Miscellaneous Back Matter [pp. A032]

32
A3fOW~ TILE A~ILEA~ [CHRISTMAS, 1S~2.
could not see the blaze of a torch more
than two yards away; and then, only
like a red halo. The frolic was over; no
search was possible; and knocking their
noses against walls and trees, the crowd
in consternation groped its wQy slowly
back to Meitzberg.
Next mormug the lake was dragged;
and, later in the day, two bodies were
found; one was that of Ursula, it is alleged, with a dreadful rent in her breast,
at the left side, through which her heart
had been torn; her wedding-ring was
gone, and in its stead a ring of iron, such
as was fixed, in old times, to the pommel
of a soldier's sword.
The other was the black and swollen
corpse of a tall man, on whose finger,
impossible to be removed, without cutting it ofi, was found the wedding-ring
of Ursula Straus.
Farmer Straus was, be declared, inconsolable; and certainly he never married again. lle declined reclaiming fl~e
bridal ring, so horribly profaned; and
the iron one is still to be seen in the armory of the old town-house of Meitzberg.
The executioner of Spieldaam, crossing
the lake, just then, said that the corpse,
which had been taken out of the lake
with Ursula's, was that of a man whom
he had himself hanged a week before
and which had been stolen off the gallows at night.
The prevailing opinion, however, in
his native town was, that the mysterious
stranger was no other than that of llans
Won v erheim.
As the German replaced the pipe between his lips, with a grim chuckle, a
man in a slouched hat and a heavy over
coat approached the outer edge of the
circle, and, shading his eyes with liis
hand, peered eagerly forward, as though
in search of some one. An instant afterward Croffut quietly rose, and joining
the stranger entered into an ea~er talk
with him, and they walked away togeth er
This action had not passed unnoticed
by llarry Middleton, who, associating it,
he scarcely knew how, wiH~ the idea of
news of Myra Otis, felt his heart sink
wfthin him and did not dare to fl~ink of
the errand on which his friend had been
summoned. The narration of the stories
had had on harry just the effect which
the first speake~, the French gentleman,
had intended. Listening to them he liad
temporarily forgotten the pain he suffered and the anxiety under which he
was laboring, but now his mind had reverted to the old thetne, and was pursuing it with painful activity
Was it possible that there could be
any foundation for the story whid~ the
hackman had told to Croffut; Was it not
more likely that the whole thing had
been invented by his ready-witted newfound friend for il~e purpose of quieting
him, and preventing him, in his burnt and
jaded state, frota attempting to prosecute
his search? The hotel-clerk could not
have been wrong, and liarry had distinctly heard him say that a lady had
been left in the rooms occupied by Judge
Otis. In that case Myra must have perished.
The thought was too much for Rarry
Middleton, and he made up his mind,
come what might, to go among the people whose dim, shadowy forms he saw
stretched out all round him, and ascertain for himself whether or not Myra was
there. lIe could slip away unobserved
now, for the eyes of all were fixed upon
the story-teller who had succeeded the
German; so he rose quietly, and, though
with infinite pain, managed to drag himself along for about fifty yards. Then
he stumbled and fell, and there he lay
helpless. lle had not strength enough
to rise again; a drowsy numbness was
stealing over him, and he felt as though
his senses were leaving hiin. Once
again he dashed through the raging
flame, scaled the sinking staircase, and
gained the room. But this time Myra
was there, fl~ere in the far corner of the
room, between which and tlie spot on
which he stood yawned an abyss of fire.
She screamed aloud; she stretched her
hands imploringly towards him, and
then-.
And then-he felt two soft arms
placed round his neck, two warm lips
pressed upon his own. "My darling,"
were tlie words to which lie woke, and
saw Myra kneeling by liis side.
"The hackman warn't lying after
all," said Rufus P Croffut, who, with
Judge Otis, was standing by. "But you
see the man drove the jedge and the al
to the lake-side, where there was thousands of others a-refugin'-he arn't listenin' to me one bit, and it arn't like he
shoul~! But that's a pooty sight, jedge,"
he added, pointing to the lovers. "I
like to see young Bull in the arms of liis
American beauty! That's what's the
matter! Take about Allybarmers and
sechlike gas! lIe had direct claims on
the gal, and went through fire and water for her!"
"And got consequential damages,"
said the judge with a smile, pointing to
I-larry's wounded arm.
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