Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1908-10-23


Garkness is in our favor Rnt rbo+ az,
to do with you, Allie, if we have .
wet night? You will catch YOUR death of
cold" 'ou1 ue''n VI
Nonsense, replied Alison stoutly. But
=, q 'neless she felt an inward twinge of
udscoIhfort. Neither of them had thought
u tne weather. How weird and eerie ey-
erythlng looked in the obscure light. the
r o owing path and the sluggish canal,
tlie tai factories, and beyond them the
uilh Woodplles and sheds stretching away
iiito the distance. The verv barge that
I"lie hoatlng toward them out of the
darkness seemed to hold dark prislv
shapes upon it. e-'
III Few minutes Roger was helping
ner 10 scramble on shore. They were now
DIT me extreme end of the timber ward
and had some way to walk
Long before they had reached thar
ueSllna'ion the heavy patter of rain drops
warmed tnem to make haste; but in the
uncertain light and with so rough a path,
'neir speed was greatly retarded.
iiere we are at last" whispered
noser follow me closely, Allie" And
she ooeyed, holding his coat to give her
courage. A pitchy bIackness was round
mem; Rogers cropping only led them still
lurther INTO the darkness. Alison ex-
perlenced a sense of suffocation until q
ray OF murky light showed her where she
Was-at the further entrance of one of
the wood piles, with the Office windows
within few yards of them.
Alison breathed more freely when she
! recognized her position. The interlaced
planks formed an arched chamber, where
| they could move with comfort and be shell
tered from the rain. Roger spread the
| plaid near the entrance, and babe his sis
ter make herself as comfortable as cir
| cumstances permitted. while he went a
| little way to reconnoiter.
L hope 1 have not brought YOU on a
wild goose chase" he said when he re-
turned. Timothy is eating his supper,
| we shall have to be careful when he goes
with his rounds. Hush What is that ~
| as a slight sound was plainly audible.
| Don't move, | implore you, Alliev' And
Roger cautiously raised himself on his
hands and knees and crept few PAGES
nearer to the entrance, but in a moment
he returned and bade Alison to move
further into the darkness.
ut is Ferguson; I heard his voice, ~
he whispered. Come a little further
Timothy has his lantern, and he might
turn 1t on us; and now not a word if
you can help it. Are you frightened,
| dear?"
NO" returned Alison, a little un-
steadily, but at that moment she was GER
tainly wishing herself and Roger safely
at home. Rogers caution was not in
vain; sudden flare of light penetrated
the entrance of the wood pile; they could
see two men but at the moment the Ian
! tern was lowered and Timothy's face was
turned to his companion
"A wet night, MASTER" he said, in a
grumbling voice. "I'll just go on my beat,
and then back to the shed again."
''All right, Timothy" returned the man
ager, briskly. Il must just hunt for the
| paper [ told you about. Possibly l may
be a quarter of an hour in the office
but will call out to you when I am
ready for you to let me out of the yard -
cay, ay, will let you out, sure enough,
Master Ferguson, if so be as you strike
upon the little window in the she'd" And
the old man moved on slowly
Don't move, Allie; I'll- be back in a
moment" whispered Roger in her ear.
And Alison remained where she was,
feeling the dampness all around her, an
unpleasant moisture beginning to trickle
| down her neck. The rain was pouring
| in torrents outside; its very violence
promised short duration. Presently Roger
crept back to her.
"It is just as said," he began, eur
riedly "He is unlocking the safe; he
has a duplicate key was sure of it.
There is not a moment to lose. l dare
father. Allie, may I leave you here? You
are perfectly safe-no one would harm
you. But one of us must watch Fergus
son; which shall it be?"
"You must go, Roger" she exclaimed.
"You will go more quickly, and will know
how to avoid Timothy"
every we'll, keep up your courage, AL
| le and do not lose sight of the villain,
he returned. 81 will bring father back
in no time. Wait where you are until
Timothy has passed again"
Alison's reply was inaudible, but her
mute assent testified obedience. That
moment she was literally beyond speech ;
| the horrid darkness seemed TO swallow her
up again; nervous oppression made her
heart beat with distressing quickness. 1t
was quite a relief when Timothy passed
again; the familiar figure in the heavy
watchnans coat gave her a comforting
sense Ct human support.
She stole cautiously across the open
path, and in another moment she was
standing outside the Office window. There
were two windows for this one was
necessarily darkened by the woodpile, but
over the other the blind had been lowered
to shut out prying glances. Alison sup
posed, as Roger had that he had locked
himself in to carry on his unhallowed
work. The dark background of piled-up
planks quite overshadowed the white girl
| ish face peering in at the uncurtained
window.
She was frightened at her own daring,
but she remembered that she was Rogers
| --;t,acs. II was necessary for her own