The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1879-10-23
cat four o'clock in the morning, if

you please. L must walk over to IL
Station in time for the seven o'clock
express"
"I'll be sure to call you, sir"
She withdrew. leaving me alone in
the gloomy little apartment. l sat
down and looked around me with no
very agreeable sensation.
81 will sit down and write to Alice, y
1 thought. THAT will soothe my nerves
and quiet me, perhaps"
l descended the ladder. The fire still
glowed redly on the hearth beneath
my companion and the woman sat be-
side it talking in a low tone, and third
person sat at the table eating--a short,
stout, Misunderstanding man, in red
flannel shirt and muddy trousers.
asked for writing materials, and re-
turned to my room to write to my
wife.
MY darling Alice"
paused and laid down my pen as
concluded the words, half smiling to
think what she would say could she
know of my strange quarters.
Not till both sheets were covered did
1 lay aside my pen and prepare for
slumber. AS folded my paper l hap
pened to glance toward the couch.
Was it the CLEAN of human eye OBJ
serving me through the board partition,
or was it but my own fancy? There
was crack there, but only blank dark
ness beyond, yet 1 could have sworn
that something had sparkled balefully
at me.
l took out my watch-it was one
o'clock. 1t was scarcely worth while
for me to undress for three hours
sleep. would lie down in my clothes
and snatch what slumber I could. So,
placing my valise close to the head of
my bed. and barricading the lockless
door with two chairs, extinguished the
light and lay down.
At first l was very wakeful, but grad
ually soft drowsiness seemed to steal
over me like misty mantle, until, all
of sudden, some startling electric
thrill coursed through my veins, and /
sat up, excited and trembling.
A luminous softness seemed to glow
through the room--no light of the moon
or stars was ever SO penetrating-and by
the little window saw Alice, my wife,
dressed in floating garments of white,
with her long, golden hair knotted back
by blue ribbon. Apparently she was
reckoning to me with outstretched
hands, and eyes full of wild, anxious
tenderness.
I sprang to my feet and rushed to-
ward her. but as l reached the window
the fair apparition seemed to vanish
into the stormy darkness, and / was left
alone. At the self-same instant the
sharp report of pistol sounded--I
could see the jagged stream of fire above
the pillow straight through tie very
spot where ten minutes since my head
had lain.
With an instantaneous realization of
my danger l swung myself over the
edge of the window, jumping some
eight or ten feet into tangled bushes
below, and as crouched there recover
ing my breath | heard the tramp of
footsteps into my room.
SIS he dead?' cried a voice up the
ladder the smooth. deceitful voice Of
the woman with halle closed eyes.
"Of course he is" growled voice
back; THAT charge would have killed
10 men. A light there, quick and tell
Tom to be ready"
A cold, agonized shudder ran through
me. What a den of midnight murder
ers had | fallen into! And how fearfully
narrow had been my escape.
With the speed that only mortal ter
ror and deadly peril can give, rushed
through the woods, now illuminated by
faint glimmer of starlight. l know
not what impulse guided my footsteps
i never shall know how many times
crossed my own track, or how close l
stood to the brink of the deadly ravine !;
but merciful Providence encom passed
me with guiding and protecting care,
for when the morning dawned, with
faint, red bars of orient light against
the stormy eastern sky, was close to
the high road, some seven miles from
R.
Once at the town, 1 told my story to
the police, and detachment was sent
with me to the spot.
After much searching and many false
alarms, we succeeded in finding the ru-
inous old house; but it was empty-our
birds had flown; nor did recover my
valise, and watch and chain, which lat
ter l had left under my pillow.
Its Drew's gang" said the leader
of the police, "and they've troubled us
these two years. l don't think, though,
they'll come back here just at present. "
Nor did they.
But the strangest part of my story is
yet to come. Some three weeks subse-
quently / received letter from my sis
ter, who was with Alice in her English
home-a letter whose intelligence filed
me with SURPRISE
Il must tell you something very,
very strange wrote my sister. that