Mexico weekly ledger., 1879-04-03

ES hy soiiSO SAooC W VAC SI'sC "a
the bed and barricading the lockiess
door with two chairs, I cxtinguished
the light and lay down.
At first was very wakeful, but
gradually sort of drowsiness seemed
to steal over me like misty mantle,
and until all Of a sudden, some start
ling electric thrill coursed through my
veins, and I sat up, excited and trem-
bling.
A luminous softness seem to glow
through the room-no light of the
moon or stsrs was penetrating-and
by the little window saw Alice, my
wife, dressed in floating garments of
white, with her long golden hair knot
ted back by blue ribbon. Apparent,
ly she was coming to me with out
stretched hands, and eyes full of
wild, anxious tenderness.
/ sprang to my feet and rushed to-
ward her, but as I reached tie win
dow the fair apparition seemed to
vanish into the stormy darkness, and
[ was left alone. At the self-same
instant the sharp report of a pistol
sounded. l could see the Jagged
stream OF fire above the pillow straight
through the very spot where ten
minutes since my head had lain.
With the instantaneous realization
of my danger, / swung myself over
the edge of the window, jumped some
eight or ten feet into the tangled
bushes below, and as crouched there
recovering my breath, heard the
tramp of footsteps into my room.
= rs he dead?' crieC. a voice up the
ladder-lhe smooth deceitful voice of
the woman with the half-closed eyes.
'Of course he is,' growled voice
back; that charge would have killed
ten men. A light, there, quick; and
tell Tom to get ready
A cold, sgonized shudder ran
through me- What q den of mid
night murderers had / fallen into!
And how fearfully narrow had been
my escape!
With the speed that only mortal
terror and deadly peril can give, 1
rushed through the woods, now illu-
minated by :. faint glimmer of star
light. knew not what impulse guild
ed my footsteps-I never shall know
how many times / crossed my track,
or how close stood to the brink of
the deadly ravine; but msrciful
Providence ercompassed me with a
guiding and protecting care, for
when the morning dawned, with red
bars of orient light against the stormy
eastern sky, was close to the high
road, some seven miles from R..
Once at the town, told my story
to the police, and detachment was
sent with me to the spot.
After much searching and many
false alarms, we succeeded in finding
the ruinous house; but it was empty
our birds had flown nor did 1 re-
cover my valise and watch and chain,
which latter had left under my pill
low.
Its Drew's gang said the leader
Of police, land they've troubled US
these two years. L don't think,
they will come back here just
at present.
But the strangest part Of my story
is yet to come. Some three weeks
subsequently, sister, who was with
Alice, in her English home. wrote
a letter whose intelligence filed me
with surprise.
Il must tell you something very,
very strange wrote my sister, shat
on the night of the 18th of
October. Alice had not been we'll
for some time ia fact, she had. been
confined to her bed for nearly q week,
and was sitting beside her reading.
1t was late.-the clock struck l-when
Ill at once she seemed to faint away,
growing white and rigid as q corpse.
| hastcned to call assistance, but all
,fforts to restore animation were in
,ain. was just about sending for
Inc doctor, when her senses returned
ss suddenly as they left her, and she
lat up in bed, pushing her hair and
ooking wildly around her.
Alice l exclaimed, 'how you
lave terrified US all? Are you ill?"
Not ILL, she answer ed, but ] feel |
70 strange. Grace, / have been with
ny husband!'
And all our reasoning failed to con-
'ince her Of the impossibility of the
She insists to this moment
hat she saw you and was with you
N the 18th of October-or rather on
he morning of the 18th. Where and
low, she cannot tell, but we think il
must be q dream. She is better now,
nd wish you could see how fast she
5 improving.
This is my plain, unvarnished tale.
do not pretend to explain or ac-
cunt for its mysteries. / simply
eiate facts. Let psychologists un-
avel the labyrinthical skein.. l am
ot superstitious, neither do believe
n ghosts, wraiths or apparitions but
his l do know-that although my
rife was in Eaglsnd in body on the
norning of the 18th Of October, her
piri: surely stood before me in New
'ork State in the deadly peril that
me. 1t may be that to the
ubtle instinct and strength of a
Iife's holy love all things are posi-
lie, but Alice surely saved my life.