The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-02-04

Heard
| finder box beside it. This, with one
/ notable exception, was all the furni-
| ture.
| The exception-which turned me. cold
was the form of a yellow maStiff dog
curled on a mat beneath the table. The
/ arch Of back was toward me, and one
| rorepaW lay over his nose IN a natural
| posture of sleep. I leant back on the
WaiscOting, with my eyes tightly fixed
| on him, and my thoughts flying back,
with something of regret, to the storm
L had come through.
| But mans habits are not easily de-
MED. At the end of three minutes The
cog had not moved, and I was down on
the doormat unlacing my soaked boots
Slipping them off and taking them in
my left hand I stood UP and tried a
step toward the stairs, with my eyes
alert for any movement of the mas
tiff; but he never stirred. I was glad
enough, however, on reaching the
stairs, to find them newly built and the
carpet thick. Up I went with a glance
at every step for the table which now
hid the brute'S form from me, and
never creak did 1 wake out of that
staircase till I was almost at the first
landing, when my toe caught a loose
stair rod and ratified it in a way that
stopped my heart for a moment and
then set it going in double-quick time.
stood still, with a hand on the
rail. My eyes were now on a level
with the floor Of the landing, out of
which branched two passages-one by
my right hand, the other to the left.
at the foot of the next flight, so placed
that I was gazing down the length of
it. And almost at the end there fell a
ak Of Ticr1
an open door.
A man who has once felt it knows
that there is only one kind of silence
that can be called dead" This is only
to be found in a great house at mid
night. I declare that for a few sec
onds after I ratified the stair rod you
might have cut the silence with a knife
If the house held a clock, it licked in
audibly.
Upon this silence, at the end Of a
minute. broke a light sound-the c1ink.
clink Of a decanter on the rim of a
wine glass. It came from the room
where the light was.
Now, perhaps, it was that the very
thought of liquor put warmth into my
cold bones. 1t is certain that all of a
sudden l Strengthened my back took
the heysGining stairs at two strides, ana
walked down the passage, as bold as
brass, without caring a jot for the
noise made.
In the doorway I halted. The roes
was long, lined for the most part with
books bound in what they call "div-
Unity calf" and Uttered with papers
like a barrister's table on assize day
Before the fireplace, where a few Goals
burned sulkily, was drawn a leathern
elbow chair, and beside Il, on the cor
ner Of a writing table, were set an I'M
lit candle and pile of manuscripts.
At the opposite end of the room a cur
tained door led q guessed) to the
chamber that I had first seen fIIumf-
mated. All this I took in with the tail
of my eye, while staring straight in
front, where, in the middle or a great
square of carpet between me and the
windows. was a table with a red cloth
upon II. On this cloth were couple
Of wax candles, lit, in silver strands, |
a tray and a decanter three parts full
OF brandy. And between me and the |
table stood a man.
He stood sideways, leaning a little
back, as If to keep his shadow off the /
threshold, and looked at me over hrs |
left shoulder bald grave man, |
slightly under the common height. with |
a long clerical coat of preposterous /
fit hanging loosely from his shoulders.
a white cravat, black breaches and /
black stockings. His feet were loosely
thrust into carpet slippers. I Judged |
his age at so or theTaahoTts; but his /
face rested in the shadow. and could
only note Uair Of ewes. very small
and alert, twinkling above a large ex-
panse of cheek.
He was lifting a glass of wine from
the table at the moment when I an
peared, and IL trembled now I'm his
right hand. I heard d split drop OF
two fall on the carpet, and this was
ha she /
DOsure
Setting the glass back, lie felt in his
breast pocket for a handkerchief. /
JAILED 10 find one, and rubbed his
hands together to get the LIQUOR off
lis fingers.
You startled me-" ne said, in a. mat
er-of-fact tone, turning his eyes upon
ne as he lifted his glass again and
'mptied it. How did you find the
way in?"
by the front door," said I, wonder
ng at his uncOncern. He nodded his
lead slowly.
''Ah, yes; I forgot to lock it. You
anne to steal, suppose?'' Il
II came because l lost my way. I've
,een travelling this God-forsaken moor
ince dusk
with your boots in your hand?" he
Tut in quietly. II
Il took them off out of respect to
he yellow dog you keep"
He lies in a very natural attitude {
h?"
You don't tell me he was stuffed 7
The old mans eyes beamed contemp. S
uous pity. :
You are indifferently sharp, my dee,
II, for a housebreaker. Come in. Sc a
own those convicting boots and dom
rip pools of water in the doorway. o.
II places If I must entertain a bur
lar / prefer him tidy"
He walked to the fire, picked up