uring the forenoon, but he came in after we sat down at
dinner, much as on a former Sunday; this time, too, he looked much
heated. Addison and Theodora bent their eyes on their plates, but
nothing was said by any one. Halstead ate hurriedly, with covert glances
around. He seemed disturbed or excited, and after dinner went out in the
garden alone, keeping aloof, but came up to our room late that evening,
after I was abed.

At length I fell asleep, but immediately a noise like scratching or
squeaking on the window pane, roused me suddenly. The window was on the
back side of the house, but there was a driveway beneath it, and any one
outside could, with a very long stick, reach up to the glass panes. It
had grown dark, but when the noise waked me, I found that Halstead was
sitting on the side of the bed, as if listening.

"What was that?" I said, sleepily.

"Oh, nothing," replied Halse. "The wind rattled the window, I guess."

I recollect thinking, that there was no wind that night, and I believe I
said so, but I was very sleepy, and although I thought it queer that
Halse should be sitting up to hear the wind, I soon fell into a drowse
again and probably snored, for my room-mate often accused me of that
offense.

I had not fallen soundly asleep, however, when I again heard the tapping
at the window. A sly impulse, suggested probably by Halstead's demeanor,
prompted me to play 'possum and pretend that I had not waked this time.
I even went on breathing hard, on that pretense.

Halstead was still sitting on the bed. He listened for a moment to my
counterfeit breathing, then slid easily off and approached the window.
It was already raised a little and rested on a New Testament which Gram
always kept in our room. Halse gently shoved the window higher and put
out his head. The air of the quiet country night was very still, and I
heard a hoarse whisper from the ground outside, although I could not
distinguish the words.

"Yes," whispered Halstead in reply.

Then the whisper below resumed.

"I don't want to do that," said Halstead.

The whisper outside rejoined, at some length.

"Perhaps," answered Halse.

The other whisper continued.

"When?" asked Halstead.

The whisper replied for some moments.

"By eleven," Halse then said. "Not before."

Then there was a good deal of whispering beneath, and Halstead replied,
"Well, I'll be there."

Not long after, he crept back to bed, I meantime continuing my
fraudule