The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-11-24

N%A4 OfNA TIC COAOuly duO
plundering. Capt. Mervyn had narrow
escape from them, and was lucky In getting
out Of it as well as he did,
Ihey said he was a good fighter" Jacob
Carey put in. "The papers said as he had
done some hard fighting with them
Afghans, and got praised by his general"
Yes, he's fine fellow" Mr.. Armstrong
said, land, l should say as brave as lion :"
No signs of the curse working in him p
Hiram Powlett asked, touching his fore
mead. They made a lot of it at the trial
about his being related to the Carnes, and
about his being low in spirits sometimes :;
out have seen him scores of times ride
through the village when he was young
chap, and he always looked merry and
good-tempered.n
NO." Mr.. Armstrong said, emphatically,
"konald Mervyn's brain is as healthy and
clear as that Of any man in England. | am
quite sure that there is not the slightest
touch OF the family malady in him"
Maybe not, maybe mott Reuben Clap
hurst said; "Lhe Curse is on the Hold, and
he has nothing to do with the Hold vet If
anything happens to the Squire, and he
comes to be its master, you Will see it begin
to work, if not il him, in his children"
God forbidw Mr. Armstrong said, so
earnestly that his hearers were almost
startled. II don't much believe in curses,
Mr.. Claphurst, though. of course, l
believe Ia insanity being in some instances
hereditary; but, at the same time, if l were
Ronald Mervyn and / inherited Carne's
Hold, would pull the place down stone by
stone, and not leave a vestige of it stand
ing. Why, to live in house like that, in
which so many tragedies have taken place,
Is enough in itself to turn a sane man into
madness"
That's just how should feel,n Hiram
Powlett said. NOW q stranger who looked
at the Hold would say what a pleasant,
open-iooking house it was; but when you
took him inside, and told him what had
happened there, it would be enough to
give him the creeps. I believe it was being
up there that was the beginning of my
daughters changing so. | meyer made a
worse job of thing than / did when | got
her up there as Miss Carnes maid, and yet
it was all for her good. And now, neigh
bors, it's my time to be off. It's ID minutes
to 8 o'clock and that is five minutes later
than usualn
Mr.. Armstrong and Mary sat talking I'M
til nearly II o'clock.
Mary had not been gone upstairs a min
ute when she ran down again from her
bedroom, which was at the back of the
house.
Father, there is light in the sky up at
the top of the hill, just where Carne's Hold
the blinds and it caught my eye at once"
Mr.. Armstrong ran out into the road
As Mary had said, there was glare of
light over the trees on the hill, rising and
falling, "Sure enough it's a fire at the
Hold" he said, as he ran in and caught up
his hat. Then he hurried do IN the village,
knocking at each door, and shouting
There is a fire at the Holdr'
Just as he reached the other end a man
ON hOreana pr doai1ad 1Otun 10
ing ''Fire! 1t was one of the grooms at the
Hold.
as it at the houses" Mr.. Armstrong
asked, as ne dreT UP for moment at the
inn.
Eyes, it's bursting out from the lower
windows; it has got big hold. 1 am going
to the station, to telegraph to Plymouth
and Exeter for engines"
Glow about those in the house," Mr..
Armstrong asked.
"Some of them got out by the back way,
and we got some of them out by ladders.
The others are seeing to that. They sent
me Off at once"
A minute or two later, mon came clatter-
ing down tho quiet street at run, and
some of them overlook Mr.. Armstrong as
he hurried up the hill
us that you, Mr.. Armstrong; a voice
asked behind him.
81 thought it was. the smith said. 81
caught sight Of your figure against the
light up there in front / couldn't help
thinking, when you shouted at my door
that there was fire at the Hold, what we
were talking about this evening, and your
saying that if the place was yours you
would pull it down stone by stone. But
perhaps we may save it yet. We shall
have a couple of score of men there in a
few minutes
81 fancy there is not much chance of that,
Carey. / spoke to the groom as he rode
through, and he tells me that the fire when
he cams away was bursting from several of
the lower windows; so it has got a good
hold, and they are not likely to have much
water handy"
mo, that's true enough. There's big
we'll hundred feet deep in the stable yard,
and force pump, which takes two men to
well as the stables That's
the only water there will be, and
that won't be much good" he added, as, on
emerging from the wood they suddenly
caught sight of the house.
From the whole of the lower windows in
front the flames were bursting out.
ATS Travelled fast" the smith said. "The
dining room, drawing-room and library
are all on fire."
Us, LudO wv, I'LL al
remarked. zone would have thought that
it would have mounted up to the next floor
long before it Travelled SO far along on a
level. All, it's going up now"
As he spoke spout Of light flame sud-
denly appeared through the window over
the front door.
THAT'S the staircase window, suppose. p"
Two or three minutes running took them
up on to the lawn:
81 will go and lend hand at those
pumps,n Jacob Carey said.
ITS not the slightest USE" Mr.. Arm
strong replied ''You might as well try to
blow out that fire with your breath as to
put it out hy throwing few pals of water
on it. Let us see that everyone is out first;
that's the main matter"
They Joined group of mon and women,
who were standing looking at the flames;
they were the two women, the groom and
gardener, and four or five men who had
already come up from the village.
The gardener was speaking.
''It's no use toswork at the pumps; there
are only four or five pals. IL 1t was only
at one end we might prevent Its spreading,
but its got hold all over"
81 can't make 1t out" the groom said.
"One of the horses was sick, and l was
down there giving him hot lamentations
with the other groom. had been there
perhaps an hour when saw light coming
out of the drawing-room window, and
ran up shouting and then | saw there was
a light in the dining-room and library too.
Then | ran round to the back OF che house,