The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1903-01-02
B'y l1- I~A.
CHAPTER XXvII.
TuE RECOaNITI0N.

= . .
TIE RECOGNITION
FrOchard went in search OF Jacques,
Louise, recovering her consciousness,
which she had lost through the beat
Ing the old woman had given her, to
K force her to remain in the .garrct,
pushed with all her feeble strength
against the door Of her prison, and. as
7 Pierre had looscned the screws, it
yielded to her pressure, and she was
4 freed from her place OF torture.
s. For a moment she stood at the head
OF the stairs, with her ear strained to
the utmost tension to catch any sound
that would bctokcn the presence Of
any one in the hut.
But all was still, and she commenc-
( ed to descend the stairs, feeling her
way carefully, lest she should stumble
on some Of the dccayed boards.
.They are all gonc,' she murmured.
Pierre told me the truth, the lock
would not hold. Yes, | willfollow his
advice. III can find my way to the
street through that long passage, |
Will ask the first passer-by to take me
to that good doctor at the Hospital st.
LOuis.n
trembling with excitement, she felt
her way to the foot Of the stairs, where
one step further in the same direction
would have brought her in contact
with the inscnsible body Of her sister:
and then cropping for the wall, she
reachedth door.
With a cry Of 10y she reached it, and
felt; with eager, rcTcr;S.: hands, for
the rude latch.
Eagerly she tried to open IL, but il
resisted all her efforts; and as the truth
flashed over her mind, her hands drop
ped by her side. and she sunk to the
floor, like one smittcn with the palsy
Locked d-L0ckcd! What shall l
The sudden change from hope that
was almost certainty. TO deep dcs-
pair, OvcrpOWcrcd her for the moment.
But at last she remembered what
she should have thought of before.
'sPlerre told me he had made anOth-
er key for it, and starting, she gropcd
her way across the room toward her
bed, almost brushing the garments Of
that sister she was SO anxious to meet
as she passed.
With hands trembling so that She
could hardly control them. Louise felt
for the precious key that should assure
her of freedom.
A cry OF joy burst from her pallid,
quiyering lips, as her fingers came in
con1ltact act !, with the precious object:
thankfully. Now L viii 20 All once. j
sne arose to her feet, and made two
& 8G OF three attempts in the right direc-
tion, when her foot came In contact
With the clothing Of Henrictte4
a.5 |SRastfl tfly=she- stopped down, and felt
Ks oI5J1e lina1imate body.
se14:0h woman!' she exclaimed, in ac-
cents ofdeepest terror "She is cold
she is dead!''
Terribly alarmed atwhat she could
not see, the poor girl, believing herself
to be In the presence Of death, covered
I her face with her hands, and crouchcd
close to the floor.
l"Oh, Heavens!" she cried, they have
committed some terrible crime and
fled!''
She timidly stretched out her hand, +,
and passed 1T once more over the still
form. In SO doing she felt the heart
beat and with a glad cry she raised the
head 0t the person before her.
"She Is not dead! madame, madame.
speak, speak to me. She does not
hear me. What Shall l do? cannot
leave her thus!''
Dear as was her liberty to the poor
blind child, she could not leave Il fcl-
low creature in distress, and she tried
Dy every means in her power to awake
the insensiblc girl.
:. hile she W;.S thus engaged Mother
Froctard and jacques ,cntcrcd:
For, single instant tnGy stood
transiixed with surprise, and then,
with q single thought, they rushed TO-
ward the two girls.
separate them ut oncc-uuick."
shouted jacques to his mother, WHO
was q few steps in advance
La FrOchard did not need this warn
ing cry to induce her to rush toward
Louise, and grasp her roughly by the
arm.
"What are you doing?" she cried.
"How did you get Out?"
Louise clung to the body Of Hen
riettc, to prevent the old woman from
carrying her away; but her Slight
/ strength was Of no avail against the
old hag's determination, and she was
rudely flung against the staircase.
AS II reused by the noise, Ilenriettc
Opened her eyes, and showed signs OF
returning consciousness.
"Quick!" shouted Jacques, as he saw
I this movement Of IIcnricttc's, "gct
her out Of the w5.y--Quick, ] tell you
the other one Is coming to-
''Get back with you--at once" erica
the old woman, at the same time
dragging Louise UP the stairs, and ac-
companylng each wore with Il cruel
blow. !.
Just at this moment Pierre entered,
and seeing IIcnriettc lying upon the
floor, and Louise struggling upon The
stairs, he understood at once that it,
was the sister whom Lollsc had so
earnestly prayed to meet.
a. "But the woman who is lying thcrc?"
cried Louise to the old woman.
"That's our business, and none of
yours. Get along With you"
AS La Frochard got Louise to the
head OF the stairs, HenIicttc. who had
risen to her feet, saw the blind girl,
and running toward her, she cxclam-
cd;
"Ah, Louise-Lorisc'
Jacques seized her instantly, and
putting his hand over her mouth, pre-
vented her from speaking again, or adj
vancing any further. But the blind
girl had caught the sound of her sisters
voice, and that lent her additional
strength.
Uttering cry OF surprise and Joy,
I she cndeayorod to escape from the old
wretch who was nearly choking Fer to
death.
go in--I tell you; get in with your,
cried La Frochard, us she pushed
Louise in the room, and released her
/ holt. Of her throat in order to shut tic
y door.
a3eJust then Hcnriettc had succeeded