The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1893-12-05

Dus she never was his. Do you sup-l
pose W threw her oycr2 Do you think
ne tifed OF her2 Good heavenI He
loved FER even moreAmore madly,
more nercely, because she could never
be his wife.
what, then, do Won suppose sepa-
rated them? I will tell YOU. A smooth
tonguea villain from London came be-
,weeh them. He fattered her and lied
to her, and spread his vile net to entrap
her. Inc poor girl was fascinated,
pewlioered by the sleek scoundrel, and
he carried her off.
'Ayear later she was in her grave.
Her deserted lover was broken hearted, |
desolate, desperate. His business be-
came neglected and ended in ruin. AS
a boy ne had tried the sea, and he now
took to the life again, but not for long.
He feii in with a steeplejack, worked
with MIN and has since adopted the
Gaming STILL the great sorrow of his
iite hangs heavy on him, and he once
sworea Tow--which he means to keep
thai II ever he met the enemy of his life
and OF theflife Of the woman he loved
the great score between them should be
settled n way or the other.
DO o understand the story2 That
dairy farmer's name was Richard Will
son, and.the name is also my own. The
girl was Margaret Snow, and Herbert
hldIey Morris was tho scoundrel. We
nave now an opportunity of paying off
old debts without fear of interruption.
ihe determination in his manner,
the madness in his eye, told me he was
Yin deadly earnest.
You wrong me-" | cried. II never
intended to harm you. AS for Marga-
ret, ioYed her passionately, and the
Marriages a perfectly happy one.
God KNOWS that when she died it near
ly brokea ny heart. Poor Margaret If
you loved her rs you say, you have my
deep sympathy"
Curse Your sympathyl"
he struck at me with his fist, but by
a quick movement | avoided the blow.
"One of us has to die--ono or both
OF us! he shrieked. IF you GO first,
shall throw myself after you. If l go
down, You can live and run the risk of
being hanged for my murderl Are you
ready2"
He fixed his eyes on me, and l saw
no was no longer n sane man, and l was
doomed to engage in q most horrible
encounter--a fight for life round the
wcathercook of a lofty church steeple.
gaye one loud cry for help. twas
echoed+by a n%eighboring hill and star
tiled the birds in the trees beneath.
You fooll" he laughed in derision.
What help do you hope for up here?
Ii any one attempts to come up, one
s%trokesof my knife will cut short his
career"
tried to pacify him, but my words
seemed only to infuriate him, and sud-
denly. with a loud execration, he sprang
on me like a tiger. The platform that
we were on was formed of rough planks
and was only a few feet square. Be-
You'd the standard Of the vane and the
four short ends of scaffold poles, to
which the planks wero secured by
ropes, there was absolutely no protec-
ton.
The standard round which the strug-
gle conferred was of stout wrought iron,
and each mans life depended on his
being able to maintain his hold upon
this support. Arms and legs in confu-
sion were entwined about it as we wres-
tied and fought in deadly desperation.
Oh, those horrible momcntsl How
we fought and strained and Unanswered
to gain some little advantage in posi-
ton! If he succeeded in d~islodging
my right leg, it was only to let my left
leg obtain an equally good position. If
l forced his hand from one place, it i'm.
mcdiutely grasped another.
| saw clearly, and so, | think, did he,
that it was purely Il question of endur-
ance. The man who could hold out
longest would win, and we were pretty
evenly matched. But what a terrible
fato awaited tho vanquished! And
through all the struggle | could hear
the birds in the trees and hedges below,
singing merrily in the warn sun, which
beat down on our uncovered heads and
parchcd my throat and lips.
| do not know how long wo had been
Gngaged in our horrible fight. 1t may
not have been many minutes, but to me
it seemed hours. Neither of us mp.
peared to be gaining any material ud.
vantage, when, suddenly taking mo by
surprise, he seized mo savagcly by the
throat and forced inc, choking, ON my
back across tho platform.
Though l was obliged to release the
iron standard with my hands, | still
chung to it with one leg. Wilson held
my throat with his left hand. so that
my head hung over the side of the plat
form. With his right hand he grasped
the iron rod. TO his left leg | was cling
ing with ono arm, and with his right
leg he was violently kicking mine AVA
from the support.
How it happened do not know, but
all at once he lost his hold on the up.
right bar, reeled round. and with a quiet
cry fell backward over the edge into
midair. AT the same moment my leg
got disengaged, and as l was clasping
ono of his limbs l felt myself suddenly
jerked after him.
AS | write | can distinctly SEQ the
whole panorama that met my gaze as !
went over the side, even the excited lit
tie group of villagers who were Shrek
ing and hurrying toward the steeple. 1t
seemed long enough for me to notice
several insignificant details and for sew.
eral calm thoughts to pass through my
brain. Yet it must have been but q
moment.
l Immediately became unconscious,
and it was several days before 1 rccov-
cred my reason. When l did SO, | was
cstonished to find that in body l was
Dractirnl1y uniniure1 N bod