Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-02-09

 daily warnings proceeded. A horror which was almost superstitious came upon him at the sight of them. He be- came haggard and restless, and his eyes had the troubled look of some haunted creature He had but one hope in life now, and that was for the arrival of the young hunter from Nevada.
 Twenty had changed to 15, and 15 to 10, but there was no news of the absen- tee One by one the numbers dwindled, and still there came no sign of him. Whenever a hCrseman clattered down the road or a driver shouted at his team, the old farmer hurried to the gate, thinking that help had arrived at last At last, when he saw . give way to 1, and that again to 3, he lost heart and abandoned all hope of escape. Single handed, and with his limited knowl- edge of the mountains which surrounded the settlement, he knew that he was powerless. The moro frequented roads were strictly watched and guarded, and none could pass along them without an order from the council. Turn which way he would, there appeared to be no avoiding the blow which hung over him Yet the old man never wavered in his resolution to part with life itself before he consented to what he regarded as his daughters dishonor. He was sitting alone one evening pon- dering deeply over his troubles and searching vainly for some way out of them That morning had shown the figure ? upon the wall of his house, and the next day would be the last of the | allotted time What was to happen then? All manner of vague and terrible fancies l filled his imagination. And his daugh ter-what was to become of her after he was gone? Was there no escape from the invisible network which was drawn all round them: He sank his head upon the table and sObbed at the thought of his | own impotence.
 What was that? In the silence he heard a gentle scratching sound-low, but very distinct, in the quiet of the night It came from the door of the house. Terrier crept into the hall and listened intontly. There was pause for few moments, and then the low, in sidiouS sound was repeated. Some one was evidently tapping very gently upon one of tho panels of the door Was it some midnight assassin who had come | to carry ont the murderous order of the secret tribunal? Or was it some agent who was marking up that the last day of grace had arrived? John Terrier felt that instant death would be better than the suspense which took his nerves and l chilled his heart Springing forward. he drew the bolt and threw tho door open
 Outside all was calm and quiet. The night was fine, and tho stars were twinkling brightly overhead. The little front garden lay before the farmers 1 eyes, bounded by the fence and gate, but neither there mOr on the road was any human being to l,c seen. With sigh of relief Terrier looked to right and to left, until happening to glance straight down at his own feet he saw to his aStonish- ment man lying flat upon his face upon the ground, with arms and legs all a-sprawl
 So unnCrvrd was he at the sight that he leaned up against the wall with his | hand t0 his thnrat to stit1e his inClina- ton to call ont. His first thought was that the proStrate figure was that of some wounded ar dying man, but as he i watched it hr saw it writhe along the ground and into the hall with the ra- | pidity and noiselessnCss of a serpent. Once within the house the man sprang to his feet, closed the door and revealed to the a>tonishcd farmer the fierce face and rcsolute expression of Jefferson Hope,
 ''(iood God!" gAsped John Terrier. How you scared me! Whatever made you come in like that"
 Give mo food, the other said hoarse- ly Il have had no time for bito or sup for eight and forty hours. He flung himself upon tho cold meat and bread which were still lying upon the table from his host $ supper and devoured it voraciously Does Lucy bear up well:" he asked when he had satisfied his hun ger
 Yes. She does not know the dan ger" her father answered.
 That is well The house is watched on every side That is why crawlcd my way up to it They may be darDcd sharp, hnt they're not quite sharp enough to catch Washoe hunter.
 John Terrier felt different man now that he realized that he had devoted ally He seized the young mans leath- cry hand and wrung it cordially You're man to be proud of, ," he said There are not many who would come to share our danger and our trou- bles. D.
 "You've hit it there, pard, the young hunter answered. Il have re- vpect for you, but if you were alone in this business I'd think twice before l put my head into such a hornets nest It's Lucy that brings me here, and be- fore harm comes on her 1 guess there will be one less O the Hope family i'll Utah.
 What are We to do:
 Tomorrow is your last day, and un. less you act tonight you arc lost. have a mule and two horses waiting ill the Eagle ravine How much money have yOu?'
 Two thousand dollars ill gold and five in notes.
 That will do. have as much more to add to it. We must push for Carson City through the mountains You had best wake Lucy It is as we'll that the servants do not sleep in the house. ' While Terrier was absent preparing , his daughter for the approaching jour
 ney Jefferson Hope packed all the eata , bles that he could find into a small par
 eel and filled stoneware jar with Wa ter, for he knew by experience that tn
 mountain wells were few and far be tween. He had hardly completed hi , arrangements before the farmer return
 ed, with his daughter all dressed an, ready for start. The greeting between : the lovers was warm, but brief, for min a utes were precious. and there was muc to be done.
 We must make our start at once,