The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1881-09-09

Inc Hrst consequence Oh wnicn was
that l was in%tolerably sleepy all next
day. and In tho early hours Of the af-
tcrnoon stole away To my w To
take u nap; just rs i reached my own
door, who should l see upon the stair
case. tho upper staircase. as II coming
down from the top Of tho house, but
Jake-the gardeners b~oy-carrying en-
open knife.
stopped in sheer surprise. Certain
ly he had no business in the house that
could take him beyond tho kitchens.
"What are you doing herep" I demand
cd promptly. He gavo me q furtive
glance out Of his round black eyes. rs
he shuillcd past. slipping tho knife into
his pocket. but no word Of answer.
watched him down the stairs and
ont of sight, and then went into my
room, full OF a strange uneasiness.
Falling asleep ut last. rs ! lay wonder
ing what could have been his crrand
there, the second of my two dreams
came to mt.
A horrible. terrifying dream. 1t was
night, and there were robbers in tho
rOom-men with lanterns and long
knives, and Grape masks upon their
faces. through which their fierce eyes
glared hidcOusly. II seemed To me
that, looking from my bed. saw moth
err on her knees before them. and heard
her b%eseeching them. in low tones of
terror. to work their wicked will rs
quietly rs might be. for poor Mima's
sake. Nina was still sleeping thought,
in an inner room. and II chill of horror
crept through me as ! realized how IA
tai, in her weak and nervous state. the
shock of this midnight alarm might
prove to my poor sister.
At the same instant | realized some
thing ~else-namely, that no one seemed
to take note of me. or be aware of my
presence. Taking advantage of this. l
slipped from the bed and the room I'M
seen, and away, swiftly and silently,
upstairs.
1 was going to the bell-tOwcr to ring
the bell and summon help. In this
vivid dream l seemed to fly up the
dark staircase on the wings of fear;
and 10! l was in the bell-tOwer. I
stretched forth my hand to grasp the
rope. but ! grasped u hand instead-a
hand WiM a knife IN IT.
With q wild shrek Of terror l sprang
from the bed TO the floor. and awokc.
Almost my first waking thought was Of
Jake. as / had seen him coming down
the upper stairs just now, carrying an
open knife!
l stood quite still for a few minutes,
trembling, but with a certain resolution
growing in my mind. / had never
been up into the bcll-tower, and had,
indeed, a nervous prejudice against the
place; but l was going there now, and
alone, to see if the rope was in order.
l looked out of my windOv first. Tho
afternoon had o away while l slept,
to Judge by tho sun on tho lawn. II
help were needed from the five miles
distant town. it could not reach us be-
fore nightfall. l thought, and who was
to summon it? Out on tho lawn stood
Jake and his father. talking together
and casting side-glanccs toward the
house. l felt an instructive distrust of
them; yet now, while l could be sure
they were not spying on me, now was
the time to investigate the condition of
the bell.
Away l went, up, the seldom-used
stairs, almost as swiftly as in my dream.
Being afternoon, the little belfry was,
of course, from its open sides, better
lighted than my " room. There was
no need to do more than look in. The
rope Was VeWiy cut-one short end
hanging high above my reach, the rest
lying a great useless coil on the floor
underneath the silent bell.
Even mother was not disposed TO
laugh at my dreams when l told
her that. She was a brave and sensible
woman, fortunatcly-I don't know
what tho fate of towards might not
have been-and We took counsel to-
gethor quietly, without letting Nina
hear u word.
l had to go and bring help from the
village, there was no other way, and it
was six o'clock when we had finished
u consultations; and l must walk
half u mile or more through the woods
to the highway, and her take my
chance OF a conveyance to town, in Or
der that the men might not ven sus-
pect my departure.
Mother called them both to the back
of the house while l slipped away
through the garden. We found that
Jake had said something To the girls
about sleeping inside the house that
night for their protection. Fortunate
ly. mother was quite equal to the task
of frustrating that design, when once
che knew that he had formed it.
She did it admirably. Walking into
the kitchen ut ten o'clock, and finding
him seated with tho girls, she pretend
ed to hear my father calling at the
gate, and sent Jake out to see; rs soon
as he was fairly out OF doors she kept
him there. by locking the doors against
him.
That very act, however, showed her
suspicious. and aroused theirs, so that
they commenced operations earlier
than they had at first probably intend
ed. When l and the police arrived ut
a little after twelve o'clock, the house
was in q state of siege. There were
five ruflianly fellows, inclusive of our
gardener, and they had the masks.
knives and lanterns of my dream. AS
the police came upon them from be-
hind, without their even suspecting that
help had been sent for, they were cap
tured with scarcely a blow.
While l found myself, quite sudden
". n heroine. l had walked almost all
i OuO why W tOWus Viz -
came along in a dog-cart, and to him
appealed for help. 1t happened to be
Fred Liston, a rich neighbOr of ours. as
we afterwards learned, and together
we set about and accomplished the
rescue.
We accomplished O than that to.
gether, with success too. We dated
from that night a mutual affection and
q courtship which eliminated in a
wedding a year later, when wa sweet
seventeen.
Nina went ahead of me though
Papa brought home the blue lOckct
with tho golden anchor, exactly as l
had seen it in my dream, and of course.
no brought home Walter, too, who had
not been drowned. after all, though he
went terribly near it. And very much
surprised papa was, and very much
pleased with me Il don't think he ever
called me q ''hOpeless idiot" AGAIN.,
when he heard the whole story, and
saw the fortunate results OF my two
dreams.
Henry Labouchere.
Henry Labouchere, M. p, and editor