Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-05-14

II b.
"HcTT GdtnsbOrottgh has his diamonds
Nth him."
We made a late start the next morn
ing and did not reach the farmhouse be-
fore four o'clock. had little oppor-
tunity Of speaking to Kate on the way;
in fact, the presence Of Slurk, who sat
ON the box of the vehicle and once in
awhile threw glance at us over his
shoulder, irritated me to such degree
that more tender sentiments were tenn
porarily pushed into the background.
Kate herself, though she attempted to
appear cheerful, betrayed signs of in
ward anxiety and nervousness, while
Mr.. Birchmore conversed with q volu-
bility and RESPONSIVENESS greater than l
had ever remarked in him before.
The farmhouse stood quite alone on
an unfrequented by-road, in a little angle
Of the hills. It was not exactly pictur-
esque building, with its four walls COW
cred with rough plaster and pierced
with dozens Of small windows, and its
enormous red tiled roof, with those
quaint, narrow apertures, like half open
ed eyes, disclosing single pane of glass,
which do duty as dormers. 1t stood flush
with the road, as German houses are
fond of doing; but behind was large
incloSed farmyard, roughly paved with
round stones and well walled in. The
front door, though rather pretentiously
painted and ornamented with some re-
Hgious versicle or other written upon
the Intel, was not used as a means Of
entrance or exit.
It was, as afterward discovered, not
only locked and bolted, but actually
screwed up on the inside, and the only
way Of getting into the house was by q
side door opening into the courtyard.
As the courtyard itself was provided
with q heavy gate, you will see that the
farmhouse, close to the road though it
was, was by no means SO easy Of ingress
% egress as it appeared supposing, of
course, that it was the humor of the in
mates to declare state of siege. / men
don these particulars merely by the way,
they are common to three houses out Of
dive In this region.
The Birchmores' luggage had, it ap-
peared, already been carried over from
The hoteA; but man in rough peasants
costume, who announced himself as the
master Of the house, now came out to
take charge Of my trunk. was, or
fancied myself (as you may have
noticed), a quick judge of faces, and
this peasants face failed to commend
itself to me. It was at once heavy and
gloomy, while q scar at one corner of
his mouth caused that feature to twist
itself into q perfunctory grimace, gro
teaQuely at variance with his normal ex-
preston. In person he was much above
1 kkNn sic ND 70 NV 1Nn
ease with which he slung his heavy
trunk over his shoulder, he must have
been rs strong as August der Starke
himself, whose brazen statue domineers
over the market place in Dresden.
"'Guten morgen, Herr Rudolph" said
Slurk, hailing this giant affably. The
two seemed to be on some sort of terms
Of comradeship, having perhaps struck
up an acquaintance during the previous
negotiations for lodgings. must say
they looked to me to be not i'll matched
pair.
We ahghted and were welcomed in
with surly courtesy by Herr Rudolph.
Kate, confessing to a headache, went at
i once to her room, whence she did not
again emerge; Slurk disappeared into
tho kitchen regions with the landlord;
Mr.. Birchmore presently went out for a
i stroll before dinner, and I, finding my
self thrown temporarily on my own
resources, decided to make a virtue of
my loneliness by writing some letters
which had been long owing. accord
ingly CROPPED my way up the darksome
stone staircase and so along an eccentric
passage to my room.
did not know then nor could even
now accurately describe the arrange
ment OF rooms in that farmhouse. There
were at least three separate passages,
not running at right angles to one an,
other, but seeming to wander about ir.
regularly, now and then turning awk.
ward corners, descending or ascending
short flights Of steps, or eddying into q
little cul de sac, with perhaps only 9
closet door at the end Of it. The conse
Quence was it was nearly impossible tc
say whose room adjoined whose. Il
might be q long distance from one tx
another measured along the passage
and yet they might actually be separated
only by the thickness Of a wall. Whert
the farmer and his family slept know
not, but have reason to believe that al
our party, including Slurk, were accom-
modAted upon the same floor.
On opening the door Of my room
found some one already there. This per
son was o comely young woman, thu
farmers daughter evidently, busy in thu
benevolent occupation Of putting thing
In order. She had moved my trunk be
Ineath the window, she had put fresl
water In the ever, she had Strengthened
out the slips Of drugget on the rough
board floor, she had placed some flower
IN the window, and she was now en-
gagged I'm tuclripg a clean sheet on thu
bea said she was comedy; on SECOND
look abe was better than that. She wa
positively pretty, with the innocent
blond prettiness Of some German peas
ant girls. -
Har fair hair, mnoothed compactll
lover her small head and wound M in