Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1892-05-13

lnterrogatlvely, 'Massa Tom?"
YES" replied.
| He threw long cloak over my shoulders
| and started up the street at sharp gait. /
followed him perhaps half mile when he
| stopped before plain brick house, I'M
locked the door and babe me enter. had
scarcely glanced around the dimly lighted
hall before the mysterious Mabel" &C
| companied by young lady taller and
darker than herself, hurriedly entered
| from. an adjoining room. They had evil
| IDENTIFY been waiting for me.
| I only heard my benefactress say, ooh,
| Tom, thank heaven!" before her compan-
ion, with wholly glad and half hysterical
cry, threw her arms about my neck and
| showered tears and kisses upon me in most
embarrassing profusion.
Twas utterly dumfounded. Finally, col
Letting my thoughts, turned from the ex-
cited and half crying woman held in my
| arms to the one partially knew, and said:
my dear Miss Murfree, you have saved
| my life, and 1 am bound, as an honorable
man, to tell you that you have made a
strange mistake in thinking you know
| me!n
Mistaken gasped the young lady who
had so passionately caressed me. mistake!
w udo w YOU utdH! AI0 YOU uOL IOul
Atherton?''
Mot quite" 1 answered, "but if you
thought l was he, the mistake is not a
very bad one l am his twin brother,
Ned"
The surprise and confusion which had
overwhelmed me were transferred to the
young ladies, and for moment we all
! simply stared at each other. Then Mabel
| laughed and said:
"And so you are that wonderful brother
of whom Tom used to tell u.s."
eyes, fortunately" answered.
"And you stood there and let me kiss
you without saying a word," Agnes Il
found out afterward she was Agnes said
reproachfully.
'sYou didn't give me time to object. even
| if I had wished to-" was my perfectly
truthful reply.
II don't know but that it is So" she as
sented. "But, Mabel, what shall we do
| with him?"
II am entirely in your hands, and will
do whatever you WISH" said. eff my
being here will endanger you in any way
| will try and get through the lines tonight. "
"You will be much safer here" Mabel
said. "We owe it to you to do whatever
we can for you"
"Owe it to me!', I said, "for what?"
"For your brothers sake. He saved my
sisters life and protected our property
from destruction and US from insult. He
| is the best and trueSt man that ever lived.
and we cannot do too much for his brother"
| was compelled to keep dark retreat
only part of the time, and several hours
each day were spent with Judge Murfree
or his daughters.
| Mabel Murfree had saved my life, and
the gratitude felt was perhaps enhanced
| by the fact that she was rarely beautiful
woman.
| After weary weeks of siege the city was
captured and the soldiers of Grant and
Sherman entered it in triumph and was
free.
| When the time came for me to go, having
said goodby to Judge Murfree, Invent tothe
parlor to see Mabel and Agnes, feeling
how hard, how very hard it was to say
| farewell, and when I saw Mabel dressed
in pure white, with white flowers in her
| beautiful hair, her cheeks flushed with eX-
element and her deep blue eyes unwonted-
| ly bright, the duty was not made any
easier.
agnes is writing letter to Tom for
you to deliver" she said, as entered the
room. "She will be down in few mo-
| ments."
81 am quite willing to wait" replied,
"and indeed am sorry that I must go at
all. I do not expect to ever again find
such friends as I have found here'
"You must thank your brother for
Them" Mabel answered.
'Miss Murfree, Mabel, you wish to rob
your act of saving my life of any personal
significance. You do not want me to be
misled by the gift of my poor life to ask
for that which can make it valuable. re-
fuse to be warned love you, Mabel
love you madly, hopelessly-love you as l
never thought to love any one, and while I
dare not hope you will return my love, !
could not leave you without speaking
Forgive me if / have panied you, but it
was impossible for me to go away without
telling my love, and you will at least be
fortunate in the fact that an opportunity
will not soon occur for you to be troubled
again by one whose love was stronger than
his fear of offending"
Tears trickled through the long dark
lashes, then, half smiling through her
tears, she lifted her brave, clear eyes to
mine and said:
"And what if insist on your remaining
to repeat your offense?"-H. F. Marsh in
Buffalo News.