sportsman from behind. He began to bawl
"Thieves! robbers! murd—" but Crick's
fingers grasped his throat, and he was thrown
down, with a knee thrust deep into the pit
of his stomach, which effectually silenced
him.

Humble and Lanky Go, who had rushed
into one of the side shrubberies, finding that
the cries had been abruptly stopped, conjectured
what the turn was that had taken place
in affairs, and emerging from the shrubberies,
met Crick, who explained in a word what had
occurred. "Go on!" said Humble, with an
oath—savage at the momentary check. They
returned to where the young man was left;
and thinking he might be troublesome if he
came to himself, Humble dragged him into
the passage, intending to lock him up in one
of the cellars. But as he was searching about,
a door opened, and the gardener coming into
the passage, cried out, "Who's there?"

Nobody!" said Humble, ferociously, and
striking him a blow with his fist that sent the
old man reeling back into the middle of the
room, he swung the insensible body of poor
Frank along the floor, and Crick, taking out
the key from the inside, closed the door, and
locked it. Two of the male inhabitants of the
house were thus safely provided for. They
gave a hasty look round with the dark
lanthorn for the boy, but he was no where to be
seen. Humble said they must waste no more
time, but go to work up stairs at once, for he
heard them moving.

The three burglars now hastily put on their
masks, and hurried to the foot of the stairs,
seizing cloaks and capes from the pegs in the
passage, with which they assisted the disguise
of their persons. Humble led the way with a
pistol in his left-hand; Crick followed closely
with the other pistol; and Lanky Go brought
up the rear with the dark lanthorn in one
hand, and a bludgeon in the other—all
according to previous arrangement.

They heard the door of Mr. Frampton's
bed-room open, and his voice call out, "Frank!
Frank!—didn't you hear a gun go off just
this minute?" This was instantly followed
by a scream from Mrs. Frampton, who cried
out, "They're breaking into the house!
I'm sure they are!"

The words were still on her lips, when Mr.
Frampton, who had been standing on the
landing-place, rushed back into the room,
followed by three men in masks. He had not
even time to close the door. Mrs. Frampton,
with a loud scream, hid her head beneath the
clothes, and fainted away, while her husband
ran to one of the windows, and began to throw
it up, but was instantly seized from behind by
the foremost of the men, and flung violently
backwards upon the carpet near the bed. A
pistol was then held to his head, while the
ruffian, with horrible imprecations, threatened
instantly to blow his brains out if he did not
give up all his keys, and tell where his money
and plate were deposited.

While this was doing, Crick ran down stairs
with Lanky, and entered the room in which
Mr. Pine had been deposited. The noise and
scuffling had awoke him, and he had just got
out of bed, and was standing in the middle of
the room with an owlish stare, when the two
men burst in upon him. He instantly
staggered forward, demanding in thick accents,
and a tone of authority,—"What's o'clock?"
He was answered by a blow from Crick's
bludgeon, which laid him prostrate, and, if
possible, more senseless than before, while
Lanky hastily possessed himself of a gold
watch and chain, which he put in his pocket.
They then left the room.

Loud screams from above now attracted
their attention. The two Miss Framptons,
who slept on the second floor, had issued from
their room, and seeing their father lying upon
his back, with a man in a mask standing over
him, had flown up stairs to alarm the maid-
servants and their sister,—and immediately
three windows were flung open, and they all
began screaming, "Thieves! Murder! Fire!"
—to how little purpose when there was no
house within a mile of them! But Margy
ran down to the assistance of her master, and
darting upon Humble, who was stooping over
him, tying his hands, tore him away. She
was almost instantaneously seized by Crick
and Lanky, who tied a handkerchief round
her mouth and throat so tightly as almost
to cause strangulation, and in this state thrust
her into a closet in the bed-room, and locked
her in. Humble, meantime, had rushed
upstairs among the screaming women, whom he
seized and struck in the most savage manner,
dragging them away from the open windows;
and being presently joined by his colleagues,
they forced all of them into the room of
the youngest Miss Frampton, whom they
threatened with instant death—presenting a
pistol at her head, and a knife to her throat—
if she did not keep all the rest quiet. Lanky
then took a gold watch arid some trinkets
from a toilet-table, and they left the room,
promising to return, and make good their
threats, if any one again uttered a cry, or
opened a window.

The three burglars now descended, and
entered the china-closet, where they gathered
up all the plate. Mr. Frampton was lying
quite helpless on the floor, bound hand and
foot. As to the screams from the windows,
they had been stopped, as matter of caution,
but without much apprehension of results, as
the house, as previously explained, lay back
half a mile from the high-road, and no other
dwelling was near. The burglars, therefore,
proceeded systematically to plunder the
house. Lanky Go kept guard, by walking
up stairs, and uttering threats, and then
descending to the bottom of the house. This
he continued to do while Humble and Crick
brought down the plate, and, entering the
different rooms, carried off every small article
of value they could find. They even swept