The Parson's Story.

Otago Witness, Issue 1342, 18 August 1877, Page 20

The Parson's Story.

-- IN FIVE CHAPTERS, v ■-i i , Chapter 111. , , : „_< >-a ; ■ When left alone by the farmer at whose house I had so unexpectedly- become a i guest,' I looked around the room in which I was to pass the night. .• It. was ■ small, i ill furnished, and carpetless,. but not uncleanly ; and as I listened to the gusty > wind, and heard the rain pelting against' the casement, I felt thankful to be under' cover of a roof, however lowly. Securmgfche door by the. only means it possessed^ a rough wooden bolt, I said my prayers, - got into bed, and was soon fast' asleep. How long I had slept I have no means of judging, before I awoke with a start' from a dream in which one of 'the farmer'ssix sons — magnified into. a. giant — hadbeen poising me over the -f ( Devil's Hole" < at the Spike Rocks. ' .■ ; ' . '

attne opiKe hocks. ' .■ ; ; ■• The. dream disturbed me so greatly, that for a long time I could' not sagain compose myself ; but, at length. I was: just upon the point of relapsing into.unconsciousness, when. a sound, -too confused to be at once explicable^ but - which' appeared to come from the neighbourhood : of Mr Morgan's room, -'struck upon myear. rousing me in an instant! to renewed' .wakef illness.. Wondering! what- it could' bey I strained my attention to listen ,;- •but it was not repeated.- , Presently, however, I became conscious of other sounds, faint in themselves,, and' partly, drowned in the wail of the wind, but which^ nevertheless, my hearing, rendered' acute by : anxiety, distinctly.; reported, r fl?hey^werean intermittent creaking of :the-distant staircase/ accompanied; by ; a ■Bhuffiing* kind,of tread upon it,, such, as might; W qccasioned by the ..cautious, descent ofseveral persons bearing »a -heavy -weight. That at least, was the, interpretation winch/with a sickening conjecture assto what .that weight might be,:l put upon these mysterious midnight noises. .■ Slipping, ifrom bed, I crossed the Toom bn tiptoe, applied my ear to the creviceof the door, and bent all; my faculties^ to hearken.-- 1 am not, I think, a- coward j but *I must own to experiencing a strong sensation of alarm, when, after- standing .there for a few moments, during which I ,not'*only heard the wind' whistling through the passage below, :but actually felt a power- 1 , ful draught, I knew-from the cessation of both that the entrance-door, which must have been opened; had been again closed. Noiselessly but swiftly Ipasaedover to the window, and : I pressed 'my face .against it, in the hope "of discovering who and what it was that had left the house at so strange an hour. But the night was pitchy dark ; I could see nothing beyond a foot from the pane ; and shivering, less from exposure to the cold than 1 from a horrible idea which had taken possession of me, I crept back to bed. Several hours appeared to have elapsed, though I have no doubt it was in reality less than half a one, - before, by an intuitive perception, I became aware that the individuals who.nad quitted the farm had returned to it. Trembling witty dread none the lessoverwhelming from its being in a measure vague, I once more concentrated all my .powers upon the act of listening, and was soon informed by my terror-quickened Benses that the sijairs were again creaking— this time beneath a lighter tread. Then— yes ! 1 was>*sure of it — a stealthy step was 'coming down J the passage, slowly approaching my -room ! It paused before the door, and in another instant a wary hand was at work upon the fastener. Some kind of instrument had been inserted between the door and its frame, by means of which the bolt was being gradually pushed backwards in the socket. '

With a rapidity not unusual in moments of excitement, or danger, my mind flew in an inconceivably short space of time through a course of reasoning, which shaped all. my previous surmises and brought me to the following conclusions.

Firstly,- that my friend and 'I -had' fallen into bad hands, and that by some means or other the villainous inmates of the farm had found out about the money in Mr Morgan's custody. Secondly, that the poor gentleman had been robbed and perhaps murdered upon its account. And lastly, that those who had done the deed, having returned, were now meditating the 'commission of a similar offence upon myself. Scarcely, however, had I arrived at this terrible judgment ere there darted upon me a hope of 'escape from the' apprehended' danger. - It' was ; brought about by the' reflection that in my case there was '-Tib 1 '

booty — save the very insignificant one of' a few sovereigns and a clumsy 'silver watch — to tempt to the commission- of so great and dangerous a crime. If therefore, I sanguinely' erideavoured to persuade myself, I could but manage to deceive the amiable individual who was so considerately striving ■ to' force a way into my room without disturbing my' slumbfers, into the belief that he^ had' made it unobserved, an examination Jof my effects might, end, possibly, I in both " them and myself, being left unV touched. The experiment, at all events,' I resolved should be tried, 'the : more' especially as upon further consideration I' felt sure it offered my only -chance' of safety;- for, as I recollected' with? an access of consternation,- : it , ' had • been' arranged that Jonathan should sleeping hayloft apart from the house, and^bo'n-' sequently/' should my solution of those, ominous sounds be correct; 1 1 was alone 1 amongst these wretches, arid entirely in' their power. 'Resistance, whatever-might be'their design, would, I saw^b'e'wbde than useless; and accordingly, though' my heart throbbed violently when;! knew that the door had' at last yielded;'' and that the" intruder was~ln thefchamber, |! I lay perfectly still, breathing loudly and "regularly. - ~ - - The adoption of this line of conduct in all probability saved- my life, for as the issue of -the event proved, it was not : t6* 1 rob me, but to discover whether or no;I' were asleep, that my surreptitious visitor had entered my apartment. This fact became sufficiently patent when/ after leaning over my bed for what^ measured' by my mental suffering was an eternity," during which, with a difficult exercise of self-control 1 continued to respire like one in a heavy slumber, he stole away 1 again, without having meddled with my clothes or gone near the rude ' dressing table upon which lay my watch. 'But 1 my trial was not yet over. - For I should" think that for fully an' hour after he Had quitted the bed-chamber- and carefdlly' replaced the bolt, my unknown %atciier- c remained listening outaide'the'door ; and throughout that time I neither dared stir a limb nor remit- my sonorous breathing.'* Eventually, however,, an ? J dfr whispers with some person or jjerapn's^ who 1 had evidently been waiting lndifar 1 off the result of this protracted test,' 1 was followed, to' nay " intense relief, by T>h'e : sound of retreating' foOjtsteps.^ > 3 4 . .£ f; ' Upon^how^t passed 4 the remainder* of that dreadful night,- with thelong-drawn-out hours of early 'morning' 'which succeeded, I am not bound to dwell. But that no Bleep visited my eyelids, and that, torturedby suspense and enforced inaction, my hard couch Was by no means a bed of roses, it' will readily be believed. ' Upon- that couch nevertheless II 11I 1 forced, myself to remain until considerably .affceri seven o'clock ; then, rising and dressing, t I bathed my face in cold water,? sand studying it in the tiny , mirror^ strpve: carefully to remove all traces of solicitude dr want of rest., '„ . \ " ' But when ready at length to go forth from that chamber of horrors '"and satisfy myself, as I had been so feverishly longing to do, as to the truth, or falsity of the theory (for after all it' was little else) which, l had baaed upon the events of the night, I shrank from doing so.

After another earnest prayer, however, for strength to meet whatsoever might-be in store for me, 1 ,, and to , act the part on which I had determined, I summoned' up - courage, drew the bolt, and passed' oiit. On reaching the room allotted to Mr Morgan on the previons evenings I found 1 , the door standing wide open, tad with mingled feelings of awe and curiosity, i< entered. It waa, as a single glance showed, me, in perfect order. The bed,' of which ' the coverings were turned' down, ,w.as't ruffled no further ' than it would havebeen by a peaceful slumberer, and the coarse sheets were unstained by the slightest mark of 'blood. Nowhere covld? the faintest indication of .disturbance/ be,, discovered- j and as the welcome thought; suggested .itself, that had any deed,, of violence really takenplace, its evidences could scancely have '.been -so cleverly effaced, I turned with a heart lightened-, by hope, which wa3 well-nigh assurance,* ' a"nd went down-stairs. A clatter of crockery greeted my, .ears as I neared the kitchen ; and upon arriving there, I found { theifarmer and his family and Jonathan the driver seated at breakfast by a (large centre table. <;A smaller :one, laid t with > cups, and plates for two, stood nearer thei fireplace.; but the little minister, a rapid; survoy of the apartment satisfied me,' was' not present. Instantly my strong hope perished, giving place to a pang of keen! disappointment. , 'But commanding, .my features to an expression of unconcern, • I, returned the good-morrows which wereshowered ' upon me, and 'replied .to'- a? question from my host as to how I Had; slept, with the assurance jthat I , had passed an excellent night, and that indeed - I was at all times a remarkably sound sleeper. Whilst making this statement, however,I was fully conscious that in each- of the several paira of eyes which I saw directed towards me^ there was a hard scrutinising look. But instead of disconcerting, that'inquiring' gaze rather emboldened 1 mcl' Convinced thereby s of the' absolute 5 Necessity for the enactment of theroleupon which I had decided, I felt my spirit rising to'meet the occasion. Crossing the floor,' I seated myself by the smaller table, and inquired in a firm voice, and with a smile upon my face, where Mr Morgan wass : remarking, that in passing his room, I' noticed that it had been vacated. • . <• ! ," Well/ihiftrt/ yes^irV it is moreas'an 1 hour I 'Should think since the* gobt r gentle-

man will be come dpwn-staif,VAnd heTia gone -dut for J a walk;" composedly 'turned the farmer, to whom I had addressed my self ._;._" If is 1 to see the 'Spike Bocks that he will be gone, it wasa no doubt. But I 'ood be glad he catne 'now to breakfast,- for he ia a long while ,away, whatever." • , , b .\i [ j "The Spike. Rocks!", I exclauned^ 'feeling that I was , turning . pale^ j and 'almost losing my. self-possession. •« Surelyi we are not n^ar the Spike Rpcks? ",•■ ; iJ ' ; "Butyesinteet^sir,'* rejoined .thd.'Qldf' woman, who ! was standing up, cuttingbread for the rest, and in whom I detected, a, large amount of suppressed excitement. 'f It wass but very little way off,,the Ropka,«. this farm. And it is name, f sir, the Spike '^ock Farm.' In the summer time there 1 wass; a many ladies and gentleman will; call here ! to-^-V" " - - ' ' i ' ■ ' ■ ; ia j "Spike ßocks!" Icried,!; interrupting 1 jher rudely, and turning to Jonathaa in a, : violent, rage, 1 which for the moment swallowed up' all thought ;,bf cautipfir^ 'f how dared ybu,.Birrali/ bring us againr -to this horrible apot? L You 1 must: ha^e known -where you 'yirere'idfiving.i You^ you ; or/ I .added, ' stammering,^ !as f a^ highly discomposing suspicion > flashed across my mind/ and'finishingthe'H^ntence^ differently from ,w_hat I had intended-rrf *'or you must have been more drutik than I had imagined." [\ ' t '{': !j'.X':,Vv{j v "* : "Butsir, I-wass-7w^drunk no inoro than you vraxa .ypurseyjl^rejouied tho bjunchback in a threatening tone, glaring at >e 1 fiercely i'< 5* And , ii{ is f of -.i»o that you will scold me, sir, riot ! of '"any at»^ all ; for, sir, I didnotkno\f that we waimm come here myself —not- till I ' this morning^" whatever. And bf -"•< •* -' -^ UsU^ow > "Silence man ! " I interposed; 1 wittf att^ assumption of dignity and a- strenuous effort to appear coUected •, " swearing and ** passionate language will not convince ma ! « that^ydu ar6' speaking the 'iJrtfth'JanyW 1 better than quiet' words' wbulddtf. 1 *;Btttfifi I will go and meet-Mr- Morgan/'^ I^cott^' cjluded, rising asthoughto'put an : 6nd'tb the incipient quarrel ;T; T and taking- up-my ff hat; I prepared to'<leave the housel- ■-• ■- >nlh ; ! Following me "to tb:« door, 4tie farmer 0 politely jproposednhat.he; -or- one^'ofi his '» sons,' shouldtwalk with^me'for? company;-^ But upon my declining: the > attention} 4&U ;\fas inof; pressed^ an rr dd t contrary- to =niy feara; I> was 1 allowed t» pass'otft^lpne.f->-« ( f ; ' ' y^- (To~be continued?)^ t>::r "r ,;WwS