Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1875-05-14

fastenings not properly secured, why, the
must take the consequences. The note
might be traced, but he was doubtfr
about livery doubtful
| And the sisters had to endure this, ant
the visits to their room Of every inquisitiv
person in the house, till evening ap
preached, and curiosity was satisfied
Then they once more locked the door, and
faint with fatigue and sorrow, sat dow
to swallow the half-cold tea and toas
brought up to them by an Irish servant
whose sympathy, though coarsely ex
pressed, had been very acceptable.
{ = he homeward Journey. to which q few
hours earlier they had looked forward witt
such pleasure, must now be postponed till
they could summon fortitude to meet
their aunt. The little gifts for friends
and relatives, that it had been a labor oil
love to select, were put aside with many
signs; and Miriam doing her best to veal
a cheerful face, and coax her sister to eat
suddenly succumbed to her passionate re.
grets, and, throwing herself on the bed
wept herself to sleep.
But Katie could not follow her example
She gently drew the clothes over the sleep
er, and kissed her flushed cheek, and then
wrapped herself in a shawl, sat down to
take a serious view of their position.
1t was bitter disappointment to be
o1a1 10 hoN nd oh
felt that in justice to her betrothed she
must no longer work for herself-no long
er set aside for her own uses every hard
earned shilling that could be spared from
the daily needs. The widow and the
fatherless had suffered by her want of
caution, and for them she must toll I'M
ceasingly until the debt was paid.
Then poor Katie began to calculate how
much she might save in the course of the
year by dint of denying herself, and striv-
ing to procure some employment for even
ings; but her heart sank as she compre-
hended that years must elapse before the
task she set herself could be accomplished,
and the tears, that were more difficult to
bring from her eyes than Miriam IS, fell in
large. hot drops on the clasped hands lying
in her lap. Only last night she had been
SO happy, so hopeful, picturing to herself
the pleasure of her betrothed at her retnrn,
and the joy that would light up the sunken
eyes, of the widow when the precious trust
was rendered up, and her nieces rewarded
with loving kiss.
Only last night, so happy, and now-Ka-
tie slid off the chair on her knees, and
gradually found comfort. The neighbor-
ing clocks sounded midnight, and then the
small hours. but still she knelt there IN
conscious of the lapse OF time, till Miriam
tossed and moaned, and then sat up in bed :,
staring about her with curiously vacant
look in her blue orbs.
Was she going. to beSH? At the pros
pect of This addition to their anxieties
Katie's feviving spirit sank again, and she
rose ana approached her sister to question
her. But Miriam, who had also arisen,
brushed past her without appearing to
y,
over the trunk that had contained the
notes, began searching in it. She tossed
the contents over and over muttering to
herself the while, until she found a small
packet, not unlike the lost one in size and
shape, and wrapping her waterproof tight
ly around her, walked straight to the win
dow, which she flung open. Katie's heart
almost ceased to beat. for she saw that the
lism, and dim conception of what might
have occurred the previous night began to
steal into her mind. Unconscious of her
terrified sisters grasp on her skirts, Miri-
am climbed out of the window, and still
followed by Katie, fearlessly.madeher way
along the parapet to where there stood a
fower-pot, containing withered shrub
and a few handfuls of mold. Over this she
stopped, taking out the plant, to which the
dry earth firmly adhered, and carefully de-
posing the packet beneath it. This done,
the somnambulist returned to her own
room in the same way that she had quit
ted it. crept into bed again, and slept
soundly for some hours.
1t was not until the day'had dawned
that Katie could nerve herself to repeat
this exploit; and then it was on her hands
and knees that she crawled along the gut.
ter, and Selling the flower pot brought it
back with her. Oh, ecstacy! The mystery
was solved-there had been no robbery
Miriam herself had been the dark figure al
the window-it was she who, her dreams
perturbed by some dread of loosing the
money, had risen from her bed and hid il
in this strange and unsuspected hiding
place.
It would have been difficult to make hel
believe that she had done this, but for the
proof of it her rejoicing sister put before
her; but she could remember now, thatIat
some time OF other she had heard or read
of prisoner concealing some documents
in this manner; and the incident forgotten
in waking moments must have been re.
called and acted upon by the teeming
brain during the visions Of the night.
The sisters last morning in London was
a busy one, for the recovery of the money
had to be signifed to the police; and SC
many were eager to congratulate Katie
and stare at Miriam as the heroine of a
strange adventure, that the work of pack.
ing went on among many Interruptions
But if the early train was lost, there was a
later one; and when the congratulations
had been civilly acknowledged Of those who
had stood aloft in the hour of distress, and
the truer sympathy of Irish Norah CRATE
fully rewarded, Katie and Miriam babe
adieu to London.
There was much to ask and to tell when
they reached home; but it was not until
the precious trust had been safely given
to it's owner, and Katie sat with her hand