Litchfield enquirer., 1855-04-19

out at the door and closed it behind her.
 1 All, except Macdonald, were seen in bed. We had, however, only half undressed.- i As for Macdonald, he drew stool before the fire, and seating himself, buried his face in his hands as if in thought. al- most immediately fell asleep, and must have fire was out. But did not awake of my self, it was Macdonald who reused me- He did the same to the others. He had thrown himself on his bed, and spoke in a whisper, which, however, as our heads were close together, was audible to all.- ss Brothers," said he, |" listen but, for your lives make no noise, and, above all, do not speak. From the first moment we arrived at this house feared that all was not right ; now am sure of it. It seemed to me odd that two solitary women should inhabit so large house; that the girl should have been so ready, or rather so anxious, to re- ceive us; that she should have shown no fear of six young men, all strangers to her !; and said to myself, She and her grand mother do.not live here alone; she depends upon aid, if aid be necessary, and that aid is not far off. Again, l am used to read the character in the countenance, and. not withstanding her beauty, if ever treachery was marked on the human face, it is on hers. Then, why make us all sleep in one room! If the others are empty our beds would be as we'll on the floor in them as in this one. However, all that was mere sus- picion. But there is more. You saw me examine the windows during supper. l could then open the outside shutters they have since been fastened, and what is more, the door is locked or barred on us, and will not yield. But, what is most important. my ear, which is very quick, caught the sound of steps in the passage-heavy steps, though taken on tip. toe-steps, in short of man, or rather, 1 should say, of men, for there were at least two. stole to the door, and distinctly heard whisperings. Now what do you think of all that! Speak one at a time, and low" Bah !' whispered the Frenchman (" think nothing of it, It is quite. common to fasten the shutters outside; and as for the door, your friend and were rather free with the girl las, night, and she may have locked us in for her own security. As for the footsteps, doubt if you can distinguish a mans from a woman's; and the whisperings were probably the girl and the old woman con- versing. Their voices coming along the passage would sound like whisper. ings." This explanation was so plausible that all expressed themselves satisfied with it. But Macdonald resumed, and this time he spoke in whisper so terrible, so full of mysterious power. that it went straight to every heart: " Brothers," he said, "be wise in time. If you will not listen to common sense, take warning of super. 1 natural sense. Have you never had dim presentment of coming evil know you have. Now mark. have at this momen, the sure certtude of its its approach. know, kno,o, KNOW, that if you contin- ue to lie here, and will not listen to my words, neither you nor will ever see an. other sun. knor that we shall all cer. tainly die before the morning. Will you be advised ? If not your blood be on youl own heads! As for mine, forgive it you. Decide .-resolve !'' These words, the tone in which they were uttered, and the character of the speaker, produced a pro. found impression. As for me, shudder. ed but it was less at the idea of the threatened material danger than at that O an occult influence lowering round us, in | with its mysterious presence. Laurenbere was the first to speak, or rather to whisper !" Macdonald," said he, !" yield myself tc your guidance" immediately said, " and l." The others followed the example, Macdonald directly took the command or himself Rise," said he, "but make mol
 the slightest noise. Collect yourselves, ant pay attention to the slightest thing. Leav. your shoes take your swords. As it is st dark there will probably he confusion. We must have watchwords, therefore. Let then be Jena anh Gottingen. Also, to avoid oul blindly encountering one another, let each of us, if it comes to a fight, keep calling Burschen! Burschen! 1 believe the al. tack apprehend will come from the door Let us range ourselves three on each side of it. We from Got,ingen will take the right side, you from Jena the left. When they open the door, we rush into the pas- sage. will lead my file, and do you, brother" said he to the Frenchman, "lead yours. When you hear me cry Burscken follow me, and remember, you strike for your lives" All this was said in the lowest 1 whisper brt so distinctly and deliberately that we did not lose word.
 l WE souh dc ptsASC aooieucu ASs StaSPAhS oar bared swords. For a time--it seemed an interminable time-we stood silent and hearing nothing. Of course we could not see each other, for the place was quite dark.
 At last. our excited ears heard footsteps cautiously approaching. Some one came to the door and was evidently listening In about minute we heard the listener whisper to some one in the passage.'. They must all be asleep now. Tell Hans to cut loose." Our hearts beat tquick. There was a pause of some minutes; then suddenly we heard overhead a cracking sound among the furze bushes that composrd the root, and the next instant something fell to the gronnd with CIT ST so tremendous that the whole house seemed to shake. Then we heard halt withdrawn, then key was turned. The door began to open. Bur. schen!' cried Macdonald, as he dashed il wide ajar, and sprang into the passsge.- Burschen !' cried the Frenchman. and the next moment he was by our comrades side. " Burschen !'' cried we all, as we made after them. The robbers retreated precipi- tately into the hall, where we had seen the