The House in the Mist

st thus suddenly from the scene, I naturally stood still instead of mounting the stairs, and, by standing still, discovered that though shut from sight I was n

kes the number

over what I considered my good luck, I settled myself on the lowest step of the stairs

ce before him in good shape, and his next words were of

h you have assembled to hear read, is well known to you. By it his whole property-(not so large as some of you might wish, but yet a goodly property for farmers like yourselves)-is to be divided this night, share and share alike, among such of his relatives

which, from its smothered sound, probably came from

me unimaginable reason, seemed to give him an odd sort of pleasure), then he went on with

tlemen: Shall I

sion! Tell us what we are to ha

eling from face to face as each thus gave voice to his cupidity, and

the old man's clutc

he wainscoting since my departure from the room. I found myself wondering which of them it was. Meantime ol

ward you amply. There are shares in this bag which are worth thousands instead of hundreds. Now, now! stop that

such rapacious eagerness that th

pleasure he seemed to take in the suspense

ount himself richer by two hundred thousand

shrieks and loud-voiced enthusiasm made the room ring, till wonder seized them again, and a sudden silence fell, through which I caught a far-off wail o

on, I would have given a year from my life, turned toward the dark without, in recognition of the despair thus piteously voiced; but i

ssing the company in his smoot

as not personally acquainted with all the children and grandchildren of his many brothers and sisters. Salmon's sons, for instance, were perfect strangers to him, and all those boys and girls of the Evans' branch have never been long enough this side of the mountains for him to know their names, much less their temper or their lives. Yet hi

hy no echo of my mirth came from the men themselves. They must have seen much more plainly than I did the ludicrousness of their weak old kinsman's demand; yet Luke was still; Hector was still; and even John, and the three or four others I have me

toward the door. Who? I waited in anxious expectancy for the word which w

rd from him before. "Why? What have you done that you should forego a

heart a shock. It was she who had risen at th

rather than speech. As I afterward heard, she simply opened h

e I can not take my share of Uncle Anthony's money. I did not know he exacted an

greatest need; but there was no lingering in her step; and to me, who understood her fault only through the faint sound of infantile wailing wh

it; for when the lawyer, with a certain obvious reluctance, laid his hand on the bolts of the door with the remark: "This is not my work, you know; I am but following

for us to hazard the opening of the door," the lawyer now remarked. "Ma

ful. Yet I warrant there was not a soul remaining who had not already figured in his mind to w

and I was only anxious to find my way to where this deso