The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1894-09-28

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laundry?"
He cautiously approached the house
until he stood below the dressing room
window, and began to put together his
folding ladder. He was much too ex-
perienced practitioner to feel any
unusual excitement Jim was recon
NOTHING the smokingroom. Suddenly,
close beside Mr.. Watkins in the bushes
there was a violent crash and stihed
curse. Some one had tumbled over
the wire which his assistant had lust
arranged. He heard feet running on
the gravel pathway beyond. Mr.. Wat
kins, like all true artists, was a singu-
larly shy man, and he incontinently
dropped his folding ladder and began
running circumspectly through the
shrubbery.
He was indistinctlY aware of two
people hot upon his heels, and he fan
cied that he distinguished the outline
of his assistant in front of him. In
another moment he had vaulted the
low stone wall bounding the shrub
berry, and was in the open park. Two
thuds on the turf followed his own
leap.
1t was a close chase in the darkness
through the trees. Mr.. Watkins was
loosely built man and in good train
ing, and he gained hand-over- hand
upon the hoarsely painting figure in
front.
Neither spoke, but, as Mr.. Watkins
pulled up alongside, qualm of awful
doubt came over him. The other man
turned his head at the same moment
and gave an exclamation of surprise.
cts not JIM" thought Mr.. Watkins,
and simultaneously the stranger flung
himself, as it were. at Watl1inss knee,
and they were forthwith graphing on
the ground together. "Lend hand,
Bill" cried the stranger, as the third
man came up. And Bill did-two
hands, in fact, and some accentuated
feet. The fourth man, presumably
Jim, had apparently turned aside and
made off in different direction. At
any rate, he did not join the trio.
Mr.. Watkins's memory of the Incl
dents of the next two minutes is ex-
tremely vague. He has q dim recol-
lection of having his thumb in the
corner of the mouth of the first man,
and feeling anxious about its safety,
and for some seconds at least he held
the head of the gentleman answering
to the name of Bill to the ground by
the hair. He was also kicked in q
great number of different places, APP
parently by vast multitude of people.
Then the gentleman who was not Bill
got his knee below Mr.. Watkinss dia-
phragm and tried to curl him up upon
| it.
When his sensations became less en-
tangled he was sitting upon the turf,
and eight or ten men-the night was
dark, and he was rather too confused
to count-standing round him to re,
cover, He mournfully assumed that
he was captured, and would probably
have made some philosophical refec-
tions or the fckleness of fortune, had
not his internal sensations disinclined
him to speech.
He noticed very quickly that his
wrists were not handcufed. and then
q flask of brandy was put in his hands.
This touched him little--it was such
unexpected kindness.
"He's a-comin' round" said voice
which he fancied he recognized as
belonging to the Hammerpond second
footman.
"We've got EN-" said the Hammer
pond butler, the man who had handed
him the flask. "Thanks to you"
No one answered this remark. Yet
he failed to see how it applied to him.
"He's fair dazed," said q strange
voice; "the villains half murdered
him."
Mr.. Teddy Watkins decided to re-
main fair dazed until he had q better
grasp of the situation. He perceived
that two of the black figures round
him stood side by side with detected
air, and there was something in the
carriage of their shoulders that sug
gested to his experienced eye hands
that were bound together. In a flash
he rose to his position. He emptied
the little flask and staggered, obse.
duious hands assisting him to his feet.
There was o sympathetic murmur.
''Shake hands, sir; shake hands,
said one of the figures near him. "Per
NIT me to introduce myself. I an
very greatly indebted to you. 1t wa:
the jewels of my wife, Lady Aveling,
which attracted these scoundrels to
the house."
every glad to make your lordship'
acquaintance" said Teddy Watkins.
81 presume you saw the rascal
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