Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1886-02-11

thing rs mems rights.
He offered to remain in the room un-
til morning; but she scorned his proffer-
ed protection, and he could do nothing
but leave her, saying
"You will be sorry for this Jennie. "
II will call you back when get sorry,
she said, lightly.
And bidding her good might, he was
gone.
Then, and not till then, did she realize
it all Her anger and pride gave way d
a sense Of loneliness and regret as she re-
called every word of the stormy inter
view, and nervous fear almost para
lyzed her as she rose tremblingly to lock
the door behind him.
The ticking Of the clock sounded like
the strokes of blacksmith's anvil A
thrill of terror chilled her blood as a
mouse scampered across the floor Her
little, cold hand had barely reached the
bolt, when-oh, horror of horrors La
deafening report sounded somewhere at
the back of the house, and, no longer
paralyzed in tongue or limb, with wild
shrieks Of terror, she bounded up the
stairs.
"Oh, Sadie, SadieI" as another and
another report sounded, "some one is
shooting through the back windowr
Vigorous strokes on the bedroom door
aroused the sleeping mother and child.
"What is it? Oh, what is itg' ex-
claimed the former, as Jennie fell almost
fainting into the room
It's tiringl listen-therer' as still an
other report sounded through the house.
"Oh,n screamed Sadie, ''it is-it is.
Where is Mr. MAXWELL Call himl"
HE is gone" walled poor Jennie,
wringing her hands.
'Gone2 The scoundrell and left us
here to be murderedl'
sIt wasn't his fault sent him away.
Oh, what shall we do2 The hall door is
unfastened- Therel I believe 1 hear
some one coming up the stairs. No, it
is only Imagination. Thank heaven, this
door has double lock p
By this time Sadie had a window open
and was screaming murder at the top of
her voice.
s'No one will hear you but our assas-
sinsl" walled Jennie, her voice almost
drowned by the shrieks of the baby, whose
piping treble was piercing in the ex-
t-
s'Let US set fire to the houser' suggest
ed the frantic young mother. ''Some-
body may see the light and come to our
rescue
ooh, Sadie, that would never dol The
dinner bell in the yard can be heard over
mile. viii go out and ring it"
Jennie had suddenly grown calm and
brave. She felt she was to blame for
their unprotected situation, and the hope
that her discarded lover might hear the
bell and come to their rescue strengthened
her limbs as she hurried down the stairs,
across the yard, and seized the bell
rope
The alarm rang out on the midnight
air, and the vibrant tones seemed to
promise protection.
She felt calmer as she retraced her
steps; and Sadie, knowing her light foot
fall, readmitted their to her retreat.
Tom Maxwell was walking moodily up
the road that led to his fathers house,
when the distant music of a farm-b bell
sounded on theair
Stranger thought he 'sIs it some
ghostly banquet celebrated at midnight?n
But with thrill of anxiety: "Surely
the sound comes from the Kerr farm
house. Something is wrong there
And turning instantly, he retreated his
steps in one-fourth the time he had taken
them, in moody sorrow, a few minutes be-
fore.
The house was on fire, as he had feared,
but the hall-door stood wide open Shout
ing loudly, he was answered in faint,
grateful tones; then, almost without
knowing it, he had the frightened, peni-
tent girl in his arms, and Sadie was ex-
planning the cause of their alarm.
Reassuring them, he took lamp and
started upon tour Of investigation.
The parlor, hall and kitchen revealed
nothing, but in the pantry four innocent
looking tomato-cans stood upon shelf,
their contents scattered over the floor and
adjacent furniture.
The mystery was explained. The to-
matoes which Jennie had thought so
snugly ''put up had taken a notion to
see the outer world, bursting their bonds
with laud report that sounded, in the
silence of midnight, to the overstrung
nerves of poor Jennie like the firing Of a
gun.
Tom tried hard to suppress the laugh
that escaped his lips when he announced
the eresult Of his search.
By this time the house was half filed
with the neighboring farmers and their
families, in every stage of dishabiIle, the
first one appearing being Harry Cooper,
who now had Sadie and the baby both
in his arms
A general shout Of laughter arose, and
in the confusion that followed Tom drew
Jennie INCREASINGLY to the parlor, which
was unoccupied. He closed the door
and then pointed silently to the clock,
the hands Of which were almost meeting
at twelve.
ssTn three months y sho ea;d Sharnlv