Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1871-07-20

a moment before she burst out laugh
ing.
''Hushl hush."I said. "They
will hear you"
$ l almost wish they would" she
said. "What goose I was to be
frightened and not speak. Do you
know where we arel Z"
mo" I answered. Chow should
! II Where are we ~
| My fancy of knowing the place had
vanished by this time. All my mental
charts of it had got thoroughly confus
ed, and do not believe / could have
even found my way back to the library.
"Shut out the leads she answered.
"Corne along. We may as well GO
and meet our ate.
! confess to little palpitation of the
heart as she spoke, for I was not yet
old enough to feel that Clara's compan-
! ionship made the doom light one.
| Up the stairs we went--here no twist
ing corkscrew, but broad flight
enough, with square turniugs; at the
| top was door, fastened only with a
bolt lnside-against no worse house
breaker than the winds and rains.
When we emerged, we found ourselves
III the open night.
"Here we are in the moons drawing
room ~ said Clara.
The scene was lovely. The sky was all
clear now, the earth only background
or a pedestal for the heavens. The
river far below shone here and there in
answer to the moon, while the mead
ows and fields ApI in the oblivion of
| leep, and the wooded hills were only
dark, formless masses. But the sky
was the dwelling place of the moon, be-
fore whose radiance, penetratingly
still, the stars shrunk as if they would
hide in the flowing skirts of her gar
ments. There was scarce cloud to be
seen, and the whiteness of the moon
made the blue thin. i could hardly
believe in what / saw 1t was as if |
had come awake without getting out of
the dream.
We We're on the roof of the ballroom.
We felt the rhythmic motion OF the
dancing feet shake the building in time
to the music. ga low melodious thun-
der buried beneath-aboye, the eter-
nal silence Of the white moon
We passed to the roof OF the drawing
room From it, upon one side, we
could peep into the great gothic win
low of the hall which rose high above
it. We could see the servants pass
ing and repasslng, with dishes for the
supper which was being laid in the
diningroom, under the drawingroom,
for the hall was never used for enter
tainment now, except on such great
{ q, ,f
election feast, when all classes met.
eve mustn't stop here said Clara;
eve shall get our deaths Of cold
"What shall we 10, thenl' | asked
"There are plenty of DOORS she an
swered, "only Mrs. Wilson has fool
ish fancy for keeping them all bolted.
! We must try, though.
! Over the roof we went; now descend
| ing now ascendluga few steps; now walk
along narrow cutters, between battle
mcnt and slopIug roof; now crossing
awkward junctions-trying doors,
many in tower and turret--all in vain
Every one was bolted ON the inside.
We had grown quite silent, for the case
! looked serious.
"This is the last door, said Clara
"the last we can reach. There are more
in the towers, but they are higher up.
What shall we dot Except we go dawn
a chimney, / don't know what's to be
done.
Still her voice did not falter, and my
courage did not give way. She stoed
| for d few moments silent | stood re-
/ garding her, ms one might listen for
4 doubtful oracle.
Eyes, I've got it'll" she said at length.
"Have You II good head, Wilfrsl
81 don'tquite know what you mean, y
| answered.
"Do you mind being on narrow
place without much to hold by2'
High up2 | asked with a SILVER
eyes
For moment | did not answer. It
was n special weakness of my physical
nature, one which my imagination had
I increased tenfold, the absolute horror
| had of such a transit MS she was evi-
IDENTIFY about to propose. My worst
dreams, from which would awake with
my heart going like Il fire engine, were
of adventures of the kind But before
a woman, how could | draw back Il
would rather lie broken Mt the bottom
of the wall And If the fear should
come to the worst, | could mt least
throw myself down and end it SO.
"Woll " | said, rs II / had only been
waiting for her exposition of the case
"Weln " shcretmned; leone along,
then.
did so along, like man to the gal
lows; only / would not have turned
back To save my life. But | should
have hailed the slightest change of
purpose in her with such pleasure ms
Daniel must have felt when he found