The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1889-10-25

ZEN w l. wa 5 q II q q
~ 30 ! = j''y:'~~,->1' joy; u . " =
,et4. ~ suzx. She had expect
IS .a,, g." ed something ter
i<71 bic to happen,
but in the place
of 1t something wonderful had occurred
Never would she have penetrated the
disguise assumed by the other; but
when he spoke IL light dawncd upon her
soul, for only one man in the world could
speak her name like that.
It was Jack!
When he left the widow and Carol, the
man had Immediately turned his steps
toward the mad-house on the Potomac,
but this was not so easy to find as he
had imagined, for, like many great things
the people in its vicinity knew the least
about it.
After being sent off on a false scent
several times, Jack finally ran the game
down, and then he realized that his work
had only begun.
When he gazed upon those grim walls
and saw how almost impossible it would
be for an inmate to escape from them
without outside influence, he began to
despair; but, remembering what he was
working for, he began his labor at once.
In the end he succeeded in being hired
by the doctor in the place of a man who
had been recently discharged.
Evidently it was the fcrocious look of
the new keeper that had been his best
recommendation in the eyes of the mad
house doctor, and knowing this, the dis
| guised Jack gave him to understand that
he was by nature quite a boody-minded
rascal, ready to obey all orders without
question.
He had already been in the institution
two days, and his soul was sickened
by what he had seen. The doctor had
hired him for Il special purpose, and as
yet he had not been required TO indulge
in any work, though he accompanied the
otherkeepcrs so as to familarZc himself
with the inside arrangements of the
asylum.
One of the men complaining of feeling
sick on this evenng-the result of q
powder VIII ich Jack had cunningly mixed
with his suppcr-the latter had volun-
tcered to visit the patients in his stead,
and leave them the frugal repast that
was intended to be their supper.
Thus it was he entered the cell in
which was confined the young girl.
When Nora realized who it was thus
stood before her in disguise, and that
| love for her had been the object to lead
him on, she felt her heart fill with rap
ture.
"Oh, Jack, you have come to save me,
to take me away from this terrible place."
she cried.
She had been brave before when she
had to depend upon herself, but no
sooner did she understand that her lover
had come than this courage seemed to
forsake her, and she chung to him as if
in the greatest terror.
He soon soothed her, however, and q
few hasty words were exchanged.
They could not say much, for the time
was limited, and there might be danger
of some ono overhearing them, but Jack
told her to be ready and expecting him
at any minute. When he stood in the
doorway before leaving, he called back
the one encouraging word:
"Remember! -
He did not see the dark form that had
come to sudden halt down the passage
and stepped into an alcove. 1t was DR..
Grim.
"Remember what?" that worthy said
to himself as he watched the new keeper
go on down the corridor; she came out
of her cell, too. Besides, it seemed to
me missed his usual accent in that
word. Yes, shall remember to keep
watch on your movements, Lanty
OShane, and ifyou trip up, so much the
worse for you"
Thus Jack was shadowed.
The doctor was too shrewd a man to
let the other keepers know that he sus-
pected the new man, for his influence
over them would be gone. Already they
feared the bogus Lanty O'Shane, who
could tell such terrible stories about him
self, and seemed ready to back up the
argument at any time, that they instinc-
lively acknowledged in him leader, and
were ready to give him the allegiance in
spired by fear.
1t CHANGED, however, that Jack was
very circumspect in his actions Per-
haps he had caught the cunning eye of
the doctor fastened upon him. At any
rate, as time passed on the master
of the mad-house found nothing to
complain about in his actions, though
he did not give up watching him en-
tirely.
Nora Warner now lived in an agony of
suspense. She feared for the safety of
her lover much more than she had done
for herself.
There We're times when a fierce JOY
would sweep over her, as she realized |
how near he was to her, this noble man
who loved her so well that he had taken |
sides with her against the one to whom |
she owed such debt of hatred.
She watched for him continually, and |
yet guarded we'll her feelings, for unless
she was careful his betrayal might come |
through her, and should such be the |
case, she would die of sorrow.
Whatever plans Jack had formed, he had |
to be so careful in their carrying out that |
time passed by but Nora. conscious of |
his strong presence, and the fact that he |
was risling all for her sake, felt her
spirits buoyed up.
Twice again had she suffered the ter
rible torture of the falling water upon
her head. Heaven alone knows what the
result might have been but for that one
thought ever before her-the fact of
Jacks presence under the same roof.
On tho second occasion she had tainted
dead away, and when Jack came to visit
her in the evening-he managed to have
the keeper remain sick-he saw from her
l. g., Il