Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1870-02-03
A GHOST STORY.
BY THE WITNESS.


til I came. The place had long been given
up to dust and cobwebs, to solitude and ST.
lence. seemed cropping among Tire tombs
and invading the privacy Of the dead, that
first night i slimbed up to my qua, ers.-
For the first time in my life q supersti-
tious dread came over me; and as turned
dark angle of the stairway and an invis
IDLE cobweb swung its salary wool in my
face and chung there, shuddered as one
who had encountered phantom.
Twas glad enough when reached my
room and locked out the mould and the
darkness. A CHEEKY fire was burningin the
CRATE, and sat down before it with CON-
forting senec of relief. For two hours l
sat there thinking of bygone times; recall
ing old scenes, and summoning half-forgot.
ten faces out of the mists of the past; lis
tening in fancy. to voices that long ago
grew silent for all time, and to once famil
lar songs that nobody sings now. And as
nv reverie softened down TO a sadder and
sadder pathos, the shrieking of the winds
outside softened to a wall, the angry beat
ing of the rain against the panes diminish
ed to tranquil patter, and one by one the
noises in the street subsidized. until the hur-
rsing footsteps of the last belated straggler
died away in the distance and left no sound
behind. Efs8
| The fire had burned low. sense of
loneliness crept over me. / arose and un-
dressed, moving ON tip-toe about the room,
doing stealthily what / had to do, as if /
were environed by sleeping enemies whose
slumbers it would be fatal to break. / GOV.
cred up in bed, and lay listening to the
rain and wind and the faint creaking OF
distant shutters, till they lulled me to
sleep.
I slept profoundly, but how long 1 do
not know. All at once I found myself
awake, and filed with shuddering ex-
pectancy. All was still. All but my own
heart-I could hear it beat. Presently the
bed clothes began to slip away slowly to-
ward the foot of the bed, as if some one
were pulling them l could not stir;
could not speak. Still the blankets slip
ped deliberately away, tillmy breast was
uncovered. Then with great sffsrt
lied Them and drew them over my head.
/ waited, listened, waited. Once more
that steady pull began, and once more
lay torpid century of dragging seconds
till my breast was naked again. AT last
reused my energies and snatched the COW
ers back to their place and held them with
strong grip. 1 waited. By and bye /
felt faint tug, and took fresh grip. The
4
stronger and stronger. My hold parted,
and for the third time the blankets slid
away. Igroaned. An answering groan came
from the foot of the bed. Beaded drops Of
sweat stood upon my forehead. / was mole
dead than alive. Presently Iheard a heavy
footstep In my room-the step of an ele-
plant, it seemed to me il was not like
any thing human. But it was moving frem
me there was relief in that. b. ard it ap-
| proach the door pass ont without moving
bot or lock-and wander away among the
dismal corridors, straining the floors and
joists till they creaked again as it passed
and then silence reigned once more.
When my excitement had Gained, / said
to myself, This is a dream simply hid
eous dream" And so lay thinking it over
until convinced mysel that it lcds dream,
and then comforting laugh relaxed my
lips and was happy again. got up and
struck light; and when 1 found that the
locks and colts were just as had left them,
another soothing laugh welled in my heart
and rippled from my lips. took my pipe
and lit it, and was just sitting down before
the fire, when-down went the pipe out OF
my nerveless fingers. the blood forsook my
cheeks, and my placid breathing was cut
short with gsspi In the ashes on the
/
print, was another, so vast that In compari-
son mine was but a tiny infantsl Then
had had visitor, and the elephant tread
was explained
put out the light and returned to bed,
palsied with fear. Hay long time, peer
| ing into the darkness and listening. Then l
heard a grating noise overhead, like the
dragging Of heavy body across The floor;
then the throwing down OF the body, and
the shaking of my windows in response to
the concussion. In distant parts of the
building heard the muffisd slamming of
dools. i heard, at intervals, stealthy foot
steps, creeping in and out among the cor
ridors, and up and down the stairs. Some-
times these noises approached my door,
hesitated, and went away again. heard
the clanking of chains .aintly in remote
passages, and listened while the clanking
grew nearer, while it YEARLY climbed
stairways, marking each move by the loose
surplus of chain that fell with an accented
rattle upon each succeeding step as the
goblin that bore il advanced. Iheard NUT
tered sentences; half-uttered screams that
seemed smothered violently; and the swish
of invisible garments, the rush of invisible
wings Then become conscious that my
chamber was invaded-that 1 was not
|
my bed, and. mysterious whisperings
Three little spheres or soft phospborescent
light appeared on the ceiling directly over
my head, chung and glowed there mo-
ment, and then dropped-two If them up
on my face and one upon the pillow.
They spattered, hquidly, and felt warm.
Intuition told me they had turned to gouts
of blood as they tell needed no light to
satisfy myself of that. Then 1 saw pallid
faces, dimly luminous, and white uplifted
hands, floating bodiless IN the air,-foat-
ing moment and then disappearing. The
whispering ceased, and the voices and the
sounds, and q solemn sfillness followed. y
waited, and listened felt that i must
have light or die. / was weak with fear
1 slowly raised myself to q sitting posture.
| and my face came in contact with q clam
my hand All strength went from me,
apparently. and fell back like a stricken
invalid. Then heard the rustic of a gar
ment-it seemed to pass to the door and
go out.
When everything was still once more,
crept out Of bed, sick and feeble, and liz
the gas with hand that trembled as if it
were aged with hundred years The light
brought some little cheer to my spirits.
sat down and fell into dreamy contem-
Bye and bye its outlines began to waver
and grow dim. glanced up and the broad
gas-fame was slowly whiting away. In the
same moment / heard that elephantine
tread again. / noted its approach,
nearer and nearer. along the musty
halls, and DINNER and DINNER the
light waned. The tread reached my very
door and paused the light had dwindled
to a sickly t:ae, and all things about me
lay in spectral twilight The door did
not open, and yet felt faint gust of air
fan my cheek. md presently was conscious
of huge, cloudy presence before me. I
watched it with fascinated eyes. pale
glow stole over the Thing; gradually its
cloudy folds took shape IAN arm appeared,
then legs, then body, and last great sad
face looked out of the vapor. Stripped of
its filmy housings, naked, muscular and
comely, the majestic Cardiff Giant doomed
above mel -tst - tftttl
All my misery vanished-for a child
might know that no harm could come with