Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1898-10-27
CHAPTER XXVII.


Yes, here is the same room in which her
last interview was held with the old clerk
of Chiffon; and there stands his bed, with
the immortal package on the top of it.
She sits down, and, taking out pair OF
scissors provided for the purpose, COM
mences to unrip the stitching of the wrap
pers She has never calculated on the
difficulty of her task. The box, or books,
or whatever the contents may be, nave
been stitched and restitched with thick
twine. so that the old man appears to have
spent days over his task. AT last, by dint
of blunted implements and bruised fin
gers, Della has succeeded in removing the
outer wrapper of American cloth, when
she finds herself confronted by second
one of drugget or baize as hard to work
Through as the first.
She tries to cut right through the center
of the package. but some hard substance
resists the scissors; she must have pa
thence and proceed by degrees.
As she has half unripped the second
covering however, she is startled by a
noise upon the uncarpeted stairs-the
sound of approaching footsteps stumbling
up the narrow gangway. What can 1T be !!
Is it possible that Strother can have
awakened from his slumber and had his
suspicious aroused by her absence! She
Aics to the easement which looks out up
on the front. 1t is true! He has left his
chair. and key is already grating and
twisting about in the keyhole of the door,
Della has no time for consideratlon-no
fimc to do anything but to escape by the
way she came, so leaving the 'paircel' In
the state to which she had reduced It,
and not waiting even to recover her fallen
scissors. she leaps to the window sill, and
is down the steps and standing on the
gravel path below before an eye had seen
her proceedings.
Her next effort is to place the steps
where she found them, and thence to pro-
eccd, flushed and painting, into the front
Kitchen, where Jane is quietly seated.
Smelling broad-beans, with her half-sov-
ercign laid on the table beside her.
1.-The old gcntleman's gone through up
40 his room.' are the first words with
which she placidly greets Della. My
goodness! what's that?'
She aludes to Il loud scream, like the
note of an angry ape in pain, which pro-
cecds from Strothers chamber. Della
Knows full we'll what it is, and prepares
to fly from further questioning. But the
cid mans rawlings reach them but too dis
tAnctly.
'Wha's been in my ROOM! he cries.
"Wha's daured to touch my parcel? Let
me find the earle and I'll wreeng his neck
for him. I'll ken wha's daured to fash
me. [ was anely i the garden takin' Il
wee drap O. whusky, and naebody haze
been i the house but Jean. 1t maun be
that huzzy Jean. Here, Jean, Jeanr'
boI hot tn tho old and
auiet him. Jane" says Della. ',Hell him
no one has been in his room. How could
they. with the door locked? I'm afraid
may have given him little too much
whisky Do what you can with him, and
TIL go and tell Miss Patsy, whom l see
coming up the garden. all about it,"
Miss Patsy does not think anything of
the affair. Mrs. Manners is main good
she says, to trouble about 1.-THE old hunks
but one never dreams of attending to any
thing he says or does. He's as daft as
any Iunatic in the county asylum.
And where have you been, Patsy?'
''I've been to meet my young man.
Ma'am," says Patsy, with blush and a
smile: for. you see. it is our harvest
home supper tonight. and if he was to
miss it all the fun of the evening would
be gone for me-"
Naturally. Where is your supper to
BE- heidi
.'Irp 1T the big barn in the poplar field
I suppose it would be no use asking We to
join us. ma'am. Likely parson will be
thcrc He mostly looks in at the harvest
ing suppcrs.
NO. Patsy. thank you; I am too tired
so-day. Besides. Mr.. and Mrs. Bond are
IN London and l have the cottage to look
after. But | hope you will have a very
pleasant evening and that your young
man will be sure to be there.
She gets away as soon as she can after
shat for she is disappointed at the failure
eff her afternoon experiment and fears lest
she may have married her chances of sue
cess by her precipitancy. But as she sits
alone in the evening thinking over these
things it suddenly occurs to her that in all
probability old Strother will have gone up
10 the harvesting supper with his friends
sud the coast be once more clear.
She never thought of asking Patsy Ken
nett whether her grandfather would be
included among the guests. but it is worth
going up to che farm TO see if it is the
ease or no. AS soon as this idea strikes
Della she puts it into execution. 1t is ten
o'clock: but what is ten O'clock for
walk along a country lane, with the har
rest moon lighting up each object as
bright as day?
When she has traversed half its dis
saacc her eye is attracted by something
that glitters in the hedgerow. Della
Stops to pick it up and finds, to her as
constituent, that it is the same glass flask
she presented to the old Scotchman that
afternoon.
1t is like the old mans surly ingrati-
Snde to throw it away, she thinks: but
how on earth did it come here? She holds
it in her hand as she walks ON wondering
but can come to no better conclusion than
that Strother may have commissioned
some child to fetch him whisky in it with
she money she gave him. and the messen-
ger. cognizant of the old mans weakness
eff intellect. has been unfaithful to his
trust.
But as she reaches the farmhouse an
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