The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1886-02-17

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bed and went 10 The window The
moon was low in the western hotis
zou, by which flct ] knew il must.
be near morning. The sound /
have before referred 70 reached me.
more distinctly than when in lhe.
back partofthe chamber II ap:
peared to come from spme outhohs.
es which were situated a hundred
yards from the house.
Now Lam naturally ofan inlairs
ing mind, and This sound, occurring
as itdidin lhemiddleo fthe night,in.
such a remote, outof.lhe,way place.
piqaed my curiosity, and ! had
an irrepressible desire togo oatapdH
discover the cause of.it The Dc
sire as the sound continued grew
.rpon me with such intensity tint
= resolved to crafty n.
Fputon my boots The only az
ticles ofatlire ] had discarded, eau
tioasly opened the doorof fmy cham!
Der, and noiselessly descended The
Iickety staircase. A few steps
brought me into the lower apart
ments which | found entirely de-
serted. ICrept quietly to the door,
and unfastening it without making
the slightest noise, was soon in the
moonlight. q
Nota soul was visible; but the
sound continued, and grew more
distinct as | approached the place
from whence it proceeded. AT last
l found myself before a long, low
building through the crevices Of
which l could perceive a lurid
glare issuing. l stopped down and
peeped through the key.hole, and
to my extreme surprise saw half
a.dozen strong looking men with
their coats of and sleeves rolled up,
performing a variety ofsLrange &C
cupations' Some were working at
a forge, others were experimenting
the casting Of moulds, and some
mere engaged in the process Of mill.
ing coin. In a moment the whole
truth burst upon me. Here was
The gang Of counterfeiters was in
search Of, and the landlord aud his
wife evidently belonged to the
same band for in one corner | per
ceived them employed-the man
polishing offsome half.dollar pieces,
just turned out of the moulds, while
the woman was packing tile finish
ed coin into rolls.
] had seen enough and was about
to return ts,my apartment, when.
| suddenly felta heavy haud on
my shoulder, and turning my head
around, to my horror found myself
in the grasp Of as ill looking a
scoundrel as ever escaped the gal
lows.
"Whatate you doing here, my
good fellow?" be exclaimed, giving
me a shake.
"Taking a stroll by moonlight"
| replied, endeayoring TO maintain
my presence of mind,
"Well, perhaps you'll take stroll
inside, will youP" returned the ruf.
fan, pushing open the door and
dragging me in after him,
All the inmstesin the barn i'm
mediately stopped work and rushed
towards us when they saw me.
"Why, what's all thiS2" they ex-
claimed.
"a loafer 1 found peepin' out
side" said my captor.
"He's o traveller that came to The
tavern last night and asked fur
lodging; the last | saw Of him he
was safe in bed, said the Landlord.
The men Withdrew to a cornerof
the apartment, leaving one to keep
guard over me, | soon saw they
were in earnst consultation, aud
were evidently debating some i'm.
portant question. The one keep
ing guard over me said nothing,
but scowled tiercely, l had not
said a single word during all the
time ! had been in the barn. /
was aware that whatever / might
say would, in all probability, do
more harm than good, aud ithad al
ways been a maxim Of mine, to hold
my tongue when in doubt. AT
last the discussion seemed 10 be
ended for the blackest and dirtiest
of the whole crowd came forward
and, without any introduction, ex-
claimed:
81 say, stranger look here, you
INST dieI"
did not move a muscle nor ut-
Ter word.
"You have found out our secret,
and dead men tell no tales"