Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1897-09-23

Sue 1ctt &ustty tAAtfnfhtHhi aS
she ran down the walk, close.i the
gate behind her softly. and illtted
swiftly down the road. The pros
pect Of q fresh escapaae delighted
her. She wondered what the girls
would SAY when she told them asout
ii; but she would not tell them if'
IL were not en.irely successful.
She pansed . moment for breath
az she turned into the lonely sfreet
Of the old Gilfcrth house. aud ran
on with rising enjoyment oiS her
frolic.
= The place was before her at last,
and she stopped with a timitily heat
ing heart. How dark anti glssstly
il was vita its shadowy, st-aggling
form and the thick blackness o. the
trees around ID
She peered into the darkr.ess.
Yes, there was . black bulk by the
fence, and she could hear . restless
whinny. She was in time. She
paused q moment, and then stepped
over the broken bars OF the fs:nce,
and tiptoed softly through The saad-
owy line OF the trees to the back Of
the house.
She groped for the latch o. the
door. an6 pulled IL open easily.
She felt q thrill OF pride aa she
stepped inside; not many of the
girls would have dared to do it.
A board creaked under her foot;
q window rattled, and a rat scnstled
down the wall. Something struck
her like sound of heavy breathing.
but she smiled the notion away.
She stepped into the little front
room; that was the room where poor
John Gilforth had died, alone and
looked about curiously.
There was one chair standing be-
fore the broken window. and she
went toward il; and then. in mo-
ment, she found herself sta,ieing
motion less.-cold and faint and
trembling. A shadow in corner
of the room moved with u mu stered
sound. and was coming toward her.
The moon struggled OFT fr.,m be-
hind its cloud, and shone full nron
it-upon short, bulky form. with
wooden box held tigh; in its
trembling hands upon the white,
terror stricken face of--Learg
He gazed for q moment in pant
ing silence: then dropped the box
with q curse, and seized her by the
arm, his face distorted with anger.
She felt dreadful, sickening
fear as she looked into the evil,
threatening face shc threw up her
arms wildly, and uttered terrified
cry.
Nothing was quite clcaf after
that. She was dimly conscious
that something came crashing
through the window /; that the
dreadful grasp ives loosened from
her arm. and that there waa heavy
fall; and that she sank against some.
thing or somebody with u strange
singing in her ears.
She was living on the ola parlor-
sofa when she came to herself.
There was something cool and
wet upon her head, and smell Of
camphor in the room.
The first rays OF the dewn we're
struggling through the ishutters,
and her mother sat beside her.
There was bunch Of red berries
in vase on the mantle, and il had
all rushed back over her in q mo-
ment. She raised herself on her
elbow, easily.
There ? said her mother, sooth-
ingly, beginning TO WELD the big
fan she held.
where 10 Tracy p said Kitty,
family, and anxiously. isis he
oil right:'
oh, yes,' replied her mother.
HE cut his wrist breaking through
| that window bot he didn't make
much Of that. He left those ber-
ries for you.'
Kitty smiled family. !
But il wasn't Leary, was it p
she said slowly. 1T couldn't have
been Leary.'
But il was,' said her lsnther. in
q crestfallen way. Il never was so
upset i'm my life and ynir fathers
Just done for declare, Kitty,
could most wish you had not found
him out. / did think sn5h q sight
Of him. But suppose The squire
10 glad TO get bis money lack
| The squire was glad to get bis
money back +; so glad taat, after
Leary's trial was safely over, and
that worthy had received a sentence
satisfactory even to the squire, he
insisted upon presenting Tracy with
twice the reward he had offered.
Nobody was surprised, therefore
when that young man completed
the purchase of the old GilfcrtE
place, and set about improving it
nor at the announcement Of his en-
gagement to pretty Kitty Clark.
But ! shall have to confess Il
you, Kitty, he said, with laugh
when they had gone one day to not,
the progress Of the buigding-sl
shall have to confess that four sus
picious we're quite just, for on,
dreadful moment that night, whel