r chamber door, wounded and bleeding, lay the
insensible form of Clarence Argyle!

They raised the young gentleman, and placed him upon the bed; a
physician, who fortunately resided next door, and was almost instantly
upon the spot, pronounced the wound severe, but not dangerous. He had
been shot in the breast; the ball was with some difficulty extracted,
and the patient rendered as comfortable as possible.

But where was the clue to all this fearful mystery? What had become of
Fanny Aubrey? Who had dared to enter that house at midnight, and after
nearly murdering one of the inmates, carry off a young lady? What was
the _object_ of the perpetrator of the outrage? These were the questions
uttered by everybody present; but no one could answer them.

Both Mr. Goldworthy and Alice watched over the sufferer during that
night. Towards morning, he revived sufficiently to tell them all he knew
of the dreadful occurrence which had taken place. His chamber adjoined
that of Fanny; he had been aroused from his slumbers by her piercing
scream; instantly leaping from his bed, he rushed into the young lady's
apartment, and saw a tall, black-visaged ruffian standing over her
apparently insensible form, in the act of dragging her from the couch.
The villain turned suddenly, drew a pistol upon the young gentleman, and
fired. Clarence fell, severely wounded, and remained unconscious of
everything, until he found himself stretched upon a bed of pain, with
his uncle and cousin watching him with affectionate solicitude.

On learning that poor Fanny had disappeared--undoubtedly carried off by
the ruffian whom he had seen in her chamber--the grief and rage of
Clarence knew no bounds. Regardless of his wound and sufferings, he
would have arisen from his bed and gone in pursuit of the ravisher, had
he not been restrained by his more considerate relatives, who
represented to him the folly and danger of his undertaking such a
hopeless task, in his precarious state of health. Overcome by their
united persuasions, as well as by a consciousness of his own bodily
weakness, he contented himself with his uncle's assurance that every
effort would immediately be made to discover the whereabouts of poor
Fanny, and restore her to her friends.

Early the next morning, Corporal Grimsby, as being the friend and
guardian of the missing girl, was apprised of the fact of her abduction.
It is needless for us to repeat all the singular oaths with which the
ecc