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Show 208 H. ICIJ.\HD IIUIWIS. his employer lwd provoked the scorn of the murderer, it wa.s dccrrrd that he himself Rhould not he :tltogC'thC'r free from sim. ibr weaknr!';;rs. 'L'hey dr,·c lopcd thcmschcs bcfnrc he rcnched his !tomr. rt was n('arly dusk wltcH he rntercd thr n:nrow hy· road whieh lcrl to !tis lt aLitntion-ni;;bt wns fast coming on, yet the twiligltt was suflicit•nily clcnr to cnnblc him to distingui~ h objects. "Without a thought, pcrhnps, of tile crime of wbich he had hccn guilty, or ratbcr, ·without a. rrgrctl'nl thought, he pursued his wny until the roml opened upon !tis dwelling. rrhr h abitation of his wife :wd cltild stood before him. llo could no,,· sec the snlokc rising from tho l c:111ing dny chimney, :md !tis ltcart rose with the prospect-for tltc very basest of mnnkind hnxe hearts for their homes - but, all 011 a smlden, he jerked \tis bridle with a violence tlwt whirl ed the animal out from his path; and tltcn his grasp became relax ell . lie had strength for no more- he had neither power to ndvancc nor fly. In nn instant the avenues to all ltis fears were in possession of n governing in stinct. Guilt and terror spoke in all his features. II is glazed eyes seemed starting from their sockets -ltis jaws rclaxctl- his mouth opened-his hnir started up, nnd the cold dews gathered at its roots ! \Vh at sees he 7- what is in his pnth to nw.ke him fear? "\Vhy does the bolcl ruftian, ready at all times to stab or shoot - why docs he lift no weapon now 1 He is sinew less, aimless, strength less. 'l'hcrc rose before l1im, e''en at the gnte of his hovel, a fearful image of the m:m he sui> posed h imself to ltavc murdered. Jt stood between him and the narrow gateway so that he coul(l not bo forward in his progress. The g:1ze of the spectre" as l'aruestly bent upon l1im with such a freezing glance of ilcatlt ancl doom as the victim migltt well be supposrd to wc:.1r in confronting his murderer. The Lloody hole in his bosom was awfnlly dis· tinct to the ryes of the now trembling criminal, wl10 could sco little or nothing else. His knees knocked torretltcr convulsively- lJis wiry hair lifted the cn1; upon his b~ow. Cold ns the mildewed marble, yet sh ivering like an autumn branch waving in tl1e sudden winds, he was frozen to the spot where it rucoun· tercd him-he could neither s11enk nor move. Y1tinly did he attempt to lift the weapon in ltis grasp-his arms were stiffen· ed to his side-his wi.ll was not powerfnl enough to compel its '1'111·; SPECTRZ. 209 nntural agents to th eir duty. He strove to thrust the rowel into his horse's f\ankH, but even to this rffort he found himself unequnl. 'l'wicc l\id he strive to cry a loud to the tltrcatcnin_g aspect before lLim, in wonh of entreaty or dcfinncc, but los tongue rcfusc(l its ofiice. 1r lte words froze in his throat, nnd it wus only able in a tltird nnd desperate cfl"ort to articulate words which denoted itliocy rather than resohe. "Stand aside, Richard Uurdis - stand aside, or I'll run over you. You would tic me to the tree-you would try hickories upon me, would you 1 Go-go to J ohn llurdis now, and he' ll tell you l 'm not a.fraid of you. No, d-n my eyes if I nm, though he is ! I'm not afraid of your Lloody finger-shake it awny shakc it away! 'l'here's a hole in your jacket wants mending, man: you'd better sec to it 'fo re it gets wo~·se. I sec the t:ed stufl" coming out of it now. Go-stand of, or I'll hurt you!ptsho- ptsho-ptsho !" And, as he uttered this wandering and incoherent language, his limbs strengthened sufficiently to cna.ble l1im, with one hand, to employ the action of a person hallooing hogs out of his enclosure. rrhe sound of his own voice semned to unfix the spell upon him. The ghostly figure sank down before his mazed eyes and advancing footsteps, in a heap, like one suddenly slain, :mel as he had seen his victim fall. It lay directly before him: he pressed his horse upon it, but it di sappeared before he reachC(l the spot. A brief space yet lay between the gate and the h ovel, and, passing through the former, he was about to plunge with a like speed toward the latter, when another figure, and one, t oo, much more terrific to the fears of the ruffian than the first, took its place, and the person of \Villiam Carrington emerged at that moment from the dwelling itself, and stood before him in the doonvny! If l' iekctt trembled before under hi s superstitious imnginings, he trembled now with apprehensions of a more human description. It wns the vulgar fear of the fugitive that possessed him now. lie felt that l1e was pursued. He saw before him the friend of the man be had murdered, speeding in hot haste to wreak vengeance on his murderer. In the dread of cord or shot, he lost in a single instant all his former nnd paralyzing terror arising from the blighting visitation of the world of spirits. He was no longer frozen by fear. He was strength- |
