The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-28

ton of me. You don't know what my state of mind toward you is The cursed carelessness that has helped me along so often. won't help me now. You have struck it dead, l think. And I sometimes wish you had struck me dead with it!''
 She could not have been a woman and remain untouched, unstirred by such passionate expression. It led her to lis ten to him and it led her to answer him more tenderly than she would have done otherwise. But 1t did not shake her; for when at last she begged him to have re- gard for her, poor woorking girl, re- moved so far from his station, and to think of her, and he replied: Tell me now not to think of you Lizzien' she looked him in the eyes and said:
 MT Wrayburn, if l believed that you could be so cruel to me as to drive me from place to place to wear me uot, you should drive me to death and not do itl'
 He looked full at her handsome face, and thus in his own handsome face there was a light of blended admiration. anger and reproach She, who had so long ! loved him in secret without hope, whose heart had long been full, and he tho l
 cause of it's overhowng. weakened be- fore it. He caught her in his arms and made her confess her love for him. He held her almost as if she were sancti- fled to him by death, and kissed her once
 | He released her, swearing to her that he would not follow her. He watched her strong. graceful figure melt away In the dusk, and then stroled along the river bank. bargeman, who had been lying on his face behind some bushes. followed him.
 Eugene Wrayburn stopped at the mar gin of the river, gazing at the reflected night. With dreadful crash, the re- fected night turned crooked, flames shot jaggedly around him and he turned, bindly and closed with man, who struck him again and again. Then there was heavy splash that echoed far and wide, through the utter silence of the evening.
 Lizzie Hexam walking with the slow ness of one in sad thought, heard the sounds. listened startled, and ran toward the spot She came to it. saw a splint-
 
 saw that the grass was bloody, looked out on the current and saw a bloody face appear above the water one moment and drift away.
 There was a boat nearby. If she had faltered moment she never could have done It. She blessed the old river life now, she thanked heaven for that old, sad time that made her able now to send the boat down the river as never woman had rowed beforel
 She saw dim ripping in the water far ahead. She drove the boat to 1t mighti- ly A face came up and there was dis- turbance as of a feeble struggle She caught it by it's bloody hair and the riv- CT and it's shores rang to her terrible cry.
 The next morning, a few miles down the river, a lock keeper was leaning over his lock gates with an expression as near to pleasure as his naturally glowering, not to say hang dog, face could well as- sume. A barge that had passed down had <rfven him news of a murderous affair up the river The description of the vic tim tallied with that of gentleman who had passed through his lock few days De1Ofe ana ndu lndue uIlcdueu TOT re- marks about the honesty of his counte- nance, and had added the injurious opin- ion that the lock keeper would live to be hanged or transported. Mr. Rogue Rider hood-the lock keeper had been christen- ed Roger but it had been altered long ago by common consent-was still ruml- mating, with slow pleasure. when he be- came aware of bargeman slouchlng up.
 He was a weary and white faced barge dsordered in his face. He asked if he could buy food there and lie down for rest. Mir. Rogue Riderhood looked at him furtively and said "Hooroar." under his breath. He had observed that the barge mans sleeve was torn, that there were stains on him and that he had tried 10 wash them away so recently that the wetness had not yet quite dried on them.
 While the man sat eating. ravenous- ly Riderhood became aware, with a slow and dawning wonder. that the barge man was dressed remarkably like him- self-so much so that their costumes were alike even to a red neckerchief.
 He was considering this in his bovine mind when the bargeman, who was ex- traordinarily awkward with his knife, gashed his hand. He was so awkward that he shook 1t while tying 1t up, and