Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1888-02-09
BY One, BY TWO AND BY
THREE.
TEMPLE BAR.
CHAPTER VI.

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had | not been aroused about 10
o'clock by the butler, who held in his
hand a yellow telegram envelope.
As soon as / could shake off ny drow-
siness in part, | tore open the mis-
siye and unfolding the paper | found
to my surprise thai .it14s, Eom Mac
baue. He knew my address, indeed,
from letter / had sent him; but
knowing his way5 never expected
even a note from him, much less a
telegram. When l read the message,
my surprise was not diminished.
"If safe, and wishing to see me
alive" il ran, "come at once. II un-
able, forget me. Nearest station,
KiIburgh."
What could this mean? Could
Macbane known anything Of my mys-
terious danger of last night? and if
so, was the doom that had missed ne
impending over him? Or was it
merely that he was i'll and despond-
ing. and thought himself dying :?
Turn and twist the message as l could,
it puzzled me but one thing was
Macbane was, or thought him
self to be, in dead.y need OF me, his
only friend, as far as ! knew; and if
| did not go it was possible that he
might lose the last chance of any
friendly human care in his solitary
life. resolved at once, shaken and
weary as l still felt, to start for Dull
las Tower. ! rose and dressed hur-
riedlY, and snatched some breakfast
alone-for my good old host was too
much exhausted by the excitement OF
the last night to come down yet.
While eating | was studying rail-
way guide, and discovered that by
driving TO the nearest station at once
I could catch a train that would en-
able me by devious junction lines to
make my way to Kilburgh Ga little
place in wild part of Lowland
county, by the evening. While the
horse was being put into the dog cart
| scribbled a note to my host, explain
ing the reason for my speedy depar-
ture and promising TO return as soon
az possible, and then | stepped into
the cart and was driven OF, arriving
Just in time to catch the train.
My journey was of the exasperat-
ingly tedious character known to all
who have ever tried to go any dis
tance bv means Of crosslines and local
lines and functions. Twice got
some food during ray long intervals
of waiting at stations; and all the
time, whether travelling or resting, |
was po ssssed with haunting perplex-
ity, a shadowY fear. Through my
brain necessarily beat, keeping time
to the pulsating roar Of the wheels, a
text, or something like one-I know
not how Or why it suggested itself
Zone woe is past behold another woe
cometh.' The mysterious peril of
the last night seemed already 10 have
happened years ago; the dim terror
of the future would be ages in coming;
and between them and in the shadow
of both l was still going on and Oh,
slowly but endlessly-a dream myself
and in dream.
1t was about S in the evening, |
think, when I reached Kilburgh
station ; but my watch had stopped
and could not be sure. As l step
ped out on the platform was con-
scious Of an intense sultry heat in the
dense night air, and sudden little
gust OF wind smote on my cheek like
u breath from furnace. The train
went on again, plunged with a doleful
wailing shrek into tunnel, and was
lost to sight; and when its rumble
died away the utter stiffness was
strange after the noise and rattle in
which | had passed the day. cast
hssty glance round me, aud could
Just make out the lights OF a few
houses IN the valley below the station
and the dark outlines Of hills around,
some oi them serrated with black
pines, and the sky dense with cloud
and with a denser mass Of gloon
laboring slowly up from the west
There was the weight of 4 comine
storm in the air.
! l asked the station master where
Dullas Tower was, and how | was Il
reach it.
"Dullas Tower ?" he said medita
lively; and then, with a sudden ilasl
ol comprehension-"Oh, III the Dell
Tower yen be meaning, sir-Mac
bane's ?"