The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1858-10-28

thy self. have taken the liberty of iDvitin,

thy self. have taken tie liberty of iuvitin,
you hlther to negotiate q loau.'
l I'm other words, to rob mel' said l.
That is harsh word, Senior, whic
We seldom make use o.; We call our IN od
of acquiring means a new way of borrow
Ing; aDd for this reason; that instead o
giving the person borrowed from securit
of our own, we leave him safely house
for the security Of ourselves. In short
Senor, not to waste words, let me inform
you in brief that we want all your weap
ons, jewelry, and ready funds. with the
exception of sufficient to support you til
| you can raise more; and once rossed o.
these, We wiIlquetly depart and leave yor
here for such time as will be necessary to
make our escape certnin-say till to NOR
row night-wben you will be set at liber.
erty in very harmless way. You see a
once, Senior, sou have Providentally fall
Ell into honest hands, for which = you should
thank the saints-for had you fallen into
the hands of villains, your life might have
been the forfeit
"Oh, am deeply and profoundly
thankful, of course r' returned I, iroui-
caly. Aud then quickly added: "By
your accent and mode of speaking, !
judge you are no Mexican"
$50 much the better for our purpose =
replied the villain; "for you have bill OF
exchange on a house here which you have
never visited; and if can personate a
respectable foreigncr-say you for in
stance-I can get it honored as we'll as
another
saw that was really caught BY rob-
bers at last-thas it would be useless to
waste words-that perhaps it would be
best to yield With good grace to what
| had not the power to avert-and so |
informed the gentleman that he was at
liberty TO do what he thought proper, on
ly | would pray him to give me my lib
erty in reasonable time, and not leave
me entirely destitute.
"By San Marco - be rejoined; "your
worship is the most sensible gentleman |
have had dealings with you for years
and | assure you am one not upacquain-
ted with the customs of the road. We
will deal as gently by you as by an iu-
fant, and ever remmember you gratefully
In our prayers"
With this be coolly proceeded to rife
my pockets and person, taking from me
my reyolsers, knife, jewelry, purse, and
pocket. book, in the latter of which be
found the afore mentioned bill of exchange
the amount of which caused his eyes to
glisten, as | could see even through the
mask.
"Pray tell me-" said I, show you knew
[ had this draft, and had not presented
it -
"Pardon me, Senor that would DO ex-
posing the secrets of our profession, which
we never DO to the uninitiated."
"By treachery p said I. MY servant
must have made the discovery, and you
are his accomplices."
Suspect whom you please, Senor," he
replied "every gentleman is entitled to
his thoughts; but in order to show Jour
worship the possibility of your being in
error, permit me to observe, confidently,
that watch has been upon you ever
since the moment you set foot 10 this go-
rious city. Ah, Senor, perceive your
purse is heavy, and viii suffice for your
present wants-accept it back, sir; your
jewelry also may be Of more value to you
than to us, and so we restore it; we only
desire to do the fair thing; and this bill
of exchange, being even larger than We
supposed, shall satisfy US for the present. &"
With this be returned the articles men
toned; and then coolly remarking he did
not think it safe to unbind ne till the
moment for restoring ne to liberty, be
turned on his heel, made NE polite bow
and, with his companion, walked out, clo-
sing and locking the door behind him.
l was thus left alone in my prison, in
total darkness, with my arms so pinioned
as to be both useless aud painful. My
feelings during the long hours which fol-
lowed, the reader can better iragine than
/ set forth; but though | suffered much
physically and mentally, | did not at 6rst
despair, because | believed | should E.
ventually be set at liberty in some mys-
terious manner.
As hour after hour, however, passed a
way in that dark aud silent dungeon,
began at last to grow more and more un-
easy. What if, after all. | should be LETT
to perish in my prisonl The thought was
TOO horrible to be entertained, and |
strovo to banish it, and, aided by strong
will, I SO far succeeded as to keep in tol
erably fair spirits.
At lat, to my great joy, | heard the
lock Of my room turn, and was surprised
to sec a fe male mask standing in the gray
light Of the opening-for it was already
day without, though no. a ray OF light
had reached the vault.
"Sonor." she said, in clear, stern
voice, will you be kind enough to present
yourselfto to my view , ra
advanced to the door where she was