excitement; he stepped noiselessly inside; and hardly had he done so, when there came another gust of wind and a sudden draught, the candle in the hall was extinguished, and the outer door blown to with a loud noise, and jovial Tom Trumper, with the cold perspiration on his forehead, found himself caught in the enemy's country. The noise of the closing door alarmed those within; Trumper heard footsteps, and a strident voice crying out, "Who is there? Crow, did you shut that door?

Then a few words spoken in a lower voice, and the candle was relighted. He crouched down in the darkest corner of the vestibule and scarcely breathed. Somehow he knew that that strong grating voice belonged to the man with the black beard, and it struck terror to his soul. Somebody said presently, in a milder tone: "I must have failed to close the door behind me, and it blew to when Crow opened the window. There is the mystery explained."

"I shall make sure it is closed now," and the tall man strode into the vestibule, turned a knob, and pushed a bolt, allowing poor Trumper to observe that the lock was of a complicated pattern impossible for him to open; then rattled the door and said grimly that it would blow to no more that night.

Had he turned to the left in leaving, Trumper must surely have been discovered, but he wheeled to the right and saw no one in the dark corner. He went away with the others to the room at the far end of the hall, this time taking the candle with him, and Mr. Trumper had an opportunity to recover his presence of mind, which had sadly deserted him.

What an awful situation for an honorable public-house keeper, much respected and revered in the community, to be discovered in-hiding and dodging around strange houses in the dark! The thought almost renewed his panic, but gradually Mr. Trumper's stolidity of temperament prevailed, and he reflected that his wager must be won; that he was now actually in the house, so that half its conditions were fulfilled; that his curiosity was more biting than it had ever been, and that no such opportunity of gratifying it would be likely to occur

again. He rose, for he was becoming cramped trying to reduce himself to half his natural size. He saw that the hallway was quite dark and the room beyond quite light; a few steps might solve the mystery; his object once attained and the people of the house asleep, he could escape by a window on the ground floor if not able to unlock the door. The temptation was strong, and Mr. Trumper was now bold. He ventured; took step after step toward the light along the dark hallway; one more would have given him a clear view of the room, when-the hall-door bell rang. Mr. Trumper's knees trembled again; the position now was even more embarrassing than before. It was too late to retreat to the vestibule. He heard people moving; they were coming; a door was open on his right; he dashed through it as Crow entered the hall with a lamp. The room into which he came was dark but for the light from this lamp. Trumper perceived a sofa and plunged behind it. Gracious Heavens! somebody was already there; no, it was only a cat, that, startled, poor creature, by Trumper's avoirdupois, dashed away. Meantime the hall door was opened and new voices were heard, a woman's among them, Trumper thought. He listened intently, frightened as he was. They were going up the stairs; his curiosity was again ardent; his position commanded a view of a small section of the stairs. He raised his eye above the sofa, and sure enough he beheld a female figure being led up the stairs by Crow and a stranger, while those mysterious people Trumper had always known as the three bad men followed solemnly behind. They disappeared, and our friend was left again in obscurity; he felt that he had witnessed the prelude to some horrible crime, and with his indignation his courage came again; indeed it had been continually coming and going during his visit to this house. "I may not be able to prevent this crime, whatever its nature," he said to himself; "but at least I will witness it and give evidence against the villains, regardless of the consequences to myself." Bold in this virtuous thought, he came out from behind the sofa and marched firmly to the stairs,

went half way up, fancied he heard a groan above, and came expeditiously down again.

"Is this my courage?" thought the worthy man; "I will go up."

And he did; but as he reached the head of the stairs, a scream rang through the house, a door was thrown open, a noise of rapidly falling feet, a burst of light on the scene, and Trumper, taken too suddenly by surprise for retreat, saw a woman, young and lovely, rushing to him, felt her soft arms about his neck, and heard her calling upon him to save her, to protect her. What a situation!-if Mrs. Trumper had been there. Mr. Trumper was not long permitted to remain in peaceful possession of his fair burden; the people of the house were close in pursuit, but they stopped short upon perceiving our worthy friend, and it would not be easy to decide whether he was more excited or they more amazed.

By Jove, it's the tavern-keeper from over the way!" exclaimed one of the fair men.

Well, what are you doing here, sir?" cried the tall one.

Trumper stammered and stuttered, and in a confused way tried to give his questioners some idea of the events that have been recorded. He did not think they were very angry; the dark man grinned once or twice; but in the midst of his explanation the door bell rang again and attention was instantly diverted from him. Crow had already taken the woman from Trumper's arms and led her away, but now returned, and a consultation was held as to the expediency of answering the bell, which continued to be heard at intervals. Coming to a decision they all filed down the stairs except the last comers, and Trumper followed, hoping that when the door opened he would be permitted to escape. Crow drew the bolts and discovered four men standing just outside. "I have a few words to say," said the spokesman, "with the head of this house."

The dark man stepped forward; the four men entered the hall, and Crow closed the door behind them. The spokesman Trumper did not know, although we saw him long ago waiting on

a road with a lantern in his hand; but Trumper recognized the second of the four as the man who had interrogated him two days before in his own tavern. The man knew Trumper too and seemed surprised to find him here.

"I have been informed," said the spokesman; "that two brothers, Herbert and John Billington, who have long been supposed to be dead, are at present alive and in this house. Indeed," he added, looking around Crow's lamp, "I perceive them now if my eyes do not deceive me."

"Admitting this, what then?" said the dark man.

"Why, I have an order to confine these gentlemen in the Bloom Island Asylum for the Insane, at which I fill the office of assistant physician."

After a moment's pause, the tall man turned abruptly to the back room, and all followed at a sign from him except the last two of the four, who remained in the hall, and Crow, who went only as far as the door, followed by Trumper, who had been quite overlooked in the excitement.

The party took seats around a table upon which were bottles, glasses, tobacco, and cards.

"The blow has come at last," exclaimed one of the fair men.

And but one day too soon," said the

other.

"It is true," said the dark man, “that your discovery is made at an inopportune moment.'

"I have no doubt," said the other, with a smile, "that you would have found my discovery inopportune at any time."

"I do not play upon words, sir,” rejoined the dark man, sternly; "I am in earnest when I request that you will delay the execution of your order for a day."

"May I ask upon what grounds?"

"I will tell you, although in doing so I must touch upon matters of a family and confidential nature."

He glanced at the Billington brothers and only continued at a sign of assent from them.

"I am a physician, like yourself, although I have no doctor's degree; but I have passed nearly all my life in Asi

atic countries, where I learned many novel medical theories, most of them worthless and absurd, but a few of value. Among the natives, with a slight knowledge of European medical science, for I studied in Paris in my youth, I came to be regarded as a great physician and amassed considerable wealth.

Several years ago I returned to Europe and found my relatives, Herbert and John Billington, suffering from a peculiar phase of hereditary insanity, which in Europe has always been considered incurable, but which I had treated novelly and successfully in the East. Francis Craven, their nephew, had had them cared for in many asylums, and at the same time he and a rascally lawyer obtained control of the Billington property and took many liberties with it. To my offer to treat his uncles in the Eastern fashion Craven acceded, but became alarmed when he found they were improving, and, claiming that my horrible system of treatment was driving his uncles to the grave, he obtained an order to place them in the Bloom Island Asylum, where, although it is an excellent institution, he knew they never could be cured. I protested to medical and legal authorities, but was laughed at as an Oriental humbug. If you were at the asylum the night of their arrival

They were under my charge at the time of the accident," said the asylum doctor, who no longer smiled incredulously as at first.

out by my superior and our order immediately annulled."

"We accede to your plan, but must persist in our request for delay."

"Delay! Why delay longer if your friends are cured?" said the other suspiciously.

"Because we have learned that Craven is to be married to-morrow to a young lady, his cousin several times removed," said Herbert Billington. "I sent for my niece to-day, and she met me in my lawyer's office, where I learned that she detested Craven and dreaded the marriage. Before your arrival we had discussed the matter and determined to save the poor girl by stopping the wedding. I have a strong hold over Craven, as proof can be produced that he squandered a quarter of my fortune before my supposed death."

"And so we request that you waive the rights of your order for twenty-four hours, after which we will submit to all the formalities you please," said the Eastern doctor.

The asylum physician seemed wavering, and the other, taking advantage of his indecision, suggested that the matter be discussed, and led the way to the room at the far end of the hall. As they passed along the visitor asked the dark physician whether he had ever taken any other patients.

"Two, both women; one is upstairs now, the other was a hopeless case."

Trumper, who had been so much interested in the disclosure that he had forgotten where he was, now touched Crow on the arm, slipped a guinea into his hand, and requested to be let out. Crow, not having been aware that anyone was behind him, started, but quickly reflecting that the day had come when all mystery was to be abandoned, he pocketed the guinea and threw open the door, and Trumper with a sigh of relief found himself once more a free man; he crossed the street, looked back at the black windows of the brick house, and wondered if it were not all a dream. His wife, too, who was lying awake in a pretty state of mind, was entirely unwilling to believe his improbable story. Very little sleep came to poor Trumper's eyes that night, and in the morning he was annoyed at finding that his wife still