Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1872-01-18


shivered, and shrank into herself, as it
were from stab | left her standing
there, and turning as | reached the end
oh, horror by her side stood again that
gloomy, fantastic shape, with high
crowned hat and dusty cloak, tossing
its arms about, and actually capering
with CHASTITY jollityl As | gazed, hor
ror-stricken, the door opened, and she
passed in, and disappeared; and the
mysterious figure, turning toward me,
took off its hat with flourish, and
made me low mock obeisance; then,
with a parting wave of the hand, it
stalked in after her. / knew that 1t
and would meet again but something
in my heart told me that had seen the
last of Alice Hammill.
CATER 1 reached horne, found that
my recollection of the weird figure,
though vivid enough, seemed more
ike the memory of a dream than of a
reality. Having escaped from its i'm
mediate influence, persuaded myself
it must be some extraordinary mental
or optical delusion: and | went to bed,
resolved to see whether good nights
rest would not aid in dispelling it.
81 woke this morning feeling fresh
and strong, and deter mined to see Miss
Hammill at once, tell her all my fears
and fancies, and prove to myself and
her that it was all wretched deluslon.
So, having eaten hearty breakfast at
| the Fifth Avenue Hotel, | set off, and
in quarter of an hour stood on the
doorstep. rang the bell, and the SER
want appeared.
"'I want to see Miss Hammill. Is
she in?'
"' Yes, sir returned the man; but
she's very bad with the headache, and
can't see no one. The doctor says as
how she's out of her head, sir
"tDo you mean to say she's insane?
cried |, with terrible throb of my
heart.
"'Not just that. sir, replied he but
he says she must be kept quite quiet,
sir, for several days; and, more espe
cially, not see any one she cared for,
SIR
g turned away, sick at heart, and at
that moment felt again that nameless,
creeping chill, as if some unholy thing
| had brushed past me. Impelled by a
dark foreboding, I looked down the
street, and there, standing clearly de-
fined in the crisp winter sunlight, saw
the Thing again
What this very morning?n gasped
|, half expecting to see the grisly
phantom rise up between us. ooh, not
this very morning, Browne?" But it
was no use.
"This morning" repeated Browne,
"about eleven o'clock. 1t stood there
reckoning to me impatiently, as if to
follow It. 1t stamped its foot impe-
r;ously, and pointed down the avenue.
And all at once wild passion took pos
session of me. There stood the Thing
that had destroyed my happiness,
blighted my love, perhaps purposed TO
deprive me of life itself. My whole
soul rose up in hatred and defiance. l
burned to rush after 1t and grapple with
1t, though death should be the forfeit
of the struggle. did not care for
death, if | might have revenge And
there 1t still stood, reckoning 10
me. sprang down the steps, and then
a CHASTITY chase began
''Good gracious, Browne!" exclaimed
|, piteously; "you don't mean to say
you ran after It?n But he did not hear
mel don't think he knew | was in the
| room-so absorbed was he in the recol-
lection of his dreadful adventure.
"The figure stalked on in front OF
me-" said he, "with long, easy strides,
once in a while cutting the most gro
tesque capers, finging out its legs, and
f1ourishing its arms abroad. 1t was al.
ways about sixty yards ahead, and !
. | fn.,roH ~ irN1sAn1cIhln To 1accny, II
lance. But the faster | walked, the
better pleased 1t seemed to be, skipping
with frantic glee along the frozen pave
nents, and ever and anon half turning
round to motion me onward still more
rapidly. Stop could not was drawn
onward by an irresistible power that nc
will of mine could modify or overcome
But had no desire to pause; my own
heart drove me like goad.
'.On we rushed Canal street was
passed; the City Hall was LETT behind
and at last the railing of Trinity Church
yard appeared, with the clustering
groups of time worn grave-stones behind
it, And then the strain that had been
drawing me onward ceased at once, like
the swapping of cord, and | realized
, for the first time how weak and exhaust
ed was But still staggered onward
would see the end, though already
half suspecting what it was to be.
~ reached the gate of the graveyard
and looked through the bars into the
f.; enclosure; and there, sitting on gray
: crumbling head stone, leaning with its
5 head on its hands and its elbows
? on its knees, saw 1t for the las
time. 1t looked at me with an awful
leer; a sombre shadow fell about 1t
which the cheerful sunshine could no
e penetrate; but the eyes of the mysteri
t GUS figure emitted dusky, phosphores
/; cent glare, illuminating its features witt
!, a pale, unnatural light. The. face wa
/ that of corpse already Wondering in
to its native earth, and as l looked
D seemed gradually to crumbleaway tn,
S shadow grew duskier, until only tn
5 phosphorescent CLEAN was visible; thel
( too that faded. an icy gust swept through
i the church-yard, and | heard the clocl
strike noon"
+ AS Browne concluded he sank bacl
t in chair, and began to SILVER as if in al
I. agueft. AT such moment all persona
! considerations give way TO the exigen
q cies and impulses of the moment.
. | ,,o,,,ad r,,t tho Loot class of wine in III