Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1897-12-20
CHAPTER I.

one IOuOO 0efSo1I CT6mDllnS. one mao
al idea that some unusual sound had
reused her. She sat up in bed to listen.
Then she heard voice. It was old Mr.
Benton in his room adjoining hers. He
was speaking in a loud, angry tone.
Miss Hastings rose, thrust her feet
into slippers and put on wrapper.
She was vaguely frightened and yet
hardly knew why she should be So She
turned up the gas, which had been
burning low, and approached the parti-
ton between her room and the old
mans. New she could hear more dis
tinctly. Mr.. Benton seemed to be an
grily upbraiding some one. Miss Has
tings opened the door leading into the
corridor, and the voice of the old man
became more distinct
''You are no child of mine from this
day fcIthl'' she heard him cry. 81 shall
disown you tomorrow Get out of my
sightl To think that you"-
The door of Mr. Benton S room was
suddenly slammed, and Miss Hastings
shrank from the crack through which
she had been peering. Then she heard
footsteps pass her door and descend the
front stairs.
took up a book and tried to read, but
found herself turning page after page
without recalling word she had read.
She could hear the heavy tread Of the
old man as he walked to and fro i'll his
room. What had happened? What was
about to happen? What had been going
ON all that week between her friend
Alice Benton and her father? The old
man had treated Arthur Montcastle,
guest like herself, very rudely and had
since been taking his meals in his own
room to avoid meeting him. Besides
this he had quarreled constantly with
Alice and his son Ralph about trifes
ever since Miss Hastings arrived, week
before. It had made her feel very uncom
Portable, and she would have gone home
but for her sympathy for Alice and the
fact that Ralph had asked her to remain
longer.
Old Benton's walk had ended. Miss
Hastings hoped he had gone to bed, but
Just as she was about to undress herself
she heard his step and the rafting of
his doorknob. He was leaving his
room Miss Hastings again peered eau
tiously into the corridor. She saw the
old man, dressed as he had been ali
day, go into the laboratory which adj
Joined his room on the other side. Look
ing out on the lawn below, she saw a
bright light streaming from the win
dow of the laboratory and knew that
he had lighted the powerful electric
lamp which hung in the center of the
room Now and then she saw his gigan-
tic shadow on the lawn as be moved
about What could he be doing there at
such a late hour? She looked at her
watch. 1t had run down and stopped at
II, but she thought it was at least two
hours later than that. Suddenly the
light left the lawn. Then she heard Mr..
Benton close the door Of the laboratory
and descend the back stairs leading to
the garden.
Miss Hastings decided to go to bed
She was angry with herself for being
so unreasonably nervous. She had I'M
buttoned her wrapper when
''Crackl"
1t was d loud, clear report like that
of a revolver.
Miss Hastings blood ran cold. She
conquered an impulse to scream, DELHI
Grated moment as she stood quivering
in the center of the room, then jerzed
the old fashioned bell pull. One min
ute, two, three, ten minutes passed.
No one came to answer her ring, and
there was nothing to indicate that the
report had reused any one else in the
house.
Miss Hastings did not want to run
the risk of making herself appear ridicu-
lous in the eyes of the rest of the house
party, so she began to try to persuade
herself that the report was made by
some explosive with which old Benton
was experimenting. What could be
more natural, since he was given to
such things and had just left his lab
oratory? She sat down and tried to
calm herself by using her will power.
Half an hour passed 1t expanded
slowly into an hour, and yet Mr.. Ben
ton had not returned to his room. Miss
Hastings fears were now increased ten
fold. She was sure she had done wrong
in not rousing the house at first She
drew the silken bellcord to the floor
several times. Then, getting no re-
Spouse, she decided to wake some one.
Mr.. Stanwood, a guest of the house,
roomed across the corridor She went
to his door and raped.
She knew he was sleeping soundly,
for it was several minutes before she
heard him rise He opened the door
slightly.
''Who is it?'' he asked.
Its I, Mr.. Stanwood-Miss Has
tings," she explained apologeticaIly.
Il heard a loud report in the garden
about an hour ago. 1t sounded like a
revolver, and as Mr.. Benton-Mr. Jacob
Benton-went out about that time and
has not returned was afraid something
might have happened to him, some
burglar orr