St. Landry democrat., 1893-08-05
4 Rice WITH DERTH.
BY RICHARD ASUF-KING.

BY RICHARD ASHE-KING.
p "That is not true-not true at all.
gave you no encouragement" cried
Milly, holly. ~ couldn't have given
you any, because I'm engaged
Engaged! What! To that engineer
fellow?"
"That is no concern of yours. I have
given you neither right nor reason to
question rue about it, or toto insult me,
as you've just DONE" she faltered, only
saved by heI pride from breaking down
into tears-for the young cub, who was
intoxicated, had just kissed her.
Her father, for bis fathers sake, had
shown Bastable much kindness since his
coming to Worston, and Milly had been
as pleasant to him as she was to every
one. Her winning manner he had taken
for encouragement, and had the Dutch
audaoity to night, upon meeting her in a
lonely lane where she expected her fiance,
to snatch kiss.
"You're an arrant little firt, and have
ruined my life," he cried, thickly, with
sudden savageness. Then sezing her in
his arms he kissed her brutally many
times before she found breath to scream.
Hardly had she uttered the scream be-
fore her assailant was gripped by the
coat collar, wrenched aside, and thrashed
with a stout stick so furiousiy that the
blows fell like rain on all parts of the
head, face, and body. The young en-
gineer laid his blows on with such fierce
force that Bastable's face streamed with
blood, while his body was mass of
bruises before Milly could hold her low
er's arm. He then flung the fellow to
the ground, little ashamed of the vio-
lence of his assault upon man physi-
cally 50 much his inferior. He had
walked many steps away with MiIly be-
fore Bastable raised himself into a sitting
posturc-at the moment that Mily was
looking round ankiously in the fear that
he was seriously injured
"You villains p he yelled as he wiped
the blood from his mouth. you'll pay
for this-both of you-both of you" he
reiterated, with such concentrated ma
Lightly in his face and voice as made
Milly shudder.
For days after she was haunted by the
remembrance of the Satanic hate in his
face, and with the horror of the revenge
upon her lover it portended And this
she did we'll to dread Bastable, vim
dictive brute, naturally, had received
such punishment under such circum
stances as might have fired the meckest
of men to revenge. lie really loved
Milly Hartman with all the love Of which
his gross soul was capable; and to be
thrashed by his successful rival under her
eyes while in the act of a dastardIy as
sault upon her was an ignominy to be
wiped out in blood. He brooded upon
his love- his hate, his jealousy, and his
revenge till you might rather say that
these possessions possessed him than that
he possessed them.
Another passion, also, which fed all
these with the fire of heIl-the passion
for drink--now mastered him so entirely
that he was hardly ever sober.
Well, therefore, might Milly dread a
demoniac so possessed; and this dread
made her consent to an immediate mar
rage with Arthur Munro
Accordingly the wedding day was not
only fastened, but the wedding itself
was kept strictly private in Difference to
Milly's dread of Bastable's ven geance upon
her lover. And her precautions would
probably have precluded all she feared
but for the merest accident. The car
rage with the bride and bridegroom in
it drove up to the station at the moment
that BastabIe was in the act of quitting
it.
Seeing the luggage labelled "Munro,
London" he asked the coachman, when
they had entered the station, "a we'd
ding?"
"Summat O. t sowrt," the man an
swered gruffly.
Meanwhile Milly cried, clinging to
Arthur's arm convulsively, ooh, Arthur
He-he has heard of it! He's here! 1
saw him!'
"Who, dear?''
stMr. Bastablew
EMILY, darling! You've got that
brute on the brain. What can he do
here at midday in crowded station'
Then turning to a porter be asked,
(Which is the London train?"
"She's there, in the siding, sir;
SHe Ill D'tSk III uefc "Nen tHe lOcal
gone
"Lct me put you into carriage, dear,
while | look after Tie luggage" So say
ing he hurried her to carriage and got
in with her to dispose of the wraps and
Other light articles on the seat aud in the
rack
At this moment Bastable, who had
logged them to the carriage, passed its
door unseen and walked on toward the
end of the platform, gnashing his
teeth with the impotent fury of a
Gagged wild beast. He stopped opposite
the express engine, his nostrils distended,
his lips parted, his teeth clinched, the
nails of his hands buried in their palms.
while his eyes glared with the lurid light
of madness. He was brought little
to himself by being forced to step aside
to allow the stoker to get off his engine
in order to follow the driver into the re-
freshment bar for drink. This called
Bastable's attention to the circumstance
that the engine was momentagi!y de-
serted.
"By George!-that'll do it, he al
most shouted, and without looking
round he>jumped on the engine. opened
the regulator to the full, and as she
bounded forward leaped off at the other