Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1876-07-06
On the night of the very day when

our tllroats cut IN the silence OF the
night, was gaining upon me.
glanced about, uneasily, in the moon
| light but the trees only cast quiet
shadows over the road, and the vines
t:embled little in the night
air.
| | was reused, finally, from half.
sleep, by subdued sound of voices
under the window, and an ague-ft
Immediately took possession of me.
| shook and shook the very bed
was shaken under me, and | won
dered that it didn't waken Dot.
The wretches outside were probably
discussing the easiest means of effect
ing an entrance, of course. with the
purpose of plumber, and immedi-
ately ran over in my mind an inven-
tory of our available possessions.
"Your silver, or your life!" would
doubtless be the war-cry; and |
thought, with groan, of our great
| grandmother's teapot, that had been
an object of worship in the family
ever since / could remember and .
| hideous looking idol it was. There
was not much else besides spoons,
| forks, and few trifles. But if the
worst came to the worst, we could
make a stand upon that teapot.
Perhaps we had better follow the ex-
ample of the lone lady, who nightly
placed her silver in basket at the
| foot of the first stair case, with a note
requesting burglars to decamp quietly
with their booty, and not modest the
inmates. If they could only rouse
Matilda in her attic And what
desirable sleeping place that attic
seemed to be just then !! But | dared
not attempt to move.
Presently, Dot whispered.
'Are you awake ?
yes l replied, with chattering
teeth, Il have been awake for an
hour
$50 haveI. What can we do 2
Sid each other farewell, like the
Babes in the Woods was my cheer.
full reply, as / drew the bed-clothes
over my head, 'and depart this life
with what grace we may
Priscilla Driftwood = exclaimed
Dot, bouncing up in bed, with flash
ms eyes, Pm perfectly ashamed of
you ! Depart this life, indeed After
all we've done to get settled in
home of our own. Let them take
the silver, and welcome /; it isn't at all
likely that they want us. But any
thi na 10 hn.tnr than this euspease.'
And Dot was fairly ont upon tho
floor, and at the bea,get, before |
could stop her. The moonlight
showed everything distinctly, and |
felt, as lay there shaking and help
less, that | was living in story, and
that all these incidents were purely
imaginative. | read lately of a
heroine who was described as a
graceful young lady, with wealth of
golden hair My sister Dot was all
this, and much more, as she fitted
about with the softening grace of
moonlight upon her face and wrap
ping herself in scarlet sha wi, she
grasped the teapot and ran to the
window.
Two men were there, and wa gon
they were fully equipped for their
unrighteous spoils and what a spasm
of courage, Dot threw up the sash,
and, thrusting the teapot at them,
gasped out.
Take it quickly, and be off There
is nothing else in the house worth
taking
One of the burglars Immediately
raised his hat, and came nearer the
other stared at the apparition with a
vacant grin OH his face.
Sure, an it's crazy she is, intirely,'
he muttered, with decided brogue.
go this instant 7 continued Dot,
getting very indignant. 4 tell you
we have nothing else for you, and
you have nearly killed my sister !!
'We are really very sorry, said the
taller of the two. But we are in
considerable trouble, and would be
glad to know if there is any gentle
man about the honse p
'None that is awake replied Dot,
with great caution, as she looked
steadily at the speaker.
But he began to laugh and, to my
great amazement, Dot laughed, too
There certainly is mistake here
said the gentleman, who had changed
his opinion as TO her being lunatic.
sWe have met with serious accident
in the breaking down Of the wagon,
and were discussing the propriety of
asking for help, not knowing that
your house was occupied only by
ladies. Pray, pity the sorrows of
poor young man, and forgive the
alarm that | would not, for worlds,
have caused you.
Here / come to the rescue, having
POLITICALLY attired myself in disrep-
utable wrapper that should have been
in the rag-bag long ago, and with my
hair screwed into an ugly little knot
on the top of my head; but of all
this | only became conscious when it
was too late. 1t did not seem enough
that had been named Priscilla. /
was fated always to appear at dis
advantage /; while the name of Doro-
thy could not crush my more favored
sister.
We finally came to an understand.
ing and knew that the veil of terror
was lifted from our eyes, our burg
lars resolved themselves into a very
nice-looking young gentleman, and
his Hibernian charioteer, the former
of whom had lost the night-train a
mile or two off, and he engaged the
latter to drive him to his fathers
residence, about ten miles distant.
But Patrick's vehicle gave out IN
expectedly, and retired on the dis
abled list fust in front of our domi-
Gil and after discussing the matter
awhile, and almost preparing to
spend the night in the road, they bad
just decided to pull our bell, when
Dot made such an unexpected onset
1 u,oo, ,Iao, xr;tb &bo c;l.o. go -.