The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1859-07-06

You see your friends will not come
and you are keeping us up to no purpose
You had better go to bed
Il will wait little longer was the 70
ply, which elected kind Of shruo of con.
tempt.
The red haired man finished off his
bottle Of wine, and then said:
Show me room, good woman. I
shall sleep here to night
Mrs Martin thought that as he nro.
nounced these words he cast a LINGERING
glance towards her, and she felt less re-,
pugnance at the idea of passing the night
in that house. When, therefore, the red
haired man, after a polite bow, went up
stairs, she said that as her frienLs had no,
arrived they might as well show her to
bed room
4 thought i, would come to that n,
last said the landladv. Pierre, take the
lady's trunks up stairs
In few minutes Mrs. Martin fonnd
herself alone in spacious room, with q
large fire burning on tho hearth. Her
first care, after putting tie child 10 bed,
was to examine the door, which closed
only hv a latch. There was no bolt in
side She looked around for something
to harrcads it with, and perceived a hca
w chest of drawers. Fear gave strength.
She half lifted, half pushed it agains, the
door. Not content With this, she seized
table, To increase the strength of her
defence. The leg was broken, and when
she touched it, it fell with u crash to the
flor. A long echo went sounding throuoh
The house, and she felt her heart sink
within her. But the echo died away and
no one came ; so she piled the fragments
Of the table upon the chest of drawers
Toleraby satisfied in this direction. she
proceeded to examine the windows. They
were all well protected with iron bars
The walls were papered. and. after ca,e
ful examination seemed to contain no Wis.
ible signs of secret door.
Mrs. Martin now sank down into a
chair to reflect on her position. As wa.
natural, after having taken all these pre
cautions. the idea suggested that it might
he superiinouS. ana she smiled al tho
thought Of what her friends would saw
when she related to them the ,errors nf
the night. Her child was sleeping tran.
Guilly, its ROSY cheeks half buried in the
pillow. The fire had blazed up into a
bright flame, while the unsnuffed candle
burned dmlv. The room was full Of
pale, trembling shadows, but she had no
superstitious fears Something positive
could alone raise her alarm. She listen
ed attentivelv, but could hear nothing but
the howhng Of the wind over the roof
and the pattering of rain against the
window panes. AS her excitement d.
minished, the fatigue-which had been
forgoiten-began again to make itself
felt, and she resolved to undress and 90
to bed.
Her heart Ieaped into her throat. For
moment she seemed perfectly paralyzed
She had undressed and put out the can.
die, when she accidentally dropped her
watch. STOPPING to pick it up, her eyes
'nvoluntarlly z Isnced towards the bed -
a great mass of red hair, hand and a
cleaning knife.iwere revealed by the light
of the fire. After the first moment Of
terrible alarm, her. presence Of mind re.
turned. She felt that she had herself cut
off all means Of escape 10y the door, and
was left entirely to her own resour,es,-
Without utte,ing a cry, but trembling in
every limb, the poor woman got into the
bed by the side Of her child. An idea--
plan had suggested itself 1t had flash
ed through her BRAN like lighting. 1t
WAS the only chance left
Her bed was SO disposed that the rob.
Der could only get from beneath it by
narrow aperture at the head without
making noise and ii was probable that
he would choose, from prudence this
means Of exit. There was no curtain ir
,he way. Mrs. Martin, with terrible deci
sIon and nolsIess energy, made "a running
knot III her silk scarf, and held il poised
over the aperture by which her enemy
WAS to make his appearance She had
resolved 10 strange him in defence o. her
own life and that OF her child.
The position WAS an awful one and
probably, had she been able to direc, her
attention to surrounding circumstances,
she might have gwen way 10 her fears,
and endeayOred to raise the house hy
tended to, had fallen abroad, and now
gave only dull, suIen light, with an oc
casionsl bright CLEAN. Every object in
the vast apartment glowed with restless
emotion. Now and then a mouse ad
yanOed steaIthily along the floor. but, star.
tied by some movement under the bed,
went securing back in terror to its hole.
The child brea,heG steadily in its uncon
sciOus repose; the mother endeavored nj.
so 20 initiate slumbeT. bot the man under
the bed, uneasy in his position, could no,
avoid occasionally making a noise.
Mrs. Martin was occupied with only
two ideas. Fust she reflected on the ex
traordinary delusion by which she had
been led To see enemies in The people Of
the house, ana friend in the red haired
mnn; and secondly, il struck her that, as
he could fear no resistance from woman
he might push away the chairs that were
in the way, regardless OF the noise, and