Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1874-03-16

sat at the table. eating short, stout,
villainous looking man in red flannel
shirt and very muddy pantaloons.
| asked for writing material and re-
turned to my room to write to my wife.
"My darling Alice.
| paused and laid down my pen as |
concluded the words, half smiling to
think what she would say, could she
know of my strange quarters.
Not until both sheets were covered
did I lay aside my pen and prepare for
slumber, As I folded my paper, hap
pened to glance toward my couch.
Was it the CLEAN of human eye, OBJ
serving me through the board partition,
or was it but my fancy There was
crack there, but only darkness beyond +;
yet I could have sworn that something
sparkled balefully at me,
l took out my watch-it was only one
o'clock 1t was scarcely worth while for
me to undress for three hours of sleep
l would lie down in my clothes and get
what slumber [ could. So placing my
valise close to my bed and barricading
the lockless doors with two chairs, I ex-
tinguished the light and lay down.
At first I was very wakeful, but grad
ually a soft drowsiness seemed to steal
over me like misty mantle until all of
sudden, some startling electric thrill
coursed through my veins, and sat up,
excited and trembling.
A luminous softness seemed to glow
through the room-no light Of the moon
or stars were ever so penetrating-and
! by the little window [ saw Alice, my
wife, dressed in flowing garments of
white, with her long, golden hair tied
back by blue ribbon. Apparently she
was beckoning to me with outstretched
hands, and eyes full of wild tenderness.
I sprang to my feet and rushed toward
her, but as | reached the window, the
fair apparition seemed to vanish into the
stormy darkness, and [ was left alone
In the same instant the sharp report of
pistol sounded. I could see the Jagged
stream of the fire above the pillow,
straight through the very spot where,
ten seconds before, my head had lain.
With an instant realization of my dan
ger, I swung myself over the edge of the
window, jumped into the tangled bushes
below, and, as crouched there, recover.
ing my breath, 1 heard the tramp O.
footsteps into my room.
lis he dead % cried voice up tht
ladder-the smooth, deceitful voice O.
the woman.
''Of course he is, growled voice
back again, ''that charge would hav
killed ten men. A light there quick
and tell Tom to be ready.
A cold, agonizing shudder ran through
} me. What den of midnight murderer
7 had | fallen into And how fearful
| narrow had been my escape With tn
speed that only mortal terror and deadl
peril can give. l rushed through th
woods now illuminated by faint gIim
e mer of starlight. | know not what in
S pulse guided my footsteps shall neN
er know how many times l crossed M
S own track, or how close I stood to th
0 brink of the deadly ravine, but a mere
/, fuf Providence encompassed me with
guiding and protecting care, for whe
; the morning dawned, with faint red bal
o of light against the eastern sky, [ W;
close to the high road, seven miles fro
y R. station.
Once at the town, [ told the story /
the police and detachment was SCI
e with me to the spot.
|. After searching and many false alarm
IS we succeeded in finding the ruinous O
rs house but it was empty, our birds hf
flown nor did recover my valise al
p chain, which latter [ had left under Ii
pillow.
~ Its Drew's gang,p said the leader
the police, ''and they've troubled us ty
years. l don't think, though, that tn
will come back here again at present.
Nor did they.
But the strangest part of the story
to come vet. Some three weeks subs
I'd quently, | received letter from my S
ter who was with Alice in her Engli
re home-a letter. whose intelligence fill
me with surprise.
er ii must tell you something We
to strange > wrote my sister, H.that ha
ms pened to US on the night of the 18th
W, October Alice had not been well
.ly some time in fact. she had been conf
"a ed to her bed nearly a week, and [ "
1t sitting beside her reading. 1t was la
the clock had struck one, when all O
mp sudden, she seemed to faint away, gro
ing white and rigid as corpse. L h
?" tened to call assistance, but all efforts
restore her to fife and animation seen
vain. | was about to send for the d
en tor, when her senses returned as sudd
ly as they had left her, and she sat
-ou in the bed pushing back her hair g
ion looking wildly around her.
.Alice - I exclaimed, .'how you /