The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1875-05-14

the nelShborhood. | followed her, but
neither of us could compose ourselves suf-
iiciently to sleep.
The clock on the mantel-p piece struck
eleven; and then tick, tick, tick it went
on for the next dreary hour. Julia at
length ceased weeping, and lay in thought,
only an occasional sigh betraying her
wakefulness. Again the clock struck,
ting, ting, ting but it had not reached
the final stroke, when Julia, leaping light
ly from the bed, flung herself upon an inn
mense chest at the further end of the
room.
ooh, Maryn she cried, quick quick .
He is here he is here | cannot hold the
lid-he will get out Quick quick!
There was indeed some living thing in
side the chest, for in spite of Julia's weight,
the lid was lifted, and, then, as the instinct
OF self'preservation overcame my terror,
sprang to her assistance. Whom or what
had we caught? Imagine yourself holding
down the lid of showman's box, with u
boa-constrictor writing beneath; or keep
ing cage'top IN its place by your weight
alone, with hyena struggling his way out
to devour you. But we were not long in
suspense. Horrid excavations, half-Ger-
man, halfEnglish, chilled our very hearts,
and we knew that there, in the midnight,
only the lid of an old chest was between
ourselves and Hans Schmidt
At times it started up, and once or twice
his fingers were caught in the opening.
Then finding our combined weight too
muck for his strength, it would become
evident that he was endeavoring to force
out an end of the chest. But he could not
| wNVlS tp n1 /, u. al,
limits, his giant power Of muscle was not
wholly available; he could neither kick
nor strike with full force; and hence his
| chief hope rested upon his ability to lift
us up lid and all. Even then, in the abso-
lutte terror that might have been supposed
to possess her, a queer feeling of eXulta-
ton sprang up in Julia's heart,
i was right, Mary she cried. They
won't think me fool now, will they2 l
shan't be ashamed to see Harry r.
vingn
Poor Julia! under the circumstances,
the idea was really ludicrous, but nature
will everywhere assert herself, and Julia
hated coward. Thump! thump! thump!
Lid, and side and end alternately felt the
crampcd, but powerful blows. Then came
the lift-the steady, straining, desperate
lift; and Julia cheered when the cover
shook and rose and trembled.
He can't get out, Mary We are safe;
only keep your full weight on the lid: and
don't he nervous either it is almost morn
ing
She knew it was not one o'clock.
But one o'clock came. How l wished
it was five! And two o'clock came, and
three; and we hoped that our prisoner had
yielded to fate which must now appear
to him inevitable. A small aperture at
one end ofthe chest, where there was frac-
ture in the wood, supplied him with air;
and hence we could not hope that he would
become weak through suffocation He
was evidently resting from the very neces-
sity of the case, for his exertions had been
prodigious. There was faint streak of
morning in the sky, and there, upon the
chest we sat and watched for the CLEAN to
broaden.
Suddenly, there was tremendous strug-
gle beneath us, as if the ruifan had con
centrated all his energies in final effort.
At my end of the chest there was a crash,
and Immediately the German feet protrud-
ed through the aperture that they had
forced in the board. So horrible now APP
peared our position, that l uttered a
scream, such as do not think l ever at
any other time have had power to initiate.
did not know that Twas about to scream,
so terrible was the fright of which this
was the involuntary outburst.
To get off the lid, in order to defeat the
movement through the chest-end, would
have instantly been our destruction; there
fore, still bearing our weight on the cover,
we caught at the projecting feet. In do
ing this, however, we partially lost our
balance; and sudden braciDg up of the
muscular shape below so far forced open
the lid, that the head, arms and shoulders
OF Hans Schmidt were thrust forth, and,
with fearful clutch, he seized Julia by
the throat. Mortified by the spectacle, |
lay fainting partially upon the chest.
Just then, heavy crash was heard at
the door below, the foot-tramps springing
towards us as if some persons were tearing
up the staircase with the full conviction
that this was an hour of need The dim
daybreak hardly revealed his identity, as
he rushed into our room; but | had a
faint perception that young Harry Irving
had come to us in our peril.
Sometime during the morning | found
myself in bed, with Julia and several of
the neighboring women standing about
me. Julia clasped me in her arms, and
cried, she was so rejoiced that the fright
had not killed me.
We are safe, Mary she said Harry
Irving was near the house all night. He
returned, after seeming to 60 home. 1t
was not right, he said to himself for us to
remain here all night, especially as our
father was known to have money in the
house. So he kept out of our sight, but
remained near. The least scream he would
have heard, as he at last heard yours but
l am glad you did not scream before, for
now we have had an experience, and know
what we can do. 1t was tedious; but Il
don't wish to be thought afraid of my
shadow, and I'm glad we had to hold the
chest down a good while
Hans Schmidt had evidently decided
upon the chest as safer hiding place than
that in which Julia first discovered him.
Upon the very morning on which Harry
Irving stunned and secured the ruilian in
our room, the officers ofjustice were search
ing for the old Hessian scoundrel, as
supposed murderer, and lie was soon con-
victed and hung.
JHlia became the wife of Harry Irving,
and most excellent wife she was. Mag
unanimous and unrevengeful, she was per-
haps the only one who felt no qualification
at the fate of old Hans Schmidt, but rather
pity for the ignorance which had steep
ed him in crime.
-"Well, always make it rule to tell
my wife everything that happens" said
Browning. ooh MY dear fellow, that's
nothing !" said Smithwig, Il tell my wife
lots of things that never happen at ALL"
Alabama BARRIERS have fine feeling
One tried to shoot himself the other day