The Orangeburg news. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1867-1875, 1867-11-07


Bcn's hand as he came over towards my bed.
"What ails you Z" he cried
Nothing" said l. "Dd you hear a voice %
"Yours," said Ben, "ycling woke me up !;
you fairly frightened me-"
/. "Bcn," said [, ''wait till I light lamp; l
heard another voice. Must be some one in
the house or outside IF"
So l again lit a lamp, but We searched in
vain. --
"Niyhtmarc," said b., hen 1 told hin, my
story.
''Bcn," said I, "what is there at the cross
roads
''4A house," said b. IIc had lived in the
.ncishborhood long while, and not long.
''One little house, beside two oak trees
and fence. An old man lives thcre-a rich
man, and bit Of miscr, they say. His
grand daughter keeps house for him"
"Ben that fellow may have meant harm to
them. ! may be wanted at the cross roads"
"Brothcr,' said Ben, $50 to sleep. You
had nightmare" and Ben plunged in be-
tween the blankets, aud was snoring again.
also, i'll ten minutes, slept as soundly as
before, but the awakening soon came again
opened my eyes, to sec girl standing at
the tout Of my bed. a girl in whites robes,
with golden hair all about her shoulders, who
wrung her hands and cried: '.Oh, wake up,
you arc wanted ut the cross roads" =
This time l starte out of bed, bathcd in
cold pcrspcration. l trcmblcd like leaf l
had no doubt that had received supernatural
warning.
Ben" cried, '']}cn, for the third time 1
have been told that am wanted at the cross
roads, and am going"
Aud began to dress myself as speedily as
possible, listening the while to the storm rag
ing wilder aud wilder than at any other period
since its commencement. f at
Ben demonstrated with mo in vain At last
lie also began to huddle on his clothes.
''If you have gone mad, l must so with you
AUD take care Of YOU, he said.
- Aa}ut efancy another man, going out3in a.
-uf0ss folds 6sca6so a
nightmare caused him to do so, and what you
think of him 2"
said nothing. All could have answered
would have bccn:
II am compelled to go; must go dare
not refuse, whatever may be thought Of mo ?'
In ten minutes VIC were splashing through
the mud and rain along the road 1t was
perfectly dark; now and then blazing red
star in the distance told lis that lamp was
bcaming through tic rain III some cottage
window, but otherwise we would not have
been conscious Of cur proximity to any habita-
tion whatever At last, nearing tic SPOT
whore tho roud from s. crosses the road To
P-,wo were indeed in us solitary place
rs can be imagined.
The house, which abultcd ON tho very anrlc
of the roads c;llcd, in familiar parlancc the
Cross Road, was the only one for some dis
tancc in either direction, aud certainly on
such night we were not likely to meet many
travellers. .,ie
All was quiet as the grave. We stood quite
still. In moment, B. broke out in one of
his widest laughs.
"Wcll," he said, show now ?"-Wil you 90
home now and have another nightmare"
But hardly had the wo:ds escaped his lips,
when Il Shrek broke on the uir and Il woman S
voice, plainly coming from the interior of the
cottage, cricd "Help! help! help"
"Ben," said l. eve are wanted at the cross
roads" and then understanding each other,
without more words VIC made our way to the
window, through which light shonc \ mus
lin curtain drapcd the pancs, but through it
we saw an awful sight. i
An old man lay on tho floor, and over him
bent rutfan, clutching his throat, and hold