, 1861-10-24
which weighed upon bis spirits, but of which no

At length, one day during their frugal dinner,
the old man was evidently in state Of great
mental excitement, so murh so, that his daugh-
ter asked him II he was unwell. lie said no; but
seemed distracted and unwilling to he ques!
toned ON the subject On the following day,
after breakfast he was heard making a consid.
cradle hustle in his small sitting room, and on
his appearance at dinner vas even more abstract
ed and taciturn than on the previous day. He
looked around him with an air Of watchfnl sus.
picion at times fixing his attention steadlasty on
his nephew, and on his old servant, but made no
remark, from which any information could be
gained as to the cause Of his evident disc0mpo.
sufe.
The next morning he called William into his
roOn-an event Of very rare occurrence-re-
quired him to remove various heavy books, and
to take down every article from the tops Of the
Old-iashioned bookcases, and from cabinet OF
ancient china, an object Of the old mans espe.
cia idolatry. The search, however, seemed
very unsatisfactory and at length seating him.
self in his chair he said, 1t is true, then, am
robbed daily, and that by some one who has
constant means Of access to my room. Some
one has carried off the most valuable Of my
china, box Of medals, my silver crucifix, which
once belonged to the Duke Of Norfolk. To-
morrow shall apply to the magistrates to search
into the matter"
William related to bis cousin the circumstance
Of her fathers loss, which he seemed inclined to
consider as a mere imagination, when she said !:
at is singular that for the last two or three
nights, fancied heard some one moving in the
house"
"Are you sure that the shutters were closedl"
inquired her father.
II fastened the window myself and William
closed the shutters az usual"
"Did the sound proceed from the garret stair
CASEY" asked the old man, looking suspiciousy
at his nephew.
The blood mounted Indignantly to the cheeks
Of the young man, and his uncle groaned heaV-
ily /; but his daughter, who had not observed
her Cousins change Of cOuntenance, or her faith
er's suspicious glanceS, simply answered:
"The sounds came from the stairs leading to
your parlor.door, my dear father, but were so
slight that may have been deceived. But what
proofs have you Of the robbery"
"Things miss can nowhere be found; they
have vanished one after the other. Two or three
days ago missed the medals then the china |;
aud the crnciix, which was in its place yeSter-
day, is, you sec, no longer there. But leave me," !"
he added, 81 feel much disturbed atd Uneasy,
and wish 10 be alone."
The young people obcyed, and, with the old
domestic, who had joined them, retired to dis
cuss the mysterious affair, which bafled oil
their endeavors tO find a clue to its solution.
William could not help brOOding over the idea
Of his uncles suspicious being directed towards
htn /: and, though Lizzie endcaHored to make
light Of it, the matter engrossed all their thoughts
aud conversation.
At dinner the old man femained perfectly st.
lent, and never once alluded to the subject which
was uppeTmost in all their thoughts. In the ev.
ening he retired earlier than usual to his cham.
ber, but still without any mention Of his loss
and when William observed that II was necessary
that the affair should be investigated, and search
made for the missing articles he sharply Oade
him hold his tongue, adding that he did not want
to he instructed as to what il was his duty TO do.
AItcr he had retired, Lizzie took up her work,
and William book; Tut the latter felt too much
annoyed at being the object Of his uncle's ground
less suspicion to think on any other subject, aud
sat for considerable time in moody silence.
His cousin, after trying in vain to engage him
in conversation, gave up the attempt and the
evening passed in uninterrupted taeiturnity till
the hour Of retiring was near at hand, when
their attention was attracted by Il slight noise,
which proceeded from the old mans little room,
and William was rising to investigate tho cause,
when his companion laid her hand upon his arm,
and mOtioned him TO wait q minute in silence.
The noise was heard again, and the door Of the
room in which they were sitting slowly opened.
A figure appeared in the entry. dressed in night
attire, with eyes wide open, hut in which there
was no speculation It was old Miller himself
In one hand he held a long and narrow china
jar, in the other a candle and small key.
The daughter and the nephew remained in
mute amazement, while the old man glided into
the front parlor and proceeded TO closet con.
cealed in the wall, and in which, when employed
I..l -, l..
and articles Of value. He opened the door Of
this private depository, and to the infinite sur.
prise Of the young people, who had followed
him, displayed the missing articlCs carefully
slowed away.
William could not suppress a loud shout OF
satisfaction, which suddenly awOke the somnam'
bnlIst, who, in his alarm, dropped the china jar,
which was slIivere' 10 atoms on the tiOOr; at the
same time folded paper fell from it, which
William mechanically stopped and picked up.
The old Inan, startled from his sleep, was para.
lyzed with terror. Il was in vain they pointed
out TO him his recovered treasures; he trembled
violently, and was so agtated that his d,ughter
requested her cousin to take him in his arms
and convey him back to his bed, where she
watched anxiously beside him, aud would have
sent Tor medical aid, but her father recovered
sufficiently to forbid her. and desired to be un-
disturbed. IN the meantime. William Withdrew
into the room below, in order tn be in readiness
should his presence be required; and thinking
over the circumstance which had so strangely
hidden and brought to light the articles sup
posed TO be stolen, he remembered the paper he
had picked up, which he carelessly unfolded,
thinking il Of no value. Great was his amaze
ment, then, on Seeing his own name In large let
trrS on the sheet. 1t was the last will aud tesla
ment Of his uncle, William Miller, in which, with
- =.
porty was given to William Bullock, his nephew.
In few weeks the eotnsnS were unfted and
old Miller advanced . considerable sum to es
tabsh his nephew in an employment in which
he found both occupation and eBoluTnenL