The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-06-21
A large, muscular hand next ap

- ldISc, lluSCuiuE LULU HeAl ol-
peared, holding up the lid of the chest
with noiseless care, and the sight OF it
aroused within ME 4 mad kind Of deS-
perate daring such as 1 1 never supposed
/ possessed. With a wild cry to Hat
tie to awake. l sprang from the bed,
and, with all the strength l was mas
ter of, forced down the lid.
Help. Hattie, Quick!' l cried, "or
we are lost"
With q single bound she was by my
side. her face rs white us 4 sheet.
.'Oh. Grace. FOR Heavens sake, what
is it," she gasped.
a Il burslar-a murderer. for
all l know! Hold hard, for your life"
1 replied.
The half-smothered wretch, by a VIC
lent effort, succeeded in forcing off one
hinge in such a manner as to admit
air enough to preclude the possibility
of his being suffocated in his strange
prison.
Another wrench. and the remaining
hinge was started. A second con-
vulsive movement, so violent as to
make the stout ole chest CULVER, aud
five grimy fingers were thrust out in a
vain attempt to clutch MY throat.
1 bore down with ali my might, but
the terrible hand maintained its adj
vantage, and inch by inch the lid was
slowly moved aside unit! only our
united strength held it in place.
Hattie did her best to aid my efforts;
but when two giaring black eyes APP
peared OH a Level with the fearful
hand she lost all control Of herself and
a loud ear-piercing Shrek broke from
her ashen lips.
The nearest neighb"r lived half a
mile away We were utterly alone.
and entirely at the mercy Of the ruff
fan in the chest, who, should he eS-
cape. would doubtless murder lis both
and burn the house afterward, per-
haps. to hide the double crime.
The thought was appalling. and
though she had no hope Of help reach
ing us, Hattie continued to scream at
the top of her voice, and every shrek
was like that of one in mortal agony.
Hank! Some one was coming! An
answering shout from the porch below,
a shivering of glass and window sash,
and up the stairs. three at a time,
came Cousin Jack.
Hattie flew to the door and unlocked
it, and then fell to the floor in a dead
faint.
What Is the matter?" exclaimed
Jack, as he entered. what in the
En-"
The man sprang from the chest and
made a dash for the door. Jack in
stantly seized him, clapped a revolver
to the villains. ear. and in no gentle
tone admonished him to surrender if
he did not want to die there and then.
The %rufian, seeing that resistance
was of no further avail, sullenly per-
mitted himself to be bound. He did
not speak a word, but his gllttering
eyes told plainly of thu fury raging in
his heart.
A plentiful use of cold water quickly
restored Hattie to consciousness, and
as soon as she was able to walk we
threw on our wrappers and went out
in the ball. where the burglar lay
prone on the floor. securely bound
hand and foot.
Il happened to be passing the house
at the moment and I heard your
screams" explained Jack, $50 I made
all haste to see what was the matter.
little expecting to find you in quite so
perilous a hy, though I felt sure you
must be in sore need of help, for
never before did I hear such a series
of blood curdling shrieks as those with
which Hattie has just been favoring
US"
Hattie shuddered, and crept closer
to strong. courageous Jack, and not
till the next day did we know that the
man We had held captive in the old
oak chest for two mortal hours. was
Nick Billings. one Of the most daring
burglars Of the present generation.-
New York Weekly.