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LEN sr co.. r-nhnshers.
‘'01. II. E:8:fl‘.uur M
. anagmg Edator.
Augusta, lllilillt), Feln'um'y 1, 1873.
V PUBLISHED SEMLMONTHLY.
Terans---S 1 .0
No.
0 Per Year.
Entered according to act of Congress. in the year 1 573. by E. c. ALLEN .5: co.. in the Orhre of ism lrihrariun of Coiizress. Washington. D. c.
Cl-IILDl:tEN AT PLAY.
or children at play.
There they go, bless their hearts!
NOW snout Will! a will,
Away by the river.
Those children at play!
Here they come once again.
With A whoop and shunt-
ln hiding soon
Ah I they've fnlllld her at last
In the straw as She hi!-
Oh, there's music in hearing
The children at play.
(‘wad have In Thy heeplu
. .TlIB chlldreaso (lca ..
any they ever rcgsrrl Thea
With love and with rear
Al WDIK 0]‘ It play.
-joo>----
WACKSERI HALL;
School-Day Q-xiii’: oyiiick Datealls.
By the Author of “Dion's Bncrmna," “Louis
Four-oxn,” ctc., etc.
ClIAI"I'EIt IX.
run zscan:-ax cxcxrzcnzn sum‘.
$‘r&’ HE little courage which the boys pos-
. ‘.2 ecssed amongst them, disappeared as
T the daylight gradually waned, and the
deep silence of the night began to steal
QM upon the haunted chamber.
As the dark grew deeper, and the outlines of
the walls and of the objects in the chamber be-
csmu misty and ill-defined, the heightened im-
agination of the boys began to image all sorts
of shadowy horrors lurking in the corners, un-
til at lust they huddled together near the win-
dow, in momentary eapcctstion of the appear-
ance of some horrible apparition.
“I'll be even with old Wackseln for this,"
muttered Richard.
“So will I, if I get through this night alive,"
said Charlcy.
“And I, too," added William. “I can believe
now in the story of the boy who was driven
mad. I feel out of my mind already, and if a
- ghost comes, I shall lose my senses at
one
“What do you say to bolting, Charley 2"
“How can we 1 The doors too strong to break
“No,” assented Richard, mournfully.
And then his eyes fell upon the beds which
Gregory had made for them, and he exclaimed,
joyfully,
“If we can't jump out of the w'lndovr,we can
let ourselves down. lr hers I" -
And snatching up a sheet, he deliberately
tors oil‘ a longstrip, and began twisting it up.
Charley and Will, catching his idea and his
enthusiasm, followed his example, and in s very
short time, the Rev. Mr. lVackaem’l sheets and
blankets were converted into a long, strong
rope. carefully twisted andkuottsd. .
hl til
3 ,. ltliali Hi
, l
. ll ‘ll
cruunnzv
“New for tho window I" said Richard. “Come
on, you two fa-,llnvrs."
The window was examined, and fnuml to be .
casement, opening in the old-fashioned way like
a folding-door, sud outwards.
I ad bot-,n carcl'ully fast-cued up at some
time, but age hsd done its work, uml a vigorous
ctfnrt of the three boys forced it open, and tho
casement crc-akcd hack on its rusty hinges. ‘
“This will do to fasten the rope to,“ ma
mu, pointing to an iron bar that divided the
casement in two. '
"Try it drst," said Richard, prudently.
And the result pmvetl that he was-right, for
a vigorous shslrn loosened it out of its socket,
and with a. dull thud, it fell upon the ground
ow.
This brought their labors to a atrmdstill for
some time, until Richard suggcatcd placing a
beam of wood across the opening of the win-
w.
dome rope, when fastened to it, would hold
the beam tight in its place, when any one do
csnded.
, Fortunatcly,lt was getting dark, or the height
might have (rights ncd the boys from attempt-
ing the descent, and they could nuly guess
whether or not the rnpswaa of sufficient length.
Then cams the question as to who should go
wn
:-
9
E! r .
"Lst ms,” said Charley, eagerly, for as the
darkness increased, so did his readiness to es-
cape from the Blue Chamber.
A1.‘ nu.
“No, I'll go first," replied Richard; “I‘m the air
oavinst, and if the rnpn will heir my weight.
you will know that it is sufn rnr you."
The proposal was too rcnsonnble to be nega-
tived, so ltirhard, muttering a prayer to him-
aclf, climbrsrl on to the sill of the window, and
grasping the rope nrrniy in his hands sud be-
tween his knees, began to descend.
A tliick, gray mist had rismi, and obscured
everything hy which he could have judged of
his distance from the ground.
The trees, though close to him, were indis-
‘la
era: a.
At longth, he felt the end of the rope pass
between his knees, and he gave a sigh of relief.
He had reached the end of his perilous journey.
B An icy dew gathorcd on his forehead,
as, grasping the and rat‘ the rope tightly in his
hands. he fvlt fur the ground with his feet.
They tounhed nothing-he was swinging in
air.
Ths dreadful thought came upon him, that
the rope was too short. The distance must
have been misculeulatedi
He might be twenty feet from the ground, for
auglit he could tall.
He felt ltimpossihls to climb back again : his
strength had been driven awsyby terror. Even
at that moment he felt his hmld relaxing; a
murmured appeal for mercy, and he let no-to
be whirled thirty feet through the air, and be
dashvd to pieosaf No; to find himself ln A
second safe on his feet upon the ground.
While he was holding on to the rope, Ind
praying fur army, he was not more than three
feet from the earth; but the mist had l"A'lJtlL‘l‘Cd
it impossible to see.
. At that moment came a faint-
“l-Iallol"
“Hallo l" respondvd Richard. “It's all right;
but the rope's my tort. l'on‘ll have to mi a
tremendous long way "
is did not swiu to dismay his companions;
for instantly he saw the end of the rope shak-
hug, and, after a few moments, the soles of a
pair of hoots came out of the mist.
“llow much furtlu-r is it, Dick ?" said the voico
belonging to tho holly which. uvrnml the boots.
Richard snftly rrtm (I a few pure, and then,
niutlulsting his vvico to make it rmnnr one it
came from an innuenzcu Llistam-u, said,
“About as fur as ynu'rL- mm, (‘harlt-y." ,
“Good lloav<:usl" L'l’0BlI('ll Mast:-r Strong.
‘Shall I have to drop all that tliexIaIi<'('?"
“Yes, you ruust. I had In," said llir-hard, in
the same vvutriloqual Voice. “'l‘uln-, rare to
drop straight, for tht-rc‘s a lot or trig stones
shout."
-4 - “If-I-must, I must," uiuttr-rod Clmrlcy.
And, at the lame moment, he let go, and
rolled upon Richard, who was conrulr-all with
laughter st(7lrarlvy'a hevrildvrmc-nt, r..r he ca-
pvctod nothing I--as than a mu nf tvwuty 1.-ht.
“I've 3 cu good mind to pitch into you
fur that, Master Richard 1" said Cliarlry, lrrIm-
liling to his he “You deserve it for the fright
you gave me.
“ltushl not so loud ; well have Will directly.
I can hear him cumin ."
In fact, he was; and, as Clisrlcy had done,
he called out thc moment he found he haul got
to the end of the rnpr,
“Hallo, tlwrc 1" - .
“llallol" rt-turn:-d Richard, with such a ven-
“A Ion way Ix-lowyou; yon'llhava to drop."
“What, Ill one way 1" ejaculated mu. --xoc
if 1 know it) Why, 1 should break my nu-ckl"
“We got down safe enough," relortcd ltichsrxl,
nearly bursting wih laughter, for he could have
touched Will's boots, as they dangled in the
"It via a Il1ll"IFlA', then,” said Will, “andl
on't believe in ‘cm. rd rather go back again.”
And back he would have gone, had not Char-
ley given a most Iinrentriloqual sneeze, Ihich
an startled the climlror that he lost his hold, and
fell upon Charlry Strong, just as he was giving
vent to another snooze.
Will WI! just an bewildered as Charley hid
been, for Richard had managed his voice so well,
that be fully believed himself to be an immense
distance from the ground.
Their merrimrnt, howereruras soon dispelled
by the more serious thoughts that forced them-
selves upon their niilids.
at were theygningtodn? Whore wsrethey
going now they had escaped in safety from ths
dreaded Blue Chamber?
Charley was for going boldly hack into the
house by the legitimate way of the front door;
-but this proposal was negatircd by Master
Wacksem, who represented, in glowing colors,
the terrible wrath of his father, which would bl
visited upon the offenders by a severe inhiction
of the cans.
“But we can't walk about," argued Richard’
“in this biting cold. We haven't any caps on,
and this mist is wetting me through and
through."
“And me, too,” said Charley; “my teeth are
chattering like castanets."
“This is what I propose, Richard. I know
there are some houses on the road at the back
3’?
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