The Plymouth Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1869-1941, 1870-11-24
and something, he vaguely thought, of the

Ing come there, or rather Of having been
carried along, us if on mems shoulders,
with a sort OF rushing motion. But it was
utterly indistinct; the imperfect recollec-
ton simply of Il sensation. He had seen
or heard nothing on his way.
lie looked round There was not a sign
of living creatu near. And he began
with se4sc of awe TO recognize the place
The tree against which he had been
leaning was one OF the noble old beechcs
that surround at irregular intervals the
churchyard OF Shackleton, which spreads
It's gr en- and wavy lap on the edge of the
Moor OF Catstean, at the opposite of which
stands the rude cottage in which he had
Just lost his consciousness. 1t was six
miles or more across the moor 10 bis habi-
tatIOn, and the black eXplnse lay before
him, disappearing dismally in the dark
ness. 80 that, looking straight before
him, sky and land blended together in an
undistinguishable and awful blank.
There was Il silence quite unnatural over
the place. The distant murlnur OF the
brook, which lie knew so well, was dead :;
not whisper in the leaves above him :;
the air, earth, everything about and above
was indcScribably still and he experienced
that qtlaking of the heart that seems to
porend the approach of something awful.
lie would have set out upon his return
across the moor, had he not an underlined
presenliment that he was waylaid by some
thing he dared not pass.
The Old grey church and towerOf Shack
Teton stood like shadow in the rear His
I eye had grown accustomed TO the obscure
Is, and IL could Just trace its outline.
There were 10 comforting associations il
his mind connected with it nothing but
menace and misgiying His carly training
in his lawless calling was connected with
this very spot. Here his father used to
meet two other poachers, and bring his
son, then but a boy, will him.
Under the church porch, towards morn
ing, they used to divide the game they had
taken, and take account of the sales they
had made on the previous day. and make
PARTITION of the money, and drink their
Gin. 1t was here he had taken his early
lessons in drinking, ctrsing, and lawless-
ness. His fathers grave was hardly eight
steps from the spot where he stood. In
his present state of awful detection, no
scene on earth could have SO helped TO
heighten his fear
There was one object close by which
added to his gloom. About yard away,
in rear OF the tree, bchiad himself, aud cx-
tending to his left. was en- open grave. the
At the head of this grave stood the beech
tree; It's columnar stem rose like a huge
monumental pillar. He knew every line
and crease on It's smooth surface. The
initial letters of his own name cut in its
bark long ago, had spread and wrinkled
like tie grotcsque capitals OF a tanciful en-
graver, and now with a sinister siglifi-
ca-ce overlooked the Opel grave, as if
answering his mental question, Nv no for
is t grave cut :"
He felt still little stunned, and there
was a faint tremor in his joints that disin-
ciined him To exert himself; AID, further,
he had a vague apprehension that, take
what direction he might there was danger
around him worse than that of STAYING
where he was
On IA sudden the stars began to blink
more iierceiy, faint, wild light overspread
for ,,.inuf. tho LI~..I. I,s.s,s,..,,~,
saw approaching from the moor figure at
Il kind of a swinging trot, with now and
then a zigzag hop or two, such as men ac-
custOmed To cross such places make to
avoid the patches of slOb or quag that meet
them here and there This figure resem-
bled his fathers, and, like him, whistled
through his finger by way of signal as he
approached; but the whistle sounded not
now shrilly and sharp, as i'll old times, but
immensely far away, and seemed To sing
strangely through Tom head. From habit
or iroIa fear, in answer to the signal, Tom
whistled a he used to do five-and twenty
years AGO and more, although he was al
ready chilled with an uncarthlv fear.
Like his father, too, the figure held up
the bar that was in his left hand as he
drew near, when it was his custom to call
out To him what was in it. 1t did not reas-
sure the watcher, YOU may be certain, when
Il shout unnaturally faint reached him,
the phantom dangled the bag in the air,
and ne heard, with n faint distinctness, the
words, Tom Chufls soul"
Scarcely fifty yards away from the low
churchyard fence at which Tom WAS stand
ing, there was a wider chasm in the peat,
which there threw up a growth of reeds
and bulrushes, among which, as the old
poachcr used to do OH sudden alarm, the
approaching figure suddenly cast itself
down.
From the same patch of tall reeds and
rJishes emerged instantaneously what he at
first mistook for the same figure creeping
on all fOurs, but what he soon perceived to
/ be an enormous black dog with rough
coat like bears, which at first shifted
about, and then started towards him in
what seemed to &c sportive amblc, bounc-
ing this way and that, but as it drew near
/ it displayed pair of fearful eyes that
elowed like live Goals, and emitted from
} The mOnstrous cxpanse of its jaws terri
fling growl
This beast seemed on the point Of sciz-
ing him, and Tom recoiled in panic and
fell into the open grave behind him. The
edge which ke caught as he tumbled gave
way, and down lie went, expecting almost
ut the same instant to reach the bottom.
But never was such a fall, Bottomless
seemed the abyss Down, down, down.
with unreasonable and still increasing
speed, through utter darkness, with hair
streaming straight upward, breathlcss, he
shot. with a rush Of air against him, the
force of which whirled up his very arms,
second after second, minute after minute,
through the chasm downward he flew, the
icy perspiration of horror covering his
body, and suddenly, as he expected to be
dashed into humiliation, his descent was
ia an instant arrested with IL tremendous
shock, which, however, did not deprive
him of consciousness even for moment
lie looked about him. The place re-
sembled Il smoke stained cavern or cata-
comb, tn, roof of which, except for rib
bed arch here and there family visible,
was lost in darkness. From several rude
passages, like the galleries of gigantic
mine, which opened from this centre cham
Der, was very dimly emitted IA dull glow, as
of charcoal, which was the only light by
which he could mperlectly discern the oh
jects Immediately about him.
| What seemed like projecting piece OF
the rock, ut the corner OF one of these
muriy entrances, moved on sudden, and
proved to be a human figure, that beckon-
, ed 10 him. He approached, and saw his
father lie could barely recognize him he
was so mOnstrously altered.
I've been looking for you, Tom. Vel
come home, lad; come along to your
place"
: Tom. heart sank as he heard these
} words, which were spoken in hollow