Squatter sovereign., 1855-09-04

''prate of my whereabout." and enable him
to sweep down upon me, like a starving
vulture on his prey; the windows from
their hight, only offered me the choice of
"a different death, and I recollected with
deep anguish that there was no fire place
in the room, I might have climbed for safe
ty. G. Ta ~
Terrified as was, and tremblieg yio-
lently all over, I must do myself the justice
to record that was not quite frightened
out of my wits, for while heard my infu-
rated assailant nluttering curses, and
stabbing at the empty bed, my mind, with
uncomfortable rapidly, was conjuring up
different possibilities of eluding his msr-
derous purpose. No feasible place Of
concealment occurred TO me except the
deep recess already mentioned, beside the
wardrobe, where by cr0uching down I
/ thought that might escape detection
long enough to persuade him that l had Sd
lenily slipped from the apartment While
thoughts of this nature were darting
confusedly through my brain, l distin-
guished his footsteps hurrying round for
the purpose as conjectured, of searching
for me amid the clothes, during which In
| terval drew myself noiselessly under the
bed, emerged on the opposite side, regain.
ed my legs. and was stealing on tip-toe to-
wards the recess, when a creaking board
betrayed my locality, and my pursuer ut
tered fresh volley of oaths, DATED through
the intense darkness with such impetuosi-
ty that he dashed against projecting stove.
which suddenly arrested his career. He
must have been severely bruised by the
conclusion, for he swore with the groan-
ing bitterness Of pain, and ere he had time
to attena to anything but his own sufferings.
had enseonced myselfiD my hiding place,
covering down and shrinking into the
smallest possible dimensions at its further
est extremity. o -5.-a=aHs d
CHAPTER IrI.-Short and narrowing
was the respite thus obtained. If great
and imminent danger sometimes confound
the faculties, it occasionally imparts to them
a supernatural acuteness, and concentra-
ton, of which latter predicament presen-
ted painful instance. So morbidly SEN
sitlEe became my hearing that could dis
tinguish every breath dra wn by the assas-
sin, even at the remotest confines of the
room, while my olfactory nerves announc-
ed his approach by an odor of tobacco, so
slight that it would utterly have escaped
me under any other circumstances, though
it now assumed terrible pungency as the
herald Of a murderous advance. With the
slowness of man determined not to be
banked OF his purpose, he groped his way
along the walls, the grating sound of his
hand assuring me that he searched care
fully in every direction. Nearer and near
er did he approach my lair, my breathless
CONSERVATION deepening with every fall of
his foot, until he stood directly opposite to
me, when he stretched forth his hand and
explored the recess, striking first against
the wardrobe and then against the opposite
wall, In both cases however, thanks to my
COUGHING posture, his arm passed above my
head. In this process the flap of his coat
actually swung against my cheek, sending
cold shudder through my frame, but it
led to no discovery, and my heart bound
ed as I heard him enter the closet from
which however, he presently returned,
muttering:
"Saw match box-relight the lamp
soon settle his business -good-good r
Now for the first time did l recolIect
| that had left my travelling lucifer-box on
the table, and my terror-my despair may
be imaginged when heard the grating of
the match, Immediately followed by flick
ering glare, which PARTIAL revealed the VII
lain's figure, cleaned on the knife, and
threw dim shadows around the room,
which my terrified imagination invested
| with thousand terrible forms. All that
l had previously suffered was trivial in
comparison with my present agony, but
luckily it was evanescent, for in hurrying
towards the lamp. the current Of air ex-
tinguished the match, and a pitchy dark
ness again enveloped the room.
But the miscrean. was not to be thus
foiled. Squirting imprecations through his
clenched teeth he returned TO the table,
took out another match, and once mere did
| hear the. scraping sound that was to fur
nish him with the means of discovering
and destroying me-. Once. twice, thrice.
four times was repeated, bus without effect !;