The Plymouth Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1869-1941, 1870-11-03

long while debating as Ia whether !
should put out my Candida point decided
by the short piece burning out, so that
soon sat upon the edge of the bed in utter
darkness, listening attentively to every
sound, and seeing, in my imagination, the
swarthy Frcnchman stilctto-armed, slow
ly ascending the stairs.
had no difficulty i'm keeping awake. for
my nerves were strained to their greatest
tension with the excitement, and cold
damp collected upon my forehead and in
the palms of my hands, as at last, after
several false alarms, heard faint breath
ing noise apparently just outside the door.
Rising softly and with my heart beating
almost To suffOcation, | stole to the win
! dow, and stood once more listening, Us
there came a faint gliding, grating noise;
and though could see nothing, ! felt that
one of the panels of the door was SO con
trived that it would slide back, and
seemed to he gazing the next moment upon
a hand thrust through to be Laid upon the
bolt.
! The darkness was intense, but | was,
felt, right, for there came the grating of
the iron, and the bolt was softly shot back
from the staple, and the door pressed in
ward, against the bedstead.
WHAT could | dog That should he
murdered if | stayed there unarmcd. | felt
assured and even if could cltlde my assail
amt i'll the dark, it would be only for a few
minutes, for | must be hunted down at
last. There was no escape, | told myself,
and as the bedstead creakcd with the pres
sure against it, | knew that it must, in ii
few minutes at most, give way sufficiently
| for Il man to pass in, and then would come
the struggle for life.
| \ sllflOcating groan forced itself from
my breast, and great trembling seized
upon me, but even then did not think to-
offer the money as a ransom for my liberty.
/ but hurried from one end of the room to
! the other in search of way to escape.
Then | stopped short, for there was IA
whispering outside and thought had Oc-
Cured TO me. Could escape by the win
dow?
Four stories high, and the cruel stones
beneath,
But the bed clOthes-could knot them
| together, and slide down?
\ moments reflection told me that the
idea was madness; and l leaned out, to
listen if there was any one below to whom
| might appeal for help; but all was
still, and my tongue seemed to refuse its
| office Almost mad with fear, | climbed
out on the window sill, and looked up
wards
was on the top floor, but the parapet
was above my reach, unless-yes-thc
Venetian shuttcrS-each Il very ladder
every thin bar step to climb to safety
| if
Yes-if they would bear my weight.
! shuddcred as at that moment | seemed
to see the shutter torn from It's hinges and
with me cinging to it, talling-tailing
with fearful crash 10 the pavement be
meath, and men gathering round to gaze
upon the sickening spectacle.
But it was my only chance for safety
and upon the roof | might travel on and
on, and ciudc my pursucrs. if they could
reach my refuge by any other way; for
/ felt assured that they would not attempt it
by my route. But would the shutter bear
/ this wcight?-
tried one with my left hand, and it
/ shook ominously. L stepped quickly to
/ the other and tried it. Firmer, certainly :;
but what frail road to safety Would it
not be better to stop and encounter my
| enemies, who were now in the room.
1t seemed the lesser evil to trust to my
activity To reach the roof; and softly plac
/ ing one foot upon the wood work reached
I tuc Top III tilt anu tltW SILL ul'
from the window sill, just as Il man leaned
out and uttered an exclamation of horror.
/ But | could not look down ut him, nor
heed his warning cry to descend, for all my
weight was now upon the shutter, support
ed by its hinges and the holder which kept
it back against the stone wall. l felt it
! giving way beneath me but taking another
step threw up one hand, as with Il spas
modic effort | drew up my body in what |
/ knew To he my last struggle for life; and
that hand rested upon the parlpct the next
instant my other hand was by its side; my
feet aided me again for an instant, and then,
with sharp crack the shutter gave way,
hung To my feet fora few moments, when,
as kicked them free and chung there, |
heard il fail, after what seemed Il lifetime
of horror, upon the pavement below.
The effect of that crash below was almost
| sufficient To make me relax my hold, SO
straag cly did it jar upon my nerves; but
my fingers seemed to grow, as it were, into
the stone, and hung at the full stretch OF
my muscles, mOtioness fora few moments,
when, forcing myself by pure mental effort
to think Of my duty 10 fight to the last,
began to draw myself up, rising slowly till
my chin was upon the parapct edge, but
with the weight of the money seeming to
drag me down; then one hand was reached
forward to get better hold, the other fol
lowed, and hardly knew how, but in a
battle of mind, muscle and weight, strlg-
gled up, my feet just lending Il slight aid
as they found Il crevicc between the stone
courses, and then was lying painting in
the gutter, feeling that | had used every
atom of vital power in the efforts of those
few minutes.
Il
no meas of exit by trap or door on to the
roof; and after lying where was for a few
minutes, | crawled along for some distance
going foot by foot cautiously, for fear OF
fall q; and then once more completely eX-
haustcd, lay, SO that | should have been
at the mercy of Il child.
Daylight found me by an unfiastencd
trap, through which dare not descend
but | sat by it till the noise from the street
told that Paris was Weakening into life
once more, when to my great relief, was
able to attract the notice of a woman
servant, who terribly frightened at first
was pacifed by Il napoleon, aud consented
To lead me down stairs To the front door
but not without fear and trembling in
spite of my assurance that was no bur
glar.
a "fiacrc' bore me to my hotel and upon
reaching my room To my great surprise,
WAS followed there by Rivers, pale and ill
and confused of intellect He found him
self, he told me, on the Pont Ncuf, and
had been wandering about for honrs til
the hotel had been opened AS To how h,
came there, all was blank his last rccol
lection was seeing me at the table i'm the
gambling house, and then his going and
drinking at the buffet from a glass handed
to him by the obsequious Frenchman.
i was too i'll to relate my own adventure
and the next morning, when somewhat
better | was seated with my friend a
breakfast, he told me that his head was
still confused, as if from some opiate
while in the course of conversation it came