The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-06-18

through the whirl and the maze Of the
falling snow. There was glaring pla-
card in the window Of the house imme-
diately adjoining that in which her in
terest centered. No window curtains
made a background for this card, and
big black letters announced that the
premises We're for sale.
The further fact that she had seen tho
footman come out of an area door be-
meath the steps when the carriage stop
ped was all that she needed to induce
an inspiration. The houses along here
were extremely uniform. There was o
similar door closing beneath the steps of
the unoccupied house. A plain wooden
door sat in the solid masonry and opened
by simple latch.
Miss Maxey descended short flight
Of steps, approached this door and tried
it. To her intense satisfaction it yielded
to her touch. She pushed it open and
went in. Not very comfortable place,
to be sure. Dark, cold, disagreeable,
this little space beneath the steps, hardly
fit for tramp to sleep inl
Miss Maxey turned tho knob of the
door leading from this area into the
house. The door was fast. What matter,
then, if it were cold and dark? She was
at least secure from observation, and if
she had ramsacked the whole neighbor-
hood i'll search of q convenient location
from which to have watched the adjoin-
ing front stops she could not have Sc
cured u better than the one upon which
she had thus accidentally stumbled. She
left the entrance slightly unclosed that
she might look out and sat down upon
the wooden step with her back against
the inner door.
The time passed, and the snow fell. 1t
fell so thickly that it mufled tho sounds
OF footsteps in the street above. People
came and went. 1t grew dark. A boy
with a patent torch lighted the lamp in
front Of the brownstone steps. Miss Max
ey's limbs We're cramped and cold. 1t
seemed as though the minutes lengthen-
ed themselves to hours, the hours grew
to be days, and still there was no ap-
pearance Of the forlorn hat and tho
throadbare coat upon the noighboring
threshold. The carts rumbled in the
street. The man WHO had gone with the
horses came back. The snow fell on, and
still no Dye.
If Miss Maxey's brain had not been so
busy with exciting speculation and dar-
ing plans for the future, if she had not
had so fascinating a problem to deal
with in trying to locate the face Of that
elder woman who drove somewhere in
her own unoventful past, the time would
doubtless have seemed so long that she
would scarcely have had the courage to
wait, but it takes some obstacles to
break the endurance of such o girl as
this.
1t had grown quite dark. The snow
had ceased. The light which had been q
sort Of luminous whirl in front of the
brownstono steps burned out, clearly
and steadily, 1t lighted up the forlorn
hat at last. Mr.. Dye was coming down
into the street.
Miss Maxoy arose and crept to the
door. Mr.. Dye came toward her. His
face was III the shadow, and she could
not see the expression of his features.
But he staggered as he walked-stag-
gered almost like u drunken man. He
was muttoring to himself as he went
along in an excited, incohorent way.
d One sentence only was fatcd to reach
Miss MaXey's ears. 1t was this:
"Of the two think the woman is the
worst"
TO BE CONTINuED.l