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Redmond took a brickv from the debris- that lay on the ledge and dropped it. One might have counted twenty before the ho]- low sound that followed reached their ears. “ That will do 3” said the woman. They left the door open and returned to Nessa’s room. There Mrs. Redmond took the light, and nodded to her husband to do his work. For a moment he hesitated, look- ing down on the sleeping girl and rubbing one clammy hand against the other, his moustache twitching with the convulsive movement of his lips; then, with the energy of desperation, he suddenly caught hold of her and lifted her upon his shoulders. Now that he had overcome his moral weakness his physical vigour was capable of any strain. He was like those beasts of prey, also for the most part cowards, who lose all sense of fear from the moment they are nerved to make the attack. own accord Nessa would not move for hours; but surely hours had passed since then. Yet that could not be ; the candle his Wife had lit was not yet burned an inch. It might burn to the socket before their torture was over. And then when the light was out, when the cry came, What was to be done ‘? \Vho was to put the door 0 on that it might appear Nessa had opene it and fallen in hcr sleep? How was the night to be passed before they could go through the scene laid down by his wife of pretending to miss Nessa : of sending the girl to inquire if she felt unwell 2 of making a search, and facing the world when the broken body was found and brought to light ‘3 ‘ g These were consequences that must be faced if all went as they expected ; but if some unanticipated difficulty aroseâ€"if she should not be killed outright! Then his “I shan’t «lo it on the parapet. I looked at it this morning. It isn't natural that she should get out of the window.” “Where shall you put her then Y” He pointed down the corridor. “Is it all ready ‘5" “Give me the light.” He took the candle, and she followedhim down the corridor, away from the staircase, and towards the unoccupied side of the house. Beyond Nessu’s room the Wains» coted walls were gre ' with the (lustof years. Cobwebs tapestried he angles Pf the unused Ebors, and hung in ra ged festoons from the low ceiling. At the urther end there were signs of humidity : the boards'yielded'ito the pressure of the foot ;there was a growth of crimped, yellow fungus in the old mould- ing of the lower wainscot panels. The old door that closed the corridor was green in one corner where the rats had gnawed the rotten wood away and given passage to the damp air ; a. prismatic slime marked the course taken by a. slug ; the great hinges, ‘ the rivet heads, the heavy bolt, and hand ring were crusted with red rust. Redmond pulled the ring, and the door, grating hoarsely on its hinges, swung back against the wall, showing a spaceof impene~ treble darkness beyond. He dropped on his knees and thrust out the hand that held the light ; the candle flaring and glittering in the current of cold air. Mrs. Redmond stepped boldly to the door sill and looked in. She now distinguished brickwork on the opposite side, and knew that this must be the tower of which she had heard. It had once been floored, but the roof had fallen in and broken away the rot- ten planks, leaving nothing but a couple of mouldering cross beams and a. narrow ledge of crumbling woodwork just beyond the sill. “ “7th is down there ‘2” sked Mrs. Red mogul1 “ {s it deep guppghfl” He carried Nessa down the corridor quickly, as if she had been a mere infant. \Vhen his wife came up with the flickering light, he laid the supine girl down on the edge of the door sill. That was not the easiest thing to do; it required dexterity and strength of no ordinary kind. The sill was not long enough to lay her out at full length ; her shoulders had to be raised and placed at the edge of the wall. Without a. firm grip the flaccid body would have slipped from his hands ; a. clumsy movement would have broken away the rotten wood on which she rested. “ That will do,” said he, when‘he had dis- posed of her to his satisfaction. “ The slightest movement will finish her. If she only turns her head she mu§t topple over.” fie was still kneeling with fifs hand on Nessa’s shoulder. Mrs. Redmond bent down. “ If a touch will do it, why not push her down and be done with it ‘2” she asked. He knelt there meditating on this sugges- tion for a. moment in silence; then rising and turning his cunning eyes on his wife, he saidâ€"â€" “ You do it.” “ Not 1,” she replied ; “ I’ve done my share. I’m not going to have a. murder to answer for.” “ Nor I neither,” said he, taking the light rogghly fyon} heriand: I‘lD WET? crusted With red rust. 5]. ‘ey stopped. Mrs. Redmond drew her skirts together and glanced to the right and left in horror. She had courage enough for murder, but went in mortal dread ofa spi- der! “\Vhat arm. It was a trifleâ€"nothing, His foot had struck against the shoe that had fallen from Nessa’s foot as he carried her along. Yet this little thing had crisped the hair on his head and paralysed him for the moment. fie looked to Nesszn’s position again, and then carefully closed the door upon her and shot the bolt. Theystood there in silence, listening for the sounds that must comeâ€" a, brush against the door, the rattle of rub- bish falling down the pit, the scream of ter- ror, the crashing of rotten woodwork, and then that (lull, muffled sound welling up from below to tell that Nessa. was killed. They went back through the passageâ€"he first; hastening to get away from the place and escape the awful sounds their ears were straining to catch. The panic was upon them both now. Near Nessa/'5 empty room he stopped suddenly, catching his breath with a rattle in his parched throat. “\Vhat ‘2” ejaculated she, clutching his AT THEIR MERCY. Nessa lay where she had sunk, her cheek pressing the pillow, her head thrown back. ward towards the wall. She breathed inaudibly ; her bosom rose and fell with gentle regularity. Mrs Redmond brought the light close to her eyes ; the lids, slightly parted, showed the blank, white body of the upturned ball under the long, curved fringe of She lashes, but they made no movement. Irom below to tell that Nessa. was killed. “What are we waiting here for ?” asked Mrs. Redmondwith quickimpatience, seized with EL sudden panic she could not account for. “She is not likely to move of herown accord for hours. ” She turned to her Husband, who stood at the foot of the bed craning his neck to watch the experiment with the earnestness of a surgeon following the course of an operation. He nodded satisfaction. She called Nessa by her name, raised her into a. sitting posture, and let her fall back again upon the pillow, Without making any visible effect upon the sleeper’s senses. “Come on ‘. Do your work 5” said Mrs. Redmond. r!” “\Vhere’s the girl when she joined him. “In her bed-room and asleep this last half hour, ” he asked in a whisper He drew back to the door, beckoning her. THE BATTLE WON. CHAPTER VII. These were consequences that must be faced if all went as they expected ; but if some unanticipated ditficulty aroseâ€"if she should not be killed outright! Then his frenzied imagination conjured up new horrors. V “ If they had been doing a murder, they couldn’t look more guilty,’ said the doctor to himself, dropping Redmond’s hand with inward disgus‘.‘ and seating himself. It occurred to Mrs. Redmond that the hall door had been left open to admit air ; it was obvious some one had come into the house. But she still sat, spellbound with a nameless fear. Another interval of silence brief in itself, yet painfully protracted to the two conscience-stricken Wretches ; then the handle of a. door turned. Suddenly he started, and turned to his wife with gaping mouth. Her lip, too, had fallen. They had both hem'd itâ€"zL sound ; but not that they listened for. Somebody was moving downstairs. A step in the hall ! Silence I Another step I Silence ! Husband and wife staring at each other aghast, without realizing the cause of their terror. A sharp rap, tap, tap! Somebody must be knocking at the hall (1001‘ with a stick. Redxfibnd taltered a perfectly unintelli- gible: _a.n_swer_. It was no good fighting against that fasci- nation. Her eyes took the same direction as his, her ears straining for the last despair- ing cry of that voice which had brightened the daijith laughter and lively chat. Now that the colour was washed from her face, she looked scarcely less livid than her hus- band in the feeble light of the candle that stood on the table between them. Every moment added to the terror of their situation, and brought fresh horror to their wild im- agination. The sweat dropped from his face. The suspense was interminable. \Vould the end never come? His wife had said that of her own accord Nessa would not move for hours; hut surely hours had passed since then. Yet that could not be ; the candle his Wife had lit was not yet burned an inch. It might burn to the socket before their torture was over. And then when the light was out, when the cry came, What was to be done ‘? \Vho was to put the door 0 011 that it might appear Nessa. had opene it and fallen in Her husband shrank hack, shaking his head. She snatched up the light, and went out of the room. He waited till the room was in darkness, listening for a sound from below and for that sound from above ; and then, unable to endure the suspense, and in eraven fear of the obscurity, he crept after his wife. Better be down there than be found quivering up here, if that cry came, and this visitor should rush up to discover the cause. “ The weather seems to have affected you also, Mr. Redmond,” said the doctor, taking higliglp, w_et fiand.» Supposing the fall should not kill her, he thoxlghtâ€"ssupposing from the bottom of the tower she should cry in agony for help? She could not be left there to die. The serâ€" vant girl, when she got up in the morning, would hear her. Should he have to kill her outright? How? Must he lower a light to see where she lay, and then loosen a beam, to throw it down to crush her? He recollect- ed torturing a cat in his boyhood. The thing would not die. It fastened its teeth and claws on the iron her he thrust at it. He dared not put his heel on it ; he dared not leave it, for fear it should drag its broken body into the light and betray him. Sup- posing he fztiled to kill Nessa from aboveâ€"- if her cries brought help, and she was brought up, mangled and torn, to convict him with her last breath '3 “You must $0 down and see who it is,” Mrs. Redmont said. It was Dr. Shaw. He had walked into the living room seeing a. light there. His first words when he saw Mrs. Redmond werew “Good gracious, madam! what is the matter He had never before seen her withouL colour 011 her face. But even colour would not hme disguised her agitation from his penetrating eyes. She made some excuse about the weather and her nerves, with as much self-composure as she could assume. Just then Redmond, reassured by her tone of voice, ventured into the room. The two ghastly faces presented a curious spec» tacle to the student of physiognomy, and excited odd speculations. His Wife pushed angrily past him as the light fell on the shoe. He hurried after her, sick with the dread of being there alone. They stopped on the landing below, holding their breath to listen. They heard nothing but the rushing of the blood in their ears. They were under. a terrible fascination, pos- sessed by an irresistible anxiety to catch the sounds that in anticipation terrified them. She returned to the table, and half filled the tumbler with spirits. \Vhen she had drunk she pushed the glass across toRedmond, who had come back from the door; but he took no notice of it, having his face still turned towards the door. “Drink I” she said, imperatively. He turned eagerly, took up the glass in his trembling fingers, and emptied it; then, seating himself, he turned his face again to tho (”Lark space outsido the Mom. They entered an adjoining room, treading noiselessly, as if a. sleeper were there whom they feared to wake. He set down the light upon the table. There was a. bottle of whisky there, but he could not find the force to fill the tumbler that stood beside it. She, less irresolute, poured some water into the basin and sponged her face, attributing her weakness and sense of suffocation to the clnseness of the night. She stopped in udrying her hands as she caught sight of her husband staring with outâ€" stretched neck towards the door. He stood in shadow there, but she could see his white face turned towards the stairs. After V'ELit- ing a minute, motionless, she crossed the room hastily, the towel in her hand, and comv ing to his side, said, in a whisper»â€" “Is it over ‘1” ' He shook his head without moving from his position. “GO out or come in, for God’s sake !” she muttered. “ You’d frighten the devil I” 9n “ Where are you going I” he asked with the energy of dfesperatnim}. ‘ “film going to find the young lady your wife_ Ems drugged. Dread of discovery brought Redmond in a. moment to his senses. “You canfi‘at see her. I forbid you to go to her.” “But I insist upon seeing her. Do you know that adose of this stuff is enough to pagglyse a._1:e9b}e heart a}1_d calise dg‘utI} Y” it The doctor looked at him keenly. It was clear enough he meant what he said; there w as murdex 1n his eyes, and he was a power ful man. “ Very good,” said he disengaging his arm. “ I shall not put your threat to the test I hav e done all that professional duty 1equires, but I warn you that if anything happens to that young lady, you will have to answer for neglecting my warning; and you,” he added, tuining to Mrs Redmond, and showing the bottle he held in his hand, “ for this 1” He passed alone through the hall and out through the door under the gatehouse. But he turned his back on the place with an un- casy conscienceâ€"«an assertive conviction that something more than, professional duty call- ed for his interference in behalf of Nessa. He felt that he was a coward to leave her thus at the mercy of the man and woman whose murderous character was stamped upon their faces. Turning in his saddle as his horse walked noiselessly over the grass- grown drive, he saw the house standing in asombre mass, the towers and gables sharp- ly defined against the light of the moon rising beyond. His flesh crept with the suspicion, almost amounting to certainty, that at this very moment that young girl whose vivacity and brightness had charmed him in the morning, was being murdered. And just then a. faint sound reached his ear; it mig Jht have been a night bird’ s cry or the muffled shriek f01 help of a girl’s voice. He stopped his horse involuntarily and listened. The cry was not repeated, nor the rustling of a leaf broke the dead silence ; but he thought he descried a. man’s figure crossing the dark lawn stealthily towards him. Craven fear shook him. The doctor, who had fastened his cob by the rein to a loose ring in the gatehouse, might have heard the movement, but cer- tainly he could not have imagined that the speechless consternation of this mum and woman was due to such a trifle. Their attitude was inexplicable to him. One thing however, was clear : he must look after the poor girl that Mrs. Redmond in perverse stupidity had been dosing. He made a. movement towards the door. * Hevwould have passed by, but Redmond clutched his arm and held him back, crying, incollerently~ “You shill not go up. This is my house. I forbid you. I’m a dangerous man. I’ll liillyou ; by God, I’ll kill you if you attempt Redmond was standing as if petrified, with his livid face towards the half-opened door. The doctor’s address made not the slightest impression on him. Glancing at Mrs. Redmond, he found her face also blank with some unaccountable dismay. \Vhat was the matter with them both, he asked himself. There was a sound outside beyond the hall at the foot of the tower; that was What riveted them. Was it all over? Had Nessa fallen without a. cry? Or was this in- definable sound but preparatory to those that must proclaim their crime intelligiblyâ€" the fall of debris caused by a. movement above to be followed by the crash and ringing scream they had been waiting to hear with such Ions; horror ‘2 r,” ““lhat (To you mean, Dr Shaw. she askcd,1ising with an air of indignation. “I mean what I say. You heme been tam- pering with the mixtule I gave. This bot- tle contained nothing but peppermint and water this morning There is chloral in it now, and 1n this also,” he added, taking up the glass. “Are you aware that in certain circumstances it is felony to administer a. drug of this kind '!” He saw uwhat she was about to (loâ€"she intended by a backwald 11101 ement of her arm to sweep bottle and glass from the table as if by accident. \Vithout a, mo- ment’ 5 hesitation he put out his hand and took the bottle. “By this bottle. there would have been no necessity to refill it if the chloral had been taken voluntarily. Mr. Redmond,” he said, turning round sharply, “I address my- self to you. I must see the young lady at once: where is she?” tered?” His quick giance, following a. movement of her hand, fell on the bottle that stood on this lamp with a. wine glass beside it. There was a milky sediment at the bottom 0f bnihz; if any colour had been precipitated from the mixture he gave it should haw WW pink. A “Yes, your mixture, doctor,” she said, putting her elbow 01.} the table and trying tog): his eyeAWithlherfl. “You have been tampering with this,” he said, putting the bottle to his nose. “ M$I mixture 1” he exclaimed, turning his eyggsharfly upon hex} __ “ It is late,” assented Dr. Shaw, looking at big “7913911. “ Half-pirst ping”. Only half-past nine !‘ It should have been past midnight by the feelings of the wonnn and her husband. 131-. Shaw accepted the apology with a bend of the head. “ And my other patientâ€"the somnambu» list ‘1” The doctor addressed the Woman, but 11.5 eye was on the man, who, with his head turned a little on one side, seemed to be listening, and with an intense concem tration of his faculties that totally alienated his mind from other considerations. The doctor asked himself what on earth the man had been doing, with a. perfect certainty that he was in mortal dread of discovery. If she had been mistress of herself she would never have said that But her mind was not proof against, the terrible strain put upon it. It was only too clear Lhat the doc- tor’s susplcion was aroused by the abject terror and mental collapse of her husband. She repented her words the moment they were spoken. “ We didn’t hope to see you so late,” said Mrs. Redmond with an effort. “My round has been long ; I was kept in the village,” the doctorcontinued. “ How is the gifl ‘2” “91 have sent her to bed,” Mrs. Redmond answered, recollecting Emma for the first time. “ I‘think I frightened myself for noâ€" thing. It is only a. bilious attack, and I am sorry 1 troubled you to come out of your way, doctor.” “ She too has gone to lie down,” said Mrs. Redmond in reply to the doctor’s question. “ Indeed I left l1e1 in her 100m sound asleep, than‘ s to your mixture p) “It was fancy," he said to himsdf, and ' \v do you know it has been adminis- She lay there exhausted with her effort, on the border of insanity, her power of rea~ soning dissipated in a delirious tumult of recollections and fancies; and then, in fran- tic des emtion, she strove again to open her eyes. Flue lid rose feebly, the hull of the eye iolled down, and she sawâ€"what? a, spark of light. She kept her eye fixed with the strenuous energy of despair, too overjoyed at the vic- tory she had won to care or think What the rich gold spark was that she saw. After awhile she determined that it must he a star in the heavens, and that the black silhouette standing out- against- the lighter background must be foliage. She strained her eyes, and reasoned until she came to perceive that the foliage was ivy, and that she must be lying in the open air. But where, where? was sufficiently awake to explain the inabilâ€" ity to move by the equal pressure on her muscles of the surrounding earth. In im- agination she felt the cold wet clay press- ing upon her ; the wonder to her was that she felt no suffocation, and breathed freely. But the sense of impotency was horrible. The futile endeavour to remove her head from the projection was maddening. She knew that she must lose her reason if this continuedâ€"like those martyrs she had read about, who died raving mad from the con. tinued dropping of water upon their lips. If she had known that sure death would have resulted from a movement, she would have moved to overcome that awful cramp that seemed to frenzy every tissue and fibre of her body. Yet she knew that' the cramp was imaginary, and that relief from {his pur- gatory was to be obtained by reason and calmness. But reason only added to her horror. She argued that if she could breathe she could surely cry out, and so, perhaps, make it known to those outside that she was there buried alive. She tried with every efiort of her will to scream, and her breath escaped from her lips with scarcely an audible sound. “7hy was this? She felt the sweat trickling down her cheek; that could not be if her face were covered; and if her mouth was not imbedded in clay, why should her voice fail to produce a. sound? By another fierce efi‘ort she moved one foot. It slipped from its resting-place 0n the sill, and fell down till it struck heavily against one of the rotten joists. It was all r» mystery to her ; but it was with ecstasy of delight she found that her limbs were free, and that she was recovering the use of her willâ€"was not buried there 1 Next she c011- centrated her energy into a movement of the hand, on the same side as the foot which she had released. That fell down too, her arm dropping from the shoulder as if it were lead. Her strength was just sufficient to enable her to pass her [fingers feebly along the bricks against which it rested. She 'felt that t11_e1e_ was damp moss there. lfeanwhile, what had happened to Nessa? A strange singing and throbbing in her eaIs accompanied the first return of consciousness, and with that a bewildering inability to remember anything, and to realise her present position. It seemed to her that she was revolving with prodigious velocity in some piece of machinery 3 that in some way accounted for the lines and flashes of coloured light that passed before her eyes, the feeling of sickness and giddiness, the burning and throbbin in her ears, the con- fasion of ideas, and t e incapacity to dis- tinguish any object save patches and streaks of colour. Suddenly there came into her mind some- thing like an approxinmtion to the truth. By some means she had come in her sleep to lie down there, and it seemed to her that this must be the parapet that she had ob- served running under her window. \Vith that conviction came a. consciousness of her perilous position, and she concluded that her foot and arm must be hanging over the side of the parapet. To go back to the house, and be taken there like a mt in a trap, was madness. With speed he might get to Lullingford in time to catch the last train: that: would enable him to get 011 to Liverpool, where the morning papers would tell him whether the murder had been discovered. From Liverpool he could gob away in the first onwardbpgnd vessel, and save his neck. \Vithoulz another thouzght; he threw down his gun mid bolted. Gradually the whirling sensation slack- ened. The light took the form of globes floating upward. and faded away, leaving her in complete darkness as the motion came to an end and the feeilng of giddiness passed Then she became conscious that her eyes were closed, and that a, sharp projection was pressing the back of of her head. With the effort to open her eyes and move her head, a. new phenomenon became evident : her will was powerless to influence a muscle of her body. She strove in vain to raise her hand, to stir her foot. It was as if she had been plunged into a bath of liquid plaster and it had hardened. And now reviving recollection of the past suggested the idea that the opiate she took had thrown her into a trance, and she had been buried as dead. Herreusoning faculty digging his heels into the cob’s Slde he escaped. But it was not fancy ; the long-expected sounds had oomc#a despairing cry, an audible fall within the empty tower. Pre- pared as they were, Redmond and his wife heard it with a convulsive start and a sudden check in their breathing ; their eyes met in a glance of mutual intelligence. But a minute before they had heard the doctor unfastening the rein of his horse ; he might be now within hearing. If he were there he must be silenced to save them from 0011- viction by his evidence. Spurred to desper- ation by the sense of danger, Redmond needed no prompting from his wife. He slipped into the hall, and taking down his gun from the rack made his way rapidly to the front of the house. The doctor had pulled up, and stood out clear enough be- yond the shadow of the building. He was Within range, but Redmond hesitated to fire, doubting if he could kill at that distance. Clearly he had heard the cry; it would be fatal to let him escape with a wound. Red- mond made a couple of quick, cautious steps forward, crouching down, and trust- ing to the deep shadow of the house to avoid discovery. Suddenly the horse started, and the next minute. the doctor was lost to sight in the darkness of the avenue. \Vhat was to he done now? Two things were obvious : the doctor had heard Nessa’s cry, and seen him. It was hardly less certain that he had gone off at a gallop to raise the alarm and procure assistance. CHAPTER. VIII. The thrush is audible about 4:50 in the mtgning. The (iilail’s whistling is heard in the woods at about 3 o’clock. The blackcap turns up at 2:30 011 a. summer morning. A steiy showing the strength and intelli- gence of the spider has been 1e\1\ ed Fol- lowing is the original account clipped from- the Lebanon (Ky) Standard of 1882: A tolerably tall task stands against the wall: in P. C. Cleaver’s livery stable. A small spider had fastened to the bottom of the- desk a conical web reaching nearly to the floor. About ll.30 o’clock Monday forenoonv it was observed that the spider had ensnar- ed a young mouse by passing filaments of her web around its tail. When first seen the mouse had its fore feet on the floor and: could barely touch the floor with its hind‘ feet. The spide1 was full of business, run- ning up and down the line and occasionally biting the mouse’s tail, making it struggle despeiately. Its efforts to escape were all unavailing, as the slender filaments about its tail were too strong for it to break. In a short time it was seen that the spider was slowly hoisting its victim into the air. By 2 0 ’clock in the afte1noon the mouse could ba1ely touch the flow with its fore feet; by dalk the point of its nose was an inch above the floor. At 9 o ’,clock at night the mouse was still alive, but made no sign except when the spider descended and hit its tail. At this time it was an inch and a half f1 0111 the floor. Yesterday morning the mouse was dead, and hung three inches from the- floor. By 4~the blackbird makes the woods re- $013M with his melody. _ The house spurrowhnd tomtit come last in the_ list} of egrly rising birds. At short infervalsvuftcr 4:30 the voices of the robin and wren are heard in the land. The green finch is the first to rise, and sings as early as 1:30 on a. summer morning. The lark (ices not rise until after the chai- finch, Iinnet, and a. number of other hedge- row folk have been merrily piping for a gocd while. “011, G061, give me strength for another moment E” she prayed. And then as *thé door swung back, she rblled heavily over at Mrs. Redmond’s feet and lay there so still that the woman be- lieved that the fright had killed her. A cold faintness, {he beginning of uncon- sciousness, crept upon her as she lay there panting, with wild terrors whirling through her brain and sapping her self control. 011, nothing could save her i That thought, brought again a. faint, despairing cry from her quivering lips.‘ W‘hat. wasvthét? A footstep near her? A sound like a bolt being drawn in its rusty- holdflwt 7 For a. day or two the hen brooded away and the unhappy cat stalked about the pIemises, watching for an Opportunityto get back her ow.n At the end of tl11ee day s the hen had to quit the old stand 101 food and water and promply the (at slipped into the nest, and taking the kittens one by one by the skruif of the neck, transported them all to a distant part of the hay»1now. Then came the hen home again, and when she found the fledglings flown she raised another- noisy row all about the farm. She looked alow and aloft, vainly for awhile, for the: missing brood, and finally found them; ranged alongside the parent cat. Again there was a battle and again the old cat had: to flee from the furious henpecking, but, she took along one kitten in her teeth, while the hen held the field of battle and" our feline spoils. With the kitten in her mouth the cat scaled a high scaffold and made for herself a. new home, with her one offspring by her‘ side, but the old hen is still encamped on; the rest of the kittens in the new-made rest. She lays not, neither does she cackle, but it really looks as if she were going to bring up the four kits in spite of all drawbacks and setbacks. But dread, that gave her strength at first, robbed her of it presently, as she thought of what must happen if she gave way. Her heart fluttered with the recollection of that (lull, sickening crash she had heard, and might hear again when she fell. Her knee gave way, and trembled under the forced tension. She dared not cry for help; yet how could help come if she could not make her position known If At Stafford Springs, 001111., a facetioils‘ and determined old hen wanted to sit, but her owner took away her eggs, whereupon in querulous mood she quit her nest and blustered about the homestead, finding a, great deal of fault with life. While she was doing that the family cat discovered her‘ artistically wrought and rounded nest curled up in it and deposited five kittens thele. 'lhen the hen came back, pitched into pussy, fahly drove her off the nest, flew 111 and smt 011 the kittens, evidently In' ferring that they were a. new kind of chickens she had hatched in a moment of mental abstraction. As her foot fell, it seemed to her that the Weight must drag her down, and terror gave sound to her voice. She screamed aloud, at the same time straining to maintain that rigidity which she had previously striven to overcome. She knew that she owed her es- cape to this. It was obvious that she lay upon a. narrow and treacherous ledge between two blocks of masonry, and that while she could keep tightly wedged there, and perâ€" fectly still, she was safe. All depended upon her holding her foot firmly against one side and her shoulders against the other. Neural] her endeavour was to draw back her arm and foot. Under the continued strain her muscles were awaking to their duty. She lifted her hand up with compara- tively little difficulty; but her foot was- still numb and week. Summoning all her faculties to the effort, she pushed with the lower footto get herself further from the treacherous edge. She thought she WEB' succeeding as her leg straightened out ; but a crumbling‘ grating sound proved soon enough that it was the support that moved ”not she. \Vitha sudden crash, it slid away, and fell grinding against the wall’ down, till it struck the bottom far below with a dull smash. Great God 1 what mercy had been shown her ‘. But for this paralysis that bound her limbs she would have fallen into the court- yard and been crushed to death. If she had awake in the ordinary way, and sprung up, notlling in the wofld could have _saved‘he1_‘. A Spider’s Execution. Early Rising Birds. A Queer Battle. (TO BE cox'rn 1 D.)