St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1899-08-26


ing. To wait was impossible. 1t was
more than 40 miles, but l should not
be long after them"
Edward Hurcombe, absorbed in the
mans narrative, listened intently, al
most forgetting the whole thing was
the invention of a madman. How
graphically he described the scene.
why couldn't lunatics be actors?" he
thought.
THAT ride / shall never forget" con.
tinued the other. ''On l flew, urging
my horse furiously. A devil seemed be-
hind me, and cried: On! on to the be-
trayer. On!' l laughed as though the
notion was a splendid joke, it tickled
my fancy SO. On! on! The hedges
swept past me, the dust rose behind me
in clouds. The villages ran by my side
like some moving panorama, and the
stars peeped out in the heavens. 1t was
Saturday night, and passed through
q busy town. The main street was
crowded, but flew by. A little child
rushed across the road, and my horse
trampled it under his hOofs. But
could not stop. On! on!' whispered
the devil; what matters child's life :?
Presently, when / reached the open
country again, my horse stumbled and
fell. l was thrown to the ground. My
horse was dying. I wept. for loved
that mare. Muriel used to love her,
too. How often had her dainty hands
caressed her sleek and glossy coat! My
journey was ended, it seemed. But.
no; a horseman came riding needless.
ly upon us, for the night was dark, and
stumbled over the form of my steed.
He was thrown. helped the beast to
its feet again, mounted it and rode on.
1.-The wind was rising, and presently
= spot or two of rain began to fall; the
sky became overcast. A storm? Per
haps SO, and all the better, for was not
my heart stormy also? 1 crossed q
stretch of moorland, and then the rain
began to pour. rode on. Not star
shone now, the way was dark; the
wind howled, the thunder roared.
"A few more miles and was not yet
OF the heath. Soaked to the skin.
mechanically saw the trees swaying in
the fierce wind and heard the branches
creaking and croaking to the tune Of:
On! on!' Now and again forked
lightning flashed through the leadeD
sky, Illuminating the sparkling rain
then all was black once more.
"And then suddenly my horse slipped
Il had collided against some vehicle
which remained stationary in the road
The force of the collision unseated me
and 1 groped around the covered car
riage like blind man feeling in the
dark, and then lighted upon the CLOSED
door. We were in the very center o,
the lonely heath, miles from any hab.
itation. Could it mean highway rob
berry?
81 tremblingly touched the handle Of
the carriage do0r. Who's that ? criec
q mans voice above the thunder. ]
started and shivered. Merciful heaven!
the man! My body on fire. my Seyes
burning as with fever, made no reply
but peered in, and at that momenttht
sky burst into a brilliant radiance. J
started back-that pale, wan face IL
the corner of the carriage which the
lightning had illumined-it was my
wife's!
".Muriel, Muriel!' shrieked.
'There was no answer.
".Muriel, Muriei!' / shrieked again
but still there was no response. ano
the eyes of my darling remained steadi-
ly fixed into vacancy.
with a passion that nearly tore me
asunder | cried out to the man. who
seeming half-dazed. had the while been
gazing at her tenderly, clasping her
cold, lifeless hand.
".You've killed her! You've killed
her!'
He turned into fury at that.
"sPve not!' he cried. 'Iswear by God.
I've not! The lightning struck her an
hour ago!'
Its lie!' / screamed, and my voice
seemed to pierce beyond the din OF the
elements; and, gripping him by the
throat, dragged him from the carriage
and strangled him till he was dead!
"And that is all. l reverently COW
cred Muriel up and fed, but since then
the villains relatives have been on my
track. They say killed him-that I'm
mad. Dozens, scores of times they've
nearly had me, and-Hark, they're COM
ing now!'
Hurcombe, who during the recital
had remained spellbound, moved un-
easily in his chair.
81 hear nothing" he said at last; and
then. recovering himself. adroitly
turned to ring the electric bell. But the
visitor had prevented him.
Don't do that" he said, in voice &C
calm that the actor-manager, aston
ished, looked up quickly.
The man was smiling quite naturally
and sanely.
"Mr. HurcomDe," he said, '.as you've
repeatedly assured me, I'm perfectly
sane"
what" gasped the manager.
astounded at hearing his own name pro-
nounced.
I'm sane," repeated the man. Il
trust you'll excuse the trick I've played
upon you, a trick brought about by
necessity and the urgency of my case,
An actor, I've been out of an engage
ment for months; and, hearing this
morning of the illness of two members
Of your company, determined | would
either secure the engagement or end