Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1893-03-22
nrst It's only short half mile "a
Romney's, If the wind didn't blow so


the waning fire. Bank burglars, eX.
with all these possibilities whirling
in my brain, it is not strange that i
lighted a second lamp in order
effectually to Danish all lurking
shadows in the angles of the room,
and started nervously when sudden
blast of wind shook the window
shutters as if with some imperious
hanG.
"I'll 60 to the garret and bring
down some butternuts, thought l,
''and then I'll get some cider from the
cellar 1t will be fun to crack the
butternuts and watch the shells blaze
in the fire; and Mrs. Gludge will like
q drink of cider when she comes back
all wet and chill"
Cheered by this happy thought, !
caught up lamp and flew to the gar
ret of the roomy house where my
father had bestowed all the treasures
OF the nutty autumn woods. Some
how Priscilla, the cat, had got locked
into the garret, and had TO release
her from durance vile, and replace a
box or two, which she had knocked
off from the window sill, before /
came down, driving her catship be-
fore me, with the lamp in one hand
and an apronful of butternuts in the
other. Through the open keeping
room door a ray of ruddy light
streamed into the Cimmerian dark
ness of the hall. l stopped abruptly.
Surely had closed that door when /
came out, remembering certain
trick it had of slamming to and fro in
windy weather like this. And at the
same time a curious consciousness of
some human presence near by crept
over me like an unseen magnetic cur
rent.
Nor was it false premonition. As
1 stretched my neck to peep curiously
into the room, l saw seated before
the fire yOungish gentlemen, pale,
black-haired, and, as l thought,
rather unsettled of aspect. And a
decidedly wet and mud-bespattered
gentleman, whose raiment was steam
ing in the glorious blaze and crackle
of the pine logs, as he sat there hold.
ing out his hands to the genial
warmth.
How had he gained an entrance?
Had | carelessly neglected to bolt the
big door after Mrs. Gludge's depart
ure? Yes l must have done So
and that was proof of how utterly I'M
fit 1 was to be left by myself For a
second l stood there quailing and
quaking, my heart humping like a
hammer, and a cold sweat break
ing out upon my forehead, before l
decided what to do.
l had never seen bank burglar, to
be sure; but l was pretty certain this
black-haired gentleman could not be-
long to that race. And 1 did not
think he acted like any other scoun-
drel who was fleeing from the rigors
1f the law He must be the English
gentleman gone wrong In his head
vino had escaped" from the Stephen
sons.
/ was alone in the house with q
maniac. And at the idea my heart
beat more violently than ever, and
the cold drops grew colder on my
brow
With a sudden Instinct l decided
that there was nothing for it but
flight. The worst feature of the case
was that l could not get out of the
house (be it remembered that Peter
had taken away the KEY Of the back
kitchen door In his pocket without
passing directly through the room
where the escaped lunatic sat basking
before the fire.
This, however, must be faced; there
was no remedy for it, and with one
blind rush 1 precipitated myself
through the room, tumbling over the
cat and scattering a shower of butter
nuts as | went, and darted hcadlOng
through the door, with an involun-
tary shrek that might have rent the
ceiling, If ceilings were rent in that
way. except in the pages of romance.
Directly into the arms of-JdCk,
my own brother Jack, who was COM
ing in from the van with a light
valise in one hand and dripping
carriage robe in the other.
"Halloo." hawled Jack, staggering
under the blow of my very uneX-
pected appearance. "Why-what the
/ declare if it isn't Ruthie!"
"Where are all the folks? What
has become of the stable keys? What
have you done with Carleton?" he de-
manded.
But 1 paid no heed to his interroga.
tories.
"Come, Jackp 1 cried, "come
quickly! The escaped lunatic! He's
right there in the keeping-room! Oh,
Jack, do hope you've got your re
volver!"
"Whatm roared Jack. Gan es-
capped lunatic? Where the deuce has
he come from? Has he hurt Carle
tOn?"
He made spring toward the keep
ing-roOm, in whose door stood the
tall, pale man, straining his eyes out
into the night.
Where is hep shouted Jack.
"Where's who?" said the escaped
lunatic, in a pleasant, slightly drawl.
ing voice; cit wasn't a hel 1t was a
shell And she cleared the floor in a
SluRle UOuuu, duu-Ou, LII sure
beg a thousand pardons, "as he caught
sight of me. But please, what II
the matterP"
In a second my mental vision be-
came as clear as crystal. l saw ii
all, and euvied Priscilla, the cat,
because l could not vanish under the
china cupboard as she did, and be
gone. l could only blush and hang
my head, and stammer out incohercnt
apologies, amid the laughter of Jack
and the polite apologies Of the friend
whom he had Unexpectedly brought
from Montreal with him, and whose
coming had been announced, as It
seemed, by the very letter Mrs
Gludge had lost.
That's all. There is no sequel to
my story. In real life l have found
that stories seldom do have sequels
| had had a dreadful fright, and they
all laughed at me at first, and made
excuses for me and petted me after.
ward, and said Poor little Ruth"
Father declared that he woul1