Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1870-10-15

Aucy NOulu SUIT we Well enough, anu
| told Mr.. Moss 80, paid him a quarter
rent in advance, and rose to depart
" Oh, by the way, Mr.. Moss,n ! ex-
claimed, a sudden thought striking me,
" | will send q man to paint my name
on the door and on the wall down
stairs"
:" Very good, sir; l would do it at
once if | were you. Carl was a loose
fish, and if you delay it until you get
here, you might be annoyed
" How so? What was he ~
Take cigar first, Mr.. Harker,n
yov'll find no better in Liverpool
Lord how like him you look When l
don't see your eyes ~
"And yet / have not been thought to
resemble loose fish before, Mr.. Moss y
" l didn't mean that. Have you ne
yer seen an ugly person resemble a very
handsome one? l have, many a time.
Well, about Carl he was here about
two years, and call me a Jew if could
reckon him up. He used to come here
about noon, and work up to eight or
nine o'clock at night; but what bust.
ness he worked at | never could find
out. | know he had big ledger, and
two or three such books; but a big led
ger won't make a business any more
than big carpet-bag will, and he al
ways carried one. He would come and
smoke a cigar with me now and then !;
but | never came up here during all
that time, and he kept his door locked.
He always seemed expecting a blow,
did poor Carl, more like rat in the cor
ner than anything else, poor beggar
Well, sir, one morning l found the key
Oh my mat, and found the place just as
you see it, and have never seen Carl
since. One or two queer looking men
have enquired about him, and asked if
he was coming back, AID | said most
likely he would, and most likely he
will.n
Not at all an interesting story,n !
thought, and | felt inclined to yawn in
Mr.. MOss's face; but thanked him for
his information, and promised to take
possession in three days, which spent
in presenting my letters introduction,
and making their arrangements for the
prosecution of my plans.
At length the eventful day arrived,
and | stood in my own office, with my
name emblazoned on the door and pas
sage wall. was waiting for friend
to call on me, (who, by the way, had
promised to put me in the way of do
ing some business that very day and
felt impatient for his arrival in conse.
quence.
The office was clean and tidy, and
the floor had been well scrubbed.
Why hadn't they emptied the waste.
paper basket of all that lumber?
The oflice-keeper had lighted fire
and took up the basket to perform the
operation myself; but, for some cause
or other, placed it on the table and
began idly to burn the scraps one by
one.
l had nearly disposed of them all
when scrap attracted my attention
and | read it. 1t was torn so as tC
leave a few words intact, and it raj
thus:
" Louise has given your description
and you may rely on our finding you
Forward the plates at once, orr
Then another piece of mysteriOu,
paper, apparently plan of some place
of other.
What did that mean?
But | had no time to consider, fol
my friend entered, and, putting the
two pieces in the drawer, l emptieC
the basket in the fire, and went ou
with him to do good days work.
Returning late in the evening, | reli
the fire, and addressed myself to the
writing of two Important letters to bt
posted by 1880 that night, in order t.
be in time for the Cunard liner, which
sailed early in the morning; and then
it was that the black darkness of the
doorless room opposite me began t.
trouble me most.
1t had troubled me before, but Oh
this night it troubled me tenfold. From
childhood l had been imaginative, anC
knowing this, | stirred the fire, called
myself an ass, and went on with my
letter. But not for long. My eyes
wandered to the black darkness of the
doorway, and began to ransack my
memory for statistics of men who could
tell by some occult power if any one
were hidden in the room they entered
and | laughed aloud when | remem-
bered that l had read of one sensitive
gentleman, who by this same occult
sense had found q surgeons skeleton
was in closet behind him.
| own | dislike being in the dark
but will do myself the justice to say
that l have resolution enough to over.
come the dislike.
Therefore / proposed to myself to
very quietly walk into the dark room
which troubled me land without O
light, look out of the windows, and
slowly return.
l went-the very first step beyond
the threshold dispelled my fears. ]
could see the glimmer of the stars
through the glass, hear the rattle of the
cabs outside. Why, it was quite q
cheerful place after all.
Ha there was a shuffling noise there
| Dy Jne ClOSctl anu tlleH my ledTS IT,
turned and overpowered me. / strOvC
to walk out like a tragedy hero; but
my pace quickened as l neared the
door, and heard the shuffling noise
close to me, and the next moment 1
powerful hand was at my throat, ant
helpless on the floor with the cold muz
zle of q pistol to my head, l was bounC
and dragged into the outer office, thrus
into my chair, and confronted by two
quiet-lOoking men, one of whom laiC
his revolver on the table, saying at the
same time, with an ugly sneer $50
Brunton, we have caught you at last
II.
The speaker was mild, intelligent
looking man of about thirty-fve. Ii
proper dresc he would have looked
like d High Church clergyman. His
companion was evidently foreigner
and imagine q German. He was
about fifty years of age, and wore spec
oolos ond fha nrnflcion of hair ond