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Page 18
"His words were true; I felt them in force; if he died, I would be
arraigned as his murderer--I had no proof to the contrary--circumstances
would be against me--I should be imprisoned--condemned--perhaps
executed--a loathsome sight for gaping thousands--I could not bear the
thought--I might escape--ay, would escape--and bidding him a hasty
farewell, I turned and fled. Not a hundred rods distant I met my father;
and falling on my knees before him, I hurriedly related what had taken
place, and begged advice for myself, and his immediate attendance upon
my cousin. He turned pale and trembled violently at my narration; and,
as I concluded, drew forth a purse of gold, which he chanced to have
with him, and placing it in my hand, exclaimed:
"'Fly--son--child--Algernon--for Heaven's sake, fly!'
"'Whither, father?'
"'To the far western wilds, beyond the reach of civilization--at least
beyond the reach of justice--and spare my old eyes the awful sight of
seeing a beloved son arraigned as a criminal!'
"'And my mother?'
"'You can not see her--it might cost you your life,--farewell!' and with
the last word trembling on his lips, he embraced me fondly, and we
parted--perchance forever.
"I fled, feeling that the brand of Cain was on me; that henceforth my
life was to be one of remorse and misery; that I was to be a wanderer
upon the face of the earth--mayhap an Ishmael, with every man's hand
against me. To atone in a measure to my conscience for the awful deed I
had committed, I knelt upon the earth, and swore, by all I held sacred
in time and eternity, that if the wound inflicted upon my cousin should
prove mortal, I would live a life of celibacy, and become a wandering
pilgrim in the western wilds of America till God should see proper to
call me hence."
"And--and did the wound prove mortal?" asked Ella, breathlessly.
"Alas! I know not, Ella, and I fear to know. Four months have passed
since then; and after many adventures, hardships, sufferings, and
hair-breadth escapes, you see me here before you, a miserable man."
"But not one guilty of murder, Algernon," said Ella, energetically.
"I know not that--Heaven grant it true!"
"O, then, do not despair, Algernon!--trust in God, and hope for the
best. I have a hope that all will yet be well."
"Amen to that, dear Ella; and a thousand, thousand thanks, for your
sweet words of consolation; they are as balm to my torn and bleeding
heart; but until I _know_ my fate, we must not meet again; and if, oh
Heaven! and if the worst be true--then--then farewell forever! But who
comes here?"
CHAPTER IV.
THE STRANGER.
The closing sentence of the preceding chapter was occasioned by the
glimpse of a man's shadow, that for a moment swept along in the
sunlight, some twenty paces distant from the speaker, and then suddenly
disappeared by being swallowed up in the larger and more stationary
shade thrown from the cottage by the sinking sun. Scarcely were the
words alluded to uttered, ere the sound of a step was heard close by the
door, and the next moment the cause of the shadow and remark divided the
light of the entrance.
The individual in question, was a stout built, broad-shouldered,
athletic man--some five feet nine inches in height--whose age, judging
from his general appearance, as well as his features, might range from
twenty-seven to thirty years. At the moment when he appeared before our
acquaintances of the foregoing chapter, his right arm was held in a
manner so as to screen the lower portion of his face; while a hat, not
very much unlike those of the present day, pressed down upon his
forehead, left but little of his countenance, and that mainly about the
eyes, visible. With the latter he gave a quick, searching, suspicious
glance at the two before him; and then, as if satisfied he had nothing
to fear, lowered his arm and raised his hat from his forehead, exposing
a physiognomy by no means pleasing to one skilled in reading the heart
thereby. His complexion was swarthy--his skin coarse--and the general
expression of his features repulsive in the extreme; this expression
arising from the combination of three distinct parts of his
countenance--namely: the forehead which was low and receding from two
dark-red, shaggy eye-brows,--the eyes themselves, which were small,
bloodshot and very fiery; and the mouth, which was narrow, thin-lipped,
and habitually contracted into a sneering, sinister smile. In this
general expression, was combined cunning, deceit, treachery, and
bloodthirsty ferocity--each one of which passions were sufficiently
powerful, when fully excited, to predominate over the whole combination.
The hair of his head was short, thick, coarse and red, grew low upon his
forehead, and, in its own peculiar way, added a fierceness to his whole
appearance. Nature had evidently designed him for a villain of the
darkest die; and on the same principle that she gives a rattle to a
certain venomous snake, that other creatures may be warned of the deadly
fang in time to avoid it--so had she stamped him with a look wherein his
passions were mirrored, that those who gazed thereon might know with
whom and what they had to do, and be prepared accordingly. The costume
too of the stranger was rather singular, and worthy of note--being
composed, for the most part, of an extraordinary long frock or
overcoat--more like the gown of some monk than either--which reached
almost down to the moccasins covering his feet, and was laced together
in front, nearly the whole length, by thongs of deerskin. Around the
waist passed a rude belt of the same material--carelessly tied at one
side--in which, contrary to the usual custom of that period, there was
not confined a single weapon, not even so much as a knife; and this
fact, together with the general appearance of the individual and his own
suspicious movements, led Algernon, almost at the first glance, to
consider the long frock or gown an article of disguise, beneath which
the stranger was doubtless doubly armed and costumed in a very
different manner.
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