Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1894-03-22

BY FLORENCE WARDEN.

not come. And il was not until the
last post that night that a letter came
from him. recording the favorable re-
&C option he had met with Mr.. Berriilg-
ton had been gracious enough to ex-
press regret at his nephaw's accident.
and to announce his intention Of again
calling upon mis- niece. This news Min
ma resolved for the present 10 keep to
herself: she knew that it would amor
no consolation to Cicely.
1t was up in her own room that night
that Minna gloomily considered the
chances of Algy Hurst's detection. and
in her moody musings she had Tor a
time forgotten Cicely, when the sound
of a door being softly opened and shut
attracted her attention. Cicely was
starting on another mysterious noctur-
nal expedition; and her sister-inlaw,
with very little hesitation, resolved to
follow her.
After waiting until she judged that
Cicely would have reached he hall,
Minna opened her own door without
noise, and dimly seeing a figure moving
below, carrying a small shaded night
lamp, she cautiously followed. Cicely
went straight down the stone staircase
to the cellar; and Minna, not without Il
few tremors and nervous glanceS to
right and left in the darkness, went
too. Where could Cicely be going?
The young girl stopped short in fright
as the clank of the big cellar key in its
lock suddenly startled her. She uttered
a hoarSe cry-not 81 loud as to make
the other woman aware that she was
being followed, yet loud enough to
make her pause, listening, before she
shut herself in the cellar and turned
the key.
Minna heard this last sound. and
grew first hot and then cold with ter
rOr then she descended the rest of the
stone steps, fumbled in the darkness
until she found the cellar door, assured
herself that it was really locked, and
listened outside.
At first she heard nothing; but after
q time. she heard strange noises; muf-
fed by distance, of heavy weights be-
ing dragged about, and stealthy knock
irg, came to her ear. Full of underlined
terrors, Minna shook the cellar door
and knocked at it, calling to Cicely.
But there was no answer ana the
noises still went on. So Minna desisted
from her own vain attempts to be
heard, and her mind being full Of fears,
none the less ugly for being vague, she
crept up into the hall and chung in Il
limp md helpless fashion to the bot
tom banister, frightened to DEATH"
as she would have expressed it, yet de
termined to wait until Ciecly came up
again. She wrapped the folds of her
dressing gown tightly around her-for
If yN1S cold 1nyEvl thnrn ar O'clock in
the morning. and sat on the bottom
stair, so that nobody should pass with
out her knowledge. Nobody, for to add
to her terror there was the possibility
since she had not properly G the fig
she followed, that it might not be
Cicely at all.
Minna sat waiting so long that at last
she dozed off to sleep.
She woke as somebody tried to pass
her. Starting up, only half-conscious,
in her drowsy state, Of what b was
doing, the girl threw up her arms to
stop her disturber. 1t was Cicely.
A bright stream of summer morning
sunlight was flooding the hall with light
and Alinna, now wide awake, was able
to take in every detail Of the appear
ance Of the woman she was embracing
Cicely was as pale as the dead, her
hands and her dress We're covered with
dirt and dust: even her brown hair was
disordered and begrimed with cobwebs.
But the circumstance which most of
all attracted Minna's attention was
that Cicely's eyes were shut.
Minna watched her. trembling. Was
she really asleep? she wondered, keep
ing her eyes fixed on Cicely's lettering
figure as the latter assembled the stairs
and shut herself into her bedroom.
Next morning Minna, who, to tell
the truth. was too much alarmed by
what she had seen to be quite candid.
affected to laugh at her sister-in-law,
telling her she had taken to sleep-walk-
ing.
YES" went on Minna. laughing, you
gave me a nice fright. I can tell you
l heard a noise down stairs, went
down, got frightened, and fell asleep
in the hall, and you woke me as 7ou
tried to walk past me In your sleep.
I wonder what YOU had been doing?"
II wonder!' echoed Cicely, who look
ed indeed very white. but with a pallor
which Minna thought was rather the
result Of terror than of establishment.
Don't tell anybody that / walk In
my Sleep" Cicely said nervously as
they rose from their chairs. Il should
be so laughed at, you know. ! shall
be all right when Duke hone,
and they tell me they hope to be able
to let him be moved In ten Jays or a
fortnight, If all goes on we'll"
Minna had heard all this the day
before. but she assented without com
ment. and the two ladies went their
separate ways, each under some re-
straint. In the afternoon Ccely drove
off alone to the hospital. and Minna,
whom the mystery she felt but did not
understand was working up into q high
ly nervous state, was left to her own
reflections.
The young girl felt intensely relieved
when the front door bell rang. Any
visitor. no matter how much Of a bore
he or she might be considered at anoth-
err time, would be welcome to break
the painful monotony of the thoughts
which oppressed her. 1t was with an
exclamation Of surprise, not mingled
with disnlay. however. that she saw
the door open to admit her uncle, MI.
William Bennington and Algy Hurst.
The meeting with the former proved
much less embarrassing than Minna
had expected. Mr.. Bennington seemed
relieved rather than disappointed to
hear that Cicely was out; and as Minna