past my head, shot the wild bird of prey
in the breast, when he fell to the muddy
roadside, cursing and groaning. We car
ried the half-dead robber to Dame Munrow' S
cottage, and there left him in charge of the
doctor and constable. The constable was
one of one pursuing party, and the doctor
is DR.. Brown, who, on finding he could do
the murdered ostler no good, mounted his
horse and came to help us.
"Wretch p exclaimed, twill he live, do
you think ?"
'No, no, replied the old farmer, DR..
Brown says he will not live the night
through. But it matters not, as he has
made full confession of both murders,
and when we left him was imploring Gods
forgiveness for his guilty soul.
ITO know the guilty wretch had made a
full confession, gave me instant relief. 1t
acted like potent charm on my nerves.
"For the murdered ostler | had but little
thought, as 1 verify believed he had met
with righteous punishment after having
placed robber in his masters house, and
was thus morally guilty of the murder
which followed.
II did not wish to murder Sir Walter,
confessed the dying wretch; ''but when he
woke and saw me with the casket he sprang
upon me, so l brought him down with a
deadly aim. y
"Well, sir, it would take me whole day
to tell you all the details of the Oakly Hall
murder; so 1 will just wind up with few
important facts.
':The murderer died the very night the
farmers gun-the one 1 had lent him
levelled him to the earth, in which he was
soon after inferred.
"The young mistress came back to the
Hall-that mansion (and he pionted to it).
She advertised, hoping to find the wrongly
accused butler, and expressing wish to
recompense him with long purse of gold.
More weeks and months passed, and moth
ing was seen or heard of the man to whom
she had imputed the awful crime of muir
der At length it was discovered that
some one believed to be him had long since
died in an adjacent village, where he had
been employed on farm.
'Time, however, solved the mystery of
his absence; for, about three years after the
murder of Sir Walter Harold, the butler
returned from America He went straight
to Oakly Hall-pointing to the house
where ne was well received by his former
young mistress, and | may add, subse-
quently feted by all the village folk. While
in America he had speculated with his
many years of. savings by launching into
honest business concerns, which yielded
large profits on the small capital invested.
Thus he returned to England a compara-
tiFely rich man.
"Well, sir, / suppose the old love-feel-
ing in each heart waxed warm again, for
there was soon wedding. Yes, and
very quiet one it was, too. After the mar