Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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I^GATE " A STORY or HVSTCRY.IHVOLVmO STARTLING COMPLICATIONS & APVCNTUR ANNA KATHCR1NC Gftttl psss Lgaantawoai a Ommr*\lSBmn cxoae tho hmti above Mr. Ransom took precede nee At they Beared the room he motioned the lawyer to till he could ascertain If Mies would be disturbed by their lav The door, which had been hi between the two rooms, not have been put hack secure and ha dreaded Incommoding her. gone but a miaute. Almost as aa the lawyer started to follow ha could be seen beckoning from Georgian's door. ?Miss Hasan Is asleep." whispered as the other drew near. "We look about this room with lm Tlsay both entered and the lawyer at once to the window. "Tour wife could never have taken Map ascribed to her by the worn yon call ?nltra," ha declared, after gainutt's careful scrutiny of the -The balustrade of the ad balcony la not only In the way, the distance la at least fire feet tho extreme and of this window A woman accustomed to a Ufa or to the feats of a might do it, bat not a of Mrs, Ransom's habits. If your made bar way from this room to balcony outside her sisters wln I did It by means of the com ng door." at tho door waa found locked on aide. There It the key in tho "Ton art turn of thltf* "I waa the first one to call at ten Van to rt" ~nmm\m began the lawyer Judicially, %g* wtopftd aa ha noted the peculiar *stjarmsos of Ransom's expression, aawd turned hit attention Inttoad to Met interior of tho room and the vari? es* articles belonging to Mrs, Ran which warn to bo teen In It "The your wife wort whan aha tlgned will," ho remarked, pointing to Mght green gown hanging on the of the door by which they had ftansom stepped up to it, but did Ha* touch it Ha could too bar aa aha m this gown In her memorable i through the hail the evening and, recalling her expression, od If they yet understood the <tynrp of bar purpose and the dater* gstmatkm which gare It such extraor djanary vigor, Mr. Harper called hit attention to two other artiolee of drees hanging in ?Mather part of the room. These ^pgoo bar long gray rain-coat and the and vail aha had worn on tha want out bare-headed and in plain targe dress In which the ar romarked Mr. Harper with a glance at Ransom. "I wonder If OJts girt mot on tha highway waa with gast bat and dressed In black targe." 1 ftansom was silent. . ^Anitra's hat Is below and here Is 1 aba Ransom's. She who escaped MtJtn this house last night want out | estons hueded," repeated the lawyer. 4 Mr. Ransom, moving aside to avoid probing of the other's eye, merely i . "To?* noticed my wife's dress very 1 ?nrucuiarly it seems. It waa of aerge, 1 Jwo any." _ "Tea. I am learned In stuffs. I re ted It when the got Into the coach, 1 47 because I was struck by Its igt!city and conventional make. , waa no trimming on the bot- I only ttlchlng. Her sister's was like it They had the look of be? st ready-made." "But Anltra had no rain-coat I imbor that her shoulders wert ' whoa the came In from the lane." "No, she had no protection but her black like her dress. I pre that her hot blood resented kind of wrap." | Again that sidelong glance from his %*en aye. "Rhe wore a checked tllk handkerchief about her neck?the one s*mi afterwards put over her head." "Ton were on the same train with w?t wife and slster-ln-law," Ransom rr?w sold. "Did you sit near them? Oonvr- ? > with them, that It. with Vr%. RiLlornr "I htv< no reason for deceiving you 1st that regard," replied Mr. Harper. Ml did not come up from New York on tho same train they did. They saust have come up In the morning, for when I arrived at the place they call the Ferry, I saw them, standing em the hotel steps ready to step into the coach. I spoke to Mrs. Ransom then, but only a word. My grip sack been put under tbe driver's seat, I saw that I was expected to ride with hi u. notwithstanding the in Clemen rj of the weather. Mrs. Ran? som Sjftsj It too and possibly my natu? ral hesitation, for she turned to mo after she had seen her sister safely ensconced Inside, and said something about her regret at having subjected me to such Inconvenience, but did not offer to make room for me In the body of the coach, though there was room enough If the other had been tho quiet lady she was herself. Hut she was not, and possibly this was Mrs. Ran? som's exi uce for her apparent lack of consideration for rr.e. Before we reached the point where the lune cuts la, I became nware of noine dlsturb ar e behind me. asd when we really got there. I heard first the coach Love ?Jpw^x II doer opening, then your wife's to ice, raited in entreaty to the driver, call? ing on him to stop before her Bister jumped out and hurt herself 'She hi deaf and very wild' was all the ex? planation she gave after Miss Hasen had leaped into the wet road and darted from sight into what looked to me, In the darkness, like a tangled mast of hushes. Then she said some? thing about her having had hard work to keep her still till we got thit far; hut that the was ture the would find her way to the hotel, and that we mustn't bother ourselves about It for she wasn't going to; Anitra and she had run this road too many times when they were children. That it all I have to tell of my intercourse with these ladlet prior to our appearance at the hotel. I think It right for me to clear the slate, Ransom. Who knows what we may with to write upon it next?" A slight shiver on Raisom's part was the sole answer he irave to this innuendo; then both settled them? selves to work, the eyes of either flashing hither and thither from one am all object to another, in thit seem? ingly deserted room. In the momen? tary silenee which followed, the even breathing of the woman in the ad? joining room could he distinctly heard. It seemed to affect Mr. Ransom deeply, though he strove hard to maintain the business-like attitude he had assumed from the beginning of thit unofficial examination. "She hat confided nothing more tq you since your return from the river hank?" tuggeeted the lawyer. "No." The word came tharply, consider? ing Mr. Ransom's usual manner. The lawyer thowed surprise hut no resent ment, and turned hit attention to the bag both had noted lying open on two chairs. "Nothing equivocal here," he de? clared, after a moment't careful scru? tiny of its remaining contents. "The only comment 1 should make in regard to what 1 find here is thai, all the arti? cles are less carefully chosen than you would expect from one of your wife's fondness for fine appoint* menu." "They were collected in a hurry and possibly by telephone," returned the unhappy hutband, after a thrinking glance Into the bag. "The onet the provid* 1 in anticipation of her wed? ding are at the hotel in New York. In the trunks and baga there you will find articles at elegant as you could iWish." Here he turned to the dresser, and pointed to the various objects grouped upon It "These thow that the arranged her? self with care for her meeting with you laat night. How did the appear at that interview? Natural?" "Hardly; the was much too excited. But I had no tutplclon of what the , wat cherishing in her mind. 1 thought. her intentions whimsical, and endear-, ored to edge In a little ndvlce, but she wat In no mood to receive it Her I mind wat too full of what she intend-1 ed to do. "Here's whore she ate hor supper,**, he added, picking up a morsel of crust from a table aet against the wall, j "And to thit door wat found fattened j on this tide?" he proceeded, laying . hit hand on the broken lock. I "It bad to be burst open, you see." . HAnd the window?" "Was up. The carpet, as you can , tell by look and feeling, is still wet , With the soaking It got." Mr. Harper's air changed to one Of reluctant conviction. i "The evidence seems Conclusive of your wife having left this room and the house In the remarkable manner stated by Miss Hazen. Yet?" I This yet showed that he was not i as thoroughly convinced as the first phrase would show. But. he added nothing to it; only stood listening, ap? parently to the even breathing of the sleeper on the other side of this loose? ly hanging door. I As he did so, his eye encountered , the hot, dry gase of Mr. Ransom, fixed upon him in a suspense too cruel to prolong, and with a sudden change of manner he moved from the door, say? ing significantly as he led the way out: * "Let us have a word or two in your own room. It Is a principle of mine not to trust even the ears of the deaf with what it is desirable to keep secret." I As they were crossing the threshold, the lawyer wheeled about and caFt a quick look behind him. "I observe," said he, that you have a full and unobstructed view from ; here of the whole hall and of the two doors where our interest is centered, 1 presume you kept a strict watch on both last night You let nothing es cape you?" "Nothing that one could see from this room." With a thoughtful air, the lawyei awung to the door behind them. As it I latched, the face of Mr. Hansom sharp ened. He even put out, a hand and rested it on a table standing near, as it to support himself in anticipation of what the lawyer would say now that they were again closeted together. Mr. Harper wn? not Without bis reasons for a corresponding agitation. Out as naturally controlled nlmself bet? tor, end It wan with almost a Judicial sir that he made thin long-expected but leag-deferred suggestion: 'Ton had better tell ?? new." "You had better tell me now, and as explicitly as possible, rust what is In jour mind. It will prevent all mis? understanding between us, as well as any injudicious more on my part." Mr. Ransom hesitated, leaning hard on the table; then, with a sudden burst, he exclaimed: 'It sounds like folly, and you may think that my troubles have driven me mad. But I have a feeling here?a feeling without any reason or proof to back it?that the woman now sleep? ing off her exhaustion In Anitra's room Is the woman I courted and married? Georgiaa Hasen, now Georgian Ran? som, my wife." "Good! I have made no mistake. That is my thought, too," responded the lawyer. CHAPTER XV. Anitra. FEW minutes later they were discussing this amazing pos? sibility. "I have no reason for this conclusion,?this hope," admitted Mr. Ransom. "It is instinct with me, an intuition, and not the result of my judgment It came to me when she first addressed me down by the mill stream. If you consider me either wrong or misled, I confess that I shall not be able to combat your decision with any argument plausible enough to hold your attention for a moment" "But I don't consider you either wrong or misled." protested the other. "That is." he warily added, "1 am ready to accept the correctness of the possibility you mention and after? wards to note where the supposition will lead us. Of course, your first sen? sation Is that of relief." "It will be when I am no longer the prey of doubts." "Notwithstanding the mystery?" "Notwithstanding the mystery. The one thing I have found it Impossible to contemplate is her death;?the ex? tinction of all hope which death alone can bring. She has become so blend? ed with my every thought since the hour she vanished from my eyes and consequently from my protection, that J should loss the better part of my self in losing her, Anything but that, Mr. Harper," "Even possible shame?" "How, shame?" "Some reason very strong and very vital mUst underlie her conduct if what we suspect Is true, and she has not only been willing to subject you and herself to a seeming separation by death, but to burden herself with the additional misery of being obliged to assume a personality cumbered by such a drawback to happiness and even common social intercourse at this of the supposed Anitra." "You ttff.n ber deafness?" "I ciean that, yes. What could Mrs. Ransom's motive be (If the woman sleeping yonder is Mrs, Ransom) for to tremendous a sacrifice as this you ascribe to her? The rescue of her sister from some impending calamity? That would argue a love of long standing and of superhuman force; one far transcending even her natural affection for the husband to whom she has just given her hand. Such a love under such circumstances is not pos? sible. She has known this long lost sister for a few days only. Her sense of duty towards her, even her com? passion for one so unfortunate, might lead her to lisk much, but not so much as that You must look for some other explanation; one more reasonable and much more personal.*' "Where? where? I'm all at sea; blinded, dazed, almost at my wits' end. I can see no reason for anything she has done. I neither urVerstand her nor understand myself. I ougut to shrink from the poor creature there, sleeping off?I don't know what. Rut I don't. I feel drawn to her, in? stead, Irresistibly drawn, as if my place were at her bedside to comfort ar.1 no1 set." At thki impulsive assertion spring? ing from a depth of feeling for wiiich the staid lawyer had no measure, a perplexed frown chased all the urban? ity from bib face. Some thought, not ; altogether welcome, had come to dis? turb him. He eyed Mr. Ransom close 1 could do tin* now with impunity, loi ! Mr. Ransom's glumes weie turned i whither his thoughts and Inclinations had wandered. "I would advise you," came in slow I comment from the watchful lawyer, "not to be too certain ot your con? clusions till doubt becomes an abso* bite Impossibility. Instinct is a good thing but it must never be regarded i as infallible. It may be proved that it is your wife who has fled, after all. I In which case it would be a great mis? take to put any faith in this gipsy girl, Anitra." Mr. Ransoms face hardened; hit ayea aid not leare the direction la watch they were act. "I will remember," tail he. Hie eoeopaaJoa did not appear aathv aed, and oaatlaued emphatically: ?'Whether the womaa now here la Mia. > an earn of her wild and trreepoo sfble stater, aha le a person of das> farooa Will ana one not to bo lightly regarded aor carelessly dealt with. Pray coawider thts, Mr. Ransom, aod do not allow impulee to en pernio Judgment ir ymi will take my osV vioo--M If all ~ "I should treat her aa If the wore the woman she calli herself, or, at least, aa if you thought her so. Noth? ing?" this word he repeated aa ha noted the Incredulity with which tho other listened?"would be so likely to make her betray herself as that1* "Lot us go back and listen again at nor door," was Mr. Ransom's emphatic but Inconsequent reply. The lawyer desisted from further advice, but sighed aa ha followed his new client into tho halt At the turn of the staircase they wore stopped by the sound of wrangling voices In the office below. Mr. Harper heard his name mentioned and hastened to In? terfere. Assuring Mr. Ransom of his speedy return, he stepped down-stairs, and in a few minutes reappeared with a middle-aged man of characteristic appearance, whom he Introduced to Mr. Ransom aa Mr. Ooodenough. The sight of the uncouth head of their youthful acquaintance of the morning peering up after htm from the foot of the stairs waa warranty sufficient that this waa the man who had mot the strange young lady on the highway early that morning. At sight of him Mr. Ransom felt that Inner recoil which we all experi? ence at the prospect of an Immediate and definite termination of a long brooding doubt. In another instant and with one word this uncultured and hitherto unknown man would settle for him the greatest question of his life. And ha did not feel prepared for it He had had Impulse almost of flight, aa if in this way ha could es? cape a certainty he feared. What cer? tainty? Perhaps he could not have answered had ha been asked. His mind waa In a turmoil. He had feel? ings?instincts; that was all. The lawyer, noting his condition, undertook the leadership of affairs. Beckoned Mr. Ooodenough into Mr. Ran? som's room. Beckoning Mr. Goodenough into Mr. Ransom's room, he softly closed the door upon the many Inquiring ears about, and, assuming the manner most likely to encourage the unso? phisticated but straight-forward look? ing man with whom he had to deal, quietly observed: "We hear that you met this morn? ing a young girl going towards the Ferry. There is great reason why we should know just how this young girl looks. A lady disappeared from here last night, and though, from a letter sha left behind her, we have every reason to believe that her body is somewhere in the river, yet we don't want to overlook the possibility of her having escaped alive in another direction. Can you describe the per? son you saw?** "Wa'al, I'm not much good at talk," was the embarrassed, almost halting reply. "I saw the gal and I remem? ber Just how she looked, but I couldn't put it Into words to save my soul. She was pretty and chipper and walked along as if she was part of the morn in'; but that don't tell you much, does It? Yet I don't know what else to say. P'raps you could Lalp me by asking questions." "We'll see. Was she light-complex loned? Yellow hair, you know and blue eyas?" "No- I don't think she was. Not what I call light My Sal's light; tin gal wasn't Ilka my Bal." "Dark, then, vcy dark, with a glps? color ana snapping bli ck eyes?" "No. not that either. What I should call betweeus. But more dar!: than light" tt >.n*?"*???d r giin*c st n as*'i buv.v ....-o -Ii ne::*- 'it;ccti?.... "Whut diu sne have ou tie; bead?" "?luod U*0 if 1 can tell! It "... n't a ni.bonnet, uor wab it slapped ail over aiui ribLou? and flowers like my darter's." "Hut she had some sort of hat on?" "Sartaln. Did you think she was just running to the neighbors?" "Hut she wore no coat?" "I don't remember any coat.*' "Do you remember her frock?" "No, not exactly.' "Don't you remember its color?" "No." "Wasn't it black? the skirt of it, at least?" "Black? Wa'al, I guess not. A gal of her age, in black! No, she was as bngnt as tne nowers la my wife's gar? den. Not a black thing om her. I skonld sooner think her clothes were red than black." Harper showed his surprise. "Net a black skirt?" he persisted. "No, slr*ee. I harent muck ere for ftxta's but I've ere enough to know when a gal's dresjed like a gal and not like some old woman." Harper's ere stole again towards Hansom. "Checkmate in four mores," he muttered. "The person we are inter? ested la could have worn no such clothing as Mr. Ooodenough describes. Yet clothing can be changed. How, I cannot see In this instance; but I will risk no mistake. The trail we followed led too surely In the direc? tion of the highway for us to drop all inquiries because of a colored skirt and a hat we cannot quite aoceunt for. If the face is one we know (and I really believ-> it was), we can leave the other discrepancies to future ex? planation." And turning back to the patient countryman, he composedly remarked: "You are positiv? in your recollections of the young lady's feat? ures. You would have no difficulty in recognising her if you saw her again V "Not a bit Once I get a plcter in my mind of a man or a woman I see it always. And I can see her as plain as plain the moment I stop to think. She was pretty, you see, and Just a lit? tle scared to speak to a stranger. But that went as she saw my face, and she asked me rery perllte it she was on the right road to the Ferry." "And you told her she was?" "Sartaln; and how much time she had to get there to catch the boat** "I see. So you would know her again if you saw her." "I Jest would." The lawyer made a move towards the door which Mr. Ransom hastened to open. As the long vista of the hall disclosed itself, Mr. Harper turn? ed upon the countryman with the quiet remark; "There were two ladles here, you know. Twins. Their likeness was remarkable. If we show you the re? maining one who now lies asleep, you surely will be able to tell if she is like the lady you saw." "If she looks Just like her you can bet beans against potatoes on that" "Come, than. You needn't feel any embarrassment, for she's not only sound asleep but so deaf ehe couldn't hear you if she were awake. You need only take one glance and nod your head if she looks like the other. It is very desirable that none of us should speak. The case is a mysteri? ous one and there's enough talk about it already without the women hiding and listening behind every shut door you see, adding their gossip to the rest" A knowing look, a twitch at the corners of a good-natured mouth, and the man followed them down the hall, past one or two of the doors alluded to, till they reached the one against the panel of which Mr. Ransom had already laid his ear. "Still asleep," his gesture seemed to signify; and with a word of caution he led the way in. The room was very dark. Mrs. Deo had been careful to draw down the shade when she put her strange charge to bed, and at this first mo? ment of entrance it was imposible for them to see more than the outline of a dark head upon a snowy pillow. But gradually, feature by feature of the sleeping woman's countenance be? came visible, and the lawyer, turning his acute gaze on the man from whose recognition he expected so much, im? patiently awaited the nod which was to settle their doubt. But that nod did not come, not even after Mr. Ransom, astonished at the long pause, turned on the stranger his own haggard and inquiring eyes. In? stead, Mr. Ooodenough lifted a blank stare to either face beside him, and, shaking bis head, stumbled awkwardly back in an endeavor to leave the room. Mr. Ransom, taken wholly by Burprise, uttered some peremptory ejaculation, but a glance from the lawyer quietert him, and not till they were all shut up again in that con? venient room at the head of the stairs did any of the three speak. And not even then without an em? barrassed pause. Both the lawyer and his unhappy client had a deep and, in the case of the latter, a heartrend? ing disappointment to overcome, and the clock on the stairs ticked out sev? eral seconds before the lawyer ven? tured to remark: "Miss Hasan's face is quite new to you. I perceive. Evidently it was not her S>vin sister you met on the high road this morning." "Nor anything like her," protested the mnn. "A different face entirely; prettier and more saucy. Such a gal as a man like me would be glad to call darter." "Oh, I sec!" assented the lawyer. Then with the instinctive caution of his class, "You have made no mis? take?" "Not a bit of a one," emphasized the other. "Sorry I can't give the gentleman any hope, Dut if the sisters '*wY Kh..i*, ,l v* ? , uu ..i. ,. .ain 1 tuet I'm ready to take iuj ??ath on that." "Very welt One catches at straws iu a stress like this. Here's a fiver to pay for your trouble, and another for the lad who brought you bare. Good day. We had no sound reason for ex? pecting any different result from our experiment." The man bowed awkwardly and went out. Mr. Harper brought down his fist heavily on the table, and after a short interval of silence during which he studiously avoided meeting his companion's eye, he remarked: "I am as much taken aback as your? self. For all he had to say about her gay clothing, I. expected a different result T>e girt on the highway was neither Mrs. Ransom nor her sister. We have made a con founded mistake and Mrs. Ransom?" ?tDon*t eay it I'm going back to the room wnere that woman Ties sleep? ing. I cannot ret heilere that my heart it net shut up within fts walls, i I'm gotag to watch for bar eyes to open. Thorr expression wtll tell me what I want to know;?tbe look one gives before full realleatton comes and the soul le bare w4thout any thought of sefetarfinns.* "Very waft I should probably do the same If I were you. Only your in? sight mar be affected by prejudice. Too will excuse me if I jotn you in this watch. The expert meat ts of too Important a character for Its results to depend upon the correct eeelng of one pair of ores." (To Be Continued.) A WET SPOT. Bristol, Va., Sept. 22.?The corpo? ration court today granted licenses to 11 firms and individuals to do a liq? uor business here, beginning October 1, and on this account there was paid into the city treasury $20,300. Fur? ther applications will be considered tomorrow. Bristol has been dry two years. It will be the only town be? tween Roanoke, Va., and New Orleans where a saloon will exist after Octo? ber 1. I The University of South Carolina was opened Thursday morning. Talks upon subjects relating to student life were made by men who for years have been more or less intimately connected with the university and have the welfare of the old institution at heart. There was an unusually large attendance and the prospects for the coming year are brighter than ever before on account of the changes and improvements made. I S100 Reward, SI00. ?The readers of this paper will be pleased to learn that there is at least one dreaded disease that science has been able to cure in all its stages, and that is Catarrh. Hall's Catarrh Cure is the only positive cure now known to the medical fraternity. Catarrh be? ing a constitutional disease, requires a constitutional treatment. Hall's Ca? tarrh Cure is taken internally, acting directly upon the blood and mucous surfaces of the system, thereby de? stroying the foundation of the dis? ease, and giving the patient strength by building up the constitution and assisting nature in doing its work. The proprietors have so much faith in its ?-?urative powers that they offer One Hundred Dollars for any case that it fails to cure. Send for list of testi? monials. Address: F. J. CHENEY & CO., Toledo, O. Sold by Druggists, 75c. Take Hall's Family Pills for constipa? tion. TEACHERS EXAMINATION. The next regular teachers' examin? ation will be held at the Court House on Friday, Oct. 1, beginning at 9 o'clock a. m. S. D. CAIN. County Supt. Education. 9-18-25-30; W. 22-25-29. Second=Hand Pianos Taken in Exchange for Our Product. We have on hand several second-hand pianos, taken in exchange, which have been thoroughly overhauled, tuned and reflnished, which may be bought at a low price. These, in many cases, are serviceable instruments. Drop in and look at the lot if you don't care to buy a new one. You may find just what you want. WE HAVE I 2 [rare & Pond 1 Foster 1 Lester 2 Everetts 2 K?hlers 1 Stuff square 1 Grovesteen Sz l Knabe These pianos are only guar anteed as to condition. Chas. M. Stieff Manufacturer of the Artistic Stieff, Shaw and Stieff Self-Player l*ianoe. Baltimore, - Md. Soutliern Wareroom 5 West Trade St. CHARLOTTE. - - N. C. C. 11. Wilmotli. Manager. upright excellent Fuller square