The Hartford herald., 1875-10-13

broke the silence of the night; one solta-
ry light, that of the houseleeper, was
burning in the house,
This silence and this darkness embold>
ened Boxtel; he got astride ON the wall,
stopped for an instant. and, after having
ascertained that there was nothing to
fear, he put his own ladder from his own
garden into that of Cornelius, and de-
scended.
After this, knowing to an inch where
the bulbs which were to produce the
black tulip were planted, he ran towards
the spot, following, however, the crispy
gravelled walks in order not to be be-
trayed by his footprints, and on arriv-
ing at the precise spot, he rushed, with
the eagerness of a tiger, to plunge his
hand into the soft ground.
He found nothing, and thought he was
mistaken.
In the meanwhile the cold sweat stood
on his brow.
He rummaged close by it-Nothing.
He rummaged on the right. and on the
left-Nothing.
lie rnmmagel in front, and at the
bodybuilding
lie was nearly mad, when at last ne
satisfied himself that on that very morn-
ing the earth had been turned.
In fact, whilst Boxtel was lying in
bed, Cornelius had gone down to his
garden, had taken up the mother-bulb,
and, las we have seen, divided it into three.
Boxtel could not bring himself TO leave
the place. lie dug with his hands more
than ten square feet of ground.
At last 10 doubt remained of his mis-
fortune.
Mad with rage, he returned to his lad
der, flung it into his own garden, and
jumped after it.
All at once, last ray OF hope present.
ed itself to his mind: the seeding bulbs
might he in the dry>room; it was there's
fore only requisite to make his entry
there as he had done into the garden.
There he would find them; and, more
over, it was not at al difficult, as the
sashes of the dry-room might he raised
like those of a greenhouse Cornelius
had opened them on that morning, and
no one had thought of closing them
again.
Everything, therefore, depended upon
whether he could procure ladder Of
sufficient lenglh-one of twenty-five feet,
instead OF ten.
Boxtel had noticed in the street where
he lived house that was being repaired,
and against which very tall ladder was
placed.
This ladder would do admirably, unless
the workmen had taken it away.
lie ran to the house, the ladder was
there. Boxtel took it, carried it with
great exertion to his garden, n,and with even
greater difficulty raised it against the
wall of Van BIerle's house, where it just
reached to the window.
Boxtel put lighted dark lantern into
his pocket, mounted the ladder, and
slipped into the dry-room.
On reaching this sanctum of the floris
he stopped, supporting himself against
the table; his legs failed him, his heart
beat as if it wolld choke Kim. Here il
was worse than in the garden; there
Box!el was only a tresspasser, here he
was thief
However, be took courage again: he
had not gone So far to turn back with
empty hands.
But it was no use to search the whole
room, to open and shut all the drawers
even that privileged one where the par,
Gel which had been so fatal to Cornelius
had been deposited; he found ticketed, a.
in a botanical garden, the "JaDe," tn,
"John De Witte," the hazel-nut, and tn,
roasted coffee-colored tulip; but OF thu
black tulip, or rather the seeding bulb
within which it was still sleeping, not {
trace vas found.
And yet, on looking over the register
of seeds and bulbs, which Van Baerl,
kept, if possible, even with greater exact
| itnle and care than tho e rat cnmn,nrcia
house of Amsterdam their ledgers, Box
tel read the following entry
To-day, Doth of August, 1872, hav,
taken up the mother bulb of the gran,
black tulip, which | have divided int,
, three perfect suckers"
'Oh, these suckers, these suckers
t howled Boxtel, turning over everything i
, the dry-room, "Where could he hav
concealed them?'
Then suddenly striking his forehead i
his frenzy. he called out, "Oh, wretc
that am! Would any one be separa
ted from his suckers? Would any on
. leave them at D1rt when one goes to tn
Hague? lie had time to get hold
7 them, the scoundrel, he has them abor
him, he has taken them to the uague!"
1t was like a fash Of lightning whic
showed to Boxtel the abyss OF uselessl,
e committed crime.
= 2oxtel sank quite paralvsed on tn: