El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-05-19


dock when the stout gentleman got up
and began walking about the room. He
locked and unlocked drawers, and Mr..
Ledbetter had a transient hope that be
might be undressing. But, no! He
seated himself at the writing table
and began to write and then tear up
documents. Presently the smell Of
burning cream laid paper mingled with
the odor Of cigars in Mr.. Ledbetter'S
nostrilS.
''The position 1 had assumed" said
Mr.. Ledbetter, when he told me Of
these things, twas in many respects an
ill advised one. A transverse bar be-
meath the bed depressed my head I'M
duly and threw a disproportionate
share of my weight upon my hands.
After a time experienced what is call
ed, believe, a crick in the neck. The
pressure of my hand on the coarsely
stitched carpet speedily became pain
full. My knees, too, were painful, my
trousers being drawn tightly over
them. At that time 1 wore rather
higher collars than do nOw-two and
half inches in fact-and discovered,
what 1 had not remarked before, that
the edge of the one l wore was frayed
slightly under the chin. But much
worse than these things was an itching
of my face, which 1 could only relieve
by violent grimacing-I tried to raise
my hand, but the rustic of the sleeve
alarmed me. After a time had to de-
sist from this relief also, because
happily in time-I discovered that my
facial contortions were shifting my
glasses down my nose. Their fall
would of course have exposed me, and
as it was they came to rest in an
oblique position of by no means stable
equilibrium. In addition I had slight
cold, and an intermittent desire to
sneeze or sniff caused me inconven-
fence. In fact, quite apart from the ex-
IRENE anxiety of my position, my phys
ical discomfort became in short time
very considerable indeed. But l had
to stay there motionless nevertheless"
After an interminable time there be-
gan chinking sound. This deepened
into a rhythm, chink, chink, chink-25
chinks-a rap on the writing table and
grunt from the owner Of the stout
legs. 1t dawned upon Mr.. Ledbetter
that this chinking was the thinking of
gold. He became incredulously curious
ready, If that was the case, this extraor-
binary man must have counted some
hundreds of pounds. At last Mr.. Led
better could resist it no longer, and be
began very cautiously to fold his arms
and lower his head to the level of the
floor in the hope of peeping under the
valance. He moved his feet, and one
made a slight scraping on the floor.
Suddenly the thinking ceased. Mr..
Ledbetter became rigid. After awhile
the chinking was resumed. Then 1t
ooosoa o1se,,,=ann -uarErn-n.----As
except Mr.. Ledbetter's heart. That
organ seemed to him to be beating like
a drum.
The stiffness continued. Mr.. Led
better's head was now on the floor,
and he could see the stout legs as far
up as the shins. They were quite still.
The feet were resting on the toes and
drawn back, as it seemed, under the
chair of the owner. Everything was
quite still. Everything continued still.
A wild hope came to Mr.. Ledbetter
that the unknown was in a fit or sud-
denly dead, with his head upon the
writing table.
The stiffness continued. What had
happened? The desire to peep became
Irresistible. Very cautiously Mr.. Led
better shifted his hand forward, pro-
jected a pioneer finger and began to
lift the valance Immediately next his
eye. Nothing broke the stiffness. He
saw now the strangers knees, saw the
back Of the writing table, and then
he was staring at the barrel Of a heavy
revolver pointed over the writing table
at his head.
''Come out of that, you scoundrelv'
said the voice OF the stout gentleman
in a tone of quiet concentration.
Come out; this side and now. None
Of your hanky panky. Come right out,
now"
Mr.. Ledbetter came right out, a little
reluctantly, perhaps, but without any
hanky panky and at once, even as he
was told.
"Kneel," said the stout gentleman,
and hold up your hands,"
The valance dropped again behind
Mr.. Ledbetter, and he rose from all
tours and held up his hands. Dress
ed like parson," said the stout gentle
man. "I'm dashed if it isn'tI A little
chap too! You scoundrel! What the
devil possessed you to come here to-
night? What the devil possessed you
to get under my bed?'
He did not appear to require an an
swer, but proceeded at once to several
very Objectionable remarks upon Mr..
Ledbetter's personly appearance. He
was not very big man, but he looked
strong to Mr.. Ledbetter; he was as
stout as his legs had promised. He
had rather delicately chiseled, small
features, distributed over a consider
able area of whitish face and a number
Of chins. And the note Of his voice |
lad q sort of whispering undertone.