The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1883-01-11

facts got abroad. Ate, che Enfield Court
robbery one could not ~ M ~,reful.
Very soon Margsret, my servant, had
secured all the shut ers, drawn I've curtains,
and I sat down to IL solitary tie. wishing
most fervenly that Ain, "as within doors
again.
A sudden storm had come on; the wind had
risen in q hurricane and babe fair to continue
during the night. About eight o'clock a mes
sage arrived for me from Lady Dasent, telling
me that as the storm was SO severe they had
ventured to detain Amy for the night; In the
morning she would be with me early.
was both glad and sorry; glad that Amy
would not run the risk of encountering any
lurking individual in the darkness, that she
was safely at Enfield; but sorry for my own
sake, 1 felt SO solitary and, truth to tell, SO
strangely nervous,
The evening wore on slowly, and as ten
o'clock struck l went to my room. 1t was
was Amy's; and on the other side OF the land
ing was the spare room, which had so recently
been occupied by Alfred Mauleverer. Above
slept the servants. / heard them go up to
bed, and while 1 couli hear them moving about
overhead I was tolerably comfortable; but
soon stiffness reigued over the Wren's Nest:
Ny domestics were asleep. The best thing l
could do was to follow their example, which
after a time I suppose Ibid, for | was wakened
by a noise, q distant sound from the hall below.
1 scarcely breathed. l could hear my heart
beating as lay listening with strained ears,
and recalled with Mortified terror the face l
had seen at the window.
/ need hardly say that l was thoroughly
awake. Every nerve was strung to such a
pitch of tension thatif a pin had been dropped
l feel sure I should have heard 1t. 1t came
agsin-the sound from below-dull,t this Time,
but distinct; and presently I heard stealthy
evidently shoeiess feet, but none the less
audibl to nv ears. Never since I had lived
ut the Wre rs Nest had 1 locked my bedroom
door; 1 had q dread Of doing 1t, and, despite
my nervousness on this occasion, l had not
departed from my rule. 1t was too late to
attempt to accomplish 1t now. Besides, look
ing back, I thinks sort Of temporary paralysis
had come over me. l heard a hand laid upon
the handle; it was turned cautiously, and the
next moment, from my curtained bed, i!
distinguished q man bearing some sort OF
small lamp-his face concealed by q mask
enter.
1t was q matter of life or death for me to
remain quiet; Through nv mind flashed a
sessed o~f-family plate, my mothers anne
theysts, all my small valuables, to this ruffian,
shout he demand them. But no such inten-
| tioa seemed to be his. He approached the
bed, raised his lamp, flashed It for . second on
rently satisfied that I slept. 1t must havA
| been q cursory glance, for I could not have
sustained the deception for more than q mo-
ment. He gave Q keen look aroun the room.
Only the lower part OF, his face was covered,
so | could see his eyes, small, black and
piercing, with something familiar to me In
them, even then. My watch-a legacy from
my mother-lay on the toilet-table, but he
overlooked IL. Evidently, mine was not the
vanished out oft, and I heard him proceed
into Amy'sr room next-thank God, it was
empty-then into the spare room, where he
remained.
All at once 1t flashed across me that by q
little courage 1 might save everything and
secure the thief. In former days my spare
room had been a nursery, and the WINDOWS
were barred, SO as to make all exit from them
impossible. II l could slip out OF BED, get
across the passage, in one second l could lock
the door, and, secure from any attack, raise an
alarm. =
The agony of fear I was in was such that !
felt equal to any effort. Without losing a
m menr I glided out OF bed; moments pause
acquainted me with the fact that the miscreant
was busy; I heard him throwing out things all
over The foor. He was searching Mr.. Maui.
e~verer's portmanteaus; they were qui e a. the
far end Of the bedroom; so ! calculated that !
could safely close and lock the door before he
could possibly prevent me-. Like a ghost !
moved out of my room on my perilous errand.
Through a chink in the half open door l beheld
the man kneeling in front OF the larger OF the
portmanteaus, rifing 1t with a rapidity and
in entness which secured my being for the
present discovered. i had intended to seize
the door the instant I Preached it, but somethiIg
made me pause In he darkness and peer wi
terrified eyes into the bedroom. He had his
back to me, and I could see the quick move
ments of his arms as one thing after another
was hurriedly thrown upon the ground.
Imagine nv feelings, as I stood within q few
PAGES Of him, to see him with the utmost
celebrity tear open the lining of the portman
diamonds, which I instantly recognized a:
Lady Dasent's famous circ'et, the one she had
worn OIL the night OF the eventful ball, an6
VIII. CHI, with the other things, had so mysteri
ously disappeared!
me to fall to the ground. made an involun
tary movement; 1 thought I was fainting; ant
the noise reached him. Looking up, our evei
met. With the strength born Of desperation
seized the handle of the door, and In a momen'
the key was safely turned in the lock.
Happily for the lives of myself and my ser.
wants the door was an old-fashioned one, of
particularly strong description; and, having
strong outer moulding, it was Utmost phys.
zeal impossibility to break it olen from the in
side of the room. The exigency of the situa-
ton sustained me for the moment and enabled
me to rouse my three servan s, who must a
first have thought 1 had gone temporarily oui
Of my min 1 when I tried to make them com.
prehend our position.
1t was two O'Clock in the morning, still
blowing a gale, and dark as Erebus. But as
sistance must be got. The man within GU
spare room might have accomplices without
our danger might but be beginning. We haG
an alarm BEL, that must be rung. Foul
trembling women, we proceeded In a group tt
the outer back court where the bell hung
onlyto find the rope severed. l had 'snatchet
up q cloak and arrayed myself In my slippers
and q skirt. The servants were as little dressed
as myself. But it was no time to hesitate
immediate action must be taken. We mus
rouse the gardener, who lived q considerable
way from the house. Through the dark, drip
ping strawberries we flew, at every step expect
ing to be dragged back BY some lurker; buf
NO one stopped us. In safety we reached the
cottage; and In a few minutes Arkwright, my
gardener and general factotum was in oul
midst.
His cottage was was within a short distanc,
of several others; and though he wished t.
go straight to the house, fearing lest the ma
should have escaped, or been liberated by &C.
completes, I would not hear Of it. insisted
upon his getting a couple Of men to accompan,
him, a precaution for which I saw Arkwright'I
nice little wife was grateful. This cause
some delay; but it had not enabled my captive
to escape. The hall door was DUN open anC
everything just as we had left it, the spar
ro I'M door still closed. By my orders it was no
to be unlocked until the police arrived. Sew.
eral volunteers had fastened to summon them
and while we were awaiting their arrival
had time to think a little OF the horror OF tn
position. How had Lady Dasent's damon,
necklace found its way into Alfred Maulever
er's portmanteau? Could he be some awfu
impostor, some villain In the guise of q gentle
man, whom I had marlboro | in my house, an,
to whom 1 had meditated giving my niece
The shock would almost kill Amy. Even
felt as II 1 should never get over 1t.
Who was the mani A dreadful tightnes
anne over my heart when this question pre-
scented itself, a suspicion too horrible.
1t made the suspense almost too terrible.
heard the policemen arrive, and while the
were ascending the stairs to the spare bedroom
I felt almost choked with an apprehension TO
what l should next hear. The loo wa
unlocked, and there was the thief. He mad
no resistance; the game was up. Thanks +
"the old woman" as I heard him style me, h
had missed the best chance Of clearing a fort
une he had ever had.
Who was he2 Where had I seen hint
The mystery was soon explained. He wa
the Dasent's magnificent head butler-one O
: a gang, as 1t afterwards was discovered-an
who had, with the CO rnivance of his comrade.
cleared off the plate, but hoped to secure 70
! his own private benefit the famous diamonds
The fire had 90 far uDset the r Dlana that n