Omaha daily bee., 1897-08-22
ss: -: 49,
SHREWSBURY"
By STANLEY ) wEYsAN
tsASsl ! SSzsSSzSsNzSSA i : :

beaten us IL he had not trusted this silly!
But ] am forgetting The duke must be
warned-if be has not started. When was
this given to you Mr.. Trusty Taylor
Two hours ago" ] said sulleuly.
! was pleased to see that that alarmed
him. you fool" be said Why did you
not tell me at once Nhat YOU had got, ana
whittier you were going. II the duke is
taken - will lie al your door. And II he is
saved 1t will be TO my credit
Il will come with you" / said, pluckine
up a spirit, as / saw him about 10 leave
NO. you will not" he answered, drily,
Il am much obliged to you, but ! prefer
to gain the credit and tell the tale my own
way. You will stay here. Mr.. Taylor. and
when the duke is away I'll come and re-
ease you. IN the meantime, ! would ad7
wise you TO keep quiet Hoity-toity. what
is this" be continued as IN my despair
I tried 10 push by him. Go back YOU fool
or ii will be the worse for you. You are,
not going out"
And resisting all my appeals and remon-
strances be thrust me furcibly from the
door; and whipping outside 1t, locked it
on me. In vain ! hammered on 1t with my
fist and called after him, and threatened
him. He ClAttered unheeding down the
stairs. and / heard the house door slammed
and locked. ] listened a moment but all
remained quiet, and then, Wild with rage,
I turned TO the window, thinking that that
way / might still escape. Alas, il looked
a
barred to boot
God knows ! thought myself then the
most unlucky Of men; man ruined when
IA the point Of a great and seemingly as
sured success! l flung myself down in my
despair and could have dashed my head
against the boards. But presently, in the
midst Of my bewailng myself and when
the first convuleive fl Of rage was abating,
d new thought brought me TO my feet in
a panic. What If Smith before he returned
fsl in with Ferguson? The meeting was
the more probable. inasmuch as if Fergu-
son succeeded in freeing himself. he was
ae likely to hasten to the duke of Berwick
TO warn him as to do anything else. Al
sny rate ! was not inclined to sit weighing
the chances nicely, but Fastening frantic
ally to the door / tried it with knee and
shoulder To nv joy II Welded somewhat:
ca which, throwing caution aside, ! drew
back and flung myself against 1t with all
my weight The lock gave way. and the
door flying open, ! came near to falling
headlous down the stairs.
Still l had succeeded. But soon found
that ! was little nearer freedom than be-
fore The passage was Dow dark and the
house door when ! found my way to it re
sisted all my efforts. This drove me 10 Geek
another esress which it was far from easy
to find At length. and by dint Of cropping
about, hit on door which led to a down
stairs room; it was unlocked and l entered.
feeling before me with my hands. The dark
ness, the silence of the empty house and
my hurry formed situation to appal the
boldest, but ! was desperate, and extending
my arms, / trod cautiously across the room
10 where the window should be, and sought
for and found the shutters. tried the bar,
and TO my joy felt il swing. / let ii down
softly and dragged the shutters open, and
sweating at every pore through the
loaded panes the dark. dull lane outside,
with a faint light from a neighboring win
dow falling on the wall opposite
l was seeking for part of the window
that opened, and wondering whether, fail
ing that, should have the courage TO burst
the easement and run for it, when a step
approaching along the lane set my heart
beating. The step came nearer and paused,
and peering out, my face nearer the glass, !
saw a man had come to a stand before the
door. ] looked, and then, to say that my
knees quivered under me, but family eN-
presses the terror ! felt! For as the man
moved he brought himself within the circle
Of light / have mentioned and at tue same
time he raised his face, doubtless after
searching in his pocket for the key; and
through the glass my eyes met those OF
Ferguson!