The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1866-12-20
THE SIGNAL MAN, =
lF i1 iii the year year Round Oi2i99ka

From all the Year Round. O21h > Ak
| 90 D VII lCoECEUDEp1MaId
laaHea repeated, if posaiblei with in
creased passion and yehemence. tina
former gesticulation Of = For Ged'
sake, clear the Wayi 5ljnTgaa no y
Then he went loH0SiI have nc
peace or restfo it, It calls to me fol
many minutes together in an agonizec
manner, u Below ,cthereh Look out
IaLook ooutL 'isIt stands waving oto me
! IT rings my little bell"
I caught at that. 'sDid it ring youl
bell yesterday evening when I was
here, and | went to the d0or?"
"Twice." ,ssltAsA TngAc
why, see, qssaid94,4 how your
Imagination misleads you. My eyes
we're enlthe bell, and, if am living
man, it did not ring at those times
/ Npq nor at any other i time, Except
when it was rung in the natural
course of physical things by the sta
ton communicating with you.1nIf
4 He shook his head. Il have never
made as to that, yet, SIR IL have new
er confused the spectre's ring with
the mans. The ghosts ring is q
strange vibration In the bell that it
derives Z from nothing else, and
have not asserted thatithe, bellstir to
the leye114I don I wondelrfE that 70 d
failed to hear itanBut / lhaardit5"
And did the spectre seem t6ab be
there when you looked OUT? :"
OIL 1t 2uGsi there" m8b sipa
Both times?
He repeated firmly, Both times.''
will you come 90 the door with
me, and look for it now
He bit his under lip as though he
were somewhat unwilling, but arose.
| opened the door, and stood ON the
top step, while he stood in the door,
way. There, was the Danger light
There was the dismal mouth of the
tunnel. There was the stars above
''s'I Dc you See itg' asked him
taking particular note of his face.
His eyes were prominent and strain
ed; but not very much more so, per-
haps, then my own had been when I
directed them earnestly towards the
same point
/" No." he answered. 1t is not
there"
" Agreed said /.
We went in again. shut the odoor,
and resumed our seats. | was think !
ing how best to improve this advan-
tage, if it might be called one, when
he toDkjup theieonversation in such a
matter of course way, so assuming, |
that there could be no serious uues-I
ton of fact between us, that I felt
myself placed In the HeakestofA posi-
'i? by this time you NV viii understand
Sill" he said, that what troubles me
so dreadfully is the question, What
does the spectre mean2'
| was not sure, L told him, [ did
fully understand.
" What is its warning against 2" he
said, running, With his. eyes on the
fire. and only BY times turning on me.
What is the danger? Where is the
danger? There is danger overhang-
ing, somewhere on the Lime. 81 Some
dreadful calamity will happen. 1t is
not to be doubted this third time,
after what has gone before. But
surely this is cruel haunting of me.
What can I do?"
He pulled out his handkerchief,
and wiped the drops from his heated
forehead.
/" 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. =" should get
into trouble, and do no good. They
would think I was mad. This is the
way il would work Message: p Dan
ger! Take ocarela5 Answer: What
danger? Where?' Message: Don't
know But for God sake take carel
They would !, displace me- me-. What else
His pain of mind was, most pitiable
to see. 1t was the mental torture of
a CONSCIENTIOUS man, oppressed beyond
endurance by an unintelligible respon-
sibility involving life.
When it first stood under the
Danger light, he went on, putting his
dark hair back from his forehead, and
draWingshis hands outward across his
temples in an extremity of feverish
distress, why not tell me where that
accident was to happen-if it must
happen2 Why not tell me how it
could be averted-if it could have
been averted? When, on its second
coming, it hid its face, why not tell
mezinsteads: She issgoing to lies let
them keep her at home? Ifeit came,
ON those two occasions, only to show
me that its warnings were, true, and
so to prepare me for the third, why
w@ln Ixv - IT.
m ar0 ON ne this mtarg e stato S0F S Why
not 60 to somebody with credit to be
believed. and power to act?"
When / saw him in that state,
saw that for the poor, mans sake, as
well as the public safety, what L had
to do for the time was to settle his
mind. Therefore setting aside AN
questions of reality or unreality be-
tween us, | represented to him that