The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1886-10-30

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| jealousy guarded door Opposite, but not a
single one ever came out. No one ever
| issued from it except the tall woman in
the black dress, who came to supervise the
dustmen, and she, as belonging to the
establishment, does not count.
About week after had become firmly
convinced of the fact above named Simp-
son called upon me and seemed, as
| thought, much pleased that the new
mystery to be disentangled lay so near at
| hand and did not require him to go career
ing over Europe to pick up the scattered
| threads. He was so anxious to set to work
and so incredulous of any danger that
babe him remember that the door opposite,
like the lions den in the fable, showed no
| footprints coming away from it. | en-
| treated him to go round to the back and
| Chamber over the wall, or effect an entrance
| by way of the area, or down the chimney,
even: but he treated allmy fears as ground
| less, and, taking up his hat, babe me good
bye. The next minute saw him ring the
bell opposite. The door was opened by the
| tall woman, and he entered.
Then followed four days of weary wait
| ing, rendered yet more intolerable by the
persistent precaution of that old dolt,
| Clausius. Every morning as l took my
| seat at the window to await the reappear-
ance of Simpson, the doctor would come
| in and sit staring at me with his great,
| google, saucer eyes, as if were a wild ami
NAL He would say very little. l was
thankful he had given up talking meta
physics. had given him a crusher last
week he was not likely to forget in hurry
but now he kept on telling me l ought to
go out for a walk or into the country or
have some of my friends to be with me,
saying he was sure ''zere was zomzing re
madden NIT me-" Nader, indeed told
him he was much madden than any one |
knew out of Bedlam and this made him
Ia off I eli do
muttering to the landlady; no doubt he
was telling her of my brilliant repartee.
She kept lodging in and out of my room
afterward in most unaccountable way.
Perhaps she expected that was going to
say something brilliant to her but wasn't.
All what weary days they were could
not sleep at night, though l increased my
dose of choral continually, and all night
long | seemed to hear the slow beat of
some great engine keeping time in my
brain, and to see in the darkness the pitiless
fall of the great spokes as l had seen them
fall inside that black window. At last, on
the fifth day, Simpson came, and forgot
all my troubles as | babe him w elcome and
prepared to listen to his story.
As glanced at Simpson l saw that he at
any rate, had not suffered physically in his
recent adventure. He seemed to me to
have grown stouter; a keen, exultant light
shone from his eyes, usually SO calm and
full. Before he began to speak could see
that he had accomplished great coup"
II did not look up at the window when |
knocked at the door opposite" he began;
but was sure enough you were following
me with your eyes. The door was opened
by the tall woman, of whom l have heard
you speak, and as soon as | was inside she
closed it and fastened the lock with heavy
key, which she then put in her pocket.
The passage in which | found myself was
| long, lofty and narrow. There were doors
on the right and left; the former was
closed, but through the other doorway l
could see into a spacious room in which a
number of people were assembled. They
| were all seated on narrow. wooden benches
| ranged round the walls, and these benches
seemed to be well-nigh full. There was,
| indeed, but one vacant space-to the right
| of little door Immediately opposite the
one by which had entered. The woman
ushered me in, and, pointing to this vacant
space, babe me sit down and wait my turn.
II sat down, and, after little my eyes
having become accustomed to the dim light
for there was no more than could pene-
trate through those dulled panes you see
over there-I could discern what manner
of people were there who were my com
| panions in this strange room. | never i'll
all my life set eyes on more melancholy
looking lot. My neighbor on the opposite
side of the door, the man whose turn-turn
for what had not the faintest notion
%hfte haYr lowing down upon 6is s5nnld lang
He sat with his chin leaning upon his
| hands, which were claSped on the top of
handsome gold-headed cane. His eyes
were restless and wild, and he kept glanc-
ing nervously at the door between us, be-
hind which now and then | could plainly
hear passing footstep. He was evidently
anxious, and perhaps impatient for the
arrival of the moment when the door
should be opened and his turn should come.
Presently, in obedience apparently to
some hidden machinery within, the door
opened, the old man started to his feet
and, with one glance at the dim light strug-
Cling in through the darkened Windows
glance in which there seemed to me to be
more of terror than of hops-he shambled
through the doorway into the unknown
beyond, and the door closed behind him
with smart smooth click. The next one
moved up into the vacant place every one
else followed suit and | also shifted my
self a foot or two, making room for a new
conner, should one arrive, below me. felt
q curious, muddled swimming in my head,
for the air of the room was heavy with
strange and sickly scent; but | was not too
much dazed to begin to examine more
carefully the appearance of my compan-
ions All we're seemingly people of the
middle class; none bore any sign of power
ty, and doubt whether any poverty could
have produced look of misery more pro-
found than that which appeared upon
the faces of all. In type they varied ex-
ceedingly. The man who now sat nearest
to the little door was small and wizened;
but his eyes, dark and piercing, burned
bright as live Goals. His face was deathly
PALE as was that of the woman next to him
"a tall, handsome lady, with delicate,
clear-cut features. Nearly all were well
advanced in life, and I myself seemed to
be the youngest of the party. All this time
silence the most profound reigned through
out the room, broken only by the regular
thud of machine of some sort. 1t sounded
faint and distant, and was evidently broken
by the Intervention of several thick walls.
Nov and then, too, another sound-a hiss
ing sucking noise-would make itself
heard, and mingled with this l fancied |
could hear low means, as of a human being
in fainting or agony; but on this point |
could not be positive. The door opened
again, and | expected to see the white
haired old man reappear, but, no, the 9TH
or, who had taken his place, rose and
walked with unfaltering step through the
mysterious portal, which was Immediately
shut again. After this the turns became
much more rapid, and several newcomers
came and seated themselves below me, be-
ing conducted to their places by the tall
dark woman, who looked at me, l thought
with no friendly eyes. At last l counted
those sitting before me, and | found that
only fifteen now remained. At the present
rate in less than an hour | should learn per-
sonally what lay on the other side of that
uncanny little door.
Il must confess that l now beg an to re-