The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1877-04-26

b whisper, With his lfps touching MI
nervaY eheeA 81 love you
n-JANKs's STORY.
Jane passed along the street alone. She
was haH-minded to take walk by her
self then decidcd to spend N hour N the
balcony Instead. The street consisted Of
= row Of lodi ging houses opposite the rear
OF several hotels. These houses resem.
bled ornamented paper boxes, and were
Eexactly alike, even TO range Of tiny gar
fdens adorned with green arb0r, wherein
the tirst-hoor lodger. might partake Of
morning coffee. Jane passed man and
q woman ON the pavement. The man
was bareheaded, and smoking cigar, the
woman-a maid-servant escaped from
duty-was chatting coquettishly. Jane
opened the yellow gate and walked up the
gravel path. The house door stood wide
open, as usual. Jane paused to peer into
the landiady's room, where that affablc
but unwieldy person usually lurked, ready
to exchange pleasant word. Tho land
lady was not there. A dim light burned
in one corner of the hall, and Jane ascend
ed the winding stair. The first floor.
where our travellers occupied one stite of
rooms, was very dark. Jane fumbled for
the key on the nail where it was plAcel
by the servant, and found it still in the
lock instead. Mentally reprehending
such carelessnessx che entered tho room
and groped for the match box. Jane was
the type of woman who always knows
where the matches were last placed; her
fingers therefore sought instinctively a
certain small table, and came in contact
with human head. James heart gave one
thump, and seemed to stand still. She
expected to be seized and perhaps strangled
the next moment in the almost palpable
darkness.
/ "Who is theres" she finally managed
to articulate, and stepped back with an
irrepressibly quick movement, which up
set standard, and sent down shower Of
glass. crockery and jingling spoons with
a crash. The conviction that Minerva
would have tainted kept Jane from doing
so herself.
There was no answer save asoft rustling
sound and long respiration. half sigh
and half groan. Jane never knew pre-
cisely how she gained the door again,
but, when . faint ray from the hall re-
vealed q candle and the matches, she
conquered her first cowardly impulse to
run, and determined TO investigate mat
ters. James whole after life was des-
\ Good heavens she was in the large
bedroom instead of the salon. Where
were her large trunk and Minerva's bas-
ket of flowers? The first object on which
the light of the candle fell was a pair of
masculine boots. and the next black
coat suspended with weird and limp as
pect, as of = ghost about to embrace her.
Jane opened her lips to scream, and
ciutched the candle convulsively. What
had become of the head.
Awful silence, and the candle made. a
| feeble ray without pene trating obscurity.
| Wondering if she were asleep or In pos
session of her seven senses, Jane peered
about her. Something cold touched her
foot The upset stand lay amidst ruin
of china bowl, tea-cup, phial and water
carafe, and the fluids were streaming
across the floor. She had overturned the
stand-only how had it been placed there
at alls The head was over yonder, and
belonged to shape stretched on the bed.
James teeth chartered, and her brain be-
gan to whirl.
Somebody had taken possession of their
rooms, wearing boots and a black coat.
Stay, the atmosphere was permeatej with
medicine, possibly from the broken bottle
on the carpet. Had the stout landlady
basely turned them out, bag and baggage,
on the arrival of an invalid? Fear i'm
PEELED Jane to fly and learn the truth 80
perplexing in its mystery, and an equally
fascinating horror held her motionless,
staring a: the intruder. The swift change
Of circumstances was overpOwering to
Jane. She was stupefied, bewildered /;
4 realities became suddenly swallowed up
| in dream, a fearful nightmare. The
head reposed on the pillow SO quietly that
the stiffness became awful. What if it
was that of corpse? The ethoughtnerved
her to most desperate va'or. She had read
stories about such things many time,
voices in the street impaired additional
courage, she advanced cautiously, with
the candle held before her, and inspected
the occupant of the coucn. The hair on
the pillow was gray, as was the beard on
| the cheek The intruder was either in
sensible or in the letnargy of drugged
sleep.
"Why, it's the Rev. Mr.. Powertonr'
exclaimed Jane, in excessive astonish-
ment
II.-THE RESULT.
. The lovers strollei home at twelve
O'Clock, and there were many last words
/
was dark, and the door still open.
"Poor Jane must have gone to bed, "
said Minerva, with degree of conscien-
tious reproach in her own happiness.
Then Herbert Wilson departed to his
I hotel, and Minerva, entered the garden.
| The fat landlady greeted her on the thresh-
old. even made some half Ineligible
/ remark as she passed up stairs, TO which
she assented vaguely. Minerals knowl-
edge of German was very imperfect. The
rooms was excessively black and silent.
"Jane! janet" called the younger sis
ter, softly.
She managed to strike light after
much laundering, for Minerva was not
one of the women who can find things in
the dark. James hat was not in its place,
nor was Jane herself to be discovered.
j When this truth dawned upon her, Miner
va; with white cheeks and dilating eyes,
rushed down stairs in alarm. The house
door was now closed, and the stout land
lady had invested her head in cotton
| night.cap. Jane had not been home ut
ali; the stout landlady inferred that she
was to remain out. Minerva wrung her
| hands in helpless distress. An hour ago
Jane had come along the street alone.
| What had become Of her? Minerva
obeyed the first impulse of terror, and
| wrote line on her card beseeching aid OF
/ Herbert Wilson in this emergency. Oh,
what would she do without him now?
That gentleman was smoking his cigar
outside the hotel, still enjoying the glori:.
ous night, and Immediately obeyed
Minerals summons.
In the meanwhile the landlady had
talked volubly in German, Minerva had
replied in French, and the maid-servant
had stared at both of them silently. When
Herbert Wilson appeared, Minerva ran
| out to the gate, and suffered him to take
both of her cold little hands in his own
reassurinQly, while she communicated
! the .dread intelligence OF James disap-
aOh. what can become Of woman
alone in place like this at nightf" she
cried.
Every beer garden and shadowy path
! had become pitfall Of robbery and vio-
lence to Minerva's excited imagination.
I've shall find her soon, am conf
dent, = replied tho artist, 1t must be con-
4 fessed rather vaguely. 81
q But she never came home," sobbed
Minerva, not daring to frame her own
! fears, vet believing the worst.
Jane was scarcely the sort Of person to
be Willing away the midnight hours In .
| tap room, or in . solitary ramble through
ldeeerted avenues. The la1dlndy, still in
Iher nighf-cap, walldIed down the garden
path with fearful suggestion as to noti-
| Tying the police, which made her hearers
| grow cold with apprehension.
| At this critical moment Of suspense the
| vn3ee ~ Tame reached them Apparently