Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1896-08-21

force OF men, steal the coveted object "a,
night and boar 1t away to Livingston,
Mon, by means OF relays Of horses and
stout vehicles. The men conveyed 1t by
unused paths. avoiding the routes where
officials were stationed, and got 1t safely
to Livingston, where II was carefully
packed In u long box and shipped &c
New York at total cost Of $4,000.
half OF which went to the stablemen.
Miss Mignonette accompanied hei
treasure, and on her arrival ut her su.
perb mansion on West End avenue had
1t unpaoked aud artistically displayed
In an aesthetic. well lighted upper room
which she had converted into IL sort Of
museum for the exhibition Of her tro.
phies collected while travelling. Here
she spent hours daily admiring her treas.
ure, examining and re-examining the
surface. which variously resembled cor.
ais and stalagmites, honeycombs and
cells. Nor did she tire. On the contrary,
30 great grow her fascination that ut
last she was held by il M II by II spell,
M u bird might be hypnotized by a
it, sing to 1t, indito poems in its honor
and call it by endearing names.
One day Miss Mignonette read won
derful account in IA veraoious newspaper
concerning frog which had been found
alive in marble block. She was star
tied. What IL her conc contained some
animal-a bear---a snake--ROodnes,---
what This girl had some sense. She
actually reasoned. She felt that II It
contained anything tho mysterious oh.
ject must be something higher, nobl \
than she. to 30 fascinate her
Should sho smash 1t and end the my5-
tery1 Mol Why spoil forever her idol;
Again and again she oaressed it, but
always ono end of it. Suppose the end
toward which she was so irresistible
drawn were the headr
Miss Mignonette, after reading the
frog story, grew so crazed with the
possible romance of the situation that
she at last became possessed with the
belief that there was man inside.
What il it were true? He could not he
dead-no, only in u trance. He must be
young and handsome Yes, he must bo
tho idol Of her dreams, for whom she
had searched tho world. Her future
lord had been found mt last. Dame Ma
ture had granted her prayer and in the
most romantic way ever conceived. yea.
inconceivable even to the widest flight
cd novelist had enabled her to find her
lover In stone.
She would break tho seal--the long
seal that had hidden him from the
world. She would dress TO receive him.
There should be no one else present. He
should awake from his long dream from
the invisible world. should open his
eyes on her loveliness, should awake to
life and the world in her arms
She arraycd herself gloriously. Her
dark hair was arranged with white
bands about IL. A simple flowing gown
OF white envelopcd her form, and over
1t was the faintest white fabric Of illu.
sion, 40 delicate M to deceive the eye.
Her brown eyes, large and long dashed,
shone with joy. Her feet were incsSed
In tiny sandals. The nails Of her deli
cate fingers shonc pink hued, like the
shell Of II pearl She was arrayed at
last, ready with endearing terms TO re-
ceive her lover from his case of stone
Incandescent lamps shed soft, mellow
glow over tho room on to the cone, en-
HANGING the glorious beauty Of the girl.
With sharp chisel she began 20 in.
dent II crease tho entire length OF the
cone. Gradually the crease deepened.
Often she placed her car 10 the opening
trying to catch some sound, some move
ment. Tho opening arrived at depth
where tho cone could be split open with
out injury to tho inmate. She inserted
several ohisels, and with hammer gen
tly began the splitting process.
Az the tomb began to open she paused.
She was scared The man would really
be M In death. How could she revive
him unless he Immediately came to lifei
Suppose he were completely dead. What
could sho tell tho authorities that which
they would believe and not convict her
as u murdcrcas2
Gradually her courage came back.
She would save him somehow. Had not
nature granted her prayer and sent her
"a husband in the most mysterious, ro-
mantle fashion? Surely tho power which
sent him Ia her to be rescued would en-
able her 10 restore him to life Sho gave
several taps and the cone divided in
twain.
In the morning they found her in the
museum in dead faint Sbo did not
revive for many days. Beside her were
two halves Of the cone Of siliccous sinter.
The occupant which lay beside her was
the limbless trunk Of dead tree
Exchange.