American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-02-22

| Sluck OUT, Willie Tic HAL Ieu OHcS Wcie
fumbling about my feet. In the midst OF
my agony of fright a thought of Madame
Tussaud flashes ludicrOusly across me.
Then they begin to talk of me. 1t is plain
that they are not taken in by my feint OF
sleep; they speak in a clear loud voice,
evidently for my benefit. One OF them
begins by saying. ''What good-looking
woman she is! Evidently in her premiere
ies1'sesse toO-reader, L struck thirty last
Maryland also there can be no doubt as
to her being of exalted rank-a duchess
probably" "a dead duchess by morn
ing, think l grimly.) They go on to say
| how odd it is that people in my class of
life never travel with their own jewels,
| but always with paste ones, the real ones
| being meanwhile deposited at the bank
er's. My poor, poor sapphires! good-by
| "a long gOod-by to you. But indeed
| will willingly compound for the loss of
you and the rest of my ornaments-will
go bare-necked, and bare-armed, or clad
in Salviati beads for the rest of my life
SO that do but attain the next stopping
place alive.
AS am so thinking one of the men
looks, or l imagine that he looks, rather
curiously towards me. In a paroxysm
of fear lest they should read on my face
the signs of the agony of terror am en-
during, throw my pocket handkerchief
"a very fine cambria one-Over my face.
And now, oh reader! l am going to
tell you something which 1 am sure you
will not believe; [ can hardly believe it
myself; but, as 1 so lie, despite the tumult
of my mind-despite the chilly terror
which seems to be numbing my feelings
in the midst of all drowsiness keeps
stealing over me. L am now convinced
either that vile potion must have been of
extraordinary strength or thft l, through
the shaking of the carriage or the instead
mess of my hand, carried more to my
mouth and swallowed more-I did not
mean to swallow any-than l intended, for
you will hardly credit it, butt fell
asleep.
When 1 awake-awake with a bewild
cred, mixed sense of having been
long time asleep of not know
ing where 1 am and of hav-
ing some great dread and horror on my
mind-awake and look round, the dawn
sation that the coming of even warm
day brings, and look round, still half I'M
consciously, in a misty way. But what
has happened? How empty the carriage
is The dressing-case is gone the clock
is gone! the man who sat nearly oppO-
site me is gone! Watson is gone! But
the man in the cloak and the wax hands
still sits beside me; still the hands are
holding the paper; still the fur is touch
ing me. Good God! am tete-a-tete with
him! A feeling of the most appalling
desOlation and despair comes over me-
vanquishes me utterly. clasp my hands
together frantically, and, still looking at
the dim form beside me, grOan out,
" Well! 1 did not think that Watson
would have forsaken me!'' Instantly,
sort of movement and shiver runs through
the figure the newspaper drops from the
hands. which, however, continue to be
be still held out in the same position, as
if still grasping it; and behind the news
paper l see, by the dim morning light
and the dim lamp CLEANS, that there is no
real face, but a mask. A sort of chOked
sound is coming from behind the mask.
Shivers of cold fear are running over me.
Never to this day shall 1 know what gave
me the despairing courage to do it, but
before l know what l am doing, l find
myself tearing at the cloak-tearing away
the mask-tearing away the hands. 1t
would be better to find anything under
neath-Satan himself-a horrible dead
bOdy-anything, sooner than submit any
longer to this hideous mystery. And 1
am rewarded. When the cloak lies at the
bottom of the carriage-when the mask,
and the false hands and false feet-there
are false feet tOO-are also cast away, in
different directions, what do you think |
find underneath?
Watson! Yes: it appears that while l
slept feel sure that they must have
rubbed some more of the drug on my
lips while l was unconscious, or l never
could have slept so heavily or so long
they dressed up Watson in the mask,
feet, hands, and cloak; set the hat on
her head, gagged her, and placed her
beside me in the attitude Occu-
pied by the man. They had then, at the
next station, got out, taking with them
dressing-case and clock, and had made off
in all security. When 1 arrive in Paris,
you will not be surprised to hear that it
does not once occur to me whether l am
looking green or no.
And this is the true history of my night
journey to Paris! You will be glad,
dare say, to hear that I ultimately re-
covered my sapphires, and a good many
of my other ornaments. The police being
promptly set on, the robbers were, after
much trouble an 1 time, aG length secured;
and it turned out that the man in the
cloak was an ex-valet of my husbands,
who was acquainted with my bad habit
of travelling in company with my trinkets
"a bad habit which L have since seen tit
to abandOn.-Te,nDLe Bar