The Arkansaw traveler., 1884-10-25

time the keIlish tattoo of the hesss h. creased. it grew quicker and quicker, and louder and louder, every instnrt The old mans terror must have been ex- treme! It grew louder. say; louder every moment!--do you marx me yell ?
 hsve told you that l am nervous; % 1
 am. And now, at the dead hour of the
 night, amid the dreadful silence of that
 old house, 90 strange noise as this ex-
 cited me to uncomfortable terror. Yet,
 for some minutes longer, l refained and
 stood still. But the beating grew louder,
 louder! thought the heart must burst.
 And now new anxiety seized me-the
 sound would be heard by a neighbor
 The old mans hour had come! With a
 loud yell threw open the lantern and
 leaped into the room. He shrieked once -once only In an instant l dragged
 him to the floor and pulled the heavy bed
 over him. then smiled gayly, to find
 the deed so far done But, for many
 minutes, the heart beat on with muf7ied sound. This. however. did not vcx me 1; it would not be heard through the vail. At length 1t ceased. The old man was dead. removed the bed and examined the corpse. Yes, he was stone, stone dead. placed my hand upon the hcars and held it there for many minutes There was no prlsation. He was stone dead. His eye would trouble mo no more.
 If still you think me mad, you will think so no longer when l describe the wise precautions took for the conceal ment of the body. The night waned. and 1 worked hastily. but ia silence. First of all dismembered the corpse cut nff the head and the arms and ,ne legs. I then took up three blanks {, pm the floor ing of the chamber. and deposited all be- tween the scantlings. then replaced the boards so cleverly, so cunnipgly, that no human eye-not even his-could have detected anything wrong. There was nothing tc wash out-no stain of any kind-po blood spot whatever. had been too wary for that. A tub had caught all-ha ha
 When l had made an end of these labors 1t was { o'clock-still dark as mid night As the bell sounded the hour there came knocking at the street door. went down to open it with light heart flor what had l now to fcar5 There three men who introduced them selves, with perfect suavity, as officers Of the police. A shriek has. been heard by a neighbor during the night; suspicion of foul play had been lodged at the police office, and they (,he officers) had been deputed to search the premises.
 l smiled-for what had [ to lear? bade the gentlemen welcome. The shr,ek, said, was my own in dream The old man, 1 mentioned, was absent in the country. took my visitors all over the house. l bade them search search well. l led them at length to his chamber. | showed them his treasures, secure, un- In the enthusiasm of my con- fidence brought chairs into the room. ann desired them here to rest from their fatigues, while myself. in the wild au- daeity of my perfect triumph, placed my own seat upon the very spot beneath which reposed the corpse of the victim.
 The officers were satisfied. My man. ner had convinced them. l was sipgu- larly at ease. They sat, and while l an- swered cheerily, they chasted of familiar things. But ere long felt myself getting pale and wished them gone My head ached, and ancied ringing in my ears but still they sat and still chatted. The ringing became more distinct il con- hnued and became more distinct; Ii talked more freely 10 ge, rid of the feel. ing; but il continued and gained defini- Iiveness- until at length, found that the nose was not within my ears.
 No doubt now grew very pale but talked more fiuen,ly, and with a height ened voice. Yet the sound increased and what could do? It was low, dull. quick sound-much such a sound as watch makes when enveloped in cotton. gasPed for breath and yet the officers heard it not. talked more quickly more veheuven,ly but the noise steadily
 ncleased. I arose and argued abou, lrihes, in high key and with violent gesticulations ; but the noise steadily in- rreased. Why would they not be gone ? paced the floor to and flo with heavy s'rides, as ifexcited to fury by the obser- sations of the men-but the noise steadily increased. Oh, Goal what could I do ? foamed-l raved-I swore! l swung the chair upon which had been sitting. and grated it upon the boards, but the noise arose over all and continually in- creased. IL grew louder-louder! And 'nil the men cha,ted pleasantly, and smiled. Was It possible they heard not ? Almighty Goal mo, nc! They heard they suspected !-they knewl-they were making a mockery of my horror l- this thought, and this think. But any. Ihlpg was better than this agony! Any hing was more tolerable than this deri. sion! l could bear those hypocritical smiles no logger! felt that must scream or die !-and now-again !-hark louder louder loudcr!-
 Villains v shrieked, dissemble no more !! admit the deed !-tear up the blanks here, re!-it is the beating of