Puck — November 5, 1879 — page 12: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

PUCK. upon midnight; and all the rest of the house- hold had gone to bed. Suddenly I saw a double shadow on her blind; the other shadow was that ofa man. Great God! how I felt. I waited; how long I know not. But after what seemed to me an age a figure appeared at the hall door. It was that of a man; heavily cloaked. I could have sworn to him anywhere; it was her cousin.” * * * “T say I could have sworn to it, but things had come on me so suddenly, and he was so heavily cloaked, that in the obscurity of the night I could not see his face. I might have stepped forward and unmasked him; but even with so much provocation I could not bring myself to precipitate an encounter at the very threshold of the house, which might have awakened the inmates. Better, perhaps, that I had done so. There was also an almost unconquerable shrinking from finally believing her untrue, I strove with all the passion of despair to shut out the evidence of my senses; to disbelieve it; to harbor the hope that in spite of everything things would turn out right and her good faith would be amply justified. And in this hope I lived, or rather existed, for the next few days, until one day I received fresh evidence of her untruth. It was a card making an appointment with her,—when and where I need not say,—but late at night at a lonely spot overhanging the sea which moaned some inundred feet below. The night was dark and rainy, and a strong wind was blowing. ‘They were at the trysting place before me, but I ar- rived in time to see and overhear the most damning proofs of their treachery. At last as he embraced and kissed her when bidding her good night, my passion overcame me. Istepped forward,—as God is my judge, Miss Jakes, with no intention of doing him harm,—only to un- mask him, But the coward, conscious of his guilt, doubtless feared the worse. He made to strike me. I clutched him by the throat. He was standing with his back to the sea, close to a low wooden paling that run along the edge of the cliff. With a violent effort he wrenched himself away, and falling backwards was tripped up by the paling, and next movement his body lay limp and lifeless on the rocks far below.” Here the speaker paused for a time, over- come by emotion, Alice said never a word but pressed his hand, and her grave eyes were filed with tears. After a brief pause he re- sumed: “There is little more to tell. She swooned away, and I made straight to where he lay. The night was pitch dark, and when I discov- ered the body I could not make out more than the rude outline. But I felt; I put my ear to his heart; to his lips, I felt his pulse and he was dead. I could do no more, and hastily ar- ranging the body as decently as I could under a sheltering ledge, far out of reach of the rising tide and sheltered from wind and rain, I re- turned to her. She was gone, and within an hour or more I was riding for my life to the nearest seaport. That was only nine days ago and here I am now.” * * * “ And was the body discovered ?” “Not that I know of, but of course it must have been.” “‘ Was anything published about it in the pa- ers 2” “Nothing, and that struck me as strange; but the place is out-of-the-way.” “And did no one go in pursuit of you?” Archie paused, embarrassed, before he re- plied. Alice noticed his confusion and won- dered. “Yes,” he said after a little, “ ye-es, some- one did.” “A detective?” “No, a woman.” “Ah!” and the large eyes grew wider than ever, and her manner suddenly less sympa- thetic, even to coldness and restraint. “A woman! Then she ran away with you. How could that be?” Then Archie thought it best to hide nothing from her and he told it all. And her confi- dence in him returned at once, and she tried in her womanly way to comfort and advise him. But she had her own thoughts about the narrative, and was by no means convinced that his rival had been killed at all. And she said so to Archie, reminding him about the dark- ness, the non-discovery of the bedy, and the silence of the papers. But he merely shook his head and said nothing. (To be continued.) Courtney says the saw is mightier than the oar.—Phila. Bulletin, One of Haverley’s minstrels wears a No. 19 shoe. If Barnum had it he would exhibit it as “the greatest shoe on earth.”—Rome Sentinel, We are living at present in the very arms of tyranny, exclaimed a western scribe. Aha, just been married, have you?—Waterloo Ob- server, Tue word “Caution” appears in many me- dicine advertisements, and a good deal of at- tention should be paid to it—Syracuse Sunday Times. Tue Ute Indians are a mean treacherous lot; but none of them wear their watch chains dangling from the top outside pocket of their coats,— Wheeling Leader, NoTWITHSTANDING all the modern improve- ments of husbandry, the matrimonial harvest is still gathered with the cradle and thrashed by hand.— Toronto Graphic. Murpuy, who won the O'Leary belt, is a brick carrier by occupation. If he has been in bard luck before, the hods are in his favor now, certainly.— Cincinnati Saturday Night, Like other professionals, the American poli- tician makes many serious blunders and mis calculations; but he never acknowledges them until after election.— Mew York News. Mark Twarn is making republican speeches for Cornell in New York State. His friends were always confident that he would do some- thing funny before he died.—Mew Orleans Picayune, Now there are plays in which real babies take 2 part. Mrs..Bernhardt is said to be ex- tremely averse to borrowing anything of any- body. Doesn't this explain it?— Rochester Express. “A GOOD-LOOKING GIRL" writes to the Cin- cinnati Commercial that she has been insulted in that city. If Boston ladies can’t be civilly treated in Cincinnati, some one'll get hurt.— Boston Post. An exchange has an article on “ How to Run aNewspaper.” This should be read only by editors, as every other person in the world knows just how a newspaper ought to be run. —Oil City Derrick. Courtney says he wants to row Hanlan again, and his backers state he is beyond doubt the stronger man. Well, he is the more row- bust of the two, anyhow.—Phila, Bulletin. Turee hundred and eighty-three years ago Christopher Columbus made it possible for “real Havana cigars” to be made in Hartford from Connecticut tobacco, by discovering Cuba.— Boston Post. Mary Anperson'’s stepfather says she hasno time to think of lovers, When a girl earns enough to buy all the ice-cream she wants it makes her dreadfully high-minded. — Phila, Kronikle-Herald. We call the attention of the Signal Service to the fact that a plumber was nominated for sheriff, and that another plumber was nomi- nated for county clerk. These are signs of an open winter.—W. ¥. World. Barnum, to give his circus an extra moral touch, wants a chaplain for it. We nominate Talmage for the position, with Henry Ward Beecher for alternate. By the way, why should not a circus have a chaplain just as well as Congress ?—Modern Argo. A HUNDRED years from now Baldwin’s Hotel will be cut up into canes, and the latter sold at a dollar a piece as relics of a building in which was exhibited the most colossal instance of arctic cheek in American annals, The incident in question occurred last Mon- day evening. A gorgeous velvet-vested and cut-glass-diamond-pin stranger from Chicago was requested to leave the house after it was discovered that the only effect for a two weeks’ board-bill he possessed was a carpet-bag con- taining a pair of old socks and a bushel of saw- just. “How dare you suggest such a thing,” said the guest, twirling his oroide chain, “I am Chairman of the Chicago committee to receive Grant. Don’t you know a prominent citizen when you see one?” “Tf you don’t go,” said the imperturbable clerk, “ we'll have to fire you out.” ‘ By whose authority do you perpetrate this outrage, sir? By what—” “ By the nape of your neck and the seat of your trousers,” interrupted the clerk firmly, and he rang for a porter. “ Very well, sir, under the circumstances, I'll go; but mind you, young man, aon't det’ this occur AGAIN!” and he walked loftily out.—San Francisco Post, No food health with thin impure blood. Hop Bitters makes rich blood, good health and strength, STANDARD THEATRE. Broadway and Ss W. Hanpanson, Propeetor & Mansger EVERY EVENING AND SATURDAY MATINEE, at 1.30, THE ORIGINAL PINAFORE. THE ORIGINAL PINAFORE. THE ORIGINAL PINAFORE. Admission asc., soc., $1 and $1.50. “THE POOR MAN'S PRIEND.” This is what the poor man wants, something that will vetter his condition ia life, if sickness assails his household, the idea of paying two dollars for a dloctor or a dollar for a bottle of some se- cret medicine is out of the question; but surely he cannot grudge a quarter to be cured of the Chills, This is what Thermaline will do without fail. A trial will convince the doubtful. a ANGOSTURA BITTERS, pgp tot eet ted but beware of counterfeits. Ask your genuine article, manufactured by —_—————_ Try the “PUCK” CIGARETTE, Manufactured by B. Pottax, New York.