Cruel As The Grave

"'Your master and mistress sleep late,' I said.

"'Yes, sir, they were up late last night,' she replied while twisting

the child's golden ringlets around her fingers, in pure idleness, for

they did not need curling.

"I went away and staid away for about an hour, and then returned to the

sitting-room. No sound from the bedroom yet. No change in the

sitting-room, except that the nurse had taken a seat at the corner of

the table with the child on her lap, and was feeding him from a bowl of

milk and bread.

"'Your master and mistress not up yet?' I ventured to say.

"'No, sir, and no sign of them; I am giving little Crowy his supper, and

am going to put him to bed. And if the bell don't ring by that time, I

shall make bold to knock at the door and wake them up. Because, sir, I'm

getting uneasy. Something might be the matter, though I don't know

what,' said the girl, anxiously.

"'So am I, I wish you would. And when your master has breakfasted, tell

him I wish to be permitted to wait on him,' I said to the girl, and I

left the room for the tenth time, I do suppose, that day."

"Well!" eagerly exclaimed Sybil.

"Well, madam, in less than an hour from that time, one of the waiters

came to me with looks of alarm, and said that something must have

happened in number 90, for that the lady's maid had been knocking and

calling loudly at the door for the last ten minutes without being able

to make herself heard within."

"Oh!" breathed Sybil, clasping her hands.

"Madam, I hurried to the spot. I joined my efforts to those of the

terrified maid to arouse the sleepers within the chamber, but with no

effect. The maid was almost crazy by this time, ma'am."

"'Oh, sir, are they murdered in their bed?' she cried to me.

"'Murdered? No, but something has happened, and we must force open the

door, my good girl,' I said by way of calming her. You may well judge,

sir, that I did not send for a locksmith; but with a crowbar, hastily

procured from below, I hoisted the door from its hangings and effected

an entrance."

"And then? And then?" breathlessly inquired Sybil, perceiving that the

landlord paused for a moment.

"We found the room in the utmost confusion. Chests of drawers,

clothes-presses, boxes, and so forth, stood wide open, with their

contents scattered over the floor. We glanced at the bed, and the maid

uttered a wild scream, and even I felt my blood run cold; for there lay

the form of the lady, still, cold, pallid, livid, like that of a corpse

many hours dead. No sign of Blondelle was to be seen about the chamber."