River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1877-09-13

I lofu any luIOTluatlOn rs 10 Iile lnySLSFl-
Gus parsonage, only saying uneasily that
he was a bad fellow, and she feared
him." which latter, indeed, was pretty
evident
! So, as she was not to be induced to re-
new her Irritation with the disappointed
| Emile, the latter reluctantly assented to
/ Gordon's suggestion that,a as it was getting
late, they had better retire to bed.
/ III.
Il hope you will sleep comfortably,
I gentlemen" said Lieschen, preceding
/ them up the wide oak staircase. THE
rooms are very quiet. One of them is
rather larger than the other, but l think
you will find them both very agreeable
On arriving at the end of long and
gloomy passage the travellers found them
selves before two doors, one of which
Licschen unlocked, saying, as she did so
! that the smaller room was not very
! light one, as there was no window to it.
But sho had no doubt the gentlemen
would rather be near one another than in
different parts of the house, And then
with cheerful "Gute Nacht," she closed
the door and left them.
L SGNs HuAh NOidOlY WHAT a ohIlA
room they have put you in. That comes
of travelling with a portmanteau. See,
that there may be no mistake they have
put IL on your bed. Where does your
window look Outlr he continued. pulling
aside the heavy curtains. "Tombstones!
How very pleasant. suppose it must be
a mason's backyard. Now come and in
spect my room"
This proved TO be part of the larger
one. from which it had been separated by
thin wooden wall. wherein door had
been cut.
''Not very cheerful" said he, rather
ruefully, as he looked in vain for any
! thing resembling a window. Must be
! nearly pitch dark in the daytime, when
4 your door Is shut. There is positively no
light except what may find It's way
through that pane of glass over the door
into the passage"
"Why sleep in il at all, if you DO not
I like itI' inquired his moro fortunate
/ friend. "Cone and sleep in my room
/ see, there is another bed"
"Oh, it does not matter" returned the
other II shall be fast asleep in tea
minutes. Besides the room Is comfort
able enough, after all. So good night"
Good night" And Emile returned to
his room, fastening the door at the same
I time.
/ "Well" thought the other, as he
I heard the key turn, /" he has got the best
of the bargain. without doubt; and he's
| determined that / shall not walk off with
his portmanteau, at any rate. And he
/ sat himself down on the bed, which was
Z f.o,,, HE friapH-c only lay a
I partition. and lazily began to unlace his
\ boots.
"And vet, somehow, / don't like the
room" he continued; 4" it's such a very
disagreeable feeling to be in a room
where there is no window. | feel as If l
! were half smothered. But, it is no use
grumbling, and I'll finish my pipe, and
/ then turn in.
But this was sooner said than done, and
by the time the pipe was finished the
candle had burnt low in the socket, and
Judging by the heavy breathing on the
other side of the partition, the Frenchman
was fast asleep.
Bestirring himself at the sound, and
recollecting that he had TO be carly afoot
next morning, Gordon wound up his
, watch, and it and his purse, he dropped
1 into the toe of his boot. Then he tossed
the latter with its companion into cor
ner, rer 2rlxing as he did so that there
was nothing like being on the safe side.
The door communicating with Emlle's
room, as we have seen, had already been
locked by that drowsy gentleman; so,
as he had no control over It, the cautious
Gordon contented himself by so balancing
his cane against it that any attempt to
open the door would at once awake him
Having executed this maneuvre to his
satisfaction, he then tried the door lead
ing into gloomy passage, and found that
also locked.
At that instant the candle gave bright
flicker and sank spluttering to the bot
tom OF the holder, leaving HIM in absolute
darkness. Whereupon he expressed him.
self in manner more forcible than polite
and CROPPED his way into bed.
But, in spite of his fatigue, 1t was long
before he could 60 to sleep, and he envied
his friend Emile, who lay breathing SC
rhythmically on the other side of the thin
wal.
At length the intense stiffness of the
night vanquished his wandering refiec-
tons, and he dropped off to sleep. But
still thoughts of Iieschen and the red
faced host and the mysterious stranger
haunted him in his dreams. He was in
the coffin, and uncomfortably aware ofthe
fact that the Frenehman was sitting or
the lid. He would be late for dinner
Then il was the Frenchman who was il
the coffin, and the man with the scowl
put him there. Hark! the organ was
playing the Dead March . for him.
He awoke with start, with vague
feeling of alarm at he knew not what
The cathedral clock was striking. One
-twoi-
The voice Of tho distant clock was still
humming in bis ear, when from the othel
} side Of the partition where Emile was ~
ing came suddenly an swfpl cry. Such