FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156  
157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   >>   >|  
ith Tom. They were soon in their chamber washing the garget stains and charcoal from their faces and hands. "Rat-a-tat-tat!" went the knocker on the door. They heard feet tripping over the stairs and then Berinthia's voice. "Oh, Tom, the officers are at the door. Put out your light. Let me have your Indian clothes. Get to bed, quick." Tom raised the window, emptied the water from the bowl into the alley behind the house, handed his Indian suit to Berinthia, put out the light, and jumped into bed. Captain Brandon was not at home, having gone to Maine to obtain timber for the building of a ship. Berinthia returned to her room, lifted the sheets and blankets, tucked Tom's suit safely away between the feather bed and the straw mattress beneath it. "Rat-a-tat-tat! Rat-a-tat-tat!" went the knocker, louder than before. Tom heard Berinthia's window open. "Who's there, and what is wanted?" It was Berinthia speaking. "Is Captain Brandon at home?" asked one of the men at the door. "He is not. He is in Maine." "We want to search your house." "Why do you wish to search it?" "An outrage has been committed, and we believe that his son had a hand in it!" "My brother is in bed, and a friend is spending the night with him; but I will go and tell him." Several minutes passed before Tom could strike a light with the tinder-box, put on his clothes, and get to the door. Before descending the stairs he looked in the glass to see that the stains had been wholly removed from his face, and examined the floor to ascertain that no tea-leaves had been dropped from their clothing. He then descended the stairs and opened the door. "Good-evening. What is it you wish?" he said. "You are Tom Brandon, are you not?" asked one of the officers. "That is my name." "It is believed, Mr. Brandon, that you were one of the party who poured the tea into the harbor this evening, and we have come to search for evidence." "Come right in, gentlemen." The officers stepped into the hall. "This is the parlor, here is the sitting-room, and beyond it is the pantry. I don't think you will find much tea, for we quit drinking it three years ago, and haven't had any since," said Tom. "Shall we see your chamber, Mr. Brandon?" "Certainly; you will find my old schoolmate, Roger Stanley of Concord, in bed, but he won't mind." They climbed the stairs, entered the chamber, asked Mr. Stanley's pardon for intruding, took a look at th
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156  
157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Berinthia
 

Brandon

 

stairs

 

officers

 

search

 
chamber
 
Captain
 

evening

 
Stanley
 

Indian


stains

 

knocker

 
clothes
 

window

 
dropped
 

leaves

 
drinking
 
entered
 

climbed

 

clothing


Concord

 

descended

 

opened

 

looked

 

descending

 

Before

 

wholly

 

examined

 

removed

 

pardon


intruding

 
ascertain
 

gentlemen

 

stepped

 

evidence

 
pantry
 

sitting

 
parlor
 

schoolmate

 
Certainly

poured
 

harbor

 
believed
 
obtain
 

jumped

 

handed

 
timber
 

building

 
blankets
 

tucked