Year: 1878




Jumping out of bed he put ON part
of his clothes, and softly opening the
door of his room, went across the hall
and down the stairs to the ground floor.
1t was quite dark, but he found his way
easily, having good topographic in
stinct. From the lower hall he entered
the dning-room, and from that to the
library. The sea-coal fire in the CRATE
was still flickering brightly illuminating
the sumptuously furnished room with a
faint, soft glow of peculiarly rich effect.


There on the table his ring glttered
in the fitful freight, and, as he slipped
it on his finger, he felicitated himself
on his successful enterprise. The room
was so charmingly cosy that he felt it
would be sin not to linger awhile. So,
throwing himself on sofa before the
CRATE, he fell into delightful reverie.


Just there in that chair, Angie had
sat during the evening, and there he
pictured her again, finally going and
leaning over it in caressing attitude,
lOhuiy CllCutinS hihinCli' ONCi thClC
had sat Mrs. McLane, and the chair
back at once transfixed him with two
critical eyes, till he was fain to look
away. The brothers were there and
there.


Bob chuckled with cosy sense of sur
Righteousness as he thought how they
would stare could they see him now.
The subtle pleasure of clandestine things
is doubtless partly the exaggeration of
the personality which takes place as the
pressure of other minds is withdrawn.
TO persons of Bob's sensitive mental
atmosphere that pressure is painful
when such minds are hostile, and often
irksome even when they are friendly, if
not in perfect accord. So that now 1t
was with positively voluptuous sensa-
ton that his personality expanded till it
filled the whole room.


The fire burned, and busily flew the
shuttles of his fancy, weaving once
again the often varied patterns of the
future. Those shuttles had little les-
ure now a. days, for all the web must be
unravelled and rewoven, that through
it all might run the golden thread of
Angles love. How rarely did it light
up the fabric, before so dull and dark


The bronze mantle-clock sounded with
a silvery tinkle the hour of two, but the
sound fell apparently unheeded on the
ear of the dreamer. 1t was full min
ute before the impression reached his
mind There are times when the
thoughts throng so that each new sensa-
ton has to take its place in the cue and
wait its turn to get attention. Then he
stirred and reused himself, emerging re-
luctantly from the warm, voluptuous
atmosphere of imagination, as one
leaves an enervating bath. He had
been lying thus full hour, and it was
high time to return to bed. He left the
library and started across the dining
room with hasty step.


Perhaps long gazing at the fire had
dazzled his eyes, or perhaps his haste,
together with an undue confidence in
his skill in navigation by dead reckon
ing, rendered him less careful than when
he had come down. However that may
be, light stand which he had easily
avoided then, he now blundered fully
upon.


Everybody knows that when one
stubs the toe in the dark, instead of de-
livering the blow when the foot is NOV
ing slowest, at the beginning or the end
of the step, it always happens so that
the toe strikes with the maximum mo-
mentum. SO it was this time. If Bob
had been kicking football he could not
have made nicer calculation of force,
| and the shock sent the stand completely
over.


1t would have made noise enough
anyhow, but it must happen that on
this stand the family silver was laid out
for breakfast, and the clangor was SINH
lar to that of Apollo's silver bow, when
he let fly at the Grecian host before Troy


Bob stood paralyzed with horror. Even
the anguish of terribly stubbed toe was
forgotten in an overpowering sense Of
the awful mess he had made, and the
unimaginable consequences that would
at once ensue. AS the hideous clangol
and clatter rang through the house
scattering its sacred silence, he shranl
together and made himself small, as i
he could impart sympathetic shrink
age to the noise. The racket to his owr
ears was splitting enough, but he felt
in addition, as if he heard it with the eari