'Mr. Edward Winslow's carriage
stops the way!'
I was hoisted up, candle in hand, between the two, and had nearly
reached the stairs when there came up on the garden side a sound as
of tipsy revellers in the garden. 'The scoundrels! how can they
have got in?' cried Griff, looking towards the window; but all the
windows on that side had peculiarly heavy shutters and bars, with
only a tiny heart-shaped aperture very high up, so they somewhat
hurried their steps downstairs, intending to rush out on the
intruders from the back door. But suddenly, in the middle of the
staircase, we heard a terrible heartrending woman's shriek, making
us all start and have a general fall. My brothers managed to seat
me safely on a step without much damage to themselves, but the
candle fell and was extinguished, and we made too heavy a weight to
fall without real noise enough to bring the household together
before we could pick ourselves up in the dark.
We heard doors opening and hurried calls, and something about
pistols, impelling Griff to call out, 'It's nothing, papa; but there
are some drunken rascals in the garden.'
A light had come by this time, and we were detected. There was a
general sally upon the enemy in the garden before any one thought of
me, except a 'You here!' when they nearly fell over me. And there I
was left sitting on the stair, helpless without my crutches, till in
a few minutes all returned declaring there was nothing--no signs of
anything; and then as Clarence ran up to me with my crutches my
father demanded the meaning of my being there at that time of night.
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