The Rutland County herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1852-1855, 1854-05-05

how, She listened with That intensity OF
fear which desires almos, as much a. il
breads q recurrence of she sound that
caused il. II came again followed by
n loud ruslliug noise, ~ IL some heavy
body were dragged from under the bed 4
10 the direction Of the fire Wha, could
it bc' She longcl TO rail- out Cor help. /
bat her tongue clayc to the roof Of her I
mouth, and the pulses IN her temples I
throbbcd until she felt ns Il their pain I
fol beating sounded in the silence OF the
night like the loud tick Of n clock
The unseen thing dmpgcd itself along
until il reached the hcarlh-rug, where
it slung itself down with violence. A.
J, did SO, she heard the clank Of a chain.
Her breath came less painfully ms she
heard it, for il occurred to her that the
creature might be nothing worse thaa
the house dog. who, having broken his
chain, had sought shelter beneath the
bed in the warm room. Even this no
ton was disagrceablc enough. but il
was nothing TO the vague terror which
had hitherto oppressed her. She per-
suaded herself that If she lay quiet, no
harm would happen to her, and the
night would soon pass over. Thus
reasoning, she laid herself down again.
By-and-by the creature began to
snorc, and il struck her fcversh fancy
that the snoring was not like that Of n
dog. Aler little time, she raised
herself gently aud with trembling
hand drew back the curtain an inch or
two and peered out, thinking certainty
was better than such terrible suspense.
She looked toward the fireplace, and
there sure enough, the hugh creature
lay--a brown hairy mass, but of what
shape il was impossible 10 divine, so
ilttul was the light, and so strangely
was it coiled up on the hearth rug -
By-and-by 1t began TO stretch itself ont,
TO open It's eyes, which shone in the
hickering rays ofihe fire, and to raise
It's paws above IFS hairy head
Good Col those are not paws
/ They are human hands and dangling
from the wrists hang fragments of
broken chains
A chill Of horror froze Ellen Stirling S
veins as II flash of the expiring fire
showed her this clearly y--lar too clearly
and the conviction seized upon her
mind tha, she was shut up with an es-
capped convict.
An inward Invocation to heaven for
aid rose from her heart, as, with the
whole force OF her intcllc;i, she en-
deavored TO survey the danger of her
position, and TO think of the most per
suasve words she could use TO the man
into whose power she had so strangely
fallen. For the present, however, sh,
must be still, very still she must make
no movement TO beiray herself, and per
haps he might overlook her presence
until daylight came, and with il possibl,
help. The night must be Far spent
she must wait and hope
She had not to wait long. The crea
turc moved again stood upright---stng
gered towards the bed. For one mo
ment--one dreadful momcnt-shc saw
his face, his pale, pnched features, hi
? flashing eyes, his black, brislling hair
but, thank God he did not see her.
She shrunk behind the curtains. II
, advanced to the bed, slowly. hesiiatingl
, and the clanking sounds of the brokel
p chains fell menacingly on her ear. II
, laid his hand upon the curtains, and
for few moments, inmbled to find th
opening. These moments were all i
+ all 10 Ellen Stirling. Despair sharpen
! ed her senses she found tha, the otbe
= side Of the bed was not 30 close ngains
the wall but that she could pass bclwecI
I Into the narrow space between she COT
I triyed TO slip noiselessly.
! She had hardly accomplished the di
; iculi feat, and sheltered herself benin
o the curtains. when the creature hun
= itself on the bed, and, drawing III
= bedcloihcs round him. uttered sOun
more like the neighing of horse iha
= the laugh of a human being.
e For some little time Miss Siirlin
e stood in her narrow hiding plac
- trembling with cold aud terror, fearfu
n least some unguarded movement shoul
g betrny her, and bring down 90 her
= fate ,he dared not contemplate. ~
+ lifted up her heart in prayer for cou
age and when her composnre had
d some degree returned, it occurred
o her that if she could bat reach the vii
z dow, She might, from that position, po
d sibly attract the attention Of some pas
I or-by. and be- released from her ierrib
IS durancc
= Very cautiously she attempted II
r pcrilous experiment her bare fc
Il moved noiselessly across the door. a.
e a friendly ray Of moonlight guided b,
r safely towards the window A. she p
o her hand towards the curtains, her bea
e eavc fresh bound Of terror. for
% came IN contact With something .,
J. and warm. Al length, hoNcver, 4
y remembered that she had hung dop
u her fur cloak in that spot aud il was
.e mercy % come upon 1t nov, when Il
. was chilled 10 the bone. She wraps
le Il around her and reached the sindo
'e without further adventure. or any alar
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