The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1878-01-31

along the hall; then voices; then draw
ing Of bolts and creaking of locks; then
utter darkness; then silehce-lasting,
terrible, profound. The house had
gone to bed; the house would quickly
be asleep; it was time to be up and do
ing. But first and foremost must get
rid of the plate. Without the hideous
corpus deltcti l should have some
chance. must at all hazards creep
down into the hall, find my way to the
lower regions and replace the accused
thing where found it. It required
nerve to attempt this; but was thor
oughly wound up, and after allowing a
reasonable time to elapse, to give my
enemies a fair opportunity Of falling
asleep, l set out upon the adventure.
The door creaked as l went out; the
plate grated against my very soul as /
descended the steps; but slowly,
stealthily l crept along the wall, and at
length found myself upon the level
floor. There was but one door on that
side of the hall--the door which led to
the area-room, and it was with mex
pressible relief I reached it in safety
and grasped the knob in my hand.
The knob turned-but the door did not
open; it was locked; it was my fate to
be thief, and, after a momeLt of new
dismay, I turned again doggedly,
reached the stair and re-entered the
apartment had left.
1t was like getting home. 1t was
snug and private. had chair there
waiting for me. I thought to myself
that many man would take a deal of
trouble to break into such house.
had only sneaked. l wondered how
Jack Sheppard felt on such occasions.
He would make nothing of getting
down into the street from the window,
spoons and all. l tried this; the shut
tiers were not even closed, and the sash
moving noisclessly, had no difficulty
in raising it. l stepped out into the
balcony and looked over. Nothing
was to be seen but black and yawning
gulf beneath, guarded by the imaginary
spikes of an invisible railing. Jack
would have laughed at this difficulty;
but then he had more experience in the
craft than !, and was provided with all
necessary appliances. AS for me. l
had stupidity forgotten even my coil of
rope. The governors house. found.
had either no balcony at all or it was
too far apart to be reached. Presently
| heard footstep on the sidewalk Il
little way of. 1t was approaching with
a slow measured pace; the person was
walking as calmly and gravely in the
night as if it had been broad day. Sup
pose hailed this philosophical stranger
and confided to him in friendly way
the fact that the Baronet, without the
slightest provocation, had locked me
up in his house, with his silver spoons
in my pocket? Perhaps he would take
the trouble of knocking at the door or
crying fire, and when the servants
opened l might rush out and so make
my escape. But while was looking
wistfully down to see if l could not dis
Germ the walking figure, which was now
under the windows, sudden glare
from the spot dazzled my sight. 1t
was the bull's-eye of policeman, and
with the instinct of a predatory char
acter, l shrunk back trembling, crcpt
into the room and shut the window.
BY this time was sensible that there
was a little confusion in my thoughts,
and by way Of employing them on
practical and useful objects l deter
mined to make tour of the room. But
first it was necessary to get rid, some
how or other, of my plunder-to plant
the property, as we call it; and with
that view laid it carefully. piece by
piece, in the corner of a sofa, and con-
cealed it with the cover. This was Il
great relief. l almost began to feel
like the injured partv-more like cap
tive than a robber; and l CROPPED my
way through the room with a sort of
vague idea that l might perhaps Stun
BILE upon some trap-doOr or sliding
panel which would lead into the open
air, or, at worst, into a secret chamber,
where l should be safe for any given
number of years from my prosecutors.
But there was nothing of the kind in
this stern, prosaic place; nothing but a
few cabinets and tables and couches
and arm-chairs, devotional chairs, foot
stools, lamps and statuettes, and the
elaborate girandole hung around with
crystal prisms, which played such an
interminable tune against each other
when l CHANGED to move them that l
stumbled away as fast as could and
subsidized into tauteuI so rich and so
deep that felt myself swallowed up,
as it were, in its pillows of swan s
down.
How long had been in the house by
this time cannot tell. 1t seemed to
me, when / looked back, to form a con-
siderable portion of lifetime. Indeed,
l did not remember the more distant
events of the night, although every
now and then the fact occurred to me
with startling distinctness that all
had gone through was only preliminary
to something yet to happen; that the
morning was to come, the family to be
astir and the housebreaker to be appre-
hended. My reflections were not con-
tinuOus. 1t may be that I dozed be-
tween whites. How else can l account
for my feeling myself grasped by the
throat, to the very brink of suffocation,
by hand without \ body? How else
can account for Sister Laura standing
over me where l reclined, pointing to
the stolen plate on the sofa, and lectur-
ing me on my horrible propensities till
her voice rose to wild, unearthly
scream which pierced through my brain?
When this fancy occurred l started
from my recumbent posture. Avoice
was actually in my ears, and living
form before my eyes; a lady stood con-
tcmplating me with o half-scream on
her lips and the color fading from
her cheek, and as l moved she would
have fallen to the ground had l not
sprung up and caught her in my arms.
l laid her softly down in the chair. 1t
was the morning twilight. The silence
was profound. The boundaries of the
room were still dim and indistinct. Is
it any wonder that was in some con-
siderable degree of perplexity as to
whether was not still in the land of
dreams?
Madam" said, If you are Wis.,
ion. it is of no consequence; but if not,
Iwish particularly to get OUT
"Offer no injury" she replied. in a
tremulous voice, land no one will mo-
lest you. Take what you have come
for, and be gone.'