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


first door at q venture. All was dark,
and stopped for moment to listen.
Lights were hurrying across the hall,
and heard the rough voice of a man,
as if scolding and haunting some person.
The girl had doubtless given the alarm.
although her information must have
been very indistinct. for when she saw
me was in the shadow of the stair, and
she could have had little more than a
vague impression that she beheld hui
man figure. However this may be. the
mans voice appeared to descend the
stair to the area room, and presently
heard crashing noise, not as If he was
counting the plate, but rather thrusting
it aside en- masSe. Then heard the
window closed. the shutters bolted, and
an alarm-bell hung upon them. and the
man reascended the stair, half scolding,
half laughing at the girls superstition.
He took care, Notwithstanding, to ex-
anime the fastenings of the street door,
and even to lock it and put the key in
his pocket. He then retired into a
room and all was silent.
l began to feel decidedly queer. The
governor kept no male servant that
knew of, and had never done so. 1t
was impossible he could have intro
duced this change into his household
without my being informed of it by my
Sister Laura, whose letters were an ex-
act chronicle of everything down to the
health of the cat. This was puzzling.
And now that l had time to think, the
house was much too large for u family
requiring only three sleeping-rooms
even when am at home. 1t was what
is called a double house, with rooms on
both sides of the hall, and the apart
ment, on the threshold of which was
still lingering, appeared, from the dim
light of the windows, to be of very con-
siderable size. now recollected that
the quantity of plate had seen-a por-
ton of which at this moment felt pre-
ternaturally heavy in my pockets
must have been three times greater
than any the governor ever possessed,
and that various pieces were of a size and
massiveness had never before seen in
the establishment. In vain bethought
myself that l had seen and recognized
the well-known door-plate, and that
the area from which entered was inn
mediately under; in vain l argued that
since Laura was about to be married
the extra quantity of plate might be in
tended to form a part of her trOusseau.
l could not convince myself. But the
course of my thoughts suggested an
idea. and, pulling hastily from my
pocket tablespoon. felt, for l could
not see, the legend which contained
my fate. But my fingers were tremu-
lous; they seemed to have lost sensa-
tion-only fancied l did feel some
thing more than the governors plain
initials. There was still light in
the hall. If l could but bring that
spoon within its Illumination! 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 l was near
enough to see. in spite of a dimness
that had gathered over my eyes, and,
with a sensation of absolute faintness,
l beheld upon the spoon an engraved
crest-the red right hand of a Baronet!
l crept back again, holding the BAN
listers, fancying every now and then
that 1 heard door open behind me,
and vet my feet no more consented to
quicken their motion than if had been
pursued by murderer in the night
mare. at length got into a room,
CROPPED for a 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 perspiration
that ran down my face in streams.
What was to be done? What had 1
done? Oh, q trifle, Il mere trihe. Ihad
only sneaked into a gentleman house
by the area window and pocketed his
tablespoons; and here l was, locked
and barred and belled in, sitting very
comfortably, in the dark and alone, in
his drawing-room. Very particularly
comfortable. What a capital fellow. to
be sure! What an amusing personage!
Wouldn't the Baronet laugh in the
morning? Wouldn't he ask me to stay
to breakfast? And wouldn't l eat
heartily out of the spoons l had stolen?
But what is that? Who calls me Il
house-breaker? Who gives me in
charge? Who lugs me off by the neck?
l will not stand it. am innocent, ex-
cept of breaking into a Baronet's
house. I am gentleman, with anoth-
er gentleman's spoons in my pockets.
l claim the protection of the law! Po-
lice! police!
My brain was wandering. pressed
my hand upon my wet forehead to keep
down the thick-coming fancies, and de-
termined, for the first time in my life,
to hold a deliberate consultation with
myself. was in an awkward predica-
ment-it was impossible to deny the
fact; but was there anything really
serious in the case? l had unquestion-
ably descended into the wrong area,
the right-hand one instead of the left
hand one; but was not unquestionably
the relation-the distant relation-of
the next-door neighbor? l had been
four years absent from his house, and
was there anything more natural than
that l should desire to pay my next
visit through a subterranean window?
l had appropriated, it is true, quanti-
ty of silver-plate l had found: but with
what other intention could 1 have done
this than to present it to my distant re-
lation's daughter, to reproach her with
HcT CiTeleSSHeSS IN leaVlnH IL next
door? Finally, was shared, Gagged,
trapped-door and window had been
boiled upon me, without any remon-
STRANGE on my part-and was now
some considerable time in the house,
unsupported, yet a prisoner. The posi-
ton was serious; but come, suppose the
worst, that was actually laid hold of
rs q malefactor, and commanded to
give an account of myself; well, was,
as aforesaid, distant relation of the
individual next door. / belonged to
nobody in the world if not to him;
bore but an Indifferent reputation in re-
gard to steadiness, and after four years.
absence in foreign country, had re-
turned-idle, penniless and objectless-
just in time to find an area window
open in the dusk of the evening, and a
heap of plate lying behind it, within
view of the street.
This self-examination was not en-
couraging; the. case was decidedly
queer, and as sat thus bordering in
the dark. with the spoon in my hand, 1
am quite sure that no malefactOr in a