American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1879-05-17
was striking s; and the gas, although l

was striking s.; and the gas, although
had turned it down, was burning more
brightly, perhaps because turned of
nearly everywhere else in town. Invol-
| UNFAIRLY turned my head, and there at
ono Of the long back windows stood a
great shadow, the thing that had awak-
ened me, a great black outline, huge
man, a negro, looking in on me. Wheth-
er it was house-breaker who, seeing
me, decided that / was sitting up for
my husband, and he Would be too soon
interrupted to make his venture, or
licemen who haa came I'd warn us that
the Alley door, with all its cracks, was
fastened only by a chip. never knew !;
for, this time, tainted in reality, and
the whole world slipped away from me
into dead blackneas.
When 1 came to myself, as the saying
is, was lying back among THE cushions
of the armchair, and as my eyes open
ed on that dreadful window 1 saw that
it was vacant, and nothing had been
disturbed. sat up for moment, feel
ing deathly sick. It was of no use to
struggle, saw; let the worst happen, l
must go to led. 1 turned the as down
still lower, undressed myself as best
could, got my night-dress from the
wardrobe where it hung, and pinned in
side it all the money that Reuben had
left me, being in too great a hurry him
self to go to the bank and deposit It.
That money made one of the justihca-
tions 1 gave myself in excusing my
fears; the fact of my holding so many
hundred dollars in my possession might
be known to others-very likely was.
Being thus made ready, sought the
newspaper pile, and took out the
Tri6unes and Suns on account of their
greater cracking powers, feeling for
them rather than seeing them in the
dimness. Then 1 carpeted the floor of
the back room in every direction with
the outspread sheets, so that no step
could be made on them without
awakening me if fell asleep,
which now it was very certain l
should do. That done, 1 unlocked
my trunk, and taking out all my jewel
ry and ornaments, spread them on the
tables as if just used in some extraor-
binary toilet, my watch, my string of
pearls and diamond solitaires, my neck
lace of pink topaz and brilliants, and in
fact all 1 had in the world, with my
shawl and my lace flounce, spread them
out in full sight, that a thief, seeing
them, might snatch and run, and leave
me alone and safe with Reuben's
money; my jewelry was all my own be-
fore 1 married him. Then, tiptoeing
over the cracking Iribunes and Sans,
got hold of the fire poker, the scis-
sors, the sharp steel eraser, and the
open penknife, and slipping the poker
under the edge of the bedside, where
could reach it for defense at any mo-
ment, and the scissors under the pill
low, and with the keen steel things in
either hand, drew aside the curtains
altogether from the alcove, and putting
in my hand to pull off the skirts and
things had so carelessly tossed there
in my haste, touched with my own,
which was stone-cold, large warm
hand. "Ah, great heavens! great
heavensi" l shrieked at the top of my
lungs, without staying to think whether
l could scream or not. sThere is a
man in the bedi'
"Good gracious. Sally, what's the
matterP Do you mean to bring down
the houseP" came sleepy voice. ''Just
got home? What's the clockP Heighoi
My train broke down, and we had to
come back. What-what in the deuce
does this mean? What are those knives
in your hands for? Do you mean to
murder mep Have you lost your witsP"
And shaking off spray of skirts and
things that he had never noticed there
when he retired, Reuben sat up and
stared at me. And he declares that,
more than once in the gray dawn, 1
half woke and cried out sobbingly, al
though in his protecting arms, "Oh,
Reubeni Reuben! there's a man in the
bed !"-Harper's Bazaar.