The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1878-03-29

when she saw me | was in the shadow
of the stair, and she could have had lit
tie more than vague impression tina
she saw human figure. However thi
may be, the mans voice appeared tC
descend the stair to the area room, anC
presently heard crashing noise, no
as though he was counting the plate
but rather thrusting it aside en- maSse
Then | heard the window closed, III,
shutters bolted, and ali alarm bell huns
upon them, and the man rcasccnded tn,
stair, half scolding, half laughing at tn,
girls superstition. He took care, not
withstanding, to examine the fasten
ings of the street door, and even to loci
it and put the key in his pocket liz
then retired into room and all wa,
silent.
| began to feel decidedly queer. The
governor kept no male servant that
knew Of and had never done so. Il
was impossible he could have introduce
ed this change into his household with.
out my being informed of it by my sis
ter Laura, whose letters were an exact
chronicle of everything, down TO the
health of the cat. This was pulling
And now that had time to think, tho
house was much too large for u family
requiring only three slceping-rooms
even when | was at home. 1t was
what is called double house, will
rooms on both sides of the hall, and the
apartment on the threshold of which
was still lingering, appeared, from the
dim light of the window, to be of con.
siderable size. Inow recclccted that the
quantity of plato / had sccn--a portion
of which at this moment felt preternat
ually heavy in my pockct-must have
been three times greater than ever the
governor ever possessed, and various
pieces wero ola size and massiveness
had never before seen in the establish
ment. In vain bcthought myself that
| had seen and recognized the we'll
known door plate, and that the area
from which | entered was Immediately
under; in vain | argued that since
Laura was about TO be married the
extra quantity of plate might be in.
tended to form a part of her trouseau.
| could not convince myself. But the
course of my thoughts suggested an
idea, and, pulling hastily from my
pocket table spoon, felt, for could
pot SEQ, the legend which contained my
fate. But my fingers were tremulous
they seemed to have lost sensation
only | fancied did feel something
more than the governors plain initials
There was still light in the hall. If ]
could but bring that spoon within lis
All was silent, and
ventured to descend step after step
not as | had bounded up, but with the
stealthy pace Of thief, and the plate
growing heavier and heavier in my
pocket. AT length was near enough
to see, in spite of a dimness that had
gathered over my eyes, and, with q
of absolute faintness, / beheld
upon the spoon an engraved crest-thc
red right hand of baronet!
l crept back again, holding by the
fancying every now and then
that | heard door open behind me,
and yet my feet no more consented to
quicken their motion than if had been
by murderer in the night
mare. | at length got into room,
groped for chair and sat down. No
more hurry now. Oh, no! There was
plenty of time, and plenty to do in it,
for had TO wipe away the perspira-
ton that ran down my face in streams
What was TO be done? What had
done? Oh, trifle, mere trifle. ]
had only sneaked into gentleman
house by the area window and pocketed
his table spoons; and here | was, lock-
ed and barred and belled in, sitting
very comfortably, in the dark and
alone, in his drawing-room. Very par
ticularly comfortable What q capital
to be surel What an amusing
Wouldn't the baronet
laugh in the morning? Wouldn't he
ask me to stay to breakfast And
wouldn't 1 eat heartily out of the
spoons had stolen? But what is that
Who calls me a house breaker? Who
gives me in charge? Who lugs me of
by the neck? | will not stand il.
am innocent, except of breaking into O
baroncts house. / am gentleman,
with another gentleman's spoons in my
pockets. claim the protection of the
law, Police! police!
NV brain was wandering. | pressed
my hand upon my wet forehead to
keep down the thick-coming fancies,
and determined, for the first time in
my life, to hold deliberate consulta-
tion with myself. was in an awk-
ward predicament-it was impossible
to deny the fact; but was there any
thing really serious in the case? | had
unquestionably descended into the
wrong area, the right-hand ono instead
of the left-hand one; but was | not
unquestionably the relation-thc dis.
tant relation-of my next door neigh.
Dor? / had been four years absent
from his house, and was there any.
thing moro natural than that should
desire to pay my next visit through 9
subterrancan window? | had appro
priated, it is true, quantity of silver
plate | had found; but with what Other
intention could have done this than tc
present il to my distant relations
daughter, TO reproach her with hei
carelessness in leaving it next door
Finally, was shared, Gagged, trapped
door and window had been botet
upon me without remonsirancc on my
part-and was now some considerable
time in the house, unsuspcctcd, yet 4
prisoner. The position was serious
but come, suppose the worst, that
was actually laid hold of as a malefac
tor, and commanded to give an account
of myself; we'll, was, as aforesaid, {
distant relation of the individual mex
door. / belonged to nobody in tho
world if not to him; | bore but an in
different reputation in regard to steadi
ness, and after four years absence in q
foreign country, | had returned idle
penniless and objectless-just in time tC
find an area window open in the dusl
of the evening, and a heap of plat,
lying behind it, within view of tho
street.
This self-examination was not cncour-
aging; the case was decidedly queer
and as sat thus pondering In the dark
with the spoon in my hand, am quit,
sure that no malefactor in dungeon
could have cnvied my reflections. Ii
fact, the evidence was so dead agains
me that began to doubt my own in
noccnce. What was ! here for if my
intentions were really honest? and how
came it that all this silver plate haC
found its way into my pockets? wa
angry az well as fairfield I wae iudo.