Litchfield enquirer. [volume] (Litchfield, Conn.) 1829-current, 1880-07-29

Pleasant !! exclaimed another. Its The
most appalling exclamation | ever had tht
luck to listen to. Where on earth does it come
from?'
-'Oh, it must be the porter his lodge is be
low, suggested one
THE porter ? replied another; mot he unless
he's suddenly taken leave of his senses Wht
are in the rooms on either side of you, Ruther
ton?'
Let me thirk,' said Rutherton. You know
these rooms are approached by different stair
cases, SO there is solid wall between us;
hardly think any noise could penetrate. Or
this side'-and he pointed to the t-'Anson's
room would come on the other and be
mentioned another undergraduate whose cham
beers would be beyond Me wall to the right Il
was at once proposed that they should sepa
rate into two parties, and explore the two
rooms to discover, if possible, the cause Of what
had alarmed the.
You fellows are making great mistake,
said Elworthy, one of the quietest of the
group. Which do you think conducts sound
best a brick wall of eight inches thick, or &
wooden floor of one or two planks p
al, that's worth considering Ruthertor
replied. Then you think the sound came uI
from below? There is no room below this
however; only the college gateway
And that has solid ceiling, much admired
by connoisseurs in stone carving, retorted the
other, But above this'-and he pointed to the
ceiling of the chasiiber- there is only wood
en- floor. The sound comes from there AL
acknowledged that this was more probable
so IN body they passed out into the passags
and assembled the steep, winding wooden stairs
that led to the floor above. They knocked al
the door, and entered. No, they were disap.
pointed. The only occupant of the chamber
was its usual tenant, a student whose name
was Ferrand who had been two years at the
University, and bore good character among
all the authorities. Among his fellows he
was regarded as rather book worm, though
tdose who knew him we'll asserted that he was
exceedingly good company when he liked tc
exert himself to amuse. ..
Very glad to see you, said Ferrand. shut
ting up the book he had been reading A
rather late call, and you seem to be in some.
what overwhelming numbers. But come and
sit down; there are chairs enough for us all.
And he did the honors OF the room in per
fecty unconstraiued manner. Rntherton and
the others felt rather foolish. THE fact is,
he began, have you heard any strange noises
to-night, Fernando
Noises ! said Ferrand in quick, short
way. what noises? Where?'
well, somewhat near where we are stand.
ing now replied Rutherton and he explain.
ed to Ferrand what had caused this sudden ir-
ruption into his room. Ferrand laughed-a
hearty, Understanding laugh; not in the
least like the sound of evil memory. After
asking few questions, he treated the whole
matter as the result of excited nerves. Or
else, he added, some friend of the porter's
may have been indnlging in little revelry
with him i'll the lodge, and, of course, dis.
lance would lend, not enchantment, but pow
er to the sound So he laughed the event
away. And on cooler reflection the others
began to feel ashamed of their panic. To re.
deem their character as bold Britons they be-
come very noisy, and uproariOus, and Ferrand
aided and allotted them in the most success
full manner, He joined in all the merriment,
told amusing stories. produced wine and eat
ables and proved charming host. In this
way an hour slipped by, and it was by this
time nearly o'clock in the morning-the
late hours kept by colegiahs being then, as in
the present day, proverbial.
Suddenly Ferrand exclaimed: But where
on earth did those sounds you heard come
from? had dream last night that another
murder would be committed in the college A
foolish fancy, you will say. Well, perhaps
so. Yet propose we patrol the buildings
oii>1 ii'oiAS iiioPStIiOi "
bed
All looked uneasy Rutherton shuddered
1 wish you wouldn't speak il that soul-freez
Ing kind of way, Ferrand. Another murder
impossible! What could have put such a
fancy into your brain? Rutherton had by this
time forgotten his previous fears.
A curious fancy. indeed remarked Ell.
worthy in his quiet way. Did you see the
murderers weapon, too, in your dream, Fer.
rand? l wonder yeu weren't frightened.
What was it like? A dagger, 1 presume
''Methinks see it now '''
See it! said Ferrand, turning suddenly, SO
as to face the speaker; where? What do you
mean? You must be mad p And his eye fol-
lowed Elworthy's, till it rested upon certain
part Of the wall just above the mantlepece.
You seem alarmed said Elworthy, as qui-
city as before; and rising he went to the hearth.
This is peculiar knife a good stabbing in
strlment, should think, and he took it down
from its peg on the wall
oh, thatv said Ferrand: yes, that's a
Moorish dagger. Beautifully carved, isn't it ?
I've had it some time. You really alarmed
me at first, Elworthy, by the way you pointed
at this weapon
Did l !? carelcssly replied the other; I'm
truly sorry. But suppose we do as Ferrand
which it will be about time for us to retire, if
we intend appearing at morning chapel to-
morrow. They all'rose. Leaving the apart
ment, they went down the steep stairs as they
had assembled, in single file, Ferrand staying a
little behind, to put out he candles. he said.
Eworth had got half down the stairs when he
remembered that he had left his trencher be-
hind him. He reascended the steps quickly,
ank Was inst about to enter Ferrands room,
when through the half opened door a sound
reached hlm-the very SAME low, suppressed,
dreadful chuckle which had been heard be-
fore that evening. Elworthy stood haf-par-
alyzed. Where did that awful laugh proceed
from? 1t must have come from within. He
entered; there was nobody but Ferrand there,
who had just put out the candles, and who
did not notice his entrance, which had been
made quietly. At the door for few mo-
nicnts ElwOrthy stood, wondering whence
that sound had issued. Was it his own fam
cy ?-yet he was not given to fancies And
if his Gals had deceived him, surely his eyes
could net-for what saw he now? By the
light of the fire lie saw Ferrand take down the
dagger from its place, look at it carefully,
then breathe upon it, then rub it vigorously
with handkerchief. then look at it again,
then replace it. That was all. That, how
ever, was quite enough for ElwortIIy, who,
with a naineless terror on him, gli'lcd ont of
the door, ran as quickly and noiselpssly down
the steep stairs rs if fire or pestilence were at
his heels, and found his fellow students wait
ing in the porch. But before he had recover
ed his breath, or had time to gather his
thoughts together, Ferrand Joined them, and
proposed to examine the rooms in the smaller
quadrangle. This was at once agreed to. He
led the way, and ElwortiIy could do nothing
at present but follow the Others and wait for
events. Meanwhile he concentrated all his
attention on the task of watching Eerrand.
Now let US turn to what happened in the
same College few short hours before There
was one studieus undergraduate, shy and re-
firing youth by the name, Of Butler. who oc-
cupied the rooms just opposite to those of the
Dean-that is to say. on the first floor in the
big quadrangle. He knew but few of the
men of the college, but one of the few who
were intimate with him was Ferrand. In
fact, the two were great friends, and Butler
seems to have regarded Ferrand, who was
older and cleverrr and stronger than he was
with kind of boyish confidence. On no
member of the college had the awful event of