Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1891-09-19

tore. The head of the couch was TO
ward the mantclpiece, but almost facin;
the door from the landing on the furthe
side of the wall
At the moment opened my eyes will
a feeling of relief at having just escape,
some visionary peril, to my amazement
saw that door slowly open and the figur
of man stealthily entering it. 1t di,
not make the faintest sound on it
hinges, nor did he with his footstep-
not SO much as the creaking OF plank
The light in that part of the room wa
far too dim to allow OF my seeing wha
he was like. His face was slight
averted, also, and except that the gen
eral looks of the man seemed to be no
altogether unfamiliar, l could not in tn
least tell who he was. The first impulse
of course, was to sit up and call out, bu
for some inexplicabN reason restraine,
it-perhaps because the thought Instant
crossed my mind that here was the thief
and upon that | suppose l rapidly con
cluded 10 watch him, and pretenned t,
be still sleeping.
However this may be, | did not NOV
as l observed him creep noiselessly acros
the room to the end of the mantelpiec
farthest from that where | was lying. HI
appeared not to notice me, and afte
feeling for a moment between the edg,
Of the looking glass and the wall by thu
mantel shelf, he took something away
aud instantly crossed back to the win
dow by the escritoiro, He passed tn,
little gap of light SO quickly into tho
dark corner that | still failed to recog
Dize him. Then could dimly make ou
that he was apparently unlocking the
numbering piece of old furniture, though
still without making the slightest sound.
"Ho! ho!' thought l, ''my fine fell
low, now I've caught you, have II You
have found tho key, and are going to
exercise your calling in that direction,
eh2 Well, there's not much that is
worth your attention there; you won't
find that a profitable hunting ground"
| was not long, you may depend, in
coming to a determination. While he
was still fumbling at the escritoire !
rose, and, stealing softly up behind him,
suddenly seized him by the back of his
collar. lie endcavoTed to writhe out OF
my grasp, but l turned him round SO
quickly that we both staggered aud fell
ON the floor in huddled heap together
he uudermost. In the fall [ struck
my forehead severely against something,
probably a pr. jecting chair. For the
moment the blow scored to blind me
but as we had rolled ever into the gap
OF light from the window l caught sight
of his face, turned up as it was toward
mine, and [ saw-whose face think you3
Why, no other than my own-yes, my
very own, as well kreg it in tae look
ing glass.
That one Instant 6t amaz3ment and
CONSERVATION in wnica, as by u flash, l
made this recognition, was followed by
a total oblivion OF all surroundings. The
face and figure seemed to fade away be-
meath me and to vanish with my con ,
seriousness.
How long lay IGostratc, face down
ward on tle floor, know not; but in
that position l found myself when my
bewilderel senses slASly returned. For
avhiIe, of course, could Iemem Der
aothing-how | came there or what had
brought me to such pass. Only very
{ owly did the circumstances recall
Themselves. What on earth did they
meau? My forehead was unmis
takably cut and still bleeding; indeed
there was patch OF CONCEALED blood on
the carpet plainly visible in the broad
fool of early sunlight now streaming in
beneath the half-raised blind. Had |
been dreaming2 More likely | had had
a fit; anyhow, l was so utterly bewildered
that it was some time before my thoughts
became coherent. Then alarmed and
fully conscious for the first time in my
life that | must be seriously i'll or labor
ing under some mysterious mental aber-
ration, / rose from the floor and sat
down in an ada chair.
As my eyes wandered vaclntly around
they fell upon the circular top of the old
escritoire. 1t was practically open,
Some one had been at it, then; that was
clear. That was nc dream, no fancy
scarcely due to fit, one would think
at least, not of the sort had tremblingly
thought OF. Yes, and there was the
missing key in the lock. When these
facts had been fully broken in upon my
cob webbed brain, they led to but one
ldea. Acting upon it, pushed the lid
full open. and with the rapidity oil
thought pulled out one drawer after an
o:her, and there, in most of the n, were
deposlte lot of the articles and OBJ
jects | had so long missed-there, in
this neglected, usless piece Of old fur
nlture2 l turned them all out in con
fusion worse confouude than my
thoughts. But there they were--almost
every one; cigar case, silver match box,
trinkets, locket and pockctboo& contain
ing the Scotch bank notes.
Then how on earth had they come to
be in this place. A thief would hardly
have stolen them to conceal them thus
in my own apartments, unless-unless-
and then, very reluctantly, slowly, and
at first but vaguely, did l arrive at the
conclusion-unless the thief was myself
Verify, this was an alarming suppose.
ton, and confirmed my worst dread.
must be suffering under some frightful,
inexplic4be brain disease, for that had
done this thing [ was wholly aud totally
unconscious.
For days aud days, however, tool;
no action hesitatcd to breathe word
of the extraordinary affair to soul. Who
would believe itl Everybody would say
| had gone out of my mind--I thought
so myself l doubted if any doctor
would accept as veracious this wild ac-
count of my dread awakening to the
truth. Yet, as l knew it to be the truth,
set this record of it down while it was
all fresh in my memory, and eventually,
being unable any longer to bear the hor-
rible suspense and perplexity in which
the strange experience had lett me, put
it before a medical friend.
To my unspeakabIe astonishnent, he
believed every word of it. Thea, after
answering his endless, searching ques-
tions, aud when he hal listened to such
verbal additions to the narrative as
could give him, he did not doubt ono
single point.
Eyes" he said, "amoug other com
plications, you probably have been walk
ing in your sleep and yourself socretiug
the various articles from time to time.
The key, to wit, of tho cscritoire, which
you imagine to have boon the object