Page:The Castle of Wolfenbach - Parsons - 1854.djvu/205

 another horse and make all possible search." I had no alternative; distracted with pain and horror, I got with difficulty to the town, and was put to bed very ill. Peter rode off immediately; he was wanting a day and a night: I suffered a thousand tortures: I began to think he had betrayed me. 'Tis the curse attendant on villiansvillains [sic] always to be suspicious of each other; for what vows or ties can bind a man you know would commit the most atrocious crimes for money. In my conjectures, however, I wronged Peter; he returned. He had searched the wood, and every part of the adjacent neighbourhood, without gaining any intelligence, but that two or three persons had seen a horse saddled, galloping furiously in the wood: he had called at the cottage—nothing had transpired there. In short, we began to hope, as our only security, that she was killed somewhere in the road, and the body carried away by passengers. In a few days I got well, determined to visit the Castle, and either destroy Joseph, or decoy him away to some remote place. In short, my schemes were so many and unsettled by fear, that I fixed on no positive plan. We arrived at the Castle; we saw no appearance of any lady; but Peter, taking an opportunity to speak to Bertha, was informed there had been a lady, but she had left them three or four days. This was another stroke: the lady, we knew, had seen the Countess; she might betray the secret, where could she be gone, or who was she? Peter enquired again, Bertha knew only that she talked of going to Paris. We were now distracted; the sword seemed suspended over our heads, and we every moment feared detection. That night we met in the Countess's apartments, and searched thoroughly; in a drawer we found a purse with some money, and a paper signed Matilda giving an account of sundry articles taken from the drawers. This convinced us we had reasons for our apprehensions: the death of Joseph would rid us of one witness—I secretly de-