The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-02-21
,uple of minutes with the nirhtsn,rt

! couple OF minutes with the nightsn1rt.
Good night" he called, finging it in
at the door, and without giving me time
to return the wish went his way up stairs
8 Now it might be supposed l was only
too glad to toss off my clothes and climb
into the bed / had so Unexpectedly &C
| quired right to. But as matter of fact
did nothing of the kind. Instead drew
on my boots and sat on the beds edge,
blinking at my candle till 1t died down in
| its socket, and afterward at the purple
| square OF window as il slowly changed to
| gray with the coming of dawn. / was cold
TO the heart, and my teeth chartered with
an ague. Certainly / never suspected my
! hosts word, but was even occupied in
/ framing good resolutions and 1aping out
an excellent future when / heard the front
| door gently pulled TO and mans foot
steps moving quietly 70 the gate.
The treachery knocked me in heap for
| the moment. Then leaping up and fling
| ing my door wide l stumbled through the
uncertain light of the passage into the
front hall
There was a fanshaped light over the
door, and the place was very still and gray.
A quick thought, or rather a sudden,
prophetic guess at the truth made me turn
to the figure of the mastif curled under
the hall table
laid my hand on the scruff of his neck.
He was quite limp, and my fingers sank
into the flesh on either side of the verte-
br9. Digging them deeper, dragged him
out into the hall and pulled the front door
open to see the better.
His throat was gashed from ear to ear.
Low L, 81 of 7
ped the senseless lump on the floor, and
before made another movement, it would
puzzle me to say Twice / stirred foot as
if to run out at the door. Then, changing
my mind, stepped over the mastiff and
ran up the staircase.
The light no longer shone out into the
left hand passage, but cropping down it
found the study door open as before and
passed in. A sick light stole through the
blinds-enough for me TO distinguish the
glasses and decanters on the table, and
find my way to the curtain that hung be-
fore the room where the light had first at
tracted me-
pushed the curtain aside, paused for a
moment, and listened TO the violent beat
Of my heart, then felt for the door handle
and turned it.
All l could see at first was that the
chamber was small; next, that the light
patch in a line with the window was the
white coverlet of a bed, and next that
somebody or something lay on the bed
l listened again. There was no sound in
the room, no heart beating but my own |
reached ont hand to pull up the blind,
and drew it back again-I dared not.
The daylight grew minute by minute on
the dull parallelogram of the blind, and
minute by minute that horrible thing on
the bed took something of distinctness.
The strain beat me at last. l fetched a
veritable yell to give myself courage, and
reaching for the cord, pulled up the blind
as fast as it would go.
The face on the pillow was that Of an
old mana face waxen and peaceful, with
quiet lines about the mouth and eyes, and
long lines of gray hair falling back from
the temples. The body was turned a little
on one side, and one hand lay outside the
bed clothes in very natural manner, but
there were two dark spots on the coverlet.
Then l knew l was face to face with the
real householder, and it flashed on me
that l had been very indiscreet in taking
service as his butler, and that knew
The face his ex-butler wore.
And being by this time awake to the re-
sponsibilities of the post, quilted three
steps at time, not once looking behind
Outside the house the storm had died,
and white sunlight broke over the sodden
moors.
But my bones were cold. and l ran fast
er and Instantaneous of Gabriel Foot,
highwayman, by 90"