Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 74, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 May 1899 — HIDDEN TERROR [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HIDDEN TERROR

CHAPTER I. •Dick, Dick, where are you? See if I wfil ever lend you another book of mine! Ton promised you would keep it only three days at the very longest, and now, test when I have a nice half-hour all to myself ” ;* “Hush, Mab!” said Dick, emerging from the shelter of a curtained recess in the old-fashioned sitting room. “The pater is just outside with Uncle John, I Bad, if they get hold of me, I shall be •ent off with some message half a dozen •dies away. As for your book, I have left It in the library; that is the reason I did not get it for you. So you see you must wait.” “The library!” echoed Mab, ruefully. “Well, I will try to slip in. But listen! father is coming out of the library now, •nd Uncle John with him. I shall get the hook after all!” The girl whispered the last sentence while the voices of two gentlemen were plainly audible outside in the corridor — the voices of Mab’s father and of her node. She hesitated no longer, but went awiftly and lightly by a side door whence •he could gain access to the library. Mab lost not a moment in locating her ■tory book. She had hastily clutched her treasure, and was about to fly back again, when the door was reopened, and, to her affright, her father, followed by Uncle John, came back. A few words, however, from the former reassured her, making her decide to remain behind the shelter of the curtain, and not to betray her presence. “Yes,” said her father, “here it is, John. I always know your stick from mine by this mark on the knob. Come along! We will start at once, and you will return with me and dine and sleep.” “I suppose I must,” replied the other. “We shall hardly be back before seven •’dock.” “No,” said Mab’s father; then, lowering Ms voice cautiously, he added another sentence which made Mab feel uncom- / sortable. “Shut the door, John; I want to say another word to you before we start. This letter is on my mind. After all, as y*u say, it is risky to carry such a secret about with one, and we must read it through together before we destroy it.” v “I should think so!” interrupted Uncle John. “So I will put it in here,” continued Mab’s father, opening a tiny drawer in Ms large writing table. . “That will be safer,” remarked his brother. “But where are your keys? You would surdy never leave such a paper in a drawer which was not locked, even for a moment!” “I must have left them on the toilet table,” was the reply, as the speaker hastily dosed the narrow drawer after throwing the letter inside. “Well, I will fetch the keys at once, just to ease your mind; but I can assure you that neither the girls nor Dick would venture to open any •f the drawers in my writing table. They stand in too much awe of me; and it is well that it is so—the faintest suspicion of what this letter contains would raise a hornet’s nest about your ears and mine, and Dick would have no mercy! No, no; that secret must be forever hidden. You . call me a careless man, but I think I have kept it well concealed all these years.” U “Great heavens, the merest whisper would be destruction!” cried Uncle John, in horror. “Well, you know what care I have always used, and that lately I have insisted that any communication shall be in German. That puts me at ease about this letter. None of the servants would be Hkely to decipher it, even if it were dropped; but we will read it over together, and then destroy it. But hark! That is surely Lord Fallerton’s voice! The footman has shown him into the drawing room. I must go and see him.” Just then the door of the library opened, and a footman announced to his master that Lord Fallerton was in the drawing room, or else perhaps Mr. Charlford might I have thrust the paper into his pocket. As It was, he allowed the servant to hold •pen the door for his exit and that of his brother, after which the trembling Mab B was left alone. She was by this time wrought up to a high pitch of excitement. She was devoted to her elder brother Dick; she was, besides, very young and impulsive, and rite fancied that her father and her uncle | were plotting something against Dick. There was a secret, which he was never to know, which, if he knew, he would be angry about! Ah, poor boy! But she would dare all for his sake! She would read the paper. Yes, it was wrong to do K *o —Mab felt that, even in this moment of excitement, but she was very impulsive, fe The girl was a good German scholar; it would be easy enough for her to decipher t the few lines on the paper hidden within | the drawer of her father's writing table. || Without a moment's pause for consider eration, and gaining courage from the bet lief that her father would be detained at Mast hqlf an hour by Lord Fallerton, who great talker, the girl flew to the Bteahle snatched out the paper and darted Bteaek behind the curtain to make herself Ehßiatress of its contents. might her hands tremble as she fc Was about to unfold it!—for Mab had nevfcgrih idl'ber life been guilty of such an acbefore, and but for her love of Dick, Which had blinded her for the time, and lUhr bet father’s sternness, she would not H&e done this thing now. And, as if her was to begin immediately, KHu before she was cognizant of that for she had risked so much, she heard Ml father’s step, her father’s voice; and hb entered the library, followed by Lord Epfaßerton, his visitor. Half dead with fear, Mab thrust the lets. ■ ter into her pocket, as she cowered behind Mlief shelter of the curtain. She could not L have moved for very terror; she stood | aprilbound, yet she was fully conscious of femgL was going on in the room a few And then Uncle John entered with some Lj&y* in his hand, and, going straight to I tite -'Writing table, locked the drawer ghifMch be supposed held the very paper | ••■•hmr lay at the bottom of Mab’s ' HBm are your keys Richard ” said her

words spoken by her father and by Lord Fallerton, and it seemed to her like another dream when* they, with her uncle, moved away and returned to the drawing room. Barely had she power left to creep from the library up to her own pretty chamber, where she sank, exhausted by her emotions, upon the foot of the bed. Presently footsteps sounded outside the door, followed by a knock, and then her two younger sisters presented themselves, suggesting a stroll. Mabel was too much bewildered to refuse the walk, stay behind, and possess herself of the secret. She must be content to wait till evening gave her a few quiet moments to herself, or till she went to bed. When bed time came and she had said good-night to her father, and her door was closed, and every one in the house supposed her to be asleep—then she would read the secret about Dick. Thus ran her thoughts as soon as she and her sisters were walking across the fields with Miss Gray, the governess. The fresh air had a soothing effect on Mab; the color returned to her cheeks, and some portion of courage came back to her. But all the while her eyes roved over the landscape to see if Dick were anywhere at hand, and her thoughts were occupied with the letter lying in her pocket. CHAPTER 11. A couple of hours had passed; Mab had returned from her walk, tea was over, and she was now changing her dress in order to appear in the drawing room for an hour with her sisters, Netta and Bella, before the late dinner. This was the only time in the day when Mr. Charlford had any intercourse with his younger children, and Mab was still reckoned among them, for she was as yet only sixteen and a half. The girl dreaded this evening hour, when her father examined her in history and various other subjects, looked at her drawings, eyed her dress critically, and told her of small shortcomings in her behavior. If she had spoken or laughed too loudly on any occasion, this was the time chosen for reprimanding her—in fact, no pleasant associations were connected wi(th the evening meeting with her father. She had been ready nearly five<ninutes, she heard the younger ones run downstairs, yet she lingered by her open window, shrinking from what must come, when a sharp ring at the front entrance startled her. What visitor could it be that came so late? She heard her own name called hastily by her eldest sister, Caroline. “Mab!” “Yes,” stammered the agitated girl, going forward. “Where are you? Come downstairs at once!” said Caroline. “Something has happened. Father has had a telegram from a great friend of his in Frankfort, and he is going to start for Germany this evening, and will be absent at least a month. You and I and Dick are to go and stay with Uncle John, while the younger ones will be sent with nurse and Miss Gray to the seaside.” Mab did not answer. Her immediate sensation was one of intense relief. Her father going away for a month! It almost neutralized her reluctance to go to Uncle John’s.

The incidents of the two or three hours which succeeded this startling intelligence passed with Mab like an unreal dream. The dinner was hastened. As soon as the meal was over the brougham drove round to take Mr. Charlford to the station, whither Dick was to accompany him. “Now I will slip away and learn the secret!” thought Mab, but Caroline touch* ed her on the shoulder. “Come and help me to move a few of my things, Mab. I must occupy your room to-night, and you can sleep with Annette, for father had to go off in such haste that he had his writing table carried jnto his dressing room, and his rooms will be locked up till his return. Poor Mab! She could not refuse; but this new arrangement meant that she would not be alone for one moment that night, as Annette, a very wakeful girl of fifteen, would be with her. The mysterious secret seemed to be weighing her to the earth. How important it must be, to induce her father to order his writing table to be carried upstairs and his rooms to be locked up during his absence! Oh, for a conference with Dick! The hour for going to bed came too soon for Mab, for Dick had not returned; however, she could find no pretense for lingering when Caroline said, testily: “Do go to bed, Mab! You will keep Netta awake; and we have to start early to-morrow.” And now a new difficulty arose-for Mab. Where -could she hide securely the paper which was in her pocket? What terrible agitation she experienced as her sister prepared for bed! With what tremulous feelings she removed her own dress, seeking for the propitious moment in which to draw the paper from her pocket! But the maid’s eyes and Netta’s were upon her, and Mab suffered so much from agitation that she had lost her coolness and courage. “Let me hang up your dtess, Miss,” said the maid, taking the garment from Mab’s unwilling hand. With frightened gaze the girl watched her while she was hanging the dress in the wardrobe, wondering all the time how soon she could creep out of bed in the darkness, secure the terrible paper containing the secret and keep it in her hand, if need be, till day broke. The next instant She was calling out in frantic dismay to the maid, “Jane, Jane, what are you doing?" and she was rushing forward to pick up the paper which had already caused her so many pangs when Jane turned her dress in hanging it up. “ ’Tis nothing, miss—only this bit of paper,” said Jane, in order to excuse herself, for she had crushed it in her hand in picking it up. In her agitation Mabel had torn it from the maid, and it was rent almost in two. The girl could no longer, contain herself. She darted to the other window, and eagerly scanned both sides of the crumpled sheet. She was not, however, rewarded for her pains. A very few words, conveying no meaning, mat her eyes. These were in German, and translated, '• ** '' ■ --V

“So it will be as well to let Frankfort be the place assigned.” No more—not a word! Her head reeled —there was no secret here! Stay—no secret? Was there not one, in truth? For did these words mean that her father was going ostensibly to Frankfort, when in reality he Was traveling somewhere else? Soon the two sisters were left alone with the quiet of night, and very quickly Netta’s deep breathing told Mab that she was sleeping peacefully. Slumber, however, was far from the eyes of the elder girl. She was trying to think clearly, trying to calm her terrible agitation, in order to meet the requirements of the coming day; and, as she mused, she found comfort, for she came to the conclusion that the secret was still safe in the little drawer in her father’s writing table. “Yes, that is it,” said Mab to herself—“undoubtedly that is it!” She must have taken»only one-half of the paper out of its hiding place when she seized it so suddenly; the other half must be where her uncle and father had hidden it. Thinking thus, Mab experienced immense relief, for, though she had greatly desired to know what the secret was, it had never occurred to her that she would be prevented from restoring the paper to the drawer. Well, she need not now think of it any more. She would burn those few words about Frankfort when she had shown them to Dick, and try to forget them, though she would certainly warn Dick of the supposed plot against him, poor boy! As soon as breakfast was over next morning there was a general move made to prepare for departure. The carriage was to take nurse. Miss Gray and the children first to the station, and Mab, Dick and Caroline were to start With Uncle John immediately after luncheon. “Dick,” said Mab, seizing a moment as she met him in the hall; “I do so want to speak to you!” “Eh?” returned Dick. “Is it particular?” “Indeed it is!” she answered, emphatically. “Well, then, I am afraid we must wait till to-morrow evening. No—till the day after, for Uncle John has informed me that I am expected to dine out with him to-morrow.” There was no time for further speech between brother and sister, for Uncle John appeared at that moment, and they separated.

CHAPTER 111. “To-morrow evening” had come. Mab, Dick and Caroline were installed at Uncle John’s, and each of them felt more or less unsettled and restless, their usual occupations being interrupted and their freedom restricted. For Uncle John kept a pretty sharp watch in a quiet way over their doings whenever they stayed at his house, and the young people were secretly assured of this. Nevertheless Mab experienced some relief at her stern father’s absence; but she did wish that they bad all been left at home. It was about seven o’clock when, as Mab was crossing the hall, dressed for the evening meal which she supposed she was to share tete-a-tete with her elder sister, Dick rushed downstairs and caught Mab’s arm. “Mab,” he cried, “I’m in a pretty pickle —will you help me out of it? Upcle John has just informed me that I have to sleep as well as dine at Lord Bilstone’s to-night —and uncle himself is not going, after all; he has a touch of the gout. The carriage will be round in five minutes, so I shall have no time to help myself out of the hbbble.” “Uncle not going!” exclaimed Mab. "Well, tell me at once, dear Dick, what you wish me to do; you know I would do anything in the world that you wanted.” “Oh, Mab, you are a darling!” returned Dick gratefully. “Well, I shall get into an awful row if I don’t ask you to do this for me, Mab! I’ve left uncle’s box of flies for his fishing down by the pool. Do get it in before morning.” “That I will,” said Mab, earnestly; ‘Tmt oh, how could you take it?” “Because I was a venturesome young fool,” he answered penitently. “Shall I be sure to find the box?” asked Mab, uneasily. “Quite sure.- I left it behind the boat house, under the clump of dock leaves. You will find iL though nobody else would think of looking there.” “I’ll be sure to get it, Dick,” whispered Mab, hurriedly, as the noise of wheels coming up to the front entrance became audible. “And, oh,” she added, her voice thrilling with the deep excitement which she had for so many hours suppressed. “I have so much to tell you, Dick! You must manage to get half an hour with me to-morrow —don’t let Uncle John or anybody prevent it.” “All right!” said Dick, confidently; and it was all that he had time to utter, for just then Caroline appeared on the staircase and Uncle John opened his library door, saying, sharply: “Don’t keep the horses waiting, Dick! The animals bolt on every possible occasion.”

Twilight had fallen out of doors before Mab found an opportunity to leave the house, but there was no real darkness. It would be the easiest thing possible to find her way to the boat house, Mab thought; but she must go at once, for if anything detained her the servant might fasten the doors before her return. The girl was well aware that at that time of year doors and windows would be open for another hour at least; she knew, however, that she ran some risk, but for that she was prepared. In a minute she had wrapped around her a thin, dark mantle; the next she was stealing downstairs, and at the risk of meeting her dreaded uncle she passed through the marble hall out into the summer twilight. How sweet the air was! But Mabel did not linger to enjoy its delicious fragrance. Aware of the importance of utilizing every moment, she spe3 across the lawn, which was now shrouded in a pleasant gloom. It would not take many minutes to run to the meadow by the short ent that she knew. There was a sunken fence dividing the flower garden from the small park beyond, and Mab was about to let herself down upon the dewy grass, when the odor of a cigar was borne to her upon the air, and the outline of a man’s form reclining on a garden seat caught her eye. Not six paces from the spot where she was sat her uncle, and Mab stood still only just in time to avoid detection. How should she ever get to the boat house now? She dared not advance, it was perilous to remain where she was, and she might be discovered in retreating. Oh, if she had guessed her uncle’s whereabouts, she court easily have reached the boat house by d# Seek route! The trembling girl stepped toward a her position undetected when her uncle ••• S 4

should rise to go indoors; and thea ah* waited for her opportunity. About a quarter of an hour elapsed while she was in this uncomfortable situation, the girl’s frightened gaze being riveted on her uncle in the increasing gloom. Then she saw him rise, throw away his cigar, linger a moment as if enjoying the summer night, and then saunter toward the house. Mab watched her unde disappear within the house, and then swiftly and silently dropped upon the thick grass beyond the lawn. For one moment she listened intently. All was still save for the soft murmur of insects on the wing; and the girl, reassured, sped on across the.park and into the meadow where the boat house stood by the flowing water. Mabel had sped to the boat house so rapidly that she was glad to pause and take breath; but only for an instant did she linger—the next she crept down behind the boat house, sought out the group of large dock leaves, stopped, groped under them, heedless of damp or falling dew, secured the box, and was about to return when her attention was attracted by a murmuring voice within the boat house. Good heavens! who —who was speaking there at this time of night? Mab gasped for breath, and shivered with a strange dread, such as she had never felt before. It was her father who was in the boat house, separated from her only by a few planks, the wide interstices of which enabled her to see through; she saw, though dimly, his figure—the figure of her father, who was supposed to be at that moment in Frankfort! (To be continued.)