The Logan County banner. [volume] (Logan, W. Va.) 1889-1903, 1891-11-12

THEY WE'RE STANDING AT THE STUDY
WINDOW.
of the new ncighbors; there are = good
many newcomers in the street.
PortrTan Brown set next morning
for Lucerne via Brussels and the Rhine,
staying few days at Ostend on the
way. He took his place in the unde-
niablc comfort of q first-class carriage
in the express to Brussels with mind
as free from care and uneasiness as an
elderly gentleman ever possessed. A
Elife of plain. undiluted prose had, up to
this. kept his imaginative faculties In
complete allegiance; lunatics, hyp..
notists, murilerers, etc, as possible fell
low-travelcrs, had never entered his
mind. AS a rule, indeed, his fellow
travellers no more excited his interest
or notice than his near neighbors at
home. On this occasion he was just
cons cious, in leaving the station at Os-
tend, thai an elderly couple were the
other occupants of the carriage; he
merely gave passing glance from his
newspaper at the man, 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 wretched night; the
morning found his nerves in q sad
state. He, who had never before known
himself the possessor of nerves! The
fidgety man who made fussy arrange
inents about starting by the first train
| for Lucernc. and whose eyes had way
of casting furtive-not to say appre-
chances 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 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 fervcnt 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 ahandbag and parcel Of rugs,
| followed by a still more breathless
| traveller The door was shut. the engine
shrleked 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 man with the black
whiskers!
/ How often-in fancy Two place our
selves in heroic situations, and there
in fancy act with invariable heroism.
| 1t is quite different however, when the
heroic situation is reality; our conse-
! quent actions are liable to be quite diff
i ferent, too. The position in which
Brown now found himself might well
/
alone in a railway carriage with a
scoundrel who had followed him from
London; Brown had utterly aban-
doned surmise since last night and &C
cepted each idea as an absolute GER
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.
stinctiyely into the corner. His eyes
suddenly met those of the other 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 chances 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
start Might it not herald the approach
of danger? A spri ng, rush, the at
| tack!
The tension was terrible; to re mair
inactive almost impossible. Brown
had an inspiration. as 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 bold
even threatening demeanor. Casting
truculent glance across the carriage
he plunged his hand into his pocket
affecting to grasp an imaginary revol
yer. To his intense delight the russ
took immediate effect The man OPP
posite gave an unmistakable start and
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
lheavcnsl He had forgotten the long
tunnel! They were coming 10 it now
His eyes, with quick, inyolun tary
movement sought the lamp. It wa
not lighted!
Entrappedl Doomed The widest
thoughts rushed confusedly TO- hi,
brain. With shrek the train plunged
noisily into the tunnel, into darkness.
The din and rattle outside con + asted
sharply with the silence with the
carriage. Crouchcd in his corner,
Brown, his hearing shsrpened to sgoniz
ing acuteness, listened for = stir, .
rustic, the sound Of human breathing
drawing nearer 70 him. Every moment