The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1892-04-30
The GREAT nESPER.
TALE OF A BIG DIAMOND.
How an Immense Gem Was Lost,
Recovered, and Lost Again,
CHAPTER V.

81 an glad to hear it," he said;
"anything will be better than that
agreement as it stands"
Edith came down late to breakfast.
She looked pale, and said she had
oversight herself.
"For the first time in your life, l be.
lieve," said Sir Edmund. "You did
not fall asleep quite so readily as u.s.
ual,-hey?" he asked, smilingly.
II could not sleep" she answered,
but so gravely that it was not from
Che cause the Baronet implied.-the
love that had kept me awake; and then
she added, II have been terribly
frightened"
We looked at her in astonishment
and anxiety.
II will tell you all about it," she
continued, "because you may be able
to explain what preplexes me, and
that will be a great relief"
She paused, as If to collect, her
thoughts.
II was nearly asleep, when noticed
a sound coming from the window. 1t
was as if some one were rapping upon
the glass,-not loudly or quickly, but
softly as though with the tip of the
finger, at intervals. I might have
counted twenty or thirty between one
tap and the next. l took little notice
of it at first, thinking that, as I had
left the windows partly open, it might
be the wind moving the Venetian
blind; but after a while the persistent
tap,-tap,-tap irritated me. I rose
and lit a candle; then 1 went to the
window. The lattice was just as Ihad
left it. The blind hung perfectly motion
less. Idrewit up and looked out. There
was a gray mist everywhere. Not a.
breath of air stirred; the flame of
the candle burned as steadily as
though the window had been closed.
l let down the blind, and listened;
there was not the slightest sound"
"a moth on the ceiling" said Sir
Edmund; "they have worried me in
the same manner. Then you get a
light and the thing stops"
"Hold on, we amt heered the last
on it, I kin see," said the Judge, look
ing at Miss Lascelles intently, his
shaggy brows bent over his quick eyes.
II explained it as you do, papa. I
put out the light and tried to sleep. I
heard no sound for quite ten minutes,
l think, and then again that soft, slow
tap-tap,-tap camefromth the window,
same sound, with same long interval
between them. 1t was not like the beat
of a moths wing. 1t was like nothing
but the touch of a human finger. But
I tried to think it was an insect in the
wall,-the insect that is called the
death watch And l did my best to
take no notice of it, but 1 could not
help hearing it; and after q time I
grew frightened, and the sound grew
dreadful in my ears. 1t became unen-
durable; l could not lie there listening
passively. got up again, and struck
a match. The wick OF the candle was
slow to light. and during those mo-
ments I noticed that the sound had
ceased. AS / say, Twas frightened
very frightened. And the unbroken
silence seemed more terrible than the
sound. There was something ghostly
and supernatural about it, that
brought back tine old terror I used to
feel, as child, in passing the Groom that
is said to be haunted at night. And
just then the clock in the belfry
struck, 1 dared not go to the win
dow. My hand trembled so that I
could not take up the candle, but I
looked towards the window. The
first thing that struck me was that
the laths of the blinds, instead of lying
fiat, as they generally do, when down,
and as l had left them, were opened
and turned edge-ways,-do you know
how / mean?"
She held her hands. that trembled
with recollection of her terror, one
above the other horizontally.
"But the next thing" she continued,
and then stopped, with a little shud-
der, while we who listened held
our breath,-''the next thing I saw
AZ two great black eyes that caught
the light from my candle as they
glared in between the lower laths of
the blind"
She paused, and then continued,
with more firmness:
II think I fainted,-J must have
doneso, for I was conscious ofnothing
after that, until l found myself upon
the floor. The light was still burning
upon the table. AS recollection re-
turned to me, looked toward the
window. The laths we're no longer
opened, but turned fiat. Then it oc-
Cured to me that all l had seer was
merely q realistic dream, that / had
gone through these experiences in my
sleep. My great terror was
gone. / went without fear to the win
dow to ascertain if the night was as I
had seen it. There was the gray mist;
the flame OF the candle did not flicker.
Nevertheless, when Hooked down and
saw how impossible it vas for any one
to have stood outside the window, l
felt convinced than at least the vision
OF the two eyes was imaginary,-an
outcome of the fear I felt when l look
ed toward the window. I lay down
again, and, though I could not sleep
for some time, I heard no further
sound whatever, save the Ginning Of
the clock" s.
.''Is it not very probable, my dear"
said the Baronet, "that the sound
you speak of was also the outcome of
fear?"
81 had no fear when I went first to
the window. The sound was a real
ity. It isthat / wish explained"
"Do YOU know what time it was
when the tapping first began, Miss
Lascelles?" Van Hoeck asked.
ut was a quarter to one by my
watch when / recovered from the fit"
May / ask, miss, without offense,
if a thing o. this kind has ever happen
ed to you afore??" asked the Judge.
t.As q child / was timid; but | can
NOT rannAmhal. ever hainn 90 frinht.