Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-02-10

/ over the Madeira and smilingly admitted
! to his better half that he believed there
were some things on which cher head
was leveler than his
For reply she pointed to the hallway.
Come here just one moment. l want
! you TO see where 1 stood and how I could
view what was going on at the hat rack
out there -
silently he stood by her side, glanced
/ at the mirror and noted the reflection
/ therein.
1T was just there his beautiful fur
! coat was haDeing-and the money in its
/ pocket, she said.
/ Then came the message from aloft that
/ if Mrs Miller would step uD stairs Miss
/ Bayard would be glad TO see her-Miss
! Bruce was already there; and so the
/ major was left alone. He sat some five
/ minutes looking over an album or two;
! poured out and drank another glass of
! wine and bethought him that Bayard had
/ told him if ever he felt like smoking TO go
right into his Study and help himself.
/ Now was the very time. A dozen strides
/ brought him to the broad-topped library
/ table Uttered with books, pamphlets,
/ papers of all kinds, and among them the
! inviting looking brown box. Another
moment and ensconeed in the big easy
/ chair with a fragrant Regalia be-
i tween his lips and late New
York paper in his hand the major
was forgetting the perplexities Of the
day. The reading lamp he found lighted
/ threw light glow upon the paper in his
hand, bat left the apartment in dark
ness . Out in the kitchen he could family
/ hear the voices of the domestics and the
sound of croekerv and glass in the process
nf f.lp a - m Of
softer tongues. All in the front part of
the house on the first floor was silent.
Presently, ont on the parade the bugler
began TO sound the signal, taps, to
extinguish lights, and at the same mo-
ment Miller heard the click of the latch
| ut the front door. There had
been no footsteps that he could hear,
and he thought he might be
mistaken. He listened intently
and presently click, click it went again.
Odd, thought Miller. That is not the
way man enters his own house, nor
does it sound like the way an honest man
enters any one else's. Click, click,
again, louder and more forcibly now.
Someone was plainly trying to open that
door without acting the attention of
the occupants. What if now he should
be able TO surprise the prowler. What if
bent on larceny or worse. Now was an
excellent time The doctor was known
to be away-over at the hospital Miss
Bayard was known to be upstairs con-
fined to her room. Very probably the
thief had watched the movements of the
post surgeou, knew he would
be detained some time, and
there were all those pretty
nicknacks in thu parlOr. There was
that handsome silver in the dining room
lit was always in the doctor S strong box
under the bed ut night. What more
likely, then, that now was the time Sc
lected by some sharp sneak thief in the
garrison to stink through the shadows of
the night to the doctor 5 quarters, slip in
the front way while the servants were all
chattering and laughing in the kitchen in
the rear and make off with his plumber.
1t was an inspiration. Miller's heart
fairly bounded at the thought. If the
thief could enter now he could have en-
tered before-the night of the dinner
By Joyei Did he not recall that sudden
gust of cold air that swept from
the hall in the midst of the DOCTORS
story Click, click, snap! AT it again
and no mistake this time. Quickly and
on tiptOe the major stole towards the hall
where he could see the front door. 1t
was his hope his belief now that the thief
would speedily effect an entrance and
from the darkness of his lair the major
could see and identify him, let him in,
follow him on tipt0e to the dining room,
there seize and confound him in the very
act, and SO, fastening the crime on some
guilty man, dispel at once and for all the
cloud of suspicion that lowered over
woman s fair fame. Click, click, again.
What was the matter? Would the stub
born lock not yield or was
this prentice hand and his tools
unsuited the jobf In his wild i'm
patience he could have rushed to
the door and hurled it open, but that
would have only spoiled the game He
could have caught his prowler, perhaps,
but proved nothing. No! patience! pa
tienoel A burst of jolly Ethiopian laugh
ter from the distant kitchen drowned for
moment other sounds and possibly un-
neryed the operator at the door. Did he
hear quick, light footsteps hurrying
away? There was Il broad piazza there,
quite wide Yeranda, in fact, since the
,unsightlY wooden storm door had been
removed. For an instant he certainly
thought he heard scuFrying footballs.
Not the steps themselves, but the creak
of the dry woodwork underneath them
He listened intently another moment.
No further attempt was made at the
latch.
Then-there it was again Surely he
heard a light football on the steps-0n the
plaza itself. He could bear the suspense
no longer, and springing into the hall
where the hanging lamp spread its broad
glare over every object, hurled open the
door-and recoiled in mingling agony and
horror. God of heaven! There stood
Fanny Forrestl
Major MilleTl'' she gasped, alright
ed at his vehemence and the CHASTITY look
with which he greeted her. How
how you startled mel Why-what has
happened-wheFe were you going in such
why, major-whatis the matter?'' and /
now there was something imperious in /
the demand
For all answer he could only pass his |
hand over his quivering face i'll a dazed, /
dumb sort OF way moment. Then rally I
ing suddenly he stepped forward, giving /
his head a shake and striving TO be cool /
and calm
''You are no more startled that | Miss /
Forrest. / never thought 10 find you at /
that door -
And WIN ,ao+ NOD T hove not soa,, I