Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1874-02-27

in his bedroom, yet he felt scarcely any in
,lination to sleep. Another cigar, he
cy; so he accordingly lit one, and tried tt
amuse himself by considering how he
should furnish this new house, having due
regard for the eXigencies of London gas
and atmosphere. His cigar finished, he un-
Idressed leisurely and got into bed the
wind, such as it was, came from the south,
land he heard the great clock of Westmin-
ster strike twelve. By-and-by he heard the
Iquarter, and then the half hour, and then
he fell off into doze from which he was
awakened by repeated knocks at his door.
He called out, 'Who'se there 2" but the
answer was untelligible, though he heard
a voice in reply. He hastily lit the candle,
and opened the door. In the passage he
found his servant half dressed, looking
lfrightfully pale, and shivering violently
from head to foot.
\ "Why, Warren, what on earth is the
matter ?" he exclaimed, care you ill -
81 on'tquite know what is the matter -
was the reply. ssPlease, sir, may l come
IN 20
Certainly said the Colonel, who was
one of the kindest of human beings, 'come
| in, Warren, 70 u must be ill.,
The man entered, shaking as if an ague
| had seized him, and the Colonel hastily
| took his flask from his dressing-bag and
gave him strong brandy and water This
seemed to do Warren good and then his
master asked him what was the matter.
II don't rightly know, sir, he answered.
rssI went to bed all right, and went sound
asleep. But l. had bad dream. thought
a pale-faced man came into nv room, al
though l knew had locked the door, and
he stood beside my bed, looking for all the
world, sir, as if he should like to eat me
and the air in the room became so oppress-
i've that it seemed to weigh upon my face
and head, and then this terrible shivering
came over me as if | WAS lying out doors
in a bitter frost, though knew at the same
time how hot it WAS"
''Incipient fever,'' said the Colonel; ''let
me feel your pulse
The man held out his wrist and his mas
ter ielt the pulse.
s'Strange," he muttered after a minute
or two. EHave you ever had malaria fever,
intermittent or that sort of thing -
F'No sir; never that / am aware Of"
''But yes you must be i'll. Shall l go
and fetch doctor?7
''Oh, no, thank you, sir, feel so much
better now.''
'Well, then, Warren, I think you had
better go back to bed again"
The man became pale again instantly,
and another attack of shivering seized him,
and he exclaimed almost in agony:
Cob, no, sir, not to that room. L feel
certain that [ should see that white-faced
man again, and feel that weight upon my
face and head. Oh, sir, do let me lie here
upon the floor"
The Colonel looked gravely at Warren.
He had, in India, seen a good deal of de-
lirium tremens, and he entertained a very
strong suspicion that this was the real
cause of Warren's strange behavior; and
vt the man had been in his service some
time, and he had never had any reason to
suppose that he was not thoroughly sober.
So he said: s'Well, you can take this blan-
ket, and lie down upon the floor, or sit up
in chair as you please. I expect you will
be heartily ashamed of yourself tomorrow
morning, Warren"
II think not, sir, [ shall only be most
grateful to you.''
So Warren rolled himself in the blanket,
and Colonel Somerville put out the candle
and got into bed again, and tried to go to
sleep.
His efforts were in vain. He knew HIM
self to be provokingly wide awake, and
though he counted numberless sheep going
througha gate, and resorted to all those
devices which are popularity supposed to
encourage sleep, he remained as wide awake
as ever he had been in his life.
Every one knows how preternaturally
acute the senses are when after midnight
they positively refuse to be lulled to slurn-
Der; and the Colonel felt as terribly Oh the
alert as he had felt sometimes in the In
dian mutiny.
Warren had quite got over his bad dreams
and indisposition, and snored in the most
comfortable manner.
Suddenly some noise within the house
made the Colonel start up in his bed and
listen attentively. Yes, there was no
doubt about it there was the sound of a
stealthy football upon the stairs.
He hastily lit his candle again, and his
gaze was turned iowa I'D the door which he
had locked, after it was settled that War
rem should remain. He saw the handle
move.
In a flash of thought he asked himself
what this couldbe London thieves would
never dream of running the risk of enter
ing a house in which there was absolutely
nothing to steal.
To physical fear Colonel Somerville was
stranger, and so he at once snatched up
the short heavy poker from the fireplace
and without waiting to arouse his servant,
whom he saw was sleeping heavily, he
went quietly to the door, unlocked and
opened it suddenly, prepared to capture
the intruder. But the passage outside was
vacant and silent.
Being a man of more than ordinary
strength, and thoroughly accustomed to
danger he did not hesitate about continu-
inc his search There were only two other
rooms upor this floor. These he entered,
and as they were destitute of furniture, a
glance was sufficient to show him that