The Osceola times., 1879-01-18
4 WHISPERED STORY.
BY THos. DUNN ENGLISH.

Nothing had been seen In the shape o
an apparition BY those who resided there
there wss mo terrific disturbance, M
bright and mysterious light, but Their
was general belief that the house wa
haunted. The ghost was well-be
haved ghost and, modest. On inquirinl
Of one who had slept there l learned
that he had heard nothing except I
confused murmur, q sound of low, indis
Greet speech, "a Of some one trying Il
speak while suffering under aphony
II was Q laborious whisper now and ther
was audible. l asked himjwhat words
and he told me that two he remembered
-"ialls" and "boat," but NO Others
The only thing remarkable about that
was that Others who had slept there had
heard the same words. That gave me,
] was quite sure, key 10 the matter,
and. / smiled. concluded. the purchase
Of the house that very day. Nobody
would live In It, and IL was rotting
through disuse. The owner, who need
ed ready cash. was glad 10 get rid Of his
profitless property. The house itself
was comfortable mansion. and cost ten
thousand dollars TO build. and the
gronnd, rather more than three acres,
had been handsomely laid out In trees
and shrubbery, though now 0vergrown
with bramblee. The architect assured
me that eighteen hundred dollas would
put the house and grounds in order and
add modern conveniences. So bought
II for two thousand dollars down and
had the necessary repairs made, their
cost overrunning the estimate nearly
two hundred dollars. So that for four
thousand dollars obtained handsome
and convenient dwelling on the banks OF
= noble river, with the tiny dcmesne
sloping to the southwest, having pictur-
eeque views on either hand, and in
good neighborhood. The night before
my family were to remove TO 1t took
up my lodging in the house alone, hav.
ing had a pallet laid down in the library.
] suppose the stories l had heard,
though | had laughed at them, made
their impression on my mind. Such things
always do, in spite Of reason. A vague
ceiling Of uneasiness fills us In the pres
enoe OF mystery even'though our curiosity
or our pride gets the better Of terror,
and We probe the thing to the bottom or
try to. That may account for my rest
lessness, for was restless and wakeful.
] had been busy all day in arranging
furniture, and In directing the men at
work on the grounds, in the latter case
handling the spade and mattock quite
often, and was thoroughly tired. Yet
could not sleep. II was ten O'Clock when
I turned down the light 20 that IL gave
only q faint glimmer and 10y down.
Eleven O'Clock came, and twelve, ana
/ still tossed on my couch with open eyes.
When the echo of the last stroke Of the
bell of the church in the neighboring
town Of B. died away. l felt there was
something or :some one in the room.
sprang up, turned the light on full, and
gnsped the loaded revolver which lay on
the library table. There was no one
there certainly that could nee, and the
door was locked, and / laughed at my
alarm The next moment, o. I threw
myself In the great armchair, ! felt there
Wa some one close to me. Just then
there was low and labored whisper at
my right ear. The words were distinct,
though family uttered:
LET me tell you my story"
sprang up and looked around. Moth.
Ing there. II appeared to be imagina.
tion, and yet I felt terror. Was swskef
! was undoubtedly. The whisper came
again:
a"You must listen"
l felt that TO be true. The thin, icy,
forced whisper held me by a spell. /
could not have moved had flames burst
around me. Body and mind seemed
stricken with palsy. l could hear, but
more. Then the whisper re.
turned, and l can remember all that fol.
lowed, word for word, and can write it
out, again and again, without varying
word or letter.
ut was three miles above the cata~
ract. As stood upon the river bank |
could see, even at that point, with what
swiftness the Niagara was hurrying
toward the fatal plunge. There was q
skif tied to root on the bank, and as
1t afforded me seat I stepped in and
sat down in tho stern sheets. There |
played with my hands In the stream and
listened to the dull, incessant roar of the
boiling waters. As l sat there / thought
OF my young wife hundreds oil miles
away, whom had lett few DAYS be.
lore to attend to some business in Cana
da, and whom ! was TO rejoin the next
day, having taken this point on my wsy
homeward. 1 sat there with nv ewes
half closed, and then, throwing myself
backward, was lullcd to sleep by the
monotonous noise. How long slept |
do not know, but a piercing shrek, ris,
ing above the dull roar of the falls. awaks
enee me. ! looked around. The boat
had broken loose, and WAS far out In the
stream and drifting rapidly teward the
falls. sprapg up to seize the oars and
null to shore. There were no oars in the
boat.
II glanced toward the shore. II seemed
the bank was lined with men, women
and children, who may have called to
me, but | could hear nothing. NV first
impulse was to leap overheard, but then
! could not swim.
"A man on the shore threw a lssso.
waited the coming Of the hoop, and
reached my hand toward it, but Il fell
abort. it was drawn In, and the man,
running swiftly to point further down,
tried again. He apparently cast it with
greater force, but it fell further of than
before. | was being drawn nearer to the
center of the horse shoe.
"And now there came the letharpy Of
despair. sat there without hope and
without fear. My doom was inevitable.
The motion Of the boat grew faster and
faster, the distant banks whirled mast
me, and then my spirit rose in kind of
ecstacy. gave sharp glance around
me and laughed. As the boat struck