The Stories of the Three Burglars

hislife for mine?

  "Had I been stronger I would have searched for him; I would haveclambered among the ruins to see if I could discover his mangled form.If I could but reach his faithful head I would stroke and caress it,living or dead. But excitement, fatigue, and want of food had made me soweak that I could do nothing but sit upon the ground with my backagainst the tree.

  "While thus resting I perceived that the whole of the tower had notbeen demolished by the storm. Some of the rooms in which we had lived,having been built at a later date than the rest of the great edifice,had resisted the power of the wind and were still standing.

  "From the direction of the uninjured portion of the castle I now sawapproaching a light-coloured object, which seemed to be floating in theair about a foot from the ground. As it came nearer I saw that it was abasket, and I immediately understood the situation. My faithful friendwas alive, and was bringing me some refreshments.

  "On came the basket, rising and falling with the bounds of the dog. Itwas truly an odd spectacle, but a very welcome one. In a few moments thebasket was deposited at my side, and I was caressing the head of thefaithful dog. In the basket I found a bottle of wine and some bread andmeat, which the good creature had doubtless discovered in the kitchen ofthe castle, and it was not long before I was myself again. The storm hadnow almost passed away, and I arose and went to my own rooms, my friendand protector still keeping close to my side.

  "On the morning of the next day, as I sat wondering what had happenedto my servants, and whether my father had been apprised of the disasterto the castle, I felt something pulling at the skirt of my coat. I putout my hand and found that it was the invisible dog. Imagining that hewished me to follow him, I arose, and, obeying the impulse given me byhis gentle strain upon my coat, I followed him out of the door, acrossthe courtyard, and into the open country. We went on for a considerabledistance. A gentle touch of my coat admonished me when I turned from thedirection in which it was desired that I should go.

  "After a walk of about half an hour I approached a great oak-tree, withlow, wide-spreading branches. Some one was sitting beneath it. Imaginingthe truth, I rushed forward. It was Marie!

  "It was needless for us to say anything, to explain the state of ourfeelings toward each other. That tale was told by the delight with whichwe met. When I asked her how she came to be there, she told me thatabout an hour before, while sitting in front of her father's mansion,she had felt something gently pulling at her skirts; and, although atfirst frightened, she was at length impelled to obey the impulse, and,without knowing whether it was the wind or some supernatural force whichhad led her here, she had come.

  "We had a great deal to say to each other. She told me that she had beenlonging to send me a message to warn me that Colonel Kaldhein wouldcertainly kill me the next time he saw me; but she had no means ofsending me such a message, for the Colonel had had her actions closelywatched.

  "When the news came of Kaldhein's death she at first feared that I hadkilled him, and would therefore be obliged to fly the country; but whenit was known that he had been almost torn to pieces by wild beasts, she,like every one else, was utterly amazed, and could not understand thematter at all. None but the most ferocious creatures could haveinflicted the injuries of which the man had died, and where thosecreatures came from no one knew. Some people thought that a pack ofblood-hounds might have broken loose from some of the estates of thesurrounding country, and, in the course of their wild journeyings, mighthave met with the Colonel, and fallen upon him. Others surmised that abear had come down from the mountains; but the fact was that nobody knewanything about it.

  "I did not attempt to acquaint Marie with the truth. At that moment theinvisible dog was lying at my side, and I feared if I mentioned hisexistence to Marie she might fly in terror. To me there was only oneimportant phase of the affair, and that was that Marie was now free,that she might be mine.

  "Before we parted we were affianced lovers, pledged to marry as soon aspossible. I wrote to my father, asking for his permission to wed thelady. But in his reply he utterly forbade any such marriage. Marie alsodiscovered that her parents would not permit a union with a foreigner,and would indeed oppose her marriage with any one at this time.

  "However, as usual, love triumphed, and after surmounting manydifficulties we were married and fled to America. Since that time I havebeen obliged to support myself and my wife, for my father will give meno assistance. He had proposed a very different career for me, and wasextremely angry when he found his plans had been completely destroyed.But we are hopeful, we work hard, and hope that we may yet be able tosupport ourselves comfortably without aid from any one. We are young, weare strong, we trust each other, and have a firm faith in our success.

  "I had only one regret in leaving Europe, and that was that my faithfulfriend, the noble and devoted invisible dog, was obliged to remain onthe other side of the Atlantic. Why this was so I do not know, butperhaps it was for the best. I never told my wife of his existence, andif she had accidentally discovered it, I know not what might have beenthe effects upon her nervous system.

  "The dog accompanied me through Austria, Switzerland, and France toHavre, from which port we sailed. I took leave of him on the gang-plank.He licked my hands, and I caressed and stroked him. People might havethought that my actions denoted insanity, but every one was so greatlyoccupied in these last moments before departure, that perhaps I was notnoticed. Just as I left him and hastened on board, a sailor felloverboard from the gang-plank. He was quickly rescued, but could notimagine why he had fallen. I believe, however, that he was tripped up bythe snake part of my friend as he convulsively rushed away."

  The young man ceased, and gazed pensively upon the floor.

  "Well, well, well!" exclaimed Aunt Martha, "if those are the sort ofexperiences you had, I don't wonder that Realism was wonderful enoughfor you. The invisible creature was very good to you, I am sure, but Iam glad it did not come with you to America."

  David, who had been waiting for an opportunity to speak, now interruptedfurther comments by stating that it was daylight, and if I thought wellof it, he would open the window-shutters, so that we might see any onegoing toward the town. A milkman, he said, passed the house very earlyevery morning. When the shutters were opened we were all amazed that thenight should have passed so quickly.

  The tall burglar and the young man now began to exhibit a good deal ofanxiety.

  "I should like very much to know," said the former, "what you intend todo in regard to us. It cannot be that you think of placing that younggentleman and myself in the hands of the law. Of course, this man,"pointing to the stout burglar, "cannot expect anything but a justpunishment of his crimes; but after what we have told you, you mustcertainly be convinced that our connection with the affair is entirelyblameless, and should be considered as a piece of very bad luck."

  "That," said I, "is a matter which will receive all the consideration itneeds."

  At this moment David announced the milkman. Counselling my man to keepstrict guard over the prisoners, I went out to the road, stopped themilkman, and gave him a message which I was certain would insure theprompt arrival at my house of sufficient force to take safe charge ofthe burglars. Excited with the importance of the commission, he whippedup his horse and dashed away.

  When I returned to the house I besought my wife and Aunt Martha to go tobed, that they might yet get some hours of sleep; but both refused. Theydid not feel in the least like sleep, and there was a subject on whichthey wished to consult with me in the dining-room.

  "Now," said Aunt Martha, when the door had been closed, "these men havefreely told us their stories; whether they are entirely true or not,must, of course, be a matter of opinion; but they have laid their casesbefore us, and we should not place them all in the hands of the officersof the law without giving them due consideration, and arriving at adecision which shall be satisfactory to ourselves."

  "Let us take them in order," said I. "What do you think of the tallman's c
ase?"

  "I think he is a thief and manufacturer of falsehoods," said my wifepromptly.

  "I am afraid," said Aunt Martha, "that he is not altogether innocent;but there is one thing greatly in his favour,--when he told of thefeelings which overcame him when he saw that little child sleepingpeacefully in its bed in the house which he had unintentionally robbed,I felt there must be good points in that man's nature. What do you thinkof him?"

  "I think he is worst of the lot," I answered, "and as there are now twovotes against him, he must go to the lock-up. And now what of the stoutfellow?" I asked.

  "Oh, he is a burglar by his own confession," said my wife; "there can beno doubt of that."

  "I am afraid you are right," said Aunt Martha.

  "I know she is," said I,