Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1910-09-24
The Sleepwalker
BY ARTHUR EDWARDS.
Copyright. 1910, by American Press
Association

| W nen l WAS your tHt WIS uppIeh-
| ticed 10 a New York china merchant.
The apprentice usually lived in the
| family of his employer. and / lived
| with the Van Horns. Mr.. Van Horn s
Office was ON the ground floor OF his
house. the living rooms being upstairs.
| The house stood on the bank Of the
| East river, and from IL we could~se
! the ships In which he was Interested
come In to the slips on the other side
OF the street, poking their bowsprits
almost in at our windows.
was but fourteen years OF age when
| | was apprenticed 10 Mr. Van Horn.
He had but one child. Katherine, who
| was twelve. TO whom | soon stood as a
| brother Before the term OF my ap-
| premiership had expired we had be
come lovers, and | preferred TO remain
! where | was rather than accept IA po
sitiou that would separate me from
| Katherine. But of this Mr.. Van Horn
was ignorant.
Meanwhile Mrs Van Horn had died.
and her place in the household man
agement was taken by a housekeeper.
Il middle aged widow named Clark.
| Mrs. Clark bad no sooner come into
the family than il was apparent that
| she aimed at marrying Mr.. Van Horn.
! BY that time | was nineteen years old
and katherine was sixteen. II was
natural that we should unite against
the common enemy. for Katherine was
| up In arms against any one who aspir-
ed to take her mothers place.
During my boyhood | became SOM
nambulist The first time ! walked IN
| my sleep Ilawoke TO find myself stand
ing before mirror brushing my hair.
was terribly shocked and. running to
my bed. covered my head and lay
trembling till morning. Another time.
| when the bowsprit of a. large ship ex-
tended over the house. found myself
| one night on the bowsprit. l saved
! myself from falling into the street by
catching rope. l had gone on to the
roof. got on TO the bowsprit and was
shining down.
At that time there were no safes
such as we have now. \ modern safe
compared with the strong box of that
day il like an ocean liner compared
with one of the caravels in which Co
lumbus crossed tha Atlantic. well
remember the strong box Mr.. Van
| Horn kept In one of the rooms on the
main floor of his house, a room he
used for his private office. Ii was GOV
cred with strips of iron interiaced like
basketwork. But IL was opened by
big iron key that would now serve for
| a stable door.
All of "A sudden Mr.. Van Horn began
to miss important papers from his
strong box. He confided his loss TO
Mrs. Clark. aud there was ut once
! great change In his treatment Of me.
| Ii was plain To me that she had not
only opened his eyes to my relations
with his daughter. of which he had
been oblivious. hut she led him to sus-
! pect that was stealing his papers.
| She herself was oblivious to nothing
that was going on and had not only
| discovered that Katherine and were
| lovers. but that we stood in her way
| to become Mrs. Van Horn. But Mr..
Van Horn was n Secrctive man. ana.
| though lie was seriously poisoned
! against me and was ambitious for his
daughter to become the wife of an emf
nent man. he pretended to disbelieve
the charge against me. preferrlns TO
kset watch upon me without letting
| any one In the house know that he was
doing SO. He slept with his door open
| at the other end OF the hall. on which
nv room also faced. and since he was
n light sleeper Il was almost impoSsi-
| BILE for me TO leave my room without
\ his knowing u.
| Well. one night ! woke up from one
| Of nv somnambulistic walks. and my
establishment was as great as. II not
! greater than. ever before. was
standing In the counting room on the
main floor. Mr. Van Horn was stand
ing in the door that opened into his
private Office. while by the light Of n
| candle Mrs Clark was seen kneeling
beside the strong box.
Go 70 your ROOM said Mr.. Van
| Horn TO me.
| | lost no TINE IN uoiilS 10. out >'VAi
recovered from the shock Of my sud
den awakening from somnambuliSm.
for I saw that my physical defect had
made a grca; change in the situation
The next morning | saw Mrs. Clark
packing 10 leave. and before noon she
was out Of the house. never TO return.
As soon rs she had gone Mr.. Van
Horn called me into his private office
and told me Of the loss II his papers.
his consultation with his housekeeper
and her tnruing his suspicious against
me The night before ne had heard
me get out Of bed and. going himself
into the hall. had seen me start on
what he soon became convinced was
n somnambuiisfic tour lie and were