Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1869-02-18

/ cal rhyme. relating 10 the bells OF 1T
Seven. had floated strangely into
Johns memory in the middle of the
night. The interviews with Mr. Edwin
and Mrs Winch were after-events not
set down in the Diary.
Breckenridge had gained something
/ by his nefarious scheme. but certainly
/ not so much as he had hoped for. lie
! he had gathered the vague outline OF
some dark conspiracy. in the meshes Of
which John English was blindly strug-
/ CLING but beyond that. he had learn
/ cd nothing. Batiled and enragcd. he
sat for some minutes hrooding silent
| ly with the Diary before him. Sudden
| Is. he heard the faint click of the gar
den wicket. and the crunching of grav-
el. rs some one came up the little path
| way towards the frolt-door. He start
cd at the sound like the guilty scoun-
| drel he was. In another moment he
had put back the Diary and letters. and
bad closed the desk /; but he had no re-
collection of the process afterwards.
Then he blew out the candles. and step
ping lightly. made for the door. hoping
10 get back undetected bv the way he
had come. But he was too late already
the intruder. who. indeed. could be
none other than John English come
back by the l-at train. had admitted
hlmsclfhy means ot n latch-kcy and
WAS now rubbing his feet on the mat
Big. brawny fellow though Gurnev
Breckenridge was. he summed the risk
of an encounter in the dark with the
~incwy Young photographer, ami shcw-
cd his wisdom thereby. With the in
stinct of despair, he turned back into
th"ropm. and winding his way nois g
les>ly between the chairs and tables
made for one of the windows. and
drawing the thick curtains on one side
slipped behind them. and breathcd
once more.
Ncarcciywas this accomplished. when
John English catered the room. Mrs
JakewaN. not expecting hun home till
morning. had omitted TO place a candle
and matches ou the bracket in the hall.
and hc was consequently still in the
dark tut. after a fcw failures. be con
irivei to get light from his fuses.
'Whcw how close and fustv the
room smcll-,' he exclaimed aloud. a
little fresh mir would he an improve
Inrui . ana stalking ID the window
where Breckenridge was not. he drew
aside the curtain, and ilung up the sash
and let the cool night air into the little
room. One last pipe. AMI then 20
bed. said John ,iill aioul aud present
~uerSril tueigl>t .ly perue. rc,oh-
inr Hack schemes Of revenge against
the man who had been the unconscious
means of placing him IN SO dangerous
a urrdicafncnt. How slowly the lag
ring minutes seemed 10 wear them
selves away till John English, having
finished his pipe. shat down the WIN
dow. and after 4 glance around. took
the light with him. and went " bed !.
Breckenridge now brcathed more free
Is. and allowed hi, crampcd limbs a
slight change of posture but he knew
that there was still a long drcary watch
TO hc undergone before he might Ven
turc To leave hi- hiding-placc. and try
10 steal away on the chance of John
being >oundlv asleep. He heard one
quarter altcr another chimed by the
clock If the little church on the hill
but not till five OF them had come and
gone did he venture 10 emerge from his
hiding-pla,c. His lantern had buried
itself out hy this time. and he burst
not venture 10 strike match. lie
made his way across the room In the
direction Of the door, rs child goes
up stairs, step at time, slowly. lie
had passed the table, and had coasted
safely round the easy-chair, which,
with its great sprawling legs, formed
dangerous obstacle in the dark, and
was creeping with outstretched hands
for the expected door, when he sud
denly stumbled over Johns travelling
case, which lay directly in his path,
and in trying TO save himself, he un-
consciously clutched frail mahogany
whatnot, on which reposcd several OF
Mrs Jakcway's most cherished orna-
ments, and 50 came headlong TO the
f,oor with a terrible crash. With an
instinct that would have done credit TO
a practiced burglar, he lay perfectly
still. Through the thin dividing-wall,
he heared the creak Of the bedstead, as
John sprang suddenly up; and then
a doubling Who's there!' as though
no answer were expected. None was
given and after moment or two Of
intense silence, he heard John growl
out something about those confound-
de cats and then turned over, to catch
up the broken end of his sleep.
Breckenridge lay for fully half an
hour among the fragments of Mrs Jake
ways china, without stirring a limb.
At the end Of that time, he gathered
himself up slowly and cautiously, with
out making as much noise as would
have frightened mouse. Then the
door was noiselessly opened, and he
found himself on the mat outside, and
everything quiet SO far. There was
the landing to cross next, and then the
stairs to descend, after which he would
feel himself in comparative safety.
But there was loose plank in the
flooring near the top of the stairs, and
of course (as he afterwards said) it was
like his cursed luck that he should
happen to put his foot on it, which he
did. John English slept as lightly as
Red Indian, and the familiar sound
of the loose plank awoke him in an in
stant-awoke him to the consciousness
that there must be some one in the
honse who had no business there. and