Asheville daily citizen., 1894-12-22
THE JUDGMENT.

He'd always been regular bad one, he
had, and the Lord knows what he hadn't
done in his time, but he'd never been
Jagged for anything more than thicvins |
till he met with clcvcrcr chap than him,
and together they did more than one had
nights work, know. Well, this other
chap, he found out somehow that there
was something about certain village
that made it worth while for him to hang
around there above bit.
'It's a first class job" says he to our
man here. IF we pull it off, it's idlcncss
and the fat of the land for the rest Of our
horn days. Are you ON"
'l'm on, says our man Ike The brute
he is never so much as asking what it is
he's on in.
The house was called ChUdlcish abbey,
and it seems it was IN old house, all over
ivy and crccpers, and an old lady lived
there with young nephew and pretty
niece. OF course you guess there must he
some sort of lovomaking when u young
man and his pretty cousin live under one
roof. SO there was, so there was. And
their sort of lovcmaking was the marry
ing sort. The question was popped and
the day was named, and then my young
sir must needs get the family diamonds
ont of the bank to see how his sweetheart
looked in thom.
He thought she looked sweet in them,
you may he sure, and he gave them to her
10 keep just telling her not To let any one
know she'd got them till he'd got safe
to keep them in. 80 she takes them up
to her room, and she hides them. Now,
he thought and she thought no one knew
about incm diamonds, but don t need to
tell you, sir, that valuable stones don't
change their addresses without its being
known somehow to more than one and
more than two. And among those that
knew Were our man and his mate,
Well, they meant TO haNethc diamonds,
and they laid their plan, and there was
two things that made their plan to easy
towork. First, the young lady slept in
room at the far end Of II long passage, with
no one near her.
1t was the oldest part Of the house, and
she liked it because it was 80 romantic
You know what young ladies he, sir
Next, the young gentleman, what always
slept at home, was to sleep at the inn the
night hnforr the Wedding. You know, sir,
it's custom with aontlo!o!ks, 80 the
plan was that on the night before thcwod
ding, wher there wns only the women in
the house, cur men was to climb up the ivy
and creep into cur young lady 5 room and
take the diamonds.
"lt'll take me some time to find where
she's hid them, hc says to the other chap
SO Id better make the girl safe first"
1t was decided that our man was to 20
right away for II week, SO that there
mightn't 10 any suspicion, and when he
came back his mate would meet him at ~
certain place aud hour and tell him ii any
change was wanted in the pian. If his
mate didn't meet him, he was to go to the
house at once.
So he climbed up one night and filed the
window bars nearly through and got all
ready, and then hc went away.
After week he came back.
1t WAS u vcry dark might He waited Il
quarter Of an hour by tie old WALL but no
one came, so LIE took his knife in his teeth
and climbed UP the ivy going very slow
and quiet. The bars were just rs he had
left them. He took Que out very gently
and laid it down and cot into the room.
1t was very, very dark and smellcd Of
scent and camphor, like chemists shop.
He listened for the girls breathing To
guide him t. the bed, Lut he heard moth
ing. Presently, feeling about, his hand
touched the bcdpG>t. Then he wraps his
red cotton handkerchief round his hand to
put over her mouth, and he takes his knife
in the other hand and feels for her face
ard pulls the sheet off her neck. She
never moved, and i, WAS done In minute!
Then he lays down his wet knife on Tie
bed and strikes a match quite at his case
to look for the diamonds.
He lights II candle that stands by the bed
head and then secs the bed and what's on
it, and he gives n yell that fctchcs every
soul in the house awake, and he goes off
then and there, stark, raving, screaming
mad. The sight Of what he meant all
along to do' Not 1t. Conscience Not II
bit Of III Sheer fright ut the sight of what
he'd done and hadn't meant to do.
The candle showed him the bcd--all a
mass of white flowors-and what was ly-
ing on 1t under the white sheet had laid
there dead long aforc he come q nigh the
place. I've heard say as corpscs CAM
bleed. Well, all know is-wcll, won't
say any more about that part of 1t, sir, If
you don't like 1t, 1t ain pleasant even to
hear about, and the sight Of it sent i'm
clear off is hcad.
1t was u corpsc's throat he'd cut, the
laundering numbering villain, and when
the servants ran in with lights they found
him lying across the bed foot, foaming at
the mouth and mad as u halter II he'd
had any sense left for thinking, he would
not ha' known what to think, but this Ii
what really had happened. The other chap
once our man was out OF the way
thinks to have u try for the diamonds of
his own bat, but meanwhile tho young
lady Mt the nbbey'd found out the filed
window bars and when he tried 1t ON the
young master and the under gardener was
ready for him and took him with the knife
in his hand, hcndin9 over the empty he'd.
| Thinks he, t'othcr chap shan't get off,
then, neither, so of he goes to Jail, leav.
ing his mate to bc copped when he comes
back to try 1t on according to agreement
And in Jail he turned funky and chokcd
himself with his belt, for there was Other
things against him, besides their having
found out he was the Pcckhnm mystery.
And no one in the abbey expecting any
more visitors through tho window they
didn't have the bars mcndcd, but silly
maid who's frightened out Of her wits
sticks them up again to look like they did
before,
And how come the young lady to bt
dead already Why bless your soul, sir
didn't tell your 1t wasn't the young
lady at all 1t was the old housekcepor
as had been ailng this long time and had
gone of sudden with the turn tho first
chap gave her when hc screamed rs hc wa,
took. Aud they laid her out in that room
being farthest from the other rooms,
And II ho'd had an ounce of pluck oul
man might ha' got away, but it's my be
lief hc wasn't meant to. Tho judgment
takes folk queer why's sometimes. .--SaI