The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-09-28

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door flung IT open, still screaming as
fast as tho sounds could issue from my
lips. It happened that twoof my young
men cousins had fingered later than
the rest Of the family at the entertain
ment referred to, and having just come
In were coming up the main staircase
close to my room. Rushing to these. I
threw myself into the arms of the a
est, Christopher, ~shrieking, The man,
the mani
1.-The two young men hurried to my
room and looked about, but could see no
one. The windows were all fastened,
and as / had myself just come out of
the single door TO the apartment, and
from which no one else could have slip
ped without our seeing him, the only
chance was for the burglar to have con-
cealed himself in the room.
by this time the rest of the house
hold was aroused, and not only my
room, but the entire place, was thor
oughly searched. The three windows of
the room were provided with heavy old
fashioned shutters, two of them opening
on the street, an unbroken descent of
over 40 feet, while the other had not
been Enclosed for years, for it looked
almost into one i'm the next house, which
was also seen to be tightly secured.
The house itself was occupied by a re-
spectacle family in straitened circum-
stances. It therefore seemed an impossi-
bility for a man to have entered the
room unseen by me and to have made
his escape in the few seconds it took my
cousins to reach the spot where / had
seen him. So it was thought that i had
fallen asleep in my chair, and my vision
had been the result Of my late supper OF
minced chicken and champagne, and
though / was still shivering from my
fright / allowed myself to be almost
persuaded that this was the real truth.
by the next night ] had SO thorough
" been laughed into believing this that
! took my seat before the mirror and be-
gan brushing my hair as nonchalantly
as at first, when to my utter horror /
saw that figure form itself from moth
ing, absolutely nothing, and again adj
vance upon me with that menacing at
titude. Again it raised its hands to
strike, the terrible eyes seemed TO glare
into mine, fixed ON them in the mirror,
and, as before, released from the horror
that held me stricken into marble, /
loaped to my feet and ran screaming
into the corridor without. I glanced
back into the room, but there was no
one visible there, but / was not to be
convinced this time that an overheated
imagination was to blame. / fed to my
aunt's door, and as she opened it fell
fainting in her arms. I was not to be
stirred from my belief that my life had
been threatened in that dreadful room
by all the searching and arguments that
were made and announced my intention
of returning home in the morning.
"But the, next night was to be that
of the grand ball given in honor of the
prince, and that, with the fact that I
had the prettiest gown in the city to
wear, finally prevailed ON me to alter
my mind, though ! made it a condition
that Marian, my maid was to occupy q
little antechamber opening into mine,
and that my stalwart cousin, Christie
pher, who was afterward my loved hus-
band for nearly 40 years, was to sleep
ON a cot in the hall just outside my
door. So with a contented mind / went
to the ball, returning late to find my
good maid asleep, and as she was still
not well / crept quietly in and proceed
ed to undresa
IT let down my hair, and, though too
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some moments looking at myself in the
glass-I was a little vain in those days
when all at once / saw behind me the
man with his knife in his hand.
"But this time he did not evolve from
air, but was there, real flesh and blood,
his hot breath nearly s%corching the back
of my neck. / leaped to my feet with a
scream, and as I did so he struck at me,
but the blade glanced aside, wounding
me only slightly in the shoulder. /
screamed aloud, and he. felled me with
a blow just as Marian and Christopher
came rushing in. Seeing them, the rob-
Der and assassin sprang for the open
window and would have escaped by
leaping-an easy feat for a muscular
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door, which was also open and only about
three feet distant. This had evidently
been the way by which he had entered
and which he used as an egress. But
Christopher caught him and dragged
him back, and after a struggle secured
him, aided by his brothers, who had
been summoned by Marian, SO when I
opened my eyes from my swoon it was
TO- see the would be murderer lying
bound, while neal me lay a small dag
ger, with a handle of Etruscan gold,
studded with fiawed rubies.
"But here is the strange part of the
story: On the night of his capture he
had entered my room for the first time,
though ON the two previous nights he
had watched me through the shutters of
tho two windows. He was the son Of
the family residing next door, and from
the love of dress and pleasure beyond
bis means had involved himself hope
lessly in debt. and seeing my diamonds
had conceived the idea Of killing or at
least silencing me and stealing them to