Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-09-11

was lOuB dAu AoAAcW VAo
but one narrow window at each end
That toward the courtyard was shut
tered and fastened on the outside and
some of the glass was broken while
there were cobwebs and dust that had
long been gathering. The other win
dow was high above the steep slope OF
the cliff and looked down at the dyke
and the meadows and far over The
gloomy water beyond.
The moon was rising behind the
heavy mist and, though daylight was
now completely gone, there was Q
strange dim light in its place SO that
Weymouth could presently see where
he was, and he scanned the shadowy
country with a growing belief IN his
heart that he was a prisoner and that
he might be glad to escape from this
not ~reassuring house of entertainment.
Once or twice it had seemed from some
look O gesture that they had been OK
pected. Rogers and the landlady had UNI
doubtedly betrayed the fact that they
we're not strangers to each other. II he
had been q free man bound on one OF his
own journeys, nothing that had hap
pened would have made him uneasy.
but as the guardian of other mems
gold he was more and more on
the alert Clearly the best thing
now was to stay qliet for a brief time,
for his horses sake, and then to plead
haste and push IN. He would risk
himself in a bit of fighting, even with
out his pistols which had been left in
the saddle. For another half hour at
least he would possess his soul in
patience, then find his way to another
inn less solitary and alarming. With a
fresh horse and the night before him
he could find Bristol himself. He
clenched his fist and shook it at the
man on the bed; their coming SO far
out of the way might perhaps be an
accident, but Weymouth doubted
than ever the honesty of the man whom
he had distrusted at first sight, and the
drugged liquor vas the surest proof OF
mischief. He found himself In q tight
place.
As he looked down from the window
into the misty night the great dismal
plain of the Severn stretched away into
the shadows of the distance. A fishing
smack or small packet boat had crept
up toward the headland and cast
anchor under it's lee. There was a
lantern in the rigging and another dim
light being brought upon the hill
toward the inn. The wind was still
blowing as if it had gone down with
the sun, and risen less wild than be-
fore.
Weymouth left the window, uneasy
enough in his mind; he could not see
his way to escape in that direction; it
was evidently too high for a safe drop
to the ground. Then he laughed: his
W plan was best and nobody could
with decency oppose it; he would call
for his horse presently and ride away.
Yet If It were known, as he suspected,
that he was carrying treasure, 1t would
still take courage to start out alone on
q tired horse.
He sat down by the fire and looked
about him. There was little furniture
in the place except the two old beds,
one with its closed curtains of thick
stuff and the other, a poorly-posted
makeshift of comfort on which Rogers
lay. The old Welsh woman breathed
loud now and then, but Rogers slept as
if he were dead. Course him" NUT
tered Weymouth. "He should have
known his roads or let an honest man
alone" i.
There was a loud voice in the kitchen;
the landlady could be heard now and
then railing fretfully ut some one, who
was not slow to answer back. His
thoughts, like those of n tired man,
went back to the past and he seemed
to himself c~uriously Indifferent to the
perplexities of the present. He had
just left the pima he loved, disap-
pointed by her GOODNESS. She was
younger han he, they had not known
each other long, but after a separation
of some months he had joined her with
the hope of marriage only to find that
she had changed, that she put him Off
and spoke doubtfully of the future.
She had confessed that it was no change
in her own feelings, but that she feared
to bring shame upon him, and the
thought of her lonely figure as they
parted returned to him like a vision.
She had refused to see him again; this
was two days before; and the journey
to Bristol must be quickly over so that
he might go back to plead with her. It
was wrong to have parted angrily as
he had done-if ever life vas in q snarlt
it was now, but there were ways to
conquer. He started to his feet and went
quickly toward the kitchen only to dis
cover that the door had been fastened
on the outside.
L
He coolly let the latch fall and re-
turned to his chair; beside it was the
heavy pouch of notes and gold and he
slung 1t over his shoulders and fastened
the belt with steady fingers. The sud-
den wave of eagerness a brave man
feels In the presence of danger and
that brief space while the troubles of
his w heart came uppermost both
passed quickly; there was a single mo-
ment when Weymouth remembered
that he was a tired and dcfenseless man
at the mercy of his foes. Then his fears
most nobly passed.; he must not only
escape to plead with Elizabeth Brent,