News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-10-28
are English fists when you have an Ital-

are English fists when you have an Ital
ian knife in your ribs. Here we are =
The door was exactly as | had left it
There was not sign of anybody neal
us, so we went quickly through, closing
it again behind u.s. We stood for
minute silent and still, until our eyes
had become more accustomed to the IN
tense darkness around us; then We
CROPPED our way, with two or three
stumbles against tombstones and ovel
mounds of earth, to the spot where
fancIed the marked stone must be, an6
in few seconds l discovered it without
doubt, by falling over it. As | was
collecting myself and my scattered
senses together again, after this sudden
and unpleasant downfall, [ heard close
beside me a volley of muttered eXecra.
tions from Sir Frederick, who declared
in an agitated whisper, that he was sure
he had caught a ghost or something
very like 1t. At the risk of discovery
/ opened the lantern, and for one second
threw the light on the object he held in
his hands. 1t was an unusually large
bat, which, disturbed by our intrusion
On its own domain, must have flown or
dropped on Sir Frederick from the tree
under which he was standing. He
quickly shook it off, and without fur
ther adventure we concealed ourselves
in some thick bushes near the grave 1t
would have required the eyes of a lynx
to discover US, hidden as we were In a
mass of evergreens, overgrown with a
network of tangled creepers, and the
I. IL l.
waited, keenly watchful. Not a leaf
stirred. A perfectly dead silence lay
over everything, as if the fairy of the
Sleeping Beauty story of our childhood
held nature bound under her spell. A
mouldy, DANG, earthly vapor rose from
the ground at my feet, and seemed to
weigh me down as if it was something
solid.
The clock of Notre Dame struck
eleven. Another long, weary hour went
slowly by, and then the clock struck
midnight. l believe | had sunk into a
sort of doze when every faculty was
aroused by hearing a soft
at the door, which was very
gently opened. There was a pause as
if the newcomers were listening; the
door was shut and a lantern shed it's
narrow streak of light over the graves
at their feet. One, two, three dark
forms, two of them carried between
them what seemed to be a box Sir
Frederick gently nudged me e-of course
that contained the jewels. They came
quietly to the side of the mysterious
and. setting their burden
down on another one close by, they set
to work and quickly moved it to one
side. 1 then discovered, to my sur
prise, that the one that held the lante n
was woman. Their faces were deep
in shadow; l did not once get gIimpse
OF their features All their movements
were quiet and free from haste; they
evidently had not the smallest notion
that discovery was possible. The two
men carefully laid the box in the hole
prepared for it, covered it with mould,
and, after replacing the stone, stretched
themselves and held the lantern aloft,
the better to survey their handiwork.
1t seemed very satisfactory to their fe-
male companion, for | distinctly heard
her breathe a sigh of urmistakable re-
lief. They left tie place as quietly as
lOO OOAlIC " ~ NV AAeh' 90 AHA
as we knew, spoken word to each
other the whole time
1t was our turn now. As soon as we
were quite sure that we again had this
dismal solitude to ourselves, we emerged
from our damp hiding place and shook
into shape, for naturally we
both felt very stiff and numb after our
long weird vigil l opened my lantern
and we began eagerly to undo the work
we had just seen so neatly accomplished.
1t did not take long to remove the stone
and scatter the thin layer of mould. In
a few minutes we had the box--a boys
oblong deal play box, clamped with
iron-lving on a tombstone before us.
"Open it, Blake" said Sir Frederick.
'Iocked, l answered, as | shook the
lid.
Take my knife" continued the Bar
Onet, as he drew from his pocket one of
the formidable weapons at which his
wife had laughed.
1t was common lock, and easily
forced. AS threw back the lid, Sir
Frederick held up the lantern. "Take
them out, B axe, and see if they are all
there: it will be wonderful thing if
none are missing. What on earth Is that"
1T looks to me like dog collar" l
as l shook out a black cash
mere shawl, in which was wrapped
silver curb chain with a small silver
bell attached to it
''Stole from somebody else," cried
Sir Frederick "Get on with the rest
"This beats everything" said I, and
drew forth small, pale blue garment
fashioned like a horses dy-cloth,
with monogram in gold thread at one
side '1ts a dogs coat. And what
the deuce is this ?'
"a dog ~ we exclaimed, simultan-
eously.
Carefully folded in piece of soft
linen lay the body of a small, silky
white, long haired terrier-to Judge by
all its surroundings, lady's cherished
pet. For few seconds, disgust and
disappointment kept us silent; then Sir
Frederick broke out in a series of exc
more amusing than effective.
We had been befooled by our own en-
thpsiasm as amateur detectives, and at
first were angry, but by and by came to
see the situation in its more grotesqu2
aspect. After giving vent to our feel
ngs in burst of suppressed laughter,
we put the little pet back into its play
box coffin, being careful to see that
everything was just as we had found it;
and quickly shovelling the mould and
pushing the tombstone over it, we crept
out of the old cemetery. Our feelings
we're very different from those with
which we entered it. We were greatly
however, on reaching the hotel,
20 find a line from Aigunez. which had
come during Sir Frederick's absence:
IL am ON the right track"
We heard no more for two days, when
he detective reappeared with a captive,
a valet whom Sir Frederick had dis
missed before leaving England, who,
knowing the great value of the jewels
which Lady O'Connor was taking with
ler, had thought it worth his while to
follow them, and being a clever hand at
that sort of work, had succeeded, as we
nave seem Chambers JDurudl.
Settled 1t.
Two ladies arrived in Buffalo last
Sunday on visit to some relatives, and