The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1892-01-13

bnlS mOrn, DuU lOVeu une lau dearly
an I'm old an set in my ways"
So they bore the poor, manned body
to Dolman's house, and laid it tenderly
on Waada's bed.
Then came the dreaded hour, when the
physician was making his examination,
and all the stricken girl could do was
to pray ceaselessly and pitifully that
Heaven would spare her the worst.
Good, kind, gentle DIR. West. who had
been her friend from the day after her
arrival in Glastonbury, came from the
sick chamber at last
''No, he is not quite dead" he said
"But / do not think he viii lingeI
through the day."
And, without word, at his feet
Wanda Arlington fell, as though the
verdict had stricken her with death.
Meanwhile the villagers were hurry.
ing to and fro searching for traces OF
the other participant Of the nights ad'
venture, who had so mysteriously dis
appeared from the scene. 1t was i'm.
possible that he could have fallen
through the ice, for the snow-prints OF
the horses hoof were too fresh not to
tell the exact story of their wanderings,
and there was not an air-hole near them.
But towards noon, fisherman, who
had moored his "hut" at the further
end of the bay, came into the village,
and told story which set the tongues
of the gossips wagging.
He said that the preceding night, hav-
ing his hut well in the shelter of big
snowbank, he had gone to rest;
that very early in the morning be.
tween two and three o'clock he had been
awakened by Alphonse Damiens, very
white in the face and wild-looking
about the eyes, who offered him five
dollars to help him to get to the Cana
dian shore, and also gave him two-dol-
lar bill for half-pint of whisky he
happened to have. That he did conduct
him over the frozen river to Queens
vile, which they reached with much
difficulty, as he had to clear the way
in places with his axe. That Damiens
started off down lane away from the
village as soon, as he reached the shore,
and that he had seen nothing Of him
since.
Didn't say nawthin' about no acci-
dent?" asked James Dolman, who was
sitting on an inverted apple barrel in
the grocery store, the center Of group
Of admiring friends, all chewing tobac-
co and whiting sticks.
"He never said word about no acci-
dent to me-" the fisherman averred.
"He seemed desp'rate anxious to get to
Canady, and | thought he'd been in
some row with the constable an want
ed to light out"
"Was he hurt in any way?"
"Not as | knows on. His boots ap'
pants was cut about bit, as was nat
raj after travelin' over them spiky
chunks o. ice, but didn't see no bruises
on him."
"That's strange" Dolman exclaimed,
"an' did yer hear no noises afore he
come ter wake yer up?"
"Well, now you speak on 1t, think
did. About half an hour, or maybe an
hour afore 'Phonse come to my hut,
hearn mos awful yellin' on the west
side the bay"
"Down by Breclrenridges?"
"Aye, where the Glastonbury folks
crosses the mash"
"Thet was two miles away from
wheer the blind man was found
couldn't been him?" Dolman appealed
to the circle of open-mouthed listeners
who nodded their heads in solemn 81
lence.
Say" interrupted the grocer, who
had Just returned TO the group after
serving a woman with n pound of but
ter, and had lost the fsherman's story
''who is that stout, thick-set, oldisf
man, as come up from Glastonbury IN
the livery-rig an is stoppin' at your
house with the poor chap as is hurt
Jim?"
"Thet's the blind feller's keeper"
''Du tell Well, all can say is thet
I'd rayther he were his keeper thar
mine.p
"An' whcer did yer make his ac
quaintance?" Dolman asked, pausing in
his whiting with awakened interest.
Fright wheer you're standin', Jim
He coined here as soon as he reached
the village-an' a more cantankeroui
old dog never clapp'd eyes on. Why
the way he went for 'Phonse, an you