Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1891-09-19
of the new neighbors; there are n good

10y +'D - NV 49,
way. lie took his place in the unde-
niable comfort of a tirst-claSs carriage
in the express to Brussels with a mind
as free from care and uneaSiness as an
elderly gentleman ever possessed, a
life Of plain. undiluted prose had, up to
this, kept his imaginative faculties in
complete abeyanee; lunatjes, hyp-
n~otists, murderers, etc, as possible fell
low-trayelers, had never entered his
mind. AS a rule, indeed, his fellow
travellers no more excited his interest
on notice than his neal neighbors at
home, On this occasion he was just
conscious, in leaving the station at Os-
tend, thai IN elderly couple were the
other occupants of the carriage; he
merely gave a passing glance from his
newspaper at the man, a stranger, who
got in at Bruges and sat down on the
opposite seat,
Nearly an hour had passed before
Brown laid down his newspaper, and
when he did he was Mortified to see in
the traveller who got in at Bruges the
dark-faced man who had excited his
| suspicion when he started from Lon
don.
At Brussels Brown lodged the dark
faced man.
Never within the whole course of his
experience in foreign ports had Brown
passed a more wretehed night; the
morning found his nerves in a sad
state. He, who had never before known
himself the p~ossessor of nerves. The
fidgcty man who made fussy arrange
ments about starting by the first train
for Lucerne, and whose eyes had a way
of casting furtive-not to say appre-
hensive-glances around, was strange
" unlike the self-satisfied, phlegmatic
Briton who had arrived the evening be-
fore at the Three Kings.
The success of this maneuver in leav-
ing Brussels made him repeat it; be-
sides he was in a perfect fever to get
to the end of his journey, and rid him
self of the charge of the diamond. His
spirits rose considerably as the hour of
the trains departure drew near with
out any appearance Of the ''shadower''
in the station. Brown remained on the
platform until the last moment, then,
with a |fervent sigh of relief, he entered
the railway carriage. The train was
Just moving off when the door was sud-
denly opened, a breathless porter
dashed in handbag and parcel of rugs,
followed by a still more b~reathless
traveller. The door was shut, the engine
shrieked the last departing signal, the
train moved from Bale station. In one
corner of the carriage sat Brown; in
another-the farthest on the opposite
side - sat the nan with the black
whiskers,
How often-in fancy we place our
selves in heroic situations, and there
in fancy act with invariable heroism.
1t is quite different, however, wien the
heroic situation is a reality; our conse-
quent actions are liable to be quite diff
ferent, too, The position in which
Brown now found himself might well
have appalled, the bravest. He was
alone in a railway carriage with a
scoundrel who had followed him from
London; Brown had utterly aban-
doned surmise since last night and ac-
cepted each idea as an absolute cer-
tainty-the object in this scoundrel's
view was the capture Of the valuable
diamond, which was at that very mo.
ment on Browns person. A long jour
ney lay before them and Brown was
unarmed. AT this review of the situa-
ton his heart sank; he drew back in.
stinctively into the corner. His eyes
suddenly met those of the othcr'man; a
deep flush suffused his face, which
seemed to find reflection in the others.
Brown hastily took up Baedeker and
affected to read, the man opposite
simultaneously did the same. A trans.
parent unreality on both sides. Browns
furtive glances invariably caught
quickly withdrawn though they were =
those of the other man leveled on him
While this went on, the slightest
change Of position, the least movement
in the opposite corner made Brown
, start. Might it not herald the approach
: OF danger? A spring, a rush, the at
tack!
/, The tension was terrible; to remain
a inactive almost impossible. Brown
, had an inspiration. as a man in ex
tremity sometimes has. Though he
was not armed. he would pretend to be
That might do something; produce
: hesitation or delay, at least. Accord
: ingly, he deliberately assumed a bold
= even threatening demeanor. Casting
= a truculent glance across the carriage
), he plunged his hand into his pocket
affecting to grasp an imaginary reyol
! YER 10 his intense delight the rusc
took immediate effect. The man op
posite gave an unmistakable start, ant
shrank back into his corner. So far
;, SO good. But how to keep up the pre-
- tense? What to do next? At thi,
crisis the whistling of the engine sud
denly distracted Brown. Good
heavens! lie had forgotten the long
"a tunnel! They were coming 10 it now
his eyes, with a quick, involuntary
movement, sought the lamp. 1t wa.
not lighted!
y Entrapped! Doomed! The widest
thoughts rushed confusedly to hi.
brain. With a shrek the train plunged
noisily into the tunnel, into darkness
z The din and rattle outside con /. astpi
q sharply with the silence With The
carriage. Crouched in his corner
. Brown, his hearing s~harpenedte agoniz
ing acuteness, listened for a stir. n
7 rustic, the sound of human breathing
drawing nearer to him. Every moment
fancy detected q step, a stcalthv. cat
like movement. Ills imagination
after the neglect Of a lifetime, was now
. taking ample revenge. Uncontrolie,
; and uncontrolla BILE were its wild flights