Unmindful of the nipping air, the ladies flew to the windows and

raised them, while the gentlemen, in a body, rushed out upon the

porch, many to the lawn--the scene of the disturbance.

"They have caught him!"

"There are several of them--a gang of thieves, no doubt!"

"No! I see but one! They are bringing him to the house!" were

morsels of information passed over the shoulders of the foremost

rank of inquisitive fair ones to the rear, but none were able to

answer the returning inquiries.

"Who is it?"

"What does he look like like?"

"Does he offer any resistance?"

"Do you suppose he is a burglar, or only a common vagrant?"

"I thought the Ridgeley grounds were never infested by prowling

beggars, or other vagabonds," said a lady to Mrs. Aylett, who

prudently remained near the fire, even then shivering with the cold,

and casting uneasy looks at the windows.

"Mr. Aylett is a model to his brother magistrates in his treatment

of such nuisances," remarked another "His name is a terror to

strollers, whether they be organ-grinders, pedlers, or

incendiaries."

Mrs. Aylett, excessively pale, applied her vinaigrette to her nose,

and trembled yet more violently.

"I believe he is very strict," she assented. "But I am really afraid

those ladies will take cold! The snow-air is piercing. And they

are--most of them--heated with dancing. Cannot we prevail upon them

to close the windows, now that the mysterious prowler is secured? We

shall hear all about him when the gentlemen return, and they will

not stay out of doors longer than is necessary."

They began to pour back into the room, while she was speaking,

laughing, and talking, all together shaking the snow-powder from

their hair and hands, and anathematizing the cold and their thin

boots. The particulars of the midnight disturbance were quickly

disseminated. The ebon sentinels had, directed by the barking of

their canine associates, discovered, under a holly hedge on one side

of the yard, a man lying upon the earth, and almost buried in the

snow he seemed not to have strength to throw off. He was either

drunk or so nearly frozen as to be incapable of answering coherently

their demands as to what was his name and what his business upon the

premises. The interrogations of the gentlemen and the ungentle

shakings administered by his captors elicited nothing but groans and

muttered oaths. He could not, or would not, walk without support,

and to leave him where he was, or to turn him adrift into the public

road, would be certain death. Therefore Mr. Aylett had ordered him

to be confined for the night in a garret room. In the morning he

might be examined to more purpose.




readonlinefreebook.com Copyright 2016 - 2024