The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1860-04-20
VOL. 1.

above, for the visit of stranger.
The room in which found myself wa
in miserably dilapidated condition. Th,
paper which had once covered its wall
hung in strips in various places, the plas
ter of the ceiling had fallen away her,
and there, and several panes of glass wer.
wanting in the windows. their place beine
supplied with paper rudely plastered OF
the sash. The furniture was in keeping
with the apartment; a ragged carpet, ar
old horsehair sofa, wooden table, anc
three or four broken backed, rickety look
ing chairs, completed the inventory. The
whole, dimly illuminated by the light o
solitary candle, looked gloomy enough
| approached one of the windows, threw
it open, and endeavored, as we'll as tht
darkness would permit to discover wha
aspect the neighborhood presented in tha
direction. The room was, as | had con
jectured, in the rear of the house, anC
looked out upon small courtyard, shu
in on every side by the rear or side wall:
Of the adjacent buildings. But two win.
dows were visible in any of them, and il
neither was there light or other indica
iion of the rooms TO which they belonged
being occupied. | closed the window anC
returned to my seat by the table. The
vague sense Of uneasiDess l had experien
ced when | first entered the house, was
rapidly becoming very positive appre
hension of some impending danger.
As nearly as l can judge, l had been
alone about a quarter Of an hour, and re-
solved that | would wait five minutes long.
er, and then, should no one come, endeaY-
or to find my way down stairs and into
the street. | drew out my watch; it
wanted twenty minutes of eleven | wait
ed patiently the time | had proposed, and
then prepared to leave the apartment
What was my dismay, when, on turning
the handle of the door / discovered it to
be locked on the outside
In an instant the whole peril of nv sit
uation flashed upon me. Ny worst fears
bade fir to be realized How blindly
had | fallen into the trap set for me. to
which the gold, SO carelessly displayed at
the jewelers. window, had doubtless been
the incentive. The story, so pathetically
told me, had been, of course, a tale in
vented most probably on the spur of the
moment to excite my compassion. 1t had
succeeded well. 1t was clear was to be
robbed, perhaps murdered. Why not p
/ had myself, | recollected-a | cursed
my fatuity as | did so--told the woman
whom | had accompanied to the house
that | was perfect stranger in the city,
and therefore, she would argue, not likely,
should any evil befall me, to be missed for
some days at leest. | recollected, too vi
vidly,the momentary CLEAN of satisfaction
which had lightened up her features when
| made the ayowal.
What was to be done Were there no
means Of forcing the lock? Yes at the
fireplace stood an old fashioned brass fend-
or, inside Of which was a set of fire irons
The poker, not a small piece of iron
crooked at one end, most generally used
in this country, but a straight bar of
steel, about three feet in length-would
enable me to break open the door without
| instantly seized it, and was
abou. to use it for that purpose, when a
reflection made me pause. The
noise should make in breaking open the
lock, could not but warn those who secu~
red it, that | was conscious of my danger
and was endeavoring to escape Once in
the passage, a sudden blow might dash
the light from my hand, and assailed in
the dark, on the narrow staircase, sho'd
have little chance to defend myself. Es-
cape by the window was, as | had already
seen, impracticable. / resolved, therefore,
TO wait the event whatever it might be,
where | could at least see and confront
the peril which threatened me. | was
armed. | carried in the breast pocket of
my coat brace Of small single barrelled
pistols, and it was not without satisfaction
recolected had, the very day before,
fearing that the sea air might have affect
I'd them drawn the charges carefully and
reloaded them. had, however found
but one solitary percussion cap in the
'lse, aad had been obliged to replace on
one pistol the old one. OF the efficiency
of that weapon, therefore, had considera-
Die doubt; the other, | believed, might
he depended upon. The poker, toO,
thought, as glanced at it, would enable
me, if things came to the worst, TO sell my
life not cheaply. But, suppose myself op
posed, not to single assailant, but to
two or even three men, would they be
likely to be deferred from their purpose by
a pistol in the hands of singI man p
No ! they would argue could bit but one,
and might, and very probably would, miss
even him if they made simultaneous
rush upon me. However, that remained
to be seen.
waited quietly some minutes; still no
sound. % profound was the silence and
so sharpened were my senses by anxiety,
that | could hear the very ticking of my
watch in my vest pocket. | began to feel
4 very fever;sh anxiety to know and brave
the worst.
am, and have always been, peculiarly
sensitive TO the depressing influence that
an i'll lighted room exercises on the mind,
even under the most favorable circumstan
res, and in my present situation did not
fail to he affected By the somberness of
he apartment, which increased as the
wick Of the solitary candle grew longer
and longer. There were no snuifer5, and
feared to attempt 10 improve the light
by any other means, lest / should extin-