The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1866-10-18

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/ AT that moment she stopped suddenly,
end turning to- my xife said, hastily,
"What pretty dog-I had once and
then she stopped: for Bob-the zane BOD
fthat years before was taken. rom the house
In Firth street rushed toward her, and
began leaping up to her face IS with the
most cxtravagant JOY. That was enough
to startle me, but worse followed; for Bob
suddenly caught sight of my new friend
himself, and in quicker time than I can
write the words, had sprang at bis throat
with tho most savage yell that lever heard
from any animal, and literally bore him to
the ground. take credit to myself that
acted promptly and with calmness. OF
course there was amystery-what mystery,
flashed across my mind like lightning; but
what l thought and what ! did are two diff
tferent things. What did was to drag the
dog of, have him tied up ct once, and
apologize to the best Of my ability for the
strange attack, which attributed, as plau-
sibly as could, to some offensive gesture
or other accidental circumstance on the
part Of Mr.. Layton. Fortunately, though
my wife knew the history of the dog, no
notion of the truth occurred to her. Lay
ton himself was intensely agitated; his
face was CHASTITY white; his wife was lost
in astonishRent, and evidently possessed
no clue to the meaning of what had hap
lpened.
Never in my life did / feel so strangely
as did all the rest of that day. To con-
tinue all the cordial attentions proper to
ones guest while the mind is racked with
even business aDxicties is bad enough
bnt now t"F =
One thing was evident. must allay all
fears-can my reader doubt what fears p
that Layton may have conceived, and at
the same time act ont to the end the part
/ had to play in the retributive portion OF
the drama. l did act it out, as will be
seen; and to this day ! do not know
whether l did Alright or no. The first thing
was to arrange a complete surveillance
over Layton's movements; and in order to
effect this, l could think Of no better way
than to telegraph to Peters. To do this
before night was impossible, for felt that
Layton's eye watched me as cat watches
a mouse. Nor could possibly leave the
house without exciting his suspicion. !
managed the affair in simple way, how
ever, as luck would have it. One of my
boys-a smart lad, who will make name
some day greater than his father, and in
his fathers profession, tools fond of draw
ing. / told him in the evening, as we were
all sitting round the stove, that wanted to
look at his last productions. He brought
his portfolio to me, and began to criticise
its contents, and with a pencil in hand.
The work was faulty, l told him. There
were errors that even ] could detect and
remedy. "Come here to table, Charley"
said l, "and / will show you what
mean." And took the book to another
part of the room. Here" said /, 4" look
attentively at this" and wrote: ~
81 am going to write private message
to you on this drawing"
81 see, father" said my bright boy,
"and will follow your instructions"
wrote again:
"Go to the telegraph Office, and tele-
graph to the Broome-street police station
for Peters the detective tell him to come
directly, and with help enough to watch
this house, and arrest man or woman leav-
ing it tonight. Go quietly, Charley, and
take no notice." ,..a.... ..s.,. .....
."Oh, that's easy enough" said Charley.
"Ican very SOON draw the lines in that
way. This picture is too bad to show Mr..
Layton, as l see now he shall see the
others, though" and he tore it up. The
portfolio was duly admired by the visitors,
and further public criticism made by me,
and finally Master Charley, with demure
countcnance, marched out Of the room
with it..
We sat an hour or so, and then retired
for the night. Charley came in to wish us
bon soir, and gave me little nod, which
was what / wanted. And ten minutes
afterwards the echoes in the house had all
died away, and the last chamber door was
locked. s,e. '' .. s@'.
We had, soon after purchasing our house,
built an extension at right angles with it
just like an L the whole building was. In
this extension were three roomS-a base
ment, used for washing and the like, an
office or study above it, which / used, and
above that bedroom, which, on this &C.
casion, was occupied by our eldest daugh-
ter, who had given up her room, situated
Immediately over my own in the main
building, and the window Of which opened
into the back garden, to Mr.. and Mrs. Lay
ton. To the middle room quietly re-
paired, telling my wife bad work to do,
and she, poor dear, little knowing what
work that was, told me she should soon be
asleep as with kiss I left her. took q
light from our bedroom, and Iblew it out
the instant / entered my sanctum and
locked the door inside-I hate squeaking
locks-mine don't squeak. Then sat
down by the window, on the sill Of which l
laid piece of ironmongery, which, small
as it was, held six lives within its power.
And waited. .4tE'" "taa.
Waited till the moon, which set that
night at IL o'clock, had gone down to rise
upon millions of sleepers on the other side
of the world. Waited until everything
above, below, around. seemed dark, and
silent, and ghostly, as if were shut in q
vast grave. ans,
There were but two ways ofgreaching
my house at that time Of night-now nearly
2 O'Clock. One by horse or wagon, the
other on foot. thought knew enough
of Peters to be sure that no sound Of hoof
or wheel would come within my hearing