Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1896-01-09

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TO the wood. 1t was but poor support,
but by grasping with my hands the top
OF 1T, l was about to let myself down
J into the next yard, when sound of
! voices whispering together somewhere
near, arrested my attention. A little
above me was the last of the row of three
windows in the second story of the
House with Green Blinds. BY getting
my feet upon the top of the fence and
standing upright, l could see that the
glass was lowered slightly from the top
The blinds inside were closed, so that
the room beyond was invisible. 1 had
not moment to decide upon which
course | should pursue, for below me
heard Jackson coming along the pas
sage to make his exploration of the
yard. Again clinging lightly to the
vine, | stretched out my foot until it
touched the stone coping of the win
dow. A light push of the other against
the paling, little more dependence
upon the creeping plant, which happily
had fastened itself strongly against the
wall, and was standing upright in the
shallow recess OF the window. AS Jack
sen came out of the shadow ia which
had just been lying, / could zee him
plainly. He was followed by the taller
of the other two men, and they made the
round of the yard together, coming
even to stand close under my feet and
looking up at the vine. Satisfied, APP
parently, that had made my escape at
this point, they then returned to the
/ house.
| heard them set up the broken door
against its hinges and go back along
the passage. The drawing-room in
which | had so lately been evidently
connected with the room from which
my window opened, for by putting my
ear close to the aperture ] heard the
| two men enter and announce the surety
/ Of my escape. they went Oh then to
talk rapidly in the language they had
used together, madaIn's voice ever ris.
| ing distinctly and calmly above the ex-
cited tones of the men. Finally, how
ever. she seemed to fake things into her
own hands, for her voice alone became
audible, the sentences dropping crisp
~ from her lips as when she had given
/ L
gather of their conversation, however,
were the words Tuxedo" followed by
the name of the man who keeps great
establishment there. Then. after a few
more apparently decisive directions the
party seemed preparing to separate. 1
could hear nothing more of the girl
who had saved my life. Her voice had
not joined in the colloquy, and l de-
cided that she had not been present
while it was in progress, and that prob
ably she had left the house as quietly as
she had come. There seemed nothing
farther to be gained by remaining IN
my present position. l let myself back.
therefore, to my former place upon the
top of the paiing and from there la
boriously made my way, with what aid
! could find, from one yard to another
until once more l found myself upon
the street. Weary as | was, could not
yet allow myself the luxury of rest. AS
l walked rapidly along toward the goal
to which | was bound forced myself
to think rapidly over my adventure and
some circumstances with which it was
connected. The chief of them was my
familiarity with madam's wonderful
voice. a popularity in the human
voice was something had trained my
self never TO forget had no difficulty
in recalling the time and place in which
voice singularly like hers, but pro-
ceeding apparently from very diff
ferent source, had first attracted my at
teution.
Some IS months before ] had been in
England, where / had been so fortunate
as to gain the Friendship and esteem of
a man whose pleasure it was, with the
genius which had been given him and
the great skill which he had acquired,
to unravel the mysteries and TO discov-
er the dangers which too often sur
round our fellow men and women. At
the time of my visit he had been en-
gagged in unearthing an atrocious plot
which had threatened the existing gov
eminent. The scheme had DEVELOPED
almost to the point of the preparation
OF great crime, when my friends fore
sight succeeded in capturing and bring
ing 10 the bar of justice the ringleaders
themselves. With the usual caution
and conservativeness of the English ma
ton, the whole affair had been handled
with extreme secrecy and fear of public
knowledge. Being kept almost entire
~ out OF the newspapers, few people
knew anything of it and the details of
the case went little further than the
court. Through the interest of NV
friend, by whose sagacity the plot had
been discovered, was privileged to wit
ness the trial. One of the prisoners
had strangely interested me. He was
singularly prepossessing in appear
ance; curling mass of dark hair, worn
rather long; eyes that burned like yer-
liable lire; the contour of his face
heightened by the addition of we'll
groomed beard, cut closely in the
French fashion; his hands and feet
small and finely cared for; his figure
slender. In fact, the very opposite in |
personality and tradition to the usual |
ly accepted anarchistic idea. Yet deyo- |
ton to the cause he had adopted seemed |
the very breath he drew. His voice. |
high inequality of tone for man as was |
hers low for a woman, was. as | re- /
called it, very strangely similar to that
in which madame of the White Shout 4
dcrs had but lately addressed me. I
distinctly remembered the particu-
lars of the trial aud its strange out
come. The boy-he seemed scarcely
more--had been convicted and sem
fenced to life i'm prisopmant at haul