.dt The Mysteries and Miseries of San Francisco, by A\
Californian--A Project Gutenberg eBook
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<s>The cover image was created by the transcriber and is\
placed in the public domain.</s>
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.h1
THE MYSTERIES AND MISERIES OF SAN FRANCISCO.
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THE

<xxl>MYSTERIES AND MISERIES</xxl>

OF

<xl>SAN FRANCISCO.</xl>

BY A CALIFORNIAN.

SHOWING UP ALL THE VARIOUS CHARACTERS AND NOTABILITIES, (BOTH IN HIGH
AND LOW LIFE) THAT HAVE FIGURED IN SAN FRANCISCO
SINCE ITS SETTLEMENT.
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<l>NEW-YORK:

GARRETT & CO., PUBLISHERS,

<sc>No. 18 Ann-Street</sc>.</l>
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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1853, by

GARRETT & CO.,

In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern
District of New-York.
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<xxl><B>THE
MYSTERIES AND MISERIES</B></xxl>

OF

<xxl>SAN FRANCISCO.</xxl>
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CHAPTER I||<I>The Alarm—The Flames—The Ladder.</I>
.sp 2
<s>San Francisco</s>, on the marge of the
sea, with towering hills behind her, lay
basking in the sun like a serpent by the
side of a rock.

The dwellings of the more fortunate
classes loomed pleasantly on the side of
the large round hills in the distance, and
might with the aid of a little fancy, have
been metamorphosed into the castellated
domains of the feudal barons whose
reign succeeded that of absolute barbarism
in Europe. Those quiet dwellings
amid the solitude of nature, present a
vivid contrast to the stirring scenes of
// 007r.png
.pn +1
the town below, and accordingly all who
possess taste and the means of gratifying
it, rear a building among the hills
to which they can retire, after the fatigues
of the day, and solace themselves
with the comforts of domestic retiracy,
and the grand simplicity of nature.

In giving a <i>coup d’œil</i> at the scene,
from the city itself, one is struck by the
pointed roof rising above a range of hills
which lie to the south west of the noble
harbor, and which crowns a dark pile
that, on a nearer approach, seems to
lean against the side of a mountain upon
whose peak linger the last beams of the
setting sun. This extensive edifice is
the dwelling or homestead of the wealthy
// 008l.png
.pn +1
and far-famed Senor de Castro, an old
resident of the country, and one of the
proudest of the ancient lords of the soil.
His horses are the best, his table the
most sumptuous, and his servants the
most numerous of any ranchero in the
regions round about California.

It was early on one afternoon in June,
18—, that several young men, mostly
Americans, were conversing around a
table in one of the principle Cafes in
the young city of San Francisco; a stout
robust man nearly forty years of age,
and dressed partly in the English style
and partly in that of the country, with
leggings and heavy blunt spurs, and a
red sash about his middle, was discussing
the merit of the auguadent sold in
Santiago, a city of Chile, and having
become very eloquent on this important
topic, he set down his glass upon the
table so violently as to shatter it to
atoms.

‘Give me your good old-fashioned
horn tumbler,’ cried he, with an oath,
‘and leave these baby-toys to the women
and children!’

‘You like to take your liquor in a
horn?’ said a young American clerk to
a provision dealer, ‘now I prefer a glass,
if it were only for the cleanliness of the
thing,

.pm verse-start
    Yes, by the mass!
    Give me a glass
    To toast a lass,
In horns should never be,
    Remembered when
    We married men
Quaff denty or chee chee.’
.pm verse-end

‘You married men!’ exclaimed the
stouter disputant, laughing.

‘A marriage extempore,’ muttered a
saturnine young American, with an
enormous head of black hair. ‘When
are you going to send that little girl
back to her mother?’
// 008r.png
.pn +1

‘Silence, Pothook!’ cried the other,
‘you know that you would have given
all the old shoes in your locker to have
got one smile from her, yourself—’

‘Yes, envious Pothook,’ cried another
youth, whose accent betrayed the
Cockney, ‘if Cardwell has a notion to
settle down in the calm of domestic life,
and—’

‘Settle! Ten thousand blunderbusses!’
laughed the stout man, ‘When did
you ever know Cardwell to settle anything
but his grog bills—them’s the settlements
he is most accustomed to.’

‘But I mean,’ added the Cockney;
‘that he is not running around after
every pretty face like—like some people,
always excepting the present honorable
company, as a matter of course.’

‘Oh! of course!’ said Pothook feelingly.

‘Yet,’ remarked a tall, pale young
man, who seemed to have recovered from
some dangerous illness—‘Yet, let me
tell you that Cardwell is not so innocent
after all, as he seems to be. I saw him,
the other day, stand for half an hour,
looking up at a certain house in Clay
street with all the eyes in his head, and
meaning no offence to the gentleman, I
don’t by any manner of means dispute
his taste.’

‘Oh! the young villain!’ cried the
stout man, roaring with laughter.

In the midst of his jollity and noisy
vociferations, a young fellow from ‘the
States’ who had been silent until then,
demurely asked—‘Do any of you know
what is good for rats?’

This made the stout man laugh still
louder—‘You had better inquire what
is <i>bad</i> for rats,’ said he at length; ‘for
to judge by their sleek hides and plump
bellies, I should think they had already
// 009l.png
.pn +1
had enough that was good and wholesome—perdition
catch the born devils! Last
night, about an hour before morning—’ the
speaker stopped, as the sound of a bell
rang violently, and the cry of ‘fire’ at
once arose in the streets.

‘Never mind, go on!’ said the Cockney.

‘Never mind the bell,’ said Cardwell.
‘We can’t be disturbed in our pleasures
by these domestic affairs.’

‘Why, by the noise,’ said the stout
man, ‘it would appear that there was a
polite invitation given to all citizens that
their presence might be required in the
adjoining streets, and as the wind is coming
up fresh—’

‘There is no time to be lost, my good
fellows!’ cried a tall, elegantly formed
youth, rushing into the apartment from
an adjoining room. ‘Half the city is in
flames!’

So saying, the youth hastened away,
followed by the revellers.

The whole town was in an uproar. As
they gained the street, they were met by
the strong sea breeze that filled the air
with dust, and betokened no good to
those whose property was at that moment
encircled by the flames.

The Sansome Truck Company, with
their hooks and ladders, were rushing
by, their scarlet coats powdered with
dust, and making the welkin ring with
their shouts. The elegant youth of whom
we have spoken was one of the first that
reached the fire. Already was the house
of Senor del Castro completely enveloped
by sheets of flame, and from the windows
of some of the adjoining buildings the
streams of fire darted forth, and moved
swiftly off toward the South on the wings
of the gale.

Several persons, among whom were
// 009r.png
.pn +1
Cardwell, and the stout man of the cafe,
busied themselves in tearing up the
planks in the immediate vicinity of the
conflagration, for the streets being laid
down with plank, instead of stones, aid
greatly in the spread of the flames. The
firemen had brought streams of water
to bear on the principal building, when
suddenly there appeared at an upper
window, a fair and youthful female form,
evidently belonging to one of the higher
classes of the country, whose dark hair
fell in rich masses about her shoulders,
and partly concealed a face in which the
snow and the rose contended for mastery.

For an instant every one paused in
astonishment, nor was her overmastering
beauty unheeded in that moment of
fearful excitement; for the cry that a
woman was in the house now rose shrilly
on the air, and was echoed in every
street in the city. The ladders were
hurried to the spot by men frantic in
their haste to save so fair a specimen of
mortality from a dreadful death, while
the object of all this interest, the lovely
cause of the wild confusion that pervaded
the masses below, simply placed one
little white hand to her eyes as if to shut
out the sight of the surrounding horrors,
and steadied herself with the other by
placing it on the sill of the window.

In the moment that the ladder was
placed against the side of the house, a
shrill cry was heard in the rear of the
firemen, and a stately form was seen forcing
itself through the throng with giant
strides, and thrusting aside everybody
and everything which opposed its progress.
One glance was sufficient to convince
the spectators that the father of
the imperilled girl was rushing to her
rescue. His hat was gone, and his dark
// 010l.png
.pn +1
but silvered locks floated on the breeze,
the sweat stood in beads upon his broad
forehead, and his face, though bearded
and mustachioed according to the custom
of the country, was pale with anxiety
and horror.

‘Oh, for the love of God!’ cried he,
‘my daughter! my daughter!’

As he reached the front of the building,
the flames gushing from the lower
windows drove back the brave men who
had charge of the ladder. The Senor
del Castro clasped his hands, and uttering
a cry of despair, would have rushed
into the house, the lower part of which
was completely filled with flames. The
stout man of the cafe threw himself
upon the distracted father, and by the
timely aid of Cardwell and the Cockney,
succeeded in dragging him out of the
reach of danger. But the fire companies
had not been idle while these
events were transpiring. They had
brought the ladder to the building at
another place. They had placed it firmly
against the side of the house, when a
man, addressing an officer of the Fire
Department, exclaimed in a tone of despair,
‘Oh, my God! Charley, the ladder
is too short. It don’t reach anywhere
near the window!’

Quicker than thought, Charley placed
himself in front of the window at which
the girl stood, and bade them place the
feet of the ladder on his shoulders. In
an instant, this was done, one foot of the
ladder resting on each of his shoulders.
The elegant youth of the cafe then
sprang forward—

‘That’s right, Monteagle,’ cried Charley,
‘climb right up by me and then on
the ladder; bring down the young lady
or never live to tell of your failure.’

But before these words had been fairly
uttered, the daring youth was half
// 010r.png
.pn +1
way up the ladder. All eyes were now
fixed on the adventurer. For a moment
all seemed silent except the hysteric
wailings of the anguished father, and
the awful roaring of the flames, as the
wind swept through every aperture of
the building, and added ten-fold to the
fury of the conflagration.

Before Monteagle had reached the
lower sill of the window, he was discovered
to be on fire; but at almost the
same instant, a stream of water from
the pipe of an engine drenched him to
the skin. Then both the youth and the
girl were entirely hidden from view by
the rolling forth of a dense volume of
smoke streaked with flame. One cry—one
general cry of despair burst from
the throng below, and the Senor, not
doubting that both his daughter and her
deliverer had perished, gave a deep groan
and sunk senseless to the earth. But
loud rose the voice of Charley upon the
air at the awful crisis—‘They are alive
yet! Don’t be frightened, man, I feel the
weight of both of them on my shoulders,
now—now—the ladder shakes! they are
coming down!’

Several men with large <i>ponchos</i> were
crowded around the bottom of the ladder
to smother the flames, in case the
young lady should be on fire, by wrapping
her tightly in these ample garments,
and they looked up on hearing the cheerful
exclamations of Charley. The feet
and legs of a man were discerned below
the smoke that had enveloped the upper
part of the ladder, then the bottom of a
lady’s robe, and finally the face of Monteagle
begrimed and blistered looked
down upon the trembling expectants.
The head of the girl reclined on the
shoulder of the gallant youth, her black
hair flowing down his back, while her
// 011l.png
.pn +1
arms hung listless by his sides—she was
in a state of insensibility.

As soon as Monteagle and his lovely
burthen were within reach of the multitude
a dozen hands grasped them, and
while the friends of the youth bore him
off on their shoulders to administer such
healing remedies as his case required, for
a part of his hair—his heavy brown
locks—was burnt off, and a blister on
his forehead showed too plainly that a
moment longer would have consigned
both the young lady and her deliverer to
the realm from which no returning
spirit has come back to describe the final
parting of the soul from its material envelope.

The girl herself was carried to the
arms of her father, who, just awaking
from his swoon, cried in a gasping voice
‘Inez! Inez! where is my Inez?’ and
plucking a sharp-pointed dagger from his
breast, he was about to end his agony by
thrusting it to the hilt in his heart.
Quicker than lightning, the man who
was called Charley grasped the wrist of
the desperate man, and holding it like a
vice in his stalwart grasp, pointed with
the other hand to the girl, and said in his
rough masculine voice:

‘None of that! If I’d thought you
would take it so hard that we had saved
your daughter’s life, but we would have—no,
not that exactly, for she’s worth
saving on her own account!’

While Charley was delivering this
speech, the cinders were raining down
on his head, and he shook them off as a
lion would have shaken great flies from
his forehead, but others were not so insensible
to a shower of fire-brands, and
the Senor was dragged farther from the
scene of ruin.

When the Senor perceived that his
// 011r.png
.pn +1
Inez was really by his side, he gave vent
to the most extravagant exclamations of
joy. Rushing to the Chief Engineer,
whom he supposed to be the savior of
his child, he clasped the sturdy fireman
in his arms, called him every name that
is flattering to the pride of man, emptied
his pockets of all his gold, and tried to
force into his hands a precious ring that
he wore on his finger, and which was
said to contain a diamond of great value.
Charley said that his duty called him
elsewhere, and we next saw him plunging
into the thickest of the throng to
bring up his forces to the principal point
of attack, and to expedite the tearing
up of the planks on the street, for they
had become thoroughly ignited in some
places, and the flames were marching
through the slight wooden buildings of
the town with the imperious step of a
conqueror.

No sooner had the young lady recovered
consciousness, than she raised herself
to her feet, and looked anxiously
on every side as if in search of some
object which she could not find.

‘Here comes your father,’ said Cardwell,
who had been the most officious in
bearing off the girl to a place of safety,
and applying cold water and other restoratives
to her face and temples.

Inez took the hand of her father, but
still her eyes wandered through the
throng as if seeking another, and while
she was led away by the old Senor, she
walked listlessly and thoughtfully, as if
something pressed heavily upon her
mind.

By this time every gambling-house,
every drinking shop, every pulperie, and
every thieving den had poured out its
crowds upon the streets of San Francisco,
and a vast proportion of the inhabitants
// 012l.png
.pn +1
of the city were thronging around
the scene of conflagration. Here was a
gang of thieves, pretending to be very
officious in removing the goods from a
store-house that had just kindled, while
the eager glancing of their eyes, and the
half-shy, half-brazen way they shouted
to each other, by way of encouragement
to preserve and to hasten the work,
sufficiently denoted that they had come
to purloin whenever an opportunity offered,
and that their zeal was merely intended
to blind the eyes of others, and
lull suspicion in regard to their ulterior
purposes; and it would seem that no
lack of opportunity was here, for such
was the excitement, such was the confusion,
the tumbling of men upon others,
the running hither and thither, the cries
of alarm and distress, the shriek of the
wind, and the roaring of the flames as
they went leaping, darting, and whirling
from house to house, from corner to corner,
and from street to street, that the
cautious thief whose heart was marbled
against human sufferings, and thought
only of turning the disasters of others
to his own advantage, might carry on his
nefarious trade with almost as much impunity
as that of the burrowing mole,
who treasures his stolen grain under the
earth while the plain above is rent by
the tempest’s fury.

Yet, even in the general whirl of reason
and reflection attendant upon these
rapid conflagrations, there sometimes
chances to be an eye unengaged for a
moment which may light upon the plunderer
in the very nick of time, and when
least expected by himself. Such was
the case now, just as the flames had
reached Montgomery street, and were
reaching forth their long red tongues towards
the pile of stores on Jackson
// 012r.png
.pn +1
street, the Cockney mentioned at the
commencement of this narrative saw a
fellow hugging to his bosom a little iron
safe, and stealthily escaping under cover
of the smoke, along the street towards
the harbor.

He raised the cry of ‘<i>Stop thief!
Picaroon! Coquin!</i>’ and in as many
other languages as he could bring to his
aid, he gave the alarm to such individuals
as were within the reach of his voice.
The merchants themselves who were near
the spot, joined in the chase, and in less
than two minutes more than a hundred
persons were at the heels of the man
with the safe. He headed directly for
the water, and had nearly reached it,
when a couple of Chinamen in blue nankeens
threw themselves across his path.
The desperate wretch dashed the iron
safe into the face of one of them, still
retaining hold of it, however, and he fell
covered with blood, and then, with one
hand, the thief grasped the long cue of
the other and jerked him to the ground.
He then darted forward again, leaving
the two disastered Fee-fo-fums sitting
upright in the middle of the street, and
uttering the most doleful lamentations.
Amain the crowd came sweeping down to
the water’s edge, tumbling the two Chinamen
over and over, who cried out most
piteously while rolling in the dust under
the feet of the pursuers. The thief perceiving
no way of escape on the land,
sprang into a skiff and pushed off from
the shore. For a moment, his foes stood
panting on the shore like baffled tigers,
eyeing the man as with two small oars
he ploughed through the waves and receded
farther and farther from the strand.
At length a loud hail was heard from a
point farther down, some three hundred
yards from the spot where the pursuers
// 013l.png
.pn +1
were clustered, and on turning their eyes
in that direction, the crowd beheld a
slender but well-formed youth tugging
at a heavy boat, which lay partly on the
shore and partly in the water, and vainly
endeavoring to get it afloat.

With a yell that rang on the air like
the onset cry of a troop of wild Indians,
the whole body of pursuers ran towards
the boat.

‘Hah! Monteagle, is that you?’ cried
our Cockney, who arrived first at the
spot—‘It was I who gave the alarm!
How much is there in the safe?’ ‘That
is best known to my employers,’ returned
Monteagle evasively, ‘enough, you
may be sure, to warrant the most vigorous
endeavors in getting it into our
hands. Those who take the thief will
be well rewarded.’

‘Come then! heave O! heave, ahoi!’
cried three or four lusty fellows who had
now come up, and applied their shoulders
to the boat in good earnest. It began
to move, and as it finally slid roaring into
the waves, Monteagle, and a dozen
others leaped on board. A few strokes
of their long oars cleared them from the
beach and gave free play to their motions
as they sunk the blades of their oars
deep into the brine, and threw themselves
far back at every stroke; a movement
which to the practised eye of the mariner
at once announced that whatever
experience they might previously have
had in this line, was not in the service
of the nation, but had been acquired in
the pursuit of that marvellous fish which
swallowed Jonah.

The winds were unusually violent
that afternoon, and the water was very
rough. This circumstance was much in
favor of the large boat, and although
the robber was a powerful man, and exerted
// 013r.png
.pn +1
his utmost, yet his pursuers continually
gained upon him. He was obliged
to stop a few moments to bail out
his skiff, using one of his boots for that
purpose; and this fact at once convinced
Monteagle and his men that he labored
under great disadvantages in a sharp,
combing sea such as was then driving
into the harbor before the screaming
gale. The thief himself seemed to give
up all hope of escape and relaxed his
efforts, no doubt husbanding his strength
for exertions of a different character.

‘Now, my brave fellows,’ cried Monteagle,
‘lay back and give it to her! do
your prettiest and you can make the old
barge hum, and we’ll soon come up with
that picaroon yonder; and understand
that I am authorized to promise a high
reward.’

‘Oh, never mind the reward,’ interrupted
a stout Irishman, magnanimously.
‘It’s for the pure honor of the thing
that we are working, sure, and to support
the laws.’

‘Yes, to support the laws!’ cried a
short, stout, red-faced fellow, of such
equivocal appearance, that one might have
taken him for a beardless youth or a man
of sixty years, for a native or a foreigner,
a cunning knave or a natural fool. He
carried an enormous head on his broad
round shoulders, upon which were only
a few scattering hemp-like hairs, but his
cheeks were fat and smooth, and his eyes
always seemed ready to roll out of their
sockets.

‘Yes, to support the laws!’ said the
strange being, in a smothered tone that
seemed to proceed from the bottom of
the abdomen, while his heavy goggle eyes
seemed to be thinking of something altogether
foreign from the subject, and
the continual working of his enormous
mouth led Monteagle to say to himself
// 014l.png
.pn +1
that the fellow was ‘chewing the cud of
sweet and bitter fancy.’

But now they were within two oars’
length of the villain in the skiff, when
the latter ceased rowing, and starting upon
his feet, brandished one of his oars in
the air as if it had been the mace of an
ancient knight, and shrieked out in a
tone of fury, that he ‘would dash in the
skull of any man that laid a flipper on
him!’

As Monteagle stood up in the head of
the boat, this threat might be considered
a matter more directly appertaining to
himself than to any other person present.
Yet, every one uttered a shout of
defiance, and half a dozen strokes brought
the barge up to the skiff. The head of
the large boat struck the skiff a-midships,
square off and on, and for
an instant it seemed as if the latter
would have turned bottom up. The
thief, however, balanced his boat well, at
the same instant that he struck a terrible
blow with his oar at the head of
Monteagle. The youth evaded the falling
oar, by jumping dexterously aside
and, at the same moment, drew a
pistol from his breast. Before he could
fire, he was surprised by a powerful blow
on the side of his head which came from
behind. Turning his head, he saw the
big Irishman who had so gallantly disclaimed
all interested motives, with both
fists double and ready to repeat the blow
which had nearly deprived him of recollection.
This, however, lasted but an
instant, for all was confusion now. The
Irishman was choked down by an English
cooper; the man with the big head
and wide mouth came to the aid of the
Irishman, while the robber in the skiff
dashed his oar into the faces and brought
// 014r.png
.pn +1
it down lustily on the heads and backs of
his adversaries in the barge.

The diversion which had been made in
favor of the robber, plainly announced
that the Irishman and the big head were
accomplices of the former, and had entered
the barge and joined the pursuit
in order to render him efficient aid in
time of need.

The fight became general. Big Head
and the Irishman fully engaged the attention
of Monteagle and two men of
the barge’s crew, while the robber, determined
not to be taken alive, fought with
a desperation not to be imagined by any
who have never seen a man resolved upon
death or escape.

‘Blast me!’ cried the Cockney, ‘but
these Sydney ducks are hatched out in
the wrong nest,’ as he received a kick in
the face from Big Head while the latter
was struggling under a thwart and using
both hands and feet to defend himself
against the loyal portion of the barge’s
crew. This melee had lasted some time,
during which the pistol of Monteagle
had passed into the hands of the big
Irishman, who falling a second time
from the effects of a chance blow dealt
by his accomplice in the skiff, pointed
the weapon at Monteagle as he fell, and
pulled the trigger. The charge took
effect on the youth; everything grew
suddenly dark around him, and he fell
senseless into the bottom of the boat.
The battle, however, was still waged with
relentless fury on both sides. The robber,
cheered by the hope of final victory,
now sprang from his skiff into the barge,
and stamping on the head of Monteagle
as he lay insensible under the thwarts,
he used his oar, now broken into a convenient
shape and size, about the heads
of his enemies. To say that blood flowed,
would be nothing new, as there was
// 015l.png
.pn +1
scarcely a man in the boat who had not
received a wound already; but now
heads and arms were broken; sometimes
Big Head and the Irishman were both
down at a time, and then victory seemed
certain to the loyal party; then the former
would be up again and fighting desperately.
But three men against eight
or nine could not hold out forever, and
the big Irishman, at length, reeled and
sank, overcome by fatigue and loss of
blood. Big Head was then silenced by
a rap on the skull with a tiller, and after
a most desperate resistance, the robber
himself was bound hand and foot.

The crew then sat down to take breath,
and next proceeded to wash the blood
from their faces. On their way to the
shore they were met by another boat
that had put off to their assistance, and
in her was recognized Mr. Vandewater,
one of the firm that had been robbed.

‘Where’s Monteagle?’ was the first
inquiry of this gentleman as the two
boats met.

The boat’s crew started and looked
about them, discovered the youth lying
senseless in the bottom of the boat.
Smarting under their own wounds, and
hot with the late contest, they had entirely
forgotten the lad who led the
charge. ‘Oh!’ said the Cockney, binding
a handkerchief about his scarred
head, ‘I had like to have forgotten him,
sir. It was he that first got hold of the
barge—I was the one that saw the thief
take the safe—I gave the first alarm,
sir.’

Mr. Vandewater by this time held the
head of young Monteagle on his knee,
and was examining into his condition,
but, looking up a moment, he replied to
the Cockney,

‘And the safe, where is it?’

‘There, now,’ ejaculated the robber as
// 015r.png
.pn +1
he wiped the bloody foam from his
mouth against his shoulder, ‘what a fool
I was that I didn’t cast the d— thing
into the drink, God! they’ll get it.’

Mr. Vandewater assisted in removing
Monteagle to the other boat, and telling
the men in the barge to call in the morning
at his house, he told the rowers in
his own yawl to pull for the skiff. The
little bark was soon reached, and the
safe was found in its bottom. Mr. Vandewater
took possession of his property,
and returned speedily to the shore with
Monteagle, whose situation, if he were
indeed alive, required immediate attention.

When the barge reached the landing,
there was no lack of welcomers on the
beach, for the latter part of the battle in
the boat had been observed by many
spectators. The robber, who had escaped
injury better than could have
been expected, was handed out of the
barge amid the shouts of the populace,
and taken possession of by the police;
but, strange as it may seem, the Irishman
and Big Head were suffered to go
among their friends; perhaps it was
judged by their appearance that they had
suffered punishment enough already.

The devastations of the fire had been
wide and fearful. In an incredible short
time, a large portion of the city had
been laid in ruins.—Houses and streets
had suffered alike, the planking of the
thoroughfares rendering them equally
combustible with the buildings.

On the day succeeding these events, a
pale youth, with a bandage about his
temples, lay in a darkened room some
two miles from the town of San Francisco,
seeming to be asleep; and yet the
almost marble whiteness of the features
might have led a casual spectator to
// 016l.png
.pn +1
suppose that the coroner was required
in his case, rather than the surgeon.
The bed upon which he lay, as well as
the chaste elegance of the furniture
about the apartment, betokened that the
master of the mansion had eminently
been successful in the general struggle
for wealth, and also that he possessed a
liberal taste which enabled him to employ
his means for the embellishment as
well as for the support of life. The
windows of the chamber looked out upon
an extensive garden, nicely arranged and
kept, and romantically varied with rocks
and underwood of natural growth. The
house itself was an elegant edifice standing
on a hill-side, and commanding a fine
view of the surrounding country.
.sp 2
.hr 20%
.sp 4
.h2
CHAPTER II||<I>The Breaking Heart—A Scene of Tenderness and Despair.</I>
.sp 2
The pale slumberer lay perfectly still,
and a close observer could scarcely have
perceived that he breathed. Thus had
he lain a few moments, when a side door
slowly opened, and a fair feminine countenance,
a perfect blonde, surmounted
with a profusion of flaxen ringlets, was
thrust gently into the apartment. Then
the door opened wider, and the symmetrical
form of a young girl of seventeen
years stood in the aperture. She listened
a moment, and then advanced one
tiny foot into the chamber; then the
other; and finally she stood within the
apartment, but with the door left open
behind her. There stood the beautiful
sylph trembling and pale, and sometimes
looking back, as if hesitating whether to
proceed or return. At length she stept
lightly forward and fixed her eyes upon
// 016r.png
.pn +1
the countenance of the slumberer. She
instantly clasped her hands across her
bosom, raised her large blue eyes to heaven,
and an expression of deep agony
rested on those sunny features, like a
heavy thunder cloud passing over a
beauteous landscape in midsummer.

Her timidity seemed to have fled with
the first glance that she had bestowed
upon the invalid. Turning her back towards
him, she even murmured aloud,
‘And all this he has suffered for the
preservation of my uncle’s property.
Oh! why could he not have delegated
that duty to others more fitted for such
rude work? Already had he performed
a deed sufficient to gild his name with
perpetual glory—in saving an accomplished—an—an—in
saving human life;
for it matters not who she was. To save
a life is enough, and at the risk of his
own.’

She turned and looked once more at
the sleeping youth; again she pressed
her hands against her heart, and, this
time, she sighed deeply. A footstep was
heard in the passage way, approaching
the door that opened into the hall, and
gliding through the one at which she had
entered, the young girl had retired, just
as two other individuals entered the sick
chamber. One of those who now approached
the couch of the invalid was
a tall, slender, middle-aged man, elegantly
attired, and yet with a sort of graceful
negligence which drew the attention
of the observer rather to the manners
and bearing of the gentleman himself,
than to the garb in which he was arrayed.

The other gentleman wore a plain suit
of black, was of middling height, with
light hair and eyes, and probably thirty
years of age.
// 017l.png
.pn +1

‘Yes, doctor,’ said the latter gentleman,
as they entered the room. ‘It is
as I tell you.’

‘But, sir,’ returned the other, ‘recollect
the acquaintantship—female timidity
and the gentleness of the sex’s nature.
To see one whom she had so long known
dangerously wounded, brought suddenly
into the house, with a mind unprepared;
remember all the attendant circumstances,
Mr. Vandewater, and you will not
be astonished that the poor girl exhibited
symptoms of agitation.’

‘Oh, yes, yes, my dear sir. Otherwise
she would not be woman,’ replied
the merchant. ‘Agitation, sympathy,
pity, all these were to be expected. But,
sir, she would have been frank in the
expression of her sympathy if all had
been well. Instead of that, she strove
to hide her concern. She became as
pale as chalk—as white as milk, sir; and
moved off without uttering a syllable,
or making the least inquiry, and if my
wife had not followed her and supported
her to her chamber, she would have fell
lifeless to the floor.’

‘His pulse is better,’ said the doctor,
whose thoughts now ran in the line of his
profession, and who had taken the youth
by the wrist. ‘He will escape a fever—it
was that I dreaded.’

‘And then her aunt has remarked her
deportment while in the presence of the
young man.’

‘A fine constitution, sir. You must
not throw him away—don’t give him up
yet. I think he will be restored to you,
after all.’

‘She is the daughter of a beloved
brother, whose death, some ten years ago,
occasioned me the most poignant distress,
and I shall take care of her as
if she was my own child.’
// 017r.png
.pn +1

‘You must not let him be disturbed,
sir, and I will leave something to be administered
to him as soon as he wakes.’

‘I don’t think you heard my last observation,
sir.’

‘Oh, yes—I heard, sir. You remarked
that she was the daughter of your
esteemed brother: but, pray, sir, if the
young people love one another?—’

‘You don’t understand me, sir,’ was
the quick <i>coup de parole</i> of the merchant.
‘I did not say that the young
people loved each other.’

‘Ah! now I understand,’ said the
surgeon, looking really concerned. ‘I
see—you wish to preserve your niece’s
happiness, not to prevent it!’

‘Exactly, sir. There is not a man in
the world to whom I would sooner marry
my niece, than to him who lies before
you. Of unquestioned integrity, candid,
honorable, devoted to my interests,
of elegant manners, without being effeminate,
humane as he is brave, well educated,
and of respectable parentage. I
find no fault in Lorenzo Monteagle—none
at all, sir. But my niece shall be
forced upon no man, sir. The king’s
son is not good enough for her, when it
comes to that.’

‘But will he not, in time, admire Miss
Julia, sir. It appears to me, that if I
were a bachelor—’

‘You shouldn’t have her if you were,
sir—‘interrupted Vandewater with a
burst of laughter that made the wounded
man start in his sleep, ‘would I
have a son-in-law or a nephew-in-law,
think you, that carries about with him
such awful weapons—those horrible
saws, gimlets, I know not what you call
them, I should never feel sure of my
legs and arms one moment, while he
was in the house—ha! ha! ha!’
// 018l.png
.pn +1

‘However that may be,’ said the
other, ‘if I were a young swain like
your paragon here, I should deem my
self but too happy to try to win a smile
from that fair niece of yours, and if you
are really willing that the match should
take place—’

‘It will never be,’ returned the merchant,
gravely interrupting the surgeon—‘Monteagle
is very fastidious, even in
his friendship. He is a singular young
man. It must be a particular woman
that strikes his fancy, possessed of decided
qualities; none of your pretty faces
and piano songs will steal away his
heart. Of that I am too well assured.
More than one young lady has tried her
utmost skill—’

‘But has the man no heart?’

‘So decidedly one that it must have a
decided choice,’ cried the merchant, ‘before
it can consent to own itself the
property of another. He likes the society
of ladies; but he does not prefer
one to another. I am persuaded that he
has never seen the woman he can love.
He has known Julia more than two
years, and has never treated her differently
from other women. But it matters
not. So you think the young man
is fairly out of danger?’

‘It might be going too far to say so,
sir—but I think he will recover. I
would not be afraid to stake a hundred
ounces on the event.’

‘Glad to hear that. I don’t doubt
your skill, Doctor, so let us walk below
and finish that old Madeira before it gets
any sourer.’

After another brief examination of
his patient, the surgeon followed Mr.
Vandewater down stairs; and in half an
hour afterwards might have been seen
mounting his horse and winding over the
// 018r.png
.pn +1
hills and through the valleys towards
the town of San Francisco.

Several days had passed since the
occurrence of the events mentioned
above, when on a fair morning, a pale
youth sat in a recess at the bottom of
the merchant’s garden. A staff stood by
his side, an evidence that he was not yet
able to walk without support, and his
white attenuated hands were pressed together
in his lap, while his large blue
eyes, which looked nearly black when
contrasted with his white brow, were fixed
upon some object in the distance.
His gaze rested on the dwelling place of
Senor del Castro; but what were his
reflections, we cannot pretend to divine;
nor was he long permitted to indulge
them without interruption.

From behind a cluster of bushes near,
sailed out a figure in a white dress, which
floating gently towards the invalid, placed
one hand upon his arm, and caused
him to turn suddenly towards her.

‘Mr. Monteagle, I’m glad to see you
abroad once more. Oh! it looks so much
more natural to see you up and stirring,
that it really reminds me of old times.’

With a smile slightly sarcastic, the
youth replied—‘I am but too happy to
be the cause of reviving pleasant reminiscences
in the mind of Miss Vandewater.’

A deep blush passed over the cheek
and brow of the fair girl as she replied:
‘You are very severe, sir. I will say
then, in downright English, since I must,
that I am rejoiced to see you improved
in health, with a fair chance of recovery.
Now, Mr. Critic, are you satisfied?’

‘Oh! no doubt I ought to be, since
Miss Vandewater has used the commonly
approved phrase which custom has made
necessary for all like occasions.’
// 019l.png
.pn +1

‘Nay, then I will send Inez del Castro
to you: no doubt she will do the honors
of the occasion better—at least her
mode will be more <i>original</i> than mine.’

Miss Vandewater uttered the latter
part of the sentence in a quick, hurried
manner, and in spite of herself, delivered
the word ‘original’ in a tone of considerable
bitterness. The tears rose to her
eyes, and she blushed deeper than ever.
It was plain that she would have given
much to recall her words and manner;
but it was too late. The youth looked
down and sighed.

The young lady heard that sigh, and
it seemed to restore her to all her dignity.
She lifted her head and shook back
the flaxen curls from her snowy brow.
‘I know that you are not acquainted
with Inez, though she—fainted in your
arms! It was very romantic.’

Monteagle had great self-possession;
but he was obliged to turn his face partly
aside to conceal an expression of surprise
and sorrow at the broad raillery into
which the young lady suffered herself
to be betrayed by feelings too palpable
to be mistaken. The many instances in
which she had evinced jealousy of any
attention showed by Monteagle to other
ladies, had long since let him into the
secret—if secret it could be called.

‘Miss Vandewater,’ said he, at length,
‘I have seen the daughter of Senor del
Castro but twice in my life, and have
spoken to her, but on one occasion.
When I stood at the top of the ladder
enveloped in flame, I asked her to trust
herself in my arms, and without betraying
any affected delicacy, yet with great
feminine dignity she placed her foot on
the ladder and reclined upon my shoulder.’

‘And did she say nothing?’
// 019r.png
.pn +1

“She said, ‘thanks, thanks, generous
American—my father will bless your
name at the altar of his God!’ It was
all she said, and the next moment the
smoke stifled her, and she became insensible
on my bosom.”

‘And, oh! Monteagle!’ cried Miss
Vandewater, clasping her hands and
looking upwards, ‘we heard that you
were nearly perishing in the flames!’

As she uttered these words, the tears
gushed from her eyes, and throwing herself
upon a rock near the feet of the
invalid, she covered her face with her
hands and wept aloud at the recollection
of that bitter moment.

‘Ungrateful wretch that I am, how
unworthy of this more than sisterly interest
which she takes in my welfare!’
said Monteagle to himself, and placing
one of his hands upon the head of the
unhappy girl, he said—‘Oh! it was not
so bad as that a stream of water soon
removed all inconveniences, and a very
trifling burn was all that I suffered.’

The girl looked up, seized the hand
that had been extended to her, kissed it
vehemently, and fled, blushing, to the
house of her uncle.

‘If the sacrifice of my life could make
her happy!’ ejaculated Monteagle, brushing
the tears from his eyes which he
could no longer restrain.
// 020l.png
.pn +1
.sp 2
.hr 20%
.sp 4
.h2
CHAPTER III||<I>The Dance House—The Bella Union—The Last Stake!</I>
.sp 2
The night was dark in San Francisco—that
city far away on the confines of
the Pacific. And far other scenes and
other deeds are witnessed there than it
ever entered into the imagination of the
dwellers on the Atlantic sea-board to
conceive of. Description is at fault;
words cannot paint the mingled web,
and fancy has no colors sufficiently vivid
to depict the peculiar state of society in
the newly-risen metropolis of California.
Naturalists describe the state of the
world long before man became a dweller
upon the earth, and the fossils which they
procure tell of strange animals that once
existed here unlike anything which the
world now presents.

In Pacific street—named after the
ocean that rolls her floods to the very
doors of the Californian traders—there
are several houses in which congregate
the lower class of ruffians and pleasure-seekers,
where the tamborene and fiddle
are seldom allowed to rest, where the
merry dance is kept up the live-long
night by men of all nations, all complexions,
and all professions. Here may be
seen the Lascar, the Mulatto, the Chilean,
the Brazilian negro, the Nantucket
whaleman, the escaped convict from Botany
Bay, the red-faced Englishman, the
native of the soil, the Mexican; and
every other class and nation is here represented.
Men of standing, wealthy
people here flock promiscuously with the
lowest classes of all countries.

It was in one of these dance halls,
where the usual throng was engaged in
// 020r.png
.pn +1
beating the floor with their feet to the
tune of the most simple instruments of
music. Now a tall smooth fellow of jet
blackness asked a light-haired Yankee
to touch glasses with him, while a little
infirm man in a blue nankeen jacket,
who had once been the mate of a ship,
could find nothing better than to explain
to a Chinese sailor, in one corner, the
way in which a Turk’s head-knot was
made upon a rope. But for the most
part, boisterous mirth prevailed, some
danced as if they had been bitten by a
tarantula, while others roared out
snatches from such songs as ears polite
are not often saluted with.

Whatever was done was thoroughly
done, done with a vengeance, without
restraint and without fear of disturbing
the neighbors.

On the night which we have mentioned,
the noise and confusion was unusually
great, the throng was more numerous
than common from the fact that one
watch was on shore from a whaleship in
the harbor, and they had all blundered
into this hall to drink and be merry.

‘Keep it up!’ cried one long-legged,
broad-shouldered fellow, throwing up one
of his feet to the very wall and then
dancing with a violence that threatened
to bring down the roof about his ears.

‘He’s a boatsteerer,’ said one of the
ship boys—‘he’s great at striking a
whale,’ and he gazed with admiration on
this specimen of Nantucket enterprise.

‘Keep it up!’ shouted the boatsteerer
making his long legs fly about the room
as if he was under the influence of a
galvanic battery.

‘Keep it up!’ screamed he again, as
he caught a short Englishman by the
arm and tried to inspire him with a portion
of his own enthusiasm.
// 021l.png
.pn +1

‘Yes, yes,’ said the Englishman, biting
off the end of a tobacco plug, and walking
off to the other side of the room to
get out of the wind of those formidable
legs.

‘Keep it up!’ bawled the boatsteerer
to a couple of Irishmen who happened to
enter at the moment; and so it appeared
that the sum and substance of all
that was in this man’s cranium could be
expressed in those simple words ‘Keep
it up,’ a phrase that he continued to utter
periodically throughout the entire evening.

But neither the Englishman nor the
two Irishmen obeyed the summons on
this occasion. They had ‘kept it up’ too
often and too long to be peculiarly enthusiastic
at the sound of a fiddle. The
two latter especially seemed to have
other matter in hand, and seating themselves
upon one corner of a bench near
the door, they thus exchanged thoughts
in a sotto voice which, in the uproar that
prevailed, was completely inaudible to
any but themselves.

‘Have you aver seed him since then?’
was the question propounded by the
shorter of the two.

‘Faith! and only once, and then I
drawed a trigger on him from behind the
bush, Patrick, but a lump of a gal com’d
out and stood in the way, or I’d kilt him
at wunst; but there was no use of getting
up a yell from the gal that wud have
brought all the payple in the house about
my ears.’

‘An’ I b’lieve you are right, Jamie,
for them Vigilance Committees is kaping
a bright look-out, now, for the like o’that;
and I seed one of ’em up in the Boomerang
jist when I was cooming down—’

‘Ay, faith, Patrick, and it’s on account
of Montgomery that they’re shying
around this way, I’m thinking; but they
// 021r.png
.pn +1
will look a great while before they—’

‘Ah! hush jist now! don’t name it,
for yees don’t know what ears is open,
if you was only to spake of the sand
hills—’

‘Hush, noo, Patrick! would ye be
after revaling it all, and we sworn on the
howly ’vangellers too?’

‘But as for the Monteagle there,
Jamie, there must something be done,
for Montgomery swears he’ll have his
life, for the taking the safe from him, the
bloody robber!’

‘Faith, boy, make yourself parfectly
easy, then, for there’s another way to
kill a cat besides the putting of a slug
into her countenance, sure,’ and Jamie
winked sagaciously. ‘You’ll know then
that Mister Blodget is going to undertake
for him.’

‘Och, thin, don’t you belave the bit of
it—one of these gintlemen will never
shoot another. Wolf won’t ate wolf—’

‘Niver fear that, boy. It’s not the
shooting I’m coming at; but Mr. Blodget
is one of ourself, the same as you
and I, only it is in a more dacenter way,
and didn’t he promise to get him into
wosser trouble up at the Bella Union—’

‘Arrah, but when will he cotch him
there, think you, and Montgomery all
the time perishing, the poor boy, for
want of his revinge! And the loss of the
safe too that weighs heavy upon his
sperrits like a leaden sinker all the time—Och,
the bloody robber!’

‘Och! the murtherer,’ cried the other,
‘and didn’t I see the pistol in his
hand when he stood up in the barge, and
in a minnit Montgomery would have
been come to his nat’ril end by foul
means, but I jist chucked him under the
ear a bit and he lighted down in the bottom
of the boat like a breaker full of
water.’

‘Bad luck to the likes of him, Jamie,
// 022l.png
.pn +1
the unspakable murthering scoundrel!
It’s the like of him that spoils the counthry
entirely, and a poor man like you
and me is scragged for trying to get a
dacent living in our own way.’

‘Och, botheration! don’t spake to me
Patrick, for I’m as mad as my skin can
hold now, when I think that I didn’t
put the could lead into his bowels, but
it was all on account of the slip of a gal
that would have given the ala-r-m if I
had shot him, jist.’

‘You shot him once, Jamie, and if—’

‘Ah, boy, if I had took a fair aim in
the boat, but my head was lower than
my heels, as I was tumbling over like a
duck wid one wing, and the ball jist
touched him in the ribs, like—but no
matter, Patrick, Montgomery will come
to his revinge through Master Blodget
who pretends to be a gentleman like
hisself, though he’s one of us sacret like,
for the benefit of the society, jist.’

Here the two amiable interlocutors
were interrupted by a squabble that had
grown up between the long boat steerer
and some Chilean new comers whom he
had desired to ‘keep it up,’ and not satisfied
with applying ‘moral suasion’ to
the case, he had taken the liberty to
drag one or two of them into the middle
of the floor by their long ear locks. Not
caring to dance on compulsion, they
struck long-legs with their fists, and he
gave them battle. He kept them at a
distance a few moments with his long
arms, but they made up for this by drawing
their <i>cochillars</i>. Brandishing their
knives they rushed upon him with great
fury. The other whalemen interfered in
behalf of their shipmate, while all the
<i>cholars</i> present took sides with their
countrymen. The battle threatened to
be serious, and blood had already begun
to flow, when the door opened and a
// 022r.png
.pn +1
stout, broad-shouldered man entered the
apartment.

‘Charley, is that you?’ shouted the
master of the house.

‘Yes, what is the muss?’ cried the
new-comer, whom the reader will recognize
as the hero of the fire who took the
ladder on his shoulders—‘Hullo! here!
knives out! daggers drawn! Down, you
rascals!’

Charley then seized two of the most
forward of the combatants in his Herculean
grasp, and hurled them against
the wall, while the rest, recognizing the
famous engineer, fell back, breathing
heavily and eyeing their adversaries with
murderous spite.

Patrick and Jamie, who had thus far
taken no part in the affray, felt themselves
aggrieved by the presence of an
official whom they had no particular
reasons for admiring, and whose presence
had more than once been a check upon
their professional labors. They first began
to grumble together in a low voice,
and finding that they could do this with
impunity, they felt emboldened to proceed
still farther.

‘The boys has got to be very civil in
these times,’ said Patrick.

‘Oh! it was nothing but a little spree
like, they was having—no harm at all,
at all, in a free country, just for a lark
like,’ returned Jamie carelessly.

‘But the laws is very strict for all
that,’ said Patrick, nodding graciously.

‘Oh, murder, yes,’ returned Jamie, ‘its
English laws they are like more than
like what it used to be, before their—’

‘You mane the Vigilance Committee,
Jamie; oh! bad luck to ’em, they is no
lawful powers any how. There’s niver
been any good in the place since they
began to meddle with the payple.’
// 023l.png
.pn +1

Several of the company drew near the
two Irishmen and seemed to be interested
in their discourse, while Charley, in
conversation with the keeper of the den,
eyed them at a distance.

In the mean time, the two orators, believing
they were at the head of a considerable
party, got on their feet, and
began to swagger about the hall and
swing their fists in close proximity to
such persons present as they supposed to
be unfavorable to their views. Jamie
was particularly violent until he happened
to graze the shoulder of Charley
who, shooting out a fist that would have
startled an ox, struck the big Irishman
under the ear and felled him to the
floor.

What would have been the result of
this demonstration, if the door had not
opened at the moment, we cannot say,
but all eyes were turned upon the individual
who now made his appearance.
This was a man of youthful appearance,
some thirty-five years of age, rather tall
and well made, with red whiskers and
moustaches and a very good set of teeth.
He was a little pock-marked though not
enough to injure his chance with the ladies,
and his manner was both brisk and
ostentatious. He was dressed in the
extreme of fashion, with a profusion of
rings on his fingers, and his entrance filled
the dingy apartment with the scent
of musk.—Taking out a blue silk handkerchief
with which he made as if he
would have wiped his face, and which he
then flourished about the room a moment,
he thrust out a leg as if to exhibit
a boot of patent leather, and planting
his heel jauntily on the floor, he put the
question—

‘Well, boys, has Monteagle called here
for me, to-night?’

Without waiting for an answer he
// 023r.png
.pn +1
clapped his hands familiarly on the
shoulder of Charley, saying—‘How
about that prisoner of yours? all safe,
eh?’

‘Montgomery, do you mean?’ asked
Charley in his deep base voice.

‘Ah! that <i>was</i> his name I believe.
He’ll be triced up, I take it—scragged,
as the Botany boys call it. Ha! ha! ha!’

‘You must have heard that he has escaped,
Mr. Blodget?’

‘Escaped! Ah!’ cried Blodget, with
a start of real or pretended surprise—‘the
devil! Got loose, eh? No man is
safe while such fellows are abroad,’ and
he placed his hand on the guard of his
gold watch—‘but how did it happen,
Charley? Come, boy, how did he get
away, the villian?’

‘If you haven’t heard,’ returned Charley,
looking circumspectly at his interrogator,
‘I’ll enlighten you on that subject.’

‘Do, do, I’m all impatience.’

‘So I <i>per</i>-ceive,’ announced the Engineer.
‘You must know that Montgomery,
the thief, was placed in the room of
the Vigilance Committee, and Peter was
set over him as a guard: that is, the door
was locked and Peter was on the outside.’

‘Yes, yes, I understand; and so he
jumped out the window.’

‘No, not that exactly, for the windows
were barred and fastened; but he made
a hole through the plastering above, and
getting on a table and some other lumber
he climbed up into the room above
and so he got clear.’

‘Oh! the villain!’ roared Blodget, at
the same time rubbing his hands very
unlike a man who was indignant at the
escape of a felon.

Charley observed the strange inconsistency
of Blodget’s conduct, and when, a
moment afterwards, Monteagle thrust his
// 024l.png
.pn +1
head into the open window and hailed
Blodget by name, the Engineer cast a
rapid glance first at the latter and then
at the former while a cloud came over
his brow as if he was sorry to see the
youth in such company.

With an almost imperceptible wink
to the two Irishmen, Jamie and Patrick,
the gay young man rushed out the door
and confronted ‘his friend’ Monteagle.—‘Upon
my word you look vastly improved,’
said Blodget as he drew Monteagle
towards Kearney street, and pressed his
arm cordially. ‘I was afraid it was all
day with you, one while, and I can assure
you that Mr. Vandewater was deeply
concerned about you. That man
holds you in high esteem, Monteagle; you
may depend upon that. He fairly lost
flesh when you were considered dubious.’

‘I believe, sir, that my employers
place entire confidence in me,’ returned
Monteagle, ‘and that is all that I expect
of them. But, pray, where are you
bound to-night? After my long confinement,
I should like to see a little pleasure.
I feel a great inclination to wander
on the sea shore, or go on a little boating
excursion.’

‘Done, sir. I will go with you on
Sunday, or whenever you please; but,
for the present, suppose we just drop in
here at the Belle Union and see some of
these enterprising gents lose a few slugs,
and the wry faces that they make.’

‘I’ve heard sad stories of that place,’
returned the youth, but suffering himself
to be led in the direction of the gambling
house. ‘I have heard that more money
has been lost there than ever changed
hands in the hells of Baden, at the saloons
of the Palais Royal, or at Crockford’s.
I have a strong dislike to every
species of gambling.’

‘So have I. Thunder and Mars: I
think it no better than highway robbery,’
// 024r.png
.pn +1
cried Blodget with a great show of virtuous indignation—‘that
is—except you
know—where for mere amusement one
takes a cue with a friend. By the bye,
are you good at shoving a ball, Monteagle?’

‘Billiards you are speaking of.
Oh, I like that game well enough, for
exercise. I cannot call myself a proficient,
though I can once in a while put
something in a pocket.’

‘But you don’t believe in putting
something into your own pocket—ha, ha.
Nor in taking something out of your
neighbor’s. Well it is robbery. It
makes me so mad sometimes to see how
these things are done: but here we are
at the Bella; let’s just in and overlook
the game.’

They entered a very large apartment
where all the conveniences and implements
for gambling were found arrayed
according to the most approved style.
Nothing was wanted to render this establishment
equal to its ‘illustrious predecessors’
in the old world and in the
Atlantic cities.

Here were refreshments offered to all
comers free of cost. Wines were freely
poured out and segars presented, so that
‘good old-fashioned hospitality’ was
never displayed in these degenerate days
so bountifully as Monteagle saw it exhibited
at the famous Bella Union.

A large table devoted to the game of
Rouge et Noir invited the attention of
our two friends. A Californian of swart
countenance and sinister aspect, here
deals Monte for the benefit of the greenhorns
who throng around the golden
piles in momentary expectation of seeing
them flit into their own pockets, but
though riches have wings, they do not
fly in that direction. In lieu of that the
few acres which the ‘Squatteroez’ have
left them, go rapidly out of their possession.
// 025l.png
.pn +1
Then the Faro players were
thronging around the table, certain of a
change of luck <i>next time</i>, and verifying
the poet’s declaration that ‘man never
<i>is</i>, but always <i>to be</i> blest.’ Each sagacious
adventurer fancies himself a perfect
La Place or Newton in calculation,
and believes that he has, at last, mastered
the complex elaboration of chances,
and shall eventually ‘bust the bank.’
Unmitigated ass! Even though your
power of calculation surpassed that of
Zerah Colburn, you would be sure to
lose, even admitting that the game was
fairly played.

But watch with the eyes of an Argus,
and think with the profundity of a
Fourier, and that placid, smooth-tongued
arbiter of Fortune, will look you in the
eyes and cheat you out of every farthing
you have got.

On all the tables except the last which
we have described, piles of yellow <i>oro</i>,
like veritable offerings upon these altars
of Mammon, make the heart of avarice
ache, ay, and infect those who are not
very greedy of lucre with a touch of the
<i>yellow fever</i>. Gold in dollars, gold in
five dollar pieces, gold in ten dollar coins,
gold in twenty dollar pieces, gold in slugs,
gold in lumps, gold in bars, gold in dust—gold
in every and any shape meets
the dazzled eyes of visitors, look where
you will; and those bland gentlemen
who cry ‘Make de game, gentlemens—No
moe, the game is made,’ and who so
liberally furnish the sparkling wine gratis,
stand ready to hand over to you any
or all of those glittering piles <i>as soon as
you win them</i>!

During all this time, bursts of delicious
music float through the apartment,
the harmonies of Bellini and Mendelsohn
contrasting strangely with the
// 025r.png
.pn +1
hoarse oaths of some loser not yet grown
sufficiently hardened to stifle his emotions
as he thinks of his poor wife and
little children whom he has robbed of
their support by his last venture.

Monteagle looked with a shudder at
the scene presented to his eyes, as he
entered this spacious apartment devoted
to the goddess of Ruin, and glittering
with gilded baits to serve the purposes
of those who, in the worst sense of the
terms might be called ‘fishers of men.’

An impression far from agreeable was
made upon the mind of the youth when
he noticed that Blodget who had been
recommended to his attention by the
junior member of the firm in whose service
he was—not only evinced no emotion
at the fearful scenes enacted before
him, but that he also replied to the familiar
addresses of the practical gamblers
like one who had long been on terms of
intimacy with them. But the impression
gradually wore off under the influence
of the music, to the soothing effects of
which Monteagle was peculiarly susceptible,
and a glass of excellent wine tendered
him by an attendant contributed to
fortify his spirits and prepare him for at
least, enduring the strange events that
were taking place around him.

One very genteel middle-aged man,
apparently a Mexican, passed by them
with a smile upon his countenance, on
his way to the door. Pride was evidently
struggling with despair, for he had
just lost his all, and that smile sat upon
his cadaverous features like a sunbeam
upon a charnel house. Nevertheless, he
walked erect, and maintained a certain
air of dignity, till he passed the portal,
as some men have done while going to
the scaffold.

That sight would have been sufficient
// 026l.png
.pn +1
of itself to have inspired Monteagle with
a horror of gambling; but he was destined
to see other sights than this. The
working of the countenances which fell
under his eye, the sudden flush of hope,
the blood receding from the features and
leaving them white as death—all these
things the youth saw, and inly cursed
the wretches whose bland smiles and
tempting wines were leading on the hardworking
laborer to deposit the last grain
of gold dust in their greedy coffers.

There were some poor gold-diggers,
who longed for even a more sudden
shower of wealth than the mines afforded
them; men from the States who,
while losing their gettings at faro as
fast as they won them from the soil, were
writing home to their wives, that gold
was hard to get on account of the
drought—more rain was required. Alas!
if it had rained gold slugs, they would
only have gathered the treasure to dissipate
it all in games of chance.—But
even of these all were not equally reckless.
One unfortunate creature had, by
long and arduous labor, secured about
five thousand dollars worth of gold dust.
He had written to his family in the
State of Vermont, in high spirits, assuring
them that he should be at home
in a short time; should buy some land
and stock it, and that their days of poverty
were over. But coming to San
Francisco in order to embark for home
he had been beguiled into the belief that
he could double his money at the Bella
Union. He was playing when Monteagle
entered, and although ignorant of his
history, the youth’s attention was, at
once, drawn to him by the emotion of
his manner, and the intense anxiety
which he betrayed as heap after heap of
his treasure departed from him. Having
// 026r.png
.pn +1
lost part of his gold, he seemed desperately
bent upon winning it back or
losing the whole. He bent over the
cards with blood-shot eyes, he scarcely
breathed, except when some one spoke to
him, and then with a short hysteric
laugh and words half uttered, he replied
as if not doubting of ultimate success,
while his manner and tone gave the lie
to his pretended confidence. But his
last venture had been made, and with
eyes fixed and glassy, he watched the
process which ended by rendering him
penniless and a beggar. He fell back,
gasped for breath, and in the next moment,
he lay upon the floor a corpse!

Monteagle flew to the spot, but he
stood there alone, as nobody seemed to
think the event worthy of their attention.
Finally, however, the body was
removed. But who shall describe the
patient watching and waiting of that
poor wife, the anxious inquiries of the
little children when their father’s promised
coming was delayed week after week,
and month after month—or the anguish
of the bereaved family when at length
they learned the truth, and instead of
moving to a snug little farm, in the enjoyment
of a comfortable independence,
they were carted off to the Alms House
friendless and despised?

Blodget was evidently troubled by
these practical illustrations of the evils
of gambling, which occurred at a very
unfortunate time for his purposes. He,
however, contrived to make Monteagle
swallow several glasses of liquor which
was not without its effects, and served in
a great measure to deaden his sensibilities.
The music, too, floated through
the apartment, like a syren beckoning
with her white and jewelled hand the
thoughtless to their doom.
// 027l.png
.pn +1

It was midnight—Monteagle, reclined
on a settee, which overlooked the table
of rouge et noir, and feeling the soothing
effect of music and wine, said to
Blodget—

‘After all, Blodget, there is a certain
amount of evil in this world, and I do
not know that one can make it less. It
is like filling up part of a lake—the waters
only retire to another part.’

‘Yes,’ interrupted the other carelessly—as
he adjusted his cravat—‘and the
ministers have been preaching for eighteen
centuries, and what have they accomplished?
They have only changed
the character of sins, occasionally, while
the same <i>amount</i> remains.’

‘True,’ said Monteagle, who was in a
condition to be pleased with a congenial
mind—‘the Puritans, for instance, were
too pure to eat mince pies or kiss a child
on Sunday; so they made up for that by
murdering Quakers and witches.’

‘And what are speculators of all kinds
but gamblers?’ continued the tempter;
‘forestalling markets, laying up grain,
and other necessaries of life to increase
the price and wring the last cent from
the hard hands of the laboring poor.’

There was so much truth in all this
that Monteagle began to entertain a
higher opinion than ever of his companion,
without reflecting that the man who
spoke thus would not scruple to do these
very things himself, and much worse.

‘It is as you say,’ returned Monteagle
quite warmly—‘your views coincide with
mine exactly. It is singular, but I had
supposed you to be a man of less reflection
and philosophy. I now perceive
that you are a man of thought—a—’

‘Oh! I have my views as well as others,
that’s all. You must know that I
was intended for a minister, and went to
// 027r.png
.pn +1
Andover. But come, just for amusement
let’s try our luck a little here. You
can stop when you please, you know.’

The proposition was rather sudden;
Blodget saw the flush that shot into
Monteagle’s cheek, and quickly added—‘To
be a man of the world it is absolutely
necessary to know a little about
playing, even if you don’t practice. All
the natives play, and let me tell you
that a spirited <i>Margaritta</i> regards a
young man as a milk-sop who never lost
or won a slug.’

Something struck the mind of Monteagle
at that moment, and he remained
for a couple of minutes in a brown
study, and seemed wholly unconscious of
the presence of Blodget. The latter
turned his face aside and smiled. It was
a self-satisfied smile.

At length said Monteagle, looking up,
‘How long have you known Mr. Brown,
the partner of Vandewater?’

‘Oh, these dozen years. He and I
have met here often.’

‘What! does Mr. Brown play?’

‘He! Bless your soul—’suddenly
checking himself—‘he plays the same as
you and I might, just a little for sport.—That’s
all: he’s not a heavy player; or,
I might say it is more for amusement
than anything else that he occasionally—very
seldom, though—lays down a slug.’

There are two classes of people who
are quick at detecting villainy, the accomplished
rogue and the honest, simple-hearted
man. The sight of the latter is
the more clear of the two as far as it
goes, while the former measures more
correctly the <i>extent</i> of the intended deception.
But Monteagle was, at this
moment, disposed to interpret every
thing in the most favorable manner, and
fancied that he saw in Blodget’s hesitation
// 028l.png
.pn +1
a generous endeavor to conceal the
picadilloes of Mr. Brown, his employer.
He felt convinced that Blodget knew
more than he was willing to tell, and
there rushed upon his recollection several
little circumstances of a somewhat
equivocal character connected with the
conduct of Mr. Vandewater’s partner.

Just then, a stout, rude, and hairy
man, nearly as broad as he was long, with
large goggle eyes, and a low, retreating
forehead, came swaggering up to Blodget,
followed by a large and very savage-looking
dog.

‘Good night—good night—my old
boy,’ cried he in a rough and loud tone.
‘Ha! ha! glad to see you.’

Blodget stared at the fellow as if he
had some trouble in recognizing him.

‘No savez, eh! No savez!’ cried the
man. ‘Oh, well, any other time will do.
I understand—a pigeon there—don’t
want to be known, ha! ha! I’m just from
Sacramento, old boy. Plenty of dust—’

At this moment, the dog, who had
been smelling about Monteagle, braced
himself opposite the youth and gave a
horrible growl, during which he showed
his fangs. The youth, believing that the
animal was about to spring upon him,
drew a small revolver, and prepared to
defend himself.

‘Eh—youngster!’ bellowed the brutal
owner of the dog. ‘Love me, love my
dog, you know. Don’t hurt that dog,
sir.’

‘Certainly not, unless he attempts to
hurt me,’ returned Monteagle.

‘Afraid of a dog, eh? Ha, ha!’

‘No, not afraid of a dog,’ returned
Monteagle, highly incensed, ‘for you may
observe that I don’t act as if I was
afraid of <i>you</i>, do I?’

‘Seize him, Boatswain!’ shouted the
// 028r.png
.pn +1
scoundrel, and the dog, nothing loth
sprang at the young man, and before he
could place himself on his guard, had
fastened his teeth in his vest. At the
same instant, Monteagle, sparing the
brute, aimed his pistol at the owner and
snapped the trigger. The ball just grazed
one of the fat cheeks of the rascal,
who, thereupon, threw himself upon the
youth and begun to pummel him with
his fists. It must be remembered that
Monteagle had not yet recovered from
his wound. Nevertheless, he defended
himself bravely. But Blodget, as soon
as he saw the conduct of the wretch,
gave him a blow on the side of his head
that felled him like an ox. At the same
time, the dog left Monteagle and seized
Blodget. Monteagle threw his pistol at
the dog, and hit him in the side without
doing him much damage; but Blodget
turned quickly and drove a short, sharp
dagger to the hilt in the animal’s breast.
That finished the business for the dog.
But his savage owner was about stabbing
Blodget in the back with a long, two-edged
knife when Monteagle gave him a
sudden push, which sent him reeling to
the distance of several paces. Blodget
and his enemy then encountered each
other face to face, and as both were armed
with deadly instruments, the issue
would have been bloody had not several
of the crowd, which had by this time
clustered around the combatants, plucked
them asunder. The stout man swore
and threatened vengeance, and as he
struggled hard to get away from those
who held him, he was finally thrust out
of doors with some violence. He was
heard, for some time, prowling outside
and threatening all manner of vengeance
against Monteagle and Blodget, especially
the latter whom he charged with all
// 029l.png
.pn +1
manner of crimes, and who, he said,
would long since have been hanged if
half his offences were known to the public.

All this passed for the ravings of baffled
rage; and although it seemed to excite
anger of Blodget, nobody else seemed
to deem it worthy of the least notice.

The gallant manner in which Blodget
had espoused his cause, completely won
the confidence of Monteagle, and when
he said to the youth, ‘Come, now that
rascal of a Sintown has been turned out,
we will just amuse ourselves here, if you
have no objection.’

‘Sintown, is his name? it seems to me
that I have heard that name. Was he
not once arrested for robbing a Mexican?’

‘Something of that sort, I believe,’ returned
Blodget, glancing stealthily at
the youth, ‘but there was no proof of
his guilt.’

‘Proof—there is proof enough in the
scoundrel’s eye and, indeed, in all the
rest of his features, to hang a dozen
men.’

Blodget smiled pensively and drew
Monteagle to the table. After playing
a little while, Monteagle lost a couple of
slugs, when Blodget took his arm and
said, ‘Come, my good fellow, the luck
goes against you to-night. You must
wait till Madame Fortune, who, according
to Bonaparte, always favors the
young, is in a better mood.’

Monteagle had already become fascinated
by the game, but he did not care to
evince greater devotion to the gambling
table than his companion; therefore he
announced his readiness to depart.

They had scarcely gone a dozen paces
from the door, when a man stepped
lightly up to Blodget, and clapping his
// 029r.png
.pn +1
hand on his shoulder, said, ‘You are my
prisoner, sir.’

Monteagle started; but Blodget very
coolly turned his face towards the man
and let the segar-smoke stream from his
mouth directly into the eyes of the officer.

‘You will go with me,’ cried the officer
angrily.

‘Will I? In—deed. Something of a
prophet too—’

At this the officer began to tug at the
coat-collar of his prisoner.

‘Now, Oates, ain’t you ashamed of
yourself?’ asked Blodget, loosening the
hand of the other from his collar.

‘Why should I be ashamed?’ asked
Oates, looking about him, as if to summon
aid.

‘Simply, to impose upon my good nature
in this way. Don’t you know that
with one blow of my fist I could send
you reeling, to say nothing of my friend
here.’

‘Your friend. What? You threaten
me with a rescue, young man?’ to Monteagle.

‘I have said nothing,’ replied the
youth.

‘But I don’t like your looks, sir,’ said
the officer, trying to put himself in a
towering passion.

‘Bah!’ cried Monteagle, ‘Come along,
Blodget, before you frighten this poor
gentleman to death. You see that he is
ready to drop with fear now.’

‘Very well. This is pretty conduct—pretty
talk to a police officer,’ was the
reply of Oates, ‘but I’ll report you to
your betters. I know you both and I’ll
report you.’

‘Take something along with you first,
or you’ll have nothing to tell,’ cried
Blodget, seizing the official by the back
of the neck, as he was about to make a
// 030l.png
.pn +1
hasty retreat, and giving him three or
four vigorous kicks.

‘Murder! help!’ cried the police officer.
‘Oh, don’t murder me, and I’ll tell
you all about it. It was Sintown who
made the complaint. He said that you
was—’

Before he could finish the sentence,
which, for reasons of his own, Blodget did
not care to hear at that moment, he was
thrust into the middle of the street, and
having picked himself up, the valorous
officer ran around the first corner as if a
legion of imps were at his heels.

‘Now,’ said Blodget to Monteagle, as
they resumed their walk, ‘if the fellow
had showed any pluck, I would have
given him enough to keep him drunk for
a week, in order to have the appearance
of buying myself off. As it is, he feels so
much disappointment at having received
‘more kicks than coppers’ that he will go
home to his masters with a horrible
story of an attempt at assassination, of
being attacked by forty thieves at once,
and the whole town will be at our heels
in less than ten minutes. Therefore,
here we part. Do you drop in at your
friend’s in Montgomery-street, which is
but a few steps from this spot, while I
will shift for myself as I best may.’

The wisdom of this proposal was evident
to Monteagle, who walked straight
to a house where he had sometimes
lodged when in town, and gaining an entrance
after some little trouble, he felt
himself safe from pursuit.

Meanwhile Blodget, directing his steps
towards the sand hills, was very soon out
of sight.

Shortly after the town was in an uproar.
The quick tramp of feet was
heard in the streets, cries and shouts resounded
through the air, and many people
// 030r.png
.pn +1
threw up their windows to see what
was the matter. Finally, nobody could
get at the secret; the noise died away,
and San Francisco lay silent and dark on
the shores of its glorious Bay.
.sp 2
.hr 20%
.sp 4
.h2
CHAPTER IV||<I>The Footsteps of the Tempter.</I>
.sp 2
He stood in the Plaza, Lorenzo Monteagle,
head clerk to the house of Vandewater
& Brown. Down into the
sparkling waters of the Western main,
the king of day was slowly sinking, like
the glorious Constantine submitting to
Christian baptism at the moment he was
bidding the world adieu. Monteagle
surveyed the throng that was passing
hither and thither on the different streets
bordering the neglected public square on
which he stood. They were all personable,
able-bodied men, who walked and
spoke as if there was no enterprise of
which they were not capable, no adventure
too daring for their powers. The
absence of children and the scarcity of
women gives a singular aspect to the
city of San Francisco, and this was realized
by Monteagle, as he now stood gazing
upon the hardy representatives of
every country on the globe, as they
moved before him on the great public
square of the city.

As the evening shades began to gather
around the black rigging of the vessels
in the bay, and gloom upon the distant
waters, the youth looked about him
as if seeking for some individual whom
he expected to meet on that spot. A
man passed near him, nearer in the
opinion of Monteagle than there was
any occasion for. He grazed the youth’s
// 031l.png
.pn +1
elbow as he went by, and appeared to do
it on purpose.

Monteagle turned to look at the man,
and the latter turning also, clapped his
hands on his hips, and with a swaggering
air, looked the former saucily in the
face. Monteagle thought he had seen
the fellow before; he was dressed much
as an ordinary laborer, large in size, with
big coarse features that glowed with the
effect of frequent potations.

Monteagle was about to turn away
from the man in disgust, when he said—‘I
think yees will know me when yees
sees me again.’

‘Why so?’

‘Bekase yees trying to look off the
countenance of me, I believe.’

‘I shall look where I please, and as
long as I please,’ returned Monteagle.

‘That’s unfortunit agin,’ said the
Irishman, ‘for yees will see nothing but
a jintleman, and that’s what yees not
used to seeing inside of the looking-glass.’

‘What is the object of these insults,
you scoundrel?’ cried Monteagle, still in
the belief that he had fallen in with the
fellow before, but where he could not recollect.

‘Oh—no object at all, at all. But if I
is a scoundrel, there’s more than one on
the Plaza jist, and he’s not beyond the
raitch of my fist, nythur.’

This was rather too much for Monteagle’s
patience, and accordingly he rushed
upon the intruder and saluted him
with a violent blow in the face. The
Irishman staggered backwards a few feet
and then recovering himself approached
the youth in a boiling rage. As they
met and exchanged blows, the people
came crowding to the spot, apparently
bent only upon seeing the fight, as no
// 031r.png
.pn +1
one attempted to interfere. Monteagle
was a pupil of Frank Wheeler’s and the
science he had acquired from the teachings
of that accomplished gymnast enabled
him to bother his bulky antagonist
a good deal. This rendered the latter
exceedingly angry, and a cry was raised
by the by-standers, as they saw a Spanish
knife in the hand of the Irishman,
which he had dexterously drawn from
some part of his dress, and with which
he rushed upon the youth with the evident
design of finishing him and the battle
together. At that moment, and just
as the youth had caught a glimpse of
the steel flashing before his eyes, a powerful
hand was laid upon the shoulder of
the Irishman, and he was drawn violently
backwards. Some of the crowd began
to murmur, but the Irishman looked into
the countenance of the intruder, and
both he and Monteagle pronounced the
word ‘Blodget!’

‘How now, sir. What are you doing
with that knife?’ cried Blodget in a peremptory
tone.

‘You see it’s the thafe himself, the
bloody robber!’ said the Irishman, passionately,
though evidently cowering under
the gaze of Blodget.

‘Who told you he was a thief? Begone,
sir!’ cried Blodget, ‘Mr. Monteagle,
I find you in bad company. Is that an
acquaintance of yours?’ continued Blodget,
with a gay laugh, as he turned to our
youth, and pointed at the retreating
form of the Irishman.

‘Not of <i>mine</i>, exactly,’ said the youth
placing considerable emphasis on the
word.

‘Oh—yes—a-hem. I have known the
rascal some two or three months. We
had his services in cleaning out a cellar
and on several other occasions. Devil
// 032l.png
.pn +1
take the fellow—did he hurt you much?’

‘Better ask if I hurt <i>him</i>,’ returned
the youth, ‘for I think he would have
carried away a piece of malleable metal
with him, but for your opportune deliverance.’

‘If he had not been too quick for you—he’s
dexterous in the use of the
knife.’

‘Is he, indeed?’

‘You wonder how I found out that
fact. I have heard of his encounters
with the natives. His name is James,
commonly called Jamie, and there are
many stories extant as to his prowess.’

‘Strange he should have taken so
much pains to insult <i>me</i>,’ said Monteagle.

‘He seemed to have something against
you,’ answered Blodget. ‘Cannot you
remember of ever seeing him before?’

Blodget watched the countenance of
Monteagle narrowly, as the youth replied,
‘I have some faint recollection of the
fellow’s face. His nose, that seems to
have been knocked out of its proper
shape, struck me like an old acquaintance,
but where, and under what circumstances
I have seen it before, I am unable
to determine. But let him go. You
and me are met now for another purpose.’

‘Let us walk along towards Dupont
street,’ said the other, musing.

‘Well, on then. But what engages
your thoughts at this moment?’

‘As for that, Monteagle, what would
you give to know?’

‘It’s not very important, I’ll be sworn.
Some love affair doubtless.’

‘You are a wizard,’ replied Blodget.
‘It is a love affair, but one that interests
you much more than me.’
// 032r.png
.pn +1

‘Interest <i>me</i>?’ said the youth, much
surprised.

‘It is a great secret, sir,’ and Blodget
squeezed the arm of his companion.

‘If it is a secret you are bound to
keep it close. Is it not so?’

‘Not exactly. But come into this
shantee with me, and I will explain matters
to your full satisfaction.’

Monteagle followed his friend into the
wine shop, nothing loth; for though he
assumed an indifferent air, he could not
feel altogether uninterested in an affair
of this kind. Besides, like all young
men on such occasions, his curiosity was
powerfully excited.

Blodget sat down in one corner and
beckoned to the host to set on a bottle
of champagne. He then pressed Monteagle
to drink who, at first, refused, but
being in haste to hear the news, he finally
tossed off a glass in order to hurry on
the recital which Blodget had in store
for him.

‘It is a strange story,’ said Blodget,
smacking his lips—‘good wine—’

‘But this queer business—the love
story—some Mexican squaw, I suppose,
has—’

‘No—no. You are a lucky dog,
Monteagle.’

‘Very likely.’

Here Blodget poured out another glass
and nodded to his companion—‘Take
another, and then to business.’

Monteagle drank to save time, and
said; ‘Go on with this wonderful story.’

‘Well,’ said the other, ‘I think your
chance is good. The firm hold you in
high estimation—’

‘Fudge! no more of that—’

‘But I must tell the story in my own
way. I say that you are a lucky dog,
// 033l.png
.pn +1
Monteagle. Come, one more glass and
then to business.’

Monteagle drank, and motioned impatiently
to Blodget.

‘My friend, if you work your cards
right, there is a fortune in reserve for
you.’

A thought struck Monteagle, and for a
moment he was agitated. He drank to
hide his emotion.

‘Good wine, is it not, Monteagle?’

‘Yes, indeed, but we are coming to the
end of the bottle before we get to the beginning
of the story.’

‘Oh, but I’ve told you the most important
part—that is the <i>fortune</i>. Now
with regard to the young lady, she is a
perfect angel.’

‘Of course—all angels till after marriage.’

‘No, but you’ve seen her.’

‘Have I, indeed?’

‘The old man is rich—counts his
money by tens of thousands. You have
seen him, too. Landlord, another bottle.’

‘I’ve seen him, too!’ and the youth
swallowed another glass, for his heart
throbbed violently.

‘The girl is beauty personified—accomplished—lovely
as a seraph—eyes of
the—the—’

‘The blackest jet, of course.’

‘Well, I’m not so certain of that.—But
they are—’

‘Oh, deuce take the description, now
to the point.’

‘Well, Monteagle, she loves you, loves
you to distraction.’

Monteagle started to his feet.

‘Sit down, friend of mine, and let us
finish this bottle.’

‘Certainly. But who told you this?—My
// 033r.png
.pn +1
God! who told you that she loves
me?’

‘Her own eyes ought to have told you
that long ago.’

‘Her own eyes!’

‘Yes, ha! ha! ha!’ roared Blodget,
‘why, man alive, did you never hear of
the tell-tale eyes which reveal what passes
in the heart?’

‘But who told you?’

‘It is a secret, you know; you will not
betray me.’

‘Honor bright, of course.’

‘I’ll trust you. Brown told me.’

‘What Mr. Brown, our partner?’

‘Yes, indeed.’

‘But how could Mr. Brown know anything
of this affair, eh! You astonish
me.’

‘Not at all; easy enough. Vandewater
told the doctor, and the doctor told
Brown; so now I have betrayed all the
three. You see it is authentic. The
girl has confessed her love to Vandewater
himself.’

‘To Vandewater?’

‘Yes, why not?’

‘She must be in earnest, then. She
loves me beyond a doubt.’

‘She has loved you many months, now
Monteagle is a chance—’

‘She loved me many months! But—’

‘Fact, sir, fact? She confessed it to
Vandewater, who tried to persuade her to
conquer her passion.’

The youth started to his feet.

‘I’m much obliged to him. <i>He</i> try
to—<i>he</i> interfere in a case of this kind.—But
that exceeds his authority.’

‘Tut! tut! work your cards right and
the girl is yours, and then Vandewater’s
fortune, you know—’

‘What have I to do with Vandewater’s
// 034l.png
.pn +1
fortune?’ cried the youth surprised.

‘What has <i>she</i> to do with his fortune?
what is hers is yours, you know, if you
come together.’

Monteagle looked mystified.

‘You know,’ continued Blodget, ‘that
Julia is—’

‘Julia?’

‘Yes, Mr. Vandewater’s niece—’

‘What have you been talking about?’
cried Monteagle.

‘She loves you! Fact! Don’t stare
at me so incredulously. See, my boy—’ clapping
him on the shoulder—‘the
game’s in your own hands if you only
play your cards right.’

Monteagle sank back in his chair looking
listlessly upon his half-emptied glass,
while Blodget went on for a considerable
time descanting on the merits of Julia
Vandewater, and the brilliant prospects
that would open upon Monteagle
if he married her.

‘No matter,’ said our youth, carelessly.
‘That doctor must be a regular
gossip, and deserves to be called out for
publishing family secrets with which he
has been entrusted.’

Blodget gazed at Monteagle in amazement.
He wondered that the young
man who had been so anxious to hear
the disclosures which he had to make,
should seem so little affected at a fact
which would have occasioned no small
triumph to himself. But the reader is
already informed that this marvellous
secret was no news to Monteagle; who,
so far from triumphing in the conquest
which he had made of Julia’s heart, was
deeply grieved that he could not return
her affection. But Monteagle had taken
more wine than usual, and Blodget seemed
to be perfectly satisfied with that circumstance
// 034r.png
.pn +1
at least. Monteagle followed
him out mechanically, and suffered himself
to be led wherever Blodget might
choose to convey him.
.sp 2
.hr 20%
.sp 4
.h2
CHAPTER V||<I>Our Hero Treads Forbidden Ground—The Mansion in Dupont Street.</I>
.sp 2
They walked but a short distance before
they reach a splendid house in Dupont
street. Monteagle had heard the
character of this building, but had paid
but little attention to it. He was now
in a condition to enter almost any house
where amusement was to be obtained,
for in addition to the champagne which
he had taken, he had experienced no
small disappointment upon learning the
whole extent of Blodget’s wonderful <i>secret</i>.
As they entered this elegant mansion
it began to grow dark. The interior
was far more imposing than the outside.
They passed through a wide hall
lighted by an elegant chandelier, which
hung in golden chains from the ceiling.
Other furniture betokened abundance
of wealth.

Blodget opened a door that led to a
large apartment, carpeted in the most
fashionable style—fashionable in a land
where ostentatious wealth may be deemed
excusable. Rich sideboards, tables,
chandeliers and ornaments of the most
elegant form and costly materials here
greeted Monteagle on every side.

On a sumptuous sofa of the richest
Genoese velvet, sat two young ladies,
whose costly dresses were admirably fitted
to their forms, and so arranged as to
betray their charms to the most casual
observer. One of them, to whom Blodget
addressed himself on entering, was
not tall in stature but of exquisite symmetry.
Her complexion, though that of
a brunette, was so transparent, and the
// 035l.png
.pn +1
rose on her cheeks was so brilliant, that
one would scarcely have noticed that she
was darker than her companion. A pair
of lustrous large black eyes beamed from
beneath a profusion of raven tresses, and
the clearly defined, arched eye-brows appeared
to have been drawn by the pencil
of a skilful painter. The upper moiety
of two well rounded globes was displayed
by the low dress, while the little
foot and beautiful ankle were not covered
by the long drapery in vogue with the
daughters of a more northern clime.—Whether
her mouth was made for speaking
or kissing, might have been a question
with naturalists and men of <i>vertu</i>;
but most men would have decided practically
in favor of the latter view. It
was, indeed, a mouth that spoke eloquently
while silent, like one of those sea
shells which one sometimes finds in the
Orient, ruddy and of voluptuous form.

‘Mr. Blodget is come again. Very
welcome Mr. Blodget,’ said the fair creature.
‘I wait much for see you, and
never see you no more.’

But while addressing Blodget, she
fixed her speaking eyes on Monteagle
and surveyed his features and fine form
with evident admiration.

The other girl was taller and fairer,
with a majestic neck, blue eyes, and
brown hair, the ringlets bursting from
her head dress and showering over her
well-turned shoulders. She smiled and
showed pearls, she walked and exhibited
grace and voluptuous proportions. She
spoke and music fell from her lips.

Monteagle, aided by the champagne
that he had drank, made himself agreeable
very soon—sooner than propriety
would have required had not his fair
friends been accustomed to impromptu
friends and acquaintances.
// 035r.png
.pn +1

The sound of voices and occasional
laughter in a neighboring apartment
gave evidence that there were more of
the fair consolers in the house, and that
other men, beside Blodget and Monteagle,
were regaling their eyes with feminine
loveliness.

A few moments conversation sufficed
to show that the dark eyed girl was a
native of South America, while the other
had been born and brought up in the
land of Johnny Bull, though her accent
betrayed that her earlier days had been
spent in the ‘North Countrie.’ She
was one of Burns’ beauties, and how so
fair a flower, who, even now seemed to
have retained some portion of her modesty,
should ever have found her way to
a house of this description on the distant
shores of California, was a problem
which Monteagle found difficult to solve.

Throwing himself on a sofa and putting
his arm around her slender waist,
Monteagle said—‘Were not you and I
acquainted in the old country?’

Although this was merely common
place nonsense, the girl slightly blushed
before she replied—‘Nae doubt, sir, they
be all frae Scotland that speaks to me,
sir.’

‘You did not know that I was descended
from the noble house of—’

‘Douglas?’

‘No, but of—of—’

‘Oh! the Bruce it must be—’

‘No—stop—the—house of Monteith.’

‘<i>Monteith!</i>’ cried she, removing herself
farther from, and affecting horror at
the name.

‘Yes, that noble ancestry I claim, and
you shall be my bonny bride, and we will
return together to Scotia’s shores, and
live near the Highland cot in which you
were born and reared.’
// 036l.png
.pn +1

‘With a <i>Monteith!</i> with a Monteith,
think you?’ and she stared curiously at
the youth—‘take off your shoes, sir,
did I ever think I should ever set my
twa een upon one of that family? Tak
off your boot and let us see if ye have
not a cloven foot, at least?’

Blodget had sent for wine, which was
procured at twenty dollars the bottle—an
excellent article, however; and now
conversation, raillery, repartee, and compliments
flowed freely. The two girls
were entirely unlike those whom we find
in houses of resort in the Atlantic cities.
They had evidently received a good education,
more especially the dark-eyed
one, and their conversation was conducted
in a style more usually heard in a
fashionable drawing-room than in an establishment
sacred to the Paphian Goddess.

This way the evening was spent, and
the hour had become late. Other girls
of various degrees of beauty were in the
apartment. Music of a high order—added
to the charm of the occasion. The
men at this house were generally of the
higher classes, or those who assumed to
be so; and the utmost harmony prevailed.
The wines sparkled—wit flew
from mouth to mouth—and few things
were said or done which might not have
passed in the saloons of Mr. Vandewater
himself.

Blodget had the air of a blase, and
after having talked a little, in a tone of
listless indifference, with the Spanish
girl, he turned to another. At the close
of the evening, Monteagle found himself
in conversation with the lively and intelligent
Spanish maid, who told him
that she came from Santiago, a city of
Chile, and where, from some words that
accidentally dropped from her, he was
// 036r.png
.pn +1
made to believe that she had moved in a
circle differing, in many respects, from
that with which he now found her. He
became more and more interested in
Maria, as she was called. With all her
liveliness there was a certain delicacy
about her which enchanted him; and as
she moved about to different parts of the
room, her rounded form and voluptuous
limbs could not escape his watchful regards.
His imagination exalted by
rich wines and fascinated by the beauty
and the manners of Maria, Monteagle was
in a condition to overlook the demand of
prudence, and the whisperings of conscience.
Blodget certainly exhibited no
regret at observing this.

The saloon was full of visitors, and
young ladies, and some of the latter
knew the young clerk well by reputation.
They became much interested in the flirtation
that was going forward between
Maria and Monteagle, and although they
were too well bred to betray their interest,
they saw and heeded all that passed between
them. Some were much surprised,
and others thought it very natural, while
some few, no doubt, rejoiced in the opportunity
for scandal, which would enable
them to ‘entertain company,’ by the
hour or the subject of youthful proclivities,
and the danger of placing too much
confidence in these ‘promising young
men.’

This was a moment of danger for
Monteagle, and yet hundreds of other
youths were in the nightly and even daily
habit of visiting gambling-houses and
places of debauchery, upon whose conduct
no remark was made. The reason
of this may have occurred to the reader.
Monteagle was highly esteemed by his
employers, and an opinion had got about
// 037l.png
.pn +1
that he was something better than common.
All men are said to respect virtue,
and consequently the aberration of
Monteagle was very comforting to such
as had previously regarded him with a
sentiment approaching to envy. We
may as well say, also, in this place, that
the love of Julia Vandewater had been
won as much by the unusual sobriety
and decorum of Monteagle’s conduct as
by his personal and intellectual endowments.
She regarded him as a very <i>uncommon</i>
young man; and it may be
perceived by the importance which Blodget
attached to his ‘secret,’ that Julia
was regarded as a great prize, and one
not to be aspired to by every young fellow
in San Francisco. Julia Vandewater
could have commanded the admiration
of any bachelor in California,
whatever might have been his talents and
acquirements, with the one exception of
Lorenzo Monteagle, who, while he regarded
her with the affection of a brother,
had lived under the same roof with the
young lady long enough to know that he
could never feel toward her as he ought
to feel towards the woman whom he
made his partner for life. But this conclusion
had not been formed upon any
improprieties in the conduct or conversation
of the young lady. Had Monteagle
a brother who was enamored of Julia, he
would have rejoiced to have seen a union
take place between them: but there was
the important point—it was necessary to
be enamored first, for without that he
believed that respect and friendship
could not insure a happy marriage. On
her part Julia loved sincerely, and for
nothing more than for the virtuous and
circumspect deportment of Monteagle.

I have said that our youth had been
fascinated with Maria. He was in high
// 037r.png
.pn +1
spirits; he was pleased with the idea of
having gained so pretty and genteel a
mistress, for she had in the tenderest
manner, consented to be exclusively his
as long as he might feel disposed to keep
her. Patting him on his bump of benevolence
with her taper finger, she had said,
‘Pretty American lad, I love you much.
I love your face. I love your figure, and
your voice. I shall be much please with
you to-day and to-morrow all the same.
Oh, you is one pretty. Come up to my
room and you shall see how I love you,
mine friend.’

Monteagle obeyed this tender request.
From such lips and enforced with a voice
ringing like a silver-bell, it was impossible
for him to disobey the command.
Blodget saw and heard it all; and when
the enamored couple shut the door behind
them, he placed his jewelled finger
on one side of his nose, and winked to the
Scottish-girl who appeared to fully understand
it.

For the last half hour that Monteagle
had remained in the saloon, he had overheard
a lively conversation between
three pretty French girls, carried on in
their vernacular, which had for its object
a lady apparently from Lima, as she was
dressed in their peculiar attire. Her
dress was dark, fitted to the form in a
peculiar manner, so as to show the swell
of the hips, without being wide and flowing
like the dress of our ladies. Her form
was entirely hidden, except that a small
aperture permitted her to look abroad
with one eye. This dress is singular,
and yet it is worn by all fashionable ladies
in certain parts of South America.

This lady had spoken little since her
entrance, while she seemed to be an attentive
observer of all that passed. The
French girls were wondering who she
// 038l.png
.pn +1
was. Their observations were piquant
and full of wit; and as Monteagle was
a perfect master of the French language,
he was not a little entertained by their
funny remarks. To him, however, the
presence of the strange lady was a matter
of very little interest. As her face
was invisible, she might be a perfect
fright for all that he knew to the contrary,
and in the few half-understood words
that fell from her lips, he discovered no
more than the most common-place observations.
He did, however, observe that
the mistress of the establishment—a
very beautiful and accomplished woman
herself—treated the incognito with marks
of the highest respect.

Scarcely had Monteagle placed his
foot on the stairs to follow Maria to an
upper apartment, when the unknown appeared
in the hall, and having thrust a
billet into the hand of the girl, turned
and left the house immediately.

Maria laughed slightly.

‘What is this?’ said she, in her broken
English. ‘One letter to read! Oh!
very good; I shall read you a letter,
mine friend. So much the better. I shall
see.’

Pausing a moment, Maria opened the
note, and read it by the light of the
chandelier. The paper dropped from
her hand, and she stood a moment as if
transfixed with astonishment.

‘She! Oh! She! the holy and devoted
one!’ cried Maria, at last, clasping
her hands. ‘She, here—she come to
this place—and all for me—for me—’

‘Come, come,’ cried the impatient
youth. ‘Come, my beautiful one, and
let us enjoy—’

‘Enjoy nothing. Not to-night; some
other time. I can do nothing to-night.
So she has remembered me. She has not
// 038r.png
.pn +1
forgotten those days of innocence. Ah,
me—they are gone <i>now</i>!’

These words were spoken in Spanish;
but Monteagle found no difficulty in understanding
them, and they partially restored
him to a sense of his present plight.
But who was this ‘holy and devoted
one?’ Some nun, no doubt, who had
stepped between him and his enjoyments.

Monteagle, whose passions were much
excited, stood looking at the fine form
and swelling graces of the Spanish girl;
her tapering limbs, her little feet, her
large dark eyes, and lovely mouth.

‘Surely,’ said he, ‘you will not be so
unkind—’

‘Hush!’ cried Maria, clapping her
hand on his mouth. ‘I am nothing this
evening. <i>Her</i> hand has written this,
and I cannot see you to-night,’ and here
the girl sat down upon the stairs, and
fell into a deep reverie.

‘What shall I do?’ thought Monteagle,
‘If I speak to another girl, every eye
will be upon me; all sorts of surmises.
No, no, I have it. I will consult Blodget.’

He then slipped a slug into the hand
of Maria, who seemed to be almost unconscious
of the act, and stepping to the
door of the saloon, he opened it, and
called to his companion.

Blodget was lazily conversing with the
mistress of the house upon some topic
of general interest, and though surrounded
on all sides by the most fascinating
beauties of almost every civilized country—who
threw out their lures to entrap
him, he appeared as unconscious as a
pair of tongs in a china shop. When he
heard Monteagle pronounce his name,
he looked up surprised: he fairly started,
and seizing his hat, quickly came out to
// 039l.png
.pn +1
him. They passed into the street together.

‘What have you done with Maria?’
said Blodget.

‘She has received a note from somebody,
and has retired alone to ponder
upon its contents,’ answered the youth.

‘Oh! I know—I think, at least, that
the lady who followed you out—the lady
in the mask—ha! ha! ha! I think that
she must have brought the note. But
did she not make you acquainted with
its contents?’

‘No. But whatever its contents were,
they made a deep impression upon her.’

‘Ah,’ exclaimed Blodget, stopping as
if to think. ‘I have heard something
of this. I think I understand something
of it. You must know that Maria received
her education at a convent in
Santiago, about a hundred miles from
Valparaiso, an old-fashioned city where
religion flourishes. This is a <i>religieuse</i>
who came to the house enveloped in the
costume of that city; and I think I have
learned that Maria was the bosom friend
of a young lady of fine promise, and very
devout habits, before she <i>took to the
road</i>.’

‘The road?’

‘Yes that broad road that we read of.’

‘These are singular girls,’ said Monteagle.
‘Instead of mere hacknied mercenaries
they seem to be women of sentiment
and feeling.’

‘Well, I can show you a few such—’

A heavy sigh breathed by some person
near them caused Monteagle to turn
around.

The lady incognito was near them,
and the sigh must have come from her;
but whether it had any relation to their
conversation or not they were unable to
determine. She did not look towards
// 039r.png
.pn +1
them, as she passed. Perhaps that the
sigh had some connection with the unfortunate
Maria. Still as her dark form
receded from view, Monteagle could not
but remember that it was immediately
after Blodget’s proposition to show him
other females, when this sigh was breathed.
.sp 2
.hr 20%
.sp 4
.h2
CHAPTER VI||<I>The Ruined Wife—The Banker’s Marriage.</I>
.sp 2
They walked forward amid the darkness
till they came to a house in Sacramento
street, where instead of the sound
of merry voices which they had expected,
their ears were saluted by the most violent
oaths and denunciations.

‘How is this?’ said Monteagle, ‘is it a
ring fight to which you are conveying
me?’

‘You may well ask that,’ replied Blodget,
stopping to listen; ‘these are unusual
sounds to proceed from this house.
Here seems to be more of Mars than
Venus.’

As they came to the door it was violently
thrown open, and several females
ran screaming into the street.

‘Go in there!’ cried one of the girls,
recognizing Blodget; ‘for God’s sake go
in, or there will be murder done.’

Blodget and Monteagle hastened to
the apartment from which the noise proceeded,
and there they beheld a table
overturned and China ware scattered
about the floor, while a stout, middle-aged
man, with every appearance of a
gentleman, lay on the floor, and another,
equally respectable in appearance, was
// 040l.png
.pn +1
kneeling on his breast, with a revolver in
his hand, and aimed at the throat of the
prostrate man.

‘What! gentlemen!’ exclaimed Monteagle,
‘forbear!’ and he was proceeding
to the relief of the fallen man when
Blodget caught him by the arm, and
whispered, ‘Let them alone. It is all
right. I know them both!’

‘You know them?’ cried Monteagle,
struggling to throw off his friend’s firm
grasp, ‘but is that any reason that they
should murder each other?’

‘That fellow seduced his wife!’ cried
Blodget.

‘Promise, villain! promise!’ roared
the man with a pistol. ‘Promise, or I
finish you on the spot.’

‘Help, I say,’ cried the undermost
man, frothing with rage and pale with
terror—‘Release me from this madman.’

‘Madman!’ cried he with the pistol.
‘Is it mad that I am when I claim that
you shall marry the woman whom you
have stolen away from home and happiness.
Gentlemen, you see here a villain—a
banker of this city—who bloated
with pride, and presuming on his wealth,
seduced my wife and brought her to this
city. I procured a divorce in such a
manner that my ruined wife can marry
again. I followed her and her paramour
to this city, and here I find him rioting
in a house of ill fame, while the woman
that he has blasted—my late wife—pines
in solitude at home, where she is
scarcely allowed the necessaries of life.
Now, you villain, see if these gentlemen
will aid you.’

‘No,’ said Monteagle. ‘We cannot
interfere here; but pray don’t shoot the
villain in cold blood.’

‘His life is safe, if he promises to
marry the woman,’ cried the wronged
// 040r.png
.pn +1
husband; ‘Otherwise he dies! Promise!’
and he thrust the muzzle of the
pistol against the seducer’s forehead.

‘Murder—help!’ cried the man, struggling
desperately to regain his feet.

‘Promise, rascal, promise to marry
the woman, and I release you.’

Perhaps with the hope of making his
escape if he consented, the banker at
length said, ‘Let me up, and I will marry
the—’

‘Call no names for she is your wife.’
cried the other, suffering the banker to
regain his feet, but no sooner was he
up than he made a rush for the door—the
outraged husband levelled a pistol at
his head, and in order to save his life,
Monteagle and Blodget seized the seducer,
and in spite of his struggles, held
him fast. The divorced husband then
begged our two friends to lead the
banker forward. Being concerned for
his life, and thinking their presence necessary
to his safety, Monteagle and
Blodget led the man down the street,
the husband leading the way, pistol in
hand. In an obscure street, they entered
a low-roofed building, where they
found the unfaithful wife attended by a
clergyman.

The banker started, as this vision met
his gaze, and he would fain have retreated;
but he was held by his two conductors
as in a vice.

‘Here,’ said the injured husband to
the seducer—‘here is the woman whom
you are to marry. I have procured a
divorce from her, and left her free. You
took her from me—from a good home—you
have had her as long as it suited
your convenience, but have now almost
entirely cast her off in a strange land.—You
shall marry her.’

The clergyman and all the others
// 041l.png
.pn +1
present said that it was no more than
justice. Finding there was no other
way, the banker yielded and married
the woman whom he had seduced.

After witnessing the ceremony, and
receiving the hearty thanks of the late
husband, Blodget and Monteagle withdrew.

‘What do you think of this scene?’
said Blodget to Monteagle, as soon as
they were alone together in the street.

‘I think it is a hard case in every view
of it,’ returned the youth. ‘The man
has lost his wife—the seducer has married
one whom he cannot love, and the
new wife will doubtless have a hard
time of it with the fellow.’

‘The husband was bent on revenge,’
said Blodget, ‘and in riveting the two
criminals together, I think he has punished
both. It is not likely the wife
will ever live to inherit the banker’s
wealth. He will either dot her or kill
her with unkindness.’

‘But shall we not go back to the
house?’ inquired Monteagle.

Blodget perceived that the young
clerk’s feelings had been too highly
wrought up by the contemplation of female
beauty to admit of his returning
peaceably home without first becoming
better acquainted with one of the inmates
of the house which they had last visited.
He was not averse to returning to the
temple of pleasure, and accordingly he
replied in the affirmative.

But on returning to the house, they
found the light out, and the parties retired
for the night, for the dawn of day
was not far off.

It was enough for Blodget that he had
inducted Monteagle into the downward
path. He did not doubt that, hereafter
the young man would take rapid strides
// 041r.png
.pn +1
towards the point whither he was so desirous
of directing his steps.

Monteagle separated from his companion
and returned home, where he was
soon in the land of dreams.

He awoke late in the morning and felt
a little confused after his night’s career;
for while he was not really intoxicated,
he had been a little merry, and even that
was a rare thing for Lorenzo Monteagle.
His employers were not Puritans, and
consequently they observed nothing peculiar
in his manner or appearance. Mr.
Brown, however, was very sociable with
Monteagle on that day, and the latter
imagined that he knew the cause. He
supposed that the young man was in a
fair way to marry Julia, and accordingly
the former rose in his estimation. Brown
was one of those worthies who worship
the rising sun. He as well as Blodget
thought that Monteagle was ‘a lucky
dog.’ Indeed, he would have been glad
to be in his place. Monteagle saw into
all this, but did not act as if he perceived
it.

In his hours of calm reflection, after
dinner, Monteagle thought upon the
events of the preceding night, how he
had twice been prevented from associating
with one of the seductive young girls
at the houses of pleasure to which Blodget
had conveyed him. In the first instance,
a nun or something of the kind,
had come to snatch Maria from his arms,—at
the second house, the affray occurred
between the banker and the injured
husband. But he had also had a singular
dream during the night, which he
had scarcely had time to think of during
business. It now came up vividly to his
recollection. The details were as follows:
He seemed to be sitting with Julia Vandewater,
in her father’s garden, in pleasant
// 042l.png
.pn +1
conversation, when suddenly the
heavens became overcast and the thunder
rolled heavily over his head. Julia
started up and bestowing upon him a
contemptuous frown, exclaimed, ‘I love
you no longer. I will tell my uncle of
you and get you discharged from his service.’
She then abruptly left him, while
he was much revolted and displeased by
the revengeful and unladylike look that
she cast back at him as she retired. Still
the lightning flashed and the thunder
rolled, till, immediately after a tremendous
crash, he observed that the mansion
of Mr. Vandewater was on fire. It
had been struck by lightning. For a
time all was confusion in his mind, till he
seemed to be again ascending the ladder
to rescue a young lady from the flames.
Again he heard the shouts of the intrepid
firemen below him, and the roaring of
the flames as he approached the window
where, as he supposed, Julia Vandewater
was standing. But no sooner had he
reached her than she proved to be the
nun who had given the note to Maria at
the house of assignation. He seized
her around the waist, and then the stifling
smoke seemed to smother him. His
mind was again confused till he found
himself in a wilderness, fainting with
heat, and seeking for a refuge from the
burning sun. No shade was near, and
he was about to lie down and surrender
himself up to death, when <i>Inez Castro</i>,
riding on an elephant, came that way,
attended by a large number of very
black slaves. On seeing him, Inez immediately
descended to the ground, and
commanding a huge basin to be brought,
bathed his temples with a cooling and
refreshing liquid, which restored all his
powers and filled him with unspeakable
pleasure. Soft music floated around him,
// 042r.png
.pn +1
the atmosphere was filled with the most
delightful odors, and he finally sank into
a sweet slumber upon the rounded
bosom of the beautiful maid.

Such was his dream, and he now pondered
upon it deeply, for it seemed to be
fraught with meaning, as if it was something
more than the effects of his night’s
adventures.

But the more he reflected, the more
he became puzzled, for there seemed to be
no rational interpretation to a dream so
fraught with contradictions, and split up
into separate portions, which seemed to
have no agreement with each other. ‘It
is one of those jumbled visions caused
by excitement and champagne,’ said he—‘late
hours caused it; but I must give
up late hours and be more steady—’ he
paused, for he knew in the secret of his
heart that he should hail the appearance
of Blodget with pleasure, and that he
had more than once looked at the sun
declining in the West. Once, at least,
he must solace himself with beauty.

The hour had nearly arrived for leaving
off all business, and shutting up
store, when Mr. Brown, who had been
absent a couple of hours, thrust a note
into Monteagle’s hand. He opened it
and read—

‘Friend M,—Unexpected business will
prevent me from waiting on you this
evening, as was agreed upon. To-morrow
night I shall be free to attend you.

<i>Ever yours, <sc>Blodget</sc>.’</i>

‘The deuce!’ cried the youth, ‘then I
will go alone.’ He paused, and smiled
as he remembered the good resolution he
had been on the point of forming when he
had no doubt of Blodget’s coming. The
feeling of disappointment which he experienced
convinced him that it would be no
// 043l.png
.pn +1
easy matter to put his good resolution in
practice.

He slowly crawled over the hill toward
the house of Mr. Vandewater. When
he sat down to supper with the family, he
observed that Julia was in much better
spirits than usual. Instead of regarding
him with that heavy, mournful look that
had been habitual to her for some months
past, he caught her in glancing covertly
towards him several times, with sparkling
eyes and something like a glow of
excitement on her cheeks.

‘Mr. Brown called this afternoon, I understand,’
remarked Vandewater in the
course of conversation.

‘Yes, sir,’ returned his lady; ‘he made
himself very agreeable to your hopeful
young lady here.’

‘Now aunt, you are provoking,’ said
Julia, with an ill-concealed smile of pleasure.
‘I was thinking if he was a jug
what a fine handle his huge Roman nose
would make.’

Vandewater roared as usual on such
occasions. Monteagle smiled. A thought,
however, had instantly struck him. He
knew that Brown was a great talker, and
like many great talkers, often said those
things to his listeners which he thought
would interest them rather than those
things which were founded in fact. He
imagined that in the glances which Julia
had given him, at the supper table,
there was a look of triumph as well as
pleasure. Could it be that Brown, knowing
Julia’s secret, had made up a story
about himself—had told her that Monteagle
was truly in love with her, but only
played shy for fear of the uncle? Was
it not quite possible that Brown had
misunderstood the doctor; and that he
believed Vandewater was opposed to the
match, and had advised his niece to
// 043r.png
.pn +1
conquer her passion on <i>that</i> account, instead
of doing it because her passion was
hopeless?

Nothing seemed more likely to Monteagle
than this, especially as Blodget
had so understood the matter, and Blodget
had received his information from
Brown. Besides, might not Brown
have seen Blodget that day, and as the
youth had become suddenly silent when
the ‘great secret’ was told him, had not
Blodget interpreted this silence as despair
of success and consequently melancholy,
and so reported it to Brown?

All that evening, Julia was extremely
lively, and sometimes her aunt regarded
her with surprise if not disapprobation,
so piquant were her sallies and so pointed
was her ridicule. Monteagle was
more than usually grave; not only from
his want of sleep on the preceding night,
but because he thought he had detected
the source of Julia’s gaiety, and the mistake
under which she labored.

At length, when Monteagle rose to
retire, Julia contrived to place herself
near the door, and as he went out, half
asleep, and feeling very dull, she softly
whispered the one word ‘Hope!’

Monteagle started as if struck by an
arrow at this confirmation of his fears.
The poor girl had mistaken his gravity
and dullness for that despair which
Brown had taught her to believe he was
laboring under, and had ventured to tell
him that he might hope!

As Monteagle hurried off to his chamber,
he knew not whether to laugh or
cry.

There was something very comic in
this mistake. The blundering Brown,
with his big nose, getting hold of his
story at the wrong end, and hurrying off
to banter Julia about her conquest was
// 044l.png
.pn +1
ridiculous enough: but then the unfortunate
girl who had suffered herself to
be so readily deluded into the belief that
her love was returned, and undertaking
to cheer his supposed melancholy by a
kind word, called forth his sincerest sympathy.

In the morning early, Monteagle met
Julia in the garden.

‘You are an early riser, sir,’ said she,
‘as well as myself. I think the morning
is the best part of the day.’

‘I am of your mind,’ returned Monteagle,
‘and so are many others, who rise
early to get their morning bitters.’

‘So I have been told,’ said Julia, with
a gay laugh. ‘Am I to understand that
Mr. Monteagle—’

‘Oh, no. I am not one of them,’ replied
the youth. ‘Instead of bitters, I
fall in with <i>sweets</i>, it seems.’

‘Yes, the flowers are fragrant,’ said
Julia, looking about her, and evading
the compliment with the pleased and
rather triumphant air of one who, <i>now</i>,
felt secure of the affections of him who
offered it.

Monteagle observed all this and condemned
himself for having inadvertently
helped along the deception; yet it seemed
too cruel to dash her new-fledged
hopes to the ground, as he might have
done by a single word. Candor would
have dictated an immediate explanation,—but
the youth gave heed to the more
tender pleadings of mercy, and even
said to himself—‘Time may cure her
partiality for me; and another lover may
supplant me in her affections; so I will
let her rest in happy ignorance. I have
no prospect of marrying at present, and
why should I dispel a vision which, although
baseless, pleases the poor, deluded
girl?’
// 044r.png
.pn +1

At the breakfast table, the liveliness
of Julia, and her merry laugh, drew the
attention of Mr. Vandewater, who looked
first at his niece and then at Monteagle,
as if he supposed an explanation had
taken place between the young people,
and that all was as Julia desired it to be.

On reaching the store, Monteagle was
surprised to see a crowd of people about
the door. Officers were there asking
questions and noting down the replies.—Mr.
Brown was flying about among the
spectators, making himself so very busy
that the youth almost suspected he had
lost his wits.

‘Oh, Monteagle, is that you? Where’s
Mr. Vandewater?’

‘I left him conversing with Julia in
the breakfast parlor.’

‘Ah, yes—yes—fine girl that!’ cried
Mr. Brown, tapping the youth jocosely
on the shoulder. ‘But do you know
what’s happened?’

‘Heavens! No!’

‘Robbed!’

‘The store been robbed, do you say?’

‘Yes,’ replied Brown, ‘it was robbed
early this morning.’

‘At what time?’

‘Why, at about four—at what time
do you ask? Well, to judge of the exact
time in which the store was broken open,
you must, I think, inquire of those who
were here. Ha! ha! ha!’

‘They cannot have taken much,’ said
Monteagle, ‘or you could not be so—that
is, you could not speak so lightly
on the occasion.’

‘That safe’s gone!’

‘What! the little safe that we rescued
the other day?’

‘The same which was taken from the
skiff by Vandewater himself.’

‘Why, Mr. Brown, that’s a serious
// 045l.png
.pn +1
loss. There was money in that safe—’

‘Or the thieves would not have carried
it off, to be sure, ha! ha! ha!’

‘But how did he get in?’

‘That’s the puzzle,’ said Charley, coming
up and joining in the conversation.
‘Nothing is broken. The rascals must
have had false keys.’

‘Rather <i>true</i> keys, than false ones,’
replied Monteagle, while Brown gave a
sudden start and slightly colored.

‘Ha! ha! Yes, true ones, or they
would not have answered the purpose,’
said the latter.

‘Yet it is strange,’ continued Monteagle,
‘for the doors were otherwise secured,
as you know, Mr. Brown, by certain
secret fastenings which must have been
broken before any one could have got
in from the outside, unless he was well
acquainted with the premises.’

‘Oh, the Sydney ducks make themselves
well acquainted with all these matters,’
cried Charley. ‘All we have to do
now is to trace out the villains—’

‘And begin by searching the police,’
said Brown. ‘Half the thefts and robberies
are committed by them.’

Mr. Vandewater arrived soon after,
and was also surprised to find his store
robbed without the rupture of a single
fastening. He advised an immediate
search of the premises, as the robbers
might have left something behind them
that would have led to their detection.
Some persons who had gone into the loft
to search, soon came running down with
the intelligence that a man was up stairs,
fast asleep. All ran up at once, and
there Monteagle discovered, between two
bales, the bulky form of the Irishman,
Jamie. He was snoring melodiously,
and seemed to have no idea that the sun
was already up.
// 045r.png
.pn +1

Mr. Vandewater uttered an exclamation
of joy and surprise, for he thought
discovery of the whole affair was now certain.

Monteagle shook the sleeping man
with his foot. Jamie slowly opened his
eyes, and on perceiving there were persons
present, said hastily—‘How—what—is
time, Mr. Brown? Is it time?’

As Mr. Brown was not present, the
by-standers were puzzled by these singular
words.

‘What do you want with Mr. Brown?’
said Vandewater sternly.

The Irishman rubbed his eyes, and
perceiving in whose presence he stood,
answered, ‘Why, Jim Brown, to be sure,
the eating-house man, he was to call me
up in time to go down the Bay.’

‘Indeed! and so you slept here, did
you?’ said Mr. Vandewater sternly. ‘But
how did you get in?’

‘How did I get in, is it? Och, and
wasn’t I working for Jim all day, and
took a little of the mountain dew, and
comed in here in the afternoon—and
where is it, sure, that I am? Can you
tell me at all, at all?’

‘Who is this Jim Brown?’ said Vandewater
turning to Charley. ‘Can you
lead me to him?’ asked Vandewater,
quickly.

‘Och, faith, and it’s I can do that,
same,’ put in Jamie. ‘I’ll take you to
him, right off, jist, if you’ll show the way
out of this—what do yees call it? A
church is it?’

The Irishman affected such blind stupidity
that Vandewater was inclined to
believe that his being in the store on
the night of the robbery was altogether
accidental—that he had blundered in
while drunk and got asleep. Nevertheless,
// 046l.png
.pn +1
he said to Monteagle, ‘Keep that
fellow in custody till I return.’

As Mr. Vandewater went out with
Charley, he descried Mr. Brown, his
partner, examining the fastenings, and
he observed that the face of the latter
was very pale.

‘Poor fellow,’ thought Vandewater to
himself, ‘he takes this matter hard.’

On arriving at the shop of Jim Brown,
that worthy was found at home, although
he had just returned from some expedition,
and was covered with dust.

Charley introduced Mr. Vandewater.

Jim hung down his head a moment as
if brushing the dirt from his leggings.

‘I want to ask you, Mr. Brown, if you
have contemplated an excursion lately?’

‘Sir?’ said Jim with a stare.

‘He don’t savez—give me leave, sir,’
put in Charley. ‘Jim, we want to know
if you have had any business out of
town, lately?’

Jim looked first at one and then the
other. He was a little short man, with
squint eyes, and looked as if he had not
shaved in a month.

‘I goes sometimes to see my folks
that I trade with. I was at a rancho
yesterday.’

‘How late did you stay, Jim?’

‘I am but just got home.’

‘What time did you start to go away?’
‘I didn’t look at the clock,’ replied
Jim, in a surly manner.

‘Come as near as you can, Jim, and
give us a true answer as you value the
safety of your bacon,’ said Charley sternly.

Jim looked up rather fiercely, but he
saw that Charley was in earnest, and replied,
‘Well, I don’t know what time it
was. It may be ’twas eleven o’clock and
may be it was only ten.’
// 046r.png
.pn +1

‘And you have just returned?’

‘I told you so once before.’

‘So you did. When have you seen
Irish Jamie, last?’

Jim looked keenly at his interrogators
before he replied, ‘Well, I can’t rightly
tell. Not in a fortnight, I should say
p’raps, three weeks.’

‘It’s all a cock and a bull story, that
of Jamie,’ said Charley. ‘You see there’s
no truth in it. He must be arrested.’

Jim Brown turned away his face and
his manner was suspicious upon hearing
these words.

As Vandewater and Charley walked
back to the store, the latter said. ‘We
must see the keeper of the rancho and
find out from him if Jim Brown has been
there.’

‘Why do you suspect this Brown of
having been engaged in the robbery?’

‘It is strange,’ said Charley, ‘that the
Irishman, before he had time to think,
should have addressed Brown as one
that had agreed to call him at a certain
hour. We must make sure that Brown
was at the rancho; and if he was, a
Philadelphia lawyer would be puzzled to
account for Jamie’s exclamation when
starting out of a sound sleep, and expecting
to find Brown at his side.’

‘True,’ said Vandewater.

‘Leave it to me,’ continued Charley.
‘I will find out what ranch Jim Brown
visited yesterday. I will call there, and
learn when he arrived, and when he left,
if the fellow was there at all.’

On returning to the store, they found
Jamie standing outside the door, and
surrounded by Monteagle, Mr. Brown
and several of the neighboring dealers.

‘So, sirrah,’ said Vandewater, ‘that
Brown you spoke of, says that he hasn’t
seen you for a fortnight, and he has just
// 047l.png
.pn +1
returned from visiting a friend out of the
town.’

‘Och, the lying villain,’ exclaimed
Jamie, in a tone of virtuous indignation.
‘Och, the lying, thaving, murthering
scoundrel, and wasn’t it his own silf that
tould me to go into the store and take a
nap till mornin’, and—’

He was interrupted by the appearance
of Jim Brown himself, who rushed into
the crowd, and confronting Jamie, cried
‘How’s this? What have you been telling
about me?’

‘About <i>you</i>, is it?’ cried Jamie, with
all the assurance imaginable, ‘and is it
you, you thafe o’ the w-o-r-r-r-l-d, that’s
come to lie me down, and try to hang
his friend widout judge or jury, and
widout binifit of clargy, too. Och, you
thunderin’ wilyun! didn’t you tell me to
go in here, and slape a bit, just till the
morning, when you was to call me up,
sure?’

‘Sir,’ said Jim Brown, addressing Vandewater,
‘When you called at my shop,
I didn’t understand your object, and as
your questions seemed very odd, I wasn’t
well pleased with them; but I’ve been
told since that this man pretends I had
an engagement with him. It is a lie.
I’ve no intercourse with the man when I
can help it.’

‘Hear the lying thafe,’ cried Jamie, in
a towering passion, and before he could
be prevented, he had slipped a long
knife out of his sleeve, with which he
rushed upon Jim Brown and stabbed him
to the heart.

Brown fell dead at the feet of Monteagle.
The murder was committed so
quick and unexpectedly that it was some
minutes before the people collected there
were apprized of what had happened!
No sooner had the sad tale been told
// 047r.png
.pn +1
than the inhabitants came running in
from all directions; a large mob was
collected, a rope procured, and it was
with great difficulty that Charley and
his aids could prevent the populace from
hanging up Jamie on the spot.

Mr. Brown also tried hard to rescue
Jamie from the fangs of the incensed
and vindictive crowd.

‘Let the law take its proper course!’
vociferated he, while Jamie kept crying,
‘Och now, be aisy, you spalpeens—for
there’s more nor me you’ll have to hang,
when yees once begins that game, and
some that’s your betters, too, and as
good as—’

‘Let the law take its course!’ roared
Mr. Brown, so loudly as to drown the
voice of the Irishman. ‘Take him away,
Charley, as soon as possible. See what
a crowd is collecting around here. I’m
afraid of a riot.’

Jamie was finally carried down the
street, in the centre of a tumultuous mob,
some pushing one way, and some another,
with fierce hootings, yells, and
hisses, that were fairly deafening.

A singular impression was left upon
the mind of Monteagle by these proceedings,
and he commenced the business of
the day with a determination to watch
closely every thing which was transpiring
near him, and to propose to Mr. Vandewater
that, in future, some person should
sleep in the store every night.

Jamie, who had at length, completed
the circle of crime by the committing of
murder, was lodged in prison, and Monteagle
felt somewhat relieved on account
of it, as he believed that the man was
for some reason, his deadly enemy. He
had not yet recognized this man as the
one who shot him down in the barge.

On that evening, Blodget called upon
// 048l.png
.pn +1
Monteagle, and appeared to be more affable
than ever, talked with him about
the robbery and made very minute inquiries
about Jamie, whom he thought
innocent of any intent to rob.

‘It is not possible that a man bent on
robbery should lie down and get to sleep
in the store, or that he should be left by
his accomplices,’ said Blodget; ‘and with
regard to his stupid lie about Brown, the
man whom he killed, it was probably
told because he did not know anything
else to say.’

‘But,’ replied Monteagle, ‘in that case
why did he address somebody as Brown
when first starting from his sleep, and
before he had time for premeditation?’

‘There is something in <i>that</i>,’ said
Blodget, fixing his eyes very keenly upon
those of Monteagle. ‘It would seem as
if he expected to be called at a certain
hour by this Brown.’

‘And why should he have been worked
up to such a pitch of madness as to
murder this Brown, if he did not feel
that he was playing him false—’

‘No—no—Monteagle. You are reasoning
for civilized people now. You
don’t know these wild, unscrupulous fellows,
who like Jamie had prowled about
in the wilderness where no moral or religious
instruction can reach them. I
tell you that a man left wild, a prey to
passions, is more to be feared than the
tiger or the catamount.’

‘You seem to think very hard of this
Irishman,’ said Monteagle.

‘Is he not a murderer?’

The youth was silent. Many things
rushed upon his remembrance, and all
through there was running a thread of
mystery which induced him to say to
himself, ‘How little do you know of
what is going on in the world.’
// 048r.png
.pn +1
.sp 2
.hr 20%
.sp 4
.h2
CHAPTER VII||<I>The Ruined Nun—The Mysterious Note.</I>
.sp 2
That evening Monteagle accompanied
Blodget to one of those gay houses in
Dupont street, already mentioned.

Wit, wine, and beauty sparkled on
every side, and again was the imagination
of Monteagle bewildered by the
transcendent loveliness of Italian, English,
North American and South American
beauties, who, although accounted
frail daughters of Eve, were a much
more intellectual, sentimental, and educated
class than is to be found in the
halls of pleasure in any of the older
cities.

While Blodget and Monteagle were
thus spending the evening in converse
with the nymphs of the town, the latter
several times observed Blodget to pause
a moment, and sit with lips apart and
absent eye, as if listening for some sound
in the street.

He was under the impression that
Blodget looked for the arrival of some
other person. At length a confused
murmur was heard as of a crowd at a
distance. The sound approached nearer,
and at length, in full cry, burst upon the
air, such exclamations as ‘Stop him! stop
thief! Broke away! There he goes!
Knock him down,’ and this was followed
by the discharge of fire-arms, and then
came the trampling of many feet, and a
confused roar as of a mighty concourse
in motion.

Every one in the house flew to the
windows and doors; but nothing was
to be seen except a crowd of people hurrying
along with loud outcries.
// 049l.png
.pn +1

‘What is the matter?’ inquired Monteagle
of a person whom he knew, and
who just then paused opposite the window.

‘Oh, nothing much, sir,’ was the careless
reply. ‘A fellow confined for murder
has broken loose; but that we shall
always have while such a police exists.’

‘There’s next to no law in San Francisco,’
observed Blodget, ‘but do you
think, my good man, that the Irishman,—that
the prisoner—will get clear?’

‘I don’t know,’ said the other, moving
on, while Monteagle quickly said, ‘So,
you think it’s Jamie?’

‘Who else can it be?’ said Blodget,
‘he is the man who has been arrested
for murder.’

‘Of course,’ returned the youth, and
yet he thought it strange that Blodget
had hesitated when he first mentioned
the Irishman, and he connected it with
the fact that Blodget had seemed to be
listening all the evening as if in anticipation
of some such occurrence.

These reflections were, however, soon
swallowed up by the gay conversation
that succeeded, and the pleasures of
wine, music, and an interchange of sentiments
with beings who, if virtuous, would
have graced any drawing-room in the
country. Still Monteagle was occasionally
drawn to the contemplation of his
friend who seemed quite restless and
listened to every noise in the street.

Monteagle had attached himself to an
Italian girl, who might be nineteen years
of age. Round and plump—with black
amorous eyes and good teeth, she seemed
to be all alive, and wholly made up of
kindness and affection.

Her history was somewhat romantic,
as Monteagle learned it from another of
the inmates of the house. She was called
// 049r.png
.pn +1
Loretto, but whether a real or a feigned
name was not known. She had taken
the vows of a nun from the purest and
most sincere motives, but after being
two years in the convent, she found it
impossible to fulfil her vows. She was
naturally formed for love, and could no
longer endure to exist without yielding
to the demands of an ardent nature, inflamed
by a continual contemplation of
imaginary love scenes, which always
presented themselves to her mind when
she would ponder upon more sacred matters.

She made her escape from the convent
and returned to her father’s house; but
found no rest under the paternal roof.—Her
parents upbraided her, and were proceeding
to have her returned to the convent,
when she pretended to go to her
chamber for repose. She escaped by the
window, and as she fled through the garden
she met a handsome young Englishman
to whom she at once told her story.
He took her under his protection, without
the least hesitation, and they lived
together, in a retired part of the country
several weeks. This young man was of
a warm temperament, and here comes the
strangest part of the story. He was so
smitten by her charms that they upset his
reason, and he went raving mad. Though
she was actually at his disposal, he imagined
that she was some great princess
whose love he had sought in vain, and
under this strange belief, he, one day
threw himself from a cliff into a bed of
rocks on the sea-shore and was killed.—She
took possession of his mangled body
and his effects, found out his friends and
delivered them into their hands.

She mourned long and bitterly for the
loss of her lover; but her passionate nature
again prevailed, and she accepted
// 050l.png
.pn +1
the offers of a native Count, who was
soon killed in a quarrel.

Believing that a fatality attended her
in her own land, and learning that spies
had been placed upon her actions by her
relatives, she came to Brazil, and from
thence, soon afterwards, to San Francisco.
Such was Loretto, the Italian maid,
whose fervid passions were kindled by
the manly graces of Monteagle.

She appeared to be all life and soul,
and she made a lively impression upon
our youth.

As the evening waned, and while he
sat conversing with Loretto, Monteagle
heard three distinct, though very low
taps, on the outer door. At the same
time, he saw Blodget raise his head and
listen. Then he conducted himself as if
nothing had happened, and conversed
carelessly with the woman to whom he
had attached himself. But in a very few
moments, he arose and whispering in the
ear of Monteagle, said—‘I must quit you
for a little while. I have forgotten something:
but I will return before long.’

Blodget then departed and soon afterwards,
Monteagle withdrew with Loretto.
He saw no more of Blodget on that
night. In the morning, he learned that
Jamie, the murderer, had made good his
escape in a somewhat mysterious manner.
He had disappeared behind the sand-hills
although surrounded by several hundred
men.

‘The earth must have opened and
swallowed him up,’ said Mr. Brown, the
junior partner.

‘I think that he was not the robber of
our store,’ said Mr. Vandewater, thoughtfully,
‘for he would scarcely have remained
here all night, if he had shared in the
booty.’
// 050r.png
.pn +1

‘What could have been his errand?’
said Brown.

‘The fellow might have blundered in
here, in a fit of intoxication and gone to
sleep,’ said Monteagle.

‘But why did he kill that tripeman?’
inquired Mr. Vandewater.

‘Oh, the fellow would kill anybody,’
said Monteagle.

Mr. Brown looked very mysterious, and
finally seeming to muster up courage, he
pulled a note from his pocket, and said to
Monteagle—‘Perhaps you can tell why
this note addressed to <i>you</i> was picked up
on the very spot where the murderer was
sleeping.’

‘How!’ cried Vandewater. ‘What’s
in the note?’

‘I have not taken the liberty to break
the seal,’ returned Brown. ‘Its contents
will be known to Mr. Monteagle whenever
he chooses to do so.’

Brown handed the note to Monteagle.
It was written on fine, gilt-edged paper,
and directed to “Mr. Lorenzo Monteagle,
Montgomery street.”

The astonished youth broke the seal,
and opened the note. On the top was
marked “<i>Strictly Private</i>.” It read
thus:
.pm letter-start
‘Dear Sir: You may think it strange
that you and I were separated so suddenly
on that evening in Dupont street; but
a particular friend of mine was the cause,
as you saw. If you are at liberty this
evening call without fail to see me, but
not at that house. You know the cliff
near which lies the English barque St.
George. I will be under that cliff, on the
sea-shore at 8 o’clock precisely. This is
very private. Let no one see it. It is
sent by a man who will hand it to you,
privately if he has an opportunity. Come
if you can.
.rj
<sc>Maria.</sc>’
.pm letter-end
// 051l.png
.pn +1

‘Ah—it is too late!’ said Monteagle
aloud, and putting the note into his
pocket.

‘It would seem that we are not to be
edified by the contents of your note,’ said
Mr. Brown, looking at Vandewater.

‘What shall I do?’ said the youth to
himself. ‘This is something important,
without doubt.’

‘Private is it not?’ inquired Vandewater.

‘Sir!’ said Monteagle, rather surprised
at the question.

‘You must know that this is a peculiar
occasion,’ said Mr. Brown, rightly interpreting
Monteagle’s surprise. ‘At any other time,
it would be highly improper
to express any curiosity with regard to
the purport of that note.’

‘This note is nothing,’ said the youth.
‘It is strictly confidential and has no
relation to the robbery whatever.’

Vandewater looked at Mr. Brown, and
the latter raised his eye-brows and slowly
shook his head. The grimace was not
observed by Monteagle, whose thoughts
were with the young lady beneath the
cliff.

‘You will observe, Mr. Monteagle,’
said Brown, in a very gentle and yet
distinct tone, ‘that a heavy robbery has
been committed. An atrocious malefactor
is found asleep in the store that
has been robbed; a letter, evidently
dropped by him bears your address upon
its back. If he is taken and brought
to trial, of course that letter will be needed.’

‘So far I can satisfy your curiosity,’
said Monteagle. ‘It appears that Jamie
was employed as messenger to bring me
this letter. It is probable that he came
here drunk and fell asleep.’

‘That seems to account fully for the
// 051r.png
.pn +1
man’s presence. It is as I thought, that
he is guiltless of the robbery,’ said Vandewater.

Brown compressed his lips, partly
nodded, partly shook his head, raised his
eye-brows, and turned away, like a man
who is only half convinced, and who has
made some discovery that he hesitates
to unfold.

At supper that evening, Julia Vandewater
was as gracious as usual; but when
he arose to go abroad, she said to him
as he passed the door, ‘You keep very
late hours, Sir Lorenzo; I must take
you in charge, myself.’

Although this was said in a tone of
raillery, yet there was the slightest possible
air of reproof in it, enough to make
Monteagle feel that the deluded girl considered
herself entitled to express an
opinion upon his conduct.

As he travelled over the hills towards
the town, the youth said to himself—‘Would
it be more cruel to break this
bubble at once, or suffer it to collapse
of itself in due time? Surely a flame
that is never fed won’t burn long, and I
have given Julia not the least reason to
suppose that I regarded her with partiality.’

He had arrived at a thick clump of
bushes, at a considerable distance from
any house though a small rancho was in
plain sight, when he heard something stir
among the leaves and branches. He
drew out his revolver.

‘Will you shoot me?’ inquired a silver
voice, and in another moment, Maria
stood before him.

‘Ah! Good night. I wanted to see
you,’ said Monteagle. ‘I received your
note—’

‘When?’

‘Not till to day,’ replied the youth, ‘although
// 052l.png
.pn +1
it must have been written two or
three days ago.’

‘He’s longer than that,’ replied Maria,
‘I waited for you nearly all night.’

‘At the place you designated—under
the cliff?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then your business must be important.
I am sorry that I did not get the
note in time.’

Maria remained silent some moments.
At length, she began—‘My errand is no
great things. I wanted to see you.’

The youth laid his hand on her shoulder
kindly.

‘No—’said she—‘You don’t understand.
All you, gentlemens, think girls
love you always. Nothing to do but
love man, when man laugh at her,’ and
she shook her locks independently.

‘But I am glad to see you at any
rate,’ said Monteagle.

‘Oh, yes, you are very glad to see me—some—but
you are more glad to see—’

‘Whom?’

‘You know best.’

Monteagle thought of Loretto, whose
witching graces and rich personal charms
had, indeed, wrought powerfully upon
his imagination.

‘Come tell me where she lives,’ said
he.

‘You have just come from there,’ returned
Maria.

‘No, upon my honor, I have not been
there since last night.’

Maria started, and her eyes shone
brilliantly as she gazed into his face.

‘Not been home to-day?’ cried she.

‘Ah, yes, I have just come from the
house of Mr. Vandewater.’

‘And who lives <i>there</i>?’ inquired she,
fixing her eyes keenly on the face of the
youth.
// 052r.png
.pn +1

‘Mr. and Mrs. Vandewater, their niece
and the servants,’ replied he.

‘The niece! the niece!’ cried Maria.
‘What of <i>her</i>?’

‘A very fine young lady, I believe.’

‘Very fine? Yes, very fine—you find
her so? Very fine.’

‘Maria,’ said he, in a decisive tone, ‘if
you have been told that I love Julia Vandewater,
or that I have ever given her
the least reason to suspect so, you have
been told a downright falsehood.’

‘You not love Julia? No? Not a
little bit?’ and she seized his hand and
gazed into his face earnestly.

‘No, Maria, I do not love her.’

Maria was silent, and looked much
puzzled. She trotted her foot; she
looked at Monteagle, and then she fixed
her gaze upon the ground for several
minutes.

Suddenly lifting her head, she said
to Monteagle in a brisk tone, ‘You tell
me one very big lie!’

‘No, upon my honor.’

After a moment’s silence, she said,
‘Where you have been last night?’

‘I can’t tell you that, Maria.’

‘Ah! I find you out. You love one
pretty lady: you see her last night, and
you say I not tell you where I go last
night.’

‘No, Maria, I have answered one of
your questions; but cannot answer the
other.’

Maria looked down, and breathed a
deep sigh.

Monteagle’s pride was a little touched.
He said, ‘I do not know that I shall ever
marry, Maria. But if I happened to
fall in with a congenial spirit—a <i>virtuous</i>,
<i>chaste</i>, respectable girl, I don’t
know what might happen.’

Maria threw back her head, shook her
// 053l.png
.pn +1
raven tresses fiercely, and her nostrils
dilated as she answered—‘What thing
is men! they think of nobody but himself.
Woman got soul for somebody besides
herself,’ and she struck her breast
forcibly, so much so that Monteagle
heard a dagger rattle in its scabbard.

‘Oh, yes, Maria, I have feeling for
others,’ returned Monteagle. ‘I have
feeling for you, and although I may not
wish to marry you—’

The girl whirled completely round on
one foot, and interrupted Monteagle by
a shout of laughter that might have
roused the inmates of the distant ranch.

He looked at her surprised. Scarcely
deigning him a glance, she began again,
and laughed till her breath failed her.

‘Man is so fool!’ said she at length.
‘Here,’ she continued, taking a string of
costly pearls from some place where they
had been concealed about her person,
and laying them on his hand. ‘You
think that poor Maria give you these?
You think I buy?’

Monteagle examined the precious gift
by the twilight, and perceived that it
was, indeed, too magnificent to have
come from the poor nymph, and that it
must be a gift from some unknown individual.

He perceived the drift of Maria’s questionings.
He believed that this was the
gift of some wealthy lady who was kindly
disposed towards him; and that Maria
had been commissioned to sound him on
the subject of his reported attachment to
Julia.

Here was an adventure, indeed, and
his imagination was at once set on fire.

‘Tell me, Maria, the name of the lady?’

‘What lady?’

‘The lady who sent me these pearls.’
// 053r.png
.pn +1

‘A Lady—ha! ha! ha! It was not
a lady. It was one big gentleman.’

Monteagle’s vanity fell ninety degrees,
at hearing these words.

‘Who was the gentleman?’ inquired
he, impatiently.

‘Who is your lady that you saw last
night?’ questioned the wilful girl.

‘Oh, nobody—nothing at all. Nobody
that I shall ever fall in love with,
I promise you that.’

‘Not fall in love? Where you go to-night?’

Monteagle smiled at this close question,
for he felt a little caught. He was
bound to Loretto when he met Maria.

The girl turned and began to leave him.

‘Stop, Maria, tell me more about these
pearls. Who is the gentleman who sent
them to me?’

‘Who is the lady you see last night
and go to see to-night too?’ demanded
she retreating.

Monteagle pursued, when she quickened
her pace and finally fled with the fleetness
of a fawn. Not caring to be seen
chasing a woman by several travellers,
whom he had observed coming that way,
Monteagle slackened his pace. Maria
was soon out of sight, and Monteagle
was besieged by a thousand ideas at once.

‘She tells me that this valuable gift
came from a man—a wealthy nabob—and
yet she inquires as closely into the state
of my heart as if she was the agent of
one of her own sex who had an interest
in knowing whether I was in love with
Julia Vandewater or not. At any rate,
she has gone off in the belief that I have
a lady in view—That I am in love with
her, with whom I spent last night and to
whom I am now going!—Perhaps—yes,
perhaps, after all, this is a present from
a lady, and that Maria was charged not
// 054l.png
.pn +1
to tell that fact unless she should discover
that my heart was disengaged, and
that believing it to be otherwise, she feigned
that these pearls came from a rich
old fellow who had nothing to do with
his wealth but to send it about the country
by the hands of ladies of pleasure
begging young men to accept of it! No,
no, that won’t do. This gift has come
from a lady.’

He thought of the veiled female, supposed
to be a nun, who brought Maria
the note. ‘Might not she be the giver?’

‘But no, her errand was to the girl,
not me.’

A moment’s reflection taught him, that
it would be improper to go with his valuable
prize to the house whither he was
bound, as Loretto might suppose, in case
she discovered it that it was intended as
a gift to her, and would experience a disappointment
when informed that such was
not its destiny.

He turned on his steps to return to the
house, and a moment afterwards heard
quick footsteps behind him. He turned,
at the same time placing his hand on his
revolver; but the two men who now approached
him seemed to be peaceably inclined.

‘A fine night, sir,’ said one of the strangers.

‘It is indeed,’ replied Monteagle.

‘Have you seen anything of a large
brown goat, hereabouts, sir,’ continued
the man who had first spoken.

‘I have not,’ was the reply, and Monteagle,
bidding them ‘good evening,’ turned
to take his way to the city. At this
moment his arms were firmly pinioned to
his sides by one of the men, while the other
quickly and adroitly drew his revolver
from his pocket, and passed a strong
cord several times tightly round his arms.
// 054r.png
.pn +1
The man who had heretofore held him
in his iron gripe, in spite of his determined
struggles, suddenly tripped up his
heels, and he fell heavily upon the hard
beach.

The sudden shock for a few seconds
deprived him of his senses, and when recollection
returned he found himself still
lying on the wet shore, from which the
tide had but just receded. His arms were
tightly lashed behind his back, and his
eyes closely bandaged.

For a few moments no sound was
heard but the low murmuring of the small
waves as they rolled upon the beach, and
his own heavy breathing, for he had violently
resisted the ruffians in their attempt
to bind him; but the assault had been too
sudden and unexpected for his efforts to
be of any avail.

He now attempted to unbind his arms,
but all his attempts were perfectly futile.

‘I hope you’re having a good time of
it, casting off them stoppers. Nothing’ll
open them lashings but a sharp knife, and
if you get one at all it will be through
your blasted ribs, if I had my way about
it.’

‘Who are you, sir; and what means
this rascally violence?’

‘Take it coolly, my young game-cock,
and bless your stars you haven’t a brace
of bullets through your bloody heart,’
said another voice, which he recognized as
that of the person who had questioned
him about the goat.

Monteagle revolved in his mind all the
occurrences which had transpired in the
last few days, in order to account for this
strange outrage. At first he thought robbery
might be their object; but this idea
was put to flight when he remembered
that while he lay senseless no attempts
// 055l.png
.pn +1
had been made to deprive him of the little
gold he had about him.

Another person now joined the party,
and he heard the three in low and apparently
earnest consultation. Soon they
ceased talking, and approached him.—Two
of them raised him to his feet, and
one of them said in a rough, brutal tone,
‘Now, stir your stumps, and walk where
we lead you.’

‘But how if I refuse to walk?’ said
Monteagle.

‘Then we’ll take you by the neck and
drag you over the beach, if the sharp
stones scrape the flesh from your cursed
bones.’

‘Release me; or my cries shall bring
assistance,’ said Monteagle, resolutely.

‘Speak one loud word, and the contents
of this crash through your scull,’
said the last comer, in a firm calm voice,
and our hero felt the cold muzzle of a revolver
pressed against his temple, and at
the same instant the sharp click announced
it was at full cock.

Monteagle had as brave a heart as ever
beat in mortal bosom; but here was a
dilemma that would have made even
Jack Hays pause for reflection.

But little time was given Monteagle
for thought.

‘D—n,’ cried one of his captors, impatiently,
‘let’s be moving. We’ve got a
long road, and a heavy night’s work before
us yet.’

‘By —, you’re right, old hoss,’ said
one of them, ‘there’s been fooling enough
already.’

So saying, he seized Monteagle by the
collar with no gentle grasp.

The latter seeing that resistance would
only lead to his being dragged along by
main force, if not to his instant death,
// 055r.png
.pn +1
told them to unbind him, and he would
walk peaceably along with them.

‘That’s right, youngster, you’ll save
us the price of a couple of bullets, and
the trouble of reloading,’ said the fellow
with the revolver.

After proceeding alongside the beach
for some hundred yards, they clambered
up the almost perpendicular face of the
cliff, by the assistance of the dwarf trees
and jutting rocks. Monteagle being aided
by two of the men, who each held one of
his arms.

Before gaining the summit of the cliff,
one of the party gave a low, peculiar
whistle, somewhat like the cry of a curlew.
It was immediately responded to
and they set out in the direction from
whence proceeded what was evidently
the pre-concerted signal.

‘All right, Jimmy,’ said one of Monteagle’s
captors.

‘The divil a bit of noise I hear, I heard
only the barking of them cursed lane
wolfs that the uncivilized graysers call
key-oats. And the d—d half starved
things made me feel a bit afeard, for they
sounded like a dog howling, and you
know when a dog howls it’s sure some one
that hears him is soon going under the
sod.’

‘Shut up your Murphy-trap, Jim, or
just open it, and take a swallow of this:
I got it at the Sazerac as I passed, thinking
you might need a little Dutch courage,
and that brandy would put pluck
into even John Chinaman’s chicken heart.’

‘Come, come, let’s mount and be off.’
This order was given by a voice which
Monteagle recognized as that of the man
who placed the pistol at his head, and
who appeared to be the leader of the
gang.

Monteagle was placed upon a horse,
// 056l.png
.pn +1
and with a mounted man on each side of
him, one of whom held the lariat of his
steed. The word was given to proceed,
and they all started at a brisk trot.

‘What way?’ said Jimmy.

‘Right straight for the hut!’ was
the response.

Monteagle and his assailants had just
disappeared in a deep hollow, when a
man suddenly emerged from the thick
shrubbery that enclosed the spot from
which the party had departed. He was
a short, powerfully built man. Even in
the moonlight one could see that there
were more white than black hairs in the
abundant locks that fell upon his variously
colored blanket; but his eye-brows
were coal-black, and bent over eyes as
bright and keen as the point of a dagger.

‘Holy Barbara!’ ejaculated he in
Spanish, while his hands almost mechanically
made the sign of the Cross. ‘What
in the name of <i>San</i> Diabolo are they going
to do with that youth? But I must
be off, or it will be too late to save him.
No wonder our dear mistress Donna Inez
loves him. I owe him a good turn, too,
for he certainly saved my life when them
two ‘Pike’ hombres were going to give
me ‘hell,’ as they called it, because I was
sober on the Fourth of July.’ Thus soliloquizing,
the Californian, for such he was,
withdrew once more into the thicket, and
in a second returned, followed by a noble
looking steed, black as midnight.

‘You shall have a good run now, my
handsome Cid,’ said the old Californian,
as he patted the mane upon the forehead
of the noble animal, as gently as a
father would the curls that clustered on
the brow of a favorite daughter.

Without touching foot to stirrups, he
vaulted lightly into the saddle, shook the
reins, and the next instant Cid was bearing
// 056r.png
.pn +1
his rider through the hollows and
over the hills that lay between them and
the Mission, near which was the rancho
inhabited by the father of Donna Inez.

Sanchez, for such was the name of the
horseman, never drew rein until he stopped
abruptly at the gate of his mistress’
domicile. Here he alighted, entered the
house, and sought an interview with the
beautiful daughter of Signor Castro.
.sp 2
.hr 20%
.sp 4
.h2
CHAPTER XVIII||<I>The Lone Hut—The Torture!</I>
.sp 2
Return we now to Monteagle. The
ruthless gang of fellows who had made
him prisoner rode on in almost total
silence over the vast treeless, shrubless,
sand bank which lies between the bluff
headlands and the little laguna, where
the pig-eyed votaries of Confucius perform
the scrubbing, dipping and pounding
of linen, dignified with the misnomer
of <i>washing</i>. As if anything immersed
in that chocolate-hued fluid could emerge
purer than it entered. Skirting the
shore of the laguna, the party soon
reached a tolerably good road. This
they followed for about half a mile. One
of the party riding some distance in advance
in order to give notice of the approach
of any unwelcome intruder. No
person appeared, however, to interfere
with their plans and they soon struck
off into the sand hills, where their persons
were hidden from view by the scrub
oaks and wild lilac bushes that covered
these lonely spots, since dotted with
neat little cottages and smiling
gardens. Heaven grant that they may
ever be the abode of prosperity and happiness,
// 057l.png
.pn +1
as they have always been of open-hearted
hospitality.

Half an hour’s more riding brought
them to the place of their destination. It
was a rude hut or cabin, such as ‘squatters’
put up when taking possession—peaceably
if they can, forcibly if they
must. This hut was erected at the bottom
of a deep dell, surrounded on all
sides by hills so abrupt that they were
forced to leave the horses tied above,
while they made the descent on foot.

Both externally and internally this
looked like the ordinary abode of a new
settler. But no sooner had the gang
entered with their prisoner, than a light
was procured, and one of the party,
moving a mattress, lifted a trap door
that gave entrance to a subterraneous
apartment of some extent. It was probably
a natural cavern, the entrance to
which had been accidentally discovered
by these desperadoes. Its isolated situation
suggested its usefulness to them
as a secret place of rendezvous, and a receptacle
for plunder. One of them had
accordingly squatted on the place and
put up the hut.

Monteagle was handed down into this
apartment, his eyes still blindfolded—but
the close, damp air informed his
senses that he was in an underground
apartment of some kind. The more he
reflected the more he became mystified
in his endeavors to ascertain the motives
that had prompted these ruffians to
take him prisoner in this most unaccountable
manner. He had recognized
the voice of the man called ‘Jimmy’ as
that of the villian found asleep in Vandewater’s
store, and who had been arrested
for murder, and afterwards escaped
from justice. But this discovery did
not explain why he had been thus kidnapped.
// 057r.png
.pn +1
His suspense was, however,
soon ended, as shall presently be shown.

The cavern was of large dimensions,
yet was more than half filled with silks,
broadcloths, laces, and velvets of the
costliest descriptions piled promiscuously
together. Upon these heaps lay goblets,
salvers and ladles of gold and silver
ware, some showing signs of use, but
most appearing bright and untarnished
as when they glittered on the jeweller’s
shelves. These things were evidently
the result of successful robberies and
explained why the neighboring city had
been swept by so many conflagrations.

In one corner of the cavern a small,
thin, sharp-visaged man bent over a
large crucible, the flickering flames beneath
which shed a red glow upon his
swarthy, anxious countenance. At the
first glance this individual might have
been mistaken for one of those alchemists
who, in the dark ages, sought to
transmute the baser metals into gold,
or discover an elixir that would give
to mortal man eternal vigor and immortal
youth. He of the crucible was engaged
in no such visionary employment.
Beside him stood dies and other mechanical
contrivances for the manufacture
of coin, while a large box full of glittering
‘octagons’ showed that he was busy
‘augmenting the currency,’ by fabricating
spurious ‘slugs.’

Monteagle now once more demanded
the cause of his detention.

‘Your employer, Vandewater, lately
sold a vessel on account of a New York
merchant, for thirty thousand dollars,
which sum he received in gold. That
money was placed in your safe—’

‘Then you are the robbers!’

‘Silence, and listen! When we opened
the safe, it only held a few thousands
// 058l.png
.pn +1
belonging to the firm. You know where
the thirty thousand is placed. Inform
us, and you shall be liberated, and if we
obtain the money, you shall have five
thousand dollars for your share.’

‘I’ll die first,’ indignantly cried Monteagle.

‘No—you’ll confess first, and maybe
die soon after,’ said a voice which Monteagle
to his surprise and joy recognized
as that of Blodget.

‘What, Blodget, my friend, you here?
Then this is all a joke. But it has been
carried much too far,’ said Monteagle, his
cheek flushing as he thought of the violence
he had been subjected to.

‘If it’s a joke, youngster, you’ll think
its a d—d poor one before we get through
with it. But enough of this fooling!
Tell where the money’s to be found, or
by h-ll we’ll make you!’

‘Never—so help me heaven!’ said
Monteagle, determinedly.

‘Just hand me that little vice,’ said
Blodget, in a cool, business-like, tone.

‘Is it this?’ said Jimmy, bringing over
a small, portable iron vice, from among
the tools by the furnace.

‘That’s right,’ said Blodget. ‘Now,
lads, hold him fast.’ Monteagle was suddenly
prostrated upon the damp floor,
and firmly held there by the ruffians, although
he put forth lion-like strength
in his struggles to shake off his enemies.
‘Now, then, we’ll try his nerves,’ said
Blodget, and immediately proceeded to
adjust the vice on one of Monteagle’s
thumbs. ‘Will you tell where the money
can be found?’ said Blodget.

Monteagle made no reply.

Blodget gave the vice a couple of turns
but Monteagle gave no signs of feeling
except an involuntary shudder and a
heavy sigh.

Again his heartless tormentor gave
// 058r.png
.pn +1
the vice a turn. Still the brave youth
remained silent, although the pain was
fearful, and he could feel the hot blood
gushing from under his nail.

‘Knock out the stubborn divil’s brains,’
cried Jimmy, waxing impatient at the
delay.

‘Keep cool, Jimmy,’ said Blodget. ‘It
is money we want, not brains.’

Another turn of the vice—but Monteagle,
save by a low, involuntary groan,
gave no token of the agony he suffered.

‘Curse the fellow, it’s as hard to extract
gold from him as to crush it out
of quartz rocks. He’s so devilish stubborn,
I see he will die, as he says, before
he’ll tell where the gold is placed.
Now, boys, what’s to be done?’ continued
Blodget, looking around inquiringly
into the villainous faces of his companions.

They were all silent, for some seconds.
At length the man that we have described
as being employed over the furnace,
broke silence, saying, ‘Let me manage
him, and I’ll promise to make him tell,
not only where we may find this gold,
but reveal far weightier secrets, if such
he knows.’

‘Go a-head! Signor Maretzo,’ said
Blodget, ‘but remember that we have no
racks and wheels, or any of those other
ingenious contrivances so common in
your precious country.’

‘My country is what tyrants and
priests have made it;’ returned the Italian.
‘Even the accursed act I am now
about to practice I learned in the dungeons
of the <i>holy</i> inquisition. There my
heart was turned to marble, and every
drop of pity congealed forever.’

‘Let the blessid church alone, or you
and me’ll have a row, old black-beard,’
said Jimmy, quite fiercely.

‘That ‘Sazerac’ brandy has awakened
// 059l.png
.pn +1
Jimmy’s religious feelings. But, come,
come—there’s been too much of this
fooling. Maretzo, if you can make this
stubborn devil talk, do so at once!’

Maretzo made some arrangements
about his furnace, and joined the party
gathered around Monteagle—who still
lay, bound and blind-folded, upon the
dungeon floor.

The Italian then took up a piece of
linen from one of the piles of dry goods,
and placed it smoothly and tightly over
Monteagle’s lips and nostrils. He then
took a glass of water, and poured a few
drops upon the linen. The poor youth
could draw breath with difficulty through
the dry linen, but when its threads became
swollen by absorbing the water
his respiration was almost entirely prevented.
His breast heaved by involuntary
muscular expansion—great drops
of sweat started from every pore, while
the veins of his neck and forehead grew
swollen and purple. It required the united
force of all the scoundrels that surrounded
him to retain his writhing body
on the earth.

Poor Monteagle’s convulsive and spasmodic
efforts, however, soon subsided,
and it appeared as if his tormentors had
gone too far, and that death had stepped
in and snatched their helpless victim
from further cruelties.

Maretzo removed the cloth, and after
a few heavy and painful attempts at
breathing, Monteagle’s low groans and
sighs told how dreadful had been his sufferings.

‘Now, G—d d—n your stubborn soul
will you tell us where to find the money,’
said Blodget.

Heavy, deep-drawn sighs, were the
poor youth’s sole reply.

‘Give him another dose,’ said one of
// 059r.png
.pn +1
the heartless ruffians, ‘he likes the medicine
so well.’

At this instant the trap door was
lifted, and one of the gang, who had
been stationed on the neighboring hill as
a look-out, cried:

‘I see a party of horsemen making
right for the hut, at full gallop. We
must have been followed. Let’s be off,
at once, or we’re sure to be taken!’

‘Sure an’ let’s have a brush wid ’em,’
said Jimmy.

‘Never fight till you’re obliged to,’
said Blodget.

‘Lay hold of this fellow,’ said Maretzo,
‘and carry him to a horse, then let’s
all start down towards the Heads. I
know of a cave there, that has never
had any dwellers except seals. There
we can keep this youth, and wring the
secret from him, or, failing that, put him
where he’ll tell no tales.’

No more words were wasted; this
striking the whole party as the best plan
they could pursue under the circumstances.
Accordingly, a couple of men seized
hold of Monteagle, and bore him up
the stairs, through the hut, and then to
the summit of the acclivity where the
horses were tethered. The rest of the
party followed, bearing with them all
the most valuable and portable articles
they could get hold of in their haste.

By the time the whole gang were in
the saddle and ready for a start, the approaching
party of riders had got to
within a quarter of a mile of the hut.
They were coming from the direction of
the Mission.
// 060l.png
.pn +1
.sp 2
.hr 20%
.sp 4
.h2
CHAPTER IX||<I>The Maid—the Robber—the Race.</I>
.sp 2
The reader will remember that we
left Sanchez at the house of Signor Castro,
whither he had ridden with speed,
upon hearing the directions given to convey
Monteagle to the solitary hut, with
the whereabouts of which he was well
acquainted.

Leaping from his horse, Sanchez merely
cast the reins upon his neck, and the
well trained animal stood almost motionless
awaiting the return of his rider.

Upon entering the house the first inquire
of Sanchez was for his young mistress,
Donna Inez. She had gone to the
Mission Church, to attend the vesper
services, and had not yet returned.

Again Sanchez was in the saddle, and
in a few moments reached the square
fronting the rude antique edifice in
which many generations of Californians
have been christened, wedded and buried.
Here he again dismounted, entered the
church, and catching the eye of his mistress,
motioned her to follow him, and
then withdrew from the church. No
sooner had they passed from beneath the
sacred roof, than Sanchez related to her
all that he had witnessed on the beach,
when Monteagle was seized.

The youthful maiden’s lovely cheek
now paled till it was white as alabaster,
then crimsoned till its flush rivalled the
ruddiest rose, as she listened to the rude
but graphic description given by Sanchez
of the violent seizure of the gallant
youth who had bravely rushed into the
flames and saved her from a dreadful
death.

Donna Inez directed Sanchez to go to
a small hotel, on a road that leads into
the Mission Plaza, and inquire for one Joaquin.
If he saw him, he was to say the
// 060r.png
.pn +1
lady desired to meet him instantly, at her
father’s residence.

Sanchez did the bidding of his young
mistress with due diligence. He found
Joaquin busy at a game of billiards;
but no sooner did he receive the message
than throwing down his cue he rushed to
the door, and leaped into the saddle of a
splendid looking horse, which was quietly
standing untied at the door. Bidding
Sanchez to follow, Joaquin struck the
spurs deep into the flanks of his fiery
steed, and proceeded at a gallop towards
the dwelling of Signor Castro.

When Joaquin arrived in front of the
mansion, he found the young and lovely
lady standing in the portico. She was
attired in the rich garb of a Mexican
cavalier. But neither the large topped
boots, nor the ample poncho could disguise
the matchless symmetry of that
perfect form: rich in every grace that
renders woman resistless. Her rounded
bosom heaved wildly beneath the folds of
her poncho as Joaquin lifted his hat before
her, at the same moment reining in
his foaming steed with such a sudden and
powerful effort, that the spirited animal
was forced down almost on his haunches.

‘<i>Buenos noches</i>, Donna Inez,’ said the
robber, for such he was, respectfully.

‘Thank you—thank you, Joaquin, for
your promptness. You are indeed grateful,’
said Donna Inez.

‘My dear lady,’ replied Joaquin, ‘give
me I beg of you, an opportunity to prove
my gratitude in some more difficult shape
than in riding a short distance on a fine
evening.’

‘I will Joaquin. I desire this night,
to have your aid in an enterprise full of
difficulty; nay, of absolute danger,’ said
Inez.

‘Danger!’ cried the robber, and his
// 061l.png
.pn +1
bright black eyes dilated and sparkled
like those of a war-horse when the clangor
of trumpets smites his ear. ‘Let the
enterprise be full of danger and I will
execute it for the danger’s sake—much
more willingly however, if I also serve
you, my dear, my noble young lady. Oh,
never can be effaced from my heart your
kindness to my poor, darling Carmencitto,
after those fiends had—’ the robber
paused, his swarthy visage became of
ashy hue, and his strong frame trembled
with some violent emotion. ‘Enough of
this—I live but for two purposes—gratitude
to you, and revenge on them
hell-born villains—then welcome death
in any shape; for what have I more to
do in this world, when my poor Carmencitto
lies in her cold grave?’

Inez, who knew how cruelly this man
had been treated, waited ere she again
addressed him. When he became somewhat
calmer, she said:

‘Joaquin, some villains have seized
the brave young man who saved my life,
and carried him to the lone hut over
among the sand-hills. I am determined
to rescue him, and need your aid, and
that of some of your friends.’

‘Most willingly,’ replied Joaquin, and
placing a small silver bugle to his lips he
blew two notes, so sharp and loud that
their echoes could be heard reverberating
from the distant hills. But awakening
the echoes were not the only effect. In
a few moments, coming from different directions,
nearly a dozen horsemen could
be seen drawing towards the spot where
the sounds proceeded.

Meanwhile, Sanchez, in obedience to
the directions of his mistress had saddled
her favorite horse, and led him to the
front of the house; when Inez, declining
assistance, vaulted lightly into the richly
// 061r.png
.pn +1
mounted saddle <i>en cavalier</i>, and as the
fiery animal bounded and curvetted, her
full but exquisitely moulded limbs yielded
gracefully to each movement of the
animal she bestrode, while she tried to
check his impatience by patting his coal
black neck with her little hand, whiter
than the pearls that zoned her taper fingers,
and speaking to him in those soft
endearing expressions of which the Spanish
is so full.

No sooner had the horsemen, summoned
by the bugle of Joaquin, all assembled,
than they started at a brisk pace,
led by Sanchez, through the bridle-path
that led in the direction of the hut.

It was the approach of this party which
induced the gang who had captured
Monteagle, to leave the hut in such
haste.

Monteagle was so exceeding weak when
he reached the spot where the horses of
the thieves were tied, that, even had he
wished to do so, he could not have retained
his seat, in the saddle a moment.
So, after placing him astride a horse, they
lashed him in his seat with one of those
ever-present and ever-useful lariats.

No sooner was this done than away
they started in the direction of the Presidio
Road, the pursuing foe, being less
then a third of a mile behind them.

‘Who the deuce can they be?’ said
Blodget, who rode on one side of Monteagle,
to Jimmy, who rode on the other
side.

‘It’s more nor I can conceive,’ replied
Jimmy.

‘They can’t be police, nor even the
vigilance committee, or why come from
the Mission instead of the city?’ said
Blodget.

‘They surely can’t be a pleasure party,’
replied Jimmy. ‘For the huntsman of
// 062l.png
.pn +1
Howth, that followed a hare to h—l,
wouldn’t gallop over those sand-hills for
fun.’

‘And most certainly not at such an
hour,’ said Blodget. ‘’Tis very, very
strange. They still follow us,’ he continued,
as he turned in the saddle, and
looked back at the approaching party.

By this time they had gained the road
that—running almost parallel with the
shore of the Bay—passed the Presidio,
and went on toward the rugged promontory
which forms one side of the famous
Golden Gate.

For a few moments they proceeded on
in silence; occasionally glancing back to
see if the party that so alarmed them,
continued the pursuit. What they had
thus far feared was soon turned to certainty,
for they saw the whole party, numbering
nearly a dozen, emerge from the
shrubbery, turn into the road, and follow
after them at a good round pace.

‘As long as we keep this distance from
them, don’t force your horses, and we may
yet contrive to escape them. Their nags
must be pretty well blown, as they had a
long ride before they reached the hut; and
ours started fresh, after a good long rest,’
said Blodget to his companions.

Leaving the gang of thieves to pursue
their way, let us return to Inez and the
party accompanying her.

‘They have all left the hut,’ said Sanchez,
as they drew near it, ‘and I think
that is the young American, between the
two that ride in advance of the party.’

‘Oh, for heaven’s sake, let us spur on,
and save him. Who knows what bloody
purpose is in their cruel hearts!’ cried
Inez.

‘We must spare our horses over this
uneven ground, if we hope to catch the
villains,’ replied Joaquin.
// 062r.png
.pn +1

‘Be it as you say,’ rejoined the maiden,
reluctantly checking her eager steed who
seemed impatient to leap forward.

While these conversations were proceeding,
both parties had reached a fine
piece of level ground that stretched away
before them in the direction of the
Presidio.

‘Now,’ cried Joaquin, ‘urge your horses
to the utmost!’ and suiting the action
to the words, his long spurs were buried
into the side of his charger, who bounded
forward like lightning.

Keeping leap for leap with his fleet
steed was the gallant animal that bore
Inez on his back, while the rest of the
party were but a few rods in the rear.
The vigilant Blodget soon observed that
the pursuers had increased their speed,
and were fast lessening the distance between
them.

‘Let your horses do their d—est!’
cried the profane fellow, as he struck the
rowels deep into the already bleeding
sides of his courser.

His followers quickly obeyed his commands,
and the pursuers and the pursued
were soon scouring over the plain, at the
very utmost speed of their respective horses.
// 063l.png
.pn +1
.sp 2
.hr 20%
.sp 4
.h2
CHAPTER X||<I>The Chase Continued.</I>
.sp 2
Inez and Joaquin had now arrived almost
within pistol-shot of the gang, which
had concentrated around Monteagle.

‘They’ll catch us sure, if we don’t cast
this fellow adrift,’ said one of the party.

‘He’ll never live to see one of us hung,
at any rate,’ said Jimmy, drawing a revolver,
and raising it towards Monteagle’s
head.

‘Liar!’ shouted Joaquin, as he raised
himself in his stirrups, and cast his
lasso, which had been for some seconds
whirling round his head.

Before Jimmy had time to touch the
trigger the unerring noose was fast around
his neck. Joaquin’s horse halted suddenly,
bringing Jimmy to the earth with
such violence, as to break his neck.

‘Don’t mind, Jimmy, but spur for
your lives,’ cried Blodget, as he urged
on his own steed, and that to which
Monteagle was lashed. Maretzo instantly
taking the place just before occupied
by Jimmy.

The lassoing of Jimmy necessarily
caused some delay to the pursuing party,
which the pursued made good use of to
increase the distance between them.

Joaquin sprang from his horse to disengage
his lasso from the neck of the
fallen man, and in turning the body for
that purpose, brought the face of the villain
into the full light of the moon.

‘Holy Virgin. Thanks, thanks. A
golden candlestick shall grace your
shrine,’ and his eye sparkled, and a gleam
of joy shot over his swarthy visage.

‘Gracious Heavens!’ exclaimed Inez.
‘Why Joaquin, though the holy saints
know how thankful I am that your skilful
// 063r.png
.pn +1
arm saved the life of my dear preserver,
still I cannot conceive why you can
take such pleasure in looking upon such
an awful sight as the face of that wretched
man,’ and Inez turned her face aside
sickened to the very heart.

‘My gracious young donna,’ replied
the robber, ‘too seldom have I prayed
to the holy saints, and to the still holier
ones. But of late I have thrown myself
before every crucifix I saw and with tears
begged that the ravishers of Carmencitto
should fall by this hand, and this hand
only. And the holy saints have heard
my prayers.’ As he spoke, he drew a
long sharp blade from its sheath, and
plunged it to the hilt in the still warm
breast of his prostrate foe. ‘And now, fair
lady,’ he exclaimed, ‘once again I am at
your service.’

‘Let us ride like the wind, Joaquin,’
said Inez impatiently.

Joaquin was in his saddle, and his
horse at full speed in an instant.

But the few moments that had elapsed
had sufficed for Blodget and his troop to
be almost out of sight.

‘They will surely escape us,’ cried the
maiden.

‘No donna,’ said Sanchez respectfully.
‘They have turned down to the beach,
and before they ride a quarter of a mile
they will reach a rock that runs out into
the sea, round which they cannot pass
but at low tide, and even then with
great risk.’

While Sanchez was speaking, Blodget
and his comrades had reached the
point alluded to.

‘By G—d,’ cried Blodget, ‘here we
are, brought up, all standing,’ as he
reined his horse, and gazed angrily upon
the white breakers that dashed against
the base of the high and jagged rock.
// 064l.png
.pn +1

‘This that you fear will ruin us, will
prove our safety,’ said Maretzo. ‘I
know this spot well. Though close at
the foot of the cliff the water is deep, a
little way farther out, it is comparatively
shoal, and the blue water will hardly
reach our horses’ girths, though the foam
and spray of the breakers may dash over
our heads. Follow me closely, deviate
not a single inch right or left, and my
life for it, I’ll bring you safely through.’

So speaking, Maretzo, taking the horse
of Monteagle by the bridle, rode fearlessly
into the seething and foaming
cauldron that roared around the projecting
rocks.

He was followed by Blodget and the
rest of the party, and though the stoutest
of them quailed when the tumbling
waves reached their knees, and the cold
spray dashed blindingly in their eyes,
yet they continued on, seeing that the
steeds of Maretzo and Monteagle kept
their footing in the yeasty waves.

When Inez and her friends reached
the point around which Monteagle had
disappeared with his capturers, their
first impulse was to follow, but Joaquin
commanded his party to halt, till he first
attempted the dangerous passage. Inez,
however, refusing to let him risk the attempt
alone, spurred her steed and dashed
boldly into the roaring and foaming
waters with him.

They naturally kept as close to the
face of the cliff as possible, supposing
they would there find the shoalest water,
but before they had proceeded many
paces the horse rode by Inez began to
plunge and rear frantically, frightened by
the noise and dash of the waves. The
maiden lost all control of the terrified
animal, when Joaquin, seeing her peril
seized the rein of her steed, and by a
// 064r.png
.pn +1
sudden and powerful jerk turned his
head in the direction of the shore they
had just left, where he quickly regained
sure footing.

‘Donna Inez,’ said the robber, ‘to pass
here is impossible. Either those fellows
know some secret ford around this rock,
or else the tide has risen unusually fast
since they passed. At all events we
cannot follow them. The tide is rising
and it will be many hours before it will
be possible to pass here. Before that
time they will be beyond our reach.’

‘Cannot we ascend these cliffs, and
thus cut them off,’ said Inez.

‘No, donna,’ replied Sanchez, ‘we
must go back for a long distance before
we meet with a place which even a rabbit
could get up.’

Reluctantly Inez admitted the force of
these remarks, and slowly turned her
horse’s head in the direction of the city.

‘They have some motive, beside murder,
in going to all this trouble, else had
they killed him when they first met him.’

‘What motive could they have?’ asked
Inez.

‘Perhaps, to keep him concealed, until
they could obtain a heavy ransom for
his release.’

‘But from whom could they expect
such a ransom; for the youth is neither
rich himself nor has he rich relatives, at
least not in this country.’

‘May not some of the desperadoes
with which the city abounds, have heard
of the gallant manner in which the youth
rescued you from the flames, and trust
to obtain from the generosity of your
father a round sum for the ransom of
the savior of his daughter.’

Inez admitted the plausibility of this
supposition, and inwardly resolving that
all her own and her father’s wealth
// 065l.png
.pn +1
should be expended, if necessary, to release
Monteagle, she silently rode towards
home.

When Maretzo, leading the horse of
Monteagle, and his comrades, had safely
passed around the cliff, they found themselves
on a clear, crescent-shaped beach
of some extent, the opposite end of which
was bounded by a rocky headland, similar
somewhat to the one they had just
rounded, but still farther overhanging
the flood that dashed into foam against
the huge fragments strewed at its base.

‘We are now safe from pursuit,’ said
Maretzo. ‘Even I, would not venture
to retrace our steps, now that the tide
has risen so much.’

‘Well, old fellow, we had a d—d tight
squeeze of it, that’s a fact. I thought
at one time we were all going to a place
where you wouldn’t have to spend much
for fuel for your furnace, eh, Maretzo?’

The Italian merely made some stale
joke about the improbability of Blodget’s
ever dying by water while there
was any rope in the world.

‘How far yet to this cavern?’ inquired
Blodget.

‘It’s under yonder head,’ was the reply
of the Italian, as the party moved
forward.

‘But, deuce take it,’ said Blodget, ‘we
shall perish of cold and hunger before
morning. I’ve got a touch of the ‘chills’
already.’

‘As to the cold, the beach is strewn
with drift wood, and we can soon have
a fire,’ said Maretzo.

‘But is the beach strewn with provisions?’
asked Blodget.

‘I have provisions for a month in the
cave,’ said Maretzo.

‘Come, come, old hoss,—none of that
// 065r.png
.pn +1
Robinson Crusoe gammon. It’s bad
fooling with a hungry man.’

‘I’ll explain to you. During the last
great fire, I happened to be near the
end of Long Wharf. A lighter full of
goods had just been made fast. All the
hands rushed up the wharf, probably to
assist in putting out the fire. They
hadn’t stopped even to lower the sail of
their boat. The temptation was too
strong. I leaped on board, set the sail,
and was flying before a stiff breeze right
for this cove, where I beached her. Her
cargo, instead of rich goods, as I had
hoped, proved to be provisions of different
kinds, packed in tins. These I carried
to the cave. That night it blew hard,
and the lighter went to pieces. But,
here we are at our journey’s end.’ So
saying, Maretzo, again taking the lead,
went boldly in among the breakers.—Blodget
followed, leading the horse of the
young man, and the remainder of the party
brought up the rear. For a few moments,
they proceeded on; now turning
to the right hand, now to the left, to
avoid some vast rock that blocked their
way, or to escape falling into some hole in
the bottom. The water meanwhile was
at times so deep that the horses barely
kept their footing, and their riders found
great difficulty in making them proceed
amid the dashing breakers and the horrid
din.

Maretzo, at length, turned sharply to
the left, and the next moment the whole
party were in utter darkness, in a vast
cave, through which they could hear the
wind soughing and the roar of the sea reverberating.

‘Stand fast, where you are, till I get a
light,’ said Maretzo, and dismounting, he
groped about until his hand rested upon
// 066l.png
.pn +1
a box of candles, part of the cargo of the
lighter. Half a dozen of them were soon
burning, and by their glimmer the party
fastened their jaded horses.

Monteagle was released from his Mazeppa-like
bonds, and placed on the floor
of the cave, more dead than alive from the
cruel way in which he had been tortured
and afterwards lashed to the horse.

A roaring fire was soon kindled, and
by its lurid flames the party could see the
vast size of the cavern. Maretzo pointed
out where the provisions were stowed, and
each man bountifully helped himself, and
then they all assembled around the blazing
fire.

One of the gang less unfeeling than the
others, gave Monteagle a biscuit, and a
drink out of his flask, which tended to relieve
him somewhat.

‘What think you, Maretzo,’ said Blodget,
drawing the Italian aside, after they
had recovered from their fatigue, ‘is there
any more use wasting our time with this
chap?’

‘I fear not,’ replied Maretzo. ‘He is
now so weak that he would probably
faint under any fresh torture, and insensibility
would baffle us.’

‘Then we must be off. Brown was
to try to find out, by some other means,
where the money was placed, and if he
has succeeded, we must be on hand before
daylight to get hold of it. For the
absence of Monteagle may excite suspicion,
and our sport be spoiled.’

‘What shall we do with our prisoner?
Knock him on the head, and give the
crabs a feast?’

‘No. Brown has some old scores to
settle with him. You had better stay
here to-night with him, and in the morning
I’ll ride out here and report progress.’
// 066r.png
.pn +1

‘Be it as you say. I shall not be sorry
to have a few hours rest,’ said Maretzo.

‘But how are we to get out of this
trap?’

‘You can easily get out of here on the
side opposite to that by which we entered.
By following the beach awhile you
will strike a road that leads over the
hills to the City. By that road return
in the morning. I’ll be on the look out
for you!’

‘Pick up, boys,’ cried Blodget, and in
short time they had departed, piloted by
Maretzo, leaving Monteagle alone in the
cavern.

While taking him from the horse the
bandage had been partially removed from
his eyes, and he had been a witness of all
that went on.

No sooner had they all quitted the
place than he at once determined to
make a desperate attempt to escape before
their return, as he felt that that was
his only chance.

Approaching the fire, he seized a piece
of wood with his teeth and applied the
blazing end to the cords that bound his
arms. For some seconds it resisted the
action of the fire, but at length it blazed,
and was soon so weakened that with the
energy of despair the youth snapped it,
and had his hands again at liberty. He
next looked around for some weapon,
and luckily found a hatchet which Maretzo
had used to open the cases. Thus
armed, he stationed himself at the entrance
of the cavern with the determination
to fell the ruffians to the earth as
they attempted to enter, and then endeavor
to make his escape. In a few moments
Maretzo appeared and received a
blow that sent him reeling and senseless
to the ground.
// 067l.png
.pn +1
Monteagle waited a few moments, but no
one else appearing he stepped out of the
cavern, and fortunately took the direction
in which the gang had just proceeded.
At times the waves reached his
arm-pits but by moving forward cautiously
he at length reached the beach safely.
.sp 2
.hr 20%
.sp 4
.h2
CHAPTER XI||<I>The Robbery.</I>
.sp 2
It was about two o’clock of the morning
following the night in which so many
events were crowded. The moon had
gone down, and great masses of black
clouds completely hid the stars. The
wind blew violently from seawards, and
the waves dashed furiously against the
massive piers which the enterprise of the
San Franciscans have carried far into the
bosom of their glorious Bay.

‘Well, if this ain’t a hell of a night, I’m
d—d,’ said a powerfully built man, who
might have been recognized as Montgomery
had it not been so dark that a negro
could not have been discerned from an
albino.

‘By Vere in ’ell is Blodget a keepin’
hisself,’ said his companion, whose unmerciful
treatment of the v’s and w’s announced
him to be a genuine Cockney,
and such he was; but previous to visiting
California, he had paid Botany Bay
a flying visit, his wrists graced with these
bracelets, so much more useful than ornamental.

These two men were in a large yawl,
under a wharf near Davis street.

‘Boat a-hoy!’ cried Blodget, on the
wharf.

‘All right!’ responded Montgomery
from beneath it.

‘Vere’ve you been this jolly long vile,’
// 067r.png
.pn +1
said the cockney, as he opened the slide
of a dark lantern, while Montgomery
drew the boat along to a place where an
opening in the planking admitted Blodget’s
dropping into the boat.

‘Hold her steady,’ said Blodget, as he
leaped square into the centre of the boat.

‘Who else is vith ye?’ said Jobson, the
Londoner.

‘Step down here, Belcher,’ said Blodget.

As he spoke a man leaped lightly into
the boat. To the casual observer there
was nothing in the appearance of this individual
to attract particular attention,
but one accustomed to gauge men’s figures
by the eye, could not have failed to
be struck by the broad shoulders, the
full rounded chest, the muscular limbs,
and the easy grace of every movement.
Pity that a form so full of manliness
should hold so black a heart.

‘Pull straight for the big wooden store,
at the foot of Sacramento street. Old
Vandewater, thinking he was d—d
sharp, had the kegs of specie, packed in
barrels of mackerel by Monteagle and
put in the old store, thinking some of us
might hear of the sale of the steamer,
and break into his store. Brown, to-day,
accidentally overheard the carman speak
of moving some mackerel, and as it tallied
with the day the money was moved,
guessed the rest. We can easily get into
the store,’ continued Blodget.

‘Give way!’ said the man we have
called Belcher, and at the same moment
he dipped the blades of a pair of oars into
the water and the yawl flew forward.

Few words were spoken, although
there was small chance of their being
overheard, so loudly howled the gale.

When they reached the wharf upon
which stood the store, they proceeded
// 068l.png
.pn +1
between the piles until all chance of
their light being observed was destroyed.
An auger was now produced, a hole bored
in the planking, then a sharp well greased
key-hole saw was introduced and in less
than a quarter of an hour a hole sufficiently
large to admit a man, was made.

Belcher Kay easily raised himself by
his muscular arms into the store; he
then assisted Blodget up. The others
remained in the boat.

A very few moments sufficed for
Blodget and his companion to saw the
hoops of the mackerel barrels, and thus
get possession of the boxes of gold.

They were quickly lowered into the
boat, and the thieves got safely off with
their booty.

‘Vell if old Wandevater don’t svear
in the morning, I hopes I may never see
old Hingland again,’ cried the patriotic
Briton as he saw the Golden ballast
stowed in the bottom of the boat.

‘Pull for Mission creek,’ said Blodget,
‘they’ll give Sydney Valley an awful
searching to-morrow.’

The robbers made good their escape,
with the thirty thousand dollars in specie,
that had been so ingeniously hidden
as Mr. Vandewater supposed.

Great was the surprise of the worthy
merchant, when summoned, early in the
morning, by the storekeeper and informed
that the store had been entered.—‘But,’
said his informant, ‘they gained
nothing by all their trouble, and out of
spite destroyed the few barrels of mackerel
that were brought to the store the
other day.’

‘Then they have got all the money.—Where’s
Monteagle?’ cried Mr. Vandewater.

‘I tried to find him at his lodgings,’
// 068r.png
.pn +1
said the man, ‘but he had not been at
home all night, I was told.’

At this moment Brown, Mr. V’s partner,
entered, and expressed great surprise
at the fact of the money being in the store
of which he had not been informed. ‘’Tis
very remarkable that Monteagle should
be out all night, the very time of the robbery.
Was Monteagle aware of it being
concealed in the barrels, and placed in
the store?’ continued Brown interrogatively,
to Vandewater.

‘He is the only person to whom I entrusted
the matter. As it was funds
with which the firm had nothing to do,
I did not deem it necessary to trouble
you about the affair. Indeed, it was
Monteagle that suggested the mode and
place of concealing the money,’ said Mr.
Vandewater.

‘Why this is the most remarkable set
of coincidences I ever heard of. A letter
addressed to him, evidently brought
by that fellow who afterwards stabbed a
man—he proposes a way and place of
hiding the money—the money is stolen,
and on the very night of its being taken,
he, Monteagle, is absent all night.
Yet, he <i>may</i> clear himself,’ said Brown.

‘It is too clear,’ said Mr. Vandewater
sorrowfully. ‘I would have trusted that
youth with my life, and feel at this moment
far less regret for the loss of the
money than losing all faith in the integrity
of my fellow-men.’

‘We have both, I fear, been greatly
deceived in Monteagle. Within the last
few days I have heard that he gambled
heavily, and was in the constant habit of
visiting houses of ill-fame,’ remarked
Brown.

‘Well, what steps had we best take in
regard to this unfortunate affair,’ said
the merchant.
// 069l.png
.pn +1

‘There are suspicious circumstances
sufficient to warrant the arrest of Monteagle,’
replied Brown.

‘No—no—I cannot think of that.—He
has been misled by others, and though
I never wish to employ, or even see him
again, I would not wish him to be arrested.
So justly indignant are the citizens at
the numerous robberies and fires that
have lately taken place, that his conviction
would be closely followed by his execution.
The respectability of his position
would be no bar to this, for the
Vigilance Committee have determined to
make an example of the first man that is
fairly proven guilty.’

‘Be it as you will, sir,’ said Brown,
inwardly congratulating himself that in
this manner all inquiry would be stopped
with respect to the robbery.

‘Let nothing more be said about this
unfortunate affair, Mr. Brown. Let the
store-keepers version pass as the true
one—that thieves finding no booty in the
store, departed after destroying some of
the goods which were of too little value
for them to remove.’

Leaving Mr. Vandewater to make arrangements
for replacing the stolen money,
let us return to Monteagle, who, the
reader will recollect, we left safe on the
beach after his escape from the cavern of
the robbers.

It was with the greatest difficulty, that
he continued to drag his wearied limbs
along over the hills and through the valleys
that lay between him and the city,
and it was late in the morning before he
appeared at the counting house of his
employer, who was conversing with his
partner at the moment.

‘And this you think is Monteagle’s
cap,’ said Vandewater.

‘I know it to be his, and saw it on his
// 069r.png
.pn +1
head last evening, as he passed up Pacific
street,’ responded Brown.

‘Ah, yes—yes. Too true—too true!
Here are his initials, under the lining, in
his own writing. This destroys my last
hope of his innocence. And you say it
was found close by the hole by which the
robbers effected an entrance to the store.’

‘Yes; it was handed me by the storekeeper.
It was evidently dropped in the
hurry and forgotten when too late. But
here is the young gentleman himself,’ said
Brown, not a little surprised and alarmed
at the appearance of Monteagle, whom
he had supposed safely secured in the
cavern.

‘Mr. Monteagle,’ said Vandewater, in
a stern voice, slightly tremulous, however,
with regret, ‘Your services are no
longer needed in this establishment,
nor do I ever wish you to tread
upon the threshold of my house again.
Great God! what an escape poor Julia
has had. It was to this man I wished to
entrust the keeping of your happiness!’

Before Monteagle could recover from
his surprise, Brown broke in: ‘But
perhaps, after all, Mr. Monteagle will explain
from whom he received the note
the other day, and what was the nature
of the appointment it made.’

Monteagle blushed, hesitated, stammered
but knew not how to reply.—‘This,
then,’ thought he, ‘is the cause of
my dismissal. Mr. Vandewater has
learned of my associating with wantons,
and justly dismisses me from his confidence.’

Meanwhile, Mr. Vandewater who had
been closely watching him, and with sorrow
saw what he supposed were convincing
evidences of Monteagle’s complicity
in the robbery. Not giving the youth
time to recover from his confusion, he
// 070l.png
.pn +1
waved him out of his office with a cool,
haughty gesture, which roused Monteagle’s
pride, as he thought that he was
not worse than thousands of other young
men. And this feeling of hurt pride was
greatly increased as he reflected upon the
manner in which he had suffered, the
previous evening, all but death sooner
than divulge the secret of this man who
now treated him so ungenerously. Turning
upon his heel he slowly withdrew
from the office, and wended his way to
his lodging.
.sp 2
.hr 20%
.sp 4
.h2
CHAPTER XI||<I>How Joaquin became a Robber.</I>
.sp 2
It was one of the loveliest mornings of
the loveliest of seasons in California—early
summer—when two equestrians
might have been seen cantering over a
level plain not far from San Jose.

‘Surely, Joaquin, this is the sweetest
country upon earth, and we the happiest
people in it,’ said one of the riders, a
young girl of some seventeen summers.
As she spoke the glance of her dark lustrous
eyes rested lovingly upon the face
of the noble-looking man that rode beside
her, and whose passionate gaze of admiration
told how ardently he loved, nay,
worshipped his beautiful companion.—And
worthy, right worthy was she of all
the love of his passionate nature; for seldom
has a more bewitching form graced
the earth with its presence, than that of
Carmencitto; who had but a few days before
become the wife of the youth.

Joaquin was the proprietor of a small
ranch, a portion of which they were now
// 070r.png
.pn +1
riding over. He was gifted by nature
with a muscular form, and was reputed to
be the most daring rider, and the most
skilful herdsman in the country. Carmencitto
was the daughter of a wealthy
Californian, and had been engaged to
Joaquin from childhood.

‘You say truly, dearest,’ replied the
horseman. ‘Ours is a goodly land, and
it needed not that its rivers should roll
over sands of gold to make us love it.’

They were just passing a clump of
dense shrubbery as he spoke, and hardly
had the last word left his lips ere his
spirited steed reared, and had he not
been a matchless rider, he must have
been hurled headlong from the saddle.
As it was, before he fully recovered his
seat, a lariat was thrown over his head,
and his arms firmly secured to his side.
While two men, armed with revolvers,
held his horse firmly by the reins—their
weapons pointed at his breast.

‘Make a single attempt to escape,
and we’ll riddle your carcase with bullets,’
shouted one of his assailants.

‘Shoot the d—d greaser, at once’t,’
cried a low-browed, villainous looking
fellow.

‘Curse the yellar skinned devil, I believe
he’s glued to the saddle,’ said the
first speaker as he tried in vain to pull
Joaquin from his seat, the latter meanwhile
urging his horse forward but in vain,
so firmly was he held by the man who had
seized his horse by the head.

The assault had been so unexpected
that for a brief instant the young Californian
had forgotten Carmencitto, but
now a wild piercing shriek recalled her
to his mind, and turning round he beheld
her dragged from her horse to the
earth. His arms were bound, but his
feet were at liberty, and he dashed his
// 071l.png
.pn +1
heavy boots into the face of the men who
held his steed. But the same moment a
brace of bullets whizzed through the air,
and after a few convulsive clutches the
young man fell heavily to the earth.

Leaving him, where he had fallen, the
men rushed to the assistance of the fellow
who had dragged the lady from her
steed.

‘For God’s sake, gentlemen, don’t kill
Joaquin. He has never injured you.’

‘Don’t fret, honey, ’tisn’t Joe Quin
we’re after. ‘Tis your own elegant self,’
said one of the ruffians.

‘So, you d—d stuck-up thing, you
wouldn’t dance with me at your outlandish
fandango, the other night. Now, my
lady, you shall dance to other music;’
and as he spoke he seized her brutally,
and inflicted several fierce kisses upon
her reluctant lips. Fired by her charms
and her resistance, the villain was proceeding
to further outrage, when, all her
woman’s nature flashing from her indignant
eyes, she drew a small thin-bladed
stiletto, and sent its bright blade straight
to the heart of the ravisher. For a moment,
and but for a moment, the villains
were appalled at this prompt and terrible
retribution. But even the thought of
their guilty comrade hurried out of the
world in the very act of perpetrating the
most heinous offence, could not make
them pause in their infernal intentions,
for seizing the hapless woman, now become
insensible, they bore her into a
clump of bushes from which they had
sprung upon Joaquin and his bride.

Hours after, when Joaquin returned to
consciousness, he found himself bound
hand and foot, with strips of green hide.
His horse and that of Carmencitto both
gone.

Joaquin’s first impulse was to call
// 071r.png
.pn +1
aloud upon the name of his young wife.
But all was silent. ‘Holy Virgin!’ he
exclaimed, as recollection began fully to
return to him. ‘Where art thou, Carmencitto?’
he shouted. A low, faint
moaning was heard in the neighboring
shrubbery. Again, and again, the wretched
youth called loudly on Carmencitto.
But the only replies he received were
the faint moanings, which his foreboding
heart, rather than his ear, told him came
from the lips of Carmencitto. His suspense
became insupportable. He would—he
must—learn all. Even though
that all confirmed a horrid suspicion that
chilled the blood to his very heart.

With the fierceness of a starving coyote
he gnawed the green hide that confined
his arms, and they once released
he soon entirely disengaged himself. He
sprang to his feet, and rushed in the
direction from whence the sounds of distress
proceeded. Better had he been
smitten with eternal blindness than ever
have gazed upon that sad, sad spectacle.

Carmencitto lay almost senseless upon
the grass. Her modest garments torn to
shreds, exposed her fair young bosom,
slowly heaving, as if with the latest sobs
of expiring life. Her cheeks were colorless.
Her lips white as chalk, except
where they were dabbled with the crimson
blood, that was slowly oozing at every
respiration of her heaving breast! In
one of her little pale hands she clutched
a small gold crucifix, which the villains
had overlooked in their lust or haste.

As Joaquin burst through the thicket
and stood before her, the closed lids
of her black eyes slowly opened, and she
cast one look full of love and sorrow upon
her heart-broken husband.

Tearing his black locks he flung himself
on his knees by her side, and tenderly
raising her, he pressed her to his heart
// 072l.png
.pn +1
and while he wiped the blood from her
lips, his tears fell thick and fast upon her
upturned face.

‘Speak to me, oh! speak to me, Carmencitto.
My life! My love! Speak!
Oh, God, what have I done to deserve
this? Speak, dearest Carmencitto,’ and
he pressed the form of his young wife
again and again close to his heart. But
no reply came from those dear lips.

Near at hand ran a babbling rivulet.
To this Joaquin rushed, and scooping out
some water in the hollow of his joined
hands, laved with it the face of Carmencitto.
But all in vain. Life had forever
left that darling form, dearer to him
than all the gold that strews the placers
of his native land.

When Joaquin became certain that she
was indeed dead, his grief at first found
vent in the most pathetic lamentations;
but suddenly pausing, he dashed the teardrops
from his eyes, and drawing a dagger
from its sheath, he swore upon its
cross-hilt eternal vengeance on the ravishers
and murderers of his Carmencitto.

Then decently arranging her disordered
garments, he lifted her sacred form
in his arms, and bore it to his home—henceforth
forever desolate.

From the hour in which he saw the
rude tomb raised over the ashes of his
murdered wife, Joaquin left forever the
home that promised to be such a happy
one, and went forth an altered man.
The crucifix of poor Carmencitto <i>on</i> his
heart—revenge rankling in it.

From that time strange rumors began
to circulate through California of daring
robberies and frequent murders, and although
no proofs of the guilty party could
be obtained; yet when men spoke of them
their pale lips almost involuntarily muttered
‘<i>Joaquin!</i>’
// 072r.png
.pn +1

When Inez returned to her father’s
residence at the Mission, her first resolve
was to acquaint her parent with the circumstances,
but she found that he had
been hastily summoned to a place at some
distance, in consequence of a dispute between
one of his tenants and a squatter.

Joaquin, whose advice she asked, recommended
that she should wait the coming
of morning, when if Monteagle was
not liberated, the authorities should be
informed of the matter, and by their interference
his liberation would no doubt
easily be effected. But Joaquin had his
own private reasons for not visiting the
city.

In the morning Inez accordingly rode
to the city, and almost the first person
she passed was Monteagle, who was just
then repairing to the store of Mr. Vandewater.
Of course there was no occasion
for Inez to interfere farther in the
matter. Her first impulse was to ride
up to him and congratulate him on his
escape, but maidenly pride checked her,
and she proceeded on, leaving Monteagle
in entire ignorance of the deep interest
she felt in his fortunes, and of the efforts
she had made to rescue him the previous
evening.

Monteagle, meanwhile, sought his home
to take a few hours rest, for both mind
and body were terribly racked by the
sufferings he had undergone.

The day after the robbery of Mr. Vandewater’s
store, a group of some half-dozen
men were assembled around a fine fire
kindled on the ground, in the midst of a
dense thicket, at the foot of the mountains,
on the Contra Costa side of the
Bay of San Francisco.

‘He’s a daring young devil, and with
pluck, quickness, and a little science, I’m
d—d if I don’t think he could whip any
thing of his weight in the world.’
// 073l.png
.pn +1

This remark was made by Belcher Kay
to Blodget, as Maretzo, who was one of
the party, finished narration of Monteagle’s
assault upon him, and his consequent
escape.

‘Curse his pluck, and your science
Belcher. If ever I draw trigger on either
of you all your science wouldn’t save
you from a quick trip to ‘kingdom come.’
But, the deuce take it, I dare not show
my face in the city; for Monteagle will
surely denounce me to that devilish Vigilance
Committee, and then my fun’s up,’
said Blodget.

‘Well, old fellow,’ said Kay, ‘I’ll see
that you’re well supplied with everything
needful, till this thing blows over. You
stay out here and make yourself comfortable.
If we could only get this Monteagle
out of the way, all would go right.
For from what Maretzo learned in the
city, none of us are suspected except you,
and you only because you kept Monteagle’s
company. Well, if that ain’t a good
’un, I’m blowed,’ continued Belcher Kay,
laughing heartily at the idea of Monteagle’s
leading Blodget astray.

‘I am this Monteagle’s debtor for that
blow he gave me,’ said Maretzo, and his
dark eyes flashed with vindictive hate.
‘I’ll get him out of the way.’

‘Have a care, Maretzo, that knife of
yours will bring us all into trouble some
of those days,’ said Blodget.

‘This time it will not be the knife, but
something even surer still,’ and as he
spoke, he exhibited a small bottle. ‘A
drop from this vial, and his tongue will
never harm us again.’

‘Well,’ said Kay. ‘We’ll think over
this matter. But just now let’s split the
swag.’

And forthwith the thieves proceeded
// 073r.png
.pn +1
to apportion out the thirty thousand
dollars equitably between them, not forgetting
a share for some who were absent
but who belonged to the gang, and were
entitled by their rules to a share of the
plunder obtained in the course of their
marauding expeditions.

For some days after Monteagle’s dismissal
he was too unwell to leave the
house, but when he was sufficiently recovered
to walk the street, he was surprised
to find that all his former friends and
associates either passed him with a slight
nod of recognition, or gave him the cut
direct. He was entirely at a loss to account
for their conduct. Being out of a
situation was not such an unusual thing
in San Francisco, as to make a man’s
friends shun him. Nor could it be the
fear that he might be transformed from
a lender to a borrower, for no where are
men more ready to assist a friend or
even a stranger than in this country.
Monteagle was not aware that from certain
vague hints which Brown contrived
to set afloat respecting the robbery that
Monteagle’s name was in some manner
mixed up in the affair. The very indefiniteness
of the rumor being the reason of
its never reaching Monteagle’s ear.

So that he who was most deeply interested
in it, was almost the only one in the
whole city who had not heard of the accusation.
Of course his sudden dismissal
from Mr. Vandewater’s employ gave
an appearance of truth to the story,
which was more strongly confirmed by
Vandewater’s declining to assign any
cause for Monteagle’s dismissal when
questioned on the subject.

Monteagle, whose generous disposition
but little fitted him for hoarding money,
was now by his sudden and unexpected
// 074l.png
.pn +1
loss of employment thrown entirely destitute
on the world.

At first he resolved to depart immediately
for the mines. Reflection however
made him abandon this purpose. As
he was hourly in expectation of a letter
of credit from his home in the Atlantic
States, which would place him in possession
of ample funds, with which it had
been his intention to buy a share of Mr.
Vandewater’s business.

There was another and far more powerful
motive, however, that prevailed upon
the young man to refrain from leaving
San Francisco. In the hurry of business
as in the allurements of pleasure one form
was ever present with him. Need we say
it was that of the lovely maiden whom
he had borne in his arms from the devouring
flames.

Although he avoided meeting Inez
Castro, and her father, it was not that
he did not ardently wish to meet with
her; but his delicacy shrank from seeming
to take advantage of the fact that he
had conferred so great an obligation on
them, and he feared that gratitude would
induce Inez to betray a preference for
him which he would fain owe to love
alone.

One evening soon after Monteagle’s
discharge from employment, and after all
attempts to procure a situation had proved
futile, he wandered about the streets
in that sad, dejected mood which comes
over one, when friendless and moneyless
in a great city.

Following a large crowd, he found
himself in an extensive bookstore adjoining
the Post Office. This was the general
rendezvous of merchants, and others,
while awaiting the tardy operations of
Uncle Sam’s officials. Huge stacks of
daily, weekly, and ‘California edition’ papers
// 074r.png
.pn +1
were rapidly disappearing in supplying
the clamorous demands of the eager
throng anxious to hear from ‘the old
folks at home.’

Monteagle moved among them like a
perfect stranger. He felt as though a
brand was upon him; but the reason was
to him a perfect mystery. Every eye,
however open and direct its glance for
others, became cold and averted when it
met his.

He was about turning to leave the store,
his sad feeling legibly expressed on his
fine features, when he felt a hand upon
his shoulder and turning quickly he confronted
Mr. G—, one of the proprietors.

‘Ah, good night, Monteagle. Here’s
your Herald, and the rest of your papers.’

‘Thank you, Mr. G—, but,’ and
Monteagle lowered his tone, while his
cheek was flushed, ‘I’ll come in again—in
fact—I’m penniless.’

‘Never mind that,’ replied the bookseller.
‘Here take the papers,’ and as
he spoke, he slipped a twenty dollar
piece into his hand.

‘Thank you—thank you,’ cried the
grateful youth. ‘I expect a remittance
from home to-morrow, and then I will repay
you.’

But had Monteagle seen the expression
of the bookseller’s manly face, he would
have known that he was repaid already.
His own noble heart approved the generous,
and with him by no means unusual
act.

On the morning succeeding, Monteagle
had early taken his place in the Post Office
line, (as extensive as that of Banquo’s
issue which flitted before the eyes of the
Scottish regicide,) awaiting the delivery
of their letters.

This line is one of the most singular
sights in the world, composed not only of
// 075l.png
.pn +1
representatives from every section of our
own country, but from almost every nation
on the face of the globe.

Monteagle was disappointed. There
was no letter for him.

Only those who have been thousands
and thousands of miles away from home,
can understand the full effect of this
crushing disappointment. Instantly the
mind conjures up many dismal reasons as
the cause of the non-arrival of the expected
letters. What can be the matter?—Have
our friends forgotten us, has sickness
wasted the hand that used to seize
the pen with such avidity to tell us all
the warm feelings the writers entertained
for us? Or has death forever stilled
the beatings of those hearts we dearly
loved?

Months we know must elapse ere these
questions can have a response, and in the
meanwhile we must experience all the
bitterness of hope deferred.

Monteagle left the Office almost envying
the lucky ones who were tearing the
envelopes from the missives they had received
and with eager eyes scanning the
lines. But could Monteagle have narrowly
watched the different readers, he
would have seen that in the majority of
instances the letters brought news that
had better never reached the recipients.
Here a splendid looking fellow, the very
embodiment of manly beauty, read a letter
that informed him that the girl, in
hopes of wedding whom he had left home
to win a fortune in California, had been
married to a man with no other recommendation
than a hundred thousand dollars.
There might be seen a stalwart
man, his rough cheek blanched and the
tears gushing from his eyes, as he read
that his only daughter—the cherished
idol of his affections, had gone to the narrow
// 075r.png
.pn +1
house, appointed for all the living.
But we need not pursue the theme,
any one who has noticed attentively
the ‘line’ we speak of has seen
matter for much and melancholy meditation,
even if he has been fortunate enough
to experience none of those bitter disappointments
himself.

Belcher Kay and his fellow-rogues
soon expended the money they obtained
by the robbery of Vandewater’s store in
riotous living. So a new crime was determined
on.

But it was necessary that he should be
quick in his plans, for his means were
daily becoming more limited, and he was
well aware that success depended in a
great measure upon promptitude. But
what was he to do when his pecuniary
resources were entirely exhausted.

This was a troublesome thought, and
one which he was unable for some time
to answer satisfactorily in his own mind.
Money he must have by some means
or another, or he would not have it in
his power to carry on his nefarious projects
with any chance of success, and the
bare idea of being reduced to poverty, after
the life of indolence, luxury, and extravagance
he had led, made the villain
shrink with dread. No—no—such a fate
must not be his, and he determined to
avoid it, even if the means he should have
to adopt in doing so, he should have been
compelled to adopt the most desperate
and dangerous schemes.

From any crime, however revolting, it
might be, it has been very clearly shewn
to the reader that Kay would not shrink;
and, after deliberating for a short time
within himself what was next to be done,
he at last came to the determination of
going for a few nights on the highway,
and thus trying his fortune. If in adopting
// 076l.png
.pn +1
this guilty resolution, the villain
should have to perpetrate murder, he
would not have foreborne to do it, sooner
than he would have been disappointed
of his object.

Accordingly, on the following night, after
he had come to this resolution, Kay,
well armed, secretly quitted the hotel
where he was lodging, and took his way
to a lonely road, that led to the Mission,
which was, notwithstanding, much
frequented. Here he secreted himself,
and eagerly watched the approach of
some traveller who might possess the
means about him of satisfying his wants.

Belcher had taken good care to
strengthen his determination by drinking
deeply, before he started on his guilty
purpose, and he now felt fully prepared
for whatever might happen. Money he
had made up his mind he would have at
all hazards, and therefore it was not a trifle
that was at all likely to move him
from his purpose.

The place which Kay had chosen to
conceal himself, was just at the entrance
of a dark and dismal lane, which branched
off the road, and was a very convenient
place for the perpetration of a deed
like that he contemplated.

Here then he seated himself upon the
ground, where he could have a distinct
view of the road for some distance, and
every person that approached.

It was a very fine night; the moon
shone brightly in the heavenly arch, and
countless myriads of stars added their
twinkling lustre to her radiant beams.

Kay sat there for some time in a state
of apathy, his thoughts wandered to no
particular objects, but still his mind intent
upon the desperate crime he had resolved
to perpetrate if the opportunity
should be afforded him.
// 076r.png
.pn +1

At last, however, becoming impatient,
and feeling rather cold, for the night air
was keen, he arose, and walked for some
distance along the road, taking care to
keep close to the bushes, that separated
it from the adjoining fields, and where
he was less likely to be observed.

In the course of a conversation which
Belcher had overheard between the landlord
of the hotel and his wife after
they had retired to bed, (for they
slept in the next chamber to him, and
the rooms only being parted by a very
slight partition of canvas, he could hear
every word they uttered,) he had learnt
that a drover, who invariably called at
their house, and who usually had a large
sum of money about him, was expected
there that day, and he was also enabled
to ascertain that this was the road he always
came; but he could not think of
making an attempt to commit a robbery
in the open daylight, and when his detection
would be almost certain to follow,
and thus his nefarious wishes would be
foiled. But then, as he understood that
the drover usually slept at the hotel, the
villain thought there might still be a
chance left of his being enabled to rob
him in the night.

This, however, would be attended with
considerable danger, for suspicion would,
in all probability, light upon him, and
should he abandon the place, it would,
undoubtedly, be a direct confirmation of
his guilt, and would put him to great inconvenience
in having to quit the neighborhood.

Reflecting therefore, in this manner,
Kay was constrained to give up all
thoughts of plundering the drover, although
it was with much reluctance that
he did so, for he had no doubt but that
// 077l.png
.pn +1
he should from him have been sure to
have got a very rich booty.

The day which succeeded the night
on which Kay had overheard the conversation
we have spoken of, was passed by
him in a state of great agitation and uncertainty,
and at one time he would determine
upon some daring scheme, which
the next moment would make him abandon
all idea of.

The drover, however, did not come to
the house that day, but Kay gathered
from the conversation of his host, that
he would sure to be there that night, so
that he might be in time for the market
on the following morning. Kay caught
at this information, and his hopes once
more revived; he resolved to lay wait for
him, and make a desperate attempt to
rob him as he had at first designed.

Kay was no coward, as that which has
been already related, will fully prove,
and he was, therefore, prepared for any
resistance which his marked victim might
make, and he had made up his mind not
to be defeated easily. But from what
he could learn, the drover was an old
man, and one who was not very likely to
offer much resistance, especially when he
saw that the individual who attacked
him was well armed, and a determined
man, and, therefore, Kay calculated that
his success was almost certain.

He had taken the precaution to provide
himself with a mask and poncho, so
that he might be fully enabled to disguise
himself, and these were the more
indispensable for the villain’s safety, as
he intended to return to the hotel after
the perpetration of the robbery.

Impatient and gloomy, Kay continued
to traverse the road for some time, but
still he saw no signs of the traveller or
of any other person, and he began to despair.
// 077r.png
.pn +1
The place was sufficiently quiet
and lonely to inspire no very pleasant reflections
in the mind of Kay, and so rapidly
did they crowd upon his brain, that
he had not strength to endure them, and
he almost made up his mind to abandon
his villainous project, and return to the
hotel to seek that society which might
alone banish such fearful thoughts.

At length the solemn booming of the
Mission bell vibrated on the air, tolling
the hour of ten, and Kay, whose patience
was now quite tired out, and whose
disappointment could only be equalled
by chagrin, resolved to wait no longer
but to return to the hotel.

He had just turned round for that purpose,
when the low trampling of horses’
hoofs, at a distance, arrested his purpose
and rekindled his hopes.

The sounds proceeded from behind
him, and looking eagerly along the road
as far as his eyes could penetrate, at first
he could not perceive anything, but at
length he beheld a horse trotting slowly
along the road, in the direction of the
place where he was standing, and bearing
on his back a person who he was unable
at present, to observe, distinctly.

‘It must be him!’ muttered Kay to
himself, and hope once more elated and
nerved him. His mind was fully made
up; he would have all the money the grazier
had about him, even, if to obtain it
he had to embrue his hands in his blood.

Quickly the miscreant glided cautiously
along the darkest and most overshadowed
part of the road, and he once more
reached the entrance to the lane which the
traveller must pass; and which appeared
to him to be the most convenient spot for
the perpetration of the deed.

‘But—but—’muttered Kay, ‘I will
not harm him—no—no—I will not harm
him, if I can avoid it! I do not want
// 078l.png
.pn +1
his blood, but his money, it will be his
own fault should he lose his life.’

Nearer and nearer the rider approached,
and at length he had got to within a
very short distance of the place where
Kay was concealed, and by the bright
light of the moon, he was enabled to have
a distinct view of his person.

He was a thickset man, about sixty,
and carried with him a short whip with
a very heavy handle. He was whistling
merrily along the road, apparently, quite
happy and unsuspicious of any danger,
and what Kay could perceive of his features,
he looked like a man who was not
likely to be easily intimidated. Again
he muttered to himself,—

‘I hope he will resign his money easily;
I hope he will not make any resistance;
I would not have his blood upon
my conscience, but his money <i>I will</i>
have.’

The man had now got to within a very
short distance of the lane, and Kay had
no doubt from the description which had
been given of him, that this was the
grazier.

He clenched his fist nervously, and involuntarily
placed his other hand on one
of the pistols which he carried with him.

‘I will let him pass me,’ thought Kay,
‘I will let him pass me before I pounce
out upon him, and then I shall take him
more by surprise, and he will be less
likely to offer any resistance.’

The traveller had now left off whistling,
and had broke into a negro melody,
which he sang in self-satisfied tones, but
which were anything but harmonious.

‘Your money or your life!’ cried Kay
in a disguised voice, rushing up to
the traveller, from his place of concealment,
and laying hold of the horse’s bridle.
// 078r.png
.pn +1

The old man, was of course, rather
startled, but he collected himself in a
moment, and with the utmost coolness,
said:—

‘I tells thee what it is, young man,
you’re on a bad errand, and I advise you
let go the bridle, and go about your business,
before harm come to you.’

‘There, there, no nonsense,’ replied
Kay, in an impatient tone; ‘I am a desperate
man and must have money.’

‘D—n you, you are a daring rascal,’
cried the traveller, ‘let go of the bridle,
or it may not be long ere I make you repent
thy job. Leave go of the bridle, I
again tell you! You won’t, then, d—n
me, if I don’t soon make you, and that’s
all about it.’

With these words the traveller flourished
his heavy whip, and aimed a blow
at the head of Kay with the butt-end of
it, which if he had not stepped quickly
aside and avoided would, in all probability
have deprived him immediately of farther
power.

‘Old idiot!’ cried the enraged ruffian,
‘you will urge me to that which I would
rather avoid; will you deliver up your
money, I say, once more?’

‘No,’ promptly replied the old man;
‘I’ll see you d—d first, and all such
scoundrels.’

‘Then, by h—ll! you will have to pay
for your obstinacy with your life!’ cried
Kay, hastily groping about beneath his
poncho to get out one of the pistols.

The old man immediately guessed at
what he was about, and sprang from his
horse’s back with the agility of a youth,
and the moment that Kay got out his
pistol, and before he could cock it, he closed
with him, and being a strong, powerful
man, the struggle threatened to be a
determined one.
// 079l.png
.pn +1

Kay, however, was wound up to a pitch
of desperation, for it was a moment of
life or death, and he was taken somewhat
by surprise, as, from the age of the traveller,
he had not expected such an antagonist.

Kay was a very muscular man, and
had youth on his side, and he, of course,
mustered up all his strength for this occasion,
and endeavoured to get his hands
at liberty; but the old man had pinned
them with such an iron grip, that all his
efforts were ineffectual, and maledictions
the most terrible escaped his lips, as the
danger of his situation became every instant
greater; for, as his strength decreased,
so did that of the traveller appear
to increase, and he expected nothing
less that he must be overpowered.

The struggle lasted several minutes,
the traveller having pinched the hands of
Kay so tightly, that he was compelled
to drop the pistol to the ground, and
which the former was afraid to secure,
for fear that, in resigning his hold of the
robber, he should lose the advantage
he had gained. But at length the foot
of Kay caught in something on the
ground, and he fell, dragging the old
man with him.

Fortunately, the traveller did not fall
upon him, or his weight would have
quickly decided the combat, and Kay
would have been defeated, but he fell by
his side, and consequently was obliged
to leave go his hold; and Kay, seeing
the moment of advantage, and probably
the only opportunity of saving his life,
jumped to his feet with the speed of
lightning, and snatching the pistol from
his bosom, he sprang upon the old man,
knelt upon his chest,—he pressed the fingers
of his other hand tightly in his throat
until the old man was nearly strangled, he
// 079r.png
.pn +1
presented the pistol at his head as he
exclaimed—

‘You deserve to lose your life for
your infernal obstinacy, and it is at this
moment in my power; but I do not
wish to harm you if I can help it. Now,
then, your money.’

The old man who was quite overpowered
by the pressure on his chest, and
the violence with which Kay pressed his
knuckles into his throat, he tried to
speak, but could only make a sign to his
coat-pocket, which Kay understanding,
released the old man from the hold which
he had taken of his throat; and, putting
his hand into his pocket, to which he had
directed his attention, he drew forth
a canvas bag apparently well loaded, and
depositing it carefully in his bosom, he
secured both the pistols, and, rising from
the ground, he said to the still prostrate
traveller—

‘Beware! you see that I have all the
power of your life or death in my hands;
if you move a step to pursue me, until I
am out of sight, that instant you die!’

The old man did not make any reply,
for he had not yet recovered from the effects
of the combat, and was unable to
utter a word; and Kay, having satisfied
himself that he had secured all the money
in his possession, hastily retreated
from the spot, and springing into the
fields, threw away the poncho, and made
the best of his way towards the hotel,
which he reached in an almost inconceivable
short space of time, and, without
betraying any emotion, entered the bar,
as was his usual custom, and taking his
seat called for a mug of ale.

He had not been there long, when he
heard a loud shouting and hallooing outside
the house, and he immediately recognized
the tones.

‘Why,’ said the landlord, laying down
// 080l.png
.pn +1
his pipe, ‘that certainly is the voice of
a friend; what the deuce can be the
matter with him?’

Kay felt a little alarmed; but he concealed
his agitation, and continued with
apparent unconcern, to smoke his pipe,
and to be completely absorbed in the enjoyment
of that and his ale. He would
have been glad to have retired to his
chamber, so that he might have escaped
all observation, but he was fearful that
he might, by so doing, probably excite
suspicion, and he therefore kept his seat
and pretended to take no notice of what
was passing.

The landlord having hastened to the
door of the house to meet his guest, and
to inquire what was the matter with him
was quickly heard returning accompanied
by the old man, who was grumbling,
and swearing all the way.

On entering the bar, the drover gazed
round upon the different persons there
assembled, but appeared to take little
notice of Kay, whose assumed color, no
doubt, removed every idea of his being
the robber from his mind.

‘He was a most desperate scoundrel,
whoever he is,’ said the drover, ‘and I
feel the effects of his d—d knuckles on
my throat, now. I wish I could only
meet with the fellow, and I warrant me
he’d not escape from my clutches again,
very easily.’

‘This is a bad job, a terrible bad job,’
said the landlord.

‘Aye, it is indeed a bad job,’ said the
drover, ‘two thousand dollars is no
small sum to lose as times go.’
// 080r.png
.pn +1
.sp 2
.hr 20%
.sp 4
.h2
CHAPTER XII||<I>The Ride—the Midnight Fright—the Corpse—The Secret Burial.</I>
.sp 2
Kay took no part in the conversation
which followed, the staple of which consisted
of denunciations of the scoundrels
who infested the city of San Francisco
and its vicinity, perpetrating with impunity
the most daring robberies and
even more atrocious offences.

Kay was slightly known to several of
the ‘crowd’ who had been drawn to the
bar by rumors respecting the robbery,
and as Kay sauntered out of the room
one of these persons whispered a few
// 081l.png
.pn +1
words to the drover, who turned and
closely scrutinized the robber’s person.
Kay bore his fixed gaze apparently
unmoved. But he inwardly determined
that the drover should never bear
witness against him!

A few evenings after this robbery,
Inez had taken a long ride, and on her
return was overtaken by a sudden and
violent storm. She immediately put her
horse to the run. Inez was too much
accustomed to heavy rains and violent
storms of wind to be much alarmed, as
she knew her fleet steed would soon
bear her home in safety. But scarcely
had our heroine proceeded a couple of
hundred varas when her horse fell heavily.
Fortunately, however, Inez was
but little injured. Her horse she soon
discovered was unable to rise. Of course
no alternative was left her but to proceed
homewards on foot.

Notwithstanding, however, she sought
all that was in her power to strengthen
this idea, many doubts, fears, misgivings,
and apprehensions would steal into
her bosom, and every blast of wind which
howled around her seemed to come
fraught with the moanings of despair.
She had travelled about three miles from
the place at which she had lost her horse,
and was upon a dreary waste, where
there was nothing to protect her from
the fury of the blast and the fast falling
rain which drifted around her. It was
a most awful spot, and in spite of her resistance
to fear, she felt the most indescribable
sensation of horror creeping
through her veins.

‘Holy Mary!’ she exclaimed, ‘my
weary and benumbed limbs will not support
me much further, and yet, if I pause,
nothing but death stares me in the face.
How awful is the darkness around, and
// 081r.png
.pn +1
here am I placed alone, and fated to endure
all this toil and wretchedness.
Could I but hear the sound even of a
human voice, methinks it would be transport
to my soul. This silence is appalling.
Whenever I have had occasion to
cross this wild spot, I always felt the
most irresistible terror; it is, indeed, a
fit place for the perpetration of the
bloody crimes which report says have
been committed here, and I do not wonder
that people should shun it after nightfall
in dread, my God! do not desert me
in this dreadful moment. Oh! I remember
there is an old house not far from this
spot; could I but reach that, it would
afford me shelter until my recruited
strength will enable me to proceed. The
storm increases; what will become of
me? The rain falls faster than ever; I
must proceed. Protect me, heaven!’

Trembling in every limb, and her
knees smiting each other, Inez forced
her way as well she was able, in the direction
of the old house, which she at
length perceived at no great distance
from her, and so completely exhausted
was she, that had she had to have proceeded
many yards further she must have
sunk to the earth. It was an old building,
broken in many parts.

An old story gave the place a kind of
fearful interest; and there was one period
when Inez would not have ventured
within its precincts, but now she thought
nothing about it; she thought only of
her weary and exhausted state. She
reached the wretched place, and found
no obstruction to her entrance, the door
having long since been torn off its hinges,
and she, therefore, staggered into the
place, and threw herself, exhausted and
breathless, upon a heap of rubbish in one
corner, to rest herself for a few minutes,
// 082l.png
.pn +1
ere she could see what was best to be
done for her accommodation for the night.
The house was divided into two compartments,
and one of these was in much
better condition than the other. There,
then, Inez determined to remain till daybreak;
and gathering together some
pieces of old boarding which had fallen
from different parts of the building, and
a heap of straw, which she found in one
corner, she retired into it, contrived to
make herself up some kind of a rude pallet,
piled all the old rubbish she could
find against the door which opened into
this division of the house, and then imploring
the protection of Heaven, she
wrapped herself closely in her cloak, and
laid down.

Completely wearied out, it was not
long ere she was about to sink off to
sleep, when she was suddenly alarmed
and astonished by hearing a noise outside
the building, and soon after, a light glimmered
between the crevices, and the horror
and amazement of Inez may be easily
conjectured when she caught a glimpse
of the shadow of two men, bearing something
which seemed to be very heavy
between them. They moved stealthily
and cautiously round by the side of the
building towards the entrance, and Inez
had not the least doubt but that they
were coming there; in another second
her conjectures were confirmed, and she
heard them deposit their burthen in the
adjoining shed to that in which she was.

How shall we attempt to portray the
terror of Inez at this circumstance?
She did not venture to breathe scarcely,
and screwed herself into the smallest
possible compass in the corner, for fear
that the men should discover her there;
but, from a small hole in the boards, she
could perceive what was passing.
// 082r.png
.pn +1

‘My God!’ she thought, ‘what can
be the purpose of these men? Certainly
no good, at such an hour.’

Inez placed her eye to the hole in the
boarding, and perceived that they were
two powerful men, dressed in ponchos,
and as the rays of the light fell upon
their countenances, she shuddered at
their aspects.

They had placed the sack upon the
floor, and began digging up the earth
with a couple of spades which they had
brought with them. A deadly chill fell
upon the heart of Inez when she beheld
this, and she could scarcely repress a
scream, as a dreadful idea shot through
her brain.

‘Horror! horror!’ she reflected, ‘the
wretches have surely been committing
murder, and have come hither to bury
their unfortunate victim.’

‘There, we shall soon be able to make
a snug lodging for him,’ said one of the
villains, taking up a spade and preparing
to begin to dig, ‘and no one will
ever know what has become of him.
How nicely we gammoned the old fool
to take up his lodging with us.’

‘You’re right,’ said the other, ‘it was
very well done, and I must give you the
credit of doing the best part towards it.
If the friends of the old drover look for
his return home, how woefully deceived
they will be.’

‘Ha! ha! ha!’ laughed the first villain,
‘indeed they will. Well, we have
got a very tidy booty for this job.’

‘Yes, it will pay us for the trouble
we have been at,’ was the answer; ‘but
I’ll warrant that we shall circulate the
blunt a little more freely than the old
fellow would have done. We must not
be in the city many days.’

‘As soon as the job’s over we will
// 083l.png
.pn +1
quit the spot,’ returned his companion,
‘and it will be many a long day ere we
shall revisit this neighborhood again.
We couldn’t have fixed a much better
place than this to deposit the old fellow’s
remains in; but, I say, there is a
door yonder, which seems to lead to another
part of the house; suppose we examine
that, and see whether it will serve
better to conceal the body of the murdered
man in than this.’

‘Great God!’ thought Inez, ‘I am
lost; they will discover and murder me.
By what horrible fatality were my footsteps
guided to this place?’

‘Psha! what’s the use of talking in
that manner, Kay?’ said the other ruffian,
to whom this proposition was addressed;
‘we have no time to spare; besides,
we have half dug the grave here,
and I dare say the old chap will lie as
contented here as he would a foot or
two off. Come, come, let’s finish the
business and begone, for I am almost tired
of it, and if we remain here much
longer, there’s no knowing but that we
might be discovered.’

‘Oh, very well,’ said Kay, as the other
man had called him, ‘it matters very
little, so let’s go to work, and get done
as quick as possible.’

‘I think we have given him depth
enough,’ remarked the other wretch,
‘and he’ll not pop up again in a hurry
by himself. Come, out with him, and
let’s finish the job at once.’

This, as may be imagined, was a moment
of unutterable horror to our heroine,
who had watched the proceedings,
and listened to the conversation of the
assassins with the most breathless attention;
and a shuddering seized upon her
frame which she found it impossible to
resist.—It would, however, be useless to
// 083r.png
.pn +1
attempt to describe the relief she felt
when she heard the observations of the
first ruffian, by which he was persuaded
from entering the place in which she was
concealed; but every moment that they
prolonged their stay increased her terror
and anxiety, for fear that her infant
should awake, and, crying loud, betray
her.

After having untied the mouth of the
sack, they drew it nearer to the edge of
the grave they had been digging, and
turned out the body of a stout but aged
man, whose long grey locks were matted
together with large clots of blood
that had issued from several deep wounds
in the skull.

Horror enchained all the faculties of
Inez, and with distended eyelids, she fixed
her straining eyeballs upon the dreadful
spectacle.

Her blood seemed turned to ice, and
her heart seemed almost to cease its pulsation.
Should the wretches find out
that she was there concealed, and had
been watching them, and overheard the
acknowledgement of their dreadful
crime, the death of herself would be certain
to follow.

These reflections passed rapidly in the
mind of Inez, as she watched, in a state
of the most breathless suspense, the actions
of the murderers, as they, in the
most callous manner, tossed the body of
their wretched victim into the grave they
had dug for its reception, and commenced
filling it up, occupying the interval
during the disgusting scene, with the
most ribald conversation, which smote
the heart of our heroine with horror, as
she listened to it.

‘There,’ exclaimed Kay, as he placed
the last spade-full of earth on the grave
of their murdered victim, ‘that job’s finished,
// 084l.png
.pn +1
and a long and sound rest to the
old drover. The business has been performed
throughout in a tradesman-like
manner, and no suspicion can ever attach
itself to us.’

‘Suspicion,’ reiterated the other with a
laugh, ‘oh no, we might almost as well
imagine that somebody has been watching
us all this time in this lonely place,
as to suppose that even the shadow of
an idea of we being the murderers of the
old man could attach itself to us.’

‘Ah!’ exclaimed Kay, ‘your observation
have started an idea in my head,
and, had you attended to my suggestion
in the first instance, we should have been
secured from any danger of the sort.’

‘What mean you?’

‘What mean I:—why, that door,
which, as I before observed, no doubt,
communicates with some other part of
the house, and it is not at all unlikely
that some weary traveller may have taken
up his lodging there, or sought shelter
from the storm, and been listening
to our discourse all this time. Should
such be the case, we shall not go far
without falling into the hands of the Vigilance
Committee, depend upon it. I’ll
examine the place.’

‘Bah! why, you are growing worse
than a child, Kay,’ said the miscreant’s
companion, ‘I never heard such improbable
ideas to strike a fellow in all my
life. Do you think any person could be
within here all this time without betraying
some signs of terror?’

‘You may laugh at me as much as
you like, Blodget,’ returned Kay, ‘but
I am generally pretty correct in what I
fancy, and I don’t think I shall be far
out in this instance. Here goes for to
see.’

We must fail here to portray the feelings
// 084r.png
.pn +1
of our heroine, as the ruffian, Kay,
approached the door, and tried it.

Such was the violence of her agitation,
that cold drops of perspiration stood
upon her forehead, and it was only by a
complete miracle that she could prevent
herself from screaming.

Kay tried hard to push the door open,
and swore when he found the obstruction;
and at that moment, when Inez had
nearly given herself up for lost, some
noise on the outside of the building, arrested
the attention of both the villains,
and Kay immediately quitted the door,
much to the relief of our heroine.

‘Hist?’ muttered Blodget, in a cautious
tone, ‘did you not hear a noise
outside, Belcher?’

‘I fancied I did,’ was the reply.

‘Extinguish the light,’ commanded
the other, ‘and I will reconnoitre.’

Kay immediately did as his companion
directed him, and Blodget cautiously
opened the door and looked out. As
he did so, Inez could hear that the
storm had increased in violence, and immediately
afterwards she heard the
voice of Blodget, observing,—

‘Oh, the coast is quite clear, as far
as I can see, and, therefore, it could only
have been fancy; but, notwithstanding,
Kay, I do not see the policy of remaining
here. We had much better,
on the contrary, make our escape as
speedily as possible, while we have the
opportunity; for, should we be discovered
here, and the fresh earth upon the
new made grave, we should be bowled
out to a dead certainty. It’s madness
to suppose that anybody but ourselves
have been here during the time we have
been performing the funeral obsequies
for the old man. Come, come, no more
of this foolery, but travel’s the word.—’
// 085l.png
.pn +1

And ‘travel’ was not only the word,
but the action of the wretches, much to
the relief of our heroine, who had almost
given her mind to despair; and
after a short time had elapsed since they
had quitted the place, and Inez, by attentive
listening, had assured herself
that they were not near the spot, first,
with eyes brimful of tears, having returned
her thanks to Providence for her
deliverance from that death which she
at one time imagined inevitable, she removed
the rubbish which she had piled
against the door, and left the place in
which she had been concealed.

What an inexpressible feeling of terror
smote her breast, when she passed
the grave of the murdered man!—Her
limbs trembled so violently that it is surprising
how she was enabled to support
herself, and she mentally offered up an
involuntary prayer for the repose of his
soul, and that his barbarous assassins
might be brought to punishment for
their inhuman violation of the laws. It
was a second or two before she ventured
to quit the place, but having listened
at the door, which the ruffians had closed
after them, and hearing no other
sounds than those caused by the fury
of the storm, she ventured to open it
and look forth. The scene was awful
enough, as a pitchy darkness obscured
all around, save when, at intervals, the
flashes of lightning succeeded the deafening
thunder-peals. The rain also descended
rapidly, and all around presented
a scene of the most appalling horror.
But, awful as it was, to Inez it presented
not half the terrors of the old outhouse,
which now contained the mangled
remains of the poor old man, whom
the monsters had buried.

Inez, trembling in every limb, left the
// 085r.png
.pn +1
place where she had witnessed such horrors,
and with difficulty made her way
in what she judged to be the direction of
her father’s house. This she would never
have had strength to reach, had she
not fortunately met with a party of her
father’s herdsmen, who had been sent
out in quest of her. She was soon after
joined by her father, and being placed
on a horse, arrived safely at home,
suffering greatly, however, in both body
and mind from the anguish she had experienced,
and the terrible scenes that
had been enacted before her young eyes.

Leaving the maiden safely in the abode
of her parent, we will now return to
Monteagle. Day after day, he had called
at the Post Office, but the same
brief response ever met his inquiries,—‘None,
sir.’ Disappointment was working
a sad change in his appearances,
and his broken fortunes were growing
hourly more desperate.

As he was one day leaving the Post
Office, and strolling down Clay street,
he overheard a person addressing another,
thus: ‘Jake, you needn’t go to
the Post Office, up here, any more for
letters. A couple of cartloads have just
been found down under Long Wharf;
which it seems, the Postmaster uses as
a place of general delivery.’

Monteagle stayed to hear no more,
but hastened to the place indicated.—A
great crowd was assembled, every
member of which was justly indignant at
this infamous betrayal of trust in the
Post Office officials, and while some
talked of carrying their complaints to
Washington; others suggested the rather
less mild but somewhat more effective
action of tying the Postmaster up in
one of his mail bags, and dumping him
// 086l.png
.pn +1
where he had deposited their letters—in
the Bay.

Monteagle sprang down beneath the
wharf, the tide having fallen, and left
the sand bare. Here he found a large
number of letters, and newspapers: the
directions of many being wholly or in
part obliterated. But among all that
number, he could find none addressed to
him. While he was turning over the
letters, he saw one addressed to a young
lady, whom he recollected as having
been pointed out to him by Blodget
when visiting the house in Dupont street.
She was called the ‘English Girl,’ and
Monteagle remembered having been
particularly struck by the lovely though
pensive expression of her fair face. He
took the letter and immediately proceeded
to the house where she resided. As
soon as the usual greetings were over,
the young lady opened the letter, but
had scarcely glanced at its contents before
she fell heavily to the floor. Monteagle
summoned assistance, and after
some time she was sufficiently restored
to converse with our hero; who deeply
sympathised with her evident distress.
The poor girl, in answer to Monteagle’s
inquiries, gave him the following account
of her previous history:

‘My father was a farmer, in comfortable
circumstances, which he gained by
his own industry and exemplary conduct.
I will not attempt to describe him, for I
should fail to do justice to his merits, eloquent,
doubtless, as my affection for
him would make me. Let it suffice that
he was a man of superior education, having
formerly moved in a different state
of life, from which he had been driven by
a long series of misfortunes, and his numerous
virtues even by far exceeded his
accomplishments. My mother was a
// 086r.png
.pn +1
complete counterpart of her husband,
and never were two beings better formed
to meet together. I was their only
daughter, myself and a brother being
the only offspring they ever had. Every
indulgence that child could wish, or
parent could think of, was bestowed on
me;—my every thought seemed to be
studied by them, and there was not a
single happiness which they had it in
their power to grant, which they seemed
to think too great for me.’

‘Our home was the happiest in the
neighborhood, and it was the envy and
admiration of all who knew it. Again,
when I think upon it, and how different
my situation is now, I cannot help giving
vent to my feelings; indeed, it is to indulge
them that I have sat down to record
the events of my life, although, in all
probability, no other eyes but mine may
ever behold it. Home, sweet home;
there cannot be a theme upon which the
mind of sensibility pauses with more peculiar
delight than this. It is the cradle
of our infancy and our age.’

‘The seaman, amidst storm and tempest,
in fair weather and foul, thinks of
his native village; the soldier that fights
for kings; the merchant that dives for
gain, are, alternately, stung with the
thoughts of home; while the wanderer,
who has followed pleasure, but found it
a shade—that has bartered the humble
content for splendid misery, thinks of
home with a self-accusing regret, that
renders even a return to its enjoyments
full of bitterness and remorse. Sensibly
do I feel the force of these observations,
and, therefore, have I digressed from my
simple narrative for the purpose of indulging
in them.’

‘I will pass over the early part of my
life, which was passed in almost uninterrupted
// 087l.png
.pn +1
 happiness, and come at once to
that unfortunate circumstance which
was the cause of my indiscretion, and
occasioned me all that anguish I so severely
felt afterwards.

‘An accident brought Captain Darian
and his friend, the Earl Mansville, to
our house, from which the latter was
unable to be removed for several weeks.
Alas! it was a fatal day for me; the
earl was young, handsome, insinuating,
and the very first moment I beheld him,
my heart felt a sensation it never before
had experienced, and too soon I was compelled
to acknowledge to myself that I
had become deeply enamoured of him.
Fatal attachment! had I not been unpardonably
thoughtless, I should at once
have seen the folly, the danger, the hopelessness
of indulging, or encouraging a
passion for one so far above me, and
who would, probably, not feel for me a
mutual sentiment, and have stifled it in
its infancy. But it was not to be: I
was to be taught reason by dear-bought
experience. At length, the earl being
restored to convalescence, quitted our
house, but I felt convinced it was with
reluctance, and I noticed the looks he
fixed on me, with a sentiment of mingled
delight and astonishment. The glances
he bestowed on me, were those of admiration—of
love! How my heart bounded
at this idea, I need not tell; but, alas!
it should have been its greatest cause of
anguish, and my pleasure was greatly increased
when I learned that Mansville
having expressed his delight at the neighborhood,
had taken up his abode in it
for a short time; but Captain Darian
had made his departure some days previous
to another part of the country. I
frequently saw the earl, and he seemed
anxious to say something to me, but had
// 087r.png
.pn +1
not an opportunity, as I was mostly in
the presence of my parents; but I needed
no interpretation of his thoughts; my
own sentiments fully elucidated them,
and the warmth of the glances he bestowed
upon me. If it required anything
to strengthen the affection with which
Mansville had inspired me, it was the
amiable character he soon acquired in
the neighborhood, his chief pleasure appearing
to be the performing of acts of
benevolence and philanthropy, and the
blessings of the poor were amply lavished
upon him. Rash, thoughtless, girl
that I was. I should have made my parents
acquainted with the real state of
my feelings, and sought their advice upon
the subject, but, for the first time
in my life, I was anxious to conceal my
thoughts from them, and continued to
encourage and strengthen those passions
which reason ought to have convinced
me could never have been requited by
the object who had inspired me with
them.

It was about a month after the Earl
Mansville had quitted our house, that I
arose rather earlier one morning than
was my usual custom, induced by the fineness
of the weather. I descended from
my chamber, and entered the garden,
which was beautifully and tastefully arranged,
and in which, as well as my
father and brother, I took much pleasure.
My attention, however, was particularly
devoted to a rose tree, which
I had frequently heard the earl express
his admiration of it while he was remaining
at our house. Could I but get
him by any means to receive one how
happy should I have been. This day I
had resolved to make my father and
mother a little present of some of these
roses, which I knew they would receive
// 088l.png
.pn +1
with more delight than the most costly
gift, coming as they did from me.

‘How sweetly my roses have opened,’
I soliloquized; ‘they seem to know that
they are destined to be gifts of affection,
and to smile with the delight I shall feel
in bestowing them on those I love so
dearly. So this for my father, and this
for my mother.’

I plucked two of the most beautiful,
and had scarcely done so, when my father
entered from the house, and greeted
me with his usual affection.

‘Ah, father,’ I exclaimed, ‘I have
such a nice gift for you and my dear
mother.’

‘Indeed, my child,’ returned my father,
smiling fondly on me.

‘Yes,’ replied I, placing one of those
roses which I had plucked in his hand,
‘there,—is there a painting in any mansion
in the country half so beautiful?
What a name a painter would get who
could only give a perfect copy of these
roses, and, you see, I give you the originals
for nothing.’

‘Dear girl, dear girl!’ ejaculated my
father, his eyes glittering with fondness.

‘And yet I do not give them to you
for nothing, my dear father,’ I added;
‘for you give me in exchange those sweet
smiles of affection, which are to me of
more value than anything else in the
world.’

‘Darling child,’ cried my father,
raising his hand above his head, and invoking
a blessing upon me; ‘the look of
affection will always reward innocence.’

‘After having thus spoken he was
about to depart, when I ran towards
him, saying:

‘What! leave us so soon, my dear
father? Prithee stay till the air grows
cooler.’
// 088r.png
.pn +1

‘My child,’ answered my affectionate
parent, ‘these locks have withered in the
hot sun. I have passed many years in
toiling for others, and have never shrunk
from its beams; and now, when it is
partly for my darling girl I toil, the
balm and comfort of my life, I cannot
feel fatigue, and every drop that rolls
down my weather-beaten forehead in
such a cause, makes my old heart the
lighter.’

I threw myself once more into his
arms, and he embraced me fervently,
after which he hastened away. As soon
as he had gone, I was joined by my
mother, who, hearing my voice in the
garden, had come to summon me to the
morning repast.’

‘So, my dear,’ she remarked, ‘old Mrs.
Weston is likely to be better off than
ever; instead of being ruined by the
burning of her cottage, the Earl of
Mansville is going to rebuild it at his
own expense, and has made her a handsome
present into the bargain.’

At the mention of the earl’s name I
blushed, and a sensation filled my
bosom which no other name could have
excited.

‘Indeed, my mother,’ I observed, in
reply to what she had stated; ‘bless his
kind heart! The whole village rings
with his charities; and, whenever I see
him, my heart beats so.’

‘Ah, child,’ said my mother, ‘It is a
very bad sign when a young girl’s heart
beats at the sight of a good-looking
young man. When that happens, she
ought at once to get out of his way.’

I felt uncommonly confused, and
know I must have blushed deeply.

‘Nay, my dear mother,’ I at length
answered, ‘to me a warning is superfluous;
your daughter’s affections live
// 089l.png
.pn +1
in her home. Is it possible she will find
elsewhere what home will yield her?’

As I afterwards learned, the earl and
one of his attendants had watched the
departure of my father, and at this moment
the former descended from the
bridge, and approached towards us. I
started at his presence, and was much
confused, especially as we had just before
been talking about him; but, putting on
one of his most affable smiles, he said:—

‘Pray don’t rise. Don’t let me disconcert
you. Is Mr. Heywood within?’

‘He is but this moment gone into the
fields yonder, my lord,’ answered my
mother.

‘Indeed,’ said the earl, with apparent
disappointment, ‘that is unfortunate, I
have just now urgent occasion to speak
with him.’

‘Urgent occasion,’ repeated my mother,
aside to me; ‘what can it be? My
lord, then I’ll hasten after him; pray
have the goodness to wait one moment.’

‘Nay,’ said Mansville, ‘I am ashamed
to give you the trouble; but, being of
importance—’

‘I’ll make the best speed, and bring
him to you immediately,’ returned my
mother, hastening away, and leaving me
and the earl alone.

Scarcely had my mother disappeared,
when the earl, fixing upon me a look in
which admiration and delight were blended,
took my hand, and, in a voice of
rapture, exclaimed:—

‘Clara, beauteous Clara! behold before
you one who loves you to distraction.’

Although my own feelings and observations
had prepared me for this
scene, I was so flurried and confused,
that I could scarcely contain myself.
My bosom heaved—my heart palpitated.
// 089r.png
.pn +1
Crimson blushes, I am certain, mantled
my cheeks; but yet I was unable to
withdraw my hand from his hold, which
he pressed vehemently to his lips and
then continued:—

‘Lovely Clara, pardon this abruptness;
often have I longed for this opportunity,
but in vain; never before have
I had it in my power to declare how the
first glance of that enchanting face—’

‘Oh, my lord,’ I faltered out, in
tremulous accents, ‘I must not listen to
this—leave me, I beseech you.’

‘Leave you, angelic creature!’ replied
the earl, emphatically, and still retaining
his hold of my hand; ‘leave you! oh,
there is madness in the bare thought!
I cannot, I will not quit your presence till
you have uttered some word of consolation—blessed
me with some ray of hope!’

‘I scarcely knew how to answer;—I
could not behold the object of my love,
kneeling at my feet, and soliciting my
sanction to his vows unmoved; the cold
dictates of prudence would have told me
instantly to give him a decisive answer,
and to force myself from his presence,
but my heart pleaded against its rigid
rules. The earl noticed my emotion,
and doubtless saw his triumph, for he
continued in more fervent and emboldened
terms.

‘But surely the gentle Clara cannot
be so cruel as to bid one who is her devoted
slave, despair? No—no—she will
impart to him a hope—’

‘Hope, my lord,’ I interrupted, recollecting
myself, and the remembrance of
my mother’s words, and my own assurance,
rushing upon my mind; ‘I am a
poor girl, the daughter of an humble
farmer, and have no right to listen to a
man like you. Even were I no longer
the mistress of my heart, I trust I am
// 090l.png
.pn +1
not yet so lost to principle, my lord, as
to avow it where it might not be confessed
with honor.’

The earl arose from his knee, relinquished
my hand, and walked away a
few paces in much apparent agitation;
then suddenly returning, he said in tones
of mingled regret and reproach:—

‘Do you deem me capable of deception?
Clara, it is to make you my wife,
to give you rank and title, that I came.
One word of yours can give splendor to
the home you love, and make the heart
that lives but in your kindness, happy!’

As he spoke thus, his manner became
more energetic, and I felt my heart gradually
yielding!—I trembled, and longed,
yet dreaded the return of my parents;
while the earl seeing the hesitation of
my manner, urged his suit with redoubled
determination.

‘Clara,’ he exclaimed, ‘there is not
a moment to be lost!—Can you doubt
the sincerity of my protestations? Think
you that I could be the base villain to
deceive one in whom my very soul, my
existence is wrapped up. Say but the
blissful word; tell me that you will become
my bride, the empress of my heart
and fortune;—give me this sweet assurance,
and—’

‘Oh, my lord,’ I interrupted, in a
state of confusion, and agitation, I will
not attempt to describe, ‘spare me, I
implore you!—I—I—’ and unable to
finish the sentence, I turned away my
head, and burst into tears. The earl
again seized my hand rapturously, and
encouraged, by the emotion I evinced, his
countenance became lighted up with an
expression of delight, as he exclaimed—

‘Oh, blessed moment! those tears
convince me that I am not hated by her
who hath taken possession of my whole
// 090r.png
.pn +1
affections. Blissful assurance! Ere another
morn, my Clara, my loved, my
adored Clara, will be my bride!—But
time passes, we must away from this
spot instantly.’

And the earl attempted to place his
arm around my waist, but surprised at
his words and demeanour, I recoiled from
him, and looking upon him with astonishment,
I demanded:—

‘My lord, what mean you?—Leave
this place!—Why, wherefore?’

‘Nay, my dearest Clara,’ returned
Mansville, ‘be not surprised, or alarmed;
my proposals are honorable; reasons of
rank require that we retire to my villa;
our marriage must be secret and immediate
or it may be prevented. Once mine,
I will lead you back in triumph.’

‘What,’ I exclaimed, ‘leave my
parents in doubt, in misery?’

‘Banish these childish scruples,’ said
the earl, ‘your parents will applaud you
when they know the truth. Come to a
lover who adores you! Come to the altar
which will pour forth blessings on
those who love so dearly! Come, Clara,
come!’

As the earl thus impatiently urged
his suit, he attempted to lead me towards
the bridge;—I felt my resolution
getting weaker—I trembled—and could
offer but a faint resistance.

‘Urge me no more, my lord,’ I cried,
endeavouring to disengage myself from
him;—‘let me go—I dare not listen to
you—farewell!’

‘Still inflexible,’ ejaculated the earl,
turning away from me, with a look of
the most inexpressible anguish and despair,
‘then is my doom sealed. I cannot,
will not live without you, and thus
I—’

While thus speaking, he snatched a
// 091l.png
.pn +1
pistol from his bosom, and presented it
towards his head! With a wild shriek
of terror, I rushed into his arms, and arrested
his fatal purpose. Some spell,
some horrid spell came over me. I remember
the last cloud of smoke curling
over our ancient trees.—I—I’ve no further
recollection. When my senses were
restored, and reason was permitted again
to resume its sway,—I found myself an
inmate of the earl’s villa, and far away
from that home I had rendered wretched.
Oh, God, how dreadful, how agonizing
were the thoughts that first crossed
my brain! I upbraided myself for a
wretch unfit to live—as one who had
disgraced herself and destroyed the peace
of the most affectionate of parents for
ever, and which ever way I turned, a
curse seemed to pursue me.

Mansville tried all his eloquence could
effect to console me; renewed his most
tender asseverations, and repeated his
promise to make me his bride. Strange
infatuations!—I believed him;—I became
tranquil—and if the thoughts of
my parents and the name I had abandoned
ever returned to my memory, they
were quickly banished by the soothings,
and fond protestations of the earl. Day
after day passed away, and still he
promised, but failed to keep his word.
My humble dress was now exchanged
for fashionable finery and Mansville visited
me every day, repeating each time with
greater energy the vows of love with
which he had at first seduced from my
home. Every luxury—every enjoyment
that could be wished was at my command;
but could they yield me real happiness?
Oh, no. The splendour I was
now placed in, was purchased with agony;
and my own feelings constantly reproached
me for that offence of which I
// 091r.png
.pn +1
had been guilty. Some fated spell must
have been upon me, or I must have soon
been convinced that St. Clair was not
sincere in his promises, or he would not
day after day evade the fulfilment of
them. But it was my fate dearly to
purchase experience of my own weakness
and of the earl’s treachery. Several
weeks elapsed in this manner, and
still did the earl neglect to fulfil the
promises he had made me, while, at the
same time, the ardor of his passion
seemed to increase, and the excuses he
made for delaying our nuptials, were so
plausible, that I was deceived by them.
Alas! the woman whose heart has been
sincerely attached to any particular object,
is made an easy dupe! Let me
pass hastily over the time, until the anniversary
of the day of my birth, at once
the height of my misery, and the means
of restoring me to reason and to peace.
On that occasion, Mansville had made the
most extensive preparations, for celebrating
it in the most spirited manner.
Numerous guests were invited to the villa,
and the peasants in the neighborhood
were also permitted to share in the rejoicings.
Among other things, for my
especial entertainment, the earl had engaged
a troop of itinerant players, who
were in the neighborhood, to perform a
play in the grounds of the villa, which
deserves particular mention, as it was
the means of restoring me to reason, and
saving me from that gulf of destruction,
upon the brink of which I stood.

Seldom had I felt so melancholy as I
did on that occasion; home and all its
tranquil pleasures, came vividly to my
recollection, and my heart was heavy.
There was a song which was a great favorite
in the village where I was born,
and which described the pleasures of
// 092l.png
.pn +1
home in simple yet forcible language,
and as it now came fresh upon my recollection,
I could not help repeating the
words. When I had concluded, I perceived
that Celia, my waiting-maid, had
entered the room, and had apparently
been listening with much attention and
admiration to me.

‘Bless me, Miss,’ said the loquacious
girl, ‘what a pretty song that was, and
how prettily you sang it. Where might
you have learnt it, Miss, if I might make
so bold?’

‘Where I learnt other lessons I ought
never have forgotten,’ replied I, with a
deep sigh; ‘it is the song of my native
village—the hymn of the lowly heart
which dwells upon every lip there, and,
like a spell-word, brings back to its name
affection which e’er has been betrayed
to wander from it. It is the first music
heard by infancy in its cradle; and the
villagers blending it with their earliest
and tenderest recollections, never cease
to feel its magic power, till they cease
to live.’

‘How natural that is,’ returned Celia;
‘just like my nurse used to nurse me to
sleep with a song, which I have never
heard since without nodding.’

‘Has the earl been inquiring for me,
Celia?’ I asked.

‘He has been here this morning, and
has only just gone,’ replied the maid;
‘but only see what lovely things he
has left you, Miss!’

‘And Celia displayed a costly dress,
and several articles of jewellery, of
which I expressed my admiration. But
suddenly, gloomy thoughts again came
over me, and while tears trembled in my
eyes, I ejaculated:—

‘But can these baubles make me happy?
Ah! never! The heart that’s ill at
// 092r.png
.pn +1
ease is made more wretched by the
splendor which laughs in awful mockery,
around its dreariness.’

‘The presence of Celia embarrassed
me; I wished to indulge in melancholy
thought alone, but she seemed determined
not to take my hints for her to leave
me, and at last I only got rid of her by
requesting that she would fetch me a
book that I had been reading the day
previously. When she had left the
room, with much agitation, I unlocked
my cabinet, and took out the plain village
dress, I had worn when I quitted
my home. The sight of this tortured
my brain, and while deep sobs of anguish
almost choked my voice, I thus
soliloquized:—

‘And shall I remain here, dazzled
and betrayed by the splendor with which
I am surrounded? Shall I still rack my
parent’s hearts, and—I—will escape!
Escape! no, no—I can brave the shocks
of fate, but not a father’s eye: to expose
myself to his wrath—no, no! my
heart’s not strong enough for that.’

‘I was interrupted by the return of
Celia with the book, who, on seeing the
village dress in the chaise, expressed the
utmost astonishment.’

‘Lor’ bless me, Miss!’ ejaculated the
girl, ‘what’s this dress doing here?—Whoever
could have put such trumpery
in the way?’

As she spoke, she snatched it up,
and was going to throw it aside when I
sprang forward emphatically, and hastily
took it from her.

‘Give it back!’ I cried, ‘that humble
dress was mine;—I cast it off—the
splendor that has replaced it, is the
source of the most bitter misery!—Oh,
my forsaken parents;—Come hither,
Celia;—I have no one here of my own
// 093l.png
.pn +1
sex to talk to—no one to listen to my
sorrows. I—’

‘Pray speak freely to me, Miss,’ observed
Celia; ‘though humble, you’ll
not find me insincere.’

‘Celia,’ I remarked, ‘if you knew
what a home, what parents I had left,
you’d pity me.’

‘I do pity you, Miss,’ replied Celia,
‘indeed I do. Better days will come;
you’ll be as happy as when you left
them.’

I sighed, and shook my head with a
look of despair, and then detailed to
Celia the particulars of my flight from
home, and the promises which the earl
had made, but had hitherto failed to
keep his word.

‘Be of good cheer, Miss, I pray,’
said Celia, ‘he will keep it, depend upon
it.’

Celia spoke this with such a tone of
confidence, that it forcibly struck me,
and eagerly I exclaimed:—

‘Will he, Celia?—Now, don’t trifle
with me—tell me the worst at once!—Better
is present death, than hope deferred;
still lingering on, still doomed
to be deceived.’

‘My dearest young Mistress,’ returned
Celia, ‘there is plenty of time before
you think of dying; and, as a proof that
the earl don’t mean to deceive you, look
here.’

And with these words, Celia presented
me with a miniature of the earl, elegantly
set round with diamonds, at the
same time, adding:—

‘On a chamber-maid’s penetration,
this nothing more or less than an earnest
of the original.’

I took the miniature with transport,
and my eyes became riveted upon it
// 093r.png
.pn +1
with admiration. Nothing could be
more true than the delineation.

‘Ah!’ I observed, ‘precious to the
fond one, is the semblance of the object
held most dear. ’Tis the enchanter’s
wand, which gathers around it in a magic
circle, sweet recollections and feelings
which make memory a paradise!—No,
no!—treachery could never dwell
in such a face!—I’ll trust him still. He
cannot mean me false.’

‘Shall I put this away, Miss?’ asked
Celia, pointing to the village dress; ‘I
am sure the earl would be hurt to see
it here.’

‘Yes, take it away, Celia,’ I replied,
‘I would not, for the world, do anything
to make him uneasy.’

Celia immediately obeyed, and she had
not been gone many minutes, when St.
Clair entered the room, and advanced
joyfully to meet me.

‘Ah, sir,’ I ejaculated, ‘why overwhelm
me with gifts like these?—My
humble habits shrink from such magnificence!
This (pointing to the miniature,)
is the only one I prize, the herald
of a gift to follow, which shall restore
me to my friends, my self-esteem;—my
poor heart-broken parents.’

The earl turned away his head, doubtless
to conceal the embarrassment which
my words occasioned him, and then, in
a tone which showed that he wished to
change the subject, said:—

‘This is your birth-day, Clara.’

That word tore my wounds open!
Oh! what a joyous day was it when I
was at home! The farm seemed to be
one smile of joy;—the sacred halo of
a parent’s blessing descended on me with
the morning sun; and even my birds,
my flowers, my young companions,—all
// 094l.png
.pn +1
seemed to have a livelier look, and
lift their heads rejoicing. These thoughts
were too painful for my feelings, and I
burst into tears.

‘Nay, Clara,’ observed the earl,
‘cheer thee, love!—banish that woe;
discard that dread; rely upon my promise.’

‘Heaven’s smile repay that word,’ I
exclaimed fervently; ‘the weight which
pressed me to the earth is removed, and
all around me breathes ecstasy.’

‘It delights me to hear thee say so,
my dearest Clara,’ replied the earl, ‘go,
sweetest, and put on your richest dress
to celebrate this joyous day.’

‘That day,’ I added, with enthusiasm,
‘that day which gives me back to honor.
It shall be done, my lord.’

The earl kissed me affectionately, and
left the room; and once more a cheering
hope brought consolation to my heart,
and assured me of future happiness and
joy. Alas! how soon was I to be
awakened to the greatest agony! To
more misery than I had ever before experienced.

The festivities of the day passed off
most brilliantly until the play commenced.
The gardens in which it took place
were brilliantly illuminated, and the
temporary theatre was formed among
the trees in the back. Just as the performances
were about to commence, a
servant entered and delivered to the
earl a letter, upon perusing the contents
of which, he excused himself to me and
the numerous guests, it being necessary
that he should be absent for a short
time; but he begged that his absence
might not interrupt their pleasure, as
the village actors would amuse them
with their humble efforts; and ere they
had ended, he would return.
// 094r.png
.pn +1

When the earl had gone, I beckoned
Celia over to me, and the play immediately
commenced; but what were my
feelings of intense agony as it proceeded,
when I perceived that the plot, and
every incident of the piece, so corresponded
with my own circumstances, that
it seemed as if they had actually chosen
me to sketch the heroine from. A nobleman
wooed a peasant girl; he vowed
the most unbounded affection for her;—promised
her marriage, if she would
but elope with him;—she was persuaded;—she
sunk senseless in his arms,
and was conveyed away.

During the time the piece was being
played, my anguish was insupportable,
and I was so worked upon by the power
of each scene, that I could scarcely
persuade myself but that it was reality.

‘Fatal resemblance,’ I ejaculated, at
the passage where the seducer bears his
victim away; ‘has there before been
such another deluded being?’

‘Be calm, dear mistress, be calm,’
said Celia, ‘it is only a play.’

But my thoughts were too intently
fixed upon the scene which followed, to
pay any particular attention to her words.
The parents of the betrayed one, as represented
in the piece, upon hearing the
screams of their daughter, rushed on to
the stage, the father demanding of his
wife the meaning of the alarm, and the
cause of the cries he had heard. The
mother looking round, and finding that
her daughter was not there, exclaimed:—

‘My child! my child!—A mere pretence—our
darling—lost—escaped!
Ah! there! there! behold the seducer
bearing her away!’

‘Ah!’ cried the father, frantically,
‘what fled? given up to shame?—Oh,
// 095l.png
.pn +1
art beyond belief! Have all your fond
professions come to this? Oh, well-laid
plan!—Lost! lost!—Oh, viper!—hypocrite!—I
tear you from my bosom!—I
sweep you from the home you have
disgraced!—A father’s curse—’

With a wild shriek, as the actor gave
utterance to these words, I rushed upon
the stage, and falling at his feet, I vociferated,
in tones that made the place
re-echo again:—

‘Hold! hold!—curse her not! She
is not lost! She is innocent!’

At this moment the earl entered, and
the whole of the spectators seemed
petrified to the spot with astonishment.

‘Ah!’ cried Mansville, ‘what do I
see?—What is the meaning of this?’

Celia raised me from the posture I
had assumed, and by the commands of
the earl, whose confusion and chagrin
was evident, she led me to my own
chamber, while the guests quickly dispersed,
and the entertainments abruptly
ceased.

After I had been taken to my own
apartment for a few minutes, by the
kind attention of Celia, I recovered myself,
and addressing myself to her,
said:—

‘Thanks! thanks! a thousand thanks!—I
grieve to have troubled you thus—’tis
over now; ’tis nothing.’

‘The earl, Miss! the earl!’ exclaimed
Celia, and the next moment Mansville
stood before me. There was an
expression of sternness upon his brow
which I had never seen before, and he
seemed greatly agitated. I was alarmed,
and advancing towards him, said:—

‘Oh, my lord, how shall I apologize
for—’

‘No more of that,’ he interrupted;
‘’tis past.’
// 095r.png
.pn +1

‘My lord,’ ejaculated I, surprised.

‘Leave us, Celia;’ commanded the earl,
and when the former had retired from
the room, he turned to me, and the indignation
of his looks seemed to increase.

‘Oh, Mansville,’ I observed, ‘how
have I deserved this indifference? Is it
my fault that my feelings overcame me?
Is it my fault that the scene revived my
sense of duty? Oh, my lord, it is those
fatal feelings that have made me what
I am.’

‘I am weary of this parade of sensibility,’
replied the earl, impatiently; ‘you
have called up against me the laugh of
my tenantry and domestics—let that
content you.’

‘What does the change portend?
This freezing look—this language of reproach?’
I inquired.

‘For your own sake and mine press
me no farther, Clara,’ replied the earl;
‘I would not have had the scene which
has just past occur for millions. If you
have placed yourself in unpleasant circumstances,
common policy should at
least teach you to shun the sneers of
the world; but it is over and nothing
can now be said which will not increase,
instead of diminishing our mutual uneasiness.’

A burning pang shot through my
brain as Mansville gave utterance to
these words, and emphatically and hysterically
I exclaimed—

‘Am I deceived?’

‘I cannot tell what childish hopes
you may have indulged,’ returned the
earl, with the most freezing coldness,
‘and I am only sorry that you should
have been weak enough to deceive yourself.’

‘Oh, no, my agitation has shaken my
// 096l.png
.pn +1
senses,’ cried I deliriously, and clasping
my temples; ‘he could not—no, no,
Mansville! in the name of all that you
have professed, and I have believed, in
the name of those vows that are registered
on high, however man may slight
them; and in that holiest name of all,
the name of Him, whose bolt hangs o’er
the hypocrite, dispel these doubts and
this suspense; restore me at once to my
parents, or at once name the hour for
that ceremony to pass, when, before the
world, you acknowledge me as your
wife!’

‘Clara,’ replied the earl, ‘since you
will force me to be explicit, is it not
strange that a mind so intelligent should
fancy for a moment that it was possible
for one in my rank to marry a girl in
yours?’

‘The oath!—the oath!’ I cried, almost
choking with emotion.

‘My heart is ever yours,’ returned
he, ‘but, of my hand, I have no power
to dispose. Nay, you pass not
hence.’

‘Are there no pangs, that, like the
dagger, kill the heart they pierce,’ ejaculated
I; ‘I cast me at your feet in
agony! ’Tis Clara kneels and supplicates!
not for herself, but for the racked
souls, and the gray hairs of age! For
your honor and eternal peace, restore
me to my parents.’

The earl seemed suffering the most
acute mental agony, and for a moment
averted his head.

‘Clara,’ he said, in faltering accents,
‘believe my heart unchanged—my unceasing
love—’

‘Monster!’ I interrupted in delirious
tones; ‘darest thou still profane that
sacred word? No, my lord, the mask is
torn away,—the attachment which was
// 096r.png
.pn +1
my pride is now my disgust; ’tis past!
I know myself deceived, but, thank
Heaven, I am not lost! To you, my lord,
the bitter hour is not yet arrived; but,
’tis an hour that never fails to guilt.
At some unexpected moment, the blandishment
of pleasure will lose their force—the
power of enjoyment will be palsied
in your soul; it will awake only to
remorse. In that hour of retribution
think of these words of warning,—think
of the hearts you’ve broken—think,
my lord, and tremble.’

Without waiting to give utterance to
another syllable, I rushed from the room,
but the voice of the earl, tempted me to
stop at the door and listen. He was
apparently pacing the apartment in the
most violent state of agitation, and thus
soliloquizing:—

‘The fatal truth curdles my blood like
poison! I feel the hell in my bosom.
Oh, what a heart I’ve lost? Why, splendid
slavery of rank, must virtue be thy
victim; why must affection be sacrificed
to thee? The peasant mates him where
his heart directs, and to his lowly bride
brings happiness; his lord must fret,
chained to some high-born fool; or either
pine in vain for humble loveliness, or
make its innocence a martyr to his choice.
I was not born to be a betrayer. Wed!
I cannot cease to love!’

The words recalled my scattered reason,
and I was almost tempted to return to
the apartment; but a feeling of pride restrained
me, and bursting with anguish,
I hurried away to my chamber, where I
was soon afterwards joined by Celia,
who was sent by the earl to watch me.
I was at first insensible to her presence,
and sat like a statue, with my eyes fixed
upon the earth, and buried in deep and
agonizing meditation. The poor girl
// 097l.png
.pn +1
spoke to me, but, overcome with my
emotions, I burst into tears, and threw
myself on the couch, and Celia, probably
thinking that I should fall into a slumber,
left. My mind being so dreadfully
fatigued by the sufferings I had so recently
undergone, I did gradually fall
to sleep, from which I was aroused by
hearing some person moving in the adjoining
apartment. The door was partly
open, and I perceived it was Celia.
Anxious to ascertain for what purpose
Celia was there, I still pretended to
slumber, and shortly afterwards, she
stole softly to the door which opened
upon my chamber, and peeped in.

‘Yes, she sleeps,’ she said. ‘Poor
lady, my heart bleeds for her. Why,
this strange, unlooked-for adventure has
created a fine confusion among all of us;
for see—if one wouldn’t think, by the
state this room is in, that it had turned
the heads of the whole family. Scarcely
a piece of furniture in its place, and
my mistress’s toilet, too. Here’s confusion.
But hold, Celia, that’s your affair,
so no complaining. I declare I’m
almost worn out with this bustle. Heigh-ho!
I’m ordered by the earl to watch
my mistress here; but I’m sure I don’t
know what I shall do to keep awake,
suppose I finish the new drawing the
Lady Clara honored my humble talents
by so much admiring—that’s just the
thing.’

Celia placed the drawing-stand before
her, and sitting down, applied herself
to her task; but it was evident, by her
frequent nodding, that her words would
soon be verified, and I was most anxious
for it to happen so, as I had formed a
resolution to make my escape from the
villa that night by some means or other.
She once more approached the couch,
// 097r.png
.pn +1
and having apparently satisfied herself
that I still slept, she returned to the
drawing.

‘Oh, dear,’ she exclaimed with excessive
weariness, ‘oh, dear, my eyelids are
so very heavy, they stick together whenever
I wink, and I can scarcely force
them open again. My poor drawing
will never get finished at this rate.
However, I must try once more what it
will do to keep me from sleeping at my
post.’

She again endeavored to keep herself
awake, but her efforts were all useless,
she nodded, and nodded, until at length
she fell back in her seat, fast asleep.

I now hastily arose, and attired myself
in the village dress I had gazed at
with such feelings of pain and regret in
the morning. I approached Celia on
tip-toe, and being certain she was really
asleep, I soliloquized—

‘Yes, she sleeps! Now is the only
moment! I thought I could not brave
a father’s eyes; but there is courage in
despair, which makes the weak frame
wonder at itself. I have written this
letter to the earl, and here are all his
gifts—his diamonds, his detested wealth.
Now, methinks, my heart feels lighter.
Yes, like the prodigal, I will turn my
steps where a child may always look
with confidence. I have been imprudent,
but am not guilty. Heaven receives
the offering of the sincerely penitent,
and can a parent’s blessing be denied
when Heaven forgives?’

The apartment upon which my chamber
opened, and in which Celia was, was
a magnificent one. On one side was a
large French window, through which the
distant country could be seen far beyond.
Outside was a balcony overhanging the
road. I undrew the curtains softly, and
// 098l.png
.pn +1
opened the window. It was a fine moonlight
night, and the distant landscape
could be seen as distinctly as at broad
day. I took a scarf from the shoulders
of Celia, which she wore, fastened one
end of it to the balcony railing, then returned,
made an appeal to Heaven for
protection, and blew out the candles.
With more firmness than might have
been expected, I then began my perilous
descent, and gradually letting myself
down by the scarf, alighted in safety
below. Fear of being re-taken lent
speed to my feet, and I flew with the
greatest rapidity across the country to
which, however, I was complete stranger.

I scarcely abated my speed in the least
for the distance of five miles or more,
when I was obliged to pause, in order to
rest myself. I looked fearfully around
me to see whether or not I was pursued,
and then reflected upon what course I
should pursue. I feared to travel at
that hour, and, indeed, it would have
been most dangerous, to a young girl
especially; I therefore resolved to proceed
for some distance further, and then
to seek shelter at some cottage till the
morning. I then resumed my lonely
journey in a state of fear and agitation,
it is unnecessary for me to describe.
After walking for above an hour longer,
I arrived at a small and obscure hamlet,
and by the light which I perceived in
several of the cottage windows, I was
satisfied that some of the inmates had
not retired to rest.

Here, again I paused, for uncertain
of the reception I might meet with, I
almost feared to knock. At length, I
approached the first one, and having
first listened at the door, and hearing
only the voice of an old woman, apparently
in prayer, I became more confident,
// 098r.png
.pn +1
and having waited till she had ceased,
I knocked, and shortly afterwards, the
voice of the old woman demanded who
was there, and what they wanted. I informed
her, and begged that she would
admit me. It was some time before she
complied, and seemed to be consulting
within herself the propriety or safety of
doing so, but having put several more
questions to me, as to whether I was
alone, &c., she at last ventured to open
the door, and eyed me narrowly from
head to foot. She was a very clean,
motherly-looking woman, whose appearance
called the tears to my eyes, she
was so much like the parent to whom I
was returning.

‘Good gracious, child,’ she said, ‘what
causes you to be out at this time of
the night and from whence do you come?’

‘I am a stranger in this part of the
world, my good dame,’ I replied; ‘I
have recently made my escape from villainy,
and crave a shelter in your cottage
till the morning. I have sufficient to
reward you for your trouble.’

‘As for reward,’ returned the old woman,
‘I require none; and if your story
is true, you are heartily welcome to the
humble bed I have to offer you.’

I thanked the poor woman most sincerely
for her kindness, and entered the
clean little parlor, where the remains of
her humble repast she had been partaking
of, was still upon the table, and of
which she requested me to eat, but I declined.
Judging from her manners and
appearance that she was one in whom I
could confide, I gave her a brief account
of my situation, and upon what purpose
I was bent. She listened to me with
evident commiseration, and applauding
the resolution I had formed, after some
conversation, she conducted me to the
// 099l.png
.pn +1
room in which she was able to accommodate
me, and after bidding me good night
left me to myself. Fatigued with the
events of the day, it was not long ere I
fell asleep, and I did not awake until the
old woman aroused me late in the morning.

Having been prevailed upon by her to
partake of her humble meal, and offered
her some remuneration for her kindness
which she persisted in declining, I took
leave of her, and made my way to the
coach office, to which she had directed
me. I met with no interruption on the
road, and succeeded in obtaining a place
in one of the coaches just starting for
my native village. I alighted from the
coach a short distance from my place of
destination, having made up my mind
to walk the rest of the way.

I cannot adequately portray the nature
of my feelings as I approached the
home where I had never known anything
but happiness until my meeting with
Mansville; alternate hopes and fears
racked my bosom. It was a beautiful
morning; the sun shone forth in fall meridian
splendor, and all nature seemed
to wear a smile of gladness. When I
came within sight of the village, my
heart felt ready to burst, and suddenly
the sound of pipes and tabors vibrated
on my ears. Presently afterwards, a
bridal procession approached towards
the spot where I was, and stopped before
the doors of one of my female companions,
Ellen Greenley, and George
Ashburne, who had long been her acknowledged
lover.

George Ashburne having thanked his
friends for their kindness, the father of
Ellen joined them.

‘Good morning to you, my dear child,’
said Mr. Greenley, kissing his daughter
// 099r.png
.pn +1
affectionately, and smiling upon his son-in-law
elect, kindly; ‘may this prove a
blessed day to you both. Go, lads and
lasses, and gather the flowers to celebrate
the ceremony.’

The villagers departed, and Mr. Greenley
continued—

‘I’ll try if I can’t prevail upon Mr.
Heywood, the unfortunate father of Clara,
to come to your wedding; poor fellow!
he may be compared to the ruined
wing of the crazy old mansion-house he
was converted into a farm, that looks
down in gloomy silence upon the bright
and smiling landscape which everywhere
surrounds it. Ah! that sad girl! the
flowers they go to gather are less frail
than she has proved. My children be
virtuous if you would be happy.’

Thus saying, the old man re-entered
the cottage, but his words had been so
many daggers to my heart.

‘Clara’s father,’ observed Ellen, when
her father had left them, ‘ah! if our
poor Clara herself were only here now,
how her heart would rejoice in our happiness.’

‘Don’t name her, Ellen,’ said George,
‘don’t name her; a virtuous girl’s lips
ought not to be sullied by the mention
of her name.’

‘Ah! George,’ replied Ellen, ‘pity
becomes the virtuous, and the more she
has fallen, the more she deserves to be
pitied.’

‘Psha!’ cried George, ‘can’t you talk
about something else?’

‘A sad day it was when she went
away,’ continued Ellen, ‘everybody was
downcast, as if some great affliction had
befallen the village.’

‘More fools they,’ was George’s abrupt
retort; ‘if you or I had gone, indeed,
it might have afflicted them; now,
// 100l.png
.pn +1
Ellen, you shall not talk any more about
her. Come, come, let us be going.’

Suddenly accumulating all my fortitude,
I emerged from the place where I
had concealed myself, and called upon
Ellen by name. Both her and her lover
started, and the former exclaimed in a
tone of astonishment and alarm:—

‘Bless us! what’s that?’

‘As I live,’ said her lover, ‘it is Clara
Heywood, or her ghost!’

‘Do not be alarmed, Ellen,’ I said,
‘but one word with you.’

‘No, it’s she herself, as I’m alive,’
ejaculated Ellen: ‘but oh, how changed
she is.’

‘One word, dear Ellen,’ I repeated.

‘I am not satisfied upon this subject,’
said the timid George, ‘so, as you seem
resolved to stay here, I shall be off.’

‘Ellen,’ I repeated, as soon as George
had departed ‘Have you forgotten me?’

‘No, Clara, no,’ answered the affectionate
girl, ‘nor never shall forget you.
I was even talking about you, as you
called. Ah! Clara, you’re sadly altered;
and so is everything since you went
away. Such a day as it was, when you
left us!—There wasn’t a dry eye, nor a
cheerful word spoke in the village.
Your poor father—’

‘Well—well!’ I hurriedly interrupted.

‘I see it grieves you,’ said Ellen; ‘I
didn’t mean to make you sad—you look
as if you had suffered enough. This is
my wedding-day, Clara.’

Ellen sighed, and for a moment
averted her head.

‘Yes, Ellen,’ I resumed, ‘I wish to
see my mother, and to see her privately.
She would not, perhaps, admit me to
her presence, if she was not forewarned.
You can oblige me greatly, if you will
induce her to come to me, by saying that
// 100r.png
.pn +1
a stranger desires to speak with her, immediately.’

‘That I will, with all my heart,’ said
Ellen, ‘and may it turn to good. Oh,
may all the realization of her hopes attend
the returning wanderer. But where
shall I find you?’

‘I’ll follow you,’ I answered, ‘go
round to the front door; I’ll take the
opposite side, and meet you at the gate.
And Heaven will help the heart, determined
to retrace the paths of rectitude
and honor,’ I cried, as with a heart
beating with hope and dread, I made
my way towards the house of my beloved
parents.

Oh, never shall I forget the feelings
with which I entered at the gate.

‘Here is my home!—my blessed, blessed
home!’ I reflected; ‘a frowning form
appears to guard the threshold, shrieking
in my ear—‘Hence! thou shalt not
enter!’ But can I linger here?—I seem
to tread the earth like a criminal. I
must, and I will approach! Now, now
now!’

Having at last made a violent effort
to conquer my emotions, I rushed down
the steps into the yard, and then exclaimed
triumphantly—

‘Once more I am surrounded by all
that is dear to me!—Father! mother!—your
unhappy child, sorrowing, imploring,
returns to you!—And hark! I
hear the song of my childhood floating
on the air. How acutely doth its accents
strike upon my heart in such a
scene as this, around whose every tree
and flower some recollection of infancy’s
entwined.’

My heart rose in my mouth, as I ventured,
seeing the coast clear, to approach
the house, and even to peep into the
parlor-window. I trembled; and an indescribable
// 101l.png
.pn +1
pang shot through my frame,
as I noticed everything that well-known
room contained, and which had not undergone
any alteration since I last beheld
it. But how shall I describe my
feelings, when immediately afterwards,
the door of the inner apartment was
thrown open, and the next moment my
mother appeared with the breakfast
things. With what eager fondness did
I gaze upon her revered countenance,
and yearn again to be enfolded in her
embrace; and most severely did I reproach
myself when I noticed the heavy
marks of care that were upon her brow.
The casement was partially open, so
that I could hear all that passed, and
my mother, having placed the breakfast
things on the table, sighed heavily and
observed—

‘There, there!—There’s the breakfast
ready for my poor husband, and now I
wish he would return. He has been out
since daylight with his gun; the only
thing that seems to attract his attention.
At home, all day he does nothing but
sigh, or,—if he thinks he is not observed,—weep.
Oh, Clara! unthinking girl
you have too much to atone for. How
long he stays.’

My heart was ready to burst as these
words reached my ears, and it was with
the greatest difficulty I could avoid betraying
myself. My mother now came
to the door and looked anxiously out,
but a little thatched summer-house close
at hand concealed me from observation.
Again she entered the house, and I overheard
her, in tones of the deepest anxiety,
exclaim—

‘No, I cannot catch even a glimpse of
him, yet my mind is never easy in his absence;
his despondency sometimes makes
me fear that—ah! surely yonder I see
// 101r.png
.pn +1
him moving mournfully among the trees.
Yes, ’tis he—he is just at the bridge;—he
comes!’

‘Never shall I forget the sensation
with which I strained my eyes in the direction
which the observation of my mother
instructed me in, and I thought I
should have sunk to the earth with mingled
feelings of the most intense anguish
and awe, when my eyes once more beheld
my father. But oh, how altered
was he! Care had deeply imprinted
its furrows on his cheeks, and his form
was bent and attenuated. He walked
with a feeble step, and at least twenty
winters seemed to have passed over his
head since I had last beheld him.

‘My God!’ I mentally ejaculated,
‘and are these the terrible consequences
of my imprudence? Oh, my poor mother,
truly did you say that I had much to
atone for!—How can I ever make sufficient
reparation for the misery I have
occasioned.’

My father at length reached the house,
and my mother ran affectionately to
meet him.

‘You were wrong to have wandered
so far,’ she said, ‘you seem quite exhausted.’

‘No,’ replied my father,  ‘’tis only exercise
that can divert the mind from
gloom; When the mind’s disturbed, the
body does not feel fatigued. I’m late,
I hope you haven’t waited breakfast for
me.’

‘I would not certainly breakfast without
you,’ returned my mother; ‘but you
are too much heated to sit in this parlor;
the breeze is too keen for you; we
will go into the inner apartment. Go,
and I will take the breakfast things for
you.’
// 102l.png
.pn +1

‘Well, well, as you please,’ said my
father, ‘where is Edwin?’

‘He has gone to make one of the
wedding party of Ellen and George,’ answered
my mother.

‘A wedding!’ said my father, with a
sigh, ‘ah.’

My mother had by this time hastily
gathered up the breakfast things, and
left the parlor.

‘Poor, bereaved mother,’ sighed my
father, looking after her with the most
poignant sorrow, ‘she struggles with
her grief, and endeavors to impart a joy
which neither can feel; which we neither
can know again.—No! no! peace
of mind fled with my guilty daughter—never
to return! Why did I repair the
ravages time had made in this old mansion?
Why strive to give an air of comfort
to my habitation?—Because I deemed
it would be the abode of bliss. She—my
child, hath made it the abode of despair!—But,
no matter, a few years of
neglect, desolation will spread around,
and hearth, roof, and tree will be ruined,
like my happiness, and broken as my
heart!—My daughter!—my Clara! Oh!
misery! misery! She is gone! she is
lost forever!’

As he thus spoke he rushed from the
room, and my agony was so great that
I could not help groaning aloud.

‘Oh! God!’ I exclaimed; ‘what will
become of me?—I shall go mad!—Would
that I had not ventured hither;
I shall never be enabled to withstand
the scene!—Never can I find resolution
enough to meet his reproaches. Alas!
he is too strongly prejudiced against
me, ever to be persuaded that I am
guiltless!—But where is Ellen?’

I had scarcely given utterance to the
// 102r.png
.pn +1
words, when the latter approached, and
before I had time to speak to her, entered
the house observing me, however, and
motioning me to remain where I was,
and to wait patiently. I cannot do
justice to the anxiety of my feelings
during the time I was waiting there. A
thousand doubts, hopes and fears, flashed
across my brain, and every moment
seemed to be an hour. At length, I
heard Ellen in joyful accents exclaim,
as she came from the house,

‘Joy, Clara, joy!’

I sprang forward with rapture to
meet her.

‘I have succeeded, my dear Clara,
said the generous-hearted girl, exultingly;
‘she’ll come to you. Wait in the
summer-house, and she’ll be with you
presently.’

‘Thanks! thanks!’ cried I, ‘a thousand
thanks, my dearest Ellen.’

‘She’s coming,’ observed Ellen, eagerly;
‘go, quick. I pray for your success
from the bottom of my soul.’

Scarcely had I time to enter the summer-house,
when my mother approached.
Now was the moment of my trial at
hand; a deadly sickness came over me,
and it was with difficulty I could save
myself from fainting. The next moment
my mother entered the summer-house,
and she no sooner beheld me,
than she uttered a loud scream of astonishment,
and became, as it were,
paralyzed to the spot.

‘Mother! mother!’ I cried, in frantic
tones, ‘if I may still call you by that
dear name;—oh, pardon your imprudent,
but not guilty daughter!’

I could say no more, but sank at her
feet. A pause of several moments ensued!
my mother being too much overpowered
// 103l.png
.pn +1
by her emotions to speak; but
at length, in a voice choked with agony,
she exclaimed:—

‘Wretched girl! dare you again to
approach that home, those parents
whose hearts you have rendered desolate?
Guilty, miserable girl—’

‘Oh, no, no,’ I interrupted hastily,
‘imprudent, cruel, I have been, dear
mother, but your child returns to you
as pure as when she left you. I appeal
to heaven to attest my innocence. Oh,
my mother, pardon the poor prodigal,
who erred alone through youth and inexperience,
and who is now ready to
make all the atonement in her power.’

‘Can this be true? Have you indeed
not endeavored to deceive me?’ ejaculated
my mother, eagerly, and her eyes
beaming, fixed with a penetrating glance
upon my countenance, as though she
would read all that was passing in my
soul. ‘But no, it is impossible. How
can you be innocent, uncontaminated?
did you not abandon your home, your
parents, and throw yourself into the
arms of a villain, who—’

‘Oh, mother, believe it not,’ I returned,
with the tears at the same time
streaming down my cheeks. ‘I acknowledge
that by the most base and subtle
means, and in a moment of thoughtlessness
and imprudence, Mansville got me
into his power, and bore me far away
from my home. But I thought that he
meant to act honorably towards me.
He told me he would make me his bride.
I was too ready to believe him, and day
after day he made some plausible excuse
to postpone the fulfilment of his
promise. Think not, however, that
I suffered nothing. That you were ever
absent from my thoughts, or that the
fondly cherished recollections of my
// 103r.png
.pn +1
home, that home I had quitted, ceased
to torture my mind. Bitter, indeed,
were the pangs I endured. Ofttimes
would I have fled the place and returned
hither, but I dreaded to meet the reproaches
of my parents. When, however,
Mansville threw aside the mask,
I overcame that dread, and your unhappy
daughter has come back to solicit
your forgiveness, with her virtue as unsullied
as when she left you.’

During the time I was speaking, the
agony evinced by my mother needs no
description, and when I had ceased, in
a paroxysm of delirious transport, she
snatched me from the earth and enfolded
me in her arms, exclaiming—

‘My child—my long lost Clara! Yes,
I do indeed believe you, and pardon you,
Oh, this is a happiness that I never expected!’

‘Mother, dear mother!’ I cried, in a
tone of gratitude and delight which I
cannot adequately describe, ‘to be suffered
once more to speak to you in this
place—to hear those blest words—to
know myself pardoned. My heart is so
full. Thus, thus only can I thank you.’

Again I threw my arms around her
neck, and pressing vehemently to her
bosom, she wept tears of joy.

‘Unfortunate girl,’ at length she said,
gently withdrawing herself  from
my enthusiastic caresses, ‘I believe you
innocent; but a mother’s heart is more
indulgent than the world. And, ah!
there is yet one to be appeased. Hark!
I hear footsteps. It is your father.
Softly—stand out of sight! He comes,
but must not know you yet.’

Hastily throwing a veil over me, my
mother urged me into the summer-house,
and the next moment my father and the
father of Ellen came from the house.
// 104l.png
.pn +1
They were in conversation, and by the
words which I overheard, it seemed that
the latter had been endeavoring to persuade
my father to join the wedding
party.

‘But at any rate,’ said he, ‘for half
an hour you might.’

‘No,’ returned my father mournfully,
‘I should only mar the festal hour. I
am the scathed tree of the heath that
cannot drop. The bolt that struck off
my branches has left my old trunk erect
in wretched loneliness.’

‘’Tis a shame, neighbor,’ observed
his companion, ‘it is a shame, I say,
for a strong mind like yours to give itself
up to sorrow in this way. You
might as well put a pistol to your head
at once, for you will be sure to kill
yourself by it, sooner or later, and self-murder
in one form is quite as criminal
as in another.’

‘When you have seen the being for
whom you’ve lived,’ retorted my father,
‘the object of every solicitude—the
child you’ve reared with unceasing
watchfulness, wrenched from you by a
villain’s grasp, then come to me and talk
of patience, and I’ll listen.’

‘Well, well, I’ll not weary you any
longer,’ observed Mr. Greenly; ‘from
my soul I’m grieved to see you thus
abandoned to fruitless sorrow. Farewell,
my friend, and may days be at
hand when we shall see you smile once
more.’

Thus saying, and grasping the hand
of my father most cordially, the father
of Ellen retired through the gate.

‘Smile,’ soliloquized the former, as his
friend left him; ‘smile! Oh, happy
father!—happy to see his daughter safe
in her native innocence—safe from the
bane of wealth. I once hoped that
// 104r.png
.pn +1
such a fate would beam on me; but fate
was jealous. Lost, lost, wretched girl!’

While my unhappy father was thus
speaking, my mother entered the summer-house,
and leading me forth, she
placed her finger on her lips to enjoin
me to silence. We stood aside, and
watched him, unobserved.

‘As I gaze there,’ he continued, ‘methinks
I see her in her days of innocence,
when first her little steps began: laughing,
she ran, with arms extended towards
me; then I trembled lest her young feet
should fail, and she should fall. But
she passed through those fearful times
unharmed. She escaped those thousand
dangers. Now she falls—falls to the
earth, never to rise! She’s gone—she’s
lost! My Clara! Oh, my child!’

My heart was ready to burst, and I
was almost choked with endeavouring
to repress the heavy sobs that heaved
my bosom. My father threw himself into
a chair, and my mother advanced towards
him, and touched him on the shoulder.

‘A tear,’ she observed, in gentle accents.
‘Did I not hear our Clara’s name
too? Did not your lips utter the name
of our child?’

‘No, no,’ he replied, hastily rising;
‘let us, if possible, not think or speak
of her again.’

‘Well, well, dearest husband,’ returned
my mother, ‘I will not urge it now;
but here is a poor creature, the daughter
of—’

‘Away—away!’ hastily and vehemently
interrupted my unhappy parent. ‘I
have no daughter now.’

‘No,’ replied my mother; ‘but this repentant
child, the daughter of a neighbor,
is on her way to ask forgiveness of
her offended father. She faints with
// 105l.png
.pn +1
shame and grief, and dares not meet
him. Do speak a word or two of comfort
to her, and teach her in what words
she should address him to gain his blessing,
and to sooth his anguish.’

‘None,’ replied my father, hastily,
and his eyes beaming wild, ‘none. Let
her not dare to look upon him. Let not
her presence insult the home her infamy
has disgraced. Perhaps, too, she had a
mother, rich in every virtue. Let her
shun that mother, for contamination is
in her touch. Virtue can hold no intercourse
with vice, though vice, with
double baseness, kneels affecting reverence
for virtue.’

I found it impossible to help groaning
aloud, as I listened to my father’s observations,
and I threw myself into my mother’s
arms. He turned his eyes steadily
upon me for a minute or so, and then
resumed—

‘Yet hold! I will not judge too harshly;
for there are shades of guilt, and
hers, perhaps, may not be of so deep a
dye as to preclude forgiveness. Perhaps
her father was not affectionate—Perhaps
(poor child!) he was morose and
frigid. Perhaps neglectful, cold, unindulgent.’

‘Oh, no!’ I sobbed, and sank on my
knees before him with clasped and upraised
hands, ‘he was most kind, affectionate,
and good.’

‘What,’ eagerly demanded my poor
parent, ‘did he love you better than all
the world?—did he rear you in domestic
tenderness, and train you in the paths
of virtue?—did he clasp you to his doting
heart, and in his foolish pride proclaim
his child the paragon of earth?—and
did you then blast all of his fond
hopes, and clinging to another, leave
him in his storm of grief?’
// 105r.png
.pn +1

Again I groaned with the almost insupportable
power of my anguish, and
still remained on my knees before him.

‘Dearest husband,’ said my mother,
‘do not aggravate the dear child’s misery.
She is repentant—she is the shorn
lamb, temper the storm to her affliction,
but do not add another wound to a
heart already too much lacerated.’

‘Well, well,’ returned my father, ‘be
it so. I will forget my own, and try
to sooth her sorrows. Young woman,
rise.’

He raised me from the earth, and
taking my hand tenderly, continued:—

‘What your miseries are, I well can
guess; but what your father’s sufferings
are I too well know. You fear to meet
his eye; you dread to hear his curse. A
father’s curse is heavy; shall I paint this
agonizing suffering to you, child! I can
do so; for I have felt it. I have it now.
I once had a daughter.’

‘Oh, sir, do not name her!’ I cried,
with a feeling of agony, too powerful
for utterance.

‘Oh, how I doted on that daughter,’
he continued, and his countenance betrayed
the terrible mental agony he was
enduring. ‘How I adored her, words
cannot tell; thoughts cannot measure!
Yet—she sacrificed me to a villain,—her
ingratitude has bleached this head,—her
wickedness has broken this heart, and
now my detestation is upon her! Oh,
do not you resemble her,—remain not
a moment longer from your father,—fly
to him ere his heart give way, as mine
does now—ere he curses you as I now
curse—’

‘Oh, no more!’ I interrupted, darting
forward in excessive agitation; ‘in mercy,
oh, no more.’
// 106l.png
.pn +1

‘Ha!’ groaned my father, as he recognized
me and retreated from me, ‘away!
away! away!’

In a wild delirium of agony, I followed
him on my knees, exclaiming, in frantic
accents,—

‘Your vengeance cannot make you
deaf to the agony of a despairing child;
behold me on my knees; I bring the sacrifice
of a broken spirit. I do not ask
your love till you know I am worthy of
being loved. I do not ask your confidence
till you feel I can be trusted; but
do not deny me the shelter of your paternal
roof.’

‘My father spurned me violently from
him, and as he did so, he cried, in hoarse
tones,—

‘Hence! hence!—I know you not!
My sight rejects you—spurns you! If
you have wasted all the spoils of guilt,
there—there’s gold! Your idol, gold!
for which you bartered all your hopes of
bliss!’

He dashed a purse furiously to the
earth as he spoke, and hastened towards
my mother, fixing upon me looks of scorn
and hatred. Oh, Heaven! how each
glance penetrated to my soul! How
every word burnt to my heart! It was
wonderful that reason could retain her
empire in that trying scene.

‘Father! father!’ I implored, with redoubled
vehemence, ‘hear me, I beseech
you.’

‘Husband, dearest husband!’ supplicated
my mother, ‘hear her, she is innocent.’

‘Innocent!’ he reiterated, ‘she innocent!
No, no, impossible!—she left us;
left her happy parents—her happy home—to
follow a villain!’

‘Father, dearest father!’ I cried, ‘temper
mercy, I pray you, with your severity.
// 106r.png
.pn +1
I am not the poor, guilty, degraded
being that you suppose me to be.
Your child is still virtuous—still unpolluted;
her only crime has been in loving
one too fondly, who sought to betray
her! In the name of Heaven, I assert
my innocence, and if I speak not the
truth, may its most awful vengeance descend
upon my head! But you cannot,
you will not, longer doubt me. I see
you will not! Oh, bless you for this,
father, father!’

I could say no more; but sobbing convulsively,
I threw myself into his arms!
He wept;—yes, I could feel his chest
heave with the power of mental anguish,
and the big round tear of sorrow fell
from his eye upon my cheek; he pressed
me with all the fervour he had ever been
wont to do to his heart, and ere he pronounced
it, I knew that I was forgiven.

‘My child! my Clara!’ he at last cried,
‘is it possible that I again hold you
innocent to my bosom? But no, the
bliss is too great to be real! And
yet it is her! yes, it is my child; it is
her lips that have asserted her innocence
and appealed to Heaven to attest it, and
I can no longer doubt! Oh, happiness
supreme! My long-lost, reclaimed
child! Receive a parent’s thanks.’

He could say no more for a minute or
two, but again did he clasp me with ecstasy
to his bosom, and weep tears of
gratitude upon my cheek. Then he
would, withdrawing himself from me,
with an expression I find it impossible
to describe, gazed in my countenance, and
clasping his hands together, raised them
towards Heaven, in humble thanksgiving
for its goodness in restoring me, uncontaminated
to his arms; while my poor
mother’s emotion was equal to his own,
and she gazed on the scene with a sensation
of the deepest gratitude and joy.
// 107l.png
.pn +1

‘But where is the villain who has
been guilty of this outrage?’ he at length
demanded; ‘let me hasten to him, and
demand satisfaction for the wrongs he
has done us; the many days and nights
of bitter misery he has caused your unfortunate
parents! Tell me to what insult,
what anguish did he expose you?
I am mad to hear the guilty tale!’

‘Pray defer it, my dear husband, till
your feelings are more composed;’ said
my mother.

‘No, no, no,’ hastily ejaculated my
father, and with the greatest impatience
depicted in his countenance. ‘I will
hear it now! I will no longer hesitate!’

In as few words as possible, I complied
with my father’s request, and related
all the particulars of the earl’s
conduct to me during the time I was in
his power. During the recital, the violent
agitation of my father was plainly
visible, and when I had concluded, he
walked backwards and forwards for a
short time, with disordered steps, and
muttering incoherent sentences to himself.

At length he turned to me, and clasping
me vehemently to his bosom, exclaimed:—

‘My child!—my own one!—my still
innocent Clara!—Can I longer doubt
you? Oh, no! you are restored to my
arms; guiltless as when in a moment of
imprudence you were snatched away from
your paternal roof! Oh! God! I thank
you for this! The trial has been a heavy
one! But my child has withstood
the temptation, the artifices of the libertine,
and the tempter, and I am again
happy! Bless you, bless you, my Clara!—Oh,
I was too severe to imagine for
a moment that you could be the guilty
being I supposed you to have become!—Bless
// 107r.png
.pn +1
you again!—Here in this fond
embrace!—This kiss of fervent affection,
let me at once seal your pardon for the
indiscretion of which you were guilty.
We will never again part, till death
shall interpose between us.’

Thus saying he snatched me fervently
to his heart, and imprinted warm kisses
upon my cheeks, my lips, my temples!
How shall I describe the feelings that
rushed through my veins at that moment?
Language is by far too weak to
do justice to them. They must be left
to the warm imagination of the susceptible
reader!—I was unable to return
any answer; emotion choked my utterance,
and stifled the words of ecstasy
that would otherwise have flowed from
my lips. Again I felt the ardent embrace
of that father whose forgiveness
I had despaired of ever being able to
obtain; once more I felt the glow of
his kiss upon my lips, and heard him
pronounce his forgiveness for the many,
many hours of bitter agony, of doubt,
of fear, I had caused him.—Surely an
age of anguish would have been trifling
to purchase such a few moments of bliss,
of exquisite transport, as those I then
experienced. Again and again he enfolded
me to his heart, and wept: like
a child did the poor old man weep tears
of inexpressible joy and gratitude upon
my bosom. My mother, too; what pen
could sufficiently depict her emotions
upon that occasion.—She joined my
father in the embraces he bestowed upon
me, and then we all three knelt, and
with hearts of sincerity, poured forth
our gratitude to that Omnipotent being
who had thrown the Almighty shield of
His protection around me in hours of
such eminent peril, and restored me innocent
to the home wherein I had passed
// 108l.png
.pn +1
so many days of virtue and happiness,
and which the wily seducer had endeavored
so artfully to make me disgrace
for ever!

‘But I will seek out the villain,’ cried
my father, in vehement tones, after the
first ebullitions of our joy and gratitude
were over;—‘yes I will go to him and
upbraid him for his base and brutal conduct,
and demand of him all the satisfaction
he can afford!—The feelings of
affectionate parents are not to be racked
and insulted with impunity!—No, by
Heaven, he shall find, that in spite of
his rank, he shall not escape the just
indignation of those humble individuals
whom he would have disgraced and rendered
eternally wretched. To-morrow
I will repair to the titled rake, and demand—’

‘Oh; my dearest parent,’ I interrupted,
‘pray do not think of such a thing;
rather leave him to his own conscience,
which, depend upon it, will sooner or
later, be a severe monitor to him, and
amply punish him for his guilt. The
journey is too long, at your time of life,
and besides, the result of such an act,
without affording any satisfaction, might
be such as I dread even to think upon.’

‘Clara!’ observed my father, ‘think
you I can tamely brook the injuries I
have received from the Earl Mansville?
Oh, my child, did you but know, could
you but form the least conjecture of the
intense agony your disappearance, and
the fears, the suspicions, that naturally
resulted from it, caused both me and
your poor mother, you could not thus
advise.’

‘Alas! my dear father,’ I returned,
‘you do me an injury to suppose that I
have not keenly, severely, felt the misery
yourself and my dear mother must
// 108r.png
.pn +1
have undergone; in the midst of the luxury
and magnificence that were displayed
to ensnare me, it would rise in such
vivid colors to my imagination, that
many a time it surprises me how I can
have retained my senses. Then would
suspicion of the truth of Mansville rush
tumultuously upon my brain, and only
that I had dreaded to meet your reproaches,
long ere this I should have made
my escape from him, and return to your
fostering arms. Not able to form any
conjectures of your suffering?—Oh, my
father, the imagination constantly haunted
me;—sleeping or waking, it was ever
present to my mental vision; but the
deceptive art of Mansville, of which he
is so consummate a master, never failed
to use all the powers of his eloquence to
soothe me, and by specious promises,
day and day to quiet my apprehension—I
will own my weakness;—such was
the powerful ascendancy he had obtained
over my heart, that I was too ready
to listen to him; too willing to believe
that he spoke the truth—Oh, my beloved
parents, do me not the injustice to
suppose that I could for a moment learn
to become insensible of the imprudence
I had committed, or of the consequent
anguish that I knew it would involve
you in.’

‘And do you not love Mansville now,
my child?’ demanded my father, looking
earnestly in my face.

‘Love him,’ I repeated, and a blush
of indignation mantled my cheek as he
spoke;—‘Oh, how degraded, how fallen
I should be, could I now feel anything
but the utmost disgust and abhorrence
for one who has acted with such duplicity
to me, and who would have destroyed
the happiness of my parents for ever!
No, my dear father, the youthful passions
// 109l.png
.pn +1
that are more powerfully excited
in favor of any particular object, are
more likely to become changed to those
of hatred and scorn, when it is discovered
that the being who has created
them, has acted the part of a heartless
traitor,—the vile deceiver,—It is thus
with me, Mansville is torn from me forever;
the place which his image occupied
once, is now replaced by the deepest
scorn and detestation.’

‘Darling child!’ cried my father, clasping
me again in his arms. ‘There is
sincerity in every word you utter. Oh,
how could I ever suspect that you’d
yield to the temptations of the guilty,
and abandon the paths of virtue, in
which you were brought up? This—this
indeed is a joyful day; such a one as
I never expected to experience again.—Come,
come, child, into the house; let
the blissful news be conveyed to all our
neighbors, that this day restores a
daughter, imprudent once, but guiltless,
to her doting parents’ arms.’

‘And let the past be forgotten in the
happiness of the present,’ said my mother,
tears of ecstasy starting to her
eyes:—‘oh, Clara, you have returned
at a time when joy predominates in the
bosoms of those dear friends, with whom
we have been so long associated. Little
did Ellen expect such a happy occurrence
on the day of her nuptials.’

Encircling my waist with their arms,
my parents led me affectionately to the
house, and in a short time I was seated
at the breakfast table, and about to eat
of the repast beneath the roof in which I
had been reared, and from which I had
been so near being discarded for ever.—How
shall I describe my feelings on that
occasion, or those, it was evident, were
passing in the minds of my parents.—I
// 109r.png
.pn +1
could scarcely believe that I had undergone
what I had;—that I had ever
even for a moment quitted my parental
roof. Everything seemed as it was on
the eventful morning when I had been
borne away, and the whole seemed like
some vision to warn me from the imprudent
step I had actually been guilty of.
The change effected in my father and
mother in so short a time was most astonishing.
The heavy care, the anguish
of my father seemed dissipated, and was
succeeded by joy and gratitude; looks
of love and intense feeling which he constantly
beamed upon me; while my mother
could scarcely control her happiness
within bounds of reason.

It might be imagined that my heart
was too full—but it was not so—on the
contrary, I partook of the repast with a
relish I never before enjoyed since I had
quitted my paternal home. I was again
at home! in the home of my childhood
restored to the love of my parents; and
never was the contrast of the comforts
of a virtuous home, with the empty luxuries
of wealth and magnificence, presented
more powerful to my mind.

Never shall I forget the felicity I enjoyed
on that day. In the course of an
hour or two my brother returned to the
farm. He embraced me affectionately,
but his indignation against Mansville
was equal to that of my father.

It appeared that both my father and
brother, had been indefatigable in endeavoring
to trace the earl, but without
success.

The day passed away, and at night,
for the first time in some months, I retired
to my chamber with the blessings of
my parents. What ecstatic feelings
thrilled through my veins, when I entered
the little room where for so many
// 110l.png
.pn +1
years I had slept, and gazed upon every
well known object, which had undergone
no perceptible change since I had
before reposed in it. It seemed indeed,
to have been unoccupied since the time I
had been from home; and every article
I looked upon, appeared not to have
been disturbed. There was the same little
clean bed, with its furniture arranged
with such admirable care and precision—the
humble toilet—and everything
the same as when I had last used it.
There was the prayer book, the one
which had been presented to me by my
father many years before, and in which
was inscribed his name, with the leaf
turned down at the particular prayer
I remember to have used the night before
my elopement. With a heart overflowing
with gratitude, I knelt down,
and fervently breathed that prayer, and
to it added one of thanks to Heaven, for
the manner in which I had been saved
from the sorrow and disgrace with which
I had been threatened, and invoked its
blessings on the heads of my parents and
my brother. Then, with a lighter heart
than I had experienced for many a day,
I retired to my couch, and soon fell off
into a calm slumber. No painful vision
haunted my imagination that night; my
dreams were those of bliss. Of the joys
of home, and the affection of adoring parents;
and in the morning I awoke to a
renewal of that happiness and content,
which had ever been mine before I became
acquainted with the Earl of Mansville.

But what were my sentiments now as
regarded Mansville? Need I try to
portray them? I am certain that I
need not! They were fully embodied in
the observations I had made use of to
my father. The mask which the deceiver
// 110r.png
.pn +1
had thrown off, having shown me his
character in its real light, I thought of
him only with disgust and abhorrence,
and had he even then offered to make
all the reparation in his power, by bestowing
upon me his hand, I felt confident
that I should have rejected it with
scorn. Great as had been my trial, and
painful as had been the circumstances
by which it had been attended, I felt I
had no cause to regret it now, but, on
the contrary, to feel, in a manner thankful
that it did occur, as it had taught
me a  lesson I shall never forget, and
had afforded me that experience in the
deceptive practices resorted to by the
wealthy and unprincipled of mankind,
which would prevent me for the future
from approaching the precipice of
destruction, down which I was so near
being plunged.

I arose the following morning at the
early hour to which I had been accustomed,
and found my father, mother, and
brother, already assembled in the little
parlor, and the morning’s repast spread
upon the table. I could perceive, as
soon as I entered, that they had been
discussing something particular, and it
was not long ere I was made acquainted
with it. I found that my father and my
brother had come to the determination
of going to the Earl Mansville, in spite
of my entreaties, and the observations I
had the previous day made use of, to induce
them to abandon their design, and
such was their eagerness to see Mansville,
and demand an explanation of him,
that they had resolved not to delay
any longer than the following day.

‘I fully appreciate your motives, my
dear child,’ said my father, ‘but, after
mature deliberation, I cannot consent
to comply with your wishes. Were we
// 111l.png
.pn +1
to suffer the matter to rest where it is
it would be yielding a cowardly submission
to guilt, which my heart revolts
from; and, moreover, would give the
foul tongue of slander an opportunity of
propagating surmises derogatory to your
reputation. No, nothing will satisfy me,
but a plain acknowledgment of his guilt,
and your innocence from his own lips,
and a sufficient apology to satisfy the
world at large. Were I to seek reparation
in a court of law, his wealth and
high rank would be a sure protection for
him.’

‘It would,’ coincided my brother,
‘and I see no other means of obtaining
any satisfaction than the course we are
about to pursue.’

In this opinion, my mother coincided,
and, much as I dreaded the consequences
that might attend it, I was at a loss
for arguments to combat their resolutions.
This day passed away in the same
manner as the previous one, and the following
morning, after a most affectionate
farewell, my father and brother took
their departure by the coach, for the
mansion of the Earl Mansville.

After my father and brother had left,
my mind underwent several gloomy presages,
and though I perfectly agreed with
the propriety of the arguments my father
had made use of, I could not but sincerely
regret that they had not abandoned
their design.

My mother endeavored to sooth me
by all the arguments in her power; and
said that, doubtless Mansville, for his
own credit’s sake, would be ready to
make all the reparation that was in his
power.

‘Alas!’ thought I, ‘what recompense
can he make me for the injury he has inflicted
on my peace of mind? Nothing
// 111r.png
.pn +1
can make amends for the pain of
discovering that the only object upon
which we have placed all our young
heart’s warmest affections is base, treacherous,
and unworthy of that passion;
and I now as thoroughly despised Mansville
as I had before loved him, for that
he had thrown a blight upon my mind
from which I could never thoroughly
recover.’

We expected the return of my father
and brother in about three or four days
from the time they had left home, as
they would have nothing to detain them
after they had obtained the interview
they sought with the Earl Mansville, as
they were fully aware that if they protracted
their presence, it would excite
our utmost alarm. The fourth and fifth
day, however, elapsed, and still they remained
absent. Our apprehensions began
to be excited in the utmost degree,
and all the fearful forebodings that had
before haunted my mind, returned with
redoubled force.

In spite of all her efforts to appear to
the contrary, the fears of my mother,
were, if possible, more excited than my
own, and conjecture was exhausted in
vain, to endeavor to account for the procrastination
of their return.

Another day elapsed in this manner,
and yet we heard nothing of them, and
then, indeed, our terrors were aroused to
an almost insupportable pitch, and we
no longer sought to disguise from each
other the real state of our feelings upon
the agonizing subject. I expressed to
my mother all those forebodings I had
before indulged in, and she could not
but admit the too great probability of
them. Now did she join with me in
deeply regretting that my father and
brother had not yielded to my advice,
// 112l.png
.pn +1
or that she should have made one to
urge the propriety of the course they
had taken. What step to pursue we
were at a loss to conceive.

‘I cannot wait in this horrible state
of suspense any longer,’ my mother ejaculated,
when the seventh day dawned,
and we heard no tidings of them; ‘I’ll
instantly take G—m, and learn at
once the cause of this mysterious delay,
and whether or not anything has happened
to them. This dreadful state of
doubt and suspicion is worse than the
most terrible certainty.’

She had scarcely given utterance to
these words when a knock was heard at
the outer door, and a letter was presented
to my mother, which she knew immediately
to be in the hand-writing of her
husband. Trembling violently with apprehension,
she broke the seal, but had
not read more than two lines when, with
a piercing scream, she fell senseless to
the floor. I flew to her, raised her in
my arms, and then, taking up the fatal
letter, began to read the contents. The
commencement of it was enough to
smite my heart with horror; and it is
marvellous how, under such trying circumstances,
I retained possession for an
instant of my faculties. My unfortunate
father and brother were in gaol,
accused of murder—of the murder of
my deceiver, the Earl Mansville!

My frantic cries soon brought the
servants of my father to the room, who
immediately conveyed my mother to her
chamber, while I was reduced to such a
state by the shock which my feelings
had sustained, that it was found necessary
to call in medical advice to me, as
well as the former. I remained in a
state of almost utter unconsciousness for
several days, during which period I continually
// 112r.png
.pn +1
raved of the murdered Mansville,
and the awful charge which I
would fain have believed my unhappy
parent and brother were innocent of;
but which, under peculiar circumstances,
seemed, alas! but too probable.

My mother had been restored to comparative
composure much earlier than
might have been anticipated from the
violence of the shock her feelings had
received; and when I regained my senses,
I found that she had started, the
day following the one on which she had
received the fatal letter, for G—m,
to seek an interview with her wretched
husband and son, and to obtain an explanation
of the horrible circumstances.
The person who attended me had the
utmost difficulty in persuading me not
to follow her; and it was only by the
determined tone in which the medical
man spoke, stating that the consequences
of such a journey, in my then state
of mind, might be productive of the most
fatal results, that I was prevented from
putting my wishes into effect.

Too soon, alas! the horrible particulars
reached my ears, which I will proceed
to relate as they were afterwards
detailed by my father.

It appeared that after my father and
brother had left home, they immediately
repaired to the coach-office, where they
had booked their places the evening before,
and took their departure for
G—m, whither they arrived the evening
without anything occurring worthy
of being particularly noticed. As it
was rather late, they resolved not to visit
the earl till the morning, and accordingly
took up their lodgings at an inn
in the place. Not feeling disposed to
go to rest for the present, they thought
they would take a bit of a walk in the
// 113l.png
.pn +1
neighboring fields previous to supper,
and accordingly they walked forth, and
instinctively directed their footsteps towards
the mansion of Mansville. They
had proceeded across several fields, and
had entered upon a dark and gloomy
lane, which, they had been informed,
led to his house, when suddenly they
beheld, by the dim light of the moon,
the shadows of two men before them,
one of whom was a short way in advance
of the other. They did not take
particular notice of this at first, as there
was nothing at all extraordinary in the
circumstance; yet, when they perceived
that one of them still kept in the rear
of the other, and that he was evidently
fearful of being seen, they determined to
watch his actions more narrowly. They,
therefore, kept as close to the hedge as
possible, so that they might not be observed,
and yet cautiously kept advancing
towards the two men, and taking
particular notice of their actions. The
one in advance made a motion as though
reflection was almost too dreadful for him
would turn round, when the other
immediately stepped aside so that he
could not be seen; and it then became
very clear that he was after no good
purpose, or why appear so anxious for
concealment? My poor father and brother,
therefore, redoubled their speed,
entertaining strong suspicions that the
fellow was a highwayman, and that they
might be the means of preventing, probably,
robbery and murder.

They had not proceeded far when a
turning in the lane hid them from observation,
and directly afterwards the report
of a pistol vibrated on their ears.

Fearful, from all they had observed,
that murder had been committed, they
now ran with all their speed in the direction
// 113r.png
.pn +1
which the two persons had taken;
and having arrived at a dark and
lonely spot, to which they were attracted
by groans of agony, they beheld, by
the faint light of the moon, whose rays
now penetrated through the thick foliage
above their heads, the form of a
man elegantly attired, stretched upon
the earth and weltering in his blood,
while by his side lay the pistol with
which the fatal and cruel deed had been
committed, and which the assassin had
left behind him.

My father raised the unfortunate man
in his arms, and the moonlight streaming
full upon his countenance, my brother
suddenly exclaimed, in a voice of
mingled astonishment and exultation—

‘Ah! by Heaven, retribution has
overtaken the guilty! It is the villain,
the betrayer, Mansville!’

The fatal words had scarcely escaped
my brother’s lips when a party of men,
who had also been attracted by the report
of the pistol, rushed to the spot;
and having overheard what he said, and
seeing the wounded nobleman stretched
upon the earth, and my father and brother
standing over him—the latter with
the weapon of death in his hand, believed
them to be the perpetrators of
the bloody deed; and accusing them accordingly,
and seizing them, in spite of
their remonstrances and solemn protestations
of their innocence, they bore
them away to the nearest prison, while
the wounded Mansville was conveyed to
his mansion.

My God! how my very soul trembles
when I recall to my memory this dreadful
event, and my blood freezes in my
veins with the most indescribable sensation
of horror. Alas! who shall say
that my sufferings have not indeed been
// 114l.png
.pn +1
severe!—It is really wonderful how I
have found strength of mind to endure
them all; how one so young, and, until
lately, a complete stranger to misery,
should be able to bear up under such an
almost unprecedented accumulation of
horrors. But my troubles were far from
being yet complete.

The unfortunate Mansville was mortally
wounded, and breathed his last before
morning, never having rallied from
the first, and having been unable to
speak after he was first discovered.
And here must I pause to reflect upon
the terrible fate of the Earl Mansville;
as I do so, the remembrance of his
faults, and his conduct towards me, are
forgotten in the one strong and irresistible
feeling of pity which inhabits my
breast. His fate was marked by the
most signal retribution of Heaven.
The week following that of his assassination,
he was to be united to a young,
beautiful, and wealthy heiress, to whom
he had been paying his devoirs, at the
same time he was pleading the most
powerful passion for me, and most solemnly
protesting, from time to time,
that he would make me his bride. Ill-fated,
but guilty Mansville! Heaven
pardon you for the deception of which
you were guilty, as I now do.

My father and Edwin underwent several
examinations before the justices,
and evidences of their guilt appeared so
numerous, that few, if any, attempted
to defend them.

It was well known in what manner
they were related to me, and the circumstances
under which I had been placed
with the murdered Mansville, and, therefore,
what had brought my father and
brother to G—m, but to seek revenge?
Besides, it was proved by the landlord
// 114r.png
.pn +1
of the inn where they had taken lodgings,
that they had left his house at a
late hour in the evening together, and,
that, previous to doing so, he had a
conversation with them, in course of
which they had asked several strange
questions respecting the deceased Earl
Mansville, which were quite sufficient
to strengthen the suspicions that were
already excited against them; and more
particularly they had made several inquiries
as to the nearest way to the
murdered nobleman’s mansion, and had
been directed the exact way in which
they had been discovered. An inquest
was held upon the deceased, the jury
upon which unhesitatingly returned a
verdict of wilful murder against my
father and brother; and ultimately they
were committed to the assizes for trial.

This was precisely the state of the affair,
when we received the letter which
was from my father; need it, therefore,
excite any astonishment that our feelings
were almost maddening?—The circumstantial
evidence against them was very
strong, and alas! how many innocent
persons had suffered under far less suspicious
circumstances?—The idea was
enough to freeze the blood with horror,
and here again did I find cause most bitterly
to reproach myself for one act of
indiscretion which had thus been productive
of this awful misery, and might
be the occasion of bringing my father
and brother to an awful and ignominious
fate, for a crime of which they were
entirely innocent.

The day after this, I received a letter
from my mother, in which she described,
in language I should fail to do adequate
justice to, were I to try, the interview
she had had with her husband and son
at the gaol in which they were confined,
// 115l.png
.pn +1
but sought to inspire me with hope that
something would take place to establish
their innocence, and bring the real perpetrators
of the horrid crime to justice.
I tried to think so too. Never, I reflected
will the Almighty suffer two innocent
beings to suffer for the sanguinary
crime of the real assassin! They
will be saved, and the monster who has
committed this atrocious crime brought
to that punishment which his guilt merits.

These were but for a short time my
reflections, then would the heavy weight
of circumstantial evidence, which would
be adduced against them on their trial,
recur to my memory, and despair would
again begin to settle upon my heart.

My mother mentioned in her letter
that the assizes were expected to commence
in about a fortnight, and that,
until the result of this awful affair was
known, she intended to reside near the
gaol, so that she might be enabled to
visit the unfortunate prisoners every
day. She added, that, if I thought myself
capable of the task, and able to support
an interview, I might also repair to
the spot, leaving the farm for the time
we were absent to the care of Ellen and
her husband. To remain where I was,
alone, with no one but Ellen to offer me
the least consolation or advice, I felt
would be worse than death; and, therefore,
having made a powerful effort to
conquer my emotions, I arranged the
business with Ellen and her husband,
and with the prayers of my friends for
the happy termination of the trial, I
set forward upon my melancholy journey.

What tongue could give utterance to
the intense agony of my feelings, when
the coach arrived at G—m, the place
// 115r.png
.pn +1
which I had so lately quitted to seek
the forgiveness of my parents. Alas!
under what different, what horrible circumstances
did I now return to it. He
who had first tempted me to act wrong
had met with an untimely fate, and my
father and brother the inmates of a prison,
accused of his assassination.

The day after my arrival at G—m,
I had an interview with my unfortunate
relatives, but I must pass over that
deeply agonizing scene; I cannot recall
it to my memory without harrowing up
my feelings. They both, however, attempted
to appear more composed than
I might have expected them to have
been, and endeavoured to inspire me and
my mother with the most sanguine hopes
as to the result of the trial. We, however,
could see but very little to excite
any such ideas, and although, for the
sake of calming their feelings, we pretended
to place some reliance in what
they said, we were very far from actually
entertaining any such feelings.

I will pass over the time which intervened
previous to the trial, and come at
length to the morning on which the fate
of all my family, I might say, depended.
The hall of justice was densely crowded,
and the trial excited the most uncommon
interest. Myself and my mother
were accommodated with seats near the
dock in which the accused were, and
whenever, by chance, I happened to look
up, I caught the eyes of the spectators
fixed alternately upon me and my mother;
but in the brief glance which I suffered
myself to take, I beheld that the
expression with which they contemplated
us was more of pity than any other
feeling.

I know not how it was, but I felt a
degree of firmness on that awful occasion
// 116l.png
.pn +1
which I never thought it would be in
my power to assume, and my mother
was perfectly calm and resigned. As
for the prisoners, their whole demeanour
showed the dignified firmness of perfect
innocence, and a firm reliance on the
goodness of Providence for the issue.

The jury having been called over and
sworn, the trial commenced, and the
charge having been made, my father and
brother both answered in a firm voice to
the usual interrogatory put to them, as
to whether they were guilty or not guilty—

‘Not guilty!’

The trial then proceeded, which is
quite unnecessary for me too recapitulate.

The jury retired to consider their verdict—and
oh, God! what a moment of
horrible suspense was that! All eyes
were turned alternately upon me and
my mother, and then the prisoners in
the dock. But the latter were as firm
as if they had only been spectators themselves,
and frequently turned upon me
and my poor mother glances that were
meant to encourage us.

The jury were absent about twenty
minutes, which seemed as many hours
to those who were so deeply and painfully
interested in this important trial,
and at length they returned into the
court.

The foreman of the same, in a deep
voice said—

‘<sc>Guilty!</sc>’

An appalling shriek followed the pronunciation
of the verdict; it proceeded
from my mother, who sank insensible in
my arms. It seemed at that time as if
I were endowed with superhuman power;
my faculties were all restored to me,
and I was enabled to support with firmness
// 116r.png
.pn +1
that was most extraordinary. The
verdict had fallen upon my ear, in a manner
of speaking, with complete indifference,
and it appeared as if a voice at
that moment whispered to me hope instead
of despair. But I feared to look
at my father and his unhappy son. I
was apprehensive that their bare glance
of horror and despair would be sufficient
to deprive me of my senses. The judge
then proceeded to pass sentence of death,
but ere he had uttered half-a-dozen words
a gentleman suddenly arose from his
seat, and with his whole frame convulsed
with emotion, exclaimed—

‘Hold my lord!—proceed not to sentence
men who are entirely innocent of
the charge.’

After the lapse of a minute or two
for the court to recover themselves from
the confusion into which this event had
thrown them, the judge demanded of
the gentleman the meaning of his interruption.

‘In a few words, it is this,’ said the
gentleman, ‘you behold before you an
unhappy wretch, who ought to have
been placed in the dock now occupied
by those much injured, and wrongly accused
men. Nay, you may well be surprised,
and it will doubtless be increased,
when I tell you that in me you behold
the actual murderer of the Earl
Mansville, and I, therefore demand that
justice be done upon me!’

Nothing could now equal the extraordinary
sensation which prevailed, and
it was at first, no doubt, imagined by
many that the gentleman’s feelings who
had thus denounced himself had been
worked upon and excited by the circumstances
of the trial, and that insanity
had suddenly seized upon his brain; but
they were soon convinced of the contrary,
// 117l.png
.pn +1
for the self-accused having paused
awhile to suffer the excitement to subside,
continued—

‘It was this hand which perpetrated
the hellish deed upon the unfortunate
Mansville, the pistol which was found
by the side of the deceased will be seen
to have my initials engraven upon it.’

The pistol was here handed up to the
judge, when the initials were found.

‘The awful tale is soon told,’ continued
he.

‘The late Earl Mansville and myself
had been companions at college. Soon
after our return from the university, I
formed an attachment to a young lady,
and was permitted to pay my addresses
to her. This courtship went on for a
period of two years, when it was suddenly
broken off. In vain I sought an explanation.
Nothing more relative to
this affair transpired until about a month
ago, when, judge my resentment and surprise,
to learn that the late Earl Mansville,
was the admitted lover of the lady,
and that their nuptials were actually fixed
to take place on a certain day. On
ascertaining the truth of this, I demanded
an explanation of such extraordinary
conduct; but all that I obtained in return,
was the most provoking raillery!
I quitted the unfortunate nobleman vowing
the most dreadful vengeance. On
the evening that I committed the hellish
crime, I quitted my own house, with the
pistols now produced in my possession,
fully bent to way-lay and murder my rival.
Once he turned to look round, and
then I jumped into a dry ditch, and concealed
myself. He resumed his journey,
and acting under the influence of a sudden
impulse, I presented the fatal weapon
at him, and fired, just as he prepared
to walk on. What followed has already
// 117r.png
.pn +1
appeared in the evidence brought against
those two men, most wrongfully accused.
As the day of trial approached, so did
my agony increase. Could I be guilty
of a three-fold murder? I could not; so,
this day, I resolved to be present, and
confess. I admit, that my resolution
failed me so much, that I was unable to
put this into effect, until after the trial
had proceeded to the present length;
but I have now acquitted my conscience
of that additional and heavy sin, and I
feel content to abide by the consequences.
I repeat that the men in the dock
are entirely innocent, and that I only am
the murderer of the late Earl Mansville.
I demand that justice be done, and thus
give myself up to this tribunal to be tried
and punished by the laws of my offended
country.’

A murmur of surprise, horror, and
satisfaction ran through the court at
this remarkable confession, and for a few
moments, the business was entirely suspended.
My mother had recovered, and
overheard all that had passed. But suddenly,
the court was aroused by all
the judges rising, and declaring it as
their unanimous opinion, that the two
individuals who had been tried had
been charged and convicted by the jury
of the murder of the Earl Mansville,
were now shewn to be clearly innocent,
that the court, therefore, annul the verdict,
and ordering them to be discharged
out of custody, command Richard
Archibald Holland, to be placed at the
bar and indicted, upon his own confession,
for the wilful murder of the said
Horatio, Earl Mansville.

My father and brother were immediately
released from the dock, while, the
real assassin was placed at the bar.

But misfortune and I had still got to
// 118l.png
.pn +1
be longer acquainted; and too soon her
heavy afflictions came upon me with
overwhelming force. The shock which
my mother’s feelings had undergone by
the recent events had made fearful inroads
on her constitution, and it soon
became too alarmingly apparent, that
she was sinking under a rapid decline.
All the medical resources were of no
avail, and she at length yielded to the
fearful malady.

My father and all of us, were inconsolable
for her loss.

Only three months after my poor
mother’s death, my brother was seized
with a violent typhus fever, which my
father quickly caught of him. A few
short months only, consigned those two
dear relatives to the grave also. Would
that it had pleased the Almighty to
take me also, then I should not have
had to undergo the miseries, the degradations
I have too much reason to fear
it is yet my lot to suffer. Illness and
incessant trouble had involved my father’s
affairs in difficulties, from which I
found it impossible to extricate them.
Let me draw my melancholy recital to
a conclusion. Hard necessity drove me
at last to seek the protection of relatives,
whose jibes and cruelties drove
me to the life I now lead, and the letter
you brought me was from the clergyman
of our parish, who having learnt
of my whereabouts, addressed me an
exhortation to repentance; recalling all
the incidents of the bitter past. Here
Clara burst into a fresh flood of tears,
and owned her intention to quit her present
shameful mode of life.

‘And now, Mr. Monteagle,’ continued
Clara, ‘to prove to you that I am
really penitent; I will divulge to you a
contemplated crime, which was planned
// 118r.png
.pn +1
in this very house, and this night it is to
be carried into effect. Belcher Kay and
Blodget one night killed a rich old drover,
and buried him in an old adobe hut.
They have since learned that Inez, the
daughter of old de Castro, had taken
shelter in the building from a storm and
witnessed all their proceedings. The
Vigilance Committee are already apprised
of the facts, but in Miss de Castro’s
terror at the fearful scene, she forgot
the names by which they addressed
each other; but she is convinced that
she will know their persons if ever she
meets them. You know these villains
will never consent to live in hourly fear
of arrest and punishment. They have,
therefore, determined to attack the mansion
of de Castro, at the Mission, rob
it, and I fear kill his daughter to prevent
her appearing as a witness against them.’
// 119l.png
.pn +1
.sp 2
.hr 20%
.sp 4
.h2
CHAPTER XII||<I>INEZ CARRIED OFF.</I>
.sp 2
In a public room of a tavern in Pacific
street, we shall find Belcher Kay. It
is night, and through the thick haze of
cigar smoke which filled the room the
candles glimmer like distant lights seen
through a fog. The close atmosphere of
the dirty room is laden with the odor of
the said tobacco smoke, and with the
fumes of rum and whiskey, and through
the hum of noisy conversation and over
the occasional bursts of laughter may be
distinguished the ‘Hagel und donner’ of
the Dutchman, the ‘sacre’ of the Frenchman,
and the imprecations which the
Englishman invokes upon his visual organs
and the crimson tide that circulates
through his veins.

At one table sat half a dozen sailors,
bronzed by the tropical sun of Java, and
smoking long pipes with enormous bowls.
At another table sat a group of English,
French, American and Portuguese, similarly
engaged, while two other tables
were surrounded by Lascars and Malays,
who being worshippers of the one race
of Brahma, the other of Boodha, choose
to sit and drink apart. Mingled with the
men at each table were a number of
Kanaka and Chilean women, dark-eyed,
seductive creatures; all well formed,
lithe, and graceful, and of all ages varying
from twelve to eighteen years, for
beneath the scorching sun of the tropics
woman advances towards maturity as
quickly as the rich fruits are ripened and
the gorgeous flowers expanded into beauty.
These lost and degraded creatures
sat by the side or on the knees of their
lovers of the hour, their long, shining
black hair falling in plaits or ringlets
// 119r.png
.pn +1
upon their dusky shoulders, and their
bosoms very much exposed, and many of
them smoked cigars with their male
companions.

Kay sat apart from the revellers, smoking
a cigar, with his arms folded across
his breast, a moody and sombre expression
upon his countenance, and his eyes
bent upon the dirty floor. He was thinking
of the past—thinking, amid the riotous
din of jests and oaths, laughter and
song, of all that he had been, and of
what he might have been, of time misspent,
and golden opportunities lost, of
talents misapplied and energies misdirected.
It was a mournful retrospect
for the man not wholly lost, his heart
was not entirely corroded, nor all indurated
by vice and profligacy, the powers
of his mind had not become sapped by
the vicious excesses in which he had indulged;
he was capable of forming a
sound judgement of human actions, both
his own and those of others; and to look
back excited for these reasons, feelings,
sombre and mournful. The past of his
life was a dreary waste to look back upon;
he was fully conscious of the fact,
he was able to discriminate between the
right and the wrong, and to perceive his
errors, and he felt at that moment all the
dreariness, the moral void, of the vista
upon which he turned his mental vision.
True, the desert was not entirely without
its oases; there were green spots
breaking the gloomy monotony of its
arid and cheerless aspect, but these only
deepened by the contrast the impression
made by the general barrenness.

He was roused from his reverie by the
words of a song sung, or rather shouted
by one his countrymen—an Englishman—a
sailor belonging to a vessel then lying
in the harbor. There was nothing
// 120l.png
.pn +1
to interest him in the words themselves,
but they seemed familiar to him, like a
voice heard in our youth and half forgotten,
which we hear again after a long
interval of time, and they struck upon
his mind by the force of association. In
his boyhood he had heard that song,
which had been a favorite chant with a
schoolfellow, and the words now called
up a thousand recollections of the time
when he had first heard them, just as the
remembered sound of the church-bells of
our native place will recall such memories
when we hear them after long absence
from the scenes of our early existence.
To the mind of the robber, predisposed
to reflection, the words of the
song recalled the school-room and the
play-ground, with many a reminiscence
of merry companions and boyish games;
and from these his heart wandered to
the home of his childhood, to the little
garden into which he had transplanted
primroses and cowslips from the woods
to the rippling brook upon which he had
launched his tiny ships, to the darkly
shaded seat under the old elm tree on
which he had rested when weary, to the
innocent and smiling faces of his fair-haired
sisters.

It was not for the first time that Belcher
Kay thought of these things—it
was not the first time that they had
drawn a sigh from his breast; but, now
at that distance of space from the scenes
which he visited in thought, the tide of
memory rolled over his brain with redoubled
volume and force. A melancholy
pleasure might have been experienced
in travelling over in thought the
scenes of his youth, but for the reflection
that between the past and the present
rose darkly and frowningly one of those
// 120r.png
.pn +1
barriers of crime and folly, which such
men build up with far more perseverance
than they would exert to acquire a
fame that would endure as long as truth
and virtue command respect and admiration.
Such a barrier had Belcher Kay
raised with a diligence and energy which
he had never displayed in aught worthy
of praise, and from it he now looked
back upon the Eden which he had abandoned,
with such feelings as may be imagined.

He was still sitting in the position
which has been described when Blodget
entered the room, and, coming up to
him, clapped his hand upon his shoulder.
Kay started, but looking up, he was reassured
by the recognition of his fellow
criminal, and extended his hand, which
Blodget grasped with friendly fervor.

‘Come!’ exclaimed Blodget. ‘I have
been seeking you everywhere. Let us
get away from this.’

‘I am ready,’ responded Kay, rising.—‘What’s
in the wind now, mate?’

Blodget made no reply, but led the
way into the street, followed by Kay.

In a few minutes they had left the city
behind them, and could hear the hoarse
roar of the sea as its waves, after chasing
one another over the wild expanse of the
Pacific ocean, broke upon the shell strewn
beach, and the sighing of the night wind
among the bushes. The moon was sinking,
and the shadows prevailed over the
lights, but it was principally the land
which lay in shade, while the ocean
spread out like an illimitable sheet of
silver.

After crossing the hills which surmount
the city the two men gave a loud
shrill whistle which in a few moments
brought three more desperadoes to assist
// 121l.png
.pn +1
them in their scheme. This was no
other than an attack upon the mansion
of Senor de Castro with the intention of
making themselves masters of the money
and plate to be found on the premises,
and for another purpose which will appear
in the course of the narrative.

When the five robbers arrived in the
vicinity of the house Blodget proceeded
towards it, for the purpose of carrying
their plot into execution, while the rest
of the party lay closely concealed ready
to hasten to the assistance of their associate
the moment such service should be
required.

‘Yes, there is the window; I wonder,
now, if she will look out to night?’ said
Blodget to himself as he cautiously
drew near the house.

Blodget took a good look at the window
and then slowly glided away under
the shadow of a wall.

With great tact, Blodget as he did
so glided along, kept the little window
with the balcony in sight.

Now, the little window of the room in
which Inez resided, was not very far from
the ground.

That is to say, at all events, the lower
portion of its balcony certainly was not
above twelve feet from the green sward
actually below it.

The idea struck Blodget, then, that
through that window he must get, and
through it again he must make his way
out with his captive.

How he meant to overcome the very
many difficulties that still stood in his
way, it is impossible to conceive; but he
had not come totally unprepared with
the means of action.

Coiled up in the pockets of the clothes
which he had worn all the latter part of
// 121r.png
.pn +1
the day, he had had a couple of ropes of
silk, with a hook at the end of each of
them.

He expected, and not without reason,
too, that they would be to him of the
very greatest possible assistance.

It took him some little consideration
before he would venture to cross the bit
of lawn that separated him yet from the
house; and, strange to say, while he was
so considering, another circumstance began
to operate in his favor.

A soft, but rather thick and penetrating
rain began to fall.

‘Aha’ he said, ‘this is capital. This
will clear the ground of all loiterers.
This is providential.’

Letting the rain continue for some five
minutes or so until he considered it had
had all its effect, Blodget crossed the
lawn, and stood beneath the balcony of
the window.

Blodget was very acute in his sense of
hearing, and he now bent that faculty to
the very utmost to listen if any one were
moving in the rooms above.

All was as still as the very grave.

‘She has gone to bed,’ thought Blodget.
‘Well, I don’t care. I must take
her away, and take her I will.’

A very dim light was close to the window.

‘I wonder,’ thought Blodget, ‘if she
will scream before I can get a gag put
into her mouth? If she does, I may
have dangers to encounter; but I never
yet abandoned an enterprise on that account,
nor will I now.’

Truly dangerous was a climate in
which such a man as Blodget lived.

He now looked carefully to the right
and to the left of the place of which he
was, so as to assure himself that no sentinel
// 122l.png
.pn +1
was close at hand, and then he boldly
flung up the cords to which the hooks
were attached, to the balcony.

It took him three or four efforts before
he succeeded in getting the hooks
to hold fast, and then he found that the
cords easily suspended him.

This was rather a ticklish part of the
business to climb up to the balcony now
with the possibility, if not the probability,
that some one might see him; but
yet he meant either to do it or abandon
the whole affair at once, so he set about
it with a feeling that might be said to
approach to recklessness.

He reached the top of the parapet of
the balcony, and rather rolled over it than
stepped over, so that he exposed himself
to observation to as small an extent as,
under the circumstances, it was at all
possible so to do.

There he lay crouched up in the balcony,
pretty well shaded by its stone
work and parapet from any further observation
from without.

He breathed in rather an agitated manner
for a few moments, for he had undergone,
to tell the truth, very great personal
exertion.

Soon, however, he recovered sufficiently
to assist him in going on in his enterprise;
and accordingly, sidling along very
carefully till he got quite close to the
window, he cautiously tried if it were
fast.

No. It yielded to a touch.

‘More good fortune,’ thought he.

Slowly, for it took a good five minutes
to do, thinking that any noise now occasioned
by precipitation would be fatal to
him and his project, he got the window
open about a couple of feet.

He put his hand into the room, and
// 122r.png
.pn +1
felt that there was a table close to the
window.

By carefully moving his hand and arm
horizontally from left to right and from
right to left, he found there was nothing
on the table but a glass of water, in which
were some flowers.

In order to get it out of the way, he
lifted the glass into the balcony, and
placed it carefully in one corner out of
the way.

Then it was that the audacious Blodget,
like an oily snake, slid into the room
through the partially open window, and
was fairly within the apartment.

His next step was to remove the table
from before the window, and to open the
window itself very much wider—in fact,
as wide as it would possibly go.

Then it was that he saw where the
faint light had come from that was in
the room.

A little oil night-light was on a bracket
fixed to the wall of the room.

That light, although very small in itself,
was yet sufficient to dissipate the
darkness that was in the place, and by
it Blodget with great satisfaction looked
around him, and was quite convinced
that he was in the suite of rooms in the
occupation of Inez.

There was one circumstance that to
him was quite convincing on that head,
for on the chimney-piece was a small
but finely painted miniature of Monteagle.

‘Yes,’ whispered Blodget, as he drew
a long breath, ‘I am on the right scent
now.’

Immediately opposite to the window
there was a door that seemed to lead to
the next apartment. It was a very ticklish
thing indeed to open that door.
// 123l.png
.pn +1

Before he could at all make up his
mind to do so, he tried to peep through
the key-hole of it, but, unfortunately,
there was on the other side a piece of
pendant brass that blocked it up, so he
saw nothing.

Delay, though, to him now was something
worse than danger—it might be
fatal; so with a feeling almost of desperation,
he turned the handle of the door
and opened it.

It led into a room that was, like the
last one, dimly lighted by a night-lamp
in a niche in the wall.

‘She is fond of light,’ thought Blodget.

There was a door in the side wall of
this room, and that door was a little way
open.

Through it Blodget could see the bed-curtain.

The room in which she was, constituted
the dressing-room to the bed-room
further on.

Blodget, with eyes like a hyena, cast
a glance round the room. A silk dress
was upon a couch, and on the dressing-table
were various articles of female apparel
and jewelry.

He approached, on tip-toe, the door
of the bedchamber, and listened most intently.

The sound of one breathing rather
heavily in sleep, came upon his ears.

‘She sleeps,’ muttered Blodget, ‘and
my task is consequently all the easier
of performance. Yes, she sleeps, and
soundly too.’

He now took from his pocket a gag
made of cork and string, and so constructed
that if once fixed in any one’s
mouth it would be out of the question
for them to utter an articulate sound.

This, with a silk handkerchief, which
// 123r.png
.pn +1
he intended to fix around the head and
face of his prisoner, were the implements
with which he hoped to capture Inez,
and by the aid of which so to terrify her
that he might get away in safety with
her.

‘Now for it,’ he said.

He took another step towards the
door of the bedchamber, and then he
hesitated.

‘A good thought,’ he muttered. ‘I
will put out both the lights, and then no
curious eye will see me emerge from the
window with my prize.’

He crept back and blew out each of
the little oil lamps that were in the separate
rooms.

All was darkness then; but it was evident
there was another lamp in the actual
bedchamber itself.

It was convenient for Blodget that
there should be, at all events for a brief
space, a light there.

‘Now courage and impudence assist
me,’ he muttered.

As he spoke he on tiptoe glided into
the bedchamber in which he would have
wagered his life that Inez now slept.

The difficulty, though, he thought was
really and truly at an end, when he, as he
fancied, found himself so far successful as
to be actually in the sleeping chamber of
the young lady.

No wonder that even he, accustomed
as he was to all sorts of escapades and
strange eventful proceedings, felt a little
affected at his own temerity when he set
foot within the sacred precincts of that
chamber.

The idea of what Monteagle would
think and say when he heard of this evidence
of unexampled audacity came
across the mind of the unscrupulous villain,
and for a moment he hesitated.
// 124l.png
.pn +1

It struck him that, after all, such an
outrage was of so diabolical and daring
a character, that it would be difficult to
say what might be the result of it.

But it was not for long that such a
man as Blodget ever hesitated about the
completion of an act of atrocity, or boldness
or baseness.

‘Let him take it how he may,’ thought
Blodget, ‘I’ll carry out my designs; and if
danger should come to Inez in the carrying
it out, that is her own fault.’

He listened intently.

The regular breathing of some one in
a deep sleep still came upon his ears.

Now the chief difficulty was to get
away with his captive without noise, and
there was but one way of doing that.
It was so to terrify Inez, that for her
life’s sake and that of her father she
would obey the directions he might give
her.

But, then, upon the first impulse of
finding some one in the room, he considered
that she might utter some cry that
to him, would be full of danger; and to
guard against that was the first step he
took.

There came through the window of
the sleeping chamber a faint light, which
just enabled him, after a few minutes,
when his eyes had got accustomed to it,
to look about him, and see the outlines
of one object from another.

To be sure, these outlines were but
dim ones, but still they served to enable
him to avoid encountering any piece of
furniture, and so making noise enough
to awaken his victim from the sound
sleep she was in.

To tie a silk handkerchief in such a
manner around her mouth, and then another
over her head, so that the possibility
of uttering anything but a faint sound
// 124r.png
.pn +1
would be out of the question, was Blodget’s
idea.

Indeed, he had prepared himself with
the means, as will be recollected, of completely
enveloping the head of his prisoner,
so that if any attempted alarm was
tried, the sound of it would not penetrate
far enough to be successful in reaching
the inmates of the house.

It was a very delicate and ticklish
job, though, so suddenly to envelope the
head and face of a sleeping person in a
silken bandage as to prevent them from
uttering a single cry until the operation
was complete.

But that was just what had to be done,
and so he did not shrink from it.

He only waited a few moments longer,
in order that his eyes might be accustomed
to the very dim light that found
its way into the chamber.

During those few moments, too, he
turned his head aside to listen if the
whole attention of his faculty of hearing
could detect the sound of any one stirring
in the mansion; but all was as still
and silent as the tomb.

‘Now for it,’ said he to himself.

In a half-crouching posture he approached
the bed.

If what he was about to do was to be
done at all, it was only by the very excess
of boldness in the attempt to do it.

When he reached the side of the bed,
he rose to his full height, and slipping
adroitly his left arm right under the
head of the sleeper, he in one moment
lifted it from the pillow, and with his
right hand he placed the silken envelope
over the head and face, and drew it close
round the neck.

‘Utter one sound of alarm,’ he said in
a low, clear voice close to the ear of the
bewildered occupant of the bed, ‘and it
// 125l.png
.pn +1
is your last upon earth. Be quiet and
submissive, and no sort of harm is intended
you. On the contrary, everything
possible will be done to render your situation
as agreeable as possible, and you’ll
be treated with delicacy and with every
consideration.’

A gasping sort of a sob was the only
reply.

‘Hush!’ said Blodget. ‘Your fate is
in your own hands. I am compelled for
my own sake to remove you from the
mansion; but you will be treated with
all the respect and all the consideration
becoming your sex and rank, unless you
by your own conduct, force an opposite
condition of things.’

Some muffled sounds, that might be
considered to mean anything, came from
beneath the covering of silk.

‘Am I to comprehend,’ said Blodget,
‘that your own good sense enables you
to see the necessity of submitting to circumstances
that are beyond your control
entirely?’

A something was said; or attempted
to be said.

‘Let me assure you,’ added he, ‘that
I am well aware of the love your father
has for you, and that he will spare no
means to liberate you from me. It would
be quite an insult to your understanding
to attempt to deceive you for one moment
with regard to the object of thus
making you a prisoner. It is simply in
order to get money from him who loves
you beyond all the world beside. Do
you hear me?’

‘Yes.’

The tone in which the yes was spoken
was very consolatory to Blodget, for it
let him think that Inez saw the inutility
of attempting any resistance to him.

‘You are reasonable, I feel,’ he said,
// 125r.png
.pn +1
‘and I can assure you upon my word,
lightly as you may think of that word,
that where I am trusted I know how to
behave myself with honor. The readiness
with which you succumb to circumstances
that now surround you will have
the greatest effect in inducing me to
make this as agreeable to you as possible.
Do you comprehend me?’

‘Yes.’

‘Will you, then,’ he said, ‘quietly
come with me to a place of safety away
from here?’

‘I will.’

‘You will?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then I have to compliment you upon
your conduct in this affair, and I know
that by saying that for your sake I will
not contrive aught against the life of him
who loves you, I shall be bestowing upon
you the greatest recompense that’s in my
power.’

‘Yes.’

‘Then we are equal. Allow me to
hope that you will arise and follow me.
Here are various articles of clothing
about the room. You have the use of
your hands, and if I hand the things to
you, one by one, will you then put them
on?’

‘Yes.’

‘I am very sorry to place you in such
a position as this—very sorry indeed.’

Blodget was so pleased at the compliance
of Inez with all his plans, that he
really felt a kindness for her, and he was
determined, therefore, to behave to her
with all the delicacy that the transaction
could possibly enable him to practice.

He caught up various articles of female
apparel, and with his back towards the
bed.

‘Be as quick as you can,’ he said, ‘for
// 126l.png
.pn +1
the fact is that I am in danger here,
though you are in none.’

‘Yes, yes,’ said the voice.

‘Upon my life, she must be terribly
frightened to give way to me in this manner.’

One by one he kept handing articles
of clothing, and they were put on, till at
last he said—

‘I should think you are ready to leave
the house now, along with me, are you
not?’

‘I am so.’

‘Then follow me, if you please; but
let me again assure you before I go that
I am only going to make a kind of hostage
of you, and that as soon as I have
you in safety I will send to your father
and let him know; and upon his promise
not to molest me for the future, I will
release you.’

‘Yes.’

‘You are quite content with that arrangement,
then, may I hope?’ said Blodget.

‘Oh, yes, quite.’

‘Then come on at once, if you please.’

Inez felt that resistance would be useless,
and would probably put in peril the
life of her father, without availing to
save her. She, therefore, quietly yielded
to circumstances, knowing that her father
would cheerfully pay any ransom to
rescue her.

As soon as Inez was dressed, Blodget
led her to the window, and giving a low
whistle was quickly joined by his confederates.
By their aid Inez was swiftly
and noiselessly conveyed from the house,
carried into the adjacent shrubbery,
and placed upon a horse, stolen, like
those on which the robbers were now
mounted, from a neighboring corral.

The whole party immediately dashed
// 126r.png
.pn +1
off at full speed, and never once halted
until they arrived at a solitary rancho,
some eight or nine miles distant from
the home of Inez.

Monteagle, meanwhile, had started at
full gallop for the Mission, in order to
frustrate this villainous plot, but just as
he was turning the sharp angle at the
turnpike road, his horse stumbled, and
Monteagle was violently thrown over the
animal’s head. He remained insensible
in the road, just where he had fallen,
until daylight, when he was discovered
and hospitably cared for by the inmates
of a neighboring cottage.
.sp 2
.hr 20%
.sp 4
.h2
CHAPTER XIII||<I>A DESPERATE BURGLARY.</I>
.sp 2
Leaving Inez in charge of some of
his trustiest confreres, Blodget hastened
to the city, to disarm suspicion as well
as to attend to an important robbery
which he had already planned.

A previous arrangement with some of
the principal members of the gang had
assured Blodget that he should find plenty
of aid in carrying out his views on
that particular evening.

It was two o’clock as Blodget reached
the door of the house that was connected
with the gang, and a drizzly rain was beginning
to fall which he saw and felt
with pleasure, for he knew that it would
materially aid him in his plans, as it would
tend to clear the streets of stragglers, as
well as to muffle any sounds that might
otherwise betray the presence of himself
and his companions.

‘All is well,’ he said. ‘This is my old
good luck. Who knows but I may yet
do a good stroke of business.’
// 127l.png
.pn +1

Blodget was soon in the old house
along with some half dozen of the most
desperate and knowing thieves in San
Francisco.

A dim light burned in the place, which
was only just sufficient to let them see
each other’s faces.

The falling of the rain upon one of the
windows was the only sound that the
night brought forth.

‘All’s right,’ said one of them. ‘Here’s
Blodget.’

‘Yes,’ said another, ‘we shall now no
doubt have a job to do.’

‘Yes, my lads,’ said Blodget, assuming
an air of reckless jocularity, which he
often thought proper to put on—‘yes,
my lads, you will have a little job to do,
and it is one that you will like too.’

‘Bravo!—bravo!’

‘You know me, and that it is not likely
I should send you on a profitless expedition;
but there are a few little arrangements
to make before we start.’

‘Name them.’

‘I will. They relate, in the first place,
to who is to have the command of these
little expeditions?’

‘Oh, you, of course.’

‘Is that then thoroughly understood
and agreed?’

‘Yes, yes.’

‘Very well, then. The next point is as
regards the division of the spoil.’

‘Yes, that should be well understood.’

‘It must be well understood or I am off
to find some others to help me in the
matter. I have thought over my terms,
and I do not, I assure you, intend to
flinch from them.’

‘What are they?’

‘Listen, then. Let all the plunder be
fairly divided into two parts, I will then
take one part to myself and my friend,
// 127r.png
.pn +1
Kay, and you can divide the other among
you in equal shares.’

The thieves looked rather blank at this
proposition, and Blodget seeing that,
added—

‘Well, if you don’t like that you have
but to say so, and our bargain is at an
end; but if I get all the information, and
put up a robbery in the safe and quiet
way that I can do it, I think myself entitled
to the share I speak of, and I will
have it too.’

‘Be it so, then,’ said the spokesman of
the party, ‘I agree, and I’m sure I can
say the same for my friends here. We
all agree to it.’

The others seconded the words of their
spokesman, so that Blodget found he had
made a pretty good bargain with the
thieves, and he set to work arranging the
robbery with all the tact and all the ingenuity
he could bring to bear upon such
an enterprise.

When such an accomplished hand as
Blodget took so much trouble, the result
was all but certain.

‘Meet me, all of you,’ he said, ‘in half
an hour’s time by the corner of Jackson-
and Commercial-streets, and I will take
you to the place. There will be no difficulty
at all about it if you take care to
comprehend what I wish each of you to
do, and take care to do it as promptly as
you possibly can.’

‘Trust us for that,’ said one. ‘We
know we can depend upon you, so you
have only to say what you wish and you
will soon see it accomplished.’

With this understanding, then, Blodget
left them to proceed to a junk store
which he knew was always open, to a
particular knock, at any hour of the
night.

There Blodget bought a complete set
of skeleton keys, besides such other little
// 128l.png
.pn +1
implements used in the art or profession
of housebreaking, and concerning which
the people of the shop asked him no
questions.

Thus provided, then, he took his way
to the corner fixed on, there to wait the
arrival of his confederates.

He had not to wait long.

In the course of two or three minutes
the four men that he had deputed there
to wait him were upon the spot.

‘You are punctual,’ said Blodget.

‘We ought to be.’

‘How it rains,’ said one.

‘Yes; but that is all the better for us,
you know,’ said Blodget.

‘It is indeed.’

‘I say,’ said another, ‘there is a watchman
coming, and holding his hand before
his lantern so as to get a good look
at us.’

‘Confound him!’

‘Step aside,’ said Blodget, ‘I will confront
him.’

A watchman who happened to be
wakeful had chanced to see them all
meet at the corner, and had hurried towards
them, expecting that they were after
no good.

‘Hilloa—hilloa!’ he said. ‘Come
now, what do here at this time of night?’

‘What’s that to you?’ said Blodget.

‘What’s that to me?’

‘Yes.’

‘Why, don’t you see who I am?’

‘Yes, that’s seen in a moment; you
are a troublesome fool, but I don’t know
why I should be bothered with you.’

‘Curse me, then, if I don’t lock you
up. Come along, will you? Don’t resist,
now. Come along.’

Blodget snatched the lantern from the
hand of the watchman, and with one
// 128r.png
.pn +1
blow of it on the top of his head not
only smashed the lantern but nearly stunned
its owner, who lay sprawling on the
ground, and calling out murder.

‘Jump on him!’ said Blodget.

‘Take his lantern,’ said one of the
thieves, ‘and his rattle.’

‘Ah, his rattle,’ said Blodget, as he
suddenly stood upon the fallen watchman,
and nearly squeezed the life out of
him. ‘I have it, and now come on. It
seems to me as if he could not very well
move now.’

This was the fact. The brutal assault
that had been committed on the unfortunate
watchman had really for a time
deprived him of all power of speech or
movement, and Blodget and his gang
went on with perfect ease and composure.

‘This way,’ said Blodget, as he crossed
the road to the back of some low stores.
‘This way.’

‘Hilloa!’ said another watchman, ‘did
I hear a row?’

‘Yes,’ said Blodget, as he struck him
such a blow in the face with the butt of
a revolver he had in hand that he fell
like a corpse.

‘He’s quieted,’ said Blodget.

The four thieves really looked at each
other with some alarm, and one of them
said—

‘You have a good kind of way of
quieting people, Mr. Blodget, I rather
think.’

‘Yes. But don’t call me Mr. Blodget;
call me Captain, if you please; but if
you use my name it may reach ears that
it is not intended for.’

‘That’s right, Mr. —, Captain I
mean. Are we near the place, though?’

‘Yes, close to it.’
// 129l.png
.pn +1

‘Ah, what is that?’

The sharp whistle of a watchman broke
upon the stillness of the night air.

‘This way—this way,’ said Blodget.
‘Let us hide for a moment or two.’

The five got under a doorway, and
there they hid and let no less than four
watchmen run past them in the direction
of the sound of the whistle.

No more of the guardians of the night
seemed to be coming that way, so that
Blodget came forth from the hiding
place with his friends and went quietly
on.

All was dark, the guests had departed,
and the street in which the lady resided
was restored to its usual equanimity for
the night.

There was not the least appearance of
any light in any of the windows in the
front of the house; but Blodget hardly
supposed that such a residence would be
left entirely without light in any of the
rooms, so he fully expected that some of
the back windows would no doubt show
symptoms of the apartments being in
some degree illuminated.

‘Halt! This is the house,’ he said.

‘All right, captain.’

‘Now attend to me all of you, and you
will know what you have to do—I will
manage to open the door, and then you
will remain just within it on the watch.’

‘Yes, captain.’

‘You will take charge of the pantry,
which I will point out to you, and possess
yourself of all the portable plate.’

‘I’ll do it, captain.’

‘You, then, will ransack the rooms on
the first floor.’

‘All’s right.’

‘And you will follow me.’

‘I’ll do it, captain. Now we know
// 129r.png
.pn +1
what we have all got to do, and can do
it well.’

‘You can if you will; and remember
that we all assemble here in the hall
again as soon as possible, and that if the
one who is to keep guard at the door
sees proper to give an alarm, it shall be
with a whistle such as no doubt in the
night time will be distinctly heard by all
of you.’

‘I have a whistle in my pocket,’ said
the fellow, ‘that I’ll warrant you will all
hear.’

‘Then that is settled; so now let us
go to work.’

Blodget himself commenced the attack
upon the door, and he did so with
amazing tact.

With one of the picklocks he had in
his possession he easily turned the lock
of the door, and then he found that he
was impeded by a couple of bolts and a
chain.

To most persons these would have
been rather insurmountable obstructions,
but to him they only required a little
time and skill and perseverance to overcome
them.

With a fine and exquisitely tempered
saw, which was so thin that he got it between
the door and the joist, he managed
to saw them both in two in a very short
space of time.

The door was now only fastened by
the chain.

‘Is it done now?’ asked one of the
thieves.

‘Not yet.’

‘Soon?’

‘Yes. Why do you ask?’ said Blodget.

‘I think—I may be mistaken though—but
I think some one looked out at
// 130l.png
.pn +1
one of the windows of the house opposite
rather more earnestly than they ought
to have done.’

‘The devil they did.’

‘Yes, I think so.’

‘A man or a woman?’

‘It is too dark to say.’

‘Curses on them, be it whom it may!’

‘Amen to that, captain.’

‘But you are quite sure you saw some
one, be it man or woman?’

‘Yes, I am.’

‘Then go over two of you to the door,
and wait there for a few moments while
I work at this chain.’

‘And if any one comes out?’

‘Well?’

‘What shall we do?’

‘Do you ask me what you shall do
while you have the use of your hands?
It won’t do to make a noise, so I should
say that the only thing open to you to
do is to throttle any one who should appear.’

‘Throttle!’

‘Yes, and why not? Pray what business
have the people opposite to interfere
in my affairs, I should like to know?’

‘Well, certainly—but—but—’

‘Do you hesitate?’

‘No—no. Don’t be in a passion, captain.
If it must be done, why, it is no
use saying anything more about it, and
it just will be done.’

‘I should imagine so.’

The two men who had been thus ordered
over the way by Blodget went upon
their errand; and although it is true
they had at first rather started at the
idea of throttling somebody who might
be so very interfering and imprudent as
to come from the opposite house, it is yet
difficult to say whether after all, this admonition
of Blodget was not very greatly
// 130r.png
.pn +1
increased by the off-hand manner in
which he proposed to get rid of obstacles
to the progress of the particular little
enterprise upon which he was.

‘Curses on it,’ muttered Blodget to
himself, ‘it seems as if I were fated to
be thwarted to-night.’

He saw his two companions take up
their station on the opposite door-step,
and then he set to work upon the street-door
chain.

It was rather a peculiar process by
which he, Blodget, got rid of the obstacle
to his progress.

Having sawed the bolts and opened
the locks he could just get the street-door
open as far as the slack of the chain
would allow it to go, but although that
was not above a couple of inches in all,
yet it was sufficient for his purpose, as
will be very quickly seen.

He took from his pocket a very peculiar
shaped iron instrument, capable of
very great extension as regarded length
by other pieces fitting into it like the
joints of a fishing-rod, only that the sockets
were squared, so that they fitted quite
tight and would not turn.

One end of this instrument he fixed
in a link of the chain, and then he
lengthened it about two feet, and fitted
a cross piece on the end, so that he had
a very good amount of leverage to work
with.

Blodget gave this instrument about
three rapid turns, and then the iron
chain broke in two or three places and
hung uselessly from the door in the passage
of the house.

‘It is done,’ he said, ‘Come in.’

The two thieves who were still with
him now crept into the hall, and at that
moment Blodget heard a noise opposite.

He who had seen a head project from
// 131l.png
.pn +1
an opposite window had not been deceived.
A man at the house opposite
had chanced to see the persons on the
door-step, and being a very cunning sort
of individual, instead of giving a noisy
alarm at once, which would have had
the effect of scaring the thieves off, he
thought he would gently slip out, and
run to the nearest policeman and tell
what he had seen.

With this view he had hurriedly dressed
himself and slipped down stairs. He
opened the door with the utmost caution,
and then made a dart into the arms of
the men, who were there waiting for him
so quietly and patiently.

This sudden capture of the man from
the opposite house was the noise that
Blodget had heard opposite just as he
had succeeded in removing the last obstacle
to getting an entrance to the hall
of the house.

The attack upon the man was so sudden,
and withal so totally unexpected by
that individual, that, for the moment, he
was too terrified to cry out.

That moment was precious to him, for
before he could recover presence of mind
sufficient to have the least idea of what
best to do, one of the thieves had him
by the throat with such a clutch that he
began to get black in the face.

Blodget ran over from the other side
of the way in another moment.

‘Who is it?’ he asked.

‘Somebody going, no doubt, to give
an alarm,’ said the man who had hold of
him.

‘Now is that possible?’ said Blodget.

‘It is, captain.’

‘Dear me, what interfering people
there are in the world, to be sure. Has
he a cravat on?’

‘Yes, captain.’
// 131r.png
.pn +1

‘That will do.’

Blodget took the unfortunate man’s
cravat from his neck, and in another moment
wound it round again so tightly
and tied it in a knot behind, that his
doing more than just slightly breathe
was out of the question.

‘Now,’ he added, ‘one slight tap on
the head just to make him remember
us, and all is well.’

The tap on the head that Blodget so
facetiously called a slight remembrancer
consisted in a severe blow with an iron
jemmy, beneath which the victim fell to
the ground as if he had been struck
dead.

‘Push him into his own passage,’ said
Blodget, ‘and then close his door quietly.
It will be quite a pity to disturb the,
no doubt, highly respectable family to
which he belongs.’

This was done, and with so little trouble,
too, had the whole affair been accomplished
that the man was disposed
of, and Blodget was back again to the
house before one would have thought it
possible to do so much.’

‘Now, come in all of you,’ he said.

‘Yes, captain.’

‘You did that well, captain.’

‘Hush, we will talk about that another
time, when we have plenty of time to
do so, for we have none now.’

‘Yes, captain.’

‘You know your separate directions
now. Here we are in the house, and our
grand object is, of course, to do our
work here and then to get out of it as
quickly as we can.’

‘Yes—yes, that’s it.’

‘A light!’

One of the thieves—it was the one
whose appointed duty it was to go up
stairs with Blodget—lit a loco foco
// 132l.png
.pn +1
match, and then as it burned up they all
started, for one of the first things they
saw was a servant apparently fast asleep,
but, in reality, dead drunk in a huge
chair.

‘Confound the rascal,’ said Blodget,
‘who now would have supposed he was
so near to us?’

‘He sleeps.’

‘Are you sure of that? Is it a cat’s
sleep?’

‘No, captain, that is a sound sleep.’

‘It looks sound.’

‘He is as drunk as blazes, captain, I
can see. Ah, he has been at the decanters
and bottles after the guests have
gone.’

‘No doubt about that,’ said Blodget,
with a smile; ‘and I don’t mind saying
that it was a part of my calculation
in this little affair, that the servants
would be mostly drunk, and so in too
deep a sleep to hear us, or to mind us
if they did hear us.’

‘Ah, captain, you know how to act
about it, if any one in the world does.’

‘What is to be done with this fellow?’
said one of them.

‘Nothing: let him be. Now furnish
yourselves with lighted tapers, and let us
set to work.’

Each of the thieves in the course of
another moment had a little piece of
lighted taper in his hand, and it had the
advantage that it could be, by a little
pressure of the finger and thumb, stuck
on any convenient place in an instant.

‘Now, quick, all of you,’ added Blodget,
‘and you follow me.’

He spoke to the one whose appointed
duty it was to do so, and then at two
steps at a time Blodget ascended a staircase.
// 132r.png
.pn +1

When they got to the first floor landing,
Blodget and the man who was with
him both stopped, and sitting down on
the stairs, they drew rapidly over their
boots, each of them a pair of thick worsted
socks, so that their footsteps were
really quite inaudible after that.

Neither did they leave any signs of
footmarks any where, which otherwise,
coming out of the wet street, they might
have done; and any attempt to trace
them beyond the first floor, after they
had put on the socks, would have been
very difficult indeed.

‘This a good dodge,’ whispered the
thief to Blodget.

‘Yes, but still be as quiet as you can.’

‘I will.’

‘This way. This way.’

The thief was of rather a loquacious
order of men. Perhaps, after all, he was
a little terrified at the situation in which
he found himself, but certainly he could
not, or would not, obey Blodget’s injunctions
to silence.

Blodget would, under any other circumstances,
have quarrelled with him
for his contumacy, but just then he did
not think proper to do so, as he could
not tell what emergency might arise in
which he might require the best services
of his companion, with good will
to render them; so did he answer him,
although it was as shortly as he possibly
could, to be at the same time at all consistent
with civility.

They made their way up to the second
floor of the house, on which the sleeping
apartments were situated.

On a gilt bracket, fixed about twelve
feet high in the wall of the sort of corridor
which ran the whole length of the
house, Blodget saw a night lamp burning,
// 133l.png
.pn +1
and by its aid he was able to distinguish
the different doors of the sleeping
portion of the house.

The man who was with him, and who
was named Ben, saw Blodget looking
about him.

‘Don’t you know the room?’ he said.

‘Yes—oh, yes; all’s right.’

‘Well, that’s a comfort. Do you know,
captain, that it ain’t pleasant to be so far
off in the street?’

‘Why so?’

‘Because, if there should be a row,
how are we to get off?’

‘Pshaw! I never contemplate anything
of the sort.’

‘Oh, you don’t?’

‘No; and if you will but be a little
cautious and careful in what you say,
we shall do well enough.’

‘Trust me for that.’

‘Curse you,’ thought Blodget to himself,
‘for a chattering parrot. It is the
last time I will take you with me upon
an expedition of this sort.’

Blodget carefully now laid hold of the
handle of the bed-room door, and gave
it a quick, sharp turn at once. He knew
that that was the best way to prevent it
from making any rattling or squeaking
sound.

The door remained fast.

Blodget turned the handle again to its
proper position, and stood quiet for a moment.

It was quite clear that the bed-room
door was fast on the inside in some way,
and if it was a night bolt, the difficulty
of getting rid of such an obstruction
was rather serious.

That is to say, it was serious as regarded
time, for he was well prepared
with any means for getting over such an
// 133r.png
.pn +1
obstacle, if he had but the time given
him to do it in.

‘Step this way,’ he whispered to the
man who was with him.

‘Yes—yes.’

Blodget led him to the top of the
staircase, and then added—

‘You will stay here till I come to you
again—keep your eyes and your ears
open. There is a night-bolt to the room
door, and I have the job of cutting my
way to it. It will take me five minutes.’

‘Yes—yes.’

‘Be vigilant and quiet.’

‘I will, Captain.’

‘And don’t stir from this spot.’

‘Trust me for that. I will sit down
on the top stair here.’

Not a sound came from whoever slept
in that apartment, and Blodget congratulated
himself upon having got so far
without his giving the smallest possible
alarm.

Passing his arm through the little hole
in the door, now, he carefully lifted the
night-bolt, and the door was, in a moment,
open.

‘It is done,’ thought he.

As he now paused for a moment he
took a half mask of black crape from his
pocket and put it over his face, so that
he was effectually disguised and then he
stepped back to the stair head where he
had left his assistant, Ben.

Ben was still sitting on the topmost
stair, and leaning forward to catch any
sounds that might come from the lower
part of the mansion.

Blodget placed his hand upon Ben’s
shoulder, and whispered in his ear the
one word—

‘Now!’

Ben started, and turning his head, the
// 134l.png
.pn +1
first thing he saw was the black mask,
and not expecting it he gave such a start
of surprise and terror that he was on his
feet in a moment.

No doubt he thought his infernal
majesty had all of a sudden found him
out.

‘Murder!’ he said. ‘Oh, Lord;
no!’

‘Silence, idiot!’ muttered Blodget, as
he placed his hand over Ben’s mouth and
cautioned him to quietness.

The sudden consternation of Ben all
evaporated before the sounds of Blodget’s
voice.

‘You cursed fool,’ said Blodget in his
ear, ‘what do you mean by uttering an
exclamation of that sort?’

‘I—I didn’t know.’

‘You didn’t know?’

‘No, captain; I think I was in a sort
of a brown study, you see, and so I—’

‘Silence!’

‘Yes, captain.’

‘Who is there?’ said a voice from the
room, ‘who is there?’

‘Hush,’ said Blodget as he clutched
the arm of Ben, and they both stood like
statues.

Ben shook in every limb.

‘Did you speak?’ said the voice
again.

‘Be still,’ said Blodget. ‘Don’t move,
on your life, Ben.’

‘I won’t. Oh—oh! It’s all—’

‘What?’

‘Up with us.’

‘No, fool, it is not if you keep yourself
quiet.’

‘I will.’

Blodget ran back to the door in a
moment, and he drew it close shut.

‘I’m sure I heard a voice,’ said the
// 134r.png
.pn +1
same person. ‘Kitty—Kitty, I say.
The wench is fast asleep. Kitty, I
say.’

‘Yes, madam,’ said a sleepy voice, and
a door opened from the lady’s room into
another smaller one that adjoined it, and
a young girl, in her night dress, appeared.

‘Did you hear anything?’

‘Yes, ma’m.’

‘What?’

‘You call me, ma’m.’

‘Tut—tut! I don’t mean that; but
did you hear anything else before I called
you?’

‘No, ma’m.’

‘Well, I thought I did.’

‘You was a dreaming, ma’m, I suppose.’

‘I suppose I was. See if the night-bolt
is all right, Kitty, before you go to
bed again.’

‘Yes, ma’m.’

‘I feel so nervous to-night; I don’t
know why.’

Blodget felt there was danger now
unless he could adroitly put the night-bolt
in its place again. The difficulty
to do so without being seen, and in a
hurry, too, without making any noise,
was very great, but if any man living
could do that, that man was Blodget.

Kitty, fortunately for him, was half
asleep, and she shuffled along the floor
in such an odd, devious kind of way,
with her eyes scarcely open enough to
see at all where she was going, that she
gave Blodget every chance.

It happened, too, that as she went she
completely obstructed the lady’s view of
the door.

Blodget put his hand in the little orifice
he had cut in the panel, and replaced
the night-bolt.
// 135l.png
.pn +1

He was only just in time.

‘Is it all right?’ said the lady.

‘Oh, yes, ma’m.’

‘You are sure?’

‘Yes, ma’m.’

‘Then it could not have been anything
surely; I was dreaming. But it
is no matter, you can go to bed again,
Kitty. Dear me, what are you about
now?’

Kitty had, in her half sleepy state, ran
against the foot of the bed and shaken it
well.

‘Eh? Oh, ma’m, I beg your pardon,
I think I am a little drowsy, you see,
ma’m.’

‘A little drowsy indeed! Plague take
the girl, she is dead asleep. Go to bed
directly.’

‘Yes, ma’m.’

Kitty did manage to steer herself now
clear of the various articles of furniture
in her mistress’s room, and to pass
through the door that led to her own,
and in another moment she was again
fast asleep.

‘Dear me,’ said the lady, ‘I do feel nervous
to-night, to be sure, and I don’t know
why.’

Ting—ting—ting! went the little bell
of her repeater watch as she pressed the
spring of it.

‘Three o’clock,’ she said. ‘Well, I’d
better try to go to sleep, I suppose, while
I can.’

She did not utter another word, and
in a few moments the most deathlike silence
was in the room again.

Blodget put his hand in the little circular
hole in the door, and drew up the
bolt once more.

‘Curses upon all this delay,’ he said to
himself, ‘we shall have the daylight upon
us soon.’
// 135r.png
.pn +1

This was indeed so, as another hour
would without doubt bring the dawn, and
then the situation of Blodget and his
companions in iniquity would be rather
perilous.

There were many other circumstances
which rendered it desirable to be quick
about the affair.

In the first place the collision with the
watch had no doubt been, by that time,
communicated, and no doubt the police
were active.

Then again, as the man in the house
over the way had after all only been
stunned, there was no saying when he
might sufficiently recover to give an alarm.

From all these reasons Blodget felt the
necessity of bringing the job to a speedy
end, and with such a determination he
then crept very quietly into the lady’s bed-room.

In the dim light of the bedchamber,
he looked like some evil spirit as he stood
casting a broad shadow on the bed and
its occupant.

For a moment, he considered what to
do, and then he stepped up to the bedside
and said:—

‘Give any alarm and you die—be still
and you live! Be quiet—quite quiet,
for your life’s sake.’

The terrified woman opened her eyes
and uttered a faint cry.

‘Yes, ma’m,’ said Kitty from the next
room.

‘Curse you!’ cried Blodget.

He took a revolver from his pocket,
and held it to her head, saying in a calm
tone:—

‘If you wish to save your life you will
be quiet. It is your jewels, plate, and
money I come for, not your life, but if
you place it as an obstacle in the way,
// 136l.png
.pn +1
that obstacle must be removed. You understand
me.’

‘A robber?’

‘Yes.’

‘A house-breaker?’

‘Just so.’

‘Yes, ma’m,’ said Kitty, blustering into
the room with her eyes half shut as before.
‘Did you call me?’

‘Yes,’ said he, stepping up to her, and
placing his hand right over her mouth;
and then in her ear he said—

‘Kitty, if you speak one word or utter
one scream, or make the least noise,
I will cut your throat from ear to ear this
moment.’

Kitty stopped short, and looked as if
she had been suddenly turned to stone.
Blodget placed her in a chair, and catching
up a handkerchief, he tied it in her
mouth, and round the back of her head,
and so on to the back of her chair, like a
bit.

‘Now be quiet,’ he said.

Kitty sat profoundly still; indeed, her
faculties had received such a shock that
it would be some time before she’d recover
again.

The lady sat up in bed.

‘You wretch! What on earth do you
want?’

‘Plate—jewels—money.’

‘There is my purse on the dressing-table—the
plate is in the pantry down
stairs.’

‘And in the little secret cupboard at
the back of this bed, you know it is,
madam.’

The lady uttered a groan.

‘I will trouble you to get up.’

‘Oh, no—no!’

‘But I say, oh, yes—yes. Now if you
please.’

Without any further ceremony, Blodget
// 136r.png
.pn +1
took her by the arms, lifted her out
of the bed, and put her on the floor. He
then went to the door and cried, in a low
tone—

‘Ben!’

‘I’m coming,’ said Ben, as he entered
the room.

‘Keep watch over this lady, Ben.’

‘Oh, yes.’

‘And if she tries to get away, or if
she gives alarm, you will be so good as
to cut her throat, Ben.’

‘Oh, yes.’

‘And don’t make a bungling job of it
while you are about it. If you have to
do it all, do it with humanity—that is
to say, do it at once and effectually.’

‘Oh, yes; trust me for that, captain.’

The lady was now really alarmed.

Ben took from his pocket a large
clasped knife, the blade of which he
opened in a ferocious kind of way with
his teeth, and with that in his hand, he
kept an eye upon her.

Blodget now sprang upon the bed,
and tearing down some of the hangings
from the back part of it, he saw a small
square door in the wall. It was not fastened.

No doubt the secrecy of the position
of that receptacle for valuables was much
more relied upon by the lady than any
sort of lock or fastening.

The fact was, that when once it was
found out that that was the hiding
place for the valuable property that
could be put in it, the security was gone.

No lock or bolt could for many moments
have added to it in any shape or
way.

Blodget saw at once when he pulled
open the door that he had received correct
information. Immediately within
the little square door were some shelves
// 137l.png
.pn +1
built in the thickness of the wall, and
upon them a heap of property of a valuable
and portable nature.

Bracelets—rings—necklaces—watches—spoons—gold
quartz—and jewellery
of all descriptions, met the gaze of the
robber as he glanced upon the shelves.

‘All right,’ said he.

The lady was a bold woman, and she
had kept her eye upon Blodget, and
when she heard him say ‘All right,’
the thought that he had discovered all
her most valuable property drove her to
an act of defiance.

‘Thieves!’ she said, and she raised a
loud scream.

‘Kill her!’ said Blodget.

Ben had sprung to his feet, and made
for the door of the room, although he
had his knife in his hand. The fact is,
this fellow wanted the nerve to be a
murderer when any one resisted at all.
He might have been an assassin, but he
had not the courage to engage in a struggle.

‘Kill her, I say!’ cried Blodget.

‘No, no!’ said the lady, and springing
to her feet, she with a rush made her
way into the servant’s room; and slammed
the door shut in Blodget’s face.

‘Curses on her! you have let her escape.’

‘I could not help it,’ said Ben.

‘Here, there is no time to be lost now—she
will rouse the neighborhood. Take
this pillow-case, which I have filled with
the swag. We must be content with it.
I will see to her and be with you in a
moment.’

‘Yes—yes, I will go—’

‘No further than the head of the
stairs, though.’

‘No—no.’

Blodget made a rush at the door of the
// 137r.png
.pn +1
room into which she had retreated; but
it was too strong for him, and by great
good fortune there had chanced to be
some very effectual mode of fastening it
on the inside. Blodget heard a lumbering
noise in the room, that he could not
make out.

He called aloud,—‘No harm is intended
you, and I will compromise the
matter with you, if you will be quiet.’

Something rolled upon the floor, and
then hit the door a great knock that
shook it.

‘Confound her,’ said Blodget, ‘I know
what she is doing now. She is piling
the furniture against the door, and that
was the bedstead. I say!’

Blodget heard a window thrown open,
and then a voice calling out,—

‘Help!—help!—thieves!—thieves!—Murder!’

Blodget turned from the door. His
eyes fell upon the young girl who was
tied to the chair, and in a moment he
rushed up to her and untied her head.
Then shaking her to and fro, he said—

‘Listen to me. Do you hear me?’

‘Ye—e—es.’

‘Go to that door and call to your mistress
that I have gone.’

‘Ye—e—es.’

‘At once, or I will cut your throat.’

The girl tottered to the door of the
inner room, and called out in a loud
voice,—

‘Mistress, they have gone now. They
have gone now. Open the door. It is
only me, Kitty.’

Kitty, in her fright, had done even
more than Blodget had asked her. The
dread of death had sharpened the wits of
the girl, so that she had seen fully what
was wanted of her, and she was willing
at that moment to think that self-preservation
// 138l.png
.pn +1
was indeed the very first law of
nature, even if it was taken in its most
extended signification, and involved the
destruction of another.

‘That is right,’ said Blodget, as the
girl tapped upon the panel of the door
of the inner room, and called to her mistress;
‘call her again, or you die!’

‘Mistress!’

‘Who calls?’

‘It’s me, ma’m!’

‘Kitty?’

‘Yes, ma’m!’

‘How came you free?’

‘Oh, they have run away, ma’m!’

‘Open the front window, then, and
call out for the police at once, do you
hear?’

‘Yes, ma’m!’

‘Tell her to open the door,’ said
Blodget, ‘or mind your throat.’

‘Open the door, ma’m!’

‘No.’

‘Implore her to do so. Say you are
hurt.’

‘Oh, I am hurt, ma’m! Do open the
door.’

‘Hurt?’ said the lady, ‘You don’t
mean that?’

Blodget heard from the voice that she
must be just outside the door, or rather,
we may say with more precision, just on
the other side of it. Full of revengeful
thoughts at the idea that she had endangered
his safety by her obstinate, and
what we would call heroic, resistance to
be robbed, he determined on her destruction.

Placing a revolver within a couple of
inches of the panel of the door, and close
to the side of the face of Kitty, although
at the moment the girl was too confused
to see it, he fired.
// 138r.png
.pn +1

The report was very stunning.

Kitty fell to the floor from fright
with a loud scream.

‘Hush!’ said Blodget, as he held up
his hands, in an attitude of listening.
‘Hush!’

All was still.

A deep groan came from the inner
room.

‘Ha! ha!’ cried Blodget. ‘I have hit
her!’

It was at that moment that a shrill
whistle sounded through the house, and
Blodget at once recognized it as the alarm
that he had told the man whose duty it
was to stay at the outer door of the
house to give in case of danger.

‘It is all over,’ said Blodget, ‘and it
will be a close touch now as regards escape.’

He made his way to the door of the
room, and was out in the corridor in a
moment.

‘Ben? Ben?’

‘Here I am, captain. Oh, Lord!’

‘What’s the matter?’

‘Nothing—only—only—’

‘Only what, idiot?’

‘I thought I heard somebody in trouble.’

‘How so?’

‘A pistol shot, captain, from your
hands, I take it, is reason enough for
that.’

‘No, it is not. When you hear a pistol-shot
from me again do not take it into
your head that somebody is in trouble.’

‘No?’

‘Certainly not; but you may pretty
safely conclude that somebody’s troubles
are over.’

‘Oh, Lord!’
// 139l.png
.pn +1

‘Come away at once now—there is
no time to lose. Take care of the bundle.
Have you it?’

‘All safe.’

‘Follow me then.’

Blodget ran down stairs as quickly as
he could, and by the time he got to the
hall he found that the whole four of the
thieves he had brought with him had assembled
there, and were looking at each
other by their little pieces of lighted taper
with something like consternation.

‘What is the matter?’ said Blodget.

‘Oh, captain, it’s all up.’

‘What is all up?’

‘All up with us. There is a force in
the street of police. They don’t seem to
know which house it is, but they are on
the look-out about something being amiss
at one or other of the houses on this side
of the way.’

‘Humph! What do you mean by a
force?’

‘About a dozen of them.’

Blodget bit his lips.

‘Yes, and they are close outside too.’

‘No!’

‘Yes they are.’

‘I will satisfy myself. If it be only the
ordinary watch I don’t think a couple of
dozen of them ought to stop us from proceeding,
and I will not permit them doing
so either; but if they are some of these
cursed Vigilance fellows, it is another affair.’

Blodget acted promptly. Nobody certainly
could accuse him of want of courage
or decision. He knew that the only
way of discovering who were without
was to take a good look himself; so, to
the consternation and surprise of his
comrades, he opened the street door and
coolly looked out into the street.

A sudden rush was made at the door
// 139r.png
.pn +1
by a couple of men, and Blodget soon
saw ten or twelve others not far off.

‘Hold hard there, hoss,’ said one of
them. ‘Don’t shut that door again,
my fine fellow, if you please.’

‘Ah, indeed!’ said Blodget, as he
closed the door; but he was not quite
quick enough, for a stick that one of the
officers had with him had been pushed
through the opening, and prevented the
door from closing.

‘Ha, ha! it won’t do,’ cried the officer.

Blodget laid hold of the stick and
called upon the others to do so. By
their united force they pulled it out of
the officer’s hand, half dislocating his
wrist as he did so, for he had tied it with
a strip of dry hide to his arm.

The door was closed in another minute,
but it was only held by the lock,
for Blodget had cut the bolts and had
broken the chain, so that his situation
with his four companions was anything
but a very agreeable one.

‘Oh!’ said Ben, ‘I do begin to think
as we have all dropped in for it at last.’

‘Not at all,’ said Blodget.

‘Not at all, captain? Why how the
deuce are we to get out of this mess?’

‘I don’t call it a mess. There are
two ways out of a house; one at the
street door, and the other at the roof.
Follow me.’

‘What, upstairs again?’

‘Yes, to be sure. Remember you are
under my orders, and you may as well
remember why, too.’

‘Why?’

‘Yes, why. Was it not because I
knew more than you did, and could so
take the command with more advantage
to you as well as to myself? Come on;
// 140l.png
.pn +1
I will yet see you all safe out of this affair,
you may depend upon it.’

They accordingly proceeded up stairs,
where as Blodget anticipated, they found
a scuttle affording an exit to the roof—through
this they escaped, and scampering
over the flat roofs of the adjacent
houses, got safely off with their blood-bought
booty.
.sp 2
.hr 20%
.sp 4
.h2
CHAPTER XIV
.sp 2
We must now retrace our steps in order
to introduce a different phase of life
in the Golden City.

Among the many hundreds of passengers
who landed one drizzly day from
one of the Panama steamers, was a young
and very handsome female.

Her personal attractions had excited
the attention and admiration of many of
the male passengers, who would fain
have improved the chance of becoming
more intimate with her, had they not
been kept aloof by the distant manners
of a gentleman, under whose protection
she appeared to be, and, perhaps, even
more by the young girl’s reserved ways
and apparently sad expression of countenance.

Who this lady was will appear in the
course of our tale. Her companion called
her Fanny—but whether she was his
wife or not, was unknown to the rest of
the passengers.

About a fortnight after Fanny arrived
in San Francisco she rose from her slumbers,
broken by unquiet visions, with pale
and gloomy looks, for she had not yet
decided upon the course she would adopt
in her present extremity, and her sombre
countenance and spiritless manners attracted
the notice of her landlady.
// 140r.png
.pn +1

‘Mr. Edwards has gone to Sacramento,
I hear,’ said she, as she placed the breakfast
equipage upon the table.

‘Yes.’ replied Fanny, coldly.

‘He did not say anything to me about
the rent,’ observed the woman, in a doubtful
and hesitating tone. ‘He engaged
the apartments, you know; but if you
pay the rent when it is due, of course it
is all the same.’

‘You have always received your rent
from me, Mrs. Smith,’ returned Fanny,
somewhat haughtily, ‘and as long as I
occupy your apartments I shall continue
to pay for them. I hope you do not
doubt my ability to do so?’

‘Oh, no,’ said her landlady. ‘Only as
Mr. Edwards engaged the apartments,
and has now left without saying anything
about the matter, I did not know how
matters might be; but I meant no offence,
I am sure.’

Mrs. Smith whisked herself out of the
room, and Fanny was again alone to contemplate
the dread realities of her position.
Still undecided, still reluctant to
adopt either of the alternatives which
she had canvassed over, but keenly alive
to the necessity of a speedy decision, she
yet sought to avert the crisis, if only for
a few days; and having made a bundle
of a silk dress and a handsome shawl
which Edwards had given her, she left
the house to obtain the means of liquidating
the week’s rent, that would be due
on the ensuing day.

‘Mrs. Edwards,’ said a female voice behind
her, as she stood before the window
of a pawnbroker’s shop, unable to summon
courage to enter; and turning round
she beheld a young girl, stylishly dressed
and possessed of considerable pretensions
to beauty, whom she instantly recognized
as a fellow-lodger with whom she had
// 141l.png
.pn +1
once or twice exchanged civilities when
they had met upon the stairs or in the
passage.

‘I have renounced that name forever,
Miss Jessop,’ said she ‘and would forget
all the associations belonging to it.’

‘Ah, I heard that Mr. Edwards had
gone to Sacramento,’ observed Miss Jessop.

‘You knew it, then, before I did,’ returned
Fanny, with a slight bitterness of
accent.

‘Indeed!’ rejoined Miss Jessop. ‘But
do not think of going to the pawnbroker’s,
for I am sure that is where you are
going.—’

‘Who told you that I was going to the
pawnbroker’s?’ inquired Fanny, coloring,
and speaking in a tone of mingled vexation
and surprise.

‘Nay, do not be angry!’ said Miss Jessop,
whose manner was kind and conciliating.
‘I was sure of it, as soon as I
saw you, and you cannot deny it; but do
not look vexed because I have penetrated
your intentions. I see that you
want a friend, and it was because I felt
convinced that you were going into the
shop that I accosted you.’

‘I do indeed want a friend, Miss Jessop,’
returned Fanny, sighing, ‘I never
felt the want of one so much as at this
moment.’

‘Then come home, if you have no
where else to go to, and we will have a
little chat together,’ said Miss Jessop, in
a very friendly tone. ‘I am older than
you in years, and still older in experience,
for all that you now see dimly louring
upon the horizon, I have long ago passed
through.’

Fanny was in that frame of mind which
prompts the seeker after guidance or
consolation to be communicative and to
// 141r.png
.pn +1
give confidence wherever friendship is
proffered, and she walked home with
Miss Jessop, whom she invited into her
own sitting-room.

‘You are very comfortable here,’ said
the young lady, as she glanced round
the apartment. ‘I hope you do not
think of leaving?’

‘I have thought of many things, but
as yet have been able to decide upon nothing,’
returned Fanny, with a faint smile.

‘And yet you were about to do the
most foolish thing imaginable, if I had
not prevented you,’ observed Miss Jessop.
‘For whatever course you decide upon,
it would be foolish to make away with
your best clothes, and the money you
raised by so doing would only serve to
avert for a few days the decision that you
would have to come to at last. For instance,
if you decide upon returning home
to your friends, where would be the use
of delaying your return until you had
eat up all your clothes? Again if you
determined upon receiving the visits of
any other gentleman, would it not be
foolish to delay accepting of his proposals
until you were penniless? If you
will take the advice of one who has been
in the same position, you will do at once,
whatever you decide upon doing, for,
however desperate your position may be,
procrastination will only make it worse.’

Fanny felt the force of her new friend’s
reasoning, and after reflecting upon it
for a moment, frankly disclosed her position,
signifying the repugnance which
she felt to returning home.

‘You see that I understand your position
as well as if I had been acquainted
with it,’ said Miss Jessop, with a smile.
‘If you will go out with me this evening
I will introduce you to a banker who is
sure to be delighted with you. He is
// 142l.png
.pn +1
very liberal, and I know he admires your
dark style of beauty above all others.’

Fanny’s curiosity and vanity were
both excited by this flattering description,
and as reflection had confirmed her in
her determination not to return home,
little persuasion was needed to induce
her to assent to her new friend’s proposition.

Night found Fanny and Miss Jessop
seated in a temple dedicated equally to
Venus and to Bacchus. The former was
surprised by the scene which met her
gaze, and the appearance of the females
who promenaded the saloon, or were
seated by the side or on the knees of gay
gentlemen, enlightened her both as to
the character of the place and that of
her companions, if indeed there had been
in her mind any doubt as to the latter,
previous to her introduction to that flowery
scene of vice.

‘There!—that is the person of whom
I spoke to you,’ said Miss Jessop, in a
whisper, as the banker entered the saloon,
and as the roue caught the eye of
Fanny’s companion, and saw by her side
a beautiful young female whom he had
never seen before, he advanced towards
the table at which they were seated, and
sat down opposite to them.

‘You look blooming to-night, Miss
Jessop,’ said he, eyeing Fanny as he
spoke. ‘Champagne, waiter. Who is
your handsome young friend?’

Fanny blushed at the compliment, and
her companion answered, with a smile,
‘A young friend of mine whom I have
promised to introduce to you, Mr. Edwards.’

Fanny and the banker were soon upon
the most friendly terms. He invited the
ladies to take wine with him. Fanny’s
reserve vanished by degrees under its influence,
// 142r.png
.pn +1
and the compliments of the
banker appealed to her vanity. She was
soon induced to accompany him to a
house in the neighborhood. Fanny had
committed herself to the tide of destiny,
suffering it to bear her wither it would,
and she entered into the house, of the
character of which her inexperience allowed
her to form no conception. But
when they were conducted by an attendant
into a bedchamber, she was recalled
all at once to the nature of her position,
and she blushed deeply; her companion,
however, found means to remove her
scruples, and she left the house, in company
with Miss Jessop, richer indeed in
purse, but bankrupt in honor.

It was near midnight,—some weeks
after Fanny’s fatal resolution—the gay
votaries of pleasure were leaving the
Jenny Lind Theatre, some few in equipages,
but a greater number on foot; beyond
the immediate neighborhood of the
theatre, however, the bustle was little increased,
for the bar-rooms, the Arcade,
the El Dorado, the Lafayette, and the
Bella Union, received the human tide
almost as fast as its waves ebbed from
the portico of the theatre.

One female form alone lingered under
the portico!

She was a lovely dark-eyed girl, rather
below the middle height of woman,
and wore a silk dress, faded and stained,
a mantle of the same material, creased
and much worn, and a velvet bonnet
modish in form, but worn and faded, and
adorned with a black feather in the last
stage of decay. Her complexion was
dark, and dissipation and late hours had
not yet banished the last tinge of rose
from her cheeks; her bright eyes were
shaded by long jetty lashes, and her
black hair was glossy as the pinion of
// 143l.png
.pn +1
the raven; her lips seemed formed of
coral by the art of the turner, and her
form was symmetrical and attractive in
the highest degree. A little while before
those dark eyes had beamed with
simulated passion, and those vermeil lips
had been wreathed with the most winning
and wanton smiles; but as the last
hack drove away from the front of the
theatre, the expression of the girl’s countenance,
which seemed to have been
stamped there as with a searing iron, by
the vivid consciousness of shame and
degradation. The change was like the
removal of the garland and veil from the
skull of the skeleton guest at the banquet
of the old Egyptians. A light rain
was beginning to fall, the pavement was
becoming wet and clammy, and the girl
looked down with a sigh and a shudder
at her thin shoes.

Then she stepped upon the pavement,
shivered for a moment on the edge and
crossed the slippery street, to where the
large lamp over the door of a large cafe
threw its yellow glare upon the wet
sidewalk. A tall, well-shaped man came
out of the tavern at the moment she approached
the door, and between him and
the young girl there passed glances of recognition.

‘Blodget!’ she exclaimed, in a low gasping
tone.

‘Ah! why it is little Fanny!’ said he,
in a tone between a recognition and surprise.

‘Yes,’ returned the young girl, with a
look at once appealing and reproachful,
‘It is Fanny—your victim.’

‘Humph,’ said Blodget, averting his
countenance from the girl’s earnest gaze,
and biting his lip. ‘Have you been looking
for me?’ he inquired, after a moment’s
pause, and still without looking
// 143r.png
.pn +1
upon the girl’s wan countenance, as if he
felt that her looks would reproach him,
even though she uttered not a word.

‘No,’ returned Fanny. ‘I knew not
that you were in this city. I am glad,
Mr. Blodget, to perceive that you have
still so much virtue left, that you cannot
look upon the face of the girl you have
wronged and deceived, that you shrink
from the contemplation of your work of
evil.’

‘Don’t let us quarrel,’ said Blodget, in
a low voice, and with an evident uneasiness
of manner. ‘Come in, and we will
go up stairs, and have a bottle of wine.’

‘Never, with you, Blodget!’ exclaimed
Fanny, energetically.

‘Your baseness has reduced me to a
depth of degradation to which I would
not at one time have believed possible
for me to fall, but never will I sit down
in a public room with the author of my
ruin.’

‘Well, where do you live?’ said Blodget
in a tone of vexation. ‘I cannot
stand talking to you in the street—besides,
it rains.’

‘Ah, you are ashamed of me?’ returned
Fanny in a tone of bitterness, though
her voice trembled and her lips quivered
as she spoke. ‘Why were you not rather
ashamed to become the destroyer of
my happiness, my innocence, perhaps,
my soul?’

‘Pooh, nonsense, Fan,’ returned Blodget,
the glow of conscious guilt mantling
upon his cheeks, in spite of his assumed
nonchalance. ‘You are in a melancholy
mood to-night, and if you mean to stand
here talking like that, I shall rush off.
It is getting late, and you had better go
home.’

‘Home!’ ejaculated Fanny, with a bitter
intonation, and hot tears gathered in
// 144l.png
.pn +1
her dark eyes, and trembled on her
black and silken lashes.

‘Bill!’ said Blodget, to a pale, shabby
dissipated-looking young man, who came
out of the bar-room at that moment—‘bring
a hack!’

In a few minutes the vehicle rolled up
to the spot, and the driver jumped from
his seat to open the door. Fanny allowed
her seducer to hand her into the hack
but her thoughts were wandering, and
she felt a slight degree of surprise when
Blodget got in, and seated himself by
her side.

‘Where to, sir,’ said the driver, as he
closed the door.

Blodget looked at Fanny, who mentioned
the name of the street in which
she lived, and in a few minutes the hack
was dashing over the miry road. Fanny
leaned back in silence, and when her
companion passed his arm around her
waist, she shrank from his touch, and he
instantly removed it.

‘What is the use of your being angry
with me, Fanny?’ said he, in a deprecating
tone. ‘What has passed can never
be recalled, and had better be forgotten.
Let us—’

‘Forgotten?’ exclaimed Fanny, raising
her dark eyes sadly and reproachfully to
his countenance, as he saw by the light
of a lamp which the coach passed at the
moment. ‘Do you think that I can ever
forget what I have been or what I am
now? That I can forget there was a
time when I was innocent and happy,
and cease to contrast that time with the
wretched present?’

‘Why are you not happy now?’ inquired
the roué.

‘Can you ask me why I am not happy
now, Blodget?’ returned Fanny, in a
tone of deep and touching emphasis.
// 144r.png
.pn +1
‘Ah, do not affect what you do not feel.
Do not make me think you so thoroughly
heartless as such a question would imply.
You know that I am not and cannot be
happy.’

Blodget was silent, and in a few moments
the hack stopped opposite the
house that had for some weeks been the
abode of the lost and degraded Fanny.
Blodget sprang out, assisted Fanny to
alight, and having discharged the hack,
followed the young girl up the court and
into the house in which she lodged. She
ascended the stairs, permitting Blodget
to follow her, and when they had entered
a small bed-room of the most wretched
appearance. She closed the door, set the
light which she had received on entering
the house, upon a pine table, and sinking
upon a chair by the side of the bed,
buried her countenance in the clothes.

‘How long have you been in such a
place as this?’ inquired Blodget, as he
threw a quick glance round the wretched
chamber.

‘I permitted you to come here, that
you might form a faint idea of the depth
to which you have plunged me,’ said Fanny,
raising her head from the bed.

‘Reproaches are useless,’ returned the
man, gloomily: ‘I am sorry for what
has passed, Fanny, and now let us be
friends again.’

‘On what terms?’ inquired Fanny.

‘Oh, never mind the terms.’ returned
Blodget, sitting on the side of the bed,
and taking the young girl’s hand. ‘Kiss
me, Fan, and we will have a bottle of
wine up here—no, not here,’ he added,
again casting his eyes around the miserable
chamber. ‘Come away with me to
a house of accommodation.’

‘And to-morrow?’ said Fanny, doubtfully
and inquiringly.
// 145l.png
.pn +1

‘To-morrow we shall be as good friends
as ever we were.’

‘Blodget,’ said Fanny, in a deep and
even solemn tone, while she raised her
dark eyes to his countenance, with an expression
of profound earnestness, ‘I would
rather die than continue to lead the life
which I have lived since you so unkindly
deserted me. Indeed, I know not why I
have not long since sought death in preference
to such a life of shame, and misery
and conscious degradation. Tell me
whether you mean to atone for all that
you have made me suffer by making me
your wife?’

‘You cannot expect it,’ returned Blodget,
dropping her hands, and taking a
hasty turn across the room. ‘You have
seen enough of life by this time, I should
think, to see the foolishness of such an
expectation.’

‘My experience of life has been bitter
enough, God knows,’ said Fanny, heaving
a deep sigh, while tears again gathered
in her dark eyes. ‘Why did you ever
seek my love? Was it honorable to do
so, and to win my heart, and then, when
I had given you the tenderest proof of
love that woman can bestow, to cast me
from you as you might a flower that you
had plucked for its beauty and fragrance,
and when it had ceased to charm, you
cast upon the footway to be trodden upon
and to mingle with the mire? That is
what you have done—that has been my
fate.’

‘Well, it cannot be helped now, Fan,’
observed Blodget, some twitchings of remorse
giving a slight degree of impatience
to his tone. ‘Will you come
away from here and have a bottle of
wine with me? Nay, if you like it better,
for once I will stop here.’

‘Never again, Blodget, will I press the
// 145r.png
.pn +1
same bed with you, unless as your wife,’
exclaimed Fanny, with solemn earnestness.
‘I would rather lay down in some
secluded spot, and die of hunger; or seek
a refuge from the shame and misery that
are killing me, in the waters of the bay.’

‘Good night, then,’ returned the seducer.
‘I am off! I will do the generous,
though.’

The libertine’s tone and manner were
hurried and uneasy. He took a slug from
his purse and laid it on the table, but
Fanny rose immediately, her dark eyes
flashing and her cheeks glowing, and taking
up the coin, threw it at his feet.

‘Not from you, sir!’ she exclaimed
vehemently. ‘I will neither sell myself
to you, nor have it thought that I have
done so. You sought me, and you gained
me, and I do not blush for what has passed;
but my fond and trusting heart betrayed
me, and not such a paltry bribe
as that. Would you have me despise
myself more than I do already?’

‘Fanny,’ said Blodget, in a tone which
evinced considerable agitation, for the
words, look, and tone of the poor girl had
at length penetrated to his heart. ‘Let
us be friends, as we were before I left
New-York. Forgive me for what you
have suffered, and kiss me.’

‘No! no!’ returned Fanny, extending
her hand to ward him as he approached
her. ‘I forgive you, and now leave me;
but remember that there is One besides
whose forgiveness you have to seek, and
whose pardon is of more consequence
than mine.’

‘You will not kiss me, then—not even
as a sign of your forgiveness?’ said the
libertine, who thought that if the young
girl suffered him to hold her in his embrace
he should be able to win her to a
// 146l.png
.pn +1
more agreeable termination to their interview
than appeared likely otherwise.

‘No,’ replied Fanny, firmly. ‘You have
ceased to love me, and I should loathe
myself were I to suffer any approach to
a renewal of our former intimacy.’ Blodget
lingered a moment longer, glanced
toward the slug which still lay on the
floor, where the indignant girl had thrown
it, and then quitted the room.

When the door had closed upon her
seducer, Fanny threw herself upon the
bed, and hiding her countenance in the
clothes, burst into a flood of bitter and
scalding tears. Oh, how agonizing were
the reminiscence, how bitter the reflections,
evoked by the accidental meeting
with the man to whom she owed all the
unhappiness she ever knew. The thought
of her home, of the poor, but honest parents
whom she could never look in the
face again, of the companions of her
childhood, in the village of her birth,
and from these subjects of reflection her
thoughts wandered to the beginnings of
her ill-starred acquaintance with Blodget,
and the sudden dissolving of the dream
of happiness she had had, so bright and
blissful, but, alas, so transient.

Her tears ceased to flow, without having
brought her any relief, and seating
herself by the bedside, she grew by degrees
more calm, but it was an unnatural
calmness, not the tranquility which
speaks of peace within, but a mere lull
in the tempest of human passions. She
glanced at the glittering coin upon the
floor, but she felt that to pick it up and
appropriate it to her own use, would be
to accept a money compensation for her
wrongs, and though husbands in the upper
classes of society are accustomed to
accept such compensation from the seducers
of their wives, yet the purer soul
// 146r.png
.pn +1
of that crushed violet of the pavement,
revolted at the thought.

Yet must she have money; she was
penniless, and for her there was no alternative
between a life of infamy and degradation,
and the unblessed grave of the
suicide. Moreover she could not bear
to be alone with her heart-crushing brain-searing,
maddening thoughts: she felt
that she must fly from them, or, madness
or suicide would be the result. The
thought of surrendering herself to the
embraces of a stranger was less repugnant
to her mind, in the mood which had
come upon her, than that of selling to
her seducer for money the favors which
he had once enjoyed through her love; if
she must sin, she resolved that it should
not be with him, to those arms she had
originally gone pure and chaste.

Leaving the money upon the floor, she
went down stairs, darted past a stout red-faced
old woman in a faded silk dress,
whom she met in the passage, in order
to avoid an explanation, and rushed
through the miry court into the street.
A misty rain was still falling, and there
were few persons in the streets, but she
knew there were yet plenty of loungers
and revellers in the taverns about Commercial
Street, and thitherward, she retraced
her steps. She had nearly reached
the crossing of Montgomery Street,
when she saw a young man come out of
the corner bar-room and walk down
towards the wharf, with a reeling gait,
as if under the influence of liquor.
Thinking that he might be easily induced
to accompany her home, she followed
him, but before she could overtake him
he entered another bar-room.

Fanny lingered for a moment on the
clammy pavement, but the deserted appearance
// 147l.png
.pn +1
of the streets speedily decided
her, and she turned into the house and
entered.

The young man was sitting at one of
the tables over which he was leaning,
with his head leaning on his arms, and
his countenance concealed: but no one
else was in the room. A glass stood on
the table. The man did not move when
she entered, though she knew he could
not be asleep, having only entered the
house a moment before.

‘What a disagreeable night,’ Fanny
ventured to observe, in the hope of attracting
the young man’s attention.

At the sound of her voice he started
from his seat as if he had received a
shock from a galvanic battery, and gazed
with mingled wildness and earnestness
at her. Fanny started also, and staggering
backwards, sank upon a bench, and
covered her face with her hands, for she
had recognized Robert Jervis, her affianced
lover, in the days of her virtuous
happiness. Jervis was pale, and the unexpected
meeting with one whom he had
once loved so ardently had given to his
countenance an expression of wildness
and extreme agitation.

‘Has Fanny sunk so low as this? and
so soon, too,’ said he, in a low voice, rendered
hoarse by the agitation of his feelings.
‘Has she who ran away from
her home become in so short a time a
midnight frequenter of overcharged, and the
common associate of the vicious portion
of a class, the reputable members of
which she once looked down upon with
disdain?’

‘Spare me, Robert,’ said Fanny, in a
faint and broken voice, and without removing
her hands from her countenance,
‘You know not what I have suffered—what
I am suffering now.’
// 147r.png
.pn +1

‘I can easily believe that,’ returned
Robert, surveying her with a look of
mournful interest. ‘You have made me
suffer, too—more deeply than I can find
words to express; but I will not reproach
you. While you have a heart to feel, if
vice does not harden it to the core, you
will find reproaches there which I cannot
spare you.’

‘I do,’ exclaimed Fanny, sobs choking
her voice, and the pearly tears trickling
down her hands. ‘You cannot reproach
me more severely than my own heart
does at this moment. If you knew all
that I have endured and am enduring
you would pity me.’

‘Pity you!’ said Robert, who had become
perfectly sober the moment he recognized
the lost girl upon whom he was
now gazing. ‘I have never ceased to
pity you since the moment of my return
to reason after that hour of madness that
ruined both myself and you.’

‘It was all my fault,’ sobbed Fanny,
weeping as if her heart would break.

‘It matters little now, whether the
fault was wholly yours or partly mine,’
said Robert, taking a hasty turn up and
down the room. ‘It was more the fault
of that villain Blodget: may heaven’s
avenging lightnings scathe and blast him!
May his own happiness and peace of
mind be wrecked as ours have been!’

Fanny sobbed bitterly, and dared not
raise her eyes to Robert’s agitated countenance.
The young man took two or
three turns up and down the bar-room,
and then he became a little calmer, and
pausing near the table at which he had
been sitting, threw a furtive glance towards
the weeping Fanny.

‘And you have really fallen so low as
your presence here seems to imply?’ said
he, endeavoring to steady his voice,
// 148l.png
.pn +1
though it was low and tremulous, and
his lips quivered as he spoke.

‘Imagine the worse, and you will
know all,’ replied Fanny, in a broken and
faltering voice. ‘I have wished a hundred
times that I were at the bottom of
the bay, but I cannot do it. I pray for
death, that I may be spared further misery
and sin, and yet I live.’

‘Heaven have mercy on us all, for we
have need of mercy!’ exclaimed Robert,
in a tone which betrayed the emotion
that he felt, and leaning with his elbows
on the table, he buried his face in his
hands.

He heard Fanny sobbing, but for some
moments neither of them moved or spoke.
Then he heard a slight rustling, and he
removed his hands from his pale and
agitated countenance, and slowly raised
his head. Fanny was hurriedly leaving
the room; it was her mantle brushing
the door as she passed out, which he had
heard. He sighed heavily, and then he
dropped his head upon his hands again,
and sat silent and motionless, until roused
by the entrance of the bar-keeper who,
thinking that he was asleep, shook him,
and bawled that he was going to close
the house. Then he arose, quitted the
house, and walked slowly, and with an
expression of misery and despair upon
his pale countenance. The rain had
now degenerated into a thick fog, through
which the lamps twinkled dimly, and the
pavement was covered with thin mire of
the color and adhesive quality which distinguishes
the mud of San Francisco, except
where the broken condition of the
pavement of the footway permitted the
turbid water to lay in large puddles,
dimly reflecting the street lamps. Regardless
of the puddles, Robert walked
on, now with his eyes fixed upon the
// 148r.png
.pn +1
miry pavement, and now looking forward
with contracted brow and moving though
silent lips; and when he reached a lane,
he went straight on and entered a house.
Thither we will not immediately follow
him.

On leaving the bar-room, where she
had encountered Robert Jervis, Fanny
had hurried down to the wharf, where
she began to walk more slowly, the terrible
excitement which had until then
impelled her onward, beginning to subside.
But though she walked more
slowly, she kept towards the bay, and
still walked slowly onwards. About the
hour of one, she advanced towards steps
leading down to some water. It was
not the first time since she had added
herself to the thousands of unfortunate
women who seek the wages of sin, that
she sought the bay with suicidal purposes,
but there was something so terrible
and so awful to her mind in the
thought of death, that she had never
dared to attempt the execution of it.

‘It must be done,’ she murmured, as
she approached the steps. ‘I can endure
this dreadful life no longer.’

She descended the steps hurriedly, but
on the lowest that was uncovered by the
water, she paused, and gazed upon the
dark bosom of the flood that rolled with
a hoarse dull murmur.

‘Death! What is it?’ murmured the
miserable girl, clasping her small white
hands, and looking down upon the water
that rolled darkly at her feet. ‘Awful
mystery, which I wish, yet fear, to solve!
Is it but the intermediate state which
mortals pass through to free the soul
from the grossness which clogs it during
its sojourn on earth, and fit it for a
higher and happier state of existence?
or is it a long sleep—a night without
// 149l.png
.pn +1
dreams, and to which no morrow
comes? Is it, as some say, the chrysalis
state from which we emerge into
new life, like the butterfly? Unfortunate
analogy!—the repugnance to the
soul’s annihilation, this longing after
immortality? Oh there must be something
beyond the grave, though what I
cannot say. It cannot be worse, whatever
it may be than the life I am leading.’

She paused in her muttered soliloquy,
thinking she heard soft and cautious
footsteps behind her, but on casting
a look up the steps, she saw no
one; indeed the fog prevented her
from seeing more than a couple of
yards.

‘It is nothing,’ she muttered. ‘Now
to end a life of which I have long been
weary! It is but a plunge—a splashing
of the water—a circling ripple on
the surface—and all will be over!’

As she murmured these words, the
poor girl threw herself into the dark
waters, adding to the long list of man’s
perfidy and inhumanity—‘One more
unfortunate victim.’
.sp 2
.hr 20%
.sp 4
.h2
CHAPTER XV
.sp 2
We must now return for a space to
Inez and her captors. The unfortunate
girl had but a very confused idea of
where she was being conveyed. When
the party reached the ranch she was
taken from her horse, and carried rather
than led, into the building.

She was taken down a narrow flight
of steps into what appeared to her to be
a subterranean apartment. And such,
in fact it was, for the dwelling to which
// 149r.png
.pn +1
she had been taken had formerly been
a portion of one of the old mission establishments,
which are so numerous
in California. The vaults beneath it,
had doubtless been excavated as a place
of retreat in case of attacks from hostile
Indians, or as a depository for the sacred
vessels of the church.

At length they reached the bottom
of this subterranean flight of stairs, and
then she was borne along a narrow passage
of considerable length, the footsteps
of her ruffianly abductor raising dismal
and prolonged echoes. Her brain began
to reel before the appalling idea that
she was being carried into the bowels
of the earth, perhaps to be immured for
life in some dungeon, where the atmosphere
would be close and damp—where
moisture would trickle down the green
and slimy walls—perhaps, to be deprived
of life; or, maybe, and the thought
made her shudder convulsively, subjected
to the brutal lusts of some vile
miscreant whose crimes had made him
shrink into gloomy vaults from the
light of day and the arm of retributive
justice.

Her bearer seemed to be fatigued
with her weight for he twice set her
down and rested a few moments. At
length the end of the journey appeared
to be reached, and she was now laid
down upon some blankets, and the gag
removed from her mouth, and the covering
from her head, and when she cast
a glance of terrified apprehension around
the place to which she had been brought
she was alone and in profound and impenetrable
darkness.

Almost frantically the unfortunate
maiden gave vent to her long-suppressed
emotions in a piercing shriek, and
then sank into insensibility.
// 150l.png
.pn +1

How long Inez lay in that state of
insensibility which came upon her when
she found herself alone and in utter
darkness, in the place to which she had
been borne, she had no means of ascertaining;
but at length consciousness returned
to the bewildered maiden by
slow degrees. Back from the memory
cells of her brain came the recollection
of her retiring to bed the evening previous
beneath her father’s roof, then the
midnight abduction, the long and fearful
ride, and her falling insensible in
the dark and gloomy chamber in which
she now was.

‘Where was she? Why was she
brought there?’

She rose from the floor, and groping
with her hands to avoid coming in contact
with any projecting article of furniture,
she made a few cautious steps
in the direction of the door, by which
she had been borne into the room by
her abductor, but her hands encountered
no tangible indication of an entrance.

The secret door, the darkness that
seemed palpable, all must be parts of
some infernal contrivance to shroud in
secrecy and mystery some diabolical
outrage, from the contemplation of the
probable nature of which she shrank in
horror. Through that concealed door
which she could not discover, but which
she yet knew to exist, the perpetrator
would enter—those walls would shut in
every sound, and deaden every shriek—that
palpable darkness would veil the
crime, and guard from the chance of
future recognition the criminal! It was
dreadful for one so innocent, so defenceless
to stand there alone, enveloped in
darkness, anticipating all that was horrible
and revolting to her pure mind,
and fearfully conscious of her utter powerlessness
// 150r.png
.pn +1
to evade her impending doom.

She clasped her hands, and though
in darkness, her eyes wandered round
the room, and could any one have seen
her countenance at that moment, it
would have been seen pale and impressed
with an aspect of mingled wildness
and despair. A new thought suddenly
struck her, and partly stilled the tumult
of her mind; she would pray—it was
impossible, she thought, that God would
forsake her, if she prayed to Him, for
succor and deliverance. In obedience
to this impulse, she knelt down upon the
thick carpet, and prayed long and fervently
that He whose name was Love,
and whose attributes were Power, Wisdom,
Justice and Mercy, would deliver
her from the doom which was impending
over her, whether that doom was
a violent death, or dishonoring outrage,
which she dreaded most. This act of
devotion exercised a tranquillizing influence
over her mind, and she rose from
her knees considerably comforted and
strengthened.

While Inez was still pondering upon
her condition she heard a door open
and close. The person who entered ignited
a match and lit a lamp, and confronted
the trembling girl. Judge of
her horror when she recognized one of
the villains whom she had seen engaged
in burying the murdered man in the old
adobe building. Although her knees
trembled with fright she mustered courage
enough to ask him, ‘What means
this outrage, sir.’

‘It means this,’ said Blodget, for it
was that miscreant himself who stood
before her. ‘It means this,—that you
take the oath which I shall administer,
swearing in the most solemn terms never
// 151l.png
.pn +1
to reveal aught that has happened since
you left the mission last evening. The
second is, that you become my mistress.’

‘Then I reject your conditions with
scorn and abhorrence!’ exclaimed Inez
turning away.

‘Reflect well, my charmer,’ said the
villain.

‘Cease, sir!’ exclaimed Inez. ‘Say no
more! I reject your offers with disdain.’

‘I thought to find you more reasonable,’
said Blodget after a pause. ‘However,
if you hold out a week, you will be
the first who ever did. There are some
slices of fowl and ham, and some bread,
and a pint of wine, in the basket; and
in the evening I shall visit you again.’

As he turned to leave the room, Inez
bent her gaze steadily upon the door, in
the hope of detecting the means by
which it was opened, but it had only
the appearance of a portion of the wall,
revolving upon hinges, and undiscoverable
on the inside when closed, from
the uniform appearance which the entire
wall then presented alike to the eye
and the touch. The door again rolled
noiselessly on its hinges, it closed with
a click, and Inez was alone in the pitchy
darkness of her prison.

Satisfied that there must be some
means of acting upon the concealed mechanism
connected with the door, she
ran her hands over the inside, and pressed
every square inch with her fingers,
in the hope of touching something which
would set in action the secret spring.
This manipulation producing no result,
she next treaded the floor near the door
in the same manner, but still without
making any discovery. It then occurred
to her that the spring might be situated
above her reach, and instantly
mounting upon the wicker basket which
// 151r.png
.pn +1
Blodget had brought her, she felt over
the upper part of the door, and the wall
around and above it as far as she could
reach.

An indescribable emotion of joy and
hope thrilled through her bosom, as her
fingers all at once encountered a small
knob or button, about six feet from the
floor, which yielded to the pressure, and
acting on some concealed mechanism,
caused the heavy door to revolve slowly
and noiselessly upon its hinges. Stepping
from the basket, she peered into
the semi-obscurity of the lobby upon
which the door opened, and discovering
an ascending flight of stairs, she felt
half inclined to venture up them; but
on reflection, she thought such a step
would be imprudent, and satisfied with
possessing the means of opening the door
at pleasure, she closed it to reflect, at
leisure, upon the way in which she
should make her discovery available for
the purpose of escape.

The impression that the door which
she had discovered was not the one by
which she had been borne into the
chamber by her abductor still lingering
in her mind, she resolved to examine
the opposite wall in the same manner;
and, setting the basket against the wall,
she stood upon it as before, and passed
her hand over the wall in every direction.
To her great joy she was not
long in discovering a knob similar to
that which communicated with the secret
spring of the other door, and pressing
upon it, a door opened like the one
by which Blodget had entered, and the
rush of cold air which fanned her cheek,
and the continued darkness, called to
her mind the recollection of the subterraneans
through which she had been
borne the preceding night.
// 152l.png
.pn +1

She hesitated for a moment, and then
she advanced her right foot cautiously,
and found that she stood at the head of
a flight of steps leading downward. She
descended two or three, and then she
returned to her chamber and closed the
door, resolving to wait until night before
venturing into the subterraneans, so
fearful was she of having her evasion
detected before her escape was complete,
and of steps being taken to preclude
the possibility of a second attempt. The
cravings of her stomach now began to
demand attention, and feeling that some
degree of vigor would be required to
enable her to complete her escape, she
sat down, and taking the provisions
from the basket, ate a portion of the
bread and meat. She hesitated as she
afterwards raised the wine to her lips,
lest it should be drugged, but reflecting
that such a step was little likely to
be resorted to after the open violence to
which she had been subjected on the
preceding night, she took a small quantity,
and then began to reflect upon the
course which she should pursue.

By deferring her attempt to escape
until night, as she had determined, she
would be exposed, she now reflected, to
a repetition of the outrage of the preceding
night; and would likewise be
less capable of ascertaining correctly the
house in which she was a prisoner than
she would be should she escape by daylight.
She therefore opened the door
by pressing upon the knob which communicated
with the secret spring, and
cautiously ascended the dark flight of
stone stairs. She reached the top in
safety, groped her way along a passage
of considerable length, and at the end
was involved in as pitchy a darkness as
before.
// 152r.png
.pn +1

At length she knocked her head
against a flat stone which appeared to
seal up the subterranean staircase, and
almost reeled under the concussion; but
recovering from the blow in a few moments,
she endeavored to raise the stone
by pressing upward with her hands and
shoulders. The stone was heavy, but
at length she succeeded in raising it on
end, and when thus poised it was
easily removed from the aperture, and
she emerged into a large gloomy vault
or cellar, which was little less dark than
the stairs and passage which she had
traversed, or the chamber from which
she had escaped. The only light came
from a rude doorway in one corner,
where she could see the bottom of a
flight of rough steps, towards which
she hurried; but at the moment she
put her foot upon the lowermost step
she heard rough voices.

No sound from the underground
chambers in which Inez was imprisoned
could by any possibility reach the
outside of the building, even had there
been neighbors in the vicinity, but the
place was far remote from any other
human habitation. She had no means
of marking the flight of time, and
could not even distinguish between day
and night. But her persecutor had
told her that he should visit her again
in the evening, and she resolved to be
in readiness to fly the moment the first
warning sound of his intrusion struck
upon her listening ears. At length
when she heard the click of the secret
spring, she ascended with precipitation
the stone stairs which led, as she
thought, to liberty.

She had scarcely reached the top,
when she heard hurried footsteps behind
her, and, without casting a look
// 153l.png
.pn +1
backwards, she fled in terror along the
subterranean passage. Her rapid footsteps
were echoed by those of her pursuer.
She had nearly reached the top
of the stone stairs leading to the place
in which she had found a lamp, and the
means of lighting it, when she stumbled
over a stone, or some other impediment,
and fell prostrate upon the ground, a
scream bursting from her lips, and the
lamp falling from her hand.

By this untoward mischance, the
lamp became extinguished, and before
she could recover her feet, she heard
the footsteps of her pursuer close at
hand; and in another moment she felt
herself clasped round the waist, and all
her faculties succumbing to the force
of terror, she became insensible.

It was Blodget who had pursued
her, and he was greatly alarmed lest
she should escape.

As he was bearing her insensible
body into the chamber, a new cause of
alarm presented itself. One of his accomplices
in guilt rushed in to tell him
that a party of horsemen, apparently
Californians, had dismounted in a
neighboring grove, and that two of
their number were reconnoitering the
ranch.

Blodget paused for a moment to
think, and then speedily determined
how to act.

The party of which the man spoke
was composed of Monteagle, Joaquin,
and a few Californians, who, after infinite
pains, had discovered a clue to the
course pursued by the capturers of
Inez, and had traced them to the
ranch in which she was a prisoner.—Joaquin
and Blodget had approached
the house in order to determine the
best course to pursue in order to capture
// 153r.png
.pn +1
the villains and release Inez.

‘Listen,’ said Blodget to his accomplice.
‘If they find me here, I may
be recognized and arrested, if not for
this, for other trifling affairs, which
may end in neck-stretching. They can
have no proof of our carrying off the
girl, unless the wench is found. That
is not possible, as no one can have any
suspicion of the underground room.—They
will search the house, and finding
their search in vain, must leave the
place. I will try to get off unobserved
through the ravine at the back of the
ranch, and catch the first horse I can
find and make for the city. Let me
hear from you as soon as they go, and
we will concert future measures about
the girl. I will be at our old place in
Jackson street.’

As the villain concluded speaking, he
drew and cocked his revolver, and
noiselessly moved from the back of the
house towards the ravine of which he
had spoken.

Hardly had the ruffian entered the
ravine ere he was descried by Monteagle,
whose party had been placed so as
almost to surround the ranch.

‘Stop! or I fire,’ cried Monteagle.

Blodget burst through the thicket,
and Monteagle leaped his horse after
him, but the fugitive turned sharply
round the moment the horse’s hoofs
touched the turf, and discharged his
revolver. The darkness and hurry in
which he fired prevented him from taking
aim, and Monteagle remained unscathed,
but the bullet crashed through
the head of the horse, and the animal
reared up, and then fell upon its side
and expired.

Blodget fled precipitately, and as
soon as Monteagle could extricate himself
// 154l.png
.pn +1
from his dead horse, he rushed after
him, calling loudly on his friends. Two
of them followed him, but Blodget kept
the advantage which he had gained by
shooting the horse, and sped across the
meadows with the swiftness of a hunted
coyote. Beyond the ravine there was
a high steep hill, thinly wooded, and
on the farther side of the hill a thick
and extensive wood. If he could gain
this wood, he doubted not that he should
be enabled to baffle his pursuers, and
he made for the hill with the speed of
a grayhound.

He threw a hurried look behind him
as he reached the foot of the hill, and
then dashed up the ascent, for he heard
behind him the shouts of his pursuers
and the voice of Monteagle urging the
two men to come on faster. The hill
was steep, and, except where a scanty
vegetable soil had been formed during
successive winters by the decay of moss
and leaves, its rugged side was covered
with smooth pebbles, in which the fugitive’s
feet sunk and slipped as he toiled
upward. Until Monteagle reached the
hill, therefore, Blodget lost ground, but
when his pursuers commenced the fatiguing
ascent they were again upon an
equality.

The pursuers and pursued were unable
to see each other, and could only
discover their relative positions by pausing
to listen, and then only by such
sounds as the slipping of pebbles under
the feet, the rolling down of some displaced
stone, the rustling of brambles
and brakes, or the snapping of boughs.
The hill became steeper as the robber
and his pursuers approached the summit,
and they had to grasp the boughs
of dwarf oaks to assist them in the ascent,
and sometimes to drag themselves
// 154r.png
.pn +1
over the smooth faces of bare brown
rocks, polished by atmospheric influences,
clinging to roots of trees which
appeared above the soil, and inserting
their toes into crevices, or setting them
upon projecting points.

Near the summit Blodget paused to
rest, to listen, and to look behind him;
below him he heard the voices of his
panting pursuers, the rustling of bushes
and brakes, and the grating sound
of their footsteps in the loose pebbles.
He wiped the sweat from his brow, and
then he resumed his clambering progress,
still hoping to find a refuge in
the wood on the other side. The summit
of the hill was sharp and bare, the
brown rock coming to the surface uncovered
by the scantiest layer of soil,
and its bald crest passed, he had little
fear of his ultimate escape. A glen,
or ravine, the sides of which were clothed
with breaks or ferns, led from the
summit down to the wood, and the
shortest way of gaining access to the
glen from the side which he was ascending,
was through a gap or cleft in the
rocky crest of the hill. In the bottom
of this gap laid a large fragment of
rock, nearly flat on the upper side, and
rounded at the edges by the abrading
influence of rain and fog; probably it
had originally been disruptured from
the crags which arose on either side,
and remained in that position for ages.
It partly overhung the steep acclivity which
Blodget was now clambering up, and
by pausing a few moments to recruit
his strength, and then clinging with his
fingers to the fissures in the rock, he
drew himself up until he reached its
top in safety.

He felt the stone move as he crawled
over its smooth flat top on his hands
// 155l.png
.pn +1
and knees, and as he paused for a moment
in obedience to the instinct of
self-preservation, he heard some stones
in which the large rock was imbedded,
roll down the hill, chinking against the
pebbles, and bounding onwards, until
arrested in their course by the boughs
or roots of dwarf oaks and wild lilacs
which grew upon its side. It was clear
that the impulsion which his weight had
given to the stone, had displaced these
small fragments, chipped from itself or
the crags which it laid between when
it first fell there, and he hesitated in
the fear that in quitting the stone he
should cause it to topple over, and be
crushed by its falling upon him.

In this dilemma he determined to
leap from the middle of it, in order to
avoid overbalancing it, and, standing
upright for a moment, he measured the
leap with his eye as well as the darkness
of the night would permit, and
bounded forward like a mountain goat.
He cleared the edge of the stone, and
alighted in safety below it, on the other
side of the hill; but again some fragments
of rock rolled down, and he
sprang aside, lest the whole ponderous
mass should slip from its position and
hurl him before it down the hill. But
the massive rock moved not, and he
sped down the hill with the speed of a
deer.

Monteagle had made slower progress
than the robber up the steepest part
of the hill, and his companions did not
engage in the chase with equal vigor.
Hence they allowed Monteagle to keep
the lead; and, on coming near the summit
of the hill, they diverged from the
track which he was following in order
to reach the glen on the other side
without passing over the large stone
// 155r.png
.pn +1
which has been described. Monteagle
had caught a glimpse of Blodget as the
dark figure of the latter was for a moment
dimly defined against the lighter
darkness of the sky, when he stood
upon the stone to leap into the glen,
and shouting, ‘There he is!’ he strained
up the steep acclivity direct for the
gap in the hill’s bare and rocky
crest.

He was not aware until he reached
it of the obstacle presented by the massive
stone; but, as Blodget had passed
over it, he thought he could do the
same; and, clinging to it with both
hands, drew himself up, and succeeded
in reaching the flat top; but scarcely
had he done so when there was a rustling
fall of stones from beneath, the
massive fragment of rock slid from its
place, and a shriek of terror burst from
the lips of Monteagle as he found himself
falling backwards, and the stone
with him.

His two friends heard the cry, and
for a moment stood silent and motionless
on the steep hill-side, with their
hands still holding the boughs and roots
which they had grasped to aid their ascent.
They heard the great stone rush
with a dull hoarse sound a few yards,
and then bound down the hill, crashing
through the dwarf oaks and clumps of
lilac, snapping the tender trunks of the
mountain trees, and grating over the
loose pebbles which filled the channels
made by the rapid descent of water
during heavy rains; but that cry of
horror and affright was not repeated,
and in a few moments all was still upon
the dark and lonely hill.

‘It is the great stone!’ said one with
bated breath.

‘Poor fellow,’ ejaculated the other,
// 156l.png
.pn +1
with a shudder. ‘If it has fallen on
him, he is crushed!’

‘Let us look for him,’ said the first.
‘Hush! I thought I heard a groan.’

They listened, but heard nothing, save
the sighing of the night wind among the
trees, and they went towards the spot
from which Monteagle had fallen, and followed
the track of the displaced stone,
which was marked by broken boughs and
torn herbage, down the hill. About fifty
yards down they found our hero lying
against a bush, which had arrested his
further progress. The night was too dark
for them to perceive the full extent of
the injuries which he had received, but
the inertness of the body when lifted
from the ground, gave but faint hope
that vitality remained. A rude litter was
made of boughs, and the crushed body
being placed upon it, was borne down the
hill and across the meadows to a little
ranch not far from the place.
.sp 2
.hr 20%
.sp 4
.h2
CHAPTER XVI
.sp 2
A rude chorus that was being sung,
or rather shouted by several coarse and
desperate-looking men, who were seated
around a table in a back room of a very
low cabaret, and which was never visited
only by the most depraved persons who
resided in, or resorted to the neighborhood.
They were thieves, and if anything
could be judged from their countenances,
they were capable of doing the
most desperate deeds. The table was
covered with glasses containing gin, rum,
// 156r.png
.pn +1
and brandy, and of which they had all
been evidently partaking very freely,
and they were smoking as hard as they
were able.

There was a large wood fire upon the
hearth; and the red glare it cast upon
their features, gave them almost a supernatural
appearance, and altogether the
scene was as effective as one of those
that are often represented in a melodrama.
Obscene jokes and songs had
been freely indulged in, and it did not
seem as if they were inclined to leave off
for some time. It was night, and the
wind blew boisterous without, but the
ruffians were making such a riot, that
they heeded it not; and they were evidently
determined to enjoy themselves to
the most unlimited extent.

‘Drink away, my lads,’ said one Mike,
raising the glass to his lips as he spoke;—‘drink
away; we ought to be merry,
for Fortune never smiled more brightly
upon us than she has done for some
time past.’

‘Ay, you say right, Mike,’ observed a
tall, dark whiskered man, whom the
thieves called Joe; ‘but leave us alone
for doing business, and for availing themselves
of fortune’s favors when they are
to be obtained. Cap’n a toast!’

‘Ay, a toast; a toast;’ responded the
others.

Mike raised a large glass, filled to the
brim in his hand, and said;—

‘Well, my lads, I will give you a
toast, and that shall be, Success to our
dare-devil gang!’

‘Bravo! bravo!’ shouted the thieves.
‘Here’s to the dare-devil gang!’

‘A capital toast,’ said Mike; ‘and well
responded to. With your leave, I will
propose another.’

‘Ay, ay, a toast from Mike,’ shouted
// 157l.png
.pn +1
two or three of the thieves, amongst whom
he was a particular favorite; ‘a toast
from Mike.’

‘Fill your glasses then, my boys,’ said
Mike; ‘bumpers! bumpers!’

The thieves needed no second invitation
to do as Mike desired, and the glasses
were very quickly replenished.

‘Here’s confusion to the Vigilance
Committee!’ was Mike’s toast; and it
was followed by loud shouts from every
one in the room; the landlord of the
house at that moment entering, and
joining loudly in acclamation of it.

‘Ah!’ observed Joe,—‘they have found
us rather troublesome customers to deal
with, and will again if they should venture
to attack us.’

‘I don’t think that there is much fear
of that,’ returned Mike; ‘for we keep
too well out of their clutches, and have
met with such a career of success, that
we may set them at defiance!’

‘Ay, ay,’ answered Mike; ‘and may
we be always able to do so; and all
those daring fellows, who will run the
risk to live a free life.’

‘But Jenkins,’ asked Mike, ‘do you
not think that it was a very foolish thing
for us to loose so much time in affecting
the accomplishment of this plot of Blodget’s?’

‘Certainly not,’ returned Jenkins;
‘Blodget has well rewarded us, and it
will ultimately pay us much better than
a trip to the mines would have done.’

‘How?’ demanded Mike.

‘Why, Blodget must continue to do
the thing that’s liberal, or else his game
will be up,’ replied Jenkins. ‘The lady
is in our power, and we must continue
to keep her so; if Blodget does not come
to our terms, why, Old de Castro, no
// 157r.png
.pn +1
doubt, will, and, therefore, we are sure
of a reward one way or the other.’

‘Yes, the gallows!’ observed one of the
thieves, who had been sitting apart from
the rest, and smoking his cigar heartily,
did not seem to feel any particular interest
in what was passing.

‘There’s Ben at his croaking again,’
said Mike; ‘he seems to take a delight
in—’

‘Speaking the truth,’ added Ben, in a
quiet tone; ‘it is very unpleasant to
hear it sometimes.’

‘Pshaw! don’t make yourself a fool,
Ben,’ exclaimed Jenkins; ‘any one would
suppose, to hear you talk, that you had
become tired of a thief’s life. But what
think ye of my determination, my lads?’

‘It is a famous one,’ answered Mike,
‘and cannot fail to work us good.’

‘It must add much to our coffers one
way or another,’ resumed Jenkins; ‘and
I take no small credit to myself for the
thought; besides, you know that we
have the fellow, Blodget, entirely in our
power, that murder, which—’

‘Right, right,’ interrupted Mike; ‘if
that were known, it would not be long
before Mr. Blodget would swing upon a
gallows.’

‘Indeed it would not,’ returned Jenkins;
‘and he knows that, and dreads
us. The lady is a beautiful woman, and
I almost envy him his prize; but something
may yet happen to place her in
my possession instead of his, and I do
not know that I should be over nice
about availing myself of such an opportunity.’

At this moment, between the pauses
of the blast, they heard a loud knocking
at the door, and they looked at each
other suspiciously, and starting involuntarily
// 158l.png
.pn +1
to their feet, placed their hands
upon their revolvers, and prepared for
action in case they should be surprised.

‘Who is there?’ demanded the landlord.

‘It is only I, Blodget,’ was the answer,
and being satisfied that it was his voice,
the door was cautiously opened, and the
villain entered. He greeted them all
heartily, and then, by the invitation of
Jenkins, having taken his seat at the table,
the mirth of the gang was resumed,
and carried on with increased spirit,
Blodget joining in with as much freedom
as if he had been one of the gang.

‘Well, Mr. Blodget,’ asked Jenkins,
‘and don’t you think I managed this
business very well for you?’

‘Aye, Jenkins,’ answered Blodget; ‘you
did everything that I could wish; but
think you she will be safe where she is?’

‘Safe!’ repeated Jenkins; ‘as safe as
when she was buried deep in the bowels
of the earth. Gordon is just the man
who will take care of her.’

‘That is well,’ replied Blodget; ‘but
it is not unlikely that I shall not have
any occasion to trouble him long.’

‘Why, you would never be such a
fool as to attempt to remove her from a
place of security?’ demanded Jenkins.

‘Circumstances may compel me so to
do.’

‘I understand you; but we must see
about the best means of preventing all
chance of that,’ said Jenkins; ‘you
have been a lucky fellow, Blodget, to
get the lady in your power and at your
mercy; it is glorious revenge.’

‘It is, it is!’ answered Blodget; ‘but
not sufficient to gratify me.’

‘No?’

‘No!’

‘What would you, then?’
// 158r.png
.pn +1

‘I would have the life of Monteagle.’

‘Ah! would you, then, again commit
murder?’

‘Hold!’ said Blodget; ‘mention not
my former crime; I cannot think of it
without horror.’

‘And yet you can contemplate another
deed equally as sanguinary?’

‘Yes, the death of the detested Monteagle
I can contemplate, coolly contemplate;
and I shall never rest satisfied
until it is accomplished.’

‘And would you dare to perpetrate it
yourself?’ asked Jenkins.

‘I dare,’ answered Blodget; ‘were he
to cross my path; but were I to follow
him to the Mission, or wherever he may
be, I should in all probability be discovered,
and taken prisoner, and then all
my schemes would at once be frustrated.
If any one would undertake to commit
the crime, I would not fail to reward
them handsomely.’

‘I see,’ said Jenkins; ‘you would
have me or one of my men perpetrate
the deed of blood!’

‘I care not who it is, so that it is a
man on whom I can depend.’

‘And the reward?’

‘A thousand dollars!’

‘It shall be done.’

‘Ah! say you so? when?’

‘Come, come, you are in too much of
a hurry; and there is never anything done
well where so much precipitation is used.
We must first ascertain where Monteagle
is.’

‘And that we may have some difficulty
at present in finding out,’ said Blodget,
‘for, doubtless, he has gone in search
of Inez. My heart throbs impatiently
for the accomplishment of the deed, and
I shall not rest until I am sure that Monteagle
is no more.’
// 159l.png
.pn +1

‘On your promise of the reward you
have mentioned, the deed shall, by some
means or other, be despatched,’ replied
Jenkins; ‘but you must wait with patience,
and we will not lose any time or
opportunity to discover where he is, and
to put our plans into execution.’

‘This assurance gratifies me, and I am
satisfied that you will not deceive me!’

‘You have had no reason to doubt me
hitherto,’ returned Jenkins; ‘and, therefore,
there is no occasion to do so now, I
believe.’

‘But have you any idea how to proceed?’
asked Blodget.

‘In the first place,’ returned Jenkins—‘It
will be the best plan to send one of
the gang to the Mission, in disguise. He
may be able to learn the proceedings of
Monteagle, and probably find out where
he is.’

‘I agree with your design,’ said Blodget,
in reply; ‘and should it meet with
success, I shall not be very particular in
giving a few additional dollars to the sum
already promised. But Inez, for whom I
have run such a risk, still remains obstinate;
and I do not think I shall be able
to conquer her aversion in a hurry.’

‘And of what consequence will that be
as she is in your power, she must yield
to your wishes, or you can gain your desires
by force.’

‘Force! but I would rather that persuasion
would prevail; as notwithstanding
my passion, I cannot bear the idea of violence.’

‘Why, true, it would be much better
if it were avoided,’ observed Jenkins, ‘but
come, drink!’

‘Here’s success to all our undertakings,’
said Blodget; and he quaffed off
the contents of his glass.

‘Success to all our undertakings,’ responded
// 159r.png
.pn +1
the thieves and the toast was
drank tumultuously.

‘You have been a fortunate fellow,
Blodget, throughout your whole career,
and have, no doubt, accumulated some
money.’

‘Why,’ returned Blodget, with a self-satisfied
grin; ‘I have not much cause to
grumble. But then I have had to depend
upon my own wit and ingenuity.’

‘Well, certainly, Blodget, you are a
most perfect villain.’

‘I believe I may lay some slight claim
to the character.’

‘Not a very slight one either,’ remarked
Jenkins.

‘You pay me a very high compliment.’

‘Ha! ha! ha!’

‘But who among your gang will undertake
the murder?’

Jenkins looked round upon his fellows,
but in not one of their countenances,
reckless and determined as they were,
did he notice any signs of a desire to
undertake the sanguinary deed.

‘Who among ye is willing to earn
this reward?’ he asked.

There was no answer. Blodget became
impatient.

‘What! are ye all silent?’ asked Jenkins.

No one offered to speak.

‘What say you Mike?’

‘I like not the shedding of human
blood when it can be avoided,’ he answered;
‘if, however, Jenkins, you order
me to perpetrate this crime, although it
is against my inclination, I will obey
you: if I am permitted to use my own
free will, I say I will not commit the
crime. Will that answer suffice?’

‘It will,’ said Jenkins; ‘but Joe, you
will not refuse the thousand dollars?’
// 160l.png
.pn +1

‘I would not stain my hands with innocent
blood for twenty times one thousand
dollars, unless it was by your command,’
was the answer.

‘And Ben, what say you?’

‘I am a robber, ready to defend myself
and my comrades from an attack; but I
am not a cold-blooded deliberate murderer;’
replied Ben.

‘Damnation!’ cried Blodget, fiercely;
and he arose from his seat and hastily
traversed the room.

‘Be patient,’ said Jenkins; ‘this matter
will be arranged, quicker than you
could possibly expect. You see, Blodget,
although they are desperate men,
they are not quite such atrocious monsters
as they have been thought by
many.’

‘They are cowards if they shrink from
the—’

Before he could finish the sentence,
the thieves were all upon their feet, and
by their menacing looks, threatened vengeance.

‘Hold!’ cried Blodget, and they all
immediately resumed their seats, although
it was very evident that the observations
of Blodget had greatly enraged them,
and there were many scowling brows,
which convinced the villain that he had
proceeded almost too far.

‘Blodget,’ continued Jenkins, after a
pause; ‘you should be cautious in what
you say, my men are not used to hearing
such terms applied to them, nor do they
merit it.’ If Jenkins thought he had a
coward amongst his gang, he would hang
him up to the first tree he came to.

‘I was wrong; I was wrong;’ hastily
apologized Blodget; ‘and I hope they
will pardon me.’

‘That is enough,’ observed Jenkins;
// 160r.png
.pn +1
then turning again towards his men, he
demanded—

‘And, so you all refuse to do this
deed?’

‘We do;’ was the answer from them
all; ‘we shed not human blood only in
our own defence.’

‘One amongst ye shall do the deed,
since I have promised this man, and will
not recall my word;’ said Jenkins peremptorily.

There was a discontented murmuring
arose from among the thieves.

‘What means this murmuring?’ demanded
Jenkins, and his eyes glanced
fiercely upon them; ‘is there one among
ye who would dare to disobey my commands?’

‘I will answer for all my comrades,
and say, no,’ said Ben; ‘but we would
avoid an unnecessary deed of blood, and
especially under the circumstances.’

‘I have given my word, and it shall be
kept;’ said Jenkins firmly; ‘you must cast
lots!’

The thieves still looked dissatisfied at
this determination, and glanced significantly
at each other, but they did not
say a word. They scowled upon Blodget,
who, however, did not take much
heed of them, certain as he was, that
while the captain of the gang was on his
side, he had nothing to fear from any act
of violence they might otherwise contemplate
towards him.

Reluctantly they were about to cast
lots, when there was the well-known signal
heard at the room door, which being
opened, Gordon was admitted.

‘Ah!’ exclaimed Blodget, ‘you have
just come in time, Gordon; I have a proposition
to make to you.’

‘Name it,’ answered the ruffian.
// 161l.png
.pn +1

Jenkins repeated the question he had
put to the others. Gordon appeared to
catch at the idea, and the thieves eagerly
awaited his reply, anxious to be released
from the perpetration of a crime, from
which they all revolted.

Gordon did not make any immediate
answer, and he appeared to be meditating
upon the proposal.

‘Do you also hesitate, Gordon?’ inquired
the captain;—‘you were not always
so particular.’

‘I do not hesitate, only for one reason;’
returned the miscreant.

‘Name it!’ said Blodget.

‘Let Blodget give two thousand dollars,
and the deed shall be accomplished,’
was the villain’s answer.

‘It shall be yours,’ ejaculated Blodget.

‘Enough!’ said Gordon, ‘I have your
word that the money shall be paid, and
Jenkins, no doubt, will be answerable that
you do not fly from your agreement?’

‘I will,’ returned the captain.

‘There is no occasion for it,’ observed
Blodget, ‘if you do not deceive me, I
will not deceive you.’

‘You had better not,’ said Gordon,
with a sinister look.

‘You have good security for my keeping
my promise,’ added Blodget; ‘let
the deed be done, and the money shall
immediately be yours.’

‘But if I should fail?’

‘If you do not wilfully fail, then one
half the money shall be your reward for
your trouble,’ said Blodget.

‘Enough,’ replied Gordon, ‘then the
bargain is sealed; I will undertake the
hazardous deed.’

‘Thanks, thanks!’ said the blood-thirsty
Blodget; ‘perform your task
well, and you will have my eternal gratitude.’
// 161r.png
.pn +1

‘Pshaw!’ cried the ruffian, with a
sardonic grin; ‘of what use is gratitude
to me? It is not a marketable commodity.
But what about the care of Inez?’

‘Blodget will reside in the house during
your absence, and I will leave Joe
to assist him in his charge,’ replied the
captain.

‘That arrangement will do,’ said Gordon,
after a pause.

‘When will you start on your expedition?’
inquired Blodget.

‘Immediately. There is no necessity
for delay,’ answered Gordon.

‘’Tis well,’ observed Blodget; ‘but
you will go disguised?’

‘Oh, leave me alone for that,’ returned
Gordon. ‘I have more reasons than one
not to wish to be known; or the first
news that you heard of me would, in all
probability be, that I was the inmate of
a prison. I will so disguise myself that
it must be a penetrating eye, indeed
which could recognize me.’

‘To-morrow, then?’

‘I quit this place, and make my way
for the Mission,’ rejoined Gordon.

‘True; and to meet with success, I
trust.’

‘It shall not be my fault, if I do not.’

‘You will forward us intelligence when
you arrive there; for I shall be all impatience
till I hear from you;’ said Blodget.

‘I will,’ replied Gordon, ‘unless I see
that there would be any danger in so doing.’

‘Certainly.’

‘And now that this business is settled,’
observed Jenkins, ‘let us proceed to enjoy
ourselves—come, my lads, replenish
your glasses.’

The thieves obeyed this order with hilarity,
and the villain Blodget being satisfied
// 162l.png
.pn +1
with the inhuman design he had
formed, and the atrocious wretch who
had undertaken to accomplish it, joined
heartily with them in their revelry, which
they kept up for more than an hour afterwards,
when Blodget, Gordon, and Joe
returned to the house, and the captain
and the rest of the thieves departed.

Blodget felt a savage sensation of delight
fill his bosom, at the prospect of
the full consummation of his most diabolical
hatred and revenge against Monteagle;
and he entertained the most sanguine
anticipations of the success of his
plot. Gordon was a deep, designing,
and determined villain, and he had no
doubt but that the reward which he had
promised him, would induce him to exert
himself to the uttermost.

‘Yes,’ he soliloquized, when he was
alone in his chamber, after parting with
Gordon and Joe for the night; ‘I feel
confident that Gordon will not fail, and,
that ere many weeks have elapsed, my
hated foe will be no more. Oh, this will
be goodly revenge. Inez, too, will then
be securely mine, and nothing will release
her from my power!’

The wretch paced his chamber, as he
thus spoke, and his eyes sparkled with
exultation. He pictured to himself in
imagination, the unbounded bliss that
was in store for him in the gratification
of his sensual and disgusting passions,
and he determined that but a short time
should elapse, ere he would have the full
accomplishment of all his wishes. He
slept but little that night, for thinking
upon his villainous stratagems, and when
he reflected that he was beneath the same
roof with the unfortunate Inez, and had
it in his power to force her to an immediate
compliance with his wishes, he
// 162r.png
.pn +1
could with difficulty keep his ecstasy
within the bounds of reason.

In the morning Gordon, after having
so disguised himself that no person could
by any possibility recognize him, and having
received some fresh instructions and
injunctions from Blodget, took his departure
on his inhuman errand, and Blodget
and Joe, with an old woman, were left
alone in the house.

We need not inform the reader of the
distracting hours of misery Inez had undergone
since her incarceration in the
house. Her sufferings were almost too
powerful for human endurance, and it
was wonderful how she could retain her
senses. Her agonizing thoughts were
divided between her own situation and
that of her father, and her disordered imagination
pictured them, if possible, more
dreadful than they actually were.

‘I shall never behold him again,’ she
sighed, and scalding tears chased each
other down her pale cheeks; ‘alas! I am
torn from them forever. Or, if we should
be again destined to meet, under what
circumstances may it not be? Myself,
perhaps, dishonored—heart-broken; my
poor father a raving maniac. Oh, Heavens!
the picture that arises upon my imagination
is too horrible for contemplation.’

She wrung her hands, and traversed
her gloomy chamber with a trembling
step.

‘To be beneath the same roof with a
murderer, too,’ she added, ‘and that, too,
a murderer of the blackest dye! Oh,
God! have I not good reason to be distracted?
That terrible night when I
overheard the wretches conversing upon
the monstrous crime of which they had
been guilty—when I saw them inter the
// 163l.png
.pn +1
mangled body of the poor white-haired
old man, their unfortunate victim, comes
fresh upon my memory as if it had only
been just enacted. My heart seems chilled
to ice; oh, surely the misfortunes
that have since attended me have been a
curse upon me for not having given such
information of the circumstance as might
have led to the apprehension of the assassins.
The unfortunate old man’s bones
moulder in unhallowed ground, and his
blood calls to Heaven for retribution.’

She trembled violently, and almost
imagined that she heard a melancholy
sigh breathed close to her ear. She
staggered to a chair and leant upon it for
support, fearing to look around her, lest
she should encounter the ghastly and
blood-stained face of the murdered man.

All was profoundly still in the house,
and the miscreants who inhabited it
seemed to be locked in the arms of sleep.
Sleep! how could wretches whose consciences
were burthened with such a
heavy weight of crime, sleep?

The light in the lamp burnt dim, and
imparted a still more gloomy appearance
to the chamber; and the wind howled
dismally without, increasing the horrors
of that solemn hour. Inez seated herself
by the side of her bed, and, after a
pause, did once more venture to look
around the room, but nothing but of an
ordinary description met her observation.

‘What dreadful crimes may they not
have perpetrated in this house! in this
very chamber!’ She once more reflected,
and again her terrors arose to a pitch
almost insupportable.

The light in her lamp, which had for
some time only been faintly glimmering,
now suddenly died away, and our heroine
was left in utter darkness. How she
longed for the morning, and that she had
// 163r.png
.pn +1
some female companion near her in that
dismal place, if it was only the repulsive
old woman; some one to whom she
could speak; but silent and dreary was
everything around her, it was like being
confined in a tomb. She had kept the
embers of the fire together as long as
she could, but that had also become extinguished,
and the room felt cold as it
was dismal and cheerless.

At length she crept into the bed with
her clothes on, and covered her head
with the counterpane, filled with a sensation
of terror, she found it utterly impossible
to conquer. She endeavored to
sleep; but her mind was too much distressed
to suffer her to succeed, and she
tossed to and fro in a state of agitation,
which no one but those who have been
placed in a similar situation, can form an
adequate idea of. The interview she had
had with Blodget, rushed upon her
memory, and she recollected every word
that he had spoken, and which had
given her every reason to apprehend the
worse consequences from his determination.
Even the sight of that inhuman
man inspired her with a feeling of horror
no language can do justice to, and she
dreaded a meeting with him as much as
she would have done the most fearful
calamity which could have befallen her.

‘But I will be firm,’ she reflected; ‘I
will muster up all my woman’s fortitude,
strong in the defence of her honor, to
meet him, and oppose his importunities
in a manner that shall deter him from
proceeding to violence. Providence
surely will not forsake me in this moment
of bitter trial, but will throw its
protecting shield over me, and defeat the
brutal designs of the libertine and the
miscreant! Yes, I will put my trust in
Heaven, and prepare to meet my heavy
// 164l.png
.pn +1
trials with a firmness and resolution becoming
of me!’

These thoughts somewhat composed
her spirits, and after a short time spent
in further rumination, she did at last sink
into a disturbed slumber, in which she
remained until the sun had risen in the
eastern horizon.

She arose, not in the least refreshed,
and had not been up many minutes when
she heard the key turning in the lock,
and soon afterwards the old woman entered
with the breakfast.

She placed them on the table, and then
fixed upon our heroine a scrutinizing look,
and shook her head.

‘Well,’ said she, in her usual disagreeable
tones;—‘pale cheeks and red eyes;
no sleep again, I suppose, it puzzles me
how you young women can live without
rest? when I was your age, nothing could
ever prevent my sleeping.’

‘When the mind is oppressed with
such unprecedented and heavy sorrows
as those that disturb mine,’ answered Inez—‘if
it is not entirely insensible, sleep
may be courted in vain.’

‘Pho! how very melancholy and dismal
you do look, to be sure,’ answered
the old woman; ‘any one would imagine
that you had experienced all the
troubles in the world; but stop till you
become my age, and then you may have
cause to complain.’

‘Some person’s troubles,’ returned Inez;
‘are brought on them by themselves; by
their own vices, and—’

‘Ah!’ interrupted the old woman, snappishly;
‘no doubt you think that a very
pointed and sarcastic observation, but, as
the cap don’t happen to fit me, I shall
not wear it. Mr. Blodget will pay you
a visit presently, and perhaps you may
// 164r.png
.pn +1
deem it prudent to behave a little more
civil to him.’

Inez shuddered.

‘Oh, tell me,’ she said; ‘is he in the
house?’

‘Oh, yes, to be sure he is,’ answered
the old woman; ‘for he has taken up
his quarters here altogether now, and
therefore you will have plenty of his
company.’

‘Living in the same house,’ muttered
our heroine to herself, and she trembled
more violently than before; ‘alas! what
will become of me?’

‘Oh, no doubt he will take plenty of
care of you, young lady,’ answered the
old woman, with a bitter sneer.

‘He shall find,’ said Inez, mustering
up sudden firmness, and speaking in a
tone that astonished and abashed the old
woman, ‘he shall find that I have both
the spirit and the virtue to resist his importunities,
and Heaven will aid me to
defeat his design. The guilty wretch;
surely for his many crimes a terrible retribution
must be now pending o’er his
head.’

‘The spirit you boast of, young lady,’
said the old woman, ‘I have no doubt
will be very quickly turned, or Mr. Blodget
is not half so accomplished as I take
him to be.’

Inez darted upon her a look of disgust
and indignation, but she could not make
her any reply, and after making two or
three observations of a similar description,
the old woman quitted the room.

We need not attempt to describe the
feelings of our heroine when the old woman
had gone: the disgusting observations
of the old woman, and the fearful
prospects which was before her, filled her
bosom with the utmost consternation,
// 165l.png
.pn +1
and although she tried very hard to rally
her spirits, and prepare to meet Blodget
with fortitude, it was some considerable
time before she had it in her power to
succeed. To know that Blodget was an
inmate of the same house with her, was
sufficient of itself to excite the greatest
agony in her bosom; and when she reflected
that it was not probable that he
would longer be able to restrain his wild,
unbridled passions, and that any resistance
on her part, would be completely
futile, she became almost distracted.—Alas!
she thought, how much more preferable
would death have been to the
state of agony in which she was thus
constantly kept. It was only for the
sake of Monteagle and her father, whom
she could not entirely despair of beholding
again, that she clung to life, and had
she not had them to occupy her thoughts,
and her heart’s warmest affections, she
would have met death with fortitude,
nay, even pleasure. What had been the
last few days of her life, but of misery?
All mankind had seemed arrayed in enmity
against her, and few indeed were
the real friends she had found. Her tears
flowed fast at these thoughts, and they
gave relief to her overcharged bosom.

At length she struggled with her emotions,
and so far regained her composure,
that she was enabled to partake of the
repast which the old woman brought her,
and to prepare to meet Blodget, whom
she had no doubt, and indeed the old
woman had said he would, visit her in a
short time.

She had but just risen from her knees
having implored the protection of the
Holy Virgin, when she heard footsteps
ascending the stairs, and directly afterwards,
her room door was unlocked, and
// 165r.png
.pn +1
the object of her fears and detestation
entered.

He stood in the doorway for a minute
or two, and it was hard to perceive
whether he was awed and abashed by the
calm dignity and firmness of her demeanor,
or lost in admiration of her superlative
beauty—still most exquisite, although
her once blooming cheeks were
pale and wan with heavy care.

Inez had mustered up uncommon fortitude,
and, as Blodget entered, she fixed
upon him a look which was sufficient to
penetrate the most insensible breast. It
was one of the most cutting reproach,
while resentment, and a firm reliance upon
the strength of her own virtue, and
the protection of heaven, shown predominant
in the general expression of her
resistance, and approaching her with a
look of admiration which could create no
other sentiment than one of hatred in
her breast, he attempted to take her hand
and press her lips, but she hastily withdrew
it and, spurning him scornfully
away from her, exclaimed—

‘Begone, sir, your presence is disgusting
to me. Dare not thus to insult the
victim of your guilt.’

‘Who’s the master, now, fair Inez?’
demanded the villain, and a look of exultation
overspread his features; ‘who
triumphs now?’

‘Oh, villain—heartless villain!’ cried
Inez, her bosom swelling with agony,
‘can you stand there and talk to me
thus? Are you not afraid that the vengeance
of the Almighty will immediately
descend upon your head, and render you
powerless to do further harm?’

‘I scorn it.’

Inez shuddered with horror at the
words of the wretch; who, however,
// 166l.png
.pn +1
presently altered his tone, and once more
endeavoring to take her hand, which she
successfully resisted, he assumed an insinuating
smile, and in a voice of gentle
persuasion, said—

‘Pray pardon me, beauteous Inez, if I
have been led into the expression of
words that have caused anguish to your
feelings; but the injuries I have received
from Monteagle—’

‘’Tis false!’ scornfully replied our heroine,
and her brilliant eyes appeared to
flash fire; ‘Monteagle never injured you,
but you was ever the serpent in his
bosom, waiting an opportunity to destroy
his peace, and you have yourself acknowledged
the same, and expressed
your inhuman exultation at the misery
which you have caused him.’

‘Well,’ returned Blodget, with the utmost
coolness, and the boldness of his
manner increasing, ‘I will not deny it,
because there is no necessity for my so
doing, as the power is now mine. I have
already had a terrible revenge, but still
it is not complete, and never will I rest
until it is wholly accomplished.’

‘Oh, Blodget!’ ejaculated Inez, her
fortitude failing her when she saw the
villain’s recklessness and determination,
and reflected that she was entirely in his
power, and left solely to his mercy, or the
interposition of Providence, ‘will nothing
induce you to relent in your cruelty?’

‘Nothing,’ answered Blodget, ‘until I
have gained the full gratification of my
wishes, and the consummation of all my
hopes. Then only shall I be satisfied.’

‘What mean you?’

‘You will behold Monteagle no more.’

‘Oh, God!’ ejaculated Inez, and her
heart throbbed heavily against her side,
her cheeks turned ashy pale, and her
limbs trembled violently as a dread of
// 166r.png
.pn +1
something terrible about to take place,
through the guilty machinations of the
wretch who stood before her, darted
upon her brain; ‘cruel as you are, surely
you would not seek his life?’

A grim and sardonic smile passed over
the features of Blodget as she gave utterance
to these words, but he returned
no answer; his looks spoke more than
words, and had a thunderbolt at that moment
descended upon her head, Inez
could not have felt more paralyzed and
awe-struck than she did at that time.
With distended eye-lids, she fixed upon
him a look which was sufficient to have
penetrated even the most obdurate heart,
and to carry awe to the guilty soul; her
features became stern and fixed; her
lips parted but she uttered no sound, and,
suddenly approaching the astonished
Blodget, she grasped his arm vehemently,
and looked full upon him. Blodget could
not help, in spite of all his hardihood,
shuddering beneath her gaze, and the
singularity of her behavior, but he was
not a minute before he completely recovered
himself, and looking coolly and
indifferently upon her, awaited what she
had got to say without first offering any
observation of his own.

‘Blodget!’ at length ejaculated our
heroine, in a solemn tone of voice, and
with her brilliant and expressive eyes
still fixed with the same earnestness of
expression upon his countenance; ‘Blodget,
in the name of that Almighty power
who guides all our actions, and before
whose dread tribunal you must some
time or the other appear, however much
at present you may despise His name—by
all your hopes of forgiveness for the
many and heinous crimes you have committed,
I charge you tell me—solemnly
tell me, what are your wicked designs?’
// 167l.png
.pn +1

‘Psha!’ cried Blodget, and a fearful
smile again overspread his countenance.

‘Nay, I command you, in the name of
the most High, to set my horrible fears
at rest, and tell me,’ demanded Inez, and
her heart throbbed more violently than
ever, and her whole soul seemed to be
wrapped up in the answer which Blodget
would return to her; and she appeared
as if she would drag the secret from his
heart with her eyes.

‘Enough of this,’ at last said Blodget,
‘I came not here to talk upon a subject
like this, and—’

‘Heartless miscreant!’ interrupted
Inez, ‘too well can I read in your dark
and portentous looks the base design
you have in contemplation. But Heaven
will interpose to prevent the execution
of your infamous intention, and to save
Monteagle from your monstrous machinations.’

‘We shall see,’ returned Blodget, with
the same consummate coolness he had before
evinced; ‘we shall see. But hear
me, Inez—’

‘I will not listen to you, until you have
answered my question,’ observed Inez
‘your very words are as poison to my
soul.’

‘But you must and shall hear me,’ exclaimed
the other, with a determined air,
and once more endeavoring to take our
heroine’s hand; ‘you are securely in my
power, and think you that I will be
frightened from my purpose by an obstinate
woman’s heroics. I come to offer
you my love; you reject it, but that
shall not avail you, for force shall make
you comply with my wishes. As for
Monteagle, I tell you once again you will
see him no more.’

The courage of Inez completely failed
her, tears gushed to her eyes, and, sinking
// 167r.png
.pn +1
upon her knees, with clasped hands,
she supplicated the ruffian’s forbearance;
but she pleaded to a heart callous to every
sense of feeling: he gazed upon her
emotion with indifference, and he exulted
at the manner in which he had subdued
her spirit, and flattered himself that,
in time, she would be entirely conquered,
and made to yield subserviently to his
will. However, he endeavored to disguise
his real feelings, and, assuming as
mild an expression as he could, he raised
Inez from the posture in which she had
been kneeling, and affected to smile kindly
upon her. For the moment she was
deceived by his looks, and hope suddenly
darted upon her mind.

‘You will relent,’ she ejaculated, ‘that
smile assures me that you will. You
cannot, surely, be so cruel as to seek the
life of Monteagle. Has not the anguish
you have already caused him, and the
miseries he is at present undergoing, all
through you, been the means of sufficiently
appeasing your vengeance? Oh,
Blodget! repent ere it is too late, and restore
me to my friends, and again I promise
you that you shall receive my pardon
and that of those who are dear to me, although
the injury you have inflicted on
them and me is almost irreparable. If
there is one spark of humanity in your
breast, if there is the smallest portion of
that feeling remaining in your heart, towards
that sex who claims protection
from every man, I shall not supplicate in
vain; you will accede to my request,
and once more open to me the doors of
liberty; and suffer me to fly once more
to the arms of my father—my poor bereaved
parent!’

‘Beauteous Inez,’ returned the wretch;
‘this is madness, and a silly waste of
time. Think you, then, that after all the
// 168l.png
.pn +1
trouble I have taken, the risks I have
run, and the plans I have laid down to
get you in my power, that I will now
quietly resign you? Think you that I
would place myself at the mercy of my
enemies? No, no! you must give up
all idea of such a thing, and, henceforth,
look upon me in the same light as your
husband, for you and I must not again
easily separate! You must yield to my
wishes, and that speedily; I would have
you do so of your own free will; but if,
after a given time you still remain foolishly
obstinate, then must I, however
much it may be against my wishes, use
force. Resistance, you perceive, will be
in vain, and therefore, I advise you to
make up your mind to assent without it;
then shall you receive every attention
from me, and I will behave in a manner
that shall leave you no cause to regret
your separation from your father.’

‘Fiend in human shape,’ ejaculated
Inez, ‘leave me! My soul freezes with
horror as I listen to you! But I will
not entirely despair, although you have
bid me to do so; Heaven will interpose
to prevent the execution of your base
threats.’

‘Did Heaven interpose to prevent my
getting you in my power?’ inquired
Blodget, with a sardonic grin. ‘Once
more I tell you, you shall be mine, and
nothing shall save you!’

‘Never, villain!’ cried Inez.

‘Be cautions what you say, lady, lest
you exasperate me,’ returned Blodget,
with a threatening frown, which made
our heroine tremble; ‘you forget that I
could this day—this very moment—force
you to a compliance with my wishes,
and where is there one near at hand who
could come to save you?’

‘By Heavens I would die first!’
// 168r.png
.pn +1

‘Bah!’ sneered Blodget; ‘but I am
tired of this useless contest of words;
you know my determination, and rest assured
that I will only await a very few
days for your answer, and then, if you
do not consent, you know the consequences.’

‘Once more I pray your mercy,’ said
the distracted Inez, with clasped hands,
and looks of earnest supplication; ‘beware!
oh, beware! ere you proceed to
extremities.’

‘You have it in your power to move
me to pity and love, fair Inez,’ returned
Blodget; ‘one smile from you, one word
of affection from those ruby lips would
act with the influence of magic upon
me and make me quite a different man.
Blodget would then live alone for love
and you; and there should not be a
pleasure which it should not be my constant
endeavor to procure you.’

Inez turned from the villain with a
look of the utmost disgust, and she
groaned aloud in the intensity of her
anguished feelings. Blodget advanced
nearer to her, and sought to put his
arms around her waist, but the action
immediately aroused her, and retreating
to the further end of the room, she fixed
upon him such a look as awed him into
immediate forbearance.

‘Still madly obstinate!’ he exclaimed;
‘but time must alter this proud beauty,
and you must yield to the desires of
Blodget, however repugnant it may be
to your feelings. At present I leave you,
but shortly you will behold me again,
and then I trust that you will see the
policy of giving me a more favorable reception
than you have done this morning.’

As he spoke, Blodget fixed one glance
of expressive meaning, and then quitting
// 169l.png
.pn +1
the room, he securely fastened the door
after him.

‘The perverse woman,’ he soliloquized,
as he walked away; ‘but she must
be subdued;—she must be subdued;
Blodget cannot much longer endure her
resistance. Oh, did she but know the
plot I have formed against the life of
Monteagle—but I said quite enough to
arouse her fears, although I now wish
that I had not done so, as it would be
sure not to promote my wishes. I wish
not to have to use violence, or I could
do so directly; no, my greater triumph
would be to prevail upon her to give
her own free consent, and that would
add to the gratification of my revenge.
Blodget, if you fail in this, it will be the
first time that you have failed in any of
your undertakings.’

The villain walked away, and after
giving strict injunctions to Joe to keep
safe watch over his charge, he bent his
footsteps towards the cabaret, at which
he and the thieves had been the night
before carousing, and where, in a back
room, he could commune with his own
thoughts, without any fear of interruption.
.sp 2
.hr 20%
.sp 4
.h2
CHAPTER XVI||<I>The Critical Move—Attempted Escape.</I>
.sp 2
When Blodget had retired from the
room, our heroine gave vent to the painful
feelings which her interview with him
had excited in her bosom; and hope
seemed to have faded entirely away from
her mind; for if the villain remained obstinately
resolved to put his diabolical
threats into execution, what means had
she of resisting him? None! Then
// 169r.png
.pn +1
again the hints he had given convinced
her that he had some base design in his
mind.

She was aroused from these reflections
by the entrance of the old woman who
had come to do something in her
apartment, and whose disagreeable looks
assured our heroine that she took a pleasure
in tormenting her, and saying anything
which she thought might excite
her feelings, and Inez, therefore, determined
to avoid conversing with her, as
much as she possibly could. The old
woman, however, appeared to be determined
that she should not escape so
easily; for the words she had so pointedly
directed to her in the morning, remained
in her memory; and after having
eyed her with an insolent glance for a
second or two, she ejaculated, in her
usual harsh but querulous tones:—

‘I hope your ladyship feels happier after
the interview you have had with your
lover, and that the observations he has
addressed to you, have met your approbation.
Oh, he is a very nice gentleman!
He! he! he!’

And the disgusting old woman croaked
forth a laugh, which could scarcely
have been imagined to have been uttered
by anything but a witch; and appeared
to think that she had spoken very
wittily and sarcastically. But Inez did
not deign to condescend her any answer,
and she averted her eyes, for there was
something so remarkably disagreeable in
the woman’s face, that she could not
bear to look upon it.

The old woman saw plain enough that
her observations annoyed Inez, and although
she felt rather vexed and disappointed
that she did not answer her, she
determined to follow them up.

‘It seems that you have lost your
// 170l.png
.pn +1
tongue since your interview with Mr.
Blodget,’ she said; ‘but that is of very
little consequence, I can talk enough for
you and I too, and as Gordon has left
the house, you will, in all probability,
have a little more of my company than
you otherwise would have done.’

‘Gordon left the house?’ repeated our
heroine eagerly; ‘thank Heaven!’

‘Indeed!’ said the old woman; ‘then,
if his absence affords you pleasure, I can
tell you that it will not be of long duration;—he
is only gone some distance on
a secret mission, for which he is to receive
a handsome reward from Mr. Blodget!’

‘Ah!’ cried our heroine, turning very
pale, and a feeling of horror coming over
her; ‘on a secret mission for Blodget?
In what fresh plot of villainy is he engaged?’

‘Oh, that I do not know; and if I did,
it is not very likely that I should inform
you. It is something of importance I
dare say, or else Gordon would not have
been employed; and no doubt concerns
you.’

Inez felt her horror increase, and she
trembled so that she could scarcely stand.
The old hag observed her emotion with
much satisfaction, and a savage grin
overspread her features.

‘Something that concerns me;’ she
exclaimed, and her terrible forebodings
convinced her that the old woman did
not make use of these observations without
good reason.

‘Oh, my dear friend!’ she added, as
she recalled to her memory the dark
hints which Blodget had given utterance
to, and covering her face with her hands,
she sobbed hysterically. ‘Oh, my unfortunate
rescuer;’ she continued, ‘I
tremble for you; surely this is some dark
// 170r.png
.pn +1
plot against you. Heaven protect you
and avert the evil fate destined to you
by your implacable enemy!’

‘If Blodget only plays his cards successfully,
as he has hitherto done, I do
not think that there is much chance of
your seeing your <i>poor unfortunate</i> lover
again;’ said the hag with a sneer, and a
look which was perfectly hideous.

Poor Inez gazed upon the unnatural
old beldame with a look of horror and
disgust.

‘Inhuman woman;’ she ejaculated,
‘thus to take a pleasure in tormenting
one of your own sex, who has never offended
you, and whose misfortunes and
oppressions ought to excite your pity and
sympathy.’

‘Pity and sympathy,’ repeated the
woman, with bitter sarcasm; ‘they are
qualities that none but fools would retain
possession of; I never experienced them
from any person yet, and I have banished
mine from my breast many years since.’

‘I do believe you,’ sighed Inez; ‘but
I can sincerely pity <i>you</i>, for there will
be a time come when you will be brought
to a terrible sense of your iniquities, and
awful will then be the punishment you
will have to undergo.’

‘Hey day!’ exclaimed the beldame;
‘I declare you’re quite an adept at
preaching a sermon, but its beauties are
entirely lost upon me; and I do not
think that you will find Mr. Blodget any
more ready to approve of them than I
am.’

‘Leave the room,’ said Inez, in a tone
of resentment, ‘and let me alone to my
reflections; your language is brutal, and
I will not listen to it.’

‘But I am afraid you will have to listen
to it very frequently,’ returned the
old woman, ‘as disagreeable as it may
// 171l.png
.pn +1
be. As for leaving the room, you will
please to recollect that you are not mistress
here, consequently I shall not attend
to your orders until it pleases me.’

Inez walked away, and throwing herself
into a chair, once more covered her
face with her hands, determined not to
pay any future attention to what the old
harridan might say. The latter laughed
sneeringly, and after muttering a few
spiteful remarks that our heroine did
not hear, she applied herself more assiduously
to the task she had to perform in
the room, and at the same time hummed,
in discordant tones, snatches from different
vulgar songs, which fell listlessly
upon the ears of Inez, who was too deeply
engaged by her own melancholy
thoughts to pay any attention to them.

At length having, much to the satisfaction
of our heroine, completed her
domestic duties in the room, the woman
fixed upon Inez a spiteful look, and then
retired from the apartment. When she
had gone, our heroine immediately sunk
upon her knees, and, with upraised hands,
she implored the mercy of the Supreme
Being, and that He would protect her
father and her lover from any danger by
which they might be threatened. She
arose more composed and confident, and
endeavored to hope that, after all, the
wicked designs of Blodget might be foiled,
and that something would yet transpire
to release her from her present incarceration,
and the future persecution of
the villain Blodget, for whom no punishment
could be adequate to the different
crimes he had been guilty of.

Frequently did her thoughts revert to
home, and she could well imagine the
grief experienced at her mysterious disappearance.
The idea of the deplorable
condition of Monteagle was maddening
// 171r.png
.pn +1
nay, perhaps he was no more, and she
was not present to receive his last sigh,
or to enfold him in a dying embrace.—The
thought was almost past endurance;
and it was a fortunate thing for our heroine
that a torrent of tears came to the
relief of her overcharged heart.

Three weeks elapsed without any material
change taking place in the situation
or prospects of Inez. Blodget visited
her every day, and she was annoyed
by his disgusting importunities; and frequently
was he so worked up by the opposition
which she offered to him, that
he was half tempted to proceed to violence;
but a secret power appeared to
restrain him, and to watch over his unfortunate
victim.

Blodget was in a state of considerable
anxiety and suspense, for he had not yet
heard anything from Gordon, and sometimes
he was fearful that he had been
detected and was in custody; but again
he thought, if he had been so, he should
see some account of it in the newspapers,
and he, therefore, at last endeavored to
conclude that Gordon thought it prudent
not to write to him, and that he was in
a fair way of being ultimately successful
in his blood-thirsty designs.

The thieves had made several successful
hauls, since the departure of Gordon,
and they were not less anxious than Blodget
was to know what had become of
him, and whether he was safe, for Gordon
was acquainted with many circumstances
that might greatly endanger them, should
he be tempted to divulge them. Such
is the doubt and suspicions that ever exist
between the guilty.

At length, however, after another fortnight,
a message arrived at the ranch of
Gordon, which came from him, and it
may well be imagined with what eager
// 172l.png
.pn +1
haste Blodget broke the seal, and glanced
his eyes over the contents. They afforded
him the most unbounded satisfaction.

‘Ah! by the infernal host! this is capital,’
exclaimed Blodget, when he had
concluded perusing the letter; ‘my vengeance
will soon be complete; and I have
no doubt that Gordon will shortly be
able to discover Monteagle, and to accomplish
the deed for which my soul
pants.’

He immediately sought out Jenkins,
who was at his usual place of resort when
he was not on his expeditions, and showed
him the letter from Gordon. The
robber captain perused it with satisfaction,
and his apprehensions were now at
rest.

‘What think you of the suggestion
which Gordon has made?’ asked Blodget,
when Jenkins had finished reading
the letter.

‘Why, that it is a very excellent one,’
answered the captain.

‘True,’ coincided Blodget.

‘You will avail yourself of it, then?’

‘Why, think you not I should be foolish
to miss such an opportunity?’

‘I do.’

‘Gordon deserves an extra reward for
this.’

‘He is a shrewd fellow.’

‘And one who does not stand particular
about trifles.’

‘No, crime and he are familiar. But
how would you accomplish this design?’

‘I have not as yet had time to consider
it properly,’ answered Blodget; ‘can
you give me any advice, captain?’

‘Gordon I do not think can do it without
assistance.’

‘Probably not.’

‘If I and a crew run the risk of going
in a boat to Mission Creek, and bring the
// 172r.png
.pn +1
fellow away, of course you will reward
us?’

‘Certainly; but that course will be attended
with much danger, for should the
real character of your boat be known—’

‘Oh, I can manage it so that there
will be no danger of a discovery taking
place,’ replied Jenkins.

‘Ah, then, be it so, and we will not
fall out about the reward.’

‘Agreed,’ answered the captain, ‘an
answer must, therefore, be despatched to
the place where Gordon is staying, acquainting
him with our intentions, so
that he may make the necessary preparations
for carrying our designs into execution.’

‘It shall be done immediately. But
think you that success is at all likely?’

‘It is all but certain.’

‘And had Monteagle better be brought
to the house where Inez is confined?’

‘That you can use your own pleasure
in,’ replied Jenkins.

Blodget reflected for a few moments.

‘No,’ he at last said, ‘it shall not be
so at present; I think it would be as well
not to let Inez know anything about it
for a short time.’

‘Why so?’

‘Why,’ returned Blodget, ‘in the first
place, the sudden shock might be attended
with fatal consequences to her; and
in the next, I think it would be better to
break it out to her by degrees, and make
the circumstance subservient to my designs
upon her.’

‘That is my opinion,’ remarked Jenkins,
‘but you are a fool, Blodget, to delay
the indulgence of your desires so
long, when you have it in your power to
gratify them immediately. If you wait
until you prevail upon the lady to consent,
I think you will be likely to tarry a
// 173l.png
.pn +1
long while.’

‘That is your opinion?’

‘It is.’

‘Mine is a different one.’

‘You must have a very high opinion
of your powers of captivation, if that is
really your belief,’ returned Jenkins.

‘Perhaps so,’ said Blodget, ‘but time
will show; and now that I have the prospect
of getting this fellow into my power,
I am the more disposed to wait patiently
and give my plans a fair trial.’

‘And wait until de Castro or his friends
discover the retreat of the lady, force her
from your power, and bring you to punishment,’
rejoined Jenkins.

‘If Gordon is successful, there will be
no fear of that.’

‘Maybe so; but you remember the
old proverb—“a bird in hand is worth
two in the bush.”’

‘At any rate, I have made up my mind
to run the chance of it.’

‘Well, of course, you are at liberty to
do as you think proper,’ observed the captain;
‘but if you succeed in getting this
youngster in our power, where do you
think of placing him?’

‘Know you of any person that can be
trusted with him?’

‘I do.’

‘And does he reside far from this
place?’

‘Close upon the spot.’

‘Is the place obscure?’

‘It is little frequented.’

‘And who is he?’

‘One of my gang; you may depend
upon him.’

‘’Tis well; and you think he will accept
of the charge?’

‘I am certain of it; he would do it
gladly.’

‘Perhaps you will see him and make
// 173r.png
.pn +1
the proposal; it would come better from
your lips than mine.’

‘I will do so.’

‘You have my thanks, captain.’

‘’Pshaw! I don’t want them. But,
mark now, he must be well paid for his
trouble, and keeping the secret.’

‘I have no objection to that.’

‘This will be an expensive job for you.’

‘Were it to cost me twenty times as
much, I would not begrudge it to gratify
my revenge.’

‘You are a most implacable foe.’

‘So my enemies have good reason to
say.’

‘But come, there is no necessity for
delay; have the letter written and forwarded
to Gordon as quickly as possible.’

‘It shall be done.’

‘In the meantime I will go down to
Kitson, and make the proposal to him.’

‘Ay, do; and do not be afraid to
promise a most liberal remuneration.’

‘I will do so, depend upon it.’

‘And when do you propose starting on
this expedition?’

‘By the night after to-morrow, at the
latest.’

‘Your promptitude pleases me.’

‘Delay is dangerous; that is always
my motto.’

‘And a very good one; I will adopt it
on this occasion; farewell.’

‘Good night; although I shall probably
see you again.’

‘Well do, if you can, for I shall be
anxious to know whether or not this Kitson,
as you call him, will undertake this
charge.’

‘Oh, there is very little doubt but that
he will do so.’

Having arrived at the conclusion of
this brief colloquy, the two worthies separated,
// 174l.png
.pn +1
and Blodget bent his way to the
ranch, to write the letter to Gordon;
elated at the prospect of the success of
his diabolical stratagems, and determined
at any expense or danger to prosecute
them.

In the epistle he gave Gordon all the
information he could require, and highly
praised his indefatigability, at the same
time encouraging him to further exertions,
by the promise of rewarding him
accordingly.

The letter was immediately forwarded
to the proper quarter, and had not long
done so, when Jenkins returned.

‘Well, captain, how have you succeeded?’
asked Blodget.

‘As I anticipated.’

‘Then the man is willing.’

‘He is.’

‘And think you we may depend upon
his secrecy?’

‘There is no fear of that!’

‘Did you not bind him by an oath?’

‘There was no necessity for that! Kitson’s
word is his bond.’

‘And did you make him acquainted
with the particulars?’

‘I was compelled to, to enable him
to be more upon his guard.’

‘Ay, true! And you mentioned the
reward?’

‘It is not so much as I anticipated.’

‘What is it?’

‘He demands two hundred dollars.’

‘It shall be his freely, immediately the
fellow is placed in his care, one hundred
more to that, if he well perform his task,
and keeps the secret inviolable.’

‘I tell you again, there is no fear of
his not doing that.’

‘Then all, so far is well,’ observed Blodget.
// 174r.png
.pn +1

‘It shall be so; and now we will have
a glass or two together, to drink success
to this undertaking.’

‘With all my heart,’ replied the captain;
and taking his seat, bottles were
immediately placed upon the table, and
they proceeded to drink with much alacrity,
toast after toast following each other
in rapid succession, while the deep potations
which they quaffed, took but a
trifling effect upon them, so accustomed
were they to habits of intemperance.

‘Perhaps,’ said Blodget, after a pause,
‘it would have been much more satisfactory
had Gordon succeeded in despatching
him.’

‘I like not the unnecessary shedding
of human blood.’

‘Then you have never felt the sentiments
that I do.’

‘You know not that; but, villain as I
am, and have been from a boy, I never
yet shed the blood of my fellow man, unless
it was in a fight and in self defence.’

‘And yet you would have insisted up
on one of your fellows committing murder,
had not Gordon undertaken to do it.’

‘Because I had pledged my word to
you that it should be done, and nothing
would have induced me to break it.’

‘Ha! ha! ha!’ laughed out Blodget;
‘there’s honor for you, in the captain of
a desperate gang of robbers.’

‘Ay you may mock me, if you think
proper, but I have spoken the truth.’

Blodget made no further observation,
but walked away, and Jenkins rejoined
his companions at their rendezvous.

In the meantime Inez’ situation was
just as helpless as ever, and Blodget daily
continued to annoy her with importunities,
// 175l.png
.pn +1
and hourly became more bold and
confident in his manners towards her,
and she noticed it, and could not help
thinking that something had happened
to occasion this alteration in his behavior,
and at times her mind felt some
severe misgivings, which she found it impossible
to comprehend. Blodget had
not, however, yet mentioned anything,
and, therefore, she could not entertain
any positive suspicion.

So well secured was every place, that
our heroine had long ago given up all
idea of escaping, and rested her only
hope of deliverance upon her friends discovering
her place of confinement; but
a circumstance, a short time after this,
happened, which gave her some reason
to hope.

Notwithstanding the utter disgust
which our heroine ever evinced in the
company of the old woman, she persisted
in obtruding her society upon her at
every opportunity, and, as we have before
stated, it was very evident that she
felt a pleasure in making Inez miserable.
Guilt is always envious of the virtues it
never possessed, and feels a delight in
evincing its hatred of its possessor in every
possible way. This, however, she
concealed from Blodget, well aware that
he would not approve of it, and Inez considered
it too contemptible to take any
notice of it, and if she had, she would
not have troubled herself to mention it
to her persecutor, who might feel little
disposed to trouble himself in the matter.

The woman would make any excuse
to be in the same room with our heroine,
and when she was tired of talking to her,
Inez seldom condescending her a reply,
she would sing portions of vulgar songs,
in a manner which would have done
honor to Sydney Valley in its darkest
// 175r.png
.pn +1
days. The mind of Inez, however, was
so fully occupied with her own thoughts
that she seldom paid any attention to
her, and not unfrequently was she almost
entirely unconscious of her presence.

It was one evening, a short time after
the events which we have been recording
had taken place, that the hag paid our
heroine her accustomed and unwelcome
visit, and, as soon as she entered the
room, Inez could perceive that she had
been drinking and was quite intoxicated.
This circumstance rather alarmed her, for
she was afraid that the old woman being
thus excited, might be guilty of some
excesses; but still she reflected, she had
nothing to apprehend from her, as the
persons who were in the ranch would be
sure to come to her aid, and thus she
was in safety. But to be alone, and in
the power of wretches who cared not
what crime they committed, was sufficient
of itself to fill her mind with terror,
and she had great difficulty in supporting
her feelings.

The old woman staggered to a seat,
for she could scarcely stand, and having
dropped into it, she raised her blood-shot
eyes towards the countenance of our heroine,
and fixed upon her a look expressive
of her usual malevolence. Inez
averted her head, and, taking up a book,
pretended to be reading; but the old
woman was not to be diverted that way,
and, after several ineffectual attempts to
speak, she stammered out—

‘They are all gone out but one man,
and he has fallen asleep by the fire, and
so I thought I would come up stairs and
keep you company, you are fond of my
company, I know.’

This speech was accompanied by sundry
hiccups, and the disgusting old woman
// 176l.png
.pn +1
rolled about in the chair apparently
in the most uncomfortable manner. Inez
trembled, but she endeavored to conceal
her fears as much as possible, and pretended
to be continuing to read the book
she held in her hand, and did not make
any reply.

‘Mr. Blodget is a very foolish man,’
continued the old woman—‘he is a very
foolish man, or he would not stand shilly-shallying
and dilly-dallying with you,
my fine lady, in the manner he has. Such
squeamish minxes, indeed; poh!’

We need not attempt to describe the
feelings of our heroine, while the old
woman was thus proceeding; she endeavored
to close her ears to the words she
was giving utterance to, but in vain, and
the disgust which she felt was most unbounded.

‘Why don’t you answer me?’ demanded
the beldame in a surly tone; ‘I
suppose you think yourself above me,
don’t you? But I can tell you you are
not. You are a prisoner, but I am not,
and—’

A very long yawn stopped the old
woman’s tirade, and her head dropped
upon the table. She muttered two or
three incoherent words, and shortly afterwards
her loud snoring convinced our
heroine that the effects of the liquor she
had been drinking had overpowered her,
and that she had fallen off to sleep.

Inez laid down her book; a sudden
thought darted across her mind, and her
heart palpitated with emotion. She remembered
what the woman had said
about there being but one man in the
house, and that he was asleep below.—The
room door was open—the old woman
slept soundly, and she was not
likely to be awakened easily—a famous
opportunity presented itself for her to
// 176r.png
.pn +1
attempt to make her escape. The chance
was worth encountering any danger in
making the effort, and she determined to
avail herself of it.

Hastily putting on her shawl, Inez
mentally invoked the assistance of Heaven,
and then, with noiseless footsteps,
approached the chair on which the old
woman was sitting, to make sure that she
was not assuming drunkenness and sleep,
and she was soon convinced that she was
not. She now lightly stepped on to the
landing, and closing the door gently upon
the unconscious old woman, locked it
after her, and thus left her a secure prisoner.
She then leant her head over the
bannisters, and listened attentively, but
hearing no noise below, she was in hope
that all was right, and ventured to begin
to descend the stairs.

Having passed down one flight, she
once more paused and listened attentively,
but all remained as still as death, and
her hopes became more sanguine.

At length she reached the door of the
parlor, which was closed, and Inez hesitated,
and her heart beat so vehemently
against her side that she could scarcely
support herself.

‘Courage, Courage!’ she whispered to
herself, ‘this is the critical moment. Let
me be firm, and I may escape.’

Her trembling and hesitation decreased
as these thoughts crossed her mind,
and she laid her hand on the handle of
the door. It opened with a creaking
noise, which again excited her fear, lest
it should arouse the man; but her alarm
was, fortunately groundless. A light
was burning on the table, and the fire
cast forth a cheerful blaze, and by their
light our heroine beheld a ruffian seated
in the chair, his arms folded across his
chest, and fast asleep.
// 177l.png
.pn +1

Inez’s heart bounded, and hope was
strengthened tenfold. The near prospect
of liberty excited in her breast a feeling
of extacy which may be conceived but
cannot be described. The moon shone
brightly in at the window, and its silvery
beams seemed to smile encouragement
upon her. Another moment, she reflected,
and she might inhale the pure
air, and be as free. The thought nerved
her on; and knowing that every moment
was fraught with danger, she determined
to act with promptitude. But the sleeping
ruffian was so seated that she could
not gain the door without passing him
closely, and then she must act with the
greatest caution or she might arouse
him. She advanced one step, but hastily
retreated again, hearing him yawn, and
he seemed as if he was about to awaken.
She stood in trembling suspense, but it
was not for long; the man having
stretched out his arms, and yawned two
or three times, sunk back on his chair
again, and his loud snoring soon convinced
her that he was again asleep.

She now once more commended herself
to the protection of Heaven, and
again advanced towards the door. She
had passed the sleeping ruffian—the
door was in her hand, and liberty was
just before her; when there was a loud
noise, like that of some heavy weight
falling, from the room above; and Inez
was so alarmed that she had not the
power of moving one way or the other,
but stood at the door trembling violently.

The noise immediately aroused the
man, and, hastily starting to his feet, he
rubbed his eyes, and stared eagerly
around the room. They instantly rested
on our unfortunate heroine, and, giving
utterance to a dreadful oath, he rushed
towards her, and seizing her fiercely by
// 177r.png
.pn +1
the arm, dragged her back. Inez sunk
upon her knees, and in terrified accents
exclaimed—

‘Oh, mercy, mercy! spare me—save
me, for the love of Heaven, save me!’

‘Ah! you would escape?’ exclaimed
the ruffian; ‘speak, answer me—how
did you contrive to leave the apartment
in which you have been confined?’

The ruffian looked ferociously upon
her while he spoke, and Inez trembled
more violently than before when she
gazed upon the frightful features of the
man. Her lips quivered, and in vain
did she endeavor to articulate a syllable.

‘Speak, I tell you again!’ demanded
the villain; ‘how came you hither?
By what means did you contrive to
leave the room?’

‘The door was left unfastened,’ faltered
out Inez; ‘oh, do not harm me.’

‘The door left unfastened?’ repeated
the man; ‘who left it so?’

‘The woman.’

‘Ah! the old hag—if she has done
this she shall answer for it. But where
is she?’

‘In the room I have just quitted, and
asleep,’ replied Inez.

‘Ah! I see how it is; myself and her
have been indulging ourselves rather too
freely, and both are equally to blame;
we must be more cautious for the future.
Come, my girl, you must allow me to escort
you to your old quarters, and depend
upon it, you will not have such
another opportunity as this. Come!’

‘Oh,’ supplicated our heroine, not
thinking in the despair of the moment,
of the uselessness of appealing to the
flinty heart of the wretch, ‘do not consign
me, I beseech you, to that dismal
apartment again, take pity upon me, a
deeply injured woman as I am, and suffer
// 178l.png
.pn +1
me to escape. Believe me, you shall be
amply rewarded for such an inestimable
service.’

‘Oh, no,’ returned the ruffian and a
malignant grin overspread his countenance;
‘it won’t do, I’m not to be caught
in that way; I can very well understand
what my reward would be, but they must
catch me before they give it me. Ha!
ha! ha! Come, come, you must come
with me, or I must use force—that’s all
about it.’

Poor Inez clasped her hands in the intensity
of her grief, and finding that it
would be useless to entreat any further,
with a despairing heart, she slowly retraced
her footsteps to the chamber from
which she had so recently escaped, followed
by the wretch.

On opening the door they found the
old woman stretched at full length upon
the floor; and it was evident that it was
from her that the noise had proceeded,
which so unfortunately aroused the man,
and prevented her escape, at the very
moment when the chance was before her.

It was some time before the thief could
arouse the old woman to sensibility, and
when she did so, he commanded her
sternly to follow him.

‘Hey day!’ cried the hag, rubbing her
eyes, and looking with stupified amazement
at our heroine, who had sunk despairingly
in a chair, and leaning her elbow
upon the table, and her head upon
her hand, was weeping bitterly; ‘what’s
the matter now?’

‘What’s the matter!’ reiterated the
man, ‘why, that through your infernal
stupidity, the bird had nearly flown.’

‘Ah—what, do you mean to say that
she had nearly escaped?’ croaked forth
the old woman, and she looked more savage
than ever at Inez.
// 178r.png
.pn +1

‘Yes, I mean to say that she would
have escaped,’ replied he, ‘and a pretty
scrape we should then both have got into.’

‘Why, where was I at the time?’

‘Fast asleep, and a safe prisoner in this
room, locked in.’

‘Locked in!’ ejaculated the beldame,
‘oh, I see it all now, that confounded
gin got the better of me, and you too, I
think, and, therefore, one is as much to
blame as the other. We ought to thank
our lucky stars that it has turned out as
it has. But the artful jade, to lock me
in, to—to—’

‘There, that’s enough,’ interrupted the
fellow, ‘you would stand talking here all
night. We will leave the lady to her
own reflections, which, doubtless, will not
be very pleasant. Blodget will be home
shortly, I expect, and, should he find us
together, he might suspect something
wrong. Good night, my lady, and when
you next try to escape, you had better
use a little more expedition with your
caution. Come, we must see and arrange
this business somehow or another.’

The old woman fixed upon Inez one
more malicious look, and appeared to exult
in the agony she was undergoing at
having been thwarted in her attempt,
and then following the wretch, they both
quitted the room, and secured the door
after them.

They both congratulated themselves
when they had got below, that Inez had
not been successful, and were determined
to be more cautious in future. Another
moment, and our heroine would have
been at liberty, and they trembled when
they reflected upon the consequences
that would have been certain to follow
her escape. They both, however, considered
// 179l.png
.pn +1
that it would be better for them
not to mention anything about it to Blodget
or the others, as it would only excite
his suspicions that all was not right, and
probably deprive them of his confidence
and friendship, which, as he was very
liberal, was not to be treated lightly.
Thus the affair was amicably arranged
between the two worthies, and the old
spitfire determined to annoy our unfortunate
heroine more than ever, for the ‘audacious’
(as she termed it) attempt she
had made to escape, and moreover, for
her unparalleled presumption and atrocity,
in having actually made her a prisoner
in the very place where she had been
herself confined.

As for poor Inez, she was completely
overwhelmed with the intensity of her
anguish and disappointment, and for some
time after the man and the old woman
had left her, she remained in almost a
state of unconsciousness.

‘Alas,’ she at last ejaculated, beating
her breast, ‘fate has conspired against
me, and I am doomed to perpetual misery.
Am I never to escape from the
power of these wretches? Has the Omnipotent
Being entirely forsaken me? Oh,
God! let me die rather than live to endure
this succession of miseries and disappointments.’

She clasped her burning temples, and
arising from her chair, traversed the room
in the greatest possible agony. If Blodget
should become acquainted with the
circumstance, she could not help thinking
that he would be induced to adopt
even more stringent measures towards
her; but then she consoled herself with
the reflection that it was not likely that
the man or the old woman would let
him know anything about it, as they
would be blamed for neglect, and Blodget
// 179r.png
.pn +1
would deem it prudent to remove her to
some other place of confinement. She
passed two or three hours in the greatest
state of agitation, and could not venture
to retire to rest, but listened to the slightest
sound which proceeded from below,
fearing to hear the villain Blodget return
home.

At length all was still in the house,
and tired out with thinking, Inez committed
herself to the care of Providence,
and undressing herself, hastened into
bed, and, in spite of the state of her mind,
after the painful event which we have
been detailing, she was so weary, that it
was not long ere she sunk to sleep.
.sp 2
.hr 20%
.sp 4
.h2
CHAPTER XVII||<I>The Seducer Resisted.</I>
.sp 2
We left our heroine in a calm slumber,
into which she had sunk after the fatigue
of thinking and the anguish of her mind.
She continued in it until a storm arose,
which awoke her, and jumping up in the
bed, she scarcely knew where she was.
Confused thoughts darted across her perturbed
imagination, and she had in an
instant a foreboding, a presentiment, that
something particular was about to occur
to her. She heard no one but the old
woman moving below, and recollecting
that she had seen Blodget quit the house
at an early hour in the morning, she
thought it was probable that he had not
yet returned, and she became rather more
composed. Then, however, she remembered
some dark hints which the hateful
old woman had thrown out to her in the
morning, and again were her utmost apprehensions
of some fresh misery excited.
// 180l.png
.pn +1
Sometime she continued in this manner,
when she heard a confusion of voices
from below, among which she distinguished
that of a female and Blodget’s,
but she could not understand a single
word that they gave utterance to.

She now endeavored to calm her feelings,
and prepare for the meeting which
she had no doubt would take place between
her and Blodget; who she resolved
to meet with all the fortitude she could
possibly muster. She knelt down, and
supplicated the aid of the Almighty; and
implored that He would frustrate the designs
of the wicked, and not suffer her
to fall a victim to the diabolical stratagems
of the miscreant who at present
held her in his power.

As it ever is the case, when the sincere
heart breathes its prayers to Heaven, our
heroine felt almost immediately more
tranquil and prepared to meet her oppressor,
and she arose from her knees
with a determination to support herself
with an air of fortitude, which should
abash rather than encourage the villain’s
nefarious hopes.

She had not long come to this resolution,
when she heard a footstep ascending
the stairs, and shortly afterwards the door
of her apartment was unbolted, and the
door was opened, and the object of her
hatred and her fears presented himself
before her. She met his looks firmly,
and with an air of becoming dignity, and
it was evident, although he endeavored
to disguise it, that something of more
importance than usual occupied his
thoughts.

He stood for a second or two in the
doorway, and seemed anxious to address
her, yet at a loss how to begin. Then he
seemed abashed at the calm dignity of
Inez’s manner, and at the same time lost
// 180r.png
.pn +1
in admiration of her extreme beauty,
which, although much impaired by the
ravages of care, was still most superlative.

Notwithstanding the firmness which
she assumed, Inez felt a trembling apprehension
of the interview; and had much
difficulty in conquering her feelings.

At length Blodget advanced nearer to
our heroine, closing the door after him,
and after several ineffectual attempts to
speak, he observed, in as insinuating
tone as he could assume—

‘Beauteous Inez, after a temporary absence
from your presence, which has appeared
an age to me, I again come to
bask in the sunshine of your beauty—again
to solicit a return of that passion
which I so ardently feel for you.’

‘Villain!’ ejaculated Inez, ‘receive my
answer in the utter contempt, disgust,
abhorrence I feel for you; and rest assured
that no other feeling can ever inhabit
my breast towards a wretch who
has proved himself destitute of every
feeling of humanity.’

‘This violence is useless,’ returned
Blodget; ‘I have given you plenty of
time to consider: this day I come hither
to decide: I have waited patiently long
enough.’

‘Monster!’ cried the distracted lady,
and her eyes at the same time beamed
an expression which seemed as if it would
penetrate to his soul; ‘where is my poor
father, from whom you have so mercilessly
torn me? Can you recollect the
unparalleled act of cruelty you have been
guilty of, and yet stand there and talk to
me, the affianced bride of another, about
love?’

‘To all these passionate expressions I
pay little or no attention; for they affect
me not,’ returned the hardened villain.
// 181l.png
.pn +1
‘It is enough that I have fixed my mind
on you; I have labored hard, and risked
much, to get possession of you—you are
now in my power, and mine, in spite of
all entreaties and tears, shall be!’

‘Oh, heartless miscreant.’

‘Nay, think not that I would willingly
resort to violence,’ observed Blodget, in
a milder tone of voice; ‘no, I would win
you by my actions; by my love;—I
would be to you the most ardent and affectionate
companion that woman desire;
I—’

‘Cease!’ interrupted Inez, in a commanding
tone of voice, which seemed to
enforce immediate obedience; ‘I will not
listen to your guilty language, it disgusts
me. Your presence makes me feel as if
a fiend, instead of a human being, were
standing before me; begone! and leave
me again to the solitude of my unjust
confinement.’

‘Not yet, fair Inez,’ returned Blodget,
with a supercilious smile; ‘you and I
must not part until we understand each
other.’

‘I perfectly understand you, sir,’ said
Inez, ‘and depend upon it, all that you
can say will but add to the utter abhorrence
which I bear towards you.’

‘But you must yield!’

‘Never!’

‘How can you save yourself? Are
you not in my power?’

‘True; but I have a friend in Providence
who will not suffer me to fall a
victim to the nefarious designs of a diabolical
villain like you.’

‘Upon my word you are very liberal
with your compliments;’ said Blodget,
with a half-sneering laugh, although it
was very plain to be seen that he was
very much chagrined at the manner in
which our heroine addressed him.
// 181r.png
.pn +1

‘Is there any epithet strong enough
that I can apply to a man like you?’ demanded
Inez. ‘Has not your conduct
proved you to be a miscreant, too—’

‘Come, come,’ interrupted Blodget,
and a slight scowl passed over his brows,
‘I do not mind a little flattery, but when
it proceeds to extremes, I must acknowledge
that I have not a stomach to take
it. Any epithet that you may apply to
me, you must be aware cannot have any
other effect than that of exasperating
me to that which I might afterwards be
sorry for. But how can you be so foolish
as to remain thus obstinately opposed
to the wishes of a man who would
make it his unceasing study to render
you happy?’

‘Happy!’ exclaimed Inez, ‘and dare
you talk to me of happiness, when I am
torn from all that renders life desirable?
Wretch, unnatural monster you must
think me, to be capable of listening to
the licentious vows of a man who has
been the author of all my miseries!
Talk to me of happiness, and keep me
confined in this awful house, surrounded
only by the votaries of guilt, who would
not hesitate to dye their hands in my
blood.’

‘They dare not; they act alone by
my orders,’ answered Blodget. ‘But
why thus delay the time in conversing
on matters of no immediate interest?
Again, Inez, I solicit your love. Say
that you will be mine, all but that which
the idle ceremony of wedlock can make
you, and there is not a pleasure which
gold can purchase, or this world supply,
which you shall not have at your command.
We will hasten far from hence,
and in a place where we are unknown,
forget that there are others than ourselves
in existence.’
// 182l.png
.pn +1

Inez shuddered with horror at the coolness
and effrontery with which the libertine
uttered these expressions, and she
could scarcely believe that she was standing
in the presence of a human being.

‘Oh, no,’ replied Blodget, ‘think not
that I can be induced to leave you so
soon this day, at any rate. Upon your
determined answer your fate depends.’

‘You have already had my answer,’
returned Inez.

‘Will nothing persuade you to alter
it?’

‘Nothing, by Heaven!’

‘Beware! take not an oath!’

‘I can with safety, for nothing would
induce me to swerve from it.’

‘You had better bethink yourself.’

‘I have thought sufficiently, and I am
decided.’

‘Recollect that, if you refuse, I shall
be compelled to resort to force.’

‘I will die first.’

‘You will not have the means.’

‘Almighty God surely, will never suffer
so black a deed.’

‘Bah!—that is all idle cant. Think,
too, that if you refuse, you will still be
kept here a prisoner, deprived of every
comfort, and yet subservient to my
wishes.’

‘Oh, horror! You cannot surely be
the monster!’

‘I would not willingly, but you would
drive me to it.’

‘Oh, repent, repent!’

‘Pshaw! Will that gratify my desires?’

‘It will afford me a far greater gratification.’

‘I shall not try it.’

‘Alas! you are indeed a guilty miscreant.’
// 182r.png
.pn +1

‘Thank you, again, for your compliment;
I have pointed out to you the
horrors that will attend your refusal;
say, shall I point out to you the happiness
that will attend you, if you comply
with my request?’

‘I want not to hear them, they cannot
make any alteration in my determination,’
answered our heroine, covering her face
with her handkerchief, and sobbing aloud
with her disgusted and wounded feelings.

‘Still must I think that you will change
your mind;’ returned Blodget with the
same guilty expression of countenance in
which his features were almost constantly
clad—‘remember the sweets of liberty
will then be yours.’

‘And of what use would liberty be to
me, when it would be purchased by a
life of infamy?’ demanded Inez; ‘could
anything ever reconcile it to my conscience,
to become the base paramour of
a guilty being like you? The bare
thought fills me with a sensation of the
utmost dread, and death in its most horrible
form would be preferable to such a
course of life.’

‘But is there nothing that could prevail
upon you?’

‘Nothing;’ answered Inez, with a look
of the greatest disgust and horror.

‘Think again!’

‘I have nothing more to say upon the
detested subject.’

‘If, by so doing, you could purchase
the life of Monteagle—’

‘Ah!’ grasped forth Inez, turning
deadly pale, and clutching the arm of
Blodget, and with distended eye-lids;—‘what
mean you? Speak! speak!—I
know you have something of a particular
nature to impart to me! Reveal it!
I beseech you, and keep me not in suspense!—Oh,
// 183l.png
.pn +1
Blodget if you have indeed
any regard for my feelings, tell me,
what of Monteagle?’

‘Calm your feelings!’

‘You rack me!’

‘Compose yourself!’

‘Talk not to me of composure!’ shrieked
Inez.

‘He is in my power.’

Poor Inez tried hard to speak, but
she could not; she was transfixed to the
spot, and gazed upon Blodget with a
look in which the greatest astonishment
and horror were depicted. The announcement
of Blodget came like a
thunderbolt upon her, and her faculties
seemed to be all bound up in the suddenness
and unexpectedness of the circumstance.

‘If you are not a monster of the blackest
dye,’ exclaimed Inez at length, ‘you
will not delight in thus harrowing my
feelings! but tell me have you spoken
the truth? Do not keep me in suspense!
Oh, do not! Have you indeed said that
which is true?’

‘I have,’ answered Blodget;—‘Monteagle
is now in my power.’

‘Are you bent to drive me mad?’ exclaimed
the frenzied Inez, as, with clasped
hands, she gazed vehemently and supplicatingly
in the countenance of her
oppressor.

‘No, no! I would restore you to happiness,’
replied Blodget.

‘Happiness!’ groaned Inez; ‘oh, cruel
mockery to talk to me thus; and to continue
to keep me in this state of agony
and suspense.’

‘Compose yourself,’ again remonstrated
Blodget, in a gentler tone, than he
had before spoken, and at the same time
venturing to approach her closer; ‘compose
// 183r.png
.pn +1
yourself. Consent to my wishes,
and Monteagle shall at once be free.—Refuse
he dies!’

‘Never, miscreant!’ cried Inez, and
fell powerless to the floor.

Blodget was alarmed,—so still and
marble-like did the fair girl lie. No motion
of her white bosom gave the slightest
evidence that she breathed.

The villain trembled, and for an instant
remorse touched his heart. But
no sooner did a slight convulsive shudder
show that she still lived, than he turned
and left the apartment.

Blodget sent the old woman to Inez,
who succeeded in restoring her to consciousness.

The next morning Jenkins returned.
He seemed in haste.

Sending for several members of his
gang he was soon engaged in earnest
conversation.

‘Gordon, say not a word to Blodget,’
said Jenkins.

‘Should he try to escape?’ said Gordon.

‘Shoot him, as you would a mad coyote,’
said Jenkins.

‘Had we not best confine him?’

‘No,—wait my return. He will probably
send for Kay, Maretzo, and others
of his old cronies. If he tries to bribe
one of you to take a message for him to
them affect to be won over by his gold,
carry the message for him, and then
hasten to me at the Mission.’

‘But where are you to be found, captain?’

‘Joaquin will inform you of my whereabouts.’

‘But, captain, why do you wish Kay
and the rest of them to be engaged in
this affair?’
// 184l.png
.pn +1

‘In order that they may be captured
in the actual commission of a daring
crime—as they will doubtless hasten to
assist Blodget to carry off the lady.’

Jenkins then visited Blodget.

To the great surprise of Blodget, Jenkins
instead of greeting him with friendly
warmth, rejected his proffered hand,
and addressing him sternly, said: ‘I am
about to leave this place for a few days,
if during my absence you insult Miss
Inez by word or look, or ever approach
the rooms she occupies, you shall as surely
die as my name is Jenkins!’ Then
turning to a young girl, who had accompanied
him to the house, the robber-captain
addressed her thus: ‘Alice, you will
I know do all you can to make this poor
young lady as happy as possible while I
am away. I do not promise you any reward,
for I know your own goodness of
heart has induced you to volunteer to be
her friend and companion.’

Jenkins then gave the old woman instructions
to obey Alice on every point,
and whispering a few words to Gordon,
Jenkins left the apartment, and soon after
the house.

Blodget was astounded at this change
in the behavior of Jenkins, and concluded
that he had informed upon him, and thus
made his own peace with the authorities.
He was confirmed in this, when he went
to step from the house, for Gordon stepped
up to him, and placing a revolver at
his breast, threatened to shoot him if he
crossed the threshold. Finding an attempt
to escape would only lead to his
instant death, Blodget determined during
Jenkins’ absence to consummate his intentions
on Inez, and then devise some
mode of gaining Gordon to allow him to
escape.

The girl whom Jenkins had addressed
// 184r.png
.pn +1
as Alice, had seen some seventeen springs,
the apple-blossoms of which were not
more beautifully tinted than her fair
cheeks; nor their skies a deeper blue
than her love-lit eyes. Her form was perfect—her
step light and springy as an
antelope’s. Her name was Alice Hewlett,
and she was known in the neighborhood
as ‘the Squatter’s Daughter.’ She had
heard of a lady’s being confined
in Gordon’s house, and readily availed
herself of the request of Jenkins to be
the fair captive’s companion, until she
could be restored to her friends.

Alice immediately went to Inez.

‘My dear young lady, I come to stay
with you.’

Inez gazed inquiringly upon her fair,
ingenuous face.

‘You may safely trust me, Miss.’

‘I do—I do—dear girl. Vice never
wore so fair a front.’

‘Lady, I will not leave you, but at
your request.’

‘Oh, thanks, thanks. You know not
what a load you’ve taken from my sad
heart.’

Jenkins went to the old crone, and
gave her some directions, adding sternly, ‘Mind and do as I have told you!’

The old woman muttered an obedience
to his orders, and he immediately
quitted the room.

He had not been gone many minutes,
when she retired to her own little closet,
where she always had a bottle or two of
‘the best,’ and was soon in a fair way to
enjoy herself, and to become entirely unconscious
of all that was taking place; and
Blodget hailing the so long-looked for opportunity
with pleasure, he ascended the
stairs on tiptoe, and having reached the
rooms appropriated to the use of Inez, he
knocked.
// 185l.png
.pn +1

Alice, probably thinking it was the
woman, quickly opened the door, but
started back with no little amazement,
when she beheld the villain Blodget.—He
instantly stepped into the room, and
Inez hearing the exclamation which Alice
had given utterance to came from her
room, but on seeing Blodget, she turned
very pale, and trembled so violently that
she could scarcely prevent herself from
sinking on the floor.

The forbidding features of Blodget relaxed
into a smile, which he meant to be
one of kindness, but he could not conceal
his exultation, and the guilty passions
that raged like a tempest within his
bosom, and turning to Alice, he said, in
an authoritative tone—

‘Leave the room.’

Alice hesitated, and looked at our heroine.

‘Do you hear?’ demanded Blodget, in
a louder tone;—‘begone, I’ve something
to say to this lady, which must not meet
your ear.’

‘You should have nothing to say to
me, sir, which should be kept a secret
from a second person. Alice, I desire you
to remain where you are; Mr. Blodget
can have no authority for obtruding his
hateful presence upon one whom he has
already so deeply, so irreparably injured.
Do not depart, Alice!—I desire you!’

‘These mandates are of no avail,’ cried
Blodget; ‘I have long sought this interview,
and I will not now be foiled. Begone,
I say!’

‘I’ll remain where I am, sir, while it is
the wish of the lady,’ returned Alice, in a
firm tone.

‘Ah!’ exclaimed Blodget; his eyes expressive
of fierce anger, ‘dare you?—Then
you must go by force.’

Immediately seizing Alice, as he spoke,
// 185r.png
.pn +1
by the shoulders, he pushed her violently
from the room, and closing the door,
locked it, preventing her return. He
advanced towards Inez, who, upon the
impulse of the moment, was in the act
of retreating to her chamber, and fastening
herself in, when the villain sprang
quickly forward, and seizing her vehemently
by the arm, he drew her back.

‘Unmanly ruffian!’ cried Inez, ‘unhand
me, or my cries shall reach the
ears of those who will punish you for
your boldness and cruelty! What is the
meaning of this savage outrage?’

‘It means, fair Inez,’ replied Blodget,
forcibly throwing his arm around her
waist, and drawing her towards him,
‘that, finding I have too long been a forbearing
fool, when I had you in my power,
I am determined that I will no longer
wait for the gratification of my wishes.
I have condescended to sue to you,
where I might long since have enforced
your compliance; I have made you every
reasonable proposal, and have submitted
patiently to your scorn, and contemptuous
rejection of my suit, but I am now
roused to a full sense of my folly, and am
determined at all hazards, that you shall
be mine!’

‘Brutal monster!’ exclaimed Inez, violently
struggling; for the expressions of
Blodget, and his determined demeanor,
filled her with the utmost terror—‘are
you not satisfied with probably having
murdered my unfortunate father, and inflicted
upon me a series of miseries almost
unparalleled in the annals of inhumanity,
but that you would now add to
your barbarity by so atrocious a crime as
you threaten? Oh, help! help!—Holy
Virgin, I call upon thee for thy protection!—Oh,
save me! save me!’

As the distracted and terrified lady
// 186l.png
.pn +1
thus screamed, she struggled violently
to extricate herself from the embraces of
the ruffian Blodget, but her efforts were
for some time entirely ineffectual, and
with every endeavor she made, the passions
of Blodget increased, and his cheeks
glowed and his eyes flashed with the
guilty desires that raged within his
breast. He sought, however, to stifle
her cries, but in vain.

‘Nay,’ he cried, ‘you scream for help
in vain; there is no one at hand to interpose
to save you! The triumph so
long protracted, now is mine! This
hour; this very moment gives you to
my arms!’

‘Almighty God! protect me! save
me!’ again shrieked our heroine, in the
most frantic accents, and, with a desperate
effort she released herself from
Blodget’s hold, and retreated to the farther
end of the apartment, where, on a
table, was a knife. Scarcely knowing
what she did, she snatched it up, and, as
Blodget approached towards her, she
flourished it menacingly, and exclaimed:

‘Villain! advance but an inch towards
me, and this knife shall stretch me a
bleeding corpse at your feet!’

Blodget was completely staggered by
the determined air which Inez assumed,
and he was transfixed to the spot whereon
he stood, not knowing what course to
pursue.

Our heroine still flourished the knife
menacingly, and kept the villain at bay.

‘You see I am resolute,’ she cried;
‘and, by Heaven, sooner than I will be
dishonored, I will put my threat into execution!
Death is preferable to the
dreadful, the disgusting fate which you
have threatened me. Nay, nothing can
move me from my purpose! Quit the
room, miscreant; unless you would have
// 186r.png
.pn +1
my death to answer for, in addition to
your other numerous crimes!’

‘Inez,’ ejaculated Blodget, offering to
approach her; ‘hear me!’

‘Not a word,’ firmly replied Inez; ‘nothing
whatever can shake my resolution;
begone!’

At that moment a loud noise was
heard at the chamber door, and immediately
afterwards the voices of several
persons.

Blodget turned pale and trembled.

‘Ah!’ he ejaculated.

‘Open the door, or it will be worse
for you,’ now demanded the voice of
Gordon.

‘Never!’ cried Blodget, desperately,
and placing his back against it as he
spoke.

‘Then we must use force,’ returned
Gordon; ‘now, lads, your aid.’

In an instant the door was burst open,
and Gordon, followed by three rough-looking
men, entered the room.

‘Seize him, my lads; and bear him
hence!’ cried Gordon, and in a moment
the men rushed upon Blodget, who made
a desperate resistance, but was quickly
overpowered, and was conveyed, struggling,
swearing, and foaming at the
mouth, from the room, and being dragged
to one of the dark vaults underground,
was, by the orders of Gordon,
locked in, and left to his own reflections,
the nature of which may be readily conjectured,
but cannot be properly described.

Alice, immediately on being thrust
out of the room by Blodget, had hastened
below, where, ascertaining that Gordon
was from home, although it was
very reluctantly that the old woman furnished
her with the information, she
made the best of her way to the cabaret,
where she fortunately found him, in
// 187l.png
.pn +1
company with the men before mentioned,
and having informed him of the perilous
situation of our heroine, he left the place,
and, as has been shown, arrived just at
the critical juncture, to save her from
destruction.

Blodget had no sooner been forced
away from the room, than our heroine,
overpowered by her feelings, and the unusual
excitement she had undergone, fainted,
and Alice Hewlett was once more left
alone with her, and immediately set
about the means of restoring her sensibility.

It would be impossible to portray
correctly the disappointment and ungovernable
rage of Blodget, when he found
himself not only foiled in his diabolical
attempt, but made a prisoner in that
gloomy vault. He raved; he stormed;
he cursed and swore, and breathed the
most fearful maledictions against Alice,
Gordon, and Jenkins. Then he made
the place re-echo again with his cries to
be released, but the hollow reverberations
of that subterranean place, were
the only answers he received, and he
traversed the limited space in which he
was confined, in a state bordering upon
madness. He now at once saw that he
was caught, trepanned, defeated, and all
his well laid schemes rendered abortive,
and himself left entirely at the mercy of
Jenkins and his associates, and when he
recollected the threats which the former
had held out to him, if he should make
any attempt against the peace of Inez,
during his absence, he felt that he had
every reason to apprehend the most terrible
consequences through his mad impetuosity.
All the horrors of an ignominious
death rushed upon his mind, and
his anguish was so great, that he completely
sunk under it. He crouched
// 187r.png
.pn +1
down in one corner of his cell, and became
the image of despair. It appeared
as though his career of guilt was fast
drawing to a close, and, that fate had
destined, that every attempt he should
in future make should be frustrated.

In this state he remained for more
than two hours, without any one appearing
to interrupt him, when he heard
some one unbolting the door of his cell,
and immediately afterwards it was thrown
back on its hinges, and Gordon, accompanied
by one of the men who had been
his companions in the seizure, entered.

He brought with him a stone pitcher,
containing water and a loaf, which he
placed on the ground, and then eyed
Blodget with a look of the most malignant
exultation.

Blodget sprang to his feet; fury gleaming
in his eyes, and advancing towards
Gordon, he cried, in a hoarse voice:—

‘Dastard!—why am I thus seized and
made a prisoner in this dismal place?’

‘Recollect your recent conduct,’ said
Gordon coolly, ‘and you are answered.’

‘And what authority has either he or
you for detaining me?’ demanded Blodget.

‘Upon that point I dare say you will
be satisfied at a future time,’ returned
Gordon, in the same deliberate and careless
tones.

‘But you will not dare detain me?’

‘That has to be proved.’

‘Villain! you will have to answer
dearly for this,’ said Blodget.

‘Previous to which,’ retorted Gordon,
ironically, ‘you will probably be called
to a slight account for the abduction and
unlawful detention of the lady, also for a
certain crime since, and—’

‘Confusion!’ interrupted Blodget;—‘am
I then placed in the power of every
// 188l.png
.pn +1
wretch? Oh, Jenkins! Jenkins! for this,
my heaviest malediction light upon your
head.’

‘Trusting that you may soon feel at
home in your new apartment,’ said Gordon,
with a most provoking grin, ‘I will
now leave you to the enjoyment of it.
Come on.’

And thus saying, before Blodget could
give utterance to another syllable, although
his looks evinced the torturing
feelings of chagrin, disappointment, and
resentment he was undergoing, Gordon
and his companion quitted the cell, and
slammed and bolted the door after them,
leaving Blodget involved in utter darkness,
for they had not supplied him with
a lamp.

Blodget threw himself on the hard
ground, and he groaned aloud with the
agony of his feelings, but his present suffering
was nothing compared with the
horrors of anticipation, and he dreaded
the return of Jenkins, fearing that the
terrible result would be that which he
promised him.

Three days and nights passed away in
this manner, and Blodget was still kept
a prisoner in the subterranean vault, and
was daily visited by Gordon, who came
to bring him his scanty allowance of provisions,
and to taunt him with his degraded
and altered situation. The unhappy
wretch was at length completely
subdued in spirit, and was incapable of
answering the ruffian, and he was at last
so humbled as to entreat Gordon’s mercy,
and to pray that he would release him
from his present place of confinement
to one less dismal. This request, however,
Gordon only treated with scorn and
derision; so true it is that none feel
greater pleasure than the guilty in torturing
one another. Although Blodget
// 188r.png
.pn +1
had never given the ruffian the least
cause for offence, but, on the contrary,
according to his own admission, had liberally
rewarded him for the nefarious actions in
which he had employed him, he
now felt the most savage delight in adding
to his misery as much as possible;
and the more he saw him suffer, and the
more humbled he was, the greater did
he exult. He had no doubt he should
receive great praise, and something far
more substantial from Jenkins for the
manner in which he had acted, and he
anticipated his return with much impatience.
He was not made thoroughly
acquainted with Jenkins’ intention as regarded
Inez, but he had not the least
doubt it was to restore her to her friends,
and he imagined he would ensure from
them a rich reward, in which he also
expected to become a sharer to no small
amount for the services he had rendered.
How far his expectations were realized,
will be seen anon.

When our heroine had quite recovered
from the shock which she received from
the behavior of the villain Blodget, she
returned her most heartfelt thanks to the
Almighty for her preservation, and for
the fortitude with which she had been
imbued to resist him. She then expressed
her warmest acknowledgments to
Alice, to whose presence of mind in
hastening for the aid of Gordon, she
might, in a great measure, attribute her
preservation. The conduct of Gordon,
who, there could not be the least doubt,
acted entirely by the orders of Jenkins,
left her no longer any room to doubt but
that the latter was really the friend and
protector he had told her was, and now
that Blodget was thrust into confinement,
from which they were assured he would
not be released until the return of the
// 189l.png
.pn +1
captain, our heroine felt that she was
safe.

‘What ready means guilt often unthinkingly
takes to defeat its own designs:’
observed Alice; ‘Blodget thrusting
me out of the room, was the very
cause of bringing about his own confusion,
and frustrating his evil intentions;
for, had he placed me in another room,
and confined me therein, he might easily
have silenced the old woman, had she
been inclined to oppose him, and thus he
would have been almost certain to have
obtained his object.’

‘Oh, no,’ returned Inez, ‘my mind
was made up; never did I feel more determined,
and he perceived it; I would
have plunged the knife to my heart, sooner
than he would have triumphed in his
disgusting and diabolical purpose!’

‘Oh, Miss,’ said Alice, ‘the idea of
that makes me shudder with horror!
Heaven be praised, that preserved you
from such a dreadful and untimely end.
But the wretch will no doubt be amply
punished for his crimes, and for all the
sufferings that he has inflicted upon you.’

‘And how think you that Jenkins will
dispose of him?’ interrogated Inez.

‘Deliver him up to the Vigilance Committee,’
replied Alice.

‘How can he do so without getting
himself into trouble?’

‘Oh, there is no doubt but that he will
readily hit upon a plan,’ said Alice; ‘I
dare say that he has already arranged
that, without knowing anything of the
late circumstance. Clear up, Miss, for
depend upon it, your troubles are fast
drawing to a close, and not many days
will elapse ere you will be again restored
to your friends.’

‘Alas,’ ejaculated Inez, tears gushing
to her eyes, ‘perhaps I have no dear
// 189r.png
.pn +1
friends to receive me! Oh, how my poor
heart chills at the thought.’

‘Pray, Miss,’ said Alice, ‘do not encourage
fears which, after all, may prove
unfounded. Great, no doubt, as has
been the sufferings of Monteagle and your
father, I firmly believe that they are still
living, or Jenkins and the others would
have heard of it.’

‘My unhappy lover may have been
able to withstand the severity of his
accumulated and unparalleled calamities,’
observed Inez, ‘but, my poor father; oh,
well am I convinced that his mind must
have now become a wreck, in which
case, it would be a mercy if the Almighty
should be pleased to take him to Himself.
Poor grey-haired old man, fondest
of parents, best of human beings, shall I
ever again be enfolded to thy paternal
bosom, with the conviction that thou art
conscious it is thy poor persecuted daughter
thou dost embrace?—Alas! I fear
never!’

‘Oh, yes, Miss, you will,’ ejaculated
Alice, energetically, ‘Heaven in its infinite
mercy will not deny you such a blessing
after the many afflictions you have
so undeservedly undergone. Have you
not every reason to place the firmest reliance
upon its goodness, after the manner
in which you have ever been preserved
in the moment of the most imminent
danger?’

‘Yes, my good girl,’ replied our heroine,
drying her tears, ‘indeed I have, and
it is ungrateful in me thus to give way to
despair. But my mind is so continually
tormented, that I scarcely know what I
am saying.’

‘At any rate,’ observed her companion,
‘now that Blodget is made a prisoner
you may rest yourself secure, and Jenkins,
I dare say, will not be long before
// 190l.png
.pn +1
he returns; when you will speedily be
made acquainted with intentions, which,
as I have all along predicted, depend upon
it, will be all in your favor.’

The ideas of Alice were too reasonable
to be rejected by Inez, and she looked
forward to the return of Jenkins with the
greatest anxiety.

A fortnight had now waned away, and
still Jenkins and his companions did not
return, and Gordon, who did not expect
that they would be gone so long, was
fearful lest some accident should have befallen
them. He still kept the wretched
Blodget confined in the same place, and
he now became the complete victim of
despair. His form had wasted away, and
his countenance betrayed the deep, the
intense agony which perpetually tortured
his mind. How dreary were the days
and nights passed in that dark cell, where
he had nothing to commune but his own
dreadful thoughts, and where the horrors
of his own guilty conscience constantly
brought to his imagination the many
crimes he had committed. Conjecture
cannot form but a weak picture of the
mental sufferings of that man of crime.
Oh, who would be guilty, did they but
think upon the horrors that must sooner
or later overtake them?—For the gratification
of some moment of sensual pleasure;
for the transitory indulgence of
some ambitious wish, the unhappy wretch
falls into crime, to pay for it by years of
mental suffering, and ignominious death,
and an eternity of torment!—Oh, how
fearful the price, would but erring mortals
pause and think!

It was on a stormy midnight, when
nearly three weeks had elapsed since Jenkins
had left, when a party who were in
company with Gordon in the little back
room, smoking, were suddenly aroused
// 190r.png
.pn +1
by hearing a shrill whistle. The cigars
were removed from their lips in an instant,
and they jumped hastily to their
feet.

‘Jenkins’s signal, by all that’s fortunate;’
exclaimed Gordon, advancing towards
the door, ‘they have come back
at last, and all safe, I hope!’

‘This has, indeed, been a long trip
captain,’ said Gordon, ‘and I had began
to fear that you were never going to return.’

‘Better late than never,’ answered
Jenkins; ‘but how is all at the house?’

‘Quite safe, captain,’ replied Gordon,
with a peculiar grin, ‘the lady is in her
own apartments with her companion, Alice,
and that arrant scoundrel Blodget,
confined in one of the vaults underneath,
where he has been since two or three
days after your departure.’

‘Ah!’ exclaimed Jenkins, ‘has he then
dared to scorn the warning that I gave
him?’

Gordon briefly related what had taken
place between Blodget and our heroine.

‘Why, the damned villain!’ cried Jenkins,
passionately; ‘after the strict injunctions
which I laid upon him, and
knowing that he was placed entirely at
my mercy. But he shall pay dearly for
it; his doom is sealed.’

‘I did not know whether you would
approve of the lodging I had given the
fellow,’ answered Gordon.

‘You have acted perfectly right,’ said
Jenkins; ‘and I commend you for what
you have done. Blodget shall quickly
have another berth, and his career he
may reckon at an end. And is the lady
quite well?’

Gordon answered in the affirmative.

‘I am happy to hear that,’ said Jenkins;
‘she shall not much longer remain
// 191l.png
.pn +1
in the position she is now placed in.—Poor
lady, I shall for ever regret having
been instrumental in any way towards
her unhappiness; but I knew not who
she was, or the villain Blodget should
not have retained possession of her.
However, his time of shame is fast approaching,
and bitterly will he have to
pay for all.’

‘It is, then, your intention to restore
the lady to liberty?’ asked Gordon.

‘Certainly,’ answered Jenkins, ‘and to
her friends.’

‘But you will run a great risk in so
doing, will you not?’

‘No; leave me alone for that; I have
arranged everything in my own mind,’
said Jenkins.

‘But how do you propose to dispose
of Blodget?’ inquired Gordon.

‘I have not exactly made up my mind,
although I did threaten him with death,’
answered Jenkins. ‘To-morrow night,
or the next, I shall convey the scoundrel
far away from hence.’

‘You would not deprive him of life?’

‘No,’ replied Jenkins, ‘not by my own
hands; besides it would be a pity to deprive
the hangman of a job.’

Gordon did not return any answer to
this, for when he recollected the crimes
of which he had himself been guilty, he
thought that it was not all unlikely that
he should himself afford employment for
that functionary, sooner or later.

In the morning early, the robber captain
was traversing his way along the
vaulted passages, and at length stopped
at the door of the vault in which Blodget
was confined. There he paused and
listened, for he could not help feeling
that he was only justly punished for the
part he had played towards the unfortunate
Inez and her friends.
// 191r.png
.pn +1

At length he withdrew the bolts, and
entered the cell. The dim light which
was emitted by the lamp which Jenkins
carried, could but faintly penetrate the
gloom of the miserable place, so that
Blodget did not at first perceive who it
was that had entered, and no doubt, did
not think that it was any one else than
Gordon; and the robber stood contemplating
him for a minute or two in silence,
but resentment was strongly portrayed
in his countenance.

‘So, villain,’ he at length said, ‘you
have dared to brave my threats, to disobey
my injunctions, and have again offered
to—’

He was interrupted by a loud exclamation
from Blodget, who, upon recognizing
his voice, sprang forward, and in
the most abject manner knelt at Jenkins’s
feet, and looked up in his face with the
most earnest supplication.

‘Oh, Jenkins,’ he cried, in the most
impressive tones; ‘spare me;—pity me;—pardon
me!—I will own my guilt;—I
will acknowledge I was wrong; but let
the agony I have for the last fortnight
endured in this place satisfy you, and do
not, oh, do not proceed to extremities.’

Jenkins fixed upon him a look of the
utmost contempt, as he replied:

‘And have you, then, the effrontery to
crave pardon, after setting all my injunctions
at defiance? I gave you sufficient
warning of what the consequences would
be, did you not obey me; you have
scorned it, and those consequences you
must abide by.’

‘No, no;’ groaned the poor terrified
wretch, still remaining on his knees, and
looking the very picture of death, with
the excess of his fears; ‘you will not
surely do as you say?—You will not
deliver me up to justice?—Consign me
// 192l.png
.pn +1
to an ignominious and violent death!
Pause ere you do so!—My death will
avail you nothing. Suffer me therefore
to live to repent, and I promise you that
neither Inez or her friends shall receive
any further annoyance from me!’

‘I will take especial care that they do
not;’ returned Jenkins with a sarcastic
grin.’

‘My life will at any time be in your
hands,’ added the poor, trembling coward;
‘should I again break my word,
Jenkins, I beg of you, I supplicate to
you, in the most humble manner do not
doom me yet to death!’

‘Despicable scoundrel!’ ejaculated Jenkins;
‘so dead to the sufferings of others;
and yet so fearful of suffering himself.
Wretch! you deserve to die the death
of a dog, and you will do so.’

Blodget groaned and covered his face
with his hands.

‘Prepare yourself to depart from here
in my custody to-morrow night,’ said
Jenkins, as he moved towards the door
of the cell.

‘Whither, Jenkins, and for what purpose?
Oh, tell me! tell me!’ entreated
Blodget, his whole frame violently convulsed
with the power of his emotions.
Jenkins looked at him for a moment in
silence, and then replied,—

‘You will know soon; at present I
shall leave you to form your own conjectures,
and to ask your conscience what
ought to be your destiny.’

‘Stay, Jenkins, I beseech you!’ cried
the unfortunate prisoner, in delirious accents;
but Jenkins had immediately
quitted the cell, and securing the door
was quickly far out of hearing.

‘inquire whether Miss Inez will do me
the favor to grant me an interview,’ said
Jenkins, addressing himself to Gordon,
// 192r.png
.pn +1
soon after he had entered the parlor, after he
quitted the place in which Blodget
was confined.

Gordon, without offering any observation,
hastened to do as he was bid, and
quickly returned with an answer in the
affirmative. Jenkins then hurried up
stairs, and knocking at the door, was
ushered into the presence of Inez.

He paused at the door, and bowed to
our heroine with an air of the utmost
respect, and he was altogether lost in the
admiration of Inez’s beauty. Her cheeks
had become flushed immediately on her
hearing the message from Jenkins, and
her heart palpitated violently against her
side with rekindled hopes.

‘Miss,’ at last observed Jenkins, in a
respectful tone of voice; ‘I have no
doubt suffered much in your opinion,
from the part which I at first unfortunately
enacted in the plot against you by
your enemy, Blodget.’

Our heroine attempted to reply, but
she was too much confused to do so, and
Jenkins continued,

‘I am now, however, anxious to make
all the reparation in my power, by restoring
you to liberty and your friends!’

Inez uttered an exclamation of mingled
delight and gratitude, and instantly sunk
at the feet of Jenkins, and while the
tears gushed from her eyes, she sobbed:

‘Oh, thanks! thanks! kind sir, for
this—’

Jenkins interrupted her, and gently
raised her from her knees.

‘Nay, my dear lady,’ he said, ‘I merit
not your thanks; for, probably, had it
not been for a certain discovery I by accident
made, I might still have taken no
interest in your fate.’

‘A discovery!’ repeated Inez, with a
look of astonishment.
// 193l.png
.pn +1

‘Ay,’ answered the captain; ‘that you
are the daughter of one who once befriended
me.’

‘Know you then my dear father?’

‘Lady,’ answered Jenkins, in peculiar
accents, ‘I have reason to know him, to
be unceasing in my gratitude towards
him.’

‘Oh, say, does he still live?’

‘He does!’

‘Heaven receive my thanks!’ cried
our heroine, fervently, clasping her
hands, and raising her eyes.

‘Miss de Castro, I will at once inform
you the nature of the kindness your father
did me, and you will then see why
from being the accomplice and abetter of
Blodget, I have become his enemy and
your friend. Some three years since, I
crossed the plains from Missouri. By
the time we had crossed the mountains
our teams had given out—our provisions
were exhausted—and many of our people
dead. It was at this time that your
father, with a party, met with us, and
not only aided us with mules and provisions,
but remained several days attending
my children who were prostrated by
fever. It was only during my last visit
to the Mission that I met your father and
learned that his name was de Castro, and
that you were his child. I managed to
have word conveyed to him that his
daughter was safe, and would soon be restored
to his arms. I have now hastened
here to carry you back, and devise
means to give Blodget up to Justice.
This cannot be done so speedily or easily
as I could wish, for the villain is master
of too many secrets involving perhaps
the lives of members of my band, for me
to proceed rashly in the matter. Meanwhile
be cheerful, Alice will remain with
// 193r.png
.pn +1
you, and in a few days you will be with
your father.’

Inez fervently thanked Jenkins, and
throwing herself on her knees poured
out her fervent thanks to that power that
had shielded her from outrage worse than
death.
.sp 2
.hr 20%
.sp 4
.h2
CHAPTER VIII
.sp 2
The scene we are now about to describe
was in a room of a hotel; the
time, five o’clock in the morning—the persons
present were Belcher Kay, Maretzo,
and two or three other noisy and dissipated
revellers, whose flushed countenances,
blood-shot eyes, and other equally
striking symptoms, showed plainly
enough that they had been ‘making a
night of it.’

Kay and the Italian appeared to be
the most sober of the company, not that
their potations had been less deep or frequent
than their companions, but that
constant practice had so inured them to
the wine cup, that it was long ere they
showed any ill-effects from it.

They certainly were particularly noisy
and merry, and their companions lent
their aid to the conviviality, by knocking
down everything the aforesaid said or
did, in the most tumultuous manner.

One individual, in the classic language
of the drunkard, was ‘quite done up,’
and was stretched at full length upon the
floor, under one of the tables, with his hat
for a pillow, and a portion of the carpet
for a coverlid; and every now and then
he added to the general tumult by a
loud snore of the most hoggish description.

The proprietor of the hotel had several
// 194l.png
.pn +1
times requested the party to <i>break up</i>,
but as the said party threatened to <i>break
his head</i> instead, if he interfered with
them, he thought it was best to desist
from his importunities, and after supplying
them with enough wine for the night,
he retired to his own chamber, and left
them, very reluctantly, to the indulgence
of their noisy revels.

At the time we have thought proper
to open this scene, it was, as we have before
stated, about five o’clock in the
morning, and the landlord of the hotel
had arisen, and his servants also, and the
usual bustle in such places prevailed, but
still the debauchees continued their riotous
mirth, and it appeared as if they had
fully made up their minds to make another
day of it, at least.

‘The song, Kay, the song, the song;
we will have no excuses;’ shouted Maretzo.

‘Ay, ay, the song, the song, we will
have no excuses;’ chorused three or four
voices, and the man under the table gave
a loud snore.

‘Oh, the song, ah! well I don’t mind
trying one, just to keep up the conviviality;’
said Kay, who was seated on rather
a high chair, with his legs negligently
deposited on one end of the table, and
twiddling a fine-flavoured cigar in his
finger and thumb. ‘The song—let me
see—ah, what shall it be? Oh, I have
it—very good I think you will admit.’

And then without any further ceremony,
Kay, who had an excellent voice
commenced singing.

The demonstrations of applause that
greeted this bacchanalian display, were
of the most uproarious kind, and by the
time the companions of Maretzo and
Kay had given full scope to the exuberance
of their delight and approbation,
// 194r.png
.pn +1
they were one and all ‘done up,’ and
one by one dropped off to sleep, leaving
the two above-named gentlemen to the
uninterrupted enjoyment of their own
society.

‘Ha! ha! ha!’ laughed Maretzo;
‘they are regularly floored, poor devils!’

‘Completely finished and done up,’
coincided Kay;—‘ha! ha! ha!’

‘They are not half fellows to be done
up with one night’s carouse, poor devils
ha! ha! ha!’ observed Maretzo.

‘Poor weak creatures to be knocked
down with a dozen or two of wine; ha!
ha! ha!’ again laughed Kay.

‘Not like you and I, Kay;’ added
Maretzo.

‘Not a bit of it.’

‘No comparison.’

‘A loco-foco to the moon.’

‘Half a pint of beer to a pipe of
wine.’

‘They cannot stand anything!’

‘Positively nothing!’

‘They’re twaddlers!’

‘Drivellers!’

‘Noodles!’

‘Boobies!’

‘Nincompoops!’

‘Humbugs!’

It may be as well to observe here that
these compliments were bestowed upon
the party at large, who had been liberally
carousing Maretzo and Kay, without
expecting the latter to pay a cent of the
reckoning, and consequently they may
be considered fully entitled to the elegant
epithets that were lavishly bestowed upon
them.

‘You and I are the fellows to do it,
Maretzo,’ said Kay.

‘Positively the very fellows,’ coincided
his friend.
// 195l.png
.pn +1

‘We are no skulkers while there is
plenty of good wine before us,’ added
Kay.

‘Never think of such a thing.’

‘It would ruin our reputation, if we
were known to do such a thing.’

‘And that would be a most melancholy
thing.’

‘Positively awful!’

‘We will never let the enemy beat
us.’

‘No, d—n!’ returned Spangle;—‘but
down with it, down with it, and at it
again.’

‘At it again! Hah! ha! ha!’

‘We are wine proof!’

‘Full proof?’

‘Above proof, by —’

‘But talking about women,’ observed
Kay, ‘That Blodget was a devilish fortunate
fellow.’

‘Cunning rogue!’ replied Maretzo;
‘he managed his business famously, and
has contrived admirably to elude the vigilance
of Monteagle and the lady’s friends.’

‘They have not heard anything of
them yet, I believe?’

‘Nothing!’

‘Poor Monteagle! Ha! ha!’

‘Ah! poor fool!’

‘I wonder what has become of Monteagle?’

‘Oh, he is doubtless still making every
inquiry after the lady.’

‘And it is my firm belief that Inez
will never live to see her father, her lover,
or her friends again.’

‘I am of the same opinion; a sensitive,
high-minded woman like her, will
never be able to survive long the misery
and degradation which Blodget has
heaped upon her.’

‘He positively must be a smart scoundrel.’
// 195r.png
.pn +1

‘I never heard of one equal to him.’

‘Such a systematic way as he went to
work to accomplish his villainy.’

‘The ingenious and complicated plot
he devised to bring about the gratification
of his wishes.’

‘The artful manner in which he contrived
to make the simpleton, Jenkins,
his dupe, too; the ready tool to further
his deep-laid stratagem.’

‘He must have had his education in
the school of art and vice, certainly.’

‘Yes, and been a ready pupil, too.’

‘But is it not strange that every stratagem
has failed to find the slightest clue
to the place of retreat?’

‘Wonderful!’

‘And then the attempt upon Monteagle’s
life.’

‘Doubtless by some ruffian employed
by him.’

‘There cannot be a doubt of it.’

‘To be sure. Revenge has incited him
to it.’

‘He is a dangerous fellow to offend.’

‘A very devil.’

‘At any rate, he does not fail to play
the very devil with those who excite his
enmity.’

‘True.’

‘But he must be defeated at last.’

‘Certainly there is not much prospect
of it at present.’

‘Oh, no doubt he will be caught in
some of his own snares by and bye.’

‘But do you think he has ruined the
girl?’

‘He is villain enough for anything.’

‘He must be a monster, indeed, if he
could perpetrate such a crime as that. I
must have another glass of wine.’

‘Do you think that he who did not
hesitate to attempt the life of the father,
// 196l.png
.pn +1
and the violation of the daughter, would
shrink from any thing.’

‘But, then, her youth—her innocence.’

‘Psha!—he is a stranger to such feelings
as they ought to inspire.’

‘Why, to be sure, from his general
conduct, we have an undoubted right to
suppose that he is.’

‘And yet I think that he has had
some other motive for getting the girl in
his power; that he has found her necessary
to advance his base schemes.’

There was a pause.

‘But that Blodget is really a most terrible
fellow,’ said Kay.

‘Every stratagem, every scheme of
rascality, I do believe, that that rascal of
rascals is up to.’

‘Positively every scheme,’ said Maretzo,
‘but this is a dry subject, and I must
have another glass of wine.’

‘I feel to want one myself, too,’ observed
Kay, filling his glass from the decanter:
‘Well, here’s wishing that Blodget
may soon be here.’

‘And Inez restored to her lover and
friends,’ exclaimed Maretzo.

‘Quite safe.’

‘Quite safe,’ repeated Kay.

‘And yet I am afraid there is not
much chance of that.’

‘Nor I.’

‘Leave that consummate scoundrel,
Blodget, alone for that.’

‘Ay, ay.’

‘He would not fail to enforce his
wishes.’

‘To be sure he would not.’

‘And what resistance could she make?’

‘None at all.’

‘She is so completely in his power.’

‘Completely.’

‘Without a friend at hand to fly to her
rescue.’
// 196r.png
.pn +1

‘Not a friend; and besides no one
knows, or can form the least conjecture
whither he has taken her.’

‘Not the least shadow of an idea,’ said
Kay.

‘Any person would positively imagine
that the fellow had some dealings with
the devil,’ added Maretzo, ‘and that she
was conveyed away by magic.’

‘That they certainly would,’ observed
Kay.

‘I would not mind a hundred dollars
to know where the fellow is.’

‘Why, that would be rather awkward,
I imagine, Maretzo,’ returned Kay, with
an expressive grin.

‘Ha! ha!’ laughed Maretzo, clapping
his hand significantly to his pocket; ‘finances
rather queer, you think? Ha!
ha! ha! I understand!’

‘Funds low.’

‘Ha! ha! ha!’

‘It is not a very laughable matter
though.’

‘Very unpleasant.’

‘To be straightened for a few hundreds.’

‘Very disagreeable.’

‘And people have no faith in the
word and honor of gentlemen, now-a-days.’

‘But we must do something to raise
the wind.’

‘That is very evident.’

‘Quite certain.’

‘Quite.’

‘We must make good use of these
boobies,’ said Kay.

‘To be sure. Leave us alone for that,’
replied Maretzo.

‘Oh, yes, I am certain of that.’

‘They are very easy.’

‘Poor devils.’

‘Fit sport for us.’
// 197l.png
.pn +1

‘Just the sort of game we like to
hunt,’ returned Maretzo.

‘They have got a few thousands, which
they seem bent upon wasting.’

‘And we might as well reap the benefit
as any other persons.’

‘To be sure.’

‘And we will too.’

‘Oh, there is not the least doubt of
that; ha! ha! ha!’

‘By the by, we ought not to feel much
obliged to Blodget for that affair—’

‘No, that was a d—d bore.’

‘Remarkably unpleasant.’

‘A few hundreds out of our way.’

‘Yes.’

‘We have mingled in some strange
scenes together.’

‘You may say that.’

‘We have been in luck together.’

‘In debt together.’

‘In prison together.’

‘Damme! we have shared all the
smiles and frowns of fortune, and may
we soon be on more friendly terms with
her than ever.’

‘Bravo!’

The two friends quaffed off glass after
glass, with as much gusto as if they had
only just commenced a night’s carouse;
and then each crossing their legs in an
indolent and careless manner, remained
silent for a short time. The sleepers were
snoring in concert, and did not seem
likely to awake for some time, but to monopolize
the coffee-room for a chamber,
for that day at least.

After the lapse of a short interval,
Maretzo looked up with an expression of
countenance, half solemn, and half humorous,
and, addressing himself to Kay,
says:

‘Kay, my boy!’

‘Well, my dear fellow,’ said Kay.
// 197r.png
.pn +1

‘I have been thinking, Kay.’

‘And what have you been thinking?’
interrogated his dissipated companion.

‘Why, that we have been a pair of
d—d scoundrels!’

‘Ha! ha! ha! what a discovery!—why,
I have known and felt that long
ago, Maretzo,’ returned Kay.

‘We have taken that which did not
belong to us,’ added Maretzo, ‘and borrowed
that which we never repaid.’

‘And never meant to repay;’ observed
Kay, with a laugh.

‘We have diddled our tailor; broken
the fortunes, and the hearts of innumerable
bootmakers, hatters, frizzeurs, laundresses,
and other creditors.’

‘Very true,’ remarked Kay, ‘and we
are likely enough to break the hearts of
a great many more, if they are silly
enough to trust us.’

‘Ah!’ ejaculated Maretzo, and he fetched
a very deep sigh, reflectively.

‘Ah!’ mimicked Kay; ‘why, confound
me, if you are not getting melancholy.’

‘I am becoming penitent,’ replied Maretzo,
in a tone still half serious, ‘I am
becoming penitent, Kay.’

‘Penitent!’

‘Yes, downright compunctious.’

‘Ha! ha! ha!’

‘Don’t laugh, I feel a touch of the serious,’
remarked Maretzo, ‘I think it is
high time that we began to think about
a reformation, Kay.’

‘Well, positively.’

‘Ah! it may be well, positively,’ repeated
Maretzo, ‘and, positively, I wish
it to be well.’

‘And what is your plan of reformation?’
inquired Kay.

‘Why, matrimony.’

‘Matrimony?’

‘Ay, sober wedlock,’ answered Maretzo,
// 198l.png
.pn +1
‘it would be advisable for us to do the
steady and the amiable for some time,
until we can meet with a favorable match;
a handsome sum in the shape of a wedding
dowry, and a handsome wife, and
then we may settle down into two worthy
gentlemen, very patterns of domesticated
virtue.’

‘Not a bad plan,’ said Kay, smiling,
‘but it is almost too soon to think about
that, yet.’

‘Not at all.’

‘That is only your opinion.’

‘And I have no doubt, as we have
hitherto generally agreed, that it will be
your opinion also.’

‘I cannot make up my mind to be
shackled just yet, my dear fellow,’ replied
Kay.

‘Nonsense, you may let the opportunity
go by, and then you would repent
it, take my word for it.’

‘Probably, I might,’ said Kay, ‘but I
shall e’en trust fortune a little while
longer.’

‘But fortune will not trust you—we
owe her too large an account already,’
observed Maretzo.

‘But I am determined to jilt the jade
still further, yet.’

‘Mind you do not deceive yourself.’

‘Leave me alone for that.’

‘After all, if a pretty girl, with a handsome
portion is thrown in your way, I do
not fear but that I shall be able to make
you a convert.’

‘Well, we’ll leave that till the opportunity
offers itself.’

‘Be it so.’

‘But you are really serious?’

‘Cursed serious.’

‘Ha, ha, ha! we must have another
glass of wine after that,’ laughed Kay,
‘here’s fortune and matrimony.’
// 198r.png
.pn +1

‘Fortune and matrimony,’ responded
Maretzo, raising the glass to his lips; and
then another pause of a few minutes took
place.

‘I have been thinking, Kay,’ at length
Maretzo broke silence, ‘that, after all,
the whereabouts of Blodget, and Inez
may not be so difficult for Monteagle to
trace out as hitherto it has proved.’

At this, the door opened, and the
landlord entered, saying that a man
wished to speak to Kay.

‘Tell him to come in. Who the deuce
can it be?’ said Kay.

‘Doubtless one of our fellows,’ said
Maretzo.

The man now entered.

‘Well,’ said Kay. ‘I’m the person
you asked for.’

The visitor went to the door, and turned
the key. He then said, in a low
tone, ‘Is your companion to be trusted?’

‘True as steel,’ said Kay.

‘Blodget is in trouble and needs your
assistance. He is at Gordon’s house.—Jenkins
has informed on him, and he
can’t leave the house without almost certain
death. He wishes you and a person
he called Maretzo, to be there to-night.
With your aid he can get off,
carrying the lady with him. He says
he won’t mind a couple of thousand, if
you can get him out of this scrape.’

‘Now, my good fellow, how do we
know that this isn’t all gas. A trap,
may be?’ said Kay.

‘He told me to tell you, if you doubted
me, to remember <i>the old man in the
old house</i>!’

Kay started, but quickly recovering
himself said, ‘All right, we’ll be on
hand.’

The man left the house, and mounting
his horse rode to the Mission. At a
// 199l.png
.pn +1
small house near the church he found
Joaquin, by whom he was conducted to
Jenkins, who was in company with
Monteagle and some Californians, friends
of Inez and her family.

The party speedily set off across the
country towards the house where Inez
was confined. But speedy as they were,
they found they had been anticipated by
Kay and Maretzo, who had set off to
aid Blodget the instant the man had
left. On arriving at the house they
knocked boldly at the door. Gordon
opened it, but upon seeing who the visitors
were he attempted to slam it in
their faces, but ere he succeeded a long
Spanish knife was driven to his heart by
Maretzo, and the wretch fell a bleeding
corpse on the floor. Blodget was soon
released.

‘Bear a-hand,’ cried Kay. ‘We must
be out of this d—d quick. If Jenkins
or any of his gang arrive, we’re gone
chickens.’

‘One moment,’ cried Blodget. ‘I’ll
have this d—d stubborn Spanish b—h
if I have to carry her corpse across my
saddle!’ as he spoke he sprang up stairs.

Alice had overheard what passed for
she was sitting by Inez’s bedside watching
her slumbers.

The brave girl instantly determined to
save Inez, even at peril of her own life.

She extinguished the light, and throwing
the veil of Inez over her head, and
her mantle over her shoulders, she stood
with beating heart, as she heard the villain
Blodget’s steps upon the stairs.

‘Inez!’ cried the ruffian, as he opened
the door of the chamber.

‘Who calls me?’ said Alice, imitating
the voice of Inez.

The ruffian made no reply, but seizing
// 199r.png
.pn +1
her shrinking form in his arms, he bore
her to the front of the ranch, where Kay
and Maretzo stood ready to mount, holding
a spare horse that they had brought
to facilitate Blodget’s escape. The ruffian
sprang to his horse’s back, dragging
Alice up before, and dashing the rowels
into his horse’s flanks, flew off at full
speed, followed by Kay and Maretzo.

They had not been gone many moments,
ere Jenkins, Monteagle, and their
friends arrived. The bloody body of
Gordon, which first arrested their attention
at the threshold, filled them with
dreadful forebodings.

Lights were procured, and Monteagle
sought the chamber in which he was
told he would find Inez. He burst into
the room. A lady lay on the bed.
‘Inez!’ he shouted.

The lady turned her head, and his
eyes fell upon her countenance!

‘Gracious Heaven!’ he almost shrieked;
‘is this some beauteous vision got
up to torture me to madness? Inez!—My
Inez!’

A wild shriek answered him!—It was
no delusion! He sprang forward with
delirious speed, just time enough to clasp
the fainting form of his long-lost betrothed
in his arms!

How shall our weak pen essay the
task to describe the scene which followed
this strange, this unexpected meeting?

Insensible, Inez was conveyed to an
apartment in the cabaret, whither Monteagle
followed, and could not be persuaded
to leave her sight for an instant.

Again and again he enfolded her in
his arms; pressed warm kisses on her
lips, her cheeks, her temples, and laughed
and wept like a child, by turns!—Then
he threw himself upon his knees,
// 200l.png
.pn +1
clasps his hands vehemently together,
and poured forth an eloquent prayer to
the most High!

Joaquin began to entertain a fear that
the sudden surprise, and so powerful a
shock as it must be to his feelings, would
have a fatal effect upon his senses; and
he did all that he possibly could to
calm his emotions.

His efforts were, however, for some
time unavailing, but at length he became
more tranquilized, and resigning
Inez to the care of the persons who had
been called in to attend her, he sank into
a chair, and covering his face with
his hands, gave full vent to the emotions
that overflowed his heart, in a copious
flood of tears.

Joaquin in this did not attempt to interrupt
him, for he well knew what a relief
it would be to him, and he turned
his eyes from Monteagle to watch the
progress which was being made towards
the recovery of Inez.

His joy was scarcely less than that of
Monteagle, although it did not exhibit itself
in so violent a manner, and his heart
teemed with gratitude to the Almighty,
who had brought about their restoration
to each other in so miraculous a manner.

It was not long before Inez was restored
to animation; and, looking eagerly
around her, she exclaimed:—

‘Where is he?—Was it a dream?—Oh,
where is Monteagle?’

‘He is here, my love, my long lost
one!—My only hope!’ cried Monteagle,
and again they were enfolded to each
other’s hearts, while further utterance
was denied them by the power of their
emotions!

We must hastily draw a veil over that
scene which the imagination of our readers
can depicture far better than any
// 200r.png
.pn +1
language of ours, however powerful, we
could describe it!

Those moments were a foretaste of
Heaven, succeeding the torment of purgatory!
Their extacy was so great, that
they could scarcely believe the evidence
of their senses. It was some time ere
they could satisfy themselves that they
spoke, they breathed, or that they
were still inhabitants of this sublunary
scene!

But when, by the joint efforts of
Joaquin and others, they became more
tranquilized, the scene which followed
was affecting in the extreme. They rested
for a few hours, as they were not sufficiently
composed to resume their journey
to that home in which they had not
together met for so long a period, and
where they had never expected to meet
again; and their friends, after a short
time, left them to themselves, to enter
into that mutual explanation, they were
each so anxious to obtain.

With what feelings of horror, disgust,
and indignation, did Monteagle listen to
the recital of his love, but how did his
heart overflow with gratitude, when he
heard of the manner in which Inez had
been enabled to resist the diabolical attempts
and importunities of the villain
Blodget; and as he pressed her to his
heart, he again poured forth his thanks
to the Almighty for her preservation from
such accumulated and fearful dangers.

‘The monster! the fiend!—for he
cannot be anything human, although he
bears the form of man,’ cried Monteagle,
speaking of Blodget; ‘oh, how I regret
that he has been suffered to escape my
vengeance!’

‘But he will not that of Heaven,
dearest,’ ejaculated Inez; ‘oh, most assuredly
that will ere long overtake him
// 201l.png
.pn +1
in its most terrible form, for the many,
the almost unequalled crimes of which
he has been guilty!’

‘True, my love,’ returned Monteagle,
and his eyes sparkled with rapture as he
gazed upon that dear countenance he
had never expected to behold again;
‘and oh, if ever atrocity deserved punishment,
dreadful will be his doom. To
concoct so infernal a plot, by which he
tore you from my arms.’

Inez smiled beautifully through her
tears, and throwing her fair arms around
the neck of Monteagle, the kisses she so
fervently pressed upon his lips, convinced
him powerfully of her affection.

‘Say no more upon that painful subject,
my dearest,’ she ejaculated; ‘let it
from this joyful moment be for ever buried
in oblivion.’

‘It shall, it shall, my sweetest,’ replied
Monteagle; ‘but oh, what a debt of gratitude
do I owe to your generous preserver,
Jenkins. Would that I could see
him, that I might to himself express
the power of my feelings. Nothing can
ever sufficiently reward that man for
the inestimable service he has rendered
me.’

‘I need not assure you,’ rejoined Inez,
‘that I most warmly concur in your feelings;
and I trust that at some future
period, Jenkins may be able to visit us,
and receive the demonstrations of our
mutual gratitude, and, moreover, be persuaded
to quit the life he is at present
leading.’

‘Pity it is that he should, by some
cursed fatality urging him on to crime,
be driven from it,’ observed Monteagle;
‘but I dare say that his offences have
never been so heinous as to exclude him
from all hope of earthly pardon.’

‘No, I cannot believe that they have,’
// 201r.png
.pn +1
replied Inez; ‘but he is so much attached
to his present wild life of freedom,
and his reckless associates, that I am
doubtful whether he will ever be induced
to abandon them.’

‘My influence and exertions to induce
him to do so, shall not be wanting,’ said
Monteagle. ‘Still I am sorry that he
should have changed his first determination,
namely, to deliver the wretch
Blodget into the hands of justice. While
I know that villain to be living and still at
large, my mind cannot be entirely at rest,
for, however watchful and vigilant we
may be, after what we have experienced
from his villainous artifices, have we not
reason to fear that he will devise some
means of further annoying us, and gratifying
his demonical revenge?’

‘Do not, I beg of you, my love,’ said
our heroine, ‘harass your mind by apprehensions.’

‘Heaven grant that your surmises
may prove correct, Inez,’ observed Monteagle;
‘but I candidly own that I cannot
entirely divest my mind of the fears
which I have described; and should anything
happen again to you, my love, all
my manly fortitude would entirely forsake
me, and I should never be able to
survive the shock!’

‘Pray, Monteagle,’ urged Inez, ‘if you
would not make me miserable, endeavor,
struggle to banish such gloomy imaginings
from your bosom, and trust to
the goodness of Providence which has
hitherto so mercifully preserved us, when
the darkest snares of villainy sought to
ruin and destroy us.’

‘For your sake, my own love,’ replied
Monteagle, once more affectionately and
passionately kissing her cheek, ‘I will
endeavor to do so; still you surely will
not blame me for not placing too much
// 202l.png
.pn +1
confidence in our security, which might
prevent me from being watchful and
wary to defeat any base plans that might
be devised against our future peace?’

‘Oh, no, in that you will only act
with prudence and wisdom, although, I
must repeat that I sincerely trust there
will not be found to be any necessity for
that precaution. But my poor father—what
of him?’

‘He is well in body.’

‘But how has he supported my absence?’

‘Oh, he suffered terribly.’

‘Did he give himself up to grief?’

‘At first he did—he was as one struck
to the earth by a sudden, violent blow.
Joaquin, however, roused him from his
despondency, by urging the absolute necessity
of pursuing the abductors. Thus
urged, your father shook off his despondency,
and appearing to forget his
years, joined in the search for your abductors
// 202r.png
.pn +1
with all the ardor of youth. Indeed
it became almost necessary forcibly
to restrain him, lest he should become
totally deranged.’

‘<i>Totally</i> deranged! Then his mind
was affected by my loss?’

‘Oh, my love,’ ejaculated Monteagle,
‘Would that heaven had spared me that
painful task; but pray be calm and bear
the melancholy intelligence with fortitude
and resignation.’

‘Speak on, speak on; I’m prepared
for the worst,’ ejaculated our heroine— ‘Tell
me of my poor father.’

‘When I left your home the physicians
hoped he might recover, as at intervals
reason seemed returning, when he
would call for his daughter Inez, and
then relapse into unconsciousness.’

‘Oh, let us hasten to my poor dear
father.’

They were soon in their saddles, and
on road to the Mission.
// 203l.png
.pn +1
.sp 2
.hr 20%
.sp 4
.h2
CHAPTER XIX||<I>The Seducer’s Terrible End.</I>
.sp 2
A few nights after Blodget’s escape
found him walking the streets of San
Francisco, but disguised as he thought
too effectually to be recognized by any
eye, however sharp.

There was a cloud upon Blodget’s
brow as he emerged from the court
into the semi-obscurity of Montgomery
street, and his mind was evidently ill at
ease. He tried to hum a fashionable
opera air when he had walked a little
distance, but there seemed something
in his throat which choked him, and
the sounds died upon his lips. Then
he quickened his pace, when a young
female emerged from a street which he
was passing, and laid her hand upon
his arm. He turned his head, and beheld
Carlotta.

She was thinner than when he had
seen her last, and looked as if she had
recently been ill; but her dark eyes
were as lustrous as then, and there was
the same gloss upon her raven hair.
At the moment that she emerged from
the shade of the court, and laid her hand
upon his, there was a strange and almost
indescribable expression upon her
dark countenance, but it passed away
as quickly as a flight of birds over a
stream, and when Blodget’s eyes met
hers, they read nothing therein but
pleasure at meeting him again.

‘Ah, my little wild rose of the islands!’
said he, ‘what are you doing at
this hour of the night, when all such
// 203r.png
.pn +1
pretty wild birds should be in their
nests.’

‘Well, I can’t say I was looking for
you,’ returned Carlotta, ‘but I am glad
that I have met you, nevertheless. But
I should ask you where you have been
wandering, you naughty man?’

‘Oh, I have been to the theatre, and
then walked this way with a friend,’
returned Blodget. ‘But where are you
staying—can you take me home with
you?’

‘Fie!’ said Carlotta, playfully.

‘I really cannot part with you, my
charmer,’ said Blodget. ‘If you cannot
take me to your quarters, wherever they
may be, you must come somewhere
with me.’

‘You must not think of going where
my people are,’ observed the Chilean
girl, ‘remember how near the detection
of our amour was costing our lives.’

‘Then come with me, my beauty,’
said Blodget. ‘There is a house not
far from here which will suit our purpose,
and I shall not part with you until
daylight.’

‘Then I go with you, Blodget,’ said
Carlotta. ‘Promise me that you will
not seek to detain me more than an
hour, and I will not refuse you the happiness
you covet.’

Blodget promised, and the Chilean
girl accompanied him to an accommodation-house
in the neighborhood, where
they were conducted to a neatly furnished
bedchamber on the first floor.

‘We shall have time to drink a bottle
of champagne in the hour that you have
promised to remain with me,’ observed
Blodget, and he gave the girl, who had
preceded them with a light, some silver
to procure it.
// 204l.png
.pn +1

They sat down, and Blodget threw
his arm round the waist of his dark-eyed
companion, and drawing her towards
him, impressed a kiss upon her
lips. She smiled upon him, but her
lips did not give back the kiss, and
there was a glitter in her night dark
eyes at the moment which was not the
radiance which springs from happiness
or love. Blodget, however, failed to detect
anything unusual or peculiar in the
expression of that glance. The wine
was brought, and placed upon a small
round table convenient to Blodget’s
hand, and he filled the glasses, handing
one to Carlotta and taking one himself.

‘The sparkling juice will bring back
to your dark cheeks a glow that seems
wanting there,’ said he, as he sat down
the glasses and immediately refilled
them.

‘Come, drink,’ he cried.

‘It will be the last time we’ll drink
together.’

‘Why, what the deuce makes you
think so?’ said Blodget.

‘I don’t know,’ replied the girl,
‘but I have said it, and you’ll see if it
don’t come to pass.’

‘D—d nonsense,’ cried Blodget, laughing,
and then he drew his companion on
his knee, and kissed her repeatedly and
eagerly.

Carlotta was silent, but she reclined
her dark cheek against her seducer’s,
and quietly and adroitly drew from her
pocket a little phial containing some
liquid. Concealing the phial in her
hand, she then threw her arm over
Blodget’s shoulder, and noiselessly drawing
the tiny cork, poured the contents
of the phial into his glass.

‘Another glass of champagne, my
glow-worm,’ said Blodget, ‘and the soft
// 204r.png
.pn +1
delights of love, the thrilling joys of
warm and impassioned nature are ours.’

Carlotta removed her arm from his
shoulder as he turned slightly to reach
his wine, and while she kept her eyes
upon the glasses to observe that he gave
her the one that she had drank from before,
she returned the empty phial to
her pocket.

‘I suppose nothing unpleasant came
of our dalliance?’ said Blodget, in a
half interrogative tone, as he handed
the girl her glass.

‘Why do you suppose so? Ought
you not rather to suppose just the reverse?
Was not something unpleasant
naturally to be expected?’

‘Well, perhaps I might have supposed
so,’ returned Blodget, deprecatingly,
and a little disconcerted by the
girl’s reply.

There was a moment’s pause, and
both sat with their glasses in their hands,
Blodget’s eyes fixed upon the floor, the
girl surveying the countenance of her
seducer, as if she were trying to read his
thoughts.

‘Well, what was it?’ Blodget at
length inquired.

‘A boy,’ returned Carlotta. ‘It died,
and I was glad of it, for if it had lived
it might have been as faithless as his
father.’

‘Do you want to quarrel?’

‘No.’

‘For heaven’s sake cease,’ exclaimed
Blodget, suddenly raising the wineglass
to his lips, and emptying it at a draught.

Carlotta drank her wine quickly as
he spoke, and rose from his knee, where
she had contrived to sit while upbraiding
him with his inconstancy and duplicity.
Her dark eyes were fixed upon
his countenance, which changed the moment
// 205l.png
.pn +1
he had swallowed the wine, his
lips becoming white, and the expression
of his features becoming ghastly and
cadaverous.

‘You are a dead man and I am avenged!’
exclaimed the girl in a hissing
whisper; and then she glided towards
the door, and turned the key in the
lock.

A faint groan which seemed to struggle
feebly and faintly upwards, was the
only sign of vitality which Blodget gave,
and then his head fell upon his breast
and his arms fell powerless at his side.

Quickly and silently Carlotta drew the
sheets from the bed, knotted them together,
and then fastened one end securely
// 205r.png
.pn +1
to the bedpost nearest the window;
this done, she noiselessly raised
the sash, and looked out. The night
was dark and foggy, but she could see
that there was a small yard below, with
a door in the wall, which opened into
a court at the rear of the house. Dropping
one end of the sheets from the window,
she immediately got out upon the
sill, and grasping the sheet firmly with
both hands, descended in safety into the
yard. She could hear laughter and the
tinkling of glasses in the back parlor,
but the shutters were closed, and noiselessly
unbolting the door in the yard
fence, she hurried swiftly out, and in
a few minutes was far away.
// 206l.png
.pn +1
.sp 2
.hr 20%
.sp 4
.h2
CHAPTER XX||<I>The Return to the Mission.</I>
.sp 2
Let us now rejoin Inez and Monteagle
whom we left on their road to the Mission.

What powerful sensations of unspeakable
delight rushed through the veins of
Inez, and monopolized every feeling of
her heart, when those scenes which she
had never expected to behold again,
once more burst upon her vision. The
tumult of rapturous and conflicting ideas
that darted to her brain, were almost
overwhelming, and, although her tongue
was eager to give expression to her sentiments,
the strength of her emotions
would not permit her to give utterance
to a single syllable. She looked in the
countenance of her lover with an expression
of the most unbounded affection
and delight, and she fully perceived that
he reciprocated her feelings. Tears filled
his eyes, and taking her hand he pressed
it to his lips with eloquent silence.

Not the slightest change appeared to
have taken place in everything upon
which the eyes of our heroine rested,
since last she had gazed upon those well
known scenes. The bright beams of a
silvery moon were shining serenely upon
every thing around, and a melancholy
silence, so consonant with her own state
of mind, prevailed. But, alas, she reflected,
what a change had taken place
in the home of her childhood! That
home which had once abounded in every
happiness that the human mind could
wish for, was now the abode of sorrow;
that fond parent, whose every joy and
hope were centered in her, was a maniac
// 206r.png
.pn +1
and would be insensible to the felicity of
her restoration to his arms.

This last thought was too afflicting for
endurance, and overcome by her emotion
she leant her head upon the bosom of
Monteagle, and burst into an hysterical
flood of tears.

In vain did Monteagle endeavor to
tranquilize her feelings, he felt how powerful
was the cause she had for sorrow,
and the anguish he endured was scarcely
less than her own.

Joaquin exerted himself to the utmost
to calm the feelings of them both, and
he at length succeeded.

Monteagle, we should have mentioned
before, had taken the precaution to send
forward a person to the Mission, with a
letter, making them briefly acquainted
with the fortunate meeting which had
taken place between him and our heroine,
and of their coming, so that the surprise
might not be too sudden for them;
and they were, therefore, fully aware that
they would exert themselves to the utmost
to meet the unexpected pleasure
which awaited them; the more especially
as the precarious and lamentable
situation of Senor de Castro rendered the
greatest care necessary.

At length the elegant, but unostentatious,
mansion, burst upon their vision,
and Providence imbued the mind of Inez
with a calm feeling of joy, which she
had never experienced before. Everything
seemed to dance before her eyes to
welcome her return to that once happy
home, and the horses appeared to move
with the most tedious slowness, as they
cantered along the road which led to the
garden gates.

They reached those gates; they were
already open, and standing to receive
// 207l.png
.pn +1
them were beings endeared to them by
every affectionate and grateful feeling.

Let not the too presumptuous pen attempt
to describe the scene which followed,
language is by far too weak to
convey any idea of it. Tears, sobs, and
broken sentences of unbounded transport,
burst from the overcharged bosoms of
each individual; and then Inez felt herself
led along the avenue which conducted
to the hall.

Although her eyes were dimmed by
tears, and her thoughts were so fully occupied,
our heroine could yet behold several
of the old domestics standing in the
path, who, as she passed, raised their
hands and eyes towards Heaven, and gave
utterance to their simple, but forcible,
exclamations of gratitude to the Most
High for the restoration of their ‘dear
young lady’ to her home and friends.

Another moment and Inez found herself
in the well known parlor, endeared
to her by so many fond remembrances
and associations; and sinking on her
knees, she clasped her hands fervently
towards Heaven, and gave full vent to
the expression of her ardent and spontaneous
ejaculations of thanksgiving to the
Almighty disposer of all events for her
deliverance.

No one offered to interrupt her, they
were also too much occupied with the
feelings of astonishment and unspeakable
delight that filled their bosoms. But
at length, Inez having ended her solemn
prayer, suddenly arose from her knees,
and looking eagerly around the room,
she said:

‘But where is he? He is not here!
Where is the poor old man—that he is
not present to snatch his unfortunate
daughter once more to his heart, and
weep his tears of joy upon her bosom!
// 207r.png
.pn +1
My father—my poor, dear father; where
is he?’

‘My dear Inez,’ replied the Padre; ‘I
can fully appreciate the anxiety of your
feelings; but pray endeavor to restrain
them. Your father has retired to his
chamber and sleeps—do not disturb him
lest—’

‘And think you,’ interrupted our heroine,
with the most violent emotion depicted
in her countenance; ‘think you
that I can rest calmly one moment without
beholding that unfortunate, that doting
parent from whom I have been so
long and so cruelly separated? No—no—no—I
will go to him; not an instant—’

Quickly up the stairs which led to the
well known chamber of her father, our
heroine bounded, but when she arrived
at the door, she paused; a deathlike
faintness came over her, she breathed
short, and she was unable to move a step
further.

Monteagle and others entreated her to
return to the parlor, and to defer the
trying scene till the morning, but she
answered them by a look which fully
convinced them of her determination,
and they therefore desisted.

In a few moments she partially recovered
herself, but still she had not sufficient
courage or resolution to enter the
chamber.

She stood and listened, supported by
the arm of her lover, and her ears caught
the sound of the breathing of the patient,
every respiration going to her heart like
a stream of fire.

In a moment the breathing sounds
ceased, and all was still as death.

‘He sleeps, he sleeps, and probably
dreams of her who—’

‘Hark! hark!’ hastily interrupted our
// 208l.png
.pn +1
heroine; ‘those sounds—do listen;—those
words—those words—my heart
will burst!’

They listened with breathless attention,
and Monteagle supported the form
of Inez, in a state of agony too powerful
for description. In low and plaintive
tones, sufficient to draw tears from the
eyes of the most insensible individual,
the unfortunate de Castro was singing,
apparently in his sleep, the words of a
song Inez had so often sung to please
him, and which brought to the memory
many powerful and agonizing recollections.

‘God! God! support me!’ gasped
forth Inez, clinging to the arm of her
lover, and her whole frame convulsed
with anguish.

‘Father! father! dear, dear father! I
can bear no more,’ cried Inez; and
tearing herself from the hold of Monteagle,
she rushed into the chamber, and
darted to the side of the bed.

Senor de Castro was sitting up in the
bed when Inez entered the room, and
was staring vacantly around him. His
countenance had undergone little or no
perceptible change; the ruddy glow of
health was on his cheeks, and so calm
and serene was its expression, that it
seemed almost impossible that his mind
could be in the deplorable condition in
which it was.

On beholding Inez and the others enter,
he exhibited emotion, but when his
eyes rested upon the former, a sweet
smile irradiated his features, and laughing
with all the joyousness of a child, he
exclaimed:—

‘Beautiful!—oh, how beautiful!—what
// 208r.png
.pn +1
a bright and lovely vision!—Her
very self!—So like her!—But ’tis only
fancy—only fancy—ha! ha! ha!—How
beautiful!’

‘Father! father!—dear, dear father!
Do you not know me? Oh, God! what
a bitter trial is this!’ frantically sobbed
forth the distracted Inez, as she threw
her arms around the poor old man’s
neck, and pressed warm and delirious
kisses upon his lips.

In a few moments Senor de Castro
began to regain his scattered senses,
and gazed round him like one slowly
awaking from a fearful dream.

He at length fully recognized his child.
Then followed a scene too affecting for
pen or pencil to describe.

But one subject remained to cloud
their happiness. It was the absence of
Alice Hewlett, of whose abduction, by
Blodget, they learned from the old woman
at the ranch. Bitterly did Inez
deplore the sad fate which had befallen
the lovely ‘Squatter’s Daughter.’

Brown fled upon hearing of the arrest
of the gang.

Monteagle was of course cleared of
all complicity in the robbery of the
store, by this confession, and Mr. Vandewater
gave him a share in his business
as some recompense for his unjust dismissal.

The little church at the Mission was
soon after gaily decorated, and before its
humble altar the hands of Inez and
Monteagle were united. Their hearts
had been so from the day our hero bore
the fainting maiden in safety from the
flames.
.sp 2
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.nf c
THE END.
.nf-
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.ul
.it Transcriber’s Notes:
.ul indent=1
.it Some chapters are not numbered sequentially. They\
left as they were printed.
.it Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.
.it Typographical errors were silently corrected (capitalization,\
spaces inside words, incorrect hyphenation, duplicated words)\
were silently corrected.
.it Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only when a\
predominant form was found in this book.
.if t
.it Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).
.if-
.ul-
.ul-
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