The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1894-09-21

lace, ne WenU away, taking with him
all the Joy and peace out of poor
Laura's life.
She now lived in constant terror,
and such a dreadful change came so
rapidly over the once happy, hand |
some woman that her husband was ex-
ceedingly anxious, both for her health
and her reason. What did she do with !
the unusually large sums of money she
asked him for? Why did she so out
riding alone? Why did she not suffer
her children to leave their own
grounds? Why did she not sleep at
night? Why was her once even, sun
ny temper become SO irritable? Why
did she search his face SO eagerly
every night? These and twenty other
anxious, suspicious questions passed
through his mind continually, but he
hoped that by ignoring the change it
would disappear,
Alas! Things got worse and worse,
and one day, after ten miserable
months, he was sent for from the
works in haste. Laura was raving
and shrieking in the widest paroxysm
of brain-fever:
"Where are the children? Save
them from that mani Henry please
take him five pounds-no, he wants
ten pounds now, and 1 can't get it !"
In such piteous, moaning ejacula
tons she revealed the secret terror
that was killing her.
But perfect love casts out fear and
jealousy, and Laura's husband did her
no injustice. Tenderly he nursed the
poor, shattered wife and mother back
to life again, though it was an almost
hopeless task with that nameless
horror ever beside her. One night,
when she was little stronger, he led
her on to talk of the past, and he was
so loving and so pitiful that in food
Of life-giving tears she poured out to
him the whole miserable story. Then
the burden fell from her life, and she
dropped happily into the first sweet,
healthy sleep she had had for nearly
year. She never asked again for
her tormentor; she only knew that he
J had disappeared from South Stafford
shire, and JOY and peace came back to
her heart and home.
, But one day, after the lapse of four
years, she received dirty, anonymous
1 letter full of threats and insolent de-
mands for money. This time she
went at once to her husband with the
trouble.
"Don't be frightened, Laura" he
{ answered. 81 know the fellow. He
is one of a gang Of four who have just
come to Sackett Village. He will be
in Jail before tomorrow night. This
time he shall not escape my vengeance.
He had scarcely finished speaking
when a couple of men ran up to the
t house, crying:
r "Measter Measterl Here be Dim
mitt's height slewered away and there's
: "a browning in "
1 The iron-master leaped to his feet
! and was soon following the evil mes
sengers to the village. He knew that
Sackett was all undermined with pits
and workings, and it was possible the
< whole village was in danger. The
/ disaster was right in the center of it,
, and he was not long in reaching the
t great yawning chasm, where the earth
: had given way. and down which two
. cottages, with their inhabitants, had
gone.
AS soon as the master appeared, the
> pitmen and ironmen gathered round
him, though all knew that suocor or
l help was perfectly hopeless.
= "Where is Bumby?"
r "Here be, measter."
"What niue was under this?"
1 "Dimmit's, measter, worked out.
els it deep?"
} "Six hundred feet"
"Dry or wet?"
"Deep water"
The master looked blankly at the
black abyss.
@ cts the third Growing in, i my
f time. T'last were in to Cavill's mine
v Six decent families whent down q
midnight; they were dashed to bit
on t. rocks at the bottom"
. DO you know who lived in thes
u cottages?"
n zone we're empty, thank God. Fou
r strange lads that worked i Sackett'
s mine had t other; they nobbut work
I ed there a week, they wor glad to ge
I shut on them at end Of it. ="
81 know, measter," said Michae
Raine, the publican, "for they ow
me for o weeks beer and 'bacca-th
score is set ag'n' John Todd, Tin
n Black and Bill Yates.
T. " Bill Yates? are you sure"