The free South. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1863-1864, 1864-01-30

Smethlng In his face arrested the ques-
R,n on my lips. I knew not, to this hour.
viat that something was. l conld not
dfne it then cannot describe il now ;
ut hope l may never see it in living
fce again.
II followed him to the foot OF Il L dIer
d the further end of the dairy.
up there" he said placed the Ian
tern in my hand, and strobe heavily back
into the darkness.
went up, and found myself in long
gnlnary, stored with corn sacks, hay, on
ions, rock salt, cheeses, and farming i'm
phments. In one corner were the unu-
saal luxuries of mattress, a rug, and 4
'tmee, legged stool. My first care was 70
make systematic inspection Of tne loft
an.!ll that it contained; my next to open
a Ettf unglazed lattice with Il sliding
shutter. Just opposite my bed.
The ,ifs1t ,iiff1itiWi;s W. brilliant, ANIL = stream
OF fresh air an,i mIS.iS;i' ponfaa IN
Oppressed by 4 strah, handeiinel sense
Of trouble, 1 exsasaisa the LnSera,
and stood looking out/Gpon Sho soio;.Tn
peaks and glaciers. Their solituda seemed
to be more than usually awful their
silence more than usually protoHaG. I
could rot help associatinc them in some
vague way with the mystery in sie house.
[ perplexed myself with all kinds Of wild
conjectures as to what the natGce OF that
mystery might be. The woman's face
haunted me Ike dream. Aglin and
again went from the lattice, vainiy list
eniLg for any sound in the rooms below.
A long time went by thus, until a. length,
overpowered by the fatiguas of tue daY,
I stretched myself on the mattress, took
my knapsack for Il pillow, and feli fasS
asleep.
can guess neither how long my sleep
lasted, nor from what cause J. awoE'. l
only know that my sleep was dreaIless
ami pro 'ound and that [ started from
it ts,Hsdenly, unaccountably, trembling in
ever nerve, and possessed by al over
whehninS sense of danger.
Dagger! Danger OF what kinl? From
what: From whence? Hooked roua,l-
/ was alone, and the quiet moon WIS shin
ing il as serenely us when / Eel asleep.
1 got UP, walked to and iro, reasoned 7yitG
myself all in vain. could not stay the
beatings of my heart could net master
the horror that oppressed my BRAN. |
felt that dared not lie down again that
I mu-t get out of the house SOMEHOW and
at once that to stay wonll be death !;
that the instinct by which was governed
must at oil costs be obeyed.
/ could not bear it. | resolved to es-
cape, or mt all events to sell lie dearly. l
strapped on my kuapsack, armed myself
with my iron-headed alpenstock, took my
large clasp-knife between my teeth, and
began cautiously and noiselessly to de-
scend the ladder. When [ was about
half way down, the alpenstock, which I
was studiously keeping clear of the lad.
der, encountered some dairy vessel, and
sent it gathering to the ground. Caution,
after this, was useless. I sprang forward,
reached the outer room at bonnd, and
found il, to my amazemcnt, deserted,
with the>loor wide open, and the moon
light streaming in. Suspecting trap,
my first impulse was to stand still, with
my back against the wall prepared for
desperate defense All was silent. /
could only hear the ticking of the clock,
and the heavy beating of my own heart.
The pallet was empty. The bread and
milk were still standing where l hal left
them on the table The herlsman stool
still occupied the same spot by the DESC
late hearth. But he and his wife were
gone-gore in the dead Of night leaving
me, a stranger, in the sole occupation OF
their home
While was yet irresolute whether to
go OF stayt and while 1 was wondering at
the strangeness of my position, heard,
or fanciedSS: heard something that night
have beenrs &c wind, save that there was
no air stirring something that might
have beefA the wailing of a human voice.