Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1886-10-18

Sucn unfOrtunateS.
sWhere are your folks?' he asked,
in sharp, cracked voice that start
led me so that spilled the milk and
choked the baby. Don't lie to me,
now, for know where they are as
well as you do
To Hartford | managed to ar
ticnlate, at the same time pushing
low chair toward the poor creature,
thinking to appease his evident ill hu-
NOR by politeness.
To my horror he passed by the
chair, and seated himself in the foot
of the cradle. The baby was terri
fed, now, and giving up coughing,
began to scream at the top of his
powers. | bent over to take him in
yarns, but the hunchback snarled
with an evil leer:
Let the young one alone until you
fetch me that tin trunk of papers that
my brother left here last night. You
saw the box, didn't you?'
1 nodded my head, too much fright
ened to speak.
where is it? Quick, now!'
1 pointed to the cupboard, and
greatly to the relief of the baby and
myself, he crossed the room.
'Locked!' he shouted, trying the
door. open it, young one!
Father has the key [ stammered.
Think of some other way to open
it, then. How would your father open
it if the key was lost? Think, quick
as you can, or will kill the baby,
wiring it's slim, white neck as / would
a chickens; then 1 will set the house
on fire and burn up them confounded
notes, and you with them, so that
you won't blab.'
A multitude of confused thoughts
rushed through my brain, and upon
one of them, half memory and half
suggestion, 1 seized with despera-
ton. At the dawn of hope in my
heart, my courage returned, and 60
ing to the lower door of the cupboard
[ turned the knob that held button
on the inside, and opened it.
The bottom of the cupboard, and
the one broad shelf above it, my
mother used as huge work basket,
and it was well filled with family
sewing and mending. Clearing the
shelf, and setting the little splint
thread and thimble basket in chair
near at hand, said, as steadily as /
| could:
The upper cupboard door is al
ways kept locked, and my father car
ries-the key with him; but the bot
tom shelf of the upper cupboard is
loose, and if you crawl in upon this
shelf on your hands and knees, and
raise your back up against the shelf
above, you can misplace it so that
one end will come off the slat that
holds it, and all the things upon it
will come rattling down. ! know
about it, for l did it myself once
when l was little girl, and it did a
great deal of mischief. Your broth
er's tin trunk sets upon that shelf,
know, for | saw it there when father
opened the door to get his pocket
book just before he went away
You know how to misplace the
shelf; get in and misplace it your
SELF said the hunchback.
Il cannot, l replied. Il used te
play in there when was little
thing, but now the cupboard will hold
me no longer
He looked me over, I was large
for my age), saw that l spoke the
truth, and proceeded to crawl in upor
the shelf himself, saying, in tone
of authority:
IF any one comes to the door, don ;
let them see me here; it would be tot
ridiculous. Do you hear?
| nodded my head, too anxious
for the success of my plan to speak
No sooner did he draw the las
club foot upon the shelf than I slam
med the door together, and turned
the button, then catching the brass
key from mothers thread basket,
put it in the lock and turned it upol
him. AS the strong bolt slipped into
: its place, ran back and dropped
: into the cradle with the screamin.
baby. / had been strong enough fo
anything but moment before, nov
. I was so weak / could not stand.
My little brother hushed his cryin.
the moment my head sank in his hab,
lap, and putting his tiny, cool finger
, upon my face, he laughed in merr,
glee.
t The hunchback, when he founl
: himself caught, yelled like Gagged de
4 mon; but / knew that the cupboard
: door was of heavy plank, that tn
lock and hinges were strong, and
7 felt perfectly safe. l knew, too
! that there was crack under the doc
so wide that air enough would pass t
0 keep him from suffocating.
e His threats were so terrible to lis
D ten to that | began to sing hymns t
I the baby as soon as | could find NJ,
voice, and it was not long before h
f was quiet, save an occasional appea
a 10 my sympathy, telling me how up
!. comfortable he found his crampe
!, position, and begging me to let hir
e out. | was sorry enough for him
but my fear lest he should harm th
1 Ill