7 VoL. XXX Proprietors. STREET & SMITH, j Nos. 27, 29, 31 Rose St., P.O. Box £4896, New York. STORM-SOWING. BY MICHAEL SCANLAN. Some giant oaks once topped a rugged mountain, Like tall plumes waving over warrior’s brows, Which challenged by their haught the smiting tempest That sweeping upward roared among their boughs; But when the anger of the winds was wasted, And like spent giants they had sunk to rest, j Those sinewed oaks, like victor-waying banners O’er trowniug steeps, still topped the mountain crest. Bw some ripe fruit from off the topmost branches Was tempest-plucked and strewn adown the plain; But Naturé took it to her kindly bosom, And nurtured it with sunlight and soft rain; And when these oaks, which had subdued the ages, No longer tossed iheir proud heads to the skies, Lo; all the valley waé one waving forest, ~ Where song-birds built and piped sweet melodies. Thus earth’s great spirits, topping life’s high places, Are rudely shaken by ignoble hands; Swept by the madness of some blinding tempest, Their godly seed is blown to all the lands; But lo, the wonder! when exhausted error Stinks tamely backward to his gloomy den, The truth, well nurtured in the world’s great bosom, Has gravely blossomed in the hearts of men. : eh Tits Mystery of the Wold. By ANNIE CLARE. CHAPTER I. The quiet, outof the way little village of Swan» bourn, which for years had n undisturbed by a single event, had been suddenly plunged into the utmost excitement by the accidental. discovery that a painful and mysterious tragedy had been com- mitted in the very midst of its peaceful seclusion. The hours were fast wearing away toward mid- hight, and night was intensely cold, with hosts of — glowing stars, burning like diamonds through he clear, frosty air, yet the .awe-stricken groups nered round the entrance of Swanbourn Hotel, still lingered, discussing the mysterious anda terri- ble event. i In one of the public rooms of the hotel, reeting ona rd, and covered with a sheet. just as it h been brought in an hour or so before, lay the ghast- ty evidence of the awful crime, So far all was clear. A murder had been commit- ted; but the question still remained, “Who was the gyiminal, and what had led to the terrible Some few days befoxrc o atranger. mhoae-errrvak had excited some litle Sea in the mind of the hotel-keeper, and who brought no luggage, but paid unquestioningly for whatever he asked, had gms to Swanbourn and engaged apartments at the otel. Who he was, where he came from, or what was the business that brought him here, no one knew; but in the midst of the conjecture to which his ap- rance had given rise,the stranger departed, it ad been supposed, as suddenly as he came. That the gentleman who had given the name of Brown had really gone away, no one would proba- bly have doubted, but for the fact that his body had been this night discovered in a most remarkable manner, lying at the bottom of a pool of water about a mile and a half from the village. The weather had ashort time before set in intense- ly cold, and even the great pond in Black Water ollow, asthe place was called, was frozen over into one solid sheet of ice, clear and transparent as glass. On ordinary occasions the, acighhorhood of the 1 was notin high favor with the inhabitants of he village, but when frozen over as now, it offered considerable attractions to skaters, and on the night on which our story opens, a party of young men belonging to Swanbourn had gone down to the Hollow for that purpose. The night was intensely clear and frosty, with a bright moonlight that threw out the outlines of every object with almost startling vividness, and the skaters gliding hither and thither over the dark ool, looked like shadows as they passed through e moonlight, withthe dark background of yew and fir behind them. , At the best of times, and in broad daylight, the place hada ghostly, ill-omened look about it that was apt to strike a chill to the strongest nerve, but which made little impression on the spirits of the merry party, who, laughing and shouting, went darting about over the smooth ice, enjoying them- selves:to their hearts’ content. — At length, in the midst of their fun, a young man named Grant, whilein the act of cutting a figure near the brink of the pool, uttered an exclamation of horror, and checking his speed as quickly as possible, called to his companions to come near. k down there!” hecried turning pale as a ue and pointing to the bottom ofthe pool. ‘‘For eaven’s sake, Tom Rider, come here and tell me what you see!” At this moment the young man addressed, ac- compamied by one or two others who had heard the words, came up, and looked eagerly down through the ice in guest of the object, real or imaginary, on which thespeaker’s eyes seemed fixed with a gaze of horror, “Well, Grant,” asked one, “what is it ?” What!” he exclaimed, turning upon the ques- ttioner, impatiently. ‘‘Can’t you see it? There! There again; Isee it as plainly as possible. Here you, Simmons, come here. Stand just where I am ‘standing, and let the rest got back out of the light. ow,” he asked as the young man came to his side and looked in the direction he indicated; ““what do you see , I think,” Simmons replied, as the other impa- tiently grasped his arm—‘I think it looks like— aot a it can’t be! What de you fancy it looks ike “What is it? What do you see?” asked several voices, as the skaters gathered in a knot round the spot, and peered anxiously down through the ice at their feet. ‘What does Grant think he saw?” I don’t think anything about it,” said the youn man named, drawing aside with a white, scare look on his face. “I know what I saw!” hat?” was the eager inquiry. 25K Simmons ; he saw it too.” I don’tlike to say I’m certain of it,” said Sim- One ae the rest turned inguiringly toward him. But I certainly thought it looked like—like a hu- man hand!” There wasan exclamation of mingled horror and SEE BLiBe, and mer yoy ushed in, eager to obtain a glimpse of what lay ai the bottom of the pool. sto what the object really was, opinions were Wai HS were ®© some Who were clearer sighted or more strongly inclined tothe marvelous, thought with ha and Simmons, that they could detect the } Shape of a hand, white and ghastly, among. the } weeds at the bottom of the pool, othets of a more matter-of-fact turn, loudly declared the whole thing an illusion of the moonlight through the iee, ‘ tell you what it is,’ exclaimed Grant, rising rom his knees on the ice, in which position he had been silently examining the mysterious object. I'd stake a that there is the body of a man lying at the bottom of the pool! You may say what you please; but I canfmake out the outline of the whole form where the moon is brightest.” For a moment there was a profound silence, and a feeling of horror ran through the whole party. At length one began to suggest one thing, and another another quite opposite, while two. or three protessed to laugh at the idea asa goblin Superstition, that had no foundation in fact. Ord Ot tt tet sine + fo a caw s jokes.” They au rushed to where Grant was __ Entered According to Act. of Congress, in the Year 1876, by Street & Smith, in the Office of the Librarian of Conaress. Washington, D. Gish fer soot ons) 40 aed —— — NEW YORK, MAY 22, 1876. on his knees, eanigs catch a glimpse three Dollars Per Year. beeiecan S. STHREET. Two Copies Five Dollars. pe . FRANCIS S. SMITH. N 0, 27. —- that rins out on tothe 6ommon near the Wold.” “Stop! Will you have the goodness to explain how you came to be there ?” éll, Sir, you know, p’raps, that at the end of that lane there’s a gate that opens through the hedge into a field on the other side, and that it’s pretty voll buried among the trees and brambles. st Thursday night I had a ‘pointment here with afriend who owed mesome money;-and while I stood leaning over the rail, waiting for my friend, &@ woman came up the road from the direetion of the Wold, and passed me. “She hada vail over her head, and this and the dim light—for although the moon had begun to rise it was rather dark under the trees—prevented me seeing what she was like. At first I thought it might be Mrs. Flemming, for she were a lady like— it was light enough to see that—and I didn’t know as any other woman of that stamp was tikely to be out walking near the Wold at that time in the even- ing—not that Ishould have s’posed it likely she’d be there either. But, as I was saying, she went past, and just as I’d about done wondering who she could be, lL heard voices and footsteps coming in the di- rection in which she had gone. There were two people now—I could hearthat plain enough—and I NS knew that one was a man. i “They came in sight ut last, and then I saw that it of what lay at the bottom of the pool. + , You will find that there is only too much truth in what I say,” interposed Grant, speaking with quiet conviction. “There is the body of a man lying down there among the weeds and rushes. Who he may be I cannot say. Which of you will go to the village after ropes and drags? in deter- mined not to leave the spot until Pve discovered what guilty secret it is the old black pool has taken to its bosom. Icould not sleep to-night with the vision of that ghastly white hand beckoning to me through the water, in my mind!” Some of the party, nnerenping their skates, vol- unteered to go in quer of the drag hooks, while others, still doubtful whether the whole affair might not still turn out a hoax, and fearful of being laughed at, remained where they were, anxious to see the end of an adventure so full of excitement and interest. Meanwhile Grant, pale and silent, stood near the spot on which the ghastly apparition had first flashed on his vision, and waited their return. At last, after what seemed an endless time of sus- pense, they came back, armed with poles, hooks and ropes; and accompanied by a little crowd of villagers, among whom the exciting news had spread. The ice was very thick, and took some time to break through; but at last, after considerable diffi- culty, an opening sufficiently large to allow of the necessary operations was obtained, and the drags were let down into the water. What do you expect to catch ?” inquired a by- stander, who came up witha grin of mingled eun- ning and stupidity on his face,and looked down into the opening, “the great sea serpent or a real live mermaid ?” “Stand aside, fool!” exclaimed Grant, thrusting him away. “This is no time for your ignorant joke: And at the same instant a man with a rope in his hand, announced the fact that the drag had caught. There was a breathless silence as the rope was hauled in, and a dark object came floating closely up to the surface of the water. ‘ he truth of Grant’s assertion was only too truly verified. A minute later the crowd stood grouped together wondering and awe-stricken about the object—stiff, rigid, and cold as the ice itself that lay at their feet. t was the corpse of a man, tall, finely grown, and well dressed, but the face was so frightfully lacera- ted Py disfigured as to be nearly or quite unrecog- nizable. “Who is he? What has been done tothe face?” were the eae on every lip, but which nobody attempted to answer, Just then the proprietor of the Swanbourn hotel prahed through the crowd, and stooping over the igure examined it attentively. I know who it is,” he said, at last. “It’s the strange gentlene who came to my house last week, and who went awayso suddenly. The face is no guide to go by; but ’d swear to the clothes and figure,” Soon after the police authorities arrived on the spot, and_the body was conveyed by them to the hotel, and a doctor sent for. Avery brief examina- tion resulted in the announcement that death had been caused by ashot from a pistol, fired very close to the face, and that the man had evidently been dead some days. That robbery had not been the object of the crime was evident from the fact that a pocket-book, con- taining a considerable amount was found on the person of the murdered man. Beyond this, with the exception of atorn envelope with “Mr. Brown, Swanbourn hotel” written upon it in afree, elegant, and apparently female hand, found in the coat- pocket, there was nothing that could afford the slightest clew to the name or identity of the unfor- tunate deceased. So far the whole affair seemed shrouded in the deepest mystery, and here for the present it was compelled to rest. , With a vague feeling of distrust and uncertainty in their minds, people went away to their own homes, and in one of the bare, unfurnished rooms atthe hotel, covered by the ghastly sheet, lay the corpse, its ghastly, disfigured face turned upward in awful though silent accusation against the un- known murderer, with the water dripping dismally from its clothes on to the bare floor beneath, with a sort of monotonous regularity that had something ghostly in its sound. CHAPTER II. On the morning of the following day, an inquiry concerning the mysterious circumstances attend- ing the death of the strange gentleman was held in the parlor of the Swanbourn Hotel. Among the chief witnesses called was James Harding, the proprietor of the house, by whom the body had been identified asthat of the gentleman who had come to his house on the morning of Thursday, the 13th of February, and given the name of Brown. “Did the unfortunate gentleman while in your house say anythin 4 to this nature of the business that had brought him inteé these parts?” inquired the coroner. No, sir; not a word. Inf facet, he appeared very little inclined to say anything on any subject what- ever.” _ Did he go out, or had he any visitors during the time he staid with you?” was the next inquiry. “He had no visitors,to my knowledge, though I believe he did go out several times for a walk, as I supposed. With the exception of this, the only thing I’ve any recollection of his doing was to write a letter.” The coroner and several other gentlemen, seated atthe table taking notes, glanced up with afresh accession of interest. Everyeye asked the ques- tion before it could be spoken. ‘Do you know to whom that letter was ad- dressed?” “T’m not quite certain, but I think it was to alady at the Wold.” “Do you mean Mrs. Flemming?” asked the coro- ner, not without a betrayal of surprise. : Z _ ‘No, it was not Mrs. Flemming. I’m quite posi- tive of that, though I’ve forgotten the name on the envelope. LI recollect thinking atthe time it must have been intended for the strange lady who has lately come to the Wold, and whois living with Mrs. Flemming as governess, I hear.” ; Had it been possibleto have invested the affair with any additional interest, the mention of the in- habitant of the Wold in connection with the mys- terious tragedyhad done so. For twe or three years past Mr.and Mrs. Flemming who occupied the great, gloomy old house known asthe Wold, and which stood at the distamee of about three miles from the village, had furnished ample food for seca aa among the gossips of Swanbourn. “Almost the first thing the gentleman did after getting to my house,” James Harding continued, was to ask for writing materials. When I took them in to him heinquiredif I could find hima messenger to take a letter to Mr. Flemming’s house. I told him yes, and going out, sent the stable help, Sam Green, in to him. When the letter was written I believe Sam carried it to the Wold,” he added. At the end of this statement 8am Green was sent for, who, after a short delay, put in a decidedly shock-headed a pomeence, An unmistakable smile ran round the room at the ludicrous expression of apprehension with which Sam came in and looked about him, evi- dently expecting nothing lessthan to be charged on the spot with the entire perpetration of the mur- der; and before anything but the most vehement rotestations of his own personal innocence could e obtained from him he had to be relieved by a most patient explanation of what was really re- quired of him. After two or three inquiries concerning the de- ceased, the question was put to him: “Do you remember ¢arrying a letter from Mr. Brown to some person at the Wold?” “Yes, sir,” said 5am, tyisting the rim of his hat ner through his fingers, and evidently not exactly clear in his mind whether there might not be something criminal in such a proceeding. “He sent me to carry it to a lady named Forest or some- thing like that.” ; “Who did you see at the Wold?” “Well, sir, yousee Mr. Brown had told me to ask for Miss Forest or whatever the name was on the outside of the letter; but Ididn’t have any occasion to ask for when I got tothe Wold I met a lady at the door who looked at the letter, and told me it was for her. She took it out of my hand, and when she had opened itshe turned very pale and trembled all over. I think she forgot I was there until I told her Mr. Brown had directed me to wait for an, answer. ‘Yes,’ said she, going back to. the_house; ‘come in here and wait while I write it.’ I went into the room as she directed, and waited until she came back to me with a letter, on the outside of which Mr. Brown’s name was written; and then I came back straight. Mr. Brown stood at the door when I got back to the hotel; but when he saw me he came and met me, and after giving me five shillings walked off with his letter.” “What time in the day was this?” “About eleven or half-past in the forenoon,” ro- plied the man, after a moment’s consideration, ‘‘as near as I can recollect.” “When did you see the gentleman again?” “I did not see him any more that day, sir, but I was told he came back in the course of an hour or so.” This statement was fully confirmed by James Harding, who was more interrogated, and from whose testimony it appeared that the unfortunate gentleman had returned after a short absence, dined at five o’clock and finally gone out again for some considerable time in the e@vening—that he came in about half-past eleven, looking very pale and troubled, and had gone immediately to his room. On the following day he had risen later, break- fasted, gone out for a walk as on the day previous, and returned at about two, and ordered dinner. Some time toward the end of the afterndon he had er out again, and from tha} time nothing had en seen of him, so far as could be diseovered, until the body was found at the bottom of the pool. This, with the exception of the medical evidence and thatof Grant and_ others, who had witnessed the discovery of the body, was pretty much all that could be elicited for the present. The doctor, in giving his evidence, stated his opinion that the man must have been dead four or five days, and this, taken together with the fact that the frost had set in on the night of Friday, the 14th of February, would seem to point to the conclusion that the murder must have been perpetrated on the night of the stranger’s disappearance, and just be- fore the pool had begun to freeze over. | _But the mystery had not yet reached its culmina- ting point. ; Just as the inquiry was about to be adjourned, an entirely new aspect was given to the whole af- fair by the arrival of another and most unexpected witness, : A gentleman mounted on a splendid gray, and accompanied by amanof decidedly disreputable appearance on foot, rode up to the Swanbourn Hotel and requested an immediate interview with the coroner. ‘ In personal appearance and social standing, it was evident no two men could have been more ex- actly the antipodes of each other, But from the ex- clamations “Mr. Cronther,” and “Black Jake” their arrival excited, it was evident they were equally well known among the bystanders. The gentleman spoken of as Mr. Cronther was a haughty, aristocratic-looking man, with a certain pay grace in his tall, erect form, but with a de- cidedly cynical expression in his pale face, with its oa unflinching gray eyes, and thin, half-sneering ips. He did not live at Swanbourn, but at a place called Westpoint, a town some five miles distant, though he was.pretty generally known in the village as the brother of Mrs. Hiswams § the beautiful and se- cluded mistress of the Wold. I : oF his side, with very much the air with whicha surly bull-dog lurks in his master’s footsteps, stood the man known in the neighborhood as Black Jake, a sobriquet bestowed on him peaty in reference to his great black ragged beard, his swarthy skin, and heavy, lowering brow, but still more so with regard to his character. People said he had been several times convicted of different offenses, and that some of the best—or what should haye been the best—years of his life had been spent in a convict pines. Be this as it may, Black Jake presented in his own proper per- son a standing conundrum for the good people of Swanbourn. Foralong time past it had beena question in their minds as to what he did for a live- lihood. One thing was clear—it was not work. But for all this the fellow always appeared to have quite asample acommand of money as the most industrious of the people who shunned his com- pany and speculated about him. On being shown into the parlor, Mr. Cronther, in afew graphic sentences, spoken with gentlemanly ease and politeness, explained the circumstances that had brought him here, and which in brief were as follows:, é With the intention of paying a visit to his sister, Mrs. Flemming, he had set out that morning to ride over from West Point to the Wold. About half way on the road he had first heard the news of the mur- er. Feeling, he confessed, though not without a half expressed apology for the vulgarity of the senti- ment, some little curiosity to see the spot where the corpse had been discovered, he turned a little out was the same woman who had pone past just before. She had her vail up now, and I saw plainly enough what she was like. It was not Mrs. Fiemming, but a young woman whose face was strange to me then, though I know now it was the lady who has lately eee to the Wold, and whose name I believe is Fo- rest- “T saw, too, who the man was. It was the gentle- man as had come that morning to the Swanbourn hotel. I’m sure it was him,for I happened tostand by when the train came in, and I saw him step off the train and cross over to the hotel. I noticed him particular, for he was a good-looking man, with something about him that made me think it was an officer in plain clothes. But this was not the only thing that made me notice him. [remember think- ing atthe moment_how much _he looked like Mr. Flemming, at the-Wold,only Mr. Fiemming wears a lares beard, and this man had only a heavy mus- tache. This was not the, only mention that had been made. since the arrival of the stranger, of this ac- cidental resemblance to. the master of the Wold. John Harding had remarked it in confidence to his wife on the very day of his first appearance; but since the murder the circumstance had been for- gotten entirely among other and more engrossing matter. ? “When they came up.the man was speaking,” Jake resumed, “and the first words I caught were: ; And you_are quitesafe here? You are certain those irom whom you are hiding have no suspicion of your whereabouts ?” uite certain,’ said the woman’s voice in reply. ‘Pray tell him to be under no apprehension for my satiety. This is the last place in which my persecu- tors would think of looking for me. In a few months, now, all necessity for caution will be over. Till then I am farsafer here, ur der my present dis- guise of name and position, thanI could be any- where else.