Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1892-05-19

lamp burning STEADILY on the table II.
saddle-back chair. and the dim out);no
OF the big chimney piece.
l got upon my knees, and pushed
the curtain fiat against the wall, to ha
sure there could by no possibilitv bo
any one concealed in the heavy folds
to assure myself that nv silsnic;on
was utterly without foundation
This end of the room was comnar;
lively light, and the saddlehack char
was so placed as to preclude the nos.
sibility OF any one hiding beyond it.
If the curtain had inde"d moved T.
must have been by a h from under
the bed. 1t was easier to leve thatI
had been mistaken in sec. the SLIGHT
movement than to suppose that Ibad
overlooked a concealed thief when 7
looked under the bed,to satisfy Van
Hoeck; so Ilet the curtain fall, and Inv
down again.
My thoughts still dwelt upon the
idea of assassination. Setting aside
the idea OF an intrigue in which Lola,
was concerned, there was yet NOTHING
prosperous in Van Hoeck's present..
ment. There was eight or ten Ser.
wants in the house, and undoubtedly
ever one of them knew OF the marvel.
Gus treasure in. my keeping They
would tell their friends in the adjacent
village, the keepers. the tradespeopie,
in few dav orv would be
carried about and made known to
hundreds; and was there none
amongst them whose cupiditv
might take practical form? It
was quite possible that under this
very roof there was one with the in.
genuity and daring to plan and exc.
cute the robbery A servant intim.
ately acquainted with the arrange
ment OF the rooms and the peculiari-
ties OF the building, would probably
know of the external means OF COM
munication between the bay and orie
windows. Without this knowledge
no one, it seemed to me, would dare
to attempt that hazardous passage
at night and in the dark; but with
that knowledge, and possibly some
previous practice, the feat was suff-
GENTLY practicable. In that case,
Edith might actually have heard and
seen what she had since attributed to
Imagination.
But what end could be served by
these repeated attacks uponher sensi-
bility?
A cause is sometimes discovered by
examining the effect. Now, what ef-
feet had been produced by these at
tacks? The first had frightened Edith
excessively; the second had made
sliehter innression.--thus far the ef-
feet had been confined to her; but the
thirl-for only to a third fright could
/ attribute her scream of terror-had
brought her father and myself from
our rooms. Instantly, somethinglike
the truth flashed upon my mind.
TO bring me from my room was the
very object with which the attack up
on Edith had been made.
Unriddling the mystery with this
key,I assumed that the thief had
watched me close the door upon Van
Hoeck and return to my room; that,
after allowing me sufficient time to get
into bed, but not to fall into sound
sleep, he had made the attack upon
Edith, operang her door beforehand to
provide aspeedy means OF escape, and
to allow her cry to be more distinctly
heard; that, having succeeded in terri
flying her, he had sped down the stairs
in the left block, passed through the
library and dining-room, and ascend
ed by the stairs in the right block
about the same time that might be
supposed to have reached Edith's
room, and that, reckoning upon my
keeping the Great Hesper under my
pillow, and leaving it there in my
alarm upon Edith's account, he had
expected to have possessed himself Of
our treasure. Ii what | thus assum-
ed was the fact, then indeed this plan
might have succeeded but for
Van Hoeck's prudent insistance upon
my strapping the diamond to my
wrist.
(TO BE CONTINUED)