Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1893-05-24

and pocket was rxnsacked. The kew of
the escroitoire had been mislaid, so /
could not examine that; but 1 knew il
contained little else but papers.
At length, entirely exhausted, Irritatet
aud feyered, and with the chamber can
die expiring with a splutter, flung N.Y.
self on couch in the drawing room.
Dawn had not yet broken, but in a few
minutes, as l lay there coiled up in my
dressing-gown, l unexpectedly fell
asleep-a restless, dreaming sleep, full of
fantastic, weirdlike indescribable shapes.
When l awoke it was daylight, though
the room was still shadowy and obscure,
save In one spot close to the long win
dow, where the Venetian blind was par
TALLY raised-the window nearest that
dark corner occupied byy the old escri-
toire. The head of the couch was to-
ward the mantelpiece, but almost facing
the door from the landing on the further
side of the wall.
At the moment opened my eyes with
feeling of relief at having just escaped
some visionary peril, to my smazement
saw that door slowly open and the figure
of man steslthily entering it. 1t did
not make the faintest sound on its
/ hinges, ror did he with his footstep-
not so much as the creaking Of plank.
The light in that part of the room was
far too dim TO allow of my seeing what
he was like. His face was slightly
averted, also, and except that the gen
eral looks of the man seemed to be not
altogether unfamiliar, l could not in the
least tell who he was. Thc first impulse,
of course, was to sit up and call out, but
for some inexplicable reason / restrained
it--perhaps because the thought instantly
crossed my mind that here was the thief,
aud upon that 1 suppose rapidly con-
cIuded to watch him, and pretenned to
be still sleeping.
However this may be, did not move
as 1 observed him creep noiselessly across
the room to the end of the mantelpiece
farthest from that where | was lying. He
appeared not to notice me, and after
feeling for moment between the edge
OF the looking glass and the wall by the
mantel shelf, he took something away,
and instantly crossed back to the win
dow by the escritoire. He passed the
little gap of light so quickly into the
da.k corner that still failed to recog-
nize him. Then l could dimly make out
that he was apparently unlocking the
numbering piece of old furniture, though
still without making the slightest sound.
''Ho! hol' thought /, my fine fell
low, now I've caught you, have II You
have found the key, and are going to
exercise your calling in that direction.
ehi Well, there's not much that is
worth your attention there; you won't
find that profitable hunting ground"
was not long, you may depend, in
coming to a determination. While he
was still fumbiing at the escritoire 1
rose, and, stealing softly up behind him,
suddenly seized him by the back of his
collar. lie enieavored to writhe out of
nv grasp, but 1 turned him round so
quickly that we both staggered and fell
on the floor in hudded heap together
he undermost. In the fall 1 struck
my forehead severely against something,
probably a projecting chair. For the
moment the blow seemed to blind me;
but as we had rolled over into the gap
of light from the window caught sight
of his face, turned up as it was toward
mine, and / saw-whose face think youl
Why; no other than my own-yes, my
very own, as | well knew it in the look.
ing-glsss.
! That one instant of amazement ani
CONSERVATION in which, as by fash, I
made this recognition, was followed by
a total oblivion of all surroundings. The
face and figure seemed to fade away be-
meath me aud to vanish with my con.
sciousness.
: How long lay PROSTATE, face down.
ward on the floor, / know not; but in
that position l found myself when my
bewildered senses slowly returned. For
awhile, OF course, l could remember
nothing-how l came there or what had
brought me to such pass. Only very
slowly did the circumstances recall
themselves. What on earth did they
mesui My forehead was unmis-
takably cut and still bleeding; indeed,
there was patch of congealed blood on
tine carpet plainly visible in the broad
flood OF early sunlight now streaming in
beneath the half-raised blind. Had I
been dreaming7 More likely had had
a lit; anyhow, was so utterly bewildered
that it was some time before my thoughts
became coherent. Then alarmed and
fully conscious for the first time in my
life that must be seriously i'll or labor
ing under some mysterious mental aber-
ration, l rose from the floor and sat
down in an adjacent chair.
As my eyes wandered vacantly around
they fell upon the circular top of the old
escritoire. 1t was practically open.
Some one had been at it, then; that was
clear. That was nc dream, no fancy
scarcely due to a fit, one would think
at least, not of the sort had tremblingly
thought of. Yes, and there was the
missing key in the lock. When these
facts had been fully broken in upon my
cob-webbed brain, they led to but one
ldes. Acting upon it, pushed the lid
iull open. and with the rapidity oI
thought pullcl out one drawer after an
o:her, aud there, in most of them, were
deposited lot of the articles and ob-
jects 1 had so long missed-there, IL
this neglected, usiess piece of old fur.
nIturc2 turned them all out In a con.
fusion worse confounde1 than ny
thoughts. But there they were-slmos
every one; cigar case. silver match box
trinkets, locket and pocketbook contain.
ing the Scotch bank notes.
Then how on earth had they come Il
be in this place? A thief would hardly
have stolen them to conceal them thus
In my own apartments, unless-unless-
and then, very reluctantly, slowly, and
at first but vaguely, did 1 arrive at the
:onclusion-unless the thief was myself
Verify, this was an alarming supposi-
ton, aud confirmed my worst dread. /
must be suffering under some frightful.
inexpicable brain disease, for that had
done this thug 1 was wholly and totally
unconscious.
For days and days, however, I took
no action. 1 hesitated to breathe word