Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1872-02-16

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very indeed; he is an Englishman. has
travelled a good deal IS smart. good
enough fellow in his vs. but SO odd.'
!" Well says I. Maser Ham. or what
ever your name moughs be, if that chap
was turned loose in our county and ear
ried on much like be bis been doin' to-
night, drat me If old Squire Bumpass
wouldn't have him sent to the lanatic
asylum; he is dangerous. sir. dangerous
More odd than dangerous, landlord,
says be.
EDO you mind sleepin' in the room
with him then 2 says l.
''He laughed. and said: oh no; l am
sound sleeper. and be might walk the
room until dawn without my lOsin' a
wink
'sJust then the darka chap hurried in,
said it was after three o'clock and wax
ed Josh who was snoozen' in the corner,
made him light candis, and take them
into room in the front Of the house with
two big dormer-windos&in in it, opening on
the roof that slants down over the front
piazza. It was large comfortable room
with two beds. and sfae old woman had
just put up new white cotton curtains with
fringe to 'em that day; 80. what with big
log-fre and everything else cheerful-like,
1 thought I'd hear no nore from 'em un-
til sunrise; SO / told Josh to try and get
a nap Of sleep. and went to bed too,
seein' as how Polly had had the fit and
was now all right again.
Gentlemen, you know how still it gets
in a house sometimes after you have been
in stir. Well. hadn't known the
house SO still for lorg time; even the
mice in our corner closet didn't make any
fuss runnin' around among the old wo-
mans fine crockery she kept in thar, and
4 slept most profusely f9r awhile.
"On sudden I was reused up BY hear
in terrible trompin' around somewhere
up stairs. just like two Zen wrastlin'; then
thar was q heavy fall the floor, and .
scream that would have walked any sleep
er that was not deaf or dead.
That scream rings in my ears now ;
and I shall never forget the horror I was
flung into all in minute. But I lost no
time in strikin' light; and rousin' up
Josh, we both rushed up stairs just as
somebody darted past us in comm down.
Both of US grabbed at him, but we had as
we'll have tried to catch whirlwind and
I knowed from the movements of the fell
low as he went by and almost few out Of
the house into the thick darkness, that it
was that dark chap, and he had let loose
his devil sure enough.
"As we couldn't catch him then, the
next best thing was to see what harm he
had done, for I was pintedly sure he had
hurt somebody; SO we went to his room
first. BY the time we got there the two
other. passengers, startled by the noise and
scream, had rushed out of their room and
joined us, SO that we went in together
and I havin' the light, walked in first
Both beds were empty; there was pool
of blood on the floor and the fnger-prints
Of blood on the white window curtains,
but there warn't soul in the room but
ourselves, and we stood and gazed at each
other quiverin' and horror struck for sew.
eral minutes before anybody spoke.
''At last the tall man looked at me. and
said. This is awful, landlord; there i:
foul play. and death in it too, I am afraid.
"'Oh, sir, it's dreadful, said I. 'But
what has the wretch done with the poor
young man? He certainly didn't carry
him down stairs, because he rushed pas
me on the stairs by himself not five min
utes ago.
"'By himsell?'
"'Yes, sir, by himself! and out intc
the dark quicker than lightnin'.'
"'Then he had some one outside t.
help, landlord; he must have had
while We were talkiu' and lookin' O.
bout the room, the little Dutchman got OF
his knees, crawled under one of the beds
then t'other, and, comm out, said: !Der,
ish-dere ish no, no bed-cort NIT tel
BEDS We opened both windows; ther'
was blood on one window-sill, and thel
we felt sure that the poor young man had
! through that window, been thrown O
dragged out on the slanting roof; ant
whether he was hurled to the ground alive
or killed by the wound that made th
blood on the floor, God only knows to thi
day.
I'VE went straight out Of the hous
with lights, looked all about under tn