Year: 1875

1


still that an uproa< should be made
at that hour of the night, for we
guessed it to be about midnight.


don't think l have closed my
eyes once this night, said Susan; and
yet this uproar commenced all at
once! At least, have no recollec-
ton of any preliminary noise
That convinces me more and more
that we should be on the watch.
This man has probably some asso-
ciates, whom he secreted lest we
should be suspicious. Now that we
have been secured, they are careless
about making a noise. But harkl


There was louder noise below
sound as if some one were scuf-
fling, and then heavy fall. This
was followed by a burst of bolster
Gus laughter that sent shudder
through US.


Susan was the first to regain her
presence of mind. Let us call ia
ther! she whispered.


But to do this, it was necessary
to take away all the furniture we
had piled up against the door, in Or
der to reach the door of our fathers
room, which opened into the entry.
We had before observed that there
was no communication between the
two rooms except by the entry.


Susan having groped her way to
the spot where she had left a few
matches, managed to light the lamp
which we had brought with US up
stairs. Hooked at my watch; it
wanted but a few minutes of twelve.
The noise down stairs had been
gradually diminishing, but had not
entirely ceased. There was no time
to be lost in doing what we had to
do. As carefully as we could, we
removed the tables and chairs and
an old chest, by which our door had
been barricaded, and then, pausing
a few moments to reassure ourselves
that our movements had not been
detected, we passed together into
the entry. A sound of many voices,
talking in the same loud key, came
up from the kitchen, the door of
which opened directly from the
stairs.


We went cautiously through the
entry for we had brought no light
with US, and the least stumbling
would draw the attention of those
below. The door of nv fathers
room was wide open. Susan made
the discovery first, and repressed a
cry of wonder, for we had distinctly
heard the door shut when my fa-
ther had retired for the night. A
moment more and we stood within
the room. -....-


Father! whispered Susan.


There was no answer. Again she
whispered, louder than before, and
still there was no reply. There was
not even the sound of breathing,
which would tell the presence of
some human being. All was as still
as the grave.


They have murdered him! whis-
pered Susan, steadying herself
against the. wall for support. -


A thrill of mental agony shot
through me at these words. It was
an hour when even the most COM
monplace things seem fearfully mys-
terious, even to a cool and self-pos-
sessed person; but to person with a
keen imagination, awakened sndden-
ly from sound sleep, and in the
strange and unaccountable situation
in which we were, the silence of a
room, in which we expected to find
living being was awful.


/ mustered sufficient resolution to
pass into our room and take the
lamp, which we had left burning;
by It's means l intended to unrayel
the mystery. In my nervous haste
however 1 managed the lamp awk-
wardly; the light went out and left
me in total darkness. I did not
know where the matches had been
left, and it was some time before l
could find them. When at length
1 did find them, and procured a light
I could have declared that an hour
had elapsed since / had returned to
my room--so long does time seem
when one is anxious.


found Susan Just where / had
left her; not an inch had she moved
from her first position. On the ap-
pearance of the light we, both in
stinctly searched the room with ou1
eyes; it was empty. The bed had
the appearance of having been slept
in, which convinced us that my father
had retired to rest as usual the
night before. There were various
articles belonging to him scattered
about the room, but no sign of him
whom we had come to seek. There
were but two differences that could
be drawn from these circumstances;
the one that my father had been Ia
ken prisoner by the people below,
the other, which we scarcely dared
to think of, was that murder had
been committed, and that my father
was the victim.


/ have not the least recollection
as to how we regained our room
but we did regain 1t, and again bar,
ricaded our door. Then we sat anx
ious and trembling to await the sp
proach of morning. The noise dowr
stairs had long ceased, and it ap
peared to us that nearly an hour ha(
elapsed since we had sat wakefu
and listening. Then we heard tht
door at the bottom of the stairs oper
softly, and some one ascending slow
ly and carefully. In the entry out
side our door the persons paused tc
whisper a few moments; then one
passed on and apparently. entered
the next room, and the other return
ed to the room below.


During the whispered conversation
outside the door, so very close to u,
that we could almost catch some Of
the words, my heart almost stopped
beating. Susan grasped my hand
SO tightly and painfully that a broad
red mark remained upon it for sew
eral days. Who or what the ocou
pant of the next room was we coulC
not even guess; the night had beer
so full of mysterious circumstances