A LOVER’S VENGEANCE.

Patea Mail, Volume IX, Issue 1117, 26 November 1883, Page 4

A LOVER’S VENGEANCE.

LITERATURE.

Time cannot efface.'the remembrance of past deeds. I shall never forget my first love. She was a lovely, young and beautiful maiden, .not then out of her teens... and lajon ug mm hier, ha vi ng just'left’school on* a visit to" see the Niagara Falls, < • 1 * One. day, during a* visit to the lake of the lhor>a:ii(l -isles,- and while sailing ’nvid 'the islands, ; viewing tlie beautiful scenery, a sight 'more* charming than all tlielpariornmir of America put together caught my . eye. Immediately-beneath a large maple tree ini faU hloom, sat a fair., ..maiden,,] examining; the .foliage of,some r p,I IX n-ts.ia(Afy;- vcry -hoart,deapt into my month ; could she he alotiei thought 1:‘ A rnomeiit sufficed Mo cohePder-my resol nt iont - I’ immediately orderdiT’ mvy - attendants to 'convey " me ashore,’ and when landed, I walked up to, the young Jally,..and,..addressed her in traw ..-English., style, -ah the -.-same time inquiring if shelve re? alone; Seeing her boat polled upon the island and tiofemv in r Tt,Xld f hntigh't gome' accident' had occurred ; informcd/mo-ihat she was accompanied with her'father and sonic-friends, and that she herself was studying 7 botany.' I- strolled = on and chatted fainiliarly with her until we joindil-ffeg paVty, wlio'wore nst’onishetF «t seeing mo with’ the’’lady. After tome cotlvctsMtoiv-we- hnd| I into favour, and .was inyited to drink tea with her that evening. I need not tell niy renders what fulJ:ow.cdi} : snffico.it-to : say il.iat -after.: nr month’s, acqn aintanch it tv ns :• arrangedthat Dwasnobo married to my Yenns (for sh.l calfed her) v after onr return Mb’ England;- !i But,, -ohis. for me ! ’ that happy "‘day never "came. During onr-! rambles . together we,, got acquainted; with, a. i ceit>in. .Charles Olhr, who !, afterwards found -was madly, in love with my-Verms. ’ One day,happening, to find: her alone, he insisted tbiVt'.sho^shbuhl ; fly wilh'ibiiri and he’ would'hnar’ry > her. Bui’^fiifdihg ! ll l at on no- account Mvonld BhefleStfe’ s mfe, Tie;|jroseniißi| : ;ft : 'pistol' 'to her heart, and ’said 1 ,, “ By’ heavens 1 I’ll shoqt f ,yonjif ypn ilon’-ti fly. with me* for I mu “madly accidently the pistol Jveht’ (iff, and the TiUaia>fled..Fortunately; Irvrns;- npltfay off’" Ijrhqrried; to the, spotßbnt imagine my consternation and' horror at seeing my darlingitlyingi in ;i a- pool of blood. arteryj and BhVou|y,lp£s to tel) mo the name of her murderer.

Maddened. Jbr revenge, I lay con,-,, the-lorder, pf 4bo river Scngdg, night after night, awaiting the assassin. ‘ I wh'3 : armed whli' pistols anil wore skates. Skating i was an amusement which Lhadexcelled in whed.a schoolboy, arid faeilityMu the a* t was of the last importance to my scl erne of retrii\t length exquisite nij>ht ]J- the ■-'■ white =• expanse-' around sparkltfd'Jn thesheemof a Canadiaa/noQU, which.sailed calmly, through a Cloudless sky. I coo Id" have shot thee viliinn as he skated by me. withhu fifty yanlg but I would notrisk the'chapcf; and besides, my,vengeance .cried,, for .a, sterner ‘fate' than death -by - the pistoK past rny,-hidipg^p|ace,. ; startedj on to see wh,Qihts r pursuer, was,; s then, quick ns up the river again, i n Bat -1 liad rlllticipated this, and with a cocked rpistbKdMdther hand, 1 barred his passage..''.With an oath, he down s iHe' 41

And iJ<^?th^rajO'bF*lifo ? begnnO Milo after mile we swept along^ri'lHeliee.; 5 An awfnl throngh whicli the hollow boonTof.,cutting its way ovci% tKe,^i;n;pria«iied;rßcngog. The mo.on; lit to ray vengeance. Hsi'igonM not escape me, for I found withr ,f d glee that I was a match forieVM swift-footed Indian. Olier became'nware of this 100, for now and again skate close to the woods, looking ; ‘ in vain for an aperture. But no; tjhfcre outlet from Ibis walleckin river, and. that;was over the falls 1

Faster and faster yet we '"skated'' towards the cataractr~*Tt could not bo Olier^Sif.nthoughts might be. .Bid .he know whither .ke was hastening.? dr had that awfnl light yet to flish on his gnillymind? He shortly; made answer to ,my thought; Xsaw lii'min the pale start, convulsively, and.’.Uubw his arms lii the airbut he .dared not of despair," whi'clf,.echoed, weird-like "up the channel. Another scfuhd. canje,lo my eai*, ! and* I knew' what had caused that cry of,.ag9ny- to, burst, from : Olier— it was theddiiil Jtlmnder...of the. falls ! Wejiwere- pearing/.t,hei>i. fasti,i Still£hei! walls of snow.Tßbafc hnsmy victim, and j every moment lessened his frail hopes of escape. One 'clionco ; vvris left him—tb distance me and hide .somc.wherG in the j snow: fnom.'my> scrutiny; Vain hope the wing of the bird conld scarce have ( saved him ! ‘ !

Hoarser and lender grew the noise of the wale rslf if Lth anfeed; thf Almighty in fra n lic praye> flia t ' tfie goiltjr man was'-dclivered'into my hands, I humbly trust it may be forgmm"me_now. From the time I Olier’s track, we maintained exactly,the same distance between us—perhaps a hundred ora hundred and fi r ty yards. . I still grasped my loaded pistols, ready for any stratagem; on his part.

AtuUnow the crash of the falls came loud and ominous on the ear. Another fire minutes would decide the hunt. Suddenly, Olier turned and stood.. He was not armed : X felt certain of that all along, for otherwise he would have measured strength with 1 me before. , .Without abating my pace, I skated down upon him, bolding a pistol in each hand. Still ray purpose was as fixed as ever only to shoot the villian as a last resource/ . When' I was within twenty yards of him, the coward faltered and again turned swiftly down the river. With a yelling laugh I pursued him, pressing still more holly on his track.

Deafening was thdiuarof tbo cn'ar^'.t; high, into 'the pafe sky ascended the mist of-“thc--»prnyp“-Girmifh‘'-which-[the splintered lines of the moonlight darted in rainbow-tinted beauty. I (conld see directly the jagged lino of the -ice, where it was broken by the rapids (immediately above the cataract; and beyond I could see the dark volume of the Scugog ns it emerged from its prison of snow and ice. For an instant rQlier turned his face towards me, ns I [pressed upon footsteps ; s never shall jl forget the terrible' despair that distorted the villain’s features. It was a mercy that the sullen roar of the falls [drowned his oaths—l-knew .that he was curses on me—for they would ;have haunted me in after years.

j , Wlith the courage that,is begotten of ■darkest 4 dpsp£ir,**i)e clashed ioti -tolyhe [brink of 'the" rapids, and llie next .moment I was alone ~ony tjic ice. I ‘gazed with stern joy bn’the dark flood iwhich had seized in its resistless hands (the shodder of blood, and was hurrying him over the falls. For a moment I ithoughl I could perceive the asrassin struggling in the eddies ; but the illusipn r ,if it were one cqnld only live for, an : instant..' Tljo- cataractrwas within pistol-shot, and ns I turned up Iho dreary wilderness.of ice and snow, I know that the doom of the guilty skater had been fu'filled.