Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1900-01-09

back. e wor tall-loike., an thea said 9
feavored mea." He stopped, threw mp
his head and with his skinny fingers
drew back his long. struggling locks
from his sunken cheeks and stared In
her face. The quick transition Of fas-
cination. repulsion. shock and inde-
Enable apprehension made her laugh
Historically. To her terror, he Joined
in it and eagerly clasped her wrists.
"Eh, lass, tha knaws John-tha coomes
from un to old grandfeytherl Who-rr-u
Fay, but tha tho't to fooa mea, did tha,
lassi Whoy. knoawed tha voice, for
n tha foine peacock feathers. So tina be
Johns CELL COON from Amerikyi Dear,
dearl Coon neaur. lassl Let's see
what tha's loike. Eh-but thou Il kiss
tha Granddaughter Severely
A wild terror and underlined conster-
nation had completely overpowered her.
But she made desperate effort to free
her wrists and burst out madly:
"Let me gol How dare youl don't
know you or yours am nothing to
, you or your kim Ny name is Des-
boruughl Do you understand Do
you hear me. Mr.. Debe-Desborought" 2"
$50 thou'lt call thissen Desborough,
wilt tina, Let me tell tha, then, that
'Debs, 'Debban. 'Dcbbrook' and 'Des-
borough are all the seamel Aye. thy
feyther and thy feyther's feyther |
Thou'lt he q Desborough, will thar
Dang thal And look doom on tha kin
and dress thissen in silks o. shame !
Tell ZEE thou'rt an ass, gelll Don't tina
hears An ass For all tha bean john 8
bairnl An ass That's what tha beest I"
With flashing eyes and burning
cheeks she made one more supreme
effort. lifting her arms. freeing her
wrists and throwing the old man stag
gering from her. Then she leaped the
stile, turned and fed through the rain.
But before she reached the end of the
field she stopped. She had freed herself.
She was stronger than he. What had
she to fearf He was crazy. Yes, he
must be crazy. And he had insulted
her. But he was an old man, and God
knows what Her heart was beating
rapidly, her breath was hurried, but
she ran back 10 the stile.
He was not there. The field sloped
away on either side Of it, but she could
distinguish nothing in the pouring rain
above the wind swept meadow. He
must have gone home Relieved for a
moment. she turned and hurried on to-
ward the Priory.
But at every step she was followed
not by the old mans presence, but by
what he had said to her, which shc
could not shake of as she had shaken
of his detaining fingers Was it the
rawlings of insanity. or had she STUN
bled unwittingly upon some awful Sc
crets Was it. after all. a secretf Per-
haps il was something they all knew or
wouH know later. And she had come
down here for this. For back Of her in
dignation, back even Of her belief in
his insanity, there was an awful sense
Of truth. The names he had flung out
Of "Debs, ""Debbans'' and '..Debbrook"
now flashed upon her as something she
had seen before, but had not under
stood. Until she satisfied herself Of this
she felt she could not live or breathe.
She loathed the Priory, with its austere
sxclusiveness. as II rose before her. She
wished she had never entered it. but 1t
contained that which she must know.
and know at once. She entered the
nearest door and ran up the 0rand stair