The Penn's Grove record., 1886-01-30

"These beastly togs-I wish l had
never set eyes on theml If I've fright
ened that poor wretch to ueath, l shall
never forgive myself"
1--WE acted for the best" u said;''and
we must not lose time now. Go quickly
and call nurse and Markham"
Nurse soon came to me, and relieved
my fears slightly by saying that she
thought Jane had only tainted. More
quickly than | could have believed pos
sible Charley returned with Doctor
Patterson, who kneit down beside Jane
felt her pulse, and then listened to her
heart. / watched %anXlouslY the ex-
preston of his face, which was so grave
that my fears returned in full force;
and Charley looked the picture of mis-
cry. At length. to our ineXpressible relief
Jane showed faint signs Of returning
consciousness. The doctor called for
brandy, and, filling a teaspoon, put it
between the white lips. How intent
ly we watched meanwhile, and how
thankful we felt when the brandy vas
Swallowed
Presently Jane heaved a deep sigh,
then another, then opened her eyes,
She looked at me with a dazed express
sion, and tried to speak; but the doctor
checked her. He continued to give her
small doses of stlmulant at short inter-
walls, until a little color came back to
the poor creatures lips; and then he
sad she must be carried up stairs, and
put to bed in a warm room. but not
allowed to exert herself in the least, or
to speak.
| was alone in the kitchen after they
carried Jane away, for Markham was
busIly employed in his pantry unpack.
ing the various bundles left behind by
the burglars in their hurried flight.
Just as the doctor and Charley return
ed, Markham came in to say that moth
ing was missing; the whole of the mas
sive silver that had been in the family
for about two hundred years had been
packed up to be carried away, but moth
ing was taken or injured. l inquired
a~nxiously about James condition.
"Do you think she will get well?" 1
asked.
81 cannot say yet," the doctor au-
symptoms that the heart is diseased,
and she has had a terrible shock.
When l grew calm enough to speak
and listen, we talked over the events of
the night. Charley had given the his
tory of what had happened to Doctor
Patterson as they walked back together
to Doverscourt. He praised me for
what he called my wonderful bravery"
II cannot think how you managed it
Miss Fortescue. Most ONE would
have screamed the house down"
81 was really too frightened to
scream" 1 said. 'Besldes, l thought
directly of the injury any alarm might
do my sister"
ut is well YOU did. A fright might
have cost her her life" was the doc
tors response. at would be we'll to
keep the facts from ner altogether at
present. Do you think 1t could be,
managed?"
"Ol, yesl" l rep!iad 1.-THE servants
are all 50 fond OF their me- 10 that L
am sure they will be silent if they I'M
derstand why it is necessary; and my
brother-in-law will not tell her anything
ii we warn him"
81 will do that" said the doctor.
So we decided that all that Amy
should hear was the fact of James ILL.,
ness, which had necessitated the send
ing for a doctor, WHO had ordered her
to be placed in q warm Ion and care
fully nursed. This would account for
her presence in nurses rocm.
Before he left the house Doctor Pat
tison went up to see Jane again. Nurse
came down stairs with him, and to her
care the doctor commended me, order
ing me to bed at once. l was glad
enough to obey, for l felt very i'll. The
old housekeeper was with Jane, so
nurse was at liberty to attend to me.
When the servants were about, | had
them all in my ROOM, and told them
what had happened. They were all
loud in their promises of secrecy
which promises were faithfully kept.
We did not tell them of James partici-
patton in the burglary, as Markham had
promised not to betray her-for we did
not wish to blacken the character of a
poor creature who to all appearance
was on her death-bed.
On the day following the burglary a
man was found in the pine-wood by
one Of the gamekeepers. He had a
plstol.shot wound in his leg which pre-
vented his escape, and he was identified
by Charley as the man shot by him;
and al the trial which ensued l iden-
tiled him as the man SO determined to
possess himself of my sister'sdiamonds.
He was James brother-many years
older than herself-and from all ac-
counts he had always treated her most
brutally. The other two men were
caught eventually. All were proved to
be members of a notorious gang who
were ''wantedn by the police for sun
dry other misdeeds. They were ten
fenced TO long terms OF penal servltude.
Bad as these men were, they were not
utterly wicked, for they all kept silence
about Jane, whom Willie forgave at
Amy's request when she heard what
had happened.
OF course Charley and l had to ap-
pear on the trial; and l was greatly
complimented for my bravery. Every
one imagined that guilty conscience and
superstition combined caused me to be
mistaken for a ghost. The men them
selves were firmly convinced that they
had been put to flight by visitaEts from
another world.
Poor Jane was quite overwhelmed
when told that her master and mis-.
tress intended to forgive her and re-
tain her in their service. After long
and anxious consultation, this course
was determined upon. We all agreed
that If sent away, she would probably
90 to the bad; whereas, if they kept her
it would give her a chance of retriving
her character. she made a full con-
fession, and showed such evident con-
triton that we had hopes of her refor-
nation, which hopes were not disap
pointed. She is now in my service and
is a faithful and valued servant.
Shortly after the events have related
l had a great surprise. Doctor Patter-
son asked me to be his wife. AS soon
as he spoke, l knew that he was the
One man in the world to me, so l was
ia no doubt as TO my nswer The n
drawback to my perfect happiness was
the thought of Charley's loneliness
without me. But, before my wedding
day came. this was removed. Charley
had decided upon accepting a junior
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