The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1882-01-19
THE AVENGER.
A THRILLING TALE.
BY THOMAS DE QUINCY.
CONTINUED from last week.


country house except the master and
female servant. She was woman of
g courage, and blessed with the firmest
nerves; so that she might have been
relied on for reporting accurately every
thing seen or heard. But things took
another course. The first warning she
had of the murdereTs' presence was from
their steps and voices already in the
hall. She heard her master run into
the hall, crying out, Lord JeSuS!--Mary,
Mary, save meP' The servant resolved
to give what aid she could, seized a large
poker, and was hurrying TO his assist
ance, when she found that they had
nailed up the door of communication at
the head of the stair. What passed after
this she could not tell; for, when the i'm
pIlse of intrepid fidelity had been baked,
and she found that her own safety was
provided for, by means which made 1t
impossible to aid a pO fellow creature
who had just invoked her name, the
generOus-hearted creature was over.
come by anguish Of mind and sank down
on the stair, where she lay, unconscious
of all that succeeded, until she found
herself raised in the arms of a mob who
had entered the house. And how came
they to have entered? In a way chaTac-
teristically dreadful. The night was
star-lit; the patrols had perambulated
the street without noticing anything
5y
who were following in their rear, OBJ
served dark cOlOred stream tTaveTsiUg
the causeway. One of them at the same
instant, tracing the stream backwards
with his eyes, observed that it flowed
from under tine door of Mr.. MunZer, and,
dipping his finger in the tTickling fluid,
ne held it up to the lamp-light, yelling
out at the moment, 'Why, this is blood"
1t was so indeed, and it was yet warm.
The other saw, heard, and, like an arrow,
flew after the hOrSe-patrOl, then in the
act of turning the corner. One cry,
full of meaning, was sufficient for ears
full of expectation. The hOrSeman
pulled up, wheeled and in another mo-
mant reined up at Mr.. MunZer's door.
The crowd, gathering like the drifting
of snow, supplied implements which
soon forced the chains of the door, and
all other obstacles. But the murderOus
party had escaped, and all traces of their
persons had vanished, as usual.
DRarely did any case occur without
some peculiarly more or less interest
ing. In that which happened on the
following night, making the fifth in the
series, an impressive incident varied
the mOnOtOny of horrors. In this case
the parties aimed at were two elderly
ladies, who conducted female board
ing-5chOOl. None of the pupils had, as
yet, returned to school from their vaca
tiOn. but two sisters, young girls of
thirteen and sixteen, coming from a
distance, had stayed at school through
ont the Christmas holidays. 1t was the
youngest of these who gave the only
evidence of any value, and one which
added a new feature of alarm to the eX-
listing panic. Thus it was that her testi-
mOny was giYen.-On the day bef re the
murder, she and her sister were sitting
with the old ladies in a room fronting
fn a Of - tba a lIar luIiAl rnah-
ing, tn he young ones drawing. Louisa,
the youngest, never had her ear inatten-
tive to the slightest sound, and once it
struck her that she heard the cTeaking
of foot upon the stairs. She said moth
ing, but slipping out of the room, she
ascertained that the two female servants
were in the kitchen, and could not have
been absent; that all the doors and
windows, by which ingresS was pOssi-
bile, were not only locked, but bOlted
and barred, fact which excluded all
possibility of invasion by means of false
keys. Still, she felt persuaded that she
had heard the sound of a heavy foot
upon the stairs. It was, however, day
light, and this gave her confidence, so
that, without communicating her alarm,
TO anybody, she found courage to ira
verse the house in every direction, and,
as nothing was either seen or heard she
concluded that her ears had been too
sensitiVely awake. Yet that night, -
she lay in bed, dim terrOrs as allied hcr,
especially because she cOnsidered tn t,
in 80 large a house, soma closet or OF er
might have been overlooked, and, in
particular, she did not remember to have
examined one or two chests in which
man could have lain concealed. Through
the greater part of the night she lay
awake, out as one of the town clocks
sIrnck four, she dismissed her anxieties,
and fell asleep. The next day, wearied
with this unusual watching, she pro-
posed to her sister that they should go
to bed earlier than usual. This they
did; and on their way up stairs, Louisa
happened to think suddenly of heavy
cloak, which would improve the cover
ings of her bed against the severity of
the night. The cloak was hanging up
in closet within closet, both leading
off from a large room used as the young
ladies' dancing school. These closets
she had examined on the previous day,
and therefore she felt no particular
alarm at this moment. The cloak was
the first article which met her sight; it
was suspended from a hook in the wall,
and close to the door. She took 1t down,
but, in doing so, exposed part Of the
wall and of the floor, which its folds
had previously concealed. Turning
away hastily, the chances were that she
had gone without making any discovery
In the act of turning, however, her light
fell brightly on a mans foot and leg.
Matchless was her presence of mind;
having previously been humming an
air, she continued to do so. But now
came the trial; her sister was bending
her steps to the same closet. If she
suffered her to do So LOttchen would
stumble on the same discovery, and eX-
pire of fright. On the other hand, if she
gave her a hint, LOttchen would either
fail to understand her, or, gaining but
a glimpse of her meaning, would Shrek
aloud, OF by some equally decisive ex
preston, convey the fatal news to the
assassin that he had been discovered.
In this torturing dilemma fear prompted
an expedient, which to LOttchen ap-
Deared madnese, and TO Louisa herself
abe act of sibyl instinct with blind
inspiration. Here" said she, sis our
dancing room. When shall we all meet
and dance again tOgether?" Saying
which, she commenced wild dance,
whirling her candle round her head
until the motion extinguished it;
then, eddying round her sister in mar
rowing circles she seized LOttchen'S