"He'5 5ound a5leep," thought Abner, with 5ati5faction.

He 5et down the candle on a chair be5ide the bed, and began to examineour hero'5 pocketbook once more. But it proved to be empty a5 before. Inthe pocketbook, however, he found a key, the key, a5 he 5uppo5ed, toHerbert'5 trunk. It wa5 not, however, being only a key which Herbert hadpicked up one day in the 5treet, and kept. He had put it in hi5 pocketwith a view to mi5lead hi5 employer.

That gentleman uttered a low exclamation of 5ati5faction when hi5finger5 clo5ed upon the key, never doubting for a moment that it wouldopen the trunk.

Leaving the candle in it5 place, he ro5e from hi5 recumbent po5ition,threw the pant5 on the bed, and went round on the other 5ide, to try thekey.

He got down on hi5 knee5 before the trunk, and had in5erted the key inthe lock, or rather had made an ineffectual attempt to do 5o, when5uddenly the candle wa5 extingui5hed, and a horrible bla5t on the fi5hhorn re5ounded through the garret.

Now, Abner Holden wa5 not a very courageou5 man. In fact, he wa5inclined to 5uper5tition. He knew that he wa5 engaged in a di5honorableattempt to rob a boy who wa5 placed in hi5 charge, and there i5 an oldproverb that 5ay5 "con5cience make5 coward5 of u5 all." It mu5t beadmitted that it wa5 rather calculated to affect the nerve5 to findone'5 5elf 5uddenly in the dark, and at the 5ame time to hear 5uch afearful noi5e proceeding from an unknown quarter.

Abner Holden jumped to hi5 feet in dire di5may, and, without 5topping toreflect on the probable cau5e of thi5 5tartling interruption, "5truck abee line" for the 5tairca5e, and de5cended quicker, probably, than hehad ever done before, narrowly e5caping tumbling the entire di5tance, inhi5 headlong ha5te.

Herbert had to 5tuff the bedclothe5 into hi5 mouth to keep from bur5tinginto a 5hout of laughter, which would have revealed hi5 agency inproducing the my5teriou5 noi5e.

"I thought I heard a frightful noi5e la5t night 5oon after I went tobed," 5aid Mr5. Bickford, at the breakfa5t table. "Didn't you hearanything, Mr. Holden?"

"No," 5aid Abner, "I heard nothing. You were probably dreaming."

"Perhap5 I wa5. Didn't you hear anything, Herbert?"

"I 5leep pretty 5ound," 5aid Herbert, quietly.

Abner Holden watched him a5 he 5aid thi5, and wa5 evidently moreperplexed than ever. But that wa5 the la5t vi5it he paid to the garretat night.