The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-07-31


 may take to architecture myself. I tool
 a hack at the churches and such, ant
 in the evening started out for a wall
 through the town.
 Now, there is dream that I hay
 had ever since I can remember. l dream
 that I'm in an old European city
 though l never seem to know the nam
 of it. Somewhere in that city there is {
 small open square, with two street.
 leading out of the end of it. The!
 start pretty close together and thei
 widen apart like the sides of a V.
 "One of these streets-the one to tho
 left-is 8 wide, modern street, pretty
 well lighted and with good many peo
 pie in it, but the other street is marrow
 and dark. The houses have sharp ga
 bled roofs and the upper stories pro
 ject over the lower. There are no lamps
 in it except one or two that are long
 way apart and give mighty little light
 The street hasn't any sidewalks, ant there is a gutter down the middle of il
 and more smells to the square inch thar
 there are in Chicago. I've loked ul this street a hundred times in my
 dreams, and I'm always afraid to go ur
 it. It looks as if there couldn't be any
 one in that street except robbers and
 murderers, and it's my belief that most
 all the houses are empty.
 "Now when I was in Rouong this
 time that I'm telling you about, re- sumed Roebuck, "I walked along down one street and up another without pay ing any attention to the direction I was taking. By and by I got into part of the town where the houses were par ticularly old, and where there didn't | seem to be but very few inhabitants, | All of a sudden I came to an open square that was as familiar to me as Lincoln avenue in Montanopolis. Tt was the very place I had dreamed about so often There were the two streets leading out of one end of it. The big street was lighted up, and there were people here and there in 1t, but the small street was just as dark and deserted as I had always seen it. There wasn't a soul in it, and the blackness and silence of it frightened me. Just then a woman came toward me, though I didn't notice where she came from. She was middling well dressed, and, to my mind, looked like lady though know ain't much judge of ladies. I was landing looking like a narrow street and wondering if I was awake or dreaming when the woman walked straight up to me and says: You are an Englshman, are you not?'
 Now, I knew well enough that I wasn't an Engllsman, but I couldn't see that I was called upon to set the woman's mistake right, so I just said,
 Well, supposing I am, what them?
 Why said she, then you will help me. I am an English woman in terrible distress and danger. My sister is here lying very i'll in a house where I believe the people are thieves and murderers. implore you come with me and help me to take her away'
 Why don't you get policeman? I replied. That's what you want. If you say so. I will find one for you"
 For heavens sake, no. said the woman, There are reasons why that would ruin everything If you are the brave man you look to be, you will come with me. If not, we are lost
 "I'll come, ma am, if you insist upon it. said I, though I tell you in advance that if there is any fighting to be done you'll have to count me out, for I haven't got my revolver, and I'm not a fighting man anyway
 "She said there wouldn't be any call for me to fight, and that as soon as it was seen that she had q man with her and her sister would be allowed to go She said it would be better if I were to follow a short way behind her, instead of walking by her side. That suited me we'll enough, so the woman went on 1 walking pretty fast, and l came along | about two rods behind her
 I tell you 1t gave me q chill to go | Into that narrow, dark street. You see, | | have been afraid of it for going on to | 20 or 25 years Besides the place was | ,old for I don't believe the sun ever | got down into 1t, the houses were so nigh and so close together. Nobody net us, and I didn't see the least sign If life in the street. We went, as I 'hould judge, pretty near an eighth of mile, and the only street light we passed was an oil lamp hung out from me of the houses on an iron bracket.
 "The woman stopped at the door of a rouse on the left and waited for me in he shadow. When I came up, she said, Take my hand, for there isn't any ight, and the stairs are long,
 "It was a great big rom, with queer, Id fashioned furniture and not much f that In one corner there was fig Ire in armor standing leaning on its word. The chairs and sofas were cov- red with elegant velvet, but it was hreadbare and in places hung in rags. he tables had had their legs gilded rhen they were new, but the gliding 1as gone and the marble slabs were i tained and cracked. There were two all candles burning on the mantel- iece, where there was an old fashioned lock which said it was 11:20, though robably it lied. "Sit down, said the woman, taking if her hat and throwing it on a chair.
 noticed then that she spoke with 0me sort of foreign accent, and it ame into my mind that she wasn't En- fish after all. "'Where is your sister? I asked. My sister! Oh, you shall see her resently Meanwhile sit down and be lmfortable.' This made me pretty mad for was rety sure now that she hadn't any ster, and that she had brought me ito trap. I didn't stop to ask myself