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Article THE DOOMED ONE AND THE EXECUTIONER. ← Page 5 of 9 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Doomed One And The Executioner.
to the entrance to the town . The evening was cool , and as it would require some time to heat the parlour , and was getting late , the landlord proposed to sit down and take his supper in the well-warmed kitchen . Sitting down in a corner near the fire , the combined effects of genial warmth and fatigue threw him into a profound sleep , which lasted several hours , and would have lasted much longer had he not been roused b y the landlord , who informed him that supper had been waiting some time , but that he had been unwilling to disturb a slumber so profound . Rising drowsily from his chair he followed the host to a table , where a roasted capon and a jug of bright wine waited his arrival .
The servants had all retired for the night—the landlord had quitted the kitchen , and Florian , busily occupied in dissecting the fowl , thought himself the sole occupant of the spacious apartment , when looking accidentally towards the fire , he saw with surprise that the chair he had just occupied was not empty . Looking more intently , he distinguished a short man of more than middle age , whose square and sturd y figure was partially concealed by a capacious mantle . His hair was
gray—his forehead seamed with wrinkles , and his beetle brows hung over a set of features stern and massive as if cast in iron . The stranger , seeing that he was observed by Florian , quitted his seat by the fire , took with him his jug of wine , and approaching the alarmed youth , began— " With your leave , good sir , I will take a seat by your table , a little friendly gossip is the best of all seasoning to a glass of wine . " Without waiting for a reply , the old man fixed his scrutinizing
glance on Florian , who observed with alarm that the intruder ' s gaze was not that of vulgar curiosity , but of stern investigation , which instantly suggested the idea that he was an agent of police , who had probably tracked him through the cross-roads which he had traversed in his flight ; his cheek grew pale at the suggestion . " It is not accident , " said the stranger , in subdued but impressive tones , " which brings us together at this hour ; I came in while you were asleepand begged
, the landlord would not awaken you , that I might say a few words to you in confidence after the servants had retired to rest . " " To me ? " exclaimed Florian , in anxious wonder . " Hush I" said the old man , again looking round the kitchen , " my object is to give you a friendly warning , for—if I am not for the first time in my life mistaken—you are menaced with a formidable danger . " " Danger ! " repeated the pallid Florian , in a voice scarcely audible .
" Aud have you not good reason to expect the clanger ? " continued the stranger ; " your sudden paleness tells me that you know it . I am an old man , and my life has been a rough pilgrimage ,- but still I have a warm heart . You may safely trust one within whose bosom the confessions of many helpless fugitives repose—I betray no one who confides in me , were he stained even with blood . " Pausing a little , he fixed a keenly-searching look upon the shrinking youth , and then whispered in his ear— " Young man , you have a murder upon your conscience . "
In a moment , the apprehensions of Florian yielded to a lofty sense of indignation at the groundless charge . " It is false , old man , " he exclaimed with energy ; " I swear by the just God , who searches all hearts , that I am not conscious of any crime . " " I am rejoiced to learn that I am mistaken , " replied the old man , with evident gratification , as he again fixed his searching eyes upon the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Doomed One And The Executioner.
to the entrance to the town . The evening was cool , and as it would require some time to heat the parlour , and was getting late , the landlord proposed to sit down and take his supper in the well-warmed kitchen . Sitting down in a corner near the fire , the combined effects of genial warmth and fatigue threw him into a profound sleep , which lasted several hours , and would have lasted much longer had he not been roused b y the landlord , who informed him that supper had been waiting some time , but that he had been unwilling to disturb a slumber so profound . Rising drowsily from his chair he followed the host to a table , where a roasted capon and a jug of bright wine waited his arrival .
The servants had all retired for the night—the landlord had quitted the kitchen , and Florian , busily occupied in dissecting the fowl , thought himself the sole occupant of the spacious apartment , when looking accidentally towards the fire , he saw with surprise that the chair he had just occupied was not empty . Looking more intently , he distinguished a short man of more than middle age , whose square and sturd y figure was partially concealed by a capacious mantle . His hair was
gray—his forehead seamed with wrinkles , and his beetle brows hung over a set of features stern and massive as if cast in iron . The stranger , seeing that he was observed by Florian , quitted his seat by the fire , took with him his jug of wine , and approaching the alarmed youth , began— " With your leave , good sir , I will take a seat by your table , a little friendly gossip is the best of all seasoning to a glass of wine . " Without waiting for a reply , the old man fixed his scrutinizing
glance on Florian , who observed with alarm that the intruder ' s gaze was not that of vulgar curiosity , but of stern investigation , which instantly suggested the idea that he was an agent of police , who had probably tracked him through the cross-roads which he had traversed in his flight ; his cheek grew pale at the suggestion . " It is not accident , " said the stranger , in subdued but impressive tones , " which brings us together at this hour ; I came in while you were asleepand begged
, the landlord would not awaken you , that I might say a few words to you in confidence after the servants had retired to rest . " " To me ? " exclaimed Florian , in anxious wonder . " Hush I" said the old man , again looking round the kitchen , " my object is to give you a friendly warning , for—if I am not for the first time in my life mistaken—you are menaced with a formidable danger . " " Danger ! " repeated the pallid Florian , in a voice scarcely audible .
" Aud have you not good reason to expect the clanger ? " continued the stranger ; " your sudden paleness tells me that you know it . I am an old man , and my life has been a rough pilgrimage ,- but still I have a warm heart . You may safely trust one within whose bosom the confessions of many helpless fugitives repose—I betray no one who confides in me , were he stained even with blood . " Pausing a little , he fixed a keenly-searching look upon the shrinking youth , and then whispered in his ear— " Young man , you have a murder upon your conscience . "
In a moment , the apprehensions of Florian yielded to a lofty sense of indignation at the groundless charge . " It is false , old man , " he exclaimed with energy ; " I swear by the just God , who searches all hearts , that I am not conscious of any crime . " " I am rejoiced to learn that I am mistaken , " replied the old man , with evident gratification , as he again fixed his searching eyes upon the