Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1880-02-11

Of my business, ] paid no attention u
what was going on over the wires
jadge now from the nearness OF the
lightning and the the jerky sounds o.
tho instrument that the storm wa'
playing the mischief with the mes
sages, Ipassed into the ticket ofiic'
where q light was left burning, and
stood for some time thinking whether
tho money package would bc less ex'
posed Ia the safe than II would be
under tho mattrass OF my bed I and
finally concluded that the latter place
would bc the hardest for any possible
thief to reach. so | took out the
heavy brown envelope, aud slowed II
away under the mattrass. Then !
took q second glass Of toddy which
was usually against my rule, but which
I thought the circumstances warrant
cd.
Once more sat down to my news
paper and pipe, but with no better
success than before. The storm seem
cd now to have cen,ered right over the
little station. Peal after peal of thun'
der rent the air, and the lightning
played about the sky like phosphorus
on an inky background II you have
ever chanced to be in telegraph OF
fec during a thunder storm, you may
have seen the electricity dash down
the wires in a way to nuke timid peo-
pie nervous. Even veterans like my
self wouldn't want to undertake to re-
cclvc that sort Of message. was
tempted to close the key, but the
meaningless ticking had o sort ol
fascination for me in the mood then
was. II was like the incoherent NUT
teling of maniac, where now and
at long intervals only. could one dis
tinguish a word or sentence, Maybe
the extra allowance of toddy had made
me more imaginative than usual, and
given wierd coloring 10 my thoughts
for listing to the rapid click, click, |
remember of fancying that some spirit
hand had got hold Of the key, and
was pouring out wall OF woe over,he
wires.
| was TOO restless to sit still! and too
nervous to 60 to bed, b Besides, even
if I hadn't been SO upset in my mud
it is doubtful whether could have
slept through such stormy night as
that. To occupy myself about some
thing relighted my lantern went out
into the freight room, examined the
bolts again of the doors and the fasten-
ings of the windows, and returned
to my room more worried and upse.
than ever Just as / was entering
my nest, the light of the lantern fell
squarely on the wooden box. Oddly
enough, until that moment l had for.
gotten all about the dead young wo-
man. Thinking 40 steadily Of the
$4,000 suppose it had driven the
box out of my mind. But I can't say
it was any comfort to have it brought
back now for a corpse is never the
most cheerful of company, and feeling
as 1 did / would great deal rather
have had no company at all.
1t must have been the imp of the
perverse, 1 suppose, that compelled
me, after the box had been brought
TO my mind to leave the door, open
so that I could stare at it with
mordid curiosity. As [ have already
said my\ sleeping apartment was
partitioned off from the freight room,
and was connected with the latter by
a door. The body had been placed
in such aposition that when this door
was opened, the head Of the box was
in sight. Two or three times got
up to shut the door, but some strange
fatality drove me back to my chair,
and caused me to keep in view the
box with its sad freight. All this
time the storm ragged, the thunder dis
charged its might batteries, the light
ming dashed and the mad rsv'ng OF
the telegraph continued. l caught
my hand trembling as | tried to refill
my pipe. Nervousness n" doubt !;
but possibly an observer might have
thought Old Billy was frightened.
had just risen to wind the clock
on the shelf, when suddenly out OF the
hitherto meaningless ticking of the
instrument sharply and distinctly
came to my ears these sounds:
-. -. - 49, 80
which in spoken words meant:
WATCH THE BOX
| l started as if a charge of electricl-
,y has shot through my frame. l stood
mott onless, clutcbing the back of the