Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 322 — page 4: what you’re looking at

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

4 hat of Clarence with water, dashed it over the prostrate pair, and then rusbed into the shades of the thicket, and on up the river toward the city just as the silvery moon cast her mellow light, aslant from the east, over the earth. —_— —- -— a - - CHAPTER III. CUMULUS CLOUDS. THE cool water which the miscreant had cast upon the heads and faces of the man whom be bad in so cowardly a manner felled to the earth, and the maiden who, be had sworn by all the fiends, should one day be his wife—this revived poor Nora Norrington shortly after the wretch himself had vanisbed. The young girl moaved, pressed her hands upon ber brow, and then arose and gazed around in the utmost bewilderment and terror, at realizing that she was in the shades, and by moonlight. Not until she caught a glance of the form and face of her lover did Nora recall the near past, and she could scarce repress a cry of borror and anguish when she bebeld the blood upon the head of Clarence Coleman. Instinctively she gazed around the shades with starting eyes, as if expecting to see some fiendish shape, which might be about to rush upon ber with evil intent. But her anxiety for arence caused her to banish all fears for self, and she caught up the hat of the senseless " an and rushed to the river-bank—returning after having filled it with the cool water, with which she washed away the blood from the young man’s head and face. In a moment or two, to Nora’s great relief, her patient began to move; and at the first re- turn of consciousness, as be recalled the circum- stances of his position, he sprung to his feet, eryip out: ‘What is it, Nora; what has occurred? Did not some one fell me, from behind, with a club?” ‘* Oh, Clarence, do not ask me! It is terrible. But I do not really know what bappened. heard a sound, and next I saw you stretched out = the ground, and then | fell senseless myself. \v ho could have done it? **Whoever it was, he brought water, and threw it upon our faces; for my hair was saturated, and so was yours, Ob, what can it mean? I havea presentiment that this is bus the beginning, the first link of a chain of trou- bles that now threaten us|” - ‘* 11) tell you what it means, Nora. It means that there will be a tragic event close follow- ing this cowardly deed, if I can get proof of who the dastardly wretch was that did it! ‘*lam confident I can place my hand upon him within an hour. It must have been astone that was burled at me—thrown by some sneak- Ing spy, who was hidden in that thicket, and who heard every word of our conversation, As our talk related largely to Rodney Reed, it leaves no doubt in * mind as to who my as- sailant was. Well, let it be so, ‘* He has heard what I know and believe, and henceforth it is war to the knife between us, But, come; let me escort you to the garden. You must at once retire, for you are out be- yond your usual bour. ‘Don’t worry about me, I shall take no steps toward revenge, until I Ret all the proofs that I need. The villain will show bis band now, without doubt. He is all that 1 have said —a cowardly miscreant, who will commit any crime to forward bis ends. “Stay! IL had forgotten. I must goto your tather, get some money and papers from him, carry them to the cfli:e, and locv« them in the safe, I bave the keys and combination to- — After you have reached the house, I will bathe my head, bind my handkerchief about the wound, and then pull my hat over it; tor, as i usually find Mr. Norrington sitting on the veranda, he will not be likely to notice any cbange in my appearance. ‘*Think as little about this affair, my darling, as aps can help. We are warned now, and I shall begin at once toact. But, remember one thing, ‘no harm shall come to you while I live. There, now, good-by for the present; and let pothing disturb your innocent slumbers, I’m all right!” Rapidly, and in considerable excitement, Clarence Coleman rattled off these words, allowing the young girl neither time nor op- portunity to speak; but Nora was so dum- founded by what had rome rent and by all that she bad heard in regard to mae . that she was in reality speechless, She was also greatly worried on account of the proba- bility of ber absence being discovered at that unusual hour; or that Reed would in some manner, betray the fact to her father, that she baa met Clarence clandestinely, and that she and the young man were lovers. Consequently, Nora was in a state of ores trepidation and anxiety; and she clung almost distractedly to Clarence, as they s on the border of the undergrowth, He gently pushed her from him, and she stole quietly to the house, forcunately reaching ner chamber without being observed. Changing her dress and rearranging her bair with nervous baste, Nora eutered one of the | | ' | ; ' <a CC LL CL LL LR ALLL upper rooms which commanded a view of the front veranda, There she perceived her father, in his favorite chair, enjoying his cigar. Nora did not feel in a state of mind to con- verse with him, fearing be might notice her strangeness and unnatural manner, which sbe was conscious of, yet was unable to cast off. | She felt, although she could in no way account for the feeling, that an overpowering cloud of despair and horror was descending upon her young life, to quench out al] the heavenly bap- piness, the blissful and «ecstatic joy that she had dreamed of since she had mes, and loved, and fully realized that she wes loved in return—ay, adored, by Clarence Coleman! Of course she would not have experienced these strange feelings and forebodings of some coming evil that would blight ber love and life, had not the, to her, most fearful event happen- ed in the bottom-timber; yet sbe felt that all that wasas nothing compared with what waited for her in the near future. She knew that Rodney Reed had heard every word that bad passed between her and Clarence, and that it was he who had felled her lover to the earth. She was as confident of this as she would have been had she actually seen the miscreant as he lay croucbed in the thicket. She also knew that Reed, bad he so wished, could bave finisbed his dastardly work; slaying his victim, while he and she Jay senseless, and were at his mercy. He could have clutched her, and borne her away, had he so wished; and, as she was confi- dent that he was not only capable of doing such a deed, but that he really had it in his mind to do it—shbe felt that be bad formed some plot, which would have been interfered with by ab- ducting her on that particular occasion, but that he had only postponed the time when he should take ber from her home, her father, and Clarence. Nora also believed that Reed bated her lover, and that he intended to kill him; and, as he had not done the deed when it was easy of accom- plishment, it strengthened her belief that the villain bad formed a plot, to carry o1t which would depend upon the presence of berself and Clarence—that he did not wish to take the life of his rival at present, but that he had a more 2 fate in store for him, as well as for her- se . With a perfect whirlpool of torturing thoughts and awful pictures in ber mind, Nora Norring- ton sat in the parlor, hardly conscious of ber surroundings, until she heard the step of her lover on the veranda, Instantly she sprung to her feet, and peered between the curtains. She saw Clarence sperms her father, who wassitting quite in the shade; and sbe knew that he would notice nothing unusual about bis visitor. Not for the world, would the maiden have had her father know that Clarence Cole- man was her accepted lover, until in ber own pose time and manner, she saw fit to inform m. For this reason, she dared not tell her parent of the insulting manner of Rodney Reed, or of his murderous assault on Clarence; for she had long entertained suspicions that Reed was aware of the mutual regard of herself and his fellow clerk, and that he would, upon the slightest pretense, reveal it to ber father. Norman Norrington was a man of few words, and his remarks were brief, as he pessed a packet of papers to Clarence, when the latter reached his side of tbe piazza. ‘‘Take these, and place them in the safe, Coleman! And, by the way, I wish you would copy those papers I gave you last night, Mont- gomery will call here early in the morving for them, on his way to his ranch on the Medina. He cannot well wait until office hours, and if he could you would be obliged to do them early in the morning. Can you manage it?” “All rigbt, sir; Vil copy them to-night. Where shail I leave them?’ ‘Bring them here, and place them on my desk in the library. 1 have some letters to write, and will not probably retire until you return. It is quite sultry, and I feel like any- thing but sleeping. “In any event the front door will not be locked, and, should 1 retire before you return, I will leave a lamp burning.” ‘* Very well, sir; I will bear your directions in mind, Good-nigbt, if I don’t see you when I come back!” ‘*Good-night, Coleman! But, by the way, where is Reed? Can you not get bim to assist you in that copying?’ ‘1 don’t care to seek bim, Mr, RENE IN. Thanks, all the same—I will do it alone. ce more, good-night, sir!” : ‘* Good-night,” repeated the old banker, in an absent manner, Had Clarence Coleman known the circum- stances connected with the next visit he would make to the Norrington Mansion, be would have been paralyzed with horror, and driven to the borders of insanity ; but be dreamed not, nor did Nora, nor the old banker bimself, of the norrors with which that eventful night was | ' pregnant, althougb they were, even now, cast- | — _— ing their dark shadows upon the mind and heart of poor Nora, Tke latter bad heard every word that had been uttered by Clarence and ber father, and sbe had been surprised at the command her lover held over himself, especially when the name of Rodney Reed was mentioned. Nora was also surprised that her father should require this night work of Clarence, and more than surprised to hear him say that be expected to be up late, writing letters. She had never before known him to aska clerk to deprive himself of sleep to do « fice work, neither had she ever known bim to sit up at night over his correspondence: in fact Mr, Norrington was in the habit of dictating his letters to one of his clerks. Nora felt that it would be impossible, in her state of mind, tosleep. She therefore decided that she would recline upon a lounge in the darkest corner of the apartment, and remain thus until Clarence returned from the city with the pods even should that be among the small hours of the OLDE At once the young girl sought her proposed place of rest, but not for a long time to sleep, for something of fearful moment oppressed her mind, against which she was powerless to com- bat, or even to reason. Norman Norrington remained on thé ve- randa, precsany gazing out on the moonlit vista, and enjoying his fragrant Havana. How thankful we sbould be that an all- wise Providence has placed it beyond human power to foretell, or pierce the future, else what a gloomy wor'ld this of ours would be! CHAPTER IV. BEGINNING HIS WORK, Wuen Rodney Reed left the scene of his cowardly deed, which came so near being a dastardly murder, he rushed like a madman through the timber until he reached a point from which he must advance through fields and between residences, to the street which led to the Main Plaza. Panting with exertion, he threw bimself upon the ground and burst out in solilcquy, h:s voice boarse and unnatural, and terrible in the intensity of the passion and fury that raged witbin him: ‘*No doubt of it now—none inthe least! It is as I thought. She loves him, and he, her— the soft-headed fool! His head is not so soft though, or tbat stone would have crashed through his confounded skull! ‘*] should have hated myself forever, had I, in my mad and jealous fury, killed him, That would be but r revenge. I'll wring both their hearts, till l cause their brains to burst. I’]l torture them, body and soul, until they both curse the day they first saw the light. ‘From this night, no more cant, no more straining of will to curb my thirst for revenge. Henceforth, I am what I am—a thief, a merci- less murderer, a desperado! Everything now in the crooked line, that leads to gain, to gold and to revenge! ‘‘It was a black day, old man Norrington, when you took me into your employ —a black day for you and yours, and for Clarence Coleman. Never have I Joved or dreamed what love was until | met Nora Norrington. At the same time I hate her; yet she shall be mine Poona all the fiends stood between me an er! ‘‘ Will those two suspect who it was that lurked in the thicket and threw thestone? In- deed, yes; for they will reason that no one but myself could have become so infuriated at their words, and at Ceourstine that they loved each other. By Heavens! 1 have started the ball, and it shall roll op now without hesitation, crusbing out all joy and hope from their hearts! ‘‘Then Nora Norrington shall be a witness of her lover’s death, while I whisper in her ear that she is mine—mine, body and sou), for- ever. Ha! ha! Balk me—me, Red Reed, will they “ee } y Heaven! I'll give to my cognomen a far different meaning than it was given me for— the red shall mean blood! ‘*7’l] wash my hands in blood, I'l) dabble in gore, and glory in spe ag bearts—hearts that shall be bursting with anguish, and brains that shall burn with terror, and through me! ‘*Ha! ha! Scorn Red Reed, do you? Detest Red Reed, do you, Nora Norrington! By the eternal, I'll ev you good cause for entertaining those amiable feelings toward me! But I have mosh to do, much work, and | must begin to- night, “* First, | must find a stone, as I return up- river, and smear it with blood, as was that which knocked Coleman senseless. I believe I have a use for it, and also for the knife that I abstracted from him. On, Red Reed—on to vengeance!” Rising to his feet, the miscreant hastened to see city, avoiding the notice of all who were astir. Soon he reached the cflice of the banker. There were two rooms—_reception-room ECOA TICE! OOO KS (E(o) ee