The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1864-12-02

and horror it Is not the doutit ia the
scmblance Of human form that now
throws itself heavily on the bed, out
side the clothes, and lies there. huge
and swart, in the red CLEAN that
treacherously dies away after .show.
ing so much to alright, and sinks in.
to dull darkness. There was now nc
light left, though the red cinders YET
glowed with ruddy CLEAN like the
eyes Of wild beasts. The chain rat
tied no more / tried to speak, to
scream wildly for help; my mouth
was parched, my tongue refused to
obey. 1 could not utter a cry, and,
indeed, who could have heard me.
alone as | was in that solitary cham
her, with no living neighhor, and the
between me and any
aid that even the loudest, most pierre
ing shrek could summon. And the
storm that howled without would have
drowned my voice, even if helm had
been at hand. To call alou,l--to de-
mand who was thcrc--alas, how use.
less, how perilousl II the intruder
were n robbcr. my outcres would but
goad him to fury: but what robhcr
would act thus? As for trick that
seemed impossible. And vet, what
lay by my side. now wholly unseen Z?
l stroye to pray aloud. rs there rush
ed Oh my memory n food of weird
legends--the dreaded yet fascinating
lore OF my childhood. / had heard
and read OF the spirits Of wicked men
forced to revisit the scenes OF their
earthly crimes--of demons that lurt-
ed in certain accursed spots-of the
ghoul and vampire Of the East. steal
ing amidst the graves they rided for
their ghostly banquets; and l shud-
dered as l gazed on the blank dark
ness where knew it lay. 1t stirred
it moaned hoarsely; and again heard
the chain clank close beside me--so
close that it must almost have touch
ou me. Iutew myseiI from IL, shrink
ing away in loathing and terror OF the
evil thing-what, | knew not, but felt
that something malignant was near.
And yet, in the extremity of my
fear, dared not speak; ] was strange.
~ cautious TO be silent, even IN nov
ing farther oil, for / had q wild hope
that it--thc phantom, the creature,
whichever it was had not discover.
ed my presence in the room. And
then remembered all the events of
the night Lady Speldhurst's i'll.
omencd Vaccinations, her halt-waru-
ings. her singular look as we parted,
my sisters persuasious, my terror IN
the gallery, the remark that "this was
the room nurse Sherrard used to tnll
of. And then memory, stimulated
by fear, recalled the long forgotten
past, the iii-reputc of this disuscC
chamber, the sins it had witnessed
the blood spilled, the poison admin
istered by unnatural hate within ia
walls, and the tradition which calleC
it haunted, The green room---I re
membered now how fearfully the ser
wants avoided it-how it was men
toned rarely, and in whispers, VIII II
we were children, and how we had re
garded it as q mysterious region, un
fit for mortal habitation. Was It.
the dark form with the chain--a crea
ture of this world, or spectre? AnC
again--more dreadful still.--could i
be that the corpses of wicked mel
were forced to rise and haunt in tn
body the places where they la,
wrought their evil deeds 7 And wa
such as these my gtsly ueighbor 2
The chain family ratified, My hai
histled; my eyeball5 seemed startin
from their sockets, the damps Of
great anguish were on my brow. ~
heart lahOred rs II | were crushed be
meath some vast weight. Sometime
it appeared to stop its lrenzicd beat
ings, sometimes its pulsations wer
Gercc and hurried; my breath cam
short and with extreme difficulty, an,
/, | shiyered rs if with cold, yet reare,
TO stir 1t moved, it moancd, its fet
ters clanked dismally, the coucI
creaked and shook. This was n,
phantom, then--no air drawn spectre
But its very solidity, its palpabl
, presence, were thousand times NOR
terrible. l felt that was in the yer
grasp OF what could not only aflrigh
, but harm; of something whose contaC
, sickened the soul with deathly feal
l made desperate resolve. Iglide
, from the bed. seized warm wrap
per, threw 1t around me, and tried b
} grope, with extended hands, my wa
to the door. My heart beat high a
the hope Of escape. But had scarce
ly taken one step before the moaning
was renewed--it changed into
} threatening growl that would hav
suited q VOLTS throat, and han
clutched Mt my sleeve. stood mo
tionless The muttering growl san
to a moan again, the chain sounde
no more, but still the hand held it
grippe of my garment, and | feared &
move II knew Of lny presence, then
My brain reclcd, the blood boiled il
my cars, and my l,necs lost al
strength, while my heart like that o
deer in the VOLTS jaws, ! sanI
back, and the beuumbing influence o
excessive terror reduced me to a stat
of stupor.
When my full consciousness re
turned Twas sitting on the edge Of th
bed, shiyeriug with cold, and bare
footed. All was silent, but l felt tina
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