River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-08-07
ooh, | can't OF Alice asned

NehI lliem from paying you vlslti Bet
ter see them in our company, child. /
can't let you go ON being such ridicu-
lous coward and such laughing stock as
your are. You must go with us to-mor-
row, and see for yourself that they are no
such things as apparitions. When one
OF you castles of terror is demolished.
Wen make short work of the Others
$50 you really are goingl" Roy asked.
Eyes, we really are, unless you are
mean enough to tell mother what we III
tend to do. She's.not afraid of ghosts,
but she's in terror Of tlamps.''
Poor Alice shivered and whispered to
me she wouldn't be sorry If Roy did tell
Mrs. Lyons.
All me looking back through the years
to that day, ! wonder at our cruelty to
the girl whom we truly loved, and whom
We would have defended from any real
danger with our lives. We did not mean
to be cruel, but in our ignorance and fol-
ly we struck that timid, tender nature
deadly blows in order TO harden it.
Roy did not reveal our purpose, as we
feared he would. In fact, he seemed ter
rlbly busy in his own room and had sew
eral OF his young friends with HIM that
night and the next day. They all kept
Out OF our way, which was comfort.
When night came on--and pretty
dark night it was at first-we were so
much excited that we did not feel at all
uneasy at the long walk before us. We
had lantern, and everything ready in
our room, and waited impatiently until
the clock struck the half-hour after
eleven.
The back door was never locked, and
we crept softly down the stars, hardly
drawing breath until we were outside.
Emma had taken the precaution to give
Alice strong cup Of tea before we start
ed, and she did not seem more nervous
than usual.
We laughed and tested as we went
along, and were soon seated on long
bench within the church porch. The
little lantern threw very feeble light,
but the clouds had dispersed, and the
moon, just risen, shone full on the church
yard and every object in it.
We did not expect to see anything
Of course, but somehow the influence of
the time and place sobcred our high
waiting for the great church clock to
strike midnight, the hour of our release
"What relief!" whispered Alice, as
the first ponderous stroke almost made us
start from our seats.
We waited until twelve was rung out,
and then rose to depart Suddenly
without a sound, from the shadows of the
church emerged a procession, gray
weird line IF figures, some of whom we
recognized with thrill of terror.
Look look! It's old Mr.. Morton =
whispered Emma. "LOok at his long
white hair! He died last month. And
there's John Sclnyn What's the mean
ing fit? There's some plot here, certain.
Half-frightened, she felt convinced thai
it was practical joke.
But the other girls were more thar
half frightened, and chung to each other
| watching the noiseless line of figures
glide over the graves, and circling the
churchyard, return toward us on the othel
side. At the end of the line was slen-
der figure, and we caught our breath as
we recognized Alice's long golden curls
and even a dress of peculiar patterr
which she sometimes wore. The figure
moved on, holding hand to its heart
ooh, it's Alicep' gasped Adela. An(
Alice, who, at the first sight of the APP
partitions had buried her face ON my
shoulder, looked up, recognized he
double, and with a scream, fell senseles
in my arms.
Then our tense nerves gave way, anC
shrek after shrek rose on the air. TIL,
ghostly procession took to flight in mos
unghostly haste, and the one who per
sonated Alice, tearing off his headgea
and encumbering skirts, rushed up to Us
1t was Roy.
"For mercy's sake, stop that scream
ingm he c1ied. "The whole country will
| be reused. It's nothing but a jest
What's the matter with Alice?"
you've killed her, believe y groaneC
Emma.
He seized her in his arms, and swiftly
ran toward the house, all of us following
We Were beyond speech then, and shall
never forget that midnight race with tht
senseless figure which we fancied was al
ready dead.
No, alas for her! not dead; for when
after hours of Inconsistencies, she
opened her eyes, it was to scream and
fall into CONFUSION after CONFUSION.
"Will she live, doctor2' asked Mrs
Lyons, when the morning light shonc in
upon us.
"She is in no immediate danger" lac
said; "but unless am mist 'ken, death
would be mercy to her
We did not quite understand him, then,
but we did later, when we saw our pretty
Alice poor, idiotic creature, whom her
family were compelled to watch as if she
were an infant She had epileptic fits
constantly, but we were all middle-aged
women when death at last released her.
You would like to know, | suppose,
how this terrible event affected us2 1t
spoiled Roy's life, for he had loved Alice
time Had she died a natural death,
young as he was, he would have forgot
ten her; but remorse kept the scene al
ways in memory, and he became very
reckless man.
He died young, soldiers death, dur
ing our Civil War; but his last words
were, Poor Affect she will know how |
suffered when we meet over there"
Emma's pain was almost equal to his.
She had forced Alice to go that night,
and she felt herself indirectly guilty of
having caused the tragedy. Perhaps it
her character as nothing else
would have done, for no one could be
more tenderly sympathetic than she be-
came, or more tolerant of the timid fears
of others