Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1894-07-27

A tranquil night in his accustomed
hotel there restored Dibbs' mental bal
hnce.
In the pleasant GOODNESS Of a moonlit
night he sat on the veranda Of the hotel.
His mind was undisturbed as the peaceful
scene around. Suddenly he became aware
randa and to Dibbs' eyes were abruptly
revealed the face and figure Of the man
with the black whiskefs
The shock was tremendous. Its sudden
ness was too much for him.
All the clear reasoning by which he had
convinced himself of the groundlessness
and folly of his alarm at Philadelphia was
now overthrown and swept out Of sight
He was Swallowed by the man belowl That
was beyond doubt Whoever he was, the
secret of the diamond was known to him.
Either chance or design had made him ao-
quainted with it ON that night In Ninth
street.
The success of his maneuver IN leaving
Philadelphia made him repeat 1t, and be-
sides he was in perfect fever to get to the
end Of his journey and rid himself Of the
Glarge of the diamond. His spirits rose
considerably as the hour of the trains de-
parture drew near without any appearance
of the "shadower" in the station. Dibbs
remained on the platform until the last
moment; then, with a fervent sigh Of re-
lief, he entered the car. The train was
Just moving off, when the door was sud-
denly opened, and breathless porter
dashed in handbag, followed by still
more breathless traveller. The door was
shut; the engine shrieked the last depart
ing signal the train mov@l from the sta
ton In one corner Of the car sat Dibbs;
In another-the farthest on the opposite
6ide-sat the man with the black whiskersl
A long journey lay before them, and
they were the sole occupants of the car,
and Dibbs was unarmed. At this review
of the situation his heart sank; he drew
back instinctively into the corner His
eyes suddenly met those Of the other man;
deep flush suffused his face, which SEEM
ed to find a reflection in the others.
Dibbs hastily took up book and affected
to read; the man opposite simultaneously
did the same.
The tension was terrible, to remain in
active almost impossible. Dibbs had an
inspiration, as man in extremity some
times has. Though he was not armed, he
would pretend to be. That might do some
thing; produce hesitation or delay, at
least Accordingly he deliberately as
sumed bold, even threatening demeanor.
Casting a truculent glance across the car,
he plunged his hand into his pocket af-
fecting to grasp an imaginary revolver.
To his intense delight the ruse took i'm
mediate effect. The man opposite gave
an unmistakable start and shrank back
into his corner. So far so good. But how
to keep up the pretenseH What to do nextP
At this crisis the whistling Of the engine
suddenly distracted Dibbs. Good heavensl
He had forgotten the long tunnel They
were coming to 1t nowl His eyes, with
quick, involuntary movement, sought the
lamp. 1t was not lighted
Entrapped! Doomedl The widest
thoughts rushed confusedly to his brain.
With Shrek the train plunged noisily
into the tunnel, into darkness. Every
railway murder Of which Dibbs had ever
read flashed before him with all the ghast-
ly details. Absolute panic seized upon
him. Hardly knowing what he was do
ing, he tried softly to open the door. 1t
was locked, however His movements
must have been heard There was stir at
the other end of the car. The fatal mo-
ment had come; the assassin was advanc-
ing to the attack In the extremity of his
terror Dibbs sank swiftly on the floor and
crawled under the seat.
For what length Of time he crouched
there, half stifled and scarcely daring to
breathe, Dibbs knew not. Agony cannot
measure time. A sudden and extraordi-
nary rush of air made his heart first stand
kha Hood cfy,cr
wildly through his veins. The far door
was swinging openl Something had hap
dened And whatS
His straining ears detected no sound
but the outside rattle and roar of the train
through the tunnel. Within all was 81
lence. He remained listening in intense
excitement and amazement until the hope
which had hardly dared to stir in his
breast grew into vigorous life. He was
alone in the carriagel Deliverance had
come miraculously-why and how he
knew notl
The tunnel was coming to an end.
Light began to stream into the car. eau
tiously and slowly Dibbs peeped from un-
der the seat. He was quite alone. The
man had disappeared.
At the station, just outside the tunnel,
Dibbs-alighting almost before the train
had stopped-changed his place for one In
a passenger coach. A few hours later the
brilliant was safely transferred from his
charge into that of Goldsmith's brother at
| Pittsburg
Dibbs' adventure made quite q sensa-
ton on his return to New York. He was
the hero of the hour In his circle Wheth-
er or not he related the circumstances ex-
hctly as here set forth need not be men
toned. His friend Bodkin, among others,
gave q dinner party in his honor. Dibbs,
with his usual punctuality, was the first
Of the guests to arrive.
"By the way" Bodkin said chafingly
to him as the two stood chatting together
on the hearthrug, you must look to your
laurels tonight, Dibbs Do you know
Leroy, your neighbor in Ninth streetr
Never saw the man in my life. What's
the joker"
"a rival adventurel In Pennsylvania,
too, and eliminating in tunnel"
Dear mel What an extraordinary CO.
incidence!'
"In his case it was lunatic, not rob
Der. He was Swallowed at hotels and in
trains. You must hear the story from his
own lips; he's dining here tonight. The
Climax is serri1c. Shut in railway car
riage alone with lunatic, aforesaid luna
tic armed with revolver. A long tunnel,
an extinguished lamp, the lunatic crawl