Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1880-07-24
RAYvIIIE. LOUISIANA, SATURDAY, JULY o. $780,

and staggered toward the bed All.
how l prayed that. after all, / might
have been dreaming, and that my own
excited imagination had but cOnjured
up some hideous memory Of the dissect-
ing-room!
But one glance was sufficient to answer
that. No! The summons had indeed
been given and answered.
flashed the light over tho dead face.
swollen, conyrlsed still with the death
| agony: hut suddenly ] shrank back.
Even rs l gazed, the expression of the
face seemed TO change the blackness
faded into deathly whiteness the con-
vulsed features relaxed. and. even as if
the victim of that dread apparition still
! lived, n sad, solemn smile stole over the
pale lips.
| | was intensely Mortified, but still
retained sufficient self-consciousness to
he struck professionally by such a
( phenomenon. Surely there was some
thing more than supernatural agency in
| all this?
Again / scrutinized the dead face, and
even the throat and chest /; but, with the
exception of tiny pimple on one temple
beneath n cluster of hair, not mark ap-
peared. To look at the corpse, one
would have believed that this man had.
indeed, died by the visitation of God.
peacefully, while sleeping. How long 1
stood there know not, but time enough
to gather my scattered senses and to re-
fleet that, all things considered my own
position would be very unpleasant if l
was found thus unexpectedly IT, tire room
OF i!''' lnvstrrloIiSl, dead man So, noise
'y..r!' a. ! .""li. made nv ~ay out of
~ L"i'Nr. NJ one met me on the pri-
vate staircase the little door opening
into the read was easily unfastened; and
thankful, indeed, was l to feel again
the fresh wintry air as 1 hurried along
the road by the church-yard.
There was a magnificent funeral soon
in that church and it was said that the
young widow of the buried man was in
consolable and then rumors got abroad
of horrible apparition which had been
seen on the night of the death and it
was whispered the young widow was
terrified, and insisted upon leaving her
splendid mansion.
l was too mystified with the whole
affair to risk my reputation by saying
what knew, and 1 should have allowed
my share in it to remain forever buried
in oblivion had not suddenly heard
that the widow, objecting to many of the
legacies in the last will of her husband,
intended to dispute it on the score of IN
sanity, and then gradually arose the r,l-
NOR of his belief in having received
mysterious summons
On this went to the lawyer, and sent
message to the lady, that, as the last
person who had attended her husband.
l undertook to prove his sanity, and I
besOught her to grant me an interview,
in which would relate as strange and
horrible a story as her ear had ever
heard.
The same evening 1 received an invi-
tatlon to 60 to the mansion. 1 was ush-
cred Immediately into splendid room,
and there, standing before the fire, was
the most dazzlingly-beautiful young
creature had ever seen. She was very
small, but exquisitely made; had it not
been for the dignity Of her carriage, I
should have believed her a mere child.
With stately bow she advanced, but
did not speak.
81 come on strange and painful er-
rand" began, and then started. for I
happened to glance full into her eyes,
and from them down to the small right
hand grasping the chair. The wedding
ring was on that hand!
Il conclude You are the Mr.. Read
who requested permission to tell me
some absurd ghost-stOry, and whom my
late husband mentions here" And as
she spoke she stretched ont her
left hand toward something--but
what l knew not, for my eyes were fixed
on that hand.
Horror! White and delicate it might
he, but it was shaped like a claw, and
the third finger WAS missing!
One sentence was enough after that
Madame, all can tell You is that the
ghost who summoned your husband was
marked by a singular deformity. The
third finger of the left hand was miss
ing," I said, sternly: and the next in
slant l had left that beautiful, sinful
presence.
That will was never disputed. vhe
next morning, too, 1 received a check
for FL 900, and the next news I heard of
the widow was that she had herself seen
that awful apparition, and had left the