Loading...
The Brussels Post, 1889-11-8, Page 3,Nov. 8, 1880. 113E EIALISSELS ;.: "'^^^""": ^,...d.•" T. i5d.:. r'IR'RrF:T:,I",L"&"$LYirA.A'tk'^A.:4itcrZc'gAA4le7tb�{IIn77a V1aR [,112015 'IIS'P 02134 6SI ,,•.,•v.mMI! si1MI THE OAK CLOSET. tlargare. Grey wee a sort of Ila per servant ill the household of Judge Wallace, The Jedgo lived in a handsome house in the suburb of ' the little village of Thorndalo. She had been left an orphan at an early ago, and the Judge and his wife had Miceli her into their home to save her from being thrown on the charity of the town. They hail done their part well for her, They had two children of their own—twins—Alioe and Al- gernon—anti Margaret had enjoyed every advantage of education in common with the brother and sis- ter. Ail she grew older, and began to realize how much she owed the Judgo and his wife she felt a desire to be able in eowe way to make recompense for their itindnee , aid as 8130 was a strong, active girl, she soon became very useful about the domestic Zaire of the household, Mrs.,Wallace 11as a feeble woman, and/ y willingly resigned some of the ,re and burden to Margaret, and in duo course of time the young girl came to be trusted and depend- ed on. until by the time she was two and twenty, she was the 'head of the establishment, although Mrs Wal• lace still did the. honors in her quiet, ladylike way, and pcurod tbo tea and the coffee at the head of the table. Alice Lad married early, and gone to the far West with her bus• band. Algernon was finishing hia medical studies at a German Uni- versity, and only the Judge and hit wife and Margaret–besides the man and woman servants, who had been with them for years—were left at home. Some unfortunate speculation, largely indulged in when the Judge was suite a young man, had encum- bered the old estate with a mort- gage, and this it was the Judge's ambition to discharge, He wanted to Leave the place totally free and clear from debt to his son Algernon. The etrioteet economy had been practised for years in the house- hold, with this end in view, and at Net the Judge held in hand the mousy with which to liquidate the claim. It was late one Saturday night when be brought it home, and said to his wife es he swung the little black leather hag containing it be• fore her eyes. .Well Annie, ab last wo are able to be free from debt 1 There are $8;000 in that trunk, and on Mou day I will pay Jones in full, and on Ivlooday wo will burn that abomiu• able mortgage, you and 1 Annie. It will he the happiest day of my life I' 'But if anythSiag':'`-should happen, William ?' eaidl Mr.. Wallace, nervously. 'Do put Elio moneyun some safe place t It haa'corbue dear enough to scrape it togerlmer' The Judge boot dowb and'patted the anxioi:s •svornituA on the bead. `1 am going to Of at ` Mice the little oak closet, Annie: It has a spring look, and if by- chance any burglar eboiald got'into the 'house he would never dreatn of &tiding anythingaofvaine in a little stifled up closeI int the head of the garret stairs.' And with a light heart the judge went off to deposit his treasure. Margaret was sitting in the room, darning the Judge's stockings when thie oonversatiou took place, and of course she beard where the money was to be put, though at the time she gave little heed to il. The next day John and Sarah, the two servants, had a holiday to visit a married daughter of theirs, who resided fifteen or twenty miles away, and as it was ' in November, and the days were short, they would tot return till Monday night. And some time after they set out. there canoe an imperative message to the Judge from an only sister— saying that she was very ill, and desired to see hint without delay, ,Her home was at Shelby—eight or ten reales off, and of course the Judge lost no time in obeying the summons. He took his wife with him, leaving Margaret alone in 'the house: After they were seated in the earriago the Judge stopped to sky 'It is barely possible, Margaret, that we remain all night. It looks very much Iike a storm, and in that Daae we shall certainly stay. You had better get Saltie Turner to come over and stay with 'yon for corn. puny' But though Margaret world like Sallie's company well enough, she at once decided not to asst for it, because if sho did so, she know that Sallie's brother, Willie, would be sure to come along, and the loss she sail of Willie Turner the better the Wag pleased. Willie was an helmet, iuduetrions sett of fellow, and Mar- garet'e most devoted admirer, but with the neural iuoonsisteney of her oea;, she utterly refused to see what was good for her. Thu long afternoon wore iilvwi; ltoy and opened the door, pointed to the black box in the further corner of the einem. away. Margaret road a little, and 'Yost will lin .1 what you nook drummed a fww macs ou the old- ,there,' fashioned piano, played with the She stepped hack for him to enter, kitten and hold the old tat, in her i hub i.'o seized h it by the wrist almii lap, and at last .t was sunset. pulled her along wait him, Time to milk the eowe and sista I '1 kuo,v your game,' said he, 'you the barn doors for night. would get me into this cursed close It was evident that there was go' i dole and then look the dooi' upon ing to be a storm, and indeed lbs• me, Take out the key and throw fore Margaret had done up the odd ft down stair, and come in with jobs in the barn the first drops of me. I shan't eat you.' frozen rain began to fall,and by the She obeyed him literally, and as time sho had eaten her supper and they stood rtt the stifling plane, strained the milk the storm had set wbich wise scarcely large enough to in deadly earnest. contain. them, Margaret, with the She closed and barred' the doors– the windows were already fastened– drew the shutters and piled the Icitched fireplace full of dry hickory. The kitten had gone t0 sleep in a cushioned chair, and the old oat eat on the hearth bligking her eyes sleepily at the cheerful blaze. Margaret read a little, and dream, ed a great deal. She made a very pretty picture, if only there had been some one to sec her. Her soft brown hair was unbound and fell rippling to her wniet ; her fair round face was tinted as deli- cately pink as the ineide of a sea. shell ; hor brown eyes were dreamy and full of languor ; and her reds lips were sweet and eomaniy. Slowly at length, the old coffin shaped clock struck ten, Margaret started up. She had not thought it was so late. Itis not so dreadful to stay alone, after all, she said to herself. She opened a shutter and peered out into the night. It was as dark as Erebus end the wind and rain beat against the window pane in a perfect torrent. lyell Tommy,' said she to the cat, '1 guess you, and kitty and I will have to go to bed. We must be up early in the morning, you know, since there is none but us to do up the chores.' As she spoke Margaret stooped to stroke old Tommy, but to her sur - pries sho saw that the animal's paw and tail were erect—her eyes had turned to glassy green of rage and terror and with slow, panther like tread she was making her way to the door which opened upon the cellar stairway. And while oho gazed, Margaret saw with horror, that the Iatch was slowly lifting, and the next moment the door swung open and a man stepped into the room. He was a short, thick -set fellow, with sandy hair and whiskers, and a pale, fere- cionslooking blue eye sat far back in his head. 'So, Imo, my: dear, yon are sole hand which be had left fres, seized on the door and pulled it to. It shut with a elliei'p click—abut and locked at the same time. A fierce oath burst from the burglar. 'What do you enema,' he oiled, 'I shall suffocate Here !: Open that door or l will shoot you.' 'Do are you please," said Margaret, defiantly ; 'the door • Iran a spring lock, and can only be opened from the outside. Unless someone comes to our release, we shall remain bore till we die,' 'You—she devil ! Why have you done thie P' he demanded. 'Don't you know that you will die,, too ?' 'Certainly, but I prefer death to the ruin of my beet friends.' The oatbs, and threats and curie es of the man were fearful—but Margaret felt no fear. Something above and beyond herself sustained her and she. was happy. She eaw Incite dead and busied—she heard voices long mute in death, the grave olods, and then life and sense faided out, and she knew no more I Judge Wallace found his sister better but the atom coming on it was deemed best to remain all night ; but early tate next morning he set oat for home accompauted by his wife. Arrived 'Ill sight of his horse, he was surprised to site the shutters still closed, and the chimney giviug out no smoke of welcome. At the gate a young mal was tying a horse„ and the judge' exclaim- ed to lois wife "Bless my life, Annie, that's Al- gernon ! There's no mistaking him, He's home a month earlier than we expected. But I greatly fear some thing is amiss with Mag ! She's an early riser, and the shutters are yet closed. He whipped up his horse and soon had his long absent sou by the hand. The first warm greeting over, the judge rapped at the fastened door, proprietor, it appears ?' but eliciting no response, his alarm For an instant Margaret's heart stood still, but she was naturally brave. have that honor; she said cooly—'who are you ? What do you want ?' 'I trust you will excuse me if I neglect to introduce myself,' said the man—'its for my bueiness I am happy to inform you that I want 510,000 that the Judge brought home last night, and I depend upon you to point out where ft is 1' The indignant blood rushed to Margaret's face as she answered sharply : 'I will die first 1' 'You shall have your choice.' He produced a pistol which he increased, and after shouting- Mar. garet at the top of his voice, and re. oeiving no reply with Algernon's help he burst openthe door,and en. tared the kitchen. All was as she had left it the pre. vious night—the &re had burned. down, and black brands covered the hearth ; the ehamber door' stood suggestively open. Father and son ascended the stairs, and half ways up the judge stumbled over the key of the oak'closet. 'Good heavens 1' he exclaimed, 'the key of the closet where I left that money ! I greatly • fear that some evil has befallen Margaret.' 'They found the closet door look- ed, and to their repeated knockings cooked deliberately and pointed at `here came no response from within. her head. Algernon applied the key, and the 'Show me where the tin is hidden opened door revealed a fearful sight, or I'll blow your brains out.' With fearful distorted, purple fttoe Like lightning a train of thoughts ' the robber lay ou the floor, ,and a mailed through the girl's head ; in little removed from him quietly lay that one instant of time she thought Margaret. of a score of plane and simultaneous- Algernon bore her down stairs, ly discarded them as impractioable. out into the open air, but it was Thera alto. was alone, helpless, a very long before she gave any sign weak girl, almost a mile from any house, and in such a storm no one would be passing by. For a second she thought of risk- ing everything to escape into the darkness and try and make her way to Mr. Turner's, but the man seem- ed to divine her thoughts for he stepped between her and the doer. 'No, my beauty, you don't play that game on me 1' he said. 'And now I'll give yoh just three minutes to decide. I will kill you if you do not, I will kill yon.' r ,He took out his watch. As she stood there faint and giddywith fear a tam idea came to bor. Como' life or death;" mL, must save the money for which lie, kind friends land toiled so long altd hard, and she thought she saw the way to do it, though it would compass her destruction, 'You may put tip sour .pistol.' she said calmly. 'I wilt Elbow you where it is.' 'That's ee usihle, m dem,' said the man. 'It ain't oftim that sense and a pretty fern go together. Be lively now. She tools a candle from the table, selected one from a bpneh of • Boyo and bade him follow her. She led him up the istairs to the deer of the (Ali Onset, applied lieied the or token of lite. And it was a week' beforo she was able to give a detail, ed account of what had happened during the night of horror in the oak closet, But she bad saved the money, and the son undertook to pay the debt of gratitude owed her by the father, and before the- winter was over Algernon married Margaret, and together they "well in the old homestead, and on stormy nights' they tell their children the story of the oak closet. Tho breed is an important factor n stock raising. The breed adapted ifor the abject sought will give better results and at a lower cost propor. tionately, When "scours" occur with ani• male, feed nothing but out hay,for a few days. Scald the hty and add a little salt to it, Diet is better than medicine. The color in a horse is of not so much importance as the eine, gait, action and form. These are prim, oipally what tell when placed upon the market, Whorl au animal appears to re. fuse certain foods to which it bas boon accfstomod ohmage oho food and give a variety, which will int.prove the'appetite and induce the. aMamal to oat mete: POST THECOO SBESTFRIEND 1 Private Funds to Loan. $20,000Q Have been placed he my hands for Investment on real estate.• LOWEST RATE OF INTEREST. No Commission. Borrowers can have looms com- pleted in Three Days if title satisfactory. W. M. SINCLAIR, Solicitor, Bressels. PHOTOS. TINTYPES, 4 - Fox .• i0 - Oautc.. ' All Work from tlw•Snudiest to 1.110 slur done In a first-class manner. VT I of residences, Eto., at Reasonable Rode:.. W. J. Fairfield. MEAT MARKET, MAIN STREET, - BRUSSELS, ANDREW I CURRIE, PROPRIETOR, Fresh and�rJ liveredto SSaleLmlentn or 3 any part of the hest goal 'a 1110 VI lingo lly 41111'111M 011. I+m.,rw'R�,• Free or band and de. - C 1, a.r C e . TERMS VERY FAVORABLE Fat Cattle Wanted For which the highest market price will be paid. I also make a specialty of buying Bides and Skins. Don't forget the place, next door to Fletcher's Jewel- ry Store. A. CURRIE:, Baby Carria°es Baby Carriages 1 BABY CARRIAGES ! Handsome Display of Baby Carriages in all the LATEST STYLES, and sold at dCmat1 exao,as Palms. Call in mid See our Stock before you order elsewhere. Buggy Rugs, Dusters, Fly Nets, Wlyips, always on hand. Splendid Assortment ofTrunks, Valises tend Sdtchels'in Stook. H. Dennis, ACTS AT TICK $AMR YIM[ OI1 THE NERVE'S„ • THE L:IVERI. THE BOWELS;, Aid the KIDNEYS This combined action, gives: it won- derful power to currall diseases, Why,Are. We Sick? Because we allow the 'ner ttto teinaia weakened and irritated, and Iheso Brent organs ,twbecoweclogged 'or torpid, and poisonous humors are therefore forced into the brood that shottld he expelled naturally. PAINE'S CELERY COMPOUND W IU. CURE /turaDSNEss, PILEe, oomearIPATION, KlDNEY COL PLAINTS, tItINARY DISEASEe, FENALE WEAKNESS, RBEIINA. TISM, NEUIiALOIA, Aitn ALL NERV011e DISORDERS, By quieting mtd strengthening the nerves, and causing free action of the !fiver, bowels, and kidneys, and restor- ' ing their power to throw off disease. Why nutter bilious Paine nod &hea l why tormented with Piles, Constipation' Wh, frightened ova rbieorderodxidnoynl Why endure nervotto er close hoadaaheel Why Mae sleepless nights 1 Use 1'AINn'it Ctti.iinv CeataOUNo Aad rejoice h, heath, 1t A nu outhety vegeta. las ,needy, Itirmlets in all oases, .Sdd ig, all In HOW*, Niro 4,A.00. S;.r,ti,Ss.00• vats, 111 CItA5 t ^. r N ,1. en„ i'h5prietora, MONT it NA l„ r,, eio awrrvrs, ,k we i pxYR,'�V,',YC. i�4. 1.iP THE LEADING sh -.-.. _... r cer ( -HOGERY DE PARTM KN T. Otte' Stock of Staple and Fancy Groceries itt Large and Well Assorted, consisting of Black, - Young Hysout: and Jlolpan Tear, which were carefully selected and bought in large quantities for Cash, Customers can always depend upon getting Extra Value. Our Coffee at 40c, a pound, is Strictly Pure and the Finest Ground. The Choicest new Season's Fruits at Lowest Prices.. Special Value in Pure Sugar Syrup and • Pure West India Molasses. Canned Beef, Chipped Beef, Canned Tongue, Salmon, Sardines,. Strawberries, Peaches, Tomatoes, Corn, Pea•.i, &c., &c. VERY CHEAP. <. We would call Special Attention to our Sugars, which we are selling at prices that will compare with, if not better than,. others in the Trade. Crockery Department, Printed Dinner, Tea and Toilet Sets, Decorated Tea and Toilet Sets, Plain and Fancy China, Plain and Fancy Glassware, also a Large Assortment of White Granite Ware, which we sell considerably Below the regular price. Bakery Department. Bread,. Buns, Cakes and Pastry Baked Daily and of the Finest Quality. 'Wedding Cakes a Specialty. G FIO- •THOMSON- r BETTER NEWS FOR THE, The Brussels Woolen Mill wants to get 500,000 LBS. OF WOOL. either for CASH or in exchange for Goods. -.- The Highest Market Price Paid in Casli , and a Pew Cents ' More in Trade, We have a Pike Assort- ment of Tweeds, Cottons, Flannels, Blankets, Shoot- ing, Emitted Goods, Tarns, &c, All Wool left with us for manufaetttring, whether rolls or other- wise, Will have our prompt attention. SATISFACTION GUARANT'D ° We wish to remind the Farmers that the "Woolen Mill Store" in Brussels is not connected with THE BBUSStLS WOOL- EN MILL, but is selttug Goods from. the Listowel Mill, which we consider a groat advantage to the Farmers of this Locality, as the two Stores are side by side and the Goods and Prices can Easily he compared. We aro YOUR OBEDIENT SERVANTS, GErC, HOWE & Go., BRUSSELS.