andscrambledsoftlyandswiftlyoverthesillintothehouse。Hisfeetfellnoiselesslyonamatofskin。Hewasaburglarindeed！
Hecrouchedforatime，allearsandpeeringeyes。Outsidewasascamperingandrustling，andforamomentherepentedofhisenterprise。Ashort“miaow，“aspitting，andarushintosilence，spokereassuringlyofcats。Hiscouragegrew。Hestoodup。Everyonewasabed，itseemed。Soeasyisittocommitaburglary，ifoneissominded。Hewasgladhehadputittothetest。Hedeterminedtotakesomepettytrophy，justtoprovehisfreedomfromanyabjectfearofthelaw，anddepartthewayhehadcome。
Hepeeredabouthim，andsuddenlythecriticalspiritaroseagain。
Burglarsdidfarmorethansuchmereelementaryentranceasthis:
theywentintorooms，theyforcedsafes。Well——hewasnotafraid。
Hecouldnotforcesafes，becausethatwouldbeastupidwantofconsiderationforhishosts。Buthewouldgointorooms——hewouldgoupstairs。More:hetoldhimselfthathewasperfectlysecure；
anemptyhousecouldnotbemorereassuringlystill。Hehadtoclenchhishands，nevertheless，andsummonallhisresolutionbeforehebeganverysoftlytoascendthedimstaircase，pausingforseveralsecondsbetweeneachstep。Abovewasasquarelandingwithoneopenandseveralcloseddoors；andallthehousewasstill。Foramomenthestoodwonderingwhatwouldhappenifsomesleeperwokesuddenlyandemerged。Theopendoorshowedamoonlitbedroom，thecoverletwhiteandundisturbed。Intothisroomhecreptinthreeinterminableminutesandtookapieceofsoapforhisplunder——
histrophy。Heturnedtodescendevenmoresoftlythanhehadascended。Itwasaseasyas——
Hist！
Footsteps！Onthegraveloutsidethehouse——andthenthenoiseofalatchkey，theyawnandbangofadoor，andthespittingofamatchinthehallbelow。Mr。Ledbetterstoodpetrifiedbythesuddendiscoveryofthefollyuponwhichhehadcome。“HowonearthamItogetoutofthis？“saidMr。Ledbetter。
Thehallgrewbrightwithacandleflame，someheavyobjectbumpedagainsttheumbrella-stand，andfeetwereascendingthestaircase。InaflashMr。Ledbetterrealisedthathisretreatwasclosed。Hestoodforamoment，apitifulfigureofpenitentconfusion。“Mygoodness！
WhataFOOLIhavebeen！“hewhispered，andthendartedswiftlyacrosstheshadowylandingintotheemptybedroomfromwhichhehadjustcome。Hestoodlistening——quivering。Thefootstepsreachedthefirst-floorlanding。
Horriblethought！Thiswaspossiblythelatecomer’sroom！Notamomentwastobelost！Mr。Ledbetterstoopedbesidethebed，thankedHeavenforavalance，andcrawledwithinitsprotectionnottensecondstoosoon。Hebecamemotionlessonhandsandknees。Theadvancingcandle-lightappearedthroughthethinnerstitchesofthefabric，theshadowsranwildlyabout，andbecamerigidasthecandlewasputdown。
“Lord，whataday！“saidthenewcomer，blowingnoisily，anditseemedhedepositedsomeheavyburthenonwhatMr。Ledbetter，judgingbythefeet，decidedtobeawriting-table。Theunseenthenwenttothedoorandlockedit，examinedthefasteningsofthewindowscarefullyandpulleddowntheblinds，andreturningsatdownuponthebedwithstartlingponderosity。
“WHATaday！“hesaid。“GoodLord！“andblewagain，andMr。Ledbetterinclinedtobelievethatthepersonwasmoppinghisface。Hisbootsweregoodstoutboots；theshadowsofhislegsuponthevalancesuggestedaformidablestoutnessofaspect。Afteratimeheremovedsomeuppergarments——acoatandwaistcoat，Mr。Ledbetterinferred——
andcastingthemovertherailofthebedremainedbreathinglessnoisily，andasitseemedcoolingfromaconsiderabletemperature。
Atintervalshemutteredtohimself，andoncehelaughedsoftly。AndMr。Ledbettermutteredtohimself，buthedidnotlaugh。“Ofallthefoolishthings，“saidMr。Ledbetter。“WhatonearthamItodonow？“
Hisoutlookwasnecessarilylimited。Theminuteaperturesbetweenthestitchesofthefabricofthevalanceadmittedacertainamountoflight，butpermittednopeeping。Theshadowsuponthiscurtain，saveforthosesharplydefinedlegs，wereenigmatical，andintermingledconfusinglywiththefloridpatterningofthechintz。Beneaththeedgeofthevalanceastripofcarpetwasvisible，and，bycautiouslydepressinghiseye，Mr。Ledbetterfoundthatthisstripbroadeneduntilthewholeareaofthefloorcameintoview。Thecarpetwasaluxuriousone，theroomspacious，and，tojudgebythecastorsandsoforthofthefurniture，wellequipped。
Whatheshoulddohefounditdifficulttoimagine。Towaituntilthispersonhadgonetobed，andthen，whenheseemedtobesleeping，tocreeptothedoor，unlockit，andboltheadlongforthatbalconyseemedtheonlypossiblethingtodo。Woulditbepossibletojumpfromthebalcony？Thedangerofit！Whenhethoughtofthechancesagainsthim，Mr。Ledbetterdespaired。Hewaswithinanaceofthrustingforthhisheadbesidethegentleman’slegs，coughingifnecessarytoattracthisattention，andthen，smiling，apologisingandexplaininghisunfortunateintrusionbyafewwell-chosensentences。Buthefoundthesesentenceshardtochoose。“Nodoubt，sir，myappearanceispeculiar，“or，“Itrust，sir，youwillpardonmysomewhatambiguousappearancefrombeneathyou，“wasaboutasmuchashecouldget。
Gravepossibilitiesforcedthemselvesonhisattention。Supposetheydidnotbelievehim，whatwouldtheydotohim？Wouldhisunblemishedhighcharactercountfornothing？Technicallyhewasaburglar，beyonddispute。Followingoutthistrainofthought，hewascomposingalucidapologyfor“thistechnicalcrimeIhavecommitted，“tobedeliveredbeforesentenceinthedock，whenthestoutgentlemangotupandbeganwalkingabouttheroom。Helockedandunlockeddrawers，andMr。Ledbetterhadatransienthopethathemightbeundressing。But，no！Heseatedhimselfatthewriting-table，andbegantowriteandthentearupdocuments。
Presentlythesmellofburningcream-laidpapermingledwiththeodourofcigarsinMr。Ledbetter’snostrils。
“ThepositionIhadassumed，“saidMr。Ledbetterwhenhetoldmeofthesethings，“wasinmanyrespectsanill-advisedone。Atransversebarbeneaththebeddepressedmyheadunduly，andthrewadisproportionateshareofmyweightuponmyhands。Afteratime，I
experiencedwhatiscalled，Ibelieve，acrickintheneck。Thepressureofmyhandsonthecoarsely-stitchedcarpetspeedilybecamepainful。Myknees，too，werepainful，mytrousersbeingdrawntightlyoverthem。AtthattimeIworeratherhighercollarsthanIdonow——twoandahalfinches，infact——andIdiscoveredwhatIhadnotremarkedbefore，thattheedgeoftheoneIworewasfrayedslightlyunderthechin。Butmuchworsethanthesethingswasanitchingofmyface，whichIcouldonlyrelievebyviolentgrimacing——Itriedtoraisemyhand，buttherustleofthesleevealarmedme。AfteratimeIhadtodesistfromthisreliefalso，because——happilyintime——
Idiscoveredthatmyfacialcontortionswereshiftingmyglassesdownmynose。Theirfallwould，ofcourse，haveexposedme，andasitwastheycametorestinanobliquepositionofbynomeansstableequilibrium。InadditionIhadaslightcold，andanintermittentdesiretosneezeorsniffcausedmeinconvenience。Infact，quiteapartfromtheextremeanxietyofmyposition，myphysicaldiscomfortbecameinashorttimeveryconsiderableindeed。ButIhadtostaytheremotionless，nevertheless。“
Afteraninterminabletime，therebeganachinkingsound。Thisdeepenedintoarhythm:chink，chink，chink——twenty-fivechinks——
araponthewriting-table，andagruntfromtheownerofthestoutlegs。ItdawneduponMr。Ledbetterthatthischinkingwasthechinkingofgold。Hebecameincredulouslycuriousasitwenton。Hiscuriositygrew。Already，ifthatwasthecase，thisextraordinarymanmusthavecountedsomehundredsofpounds。AtlastMr。Ledbettercouldresistitnolonger，andhebeganverycautiouslytofoldhisarmsandlowerhisheadtothelevelofthefloor，inthehopeofpeepingunderthevalance。Hemovedhisfeet，andonemadeaslightscrapingonthefloor。Suddenlythechinkingceased。Mr。Ledbetterbecamerigid。Afterawhilethechinkingwasresumed。Thenitceasedagain，andeverythingwasstill，exceptMr。Ledbetter’sheart——thatorganseemedtohimtobebeatinglikeadrum。
Thestillnesscontinued。Mr。Ledbetter’sheadwasnowonthefloor，andhecouldseethestoutlegsasfarastheshins。Theywerequitestill。Thefeetwererestingonthetoesanddrawnback，asitseemed，underthechairoftheowner。Everythingwasquitestill，everythingcontinuedstill。AwildhopecametoMr。Ledbetterthattheunknownwasinafitorsuddenlydead，withhisheaduponthewriting-table……
Thestillnesscontinued。Whathadhappened？Thedesiretopeepbecameirresistible。VerycautiouslyMr。Ledbettershiftedhishandforward，projectedapioneerfinger，andbegantoliftthevalanceimmediatelynexthiseye。Nothingbrokethestillness。Hesawnowthestranger’sknees，sawthebackofthewriting-table，andthen——
hewasstaringatthebarrelofaheavyrevolverpointedoverthewriting-tableathishead。
“Comeoutofthat，youscoundrel！“saidthevoiceofthestoutgentlemaninatoneofquietconcentration。“Comeout。Thisside，andnow。Noneofyourhanky-panky——comerightout，now。“
Mr。Ledbettercamerightout，alittlereluctantlyperhaps，butwithoutanyhanky-panky，andatonce，evenashewastold。
“Kneel，“saidthestoutgentleman。“andholdupyourhands。“
ThevalancedroppedagainbehindMr。Ledbetter，andherosefromall-foursandhelduphishands。“Dressedlikeaparson，“saidthestoutgentleman。“I’mblestifheisn’t！Alittlechap，too！
YouSCOUNDREL！Whatthedeucepossessedyoutocomehereto-night？
Whatthedeucepossessedyoutogetundermybed？“
Hedidnotappeartorequireananswer，butproceededatoncetoseveralveryobjectionableremarksuponMr。Ledbetter’spersonalappearance。Hewasnotaverybigman，buthelookedstrongtoMr。
Ledbetter:hewasasstoutashislegshadpromised，hehadratherdelicately-chiselledsmallfeaturesdistributedoveraconsiderableareaofwhitishface，andquiteanumberofchins。Andthenoteofhisvoicehadasortofwhisperingundertone。
“Whatthedeuce，Isay，possessedyoutogetundermybed？“
Mr。Ledbetter，byaneffort，smiledawanpropitiatorysmile。Hecoughed。“Icanquiteunderstand——“hesaid。
