Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1879-01-31

! old opinion than ever. 1t was Adamsol
/ hin, self Though he now wore no beard
WHO had put that statement into the Lew
es Express The question Of course
was, why had he done it? since nobody
/ now accused him Of being thief. An(
why should he have adopted so clumsy and
| dangerous a method of getting his excul
patton printed il he had money at COM
mand to get it done in safer ways? AS ..
read it. tie man, though he had stolen the
! money, had by 10 means got it in his peck
| ct. 1t WAS hidden somewhere under the
roof of the Hand and Glove, and. now
that his character was in the eyes of the
world re-established, he would some day
return to take possession.
| | was not fool enough to communicate
these ideas to any one else; had already
experienced the inconvenience Of talking,
and I felt that, if was right in my con-
lecture, the value of it depended on my
keeping it to myself Consequently I bore
with much good-humor the sly remarks Of
the other walters, and even of the pretty
chambermaids Whom I dare say you re-
member, sir), about the mare's-nest had
sat upon as respected the guilt Of Mr.. Adj
amson, whom they proceeded to pity as an
ill-used and innocent man. I confessed
that [ had made mistake, such as hui
man nature is liable to, and after few
weeks there was an end to it. The robbery,
having been explained, was forgotten, just
as, make no doubt, the man who had
done it had calculated upon; Bob Taylor
lat your service) happened to be the ex-
ception as proved the rule.
It was in the autumn time, and about
three weeks before the race meeting, that
MIR. Morton arrived at our hotel by the
evening train, and asked for a bedroom
What he couldn't abide, as he told Eliza
(which was the pretty housemaid's name,
as you may remember), was the noise of
the sea at night. He didn't care where he
slept, but the room must be at the back of
the house, and at the same time airy
Now, the only room which combined these
advantages, as it happened, was No. Al.
I did not take much notice of Mr.. Morton
at first, except as respected his portman-
teau, which thought a very shabby one
for a gent as was so particular about his
sleeping; but, as it happened, it fell to me
to wait upon him in the coffee-room, and
the way in which he ordered dry cham
payne and the best of everything the house
afforded did strike me lin connection with
that portmanteau) as peculiar.
He spoke very little, occupying himself
chiefly in smoothing his black moustache,
which was very fine and silky, and in
reading sporting newspaper. 1 noticed
that one leg of his trousers was patched at
the knee, and said to myself, ''There's
bricks in that portmanteau.' But that of
course, was no business Of mine at that
time being only the waiter.
Before the house closed he went out for
a walk, with one of our best cigars in his
mouth, and on his return asked for hot
whskey and water; only he called it wur-
wur-whiskey. You might have knocked
me down with feather, for when he said
that it flashed upon me in an instant that
here was my man. His beard was gone,
it was true; but that was prepared for,
''from information received" as the DO
lice say; his moustach had change it's COL
or-indeed, it was false one, but that
unfortunate hesitation in his speech re-
called Mr.. Adamson to my recollection at
once. When handed him the spirits aud
water, my hand shook so that you would
have thought had taken any amount of
the same prescription myself. To think
that he had taken the very same room
again-No. At; though of course, that was
only what you may call the association of
to carry conviction with it.
[ slept no didn't sleep-i laid awake
all that night with my door ajar, and lis
tened, listened, listened, till there was |
buzzing in my brain equal to million of
bees in swarming time. At two O'Clock
in the morning heard his door open, and |
was out OF bed in a twinkling, with my
eyes at the chink of my own door,
1t was moonlight night, and saw him
go down the passage in his nightgown as
noiseless as ghost. Then heard some
thing scrape against the floor; it was the
foot OF the ladder of the 6re-escape that
led up through the trap door on to the
roof. HE has hidden them there" said
to myself, and in my hurry to follow him
stumbled in the passage and fell. When
L picked myself up, all was as quiet as
death, and On turning the corner of the |
passage see my gentleman coming toward
me, walking quite slow and rigid. ''Hul-
le!'' [ said, show come you here?" He
didn't answer word, but, with eyes wide |
open and staring over my shoulder, tried |
to pass me. took him by the arm, how
ever, and again asked him what he was
doing in the passage at that time of night. |
Then he drew long sigh, passed his hand
over his eyes, and says, ''Where am II"
SWELL" says 1, you're where you've
no business to be. Your room is No. At,
[ believe"
"Thank you,' he says, $50 it is. I've
been walking in my sleep. It's a habit I !
have. Good -nun-night.'
And then turned into his room and lock- |
I'd the door.
He was certainly one Of the coolest
hands every saw, but his little device |
did not impose upon me for an instant
what he wanted, now felt positively GER
lain, were those nun-nun-notes, which
we're lying, no doubt, stuffed under the
tiles, or in some spout or other in the
:oof. The trap-door was long way up,
and could not be reached except by the
adder; so this is what ! did: I went dowa
INTO the pantry, where knew Of chain
and paddock that had belonged to the ken
ael Of Newfoundland dog of ours that