East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1861-04-18

|
ing, and as l was on the point Of closing
the window again, for the wind was higl
ard sent shiver all over my frame, q
large object brushed against my hand,
and leaped into the room. | started back
and giving hurried glance around the
chamber, saw, by the last flicker of the
dying candle, the form of the strange
looking dog | had seen down stairs, sit
ting On the bed, bolt upright, and staring
at me. The next instant was in utter
darkness.
For some moments, hardly know how
long, | stood motionless while a crowd Of
conflicting emotions swept across my
mind; but soon recovering myself, luck
lily remembered there were plenty OF
matches in my cigar case, towards my
coat pocket, therefore, | groped my wa.
and securing them, struck one of the
What was my JOY to see, standing on the
wooden mantle-piece, a second candle,
half burned, but still able to give light
for couple of hours at leastl This was
speedily lighted, and then turning tow
ard the dog, / approached the bed. The
animal seemed to have no ill-natured de-
signs, but as / drew nearer, turned his
nose upward and gave a loud howl, and
gave loud howl, and finding | did not
see his pantomime, but stretched out my
hands to seize him, he repeated the action
@ k every possible means to direct my
attention to the ceiling. Without un-
standing his desire at the time, | in
voluntary glanced upward, and conceive
my horror at seeing directly over the
head of my bed the faint outlines of a
trap door.
My frozen blood had hardly begun to
tingle along my veins once more when
my eyes, firmly rivetted on this mysteri-
GUS object, plainly perceived it tremble
and comm once slowl y to open. The DOG
observed the motion likewise, and uttered
loud groHl, sprung from the bed and
out of the still open window. The door
nevertheless, ascended gradually, and just
as furious gust of wind swept by, and
with one of its eddies extinguished the
candle large, heavy something fell with
crash upon the bed With gasp and
cry of sulIocation | started, and opening
my eyes, discovered | had been dreaming
aud the sense of bewilderment accom-.
panying, my waking did not prevent a
feeling intense l.et.
At first / could not recollect where /
was, and fancied / must be at home; but
a few seconds suiiiced to dispel the illu
sion. Casting my eyes around in an ef-
fort to identify myself and ascertain my
position, | saw the candle on the table
ilaring up now and then, in desperate
struggle for existence. Hastily glancing
at the mantle, | saw another candle, half
burned, which | had not noticed when |
went to bed. | was now thoroughly
aroused, and with foreboding apprehen-
sions, looked up at the ceiling, and, o
heaven in the dimness of the light l saw
the regular figure of rectangle traced
upon the plastering directly above me-
Every muscle Of my whole body was par
alyzed by this discovery, and weight
seemed to lie with crashing force upon
my chest; and with spirit now complete
ly overcome with supersttious terror, |
lay attempting to summon sufficient reso-
luton to rise and examine the chamber
more closely. when-harkl could it be?-
yes--no-yes, there OaS faint sound
outside of my window, resembling the
noise of dogs claws against tho noise of
a dogs claws against the WALL 1t grew
more distinct, accompanied at intervals
with low whining and an occasional
sharp yelp.
No sooner had / become convinced that
this was really the case than my sell. po-
session returned. / got up, put on my
clothes, took one pistol in my hand, leav-
ing the other under my pillow, and walk
ed resolutely to the window.
My candle had become extinguished
by this time, and as l looked out into the
black abyss of the night, | saw that the
clouds, dashed here and there with spots
of silver, were breaking up, and that be-
fore long the moon would appear. threw
opened the window, and at once, asif borne
by the gust of wind that rushed into the
apartment, leaped in the black dog, which
seemed so mysteriously connected with
the adventure of mine. | was now com
petely my own master; by vigorous eff
feet of the will l quelled the shadowy
fears which beseiged my heart, and look
cut with the idea to discern, if possible,
the means by which the dog could thus
make his appearance outside second sto-
ry window. A transient moonbeam show
ed me one of the numerous out-buildings
before mentioned at right angles with
the walls of the house, and from the caves
of this, all along the side of the house, ex-
tended narrow plank, five inches wide
A thick cloud obscuring the moon again,
precluded further observation, and turn
ed from the window.
l confident that my cigar case was EN-.
PITY of matches, but, to test tho accuracy
of my dream, | felt for it, opened it, and
discovered at least twenty. / struck
light, and, as / expected, there was the
the dog upon the bed in the very attitude
of the vision. All doubt now vanished
from my mind that had been mystcri
ously warned Of impending foul play of
some nature, and | stood a moment, re
solving in my own mind the best course
of action. This l speedily decided on.
Going up to the dog, carresscd him
to the window, when-to make my dream
more exact prophecy-he turned his