The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-09-05

| appearance of this little fellow was the
first thing that struck me with surprise.
| Then, had fresh cause for astonishment
in seeing that the shop shutters were now
very seldom removed. My landlords had
as it seemed, abandoned all attempt to car
ry on publicly their trade as dealer in an
Equities and curiosities. But they watched
me, | felt persuaded, more closely than
ever. / was conscious that my residence
under their roof was becoming more and
more painful and uncomfortable.
The summer time had arrived, and for
some days the weather had been almost in
suflerably sultry. ! could scarcely breathe
in my murky oppressive apartments. The
moulded ceiling and the parched walls
seemed now to absorb all the air as well as
all the light.
was sitting in the third room at the back
of my bedroom, l remember, which was
comparatively cooler than the others, for it
was not subjected to the fierce glare of the
afternoon sun, as they were. twas night
a very still, arloss, summer night. The
moon was shining through a sultry mist.
| was smoking cigar, | had abandoned
article after article of dress, and was GER
tainly in rather an unattired condition.
But cloth clothes were not to be borne in
such weather
my window on to the leads beneath the
roof Of Messrs Recklams back shop. The
plane-tree and the lilac bushes, looking
more pallid than ever as the moonlight
blanched their leaves, were on my left
hand. Before me was the raised skylight
of the shop below, the dusty panes red
dened by the cleaning of a light burning
beneath. Scarcely thinking of what | did,
as | smoked, | leaned over the skylight,
and endeavored to peer through its glass.
could discern, but only in vague sort of
way, the figures of my landlords moving
hither and tither, and employed know not
precisely how. There was no mistaking
the fact, however, that they were very
busy. What they were doing, was by no
means clear to me. They were surrounded
by papers and books-so much | could
clearly perceive--and by various packages
ald bundles, which they seemed to be pass
ing from rght t. left, as though they were
counting and taking note of them; but
even of this / could not be quite certain.
On sudden, and accidentally, for there
could not possibly have been any design in
the matter, Aaron Reklam raised his eyes
from the table before him, and fixed them
on the skylight above. Then | became
conscious that he had perceived my pres
f ence. Probably, my figure seen with the
moonlight behind me, presented dark OBJ
iect, that was only to be explained by the
fact that some one was looking down upon
him and observing his proceedings; or it
might be that he had detected me by the
light Of my cigar. For a moment it SEEM
ed to me there cleaned upon me the
strange glare of his prominent scin.illatng
green eyes. Then all was darkness. He
had turned off the gas. | could see moth
ing more. In some trcpidaton, retreated
to my bed chamber.
| slept very ill that night, | remember
not merely because of the oppressive heat
Of the weather. and the lack of freshness
in the air, but | was greatly disturbed in
m nd. Moreover, my forehead burned,
my heart beat Interestingly; | was in Il
state of feverish restessness. When sleep
at last came to me, my dreams were ter
rible. | underwent an agonizing night
marc--the Brothers Reklam haunted me.
could never lose sight of their pallid faces
their cleaning, menacing eyes seemed to
follow me and find me out, to scorch me
up an pierce me through and through, to
bring to bear upon me all kinds of pangs and
tortures. l became convinced that they
were bent upon my destruction, now by this
MEANS now by that. Their only hesitation
was as to the kind of death they should in
flict upon me. They were at loss to de-
eide upon one sufficiently painful. At
length as | thought, they had resolved up
on my assassination, by the varied system
of intense and horrible cruelty, TO be grad
ually applied, with view to my greater
suffering.
awoke in a dreadful panic. 1t seemed
to me that rope circled my neck, and that
my landlords by slow degrees were tight
ening it more and more. | experienced an
agonizing sense of sulocation. In my
alarm, know, leapt from my bed, and
stood for moment swaying to and fro up
on the floor like a drunken man. What
! had happened? | asked myself Something
dreadful, | knew.
There was strange crimson light throb-
bling and Pickering in the room. The air
was thick with smoke, and the sitting fumes
of some drug or spirit of extraordinary
pungency. l could hear, too, wild cries in
the street without. loud knocking at the
outer door of the house, and the roaring,
cracking sounds of burning WOOD and the
licking and writing of mounting flames
The house of Messrs. Eelam Brothers was
on fire!
There was not minute to lose. | has
tily gathered abou. me Il few articles of
dress. My alarm and agitation were ex-
IRENE, but had the sense to perceive that
l could only hope to escape with iife-if
even that was still possible. l at once
abandoned all thought of rescung aught
else from the flames. Yet it was, even in
that moment Of panic, with a sigh of deep
anguish | turned my back upon all my
household treasures and possessions. One
glance of farewell, and then l hurried from
them to the door of my front room, leading
to the staircase.
1t was locked on the outside. So also
were the two other doors that permitted
egress from my apartments. The POSSIBLE
ity of my escape had been foreseen and
provided against. | was a prisoner, and
the fire was drawing every moment nearer
and nearer to me. Already the smoke was
so dense, binding and Supplying, that
was crouching on my knees, to avoid it as
much as possible.
Much valuable time | wasted in laboring
to pry the locks of my doors, and in con
vincin4 myself that they had really been
made secure against me from with
out Then, with desperate violence, and
with all the strength could muster, DASH
ed a heavy chair against the door of the
front room.
The panellng was completely smashed
and through the opening thus made thick
volume of poisonous smoke poured into
the room. But still the lock held fast, and
still my escape was prevented, even had
the staircase without remained passable,
which seemed most doubtful, for already il
was burning furiously.
The window was now my sole chance.
| looked out. There was sea of upturned |
faces-orange-hued from the reflection of
the flames. The police had driven back
the crowd, so as to form a semicircle of
spectators, with sufficient space in front for |
the fire-engines to be worked freely. The |
roadway was flooded with water, which |
mirrored brightly the red sky and the lean.
ing fire. Every neighboring window was
crowded with scared lookers-on. 1t was n
strange and most exciting scene. The IN