The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-12-25

fears when she suddenly heard the same
sound at the kitchen door, followed by
. muffled knock.
Frightened now in good earnest, but
still alive to the fact that the intruder
was as likely to be a friend as a foe,
she stepped to the door, and with her
hand on the lock stopped and asked
boldly enough who was there. But she
received no answer, and more affected
by this unexpected silence than by the
knock she had heard she recoiled far
Their and farther till not only the width
of the kitchen, but the dining room also,
lay between her and the scene of her
alarm, when to her utter confusion the
noise shifted again to the side of the
house, and the door she thought 80 Sc
curely fastened swung violently open as
if blown in by fierce gust, and she
saw precipitated into the entry the
burly figure Of man covered with snow
and shaking with the shock of a storm
that seemed at once to fill the house.
Her first thought was that it was her
husband come back, but before she
could clear her eyes from the cloud of
snow which had entered with him he
had thrown of his outer covering and
she found herself face to face with
man in whose powerful frame and cynic-
al visage she saw little to comfort her
and much to surprise and alarm.
"UghV" was his coarse and rather
familiar greeting. ga hard night, mis-
susl Enough to drive any man indoors.
Pardon for the liberty, but couldn't
wait for you to lift the latch the wind
drove me right in
"Was-was not the door locked?"
she feebly asked, thinking he must have
STAYED it in with his foot, that looked
eminently fitted for the task.
fNot much, - he chuckled. s'I s'pose
you re too hospitab1e for that" And his
eyes passed from her face to the COM
Portable freight shining through the
sitting room.
els it refuge you want?" she demand
ed, suppressing as much as possible all
signs of fear.
"Sure, missus-what elsei A man
can't live in a gale like that, specially
after a tramp of 20 miles or more.
Shall shut the door for you?' he ask
ed, with mixture of bravado and good
nature that frightened her more and
more.
81 will shut it, she replied, with a
half motion OF escaping this sinister
stranger by a flight through the night.
But one glance into the swirling snow
storm deferred her, and making the
best of the alarming situation she closed
the door, but did not lock it, being
more afraid now of what was within
the house than of anything that was
now likely to enter from without.
The man, whose clothes were drip
ping water by this time, watched her
with a cynical smile, and then, with
out any initiation, entered the dining
room, crossed it and moved toward the
kitchen fire.
"Ughl UGhl But it is warm here |"
he cried, his nostrils dilating with an
repugnant to her womanly delicacy.
do you know, missus, shall have to
stay here all night? Can'tgo out in that
gale again; not such a fool" Then
with a sly look at her trembling form
and white face he insinuatingly added,
''All alone, missus?"
The suddenness with which this was
put, together with the 1eer that accom-
panied it, made her start. Alone? Yes,
but should she acknowledge it? Would
it not be better to say that her husband
was up stairs. The man evidently saw
the struggle going on in her mind, for
he chuckled to himself and called out
quite boldly:
tNever mind, missus; it's all right.
Just give me bit of cold meat and
cup of tea or something, and We'll be
very comfortable together. You're a
slender slip of woman to be minding
a house like this. I'll keep you company
if you don t mind, leastwise until the
storm lets up bit, which amt likely
for some hours to come. Rough night,
missus, rough night.
81 expect my husband home at any
time she fastened to say. And think
ing she saw change in the man s coun-
tenance at this she put on quite an air
of sudden satisfaction and bounded to-
ward the front of the house. "Therel I
think hear him now," she cried.
Her motive was to gain time, and if
possible to obtain the opportunity Of
shifting the money from the place where
she had first put it into another and
safer one. 81 want to be able,' she
thought, "of swearing that I have no
money with me in this house If I can
only get it into my apron will drop
it outside the door into the snowbank.
It will be safer there than in any other
BANK And dashing into the sitting
room she made feint of dragging down
shawl from a screen, while she secret
\%MNNz&-42zxz>1