The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1866-12-15
"At the light!"

creased passion and yehemence, that
former gesticulation of"For Gods sake
clear the way~
Then, he went on. II have no
peace or rest for it. 1t calls to me, for
many minutes together, in an agonized
manner, Below there! Look out! Look
outr 1t stands waving to me. 1T
rings my little bell"
| caught at that. 'Did it ring your
bell yesterday evening when was
here, and you went to the doorf
"Twice." 'a-- 80 u 't.tI
"Why, see," said /, Show your imagi-
nation misleads you. My eyes were on
the bell, and my ears were open to the
bell, and, if l am living man, it did
not ring at those times. No, nor at any
other time, except when it rung in the
natural course of physical things by the
station communicating with YOU"
He shook his head. 81 have
never made mistake as to that,
vet. sir. / have never confused the
spectre's ring with the mans. The
ghosts ring is strange vibration in the
bell that it derives from nothing else,
and / have not asserted that the bell
stirs to the eye. | don't wonder that
vou failed to hear it. But heard it. ="
"And did the spectre seem to be there,
when you looked out !"
1T WAS there"
Both timcsp
He repeated firmly: "Both times"
"Will you come to the door with me,
and look for it now ~
He bit his under-lip as though hewcre
somewhat unwilling, but arose
opened the door, and stood on the step,
while he stood in the doorway. There,
was the Danger-light. There, was the
dismal mouth of the tunnel. There,
were the high wet stone walls OF the
cutting. There, were tho stars above
them.
ado YOU see it'" asked, taking par,
ticular note of his face. His eyes were
prominent and strained; but not very
much moro so, perhaps, than my own
had been when | had directed them
earnestly towards the same point.
"No," he answered. at is not there
agreed" said /.
We went in again, shut the door, and
resumed our seats. was thinking how
hest to improve this advantage, II II
might be called one, when he took ul
the conversation in such matter ol
course way, SO assuming that here
could be no serious question OF TACT ne
tween us, that l felt myself placed IL
the weakest of positions.
"By this time you will fully under
stand, sir" he said, "that what troubles
me so dreadfully, is the question, What
does the spectre meanY
was not sure, told him, that did
fully understand.
"What is its warning against y he
said, Illuminating, with his eyes on the
fire, and only by times turning them on
me. What is the danger Where Is
the danger There is danger over
hanging. somewhere on the Line. Some
dreadful calamity will happen. 1t is
not to he doubted this third time, after
what has gone before. But surely thi:
is a cruel haunting of me. What can 1
do7"
He pulled out his handkerchief, and
wiped the drops from his heated fore
head. E,
IF telegraph Danger, on either side
of me, or on both, | can give no reason
for it," he went on, wiping the palms OF
his hands. 81 should get into trouble
ard do no good. They would think
was mad. This is the way it would
work Message: Danger! Take care!
Answer: What danger! WhercF Mes
save: Don't know. But for Gods sake
take carer They would dlSplacc me-
What else could they dor
His pain of mind was most pltiable to
see. 1t was the mental torture OF q con-
scientious man, oppressed beyond en-
durance by an unintelligiblc RESPONSE
bility involving life.
"Whcn it first stood under the Dan
ger-light," he went on, putting his DARK
hair back from his head, and drawing
his hands outward across and across
his temples in an extremity of tcycrlsh
distress "why not tell me where that
accident was to happen-if it must hap
men? Why not tell me how it could be
avertcd-if it could have been averted
When on its second coming 1t hld It's
face, why not tell me instead: She Is
going to die. Let them keep her nj
Iome:' If it came, on those two occa-
sious only to show me that its warnings
were true, and so to prepare me ioI
the third, why not warn me plainly
now? And |. Lord help me! A mere
moor signalman on this solitary sta
| ton, Why not 20 to somebody with
credit to be believed, and power 10
acti"
When l saw him in. this state, l saw
that for the Door mans sake, as well as
! for the public safety, what l had to dc
I IL. IN
Therefore setting aside all questions OF
reality or unrcality between us, rep
resented to him that whoever thor
ouohly discharged his duty, must dc
well, and that mt least 1t was his COM
fort that he understood his duty, though
he did not understand these confound-
ing appearances. In this effort sue
cecded far better than in the attempt to
reason him out of his conviction. lie
became calm; the occupations incident
al to his post as the night advanced,
began to make larger demands on his
attention, and left him at two in the
morning. had offered to stay through
the night. hut he would not hear OF It,
That / more than once looked back
at the red light as assembled the path
way. that / did not like the red light,
and that should have but slept poorly
if my bed had been under it, ! see no
reason to conceal. Nor, did like the
two sequences of the accident and the
dead girl. / see no reason to conceal
that, either. 80
But. what ran most in my thoughts
was the consideration ,how.ought to
act, having become the recipient of this
disclosurcf i had proved the man to
be intelligent, vigilant, painstaking,
and exact; but how long might he re-
main so, in his state of mindi Though
in n subordinate position, still he.held
a most important trust, and would L
(for instance) like to stake my own life
OH the chances of his continuing to exc
cute it with prccisioni
Unable to overcome o feeling that
there would be something treacherous
in communicating what he had told me
to his superiors in the Company, with.
out first being plain with himself and
proposing a middle course to him, i
ultimately resolved to offer to accom-
many him (otherwise keeping his secret