130 



THE AMKlllCAN JiEH-KEEPER. 



May 



me, aua, tjjougii luuoceut, 1 was at ouco 

 branded as guilty by my father. He did 

 not wish to have the family name drag- 

 ged into court, so he took the easier 

 course of disinheriting me and casting 

 me off entirely. My enemy, whoever he 

 was — and heaven knows 1 thought I had 

 none worth speaking of — had done his 

 work well. I became a frequenter of the 

 turf, a gambler, and nearly — but, thank 

 heaven, not quite — a thief. I was tempt- 

 ed some few weeks ago to join a band 

 of burglars who contemplated robbing 

 my father's house. But though I had 

 sunk low I was not quite bad enough 

 for that, and, overcome with remorse, I 

 determined to seek an audience with 

 my father and warn him of his danger. 

 The result of that interview you know, 

 and" — 



Here he broke off abruptly, a queer 

 break in his voice. 



I will pass over the rest of our con- 

 versation and merely state the plan 

 which the remorse stricken man had 

 formed to checkmate the robbers. 



I must explain that at the back of the 

 house was a courtyard, shut in on three 

 Bides by the kitchen premises of the 

 house. It was a small window — that of 

 the pantry — which was to be the mode 

 of ingress. Young Mr. Geoffrey — that 

 was the son's name — was to lead the 

 burglars in their enterprise. He would 

 conduct them through the window, and 

 then, with the aid of myself and Sir 

 Mortimer, whom I was to apprise of 

 the robbers' advent, would help to over- 

 power the others, two desperadoes, for 

 they had not wished to have too many 

 concerned in the job. 



Friday came, and it was, I am bound 

 to confess, with no slight feelings of ap- 

 prehension that I looked forward to the 

 work which was bt^.-3ro me, for I was 

 no fighting man. O.' course I had not 

 mentioned the mcLl.i .'.ed robbery to the 

 baronet, for that would have spoiled ev- 

 erything. 



At 1:3 o clock I stole noiselessly down 

 to the kitchen and quietly waited till 

 the burglars should arrive. I had not 

 long to wait. I heard the muffled sound 

 which warned me ihat they had com- 

 menced operations, and, slipping away 

 as noiselessly as I had come, I departed 

 to apprise my master of the outrage on 

 his property. 



I loiiLid l.'i]:i s!t<ing iji his bedroom 

 on a chair, ciad in his dre.-;s'ng' gown 

 and slivjpers. His face was buried in, his 

 hands, and he was evidently lost in 

 thought. At ray entrance'lie started vio- 

 lently np and gazed with wonderment, 

 not unmixed with anger, at me, as I in- 

 truded i:::yself on his solitude. I at once 

 camo to the point. 



"Sir," I said, "there are burglars 

 trying to force an entrance at the back." 



Now, my master's bedroom was at 

 the extreme wing of the building, so 

 that had it not been for the fact that I 

 already knew of the contemplated rob- 

 bery be would probably have heard noih- 

 ing of the burglars, taking for granted 

 that they succeeded in reahiug the din- 

 ing room, where the family plate — their 

 object — was secured. 



He gazed at me curiously for a few 

 seconds and then calmly walked across 

 the room to his chest of drawers, which 

 he opened, taking therefrom a small re- 

 volver, which he slipped into his pocket, 

 handing another to me at the same time. 



Sir Mortimer took the lead, and, fol- 

 lowing close behind him, I noiselessly 

 stole along at his heels. Arrived at the 

 kitchen door, the sounds inside told us 

 we had come at the right moment. The 

 baronet threw open the door. The gas 

 had been lighted, and standing in the 

 middle of the roorp were the three men, 

 young Mr. Geoffrey, apart from the 

 other two, pallid and haggard looking. 



And then I do not rightly know what 

 happened, it was all done so quickly. 



Sir Mortimer, stepping calmly into 

 the room, raised his revolver and fired 

 at his son, who was waiting for me, 

 who had lost all presence of mind,' 

 to act on the initiative. With a groan 

 he threw up his arms and fell forward 

 with a dull thud on the stone floor. The 

 other two did not wait for more, but 

 with incredible swiftness darted through ■ 

 the pantry, and, locking the door be- 

 hind them, made good their escape. 



Just then a white robed figure appear- 

 ed at the open kitchen door and gazed 

 wildly about her. As her eyes fell on 

 the body of the man lying prone and 

 lifeless on the floor Miss Linda Barbi- 

 can, for it was she, rushed forward and 

 with a moan threw herself down beside 

 her brother, apparently dead, killed by 

 his father 1 



