The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1880-04-23

doctor at once. The man babbled in his
frenzy: THE face" he cried, "the face
lit was her facc-fhere in the court be-
iowi Look between the trees ~ / look
ed out into the court.
The neon was up. and among the
trees near the fountain / could see the
figure of Il woman. She was in deep
black, and as presently she stood where
the trunk of the tree threw her white
face into relief, | could see that she was
looking toward the window. Probably
she mistook my figure blotted against
the window for that Of Emerton's, for as
looked she raised her arms with a
strange menacing gesture and pointed ut
me. Then she glided in among the trees
and was lost to sight The doctor came.
examined Emerton and prescribed for
him. Hes had violent fright" ne
said, "but he'll be all right by and by.
It's more historical than anything else
Where are his friends?''
III wanted to learn something of this
mans strange story, what could | wish
for better than night alone with him {?
The doctor gave me certain directions
and left.
We had carried Emerton to his bed
room and put him ON the bed. Seeing
he was still, went into the front room,
piled up the fire, put on the kettle, found
some whisky, lit my pipe, and prepared
Tor the night. l had just turned the
burner down when l became aware of n
soft grating sound at the outer door.
Some one was softly opening the outer
door with key. The gas was low down
Hurriedly l picked up my overcoat and
other traces of my presence and flung
them under the large couch at the end Of
the room. 1t was an old-fashioned sofa
with hanging valance which reached
to the ground. l then crept underneath
and waited for the curtain to rise ON the
drama. had hardly got INTO safe Do.
sition when the outer door Welded, and
heard step i'll the passage that inter
Vened. Then the outer door was gently
closed. expected to see the inner door
open In It's turn and some one enter. The
minutes went by, and no one came
Whoever 1t might be was in the passage
l could hear u slight movement every
now and then, and the rustic of n wO-
mans dress. 1t must have been quite
ten minutes since l heard the outer door
opened when l noticed that the inner
one was swinging noiselessly back on its
hinges, and something was gliding into
the room. Slowly it moved across the
floor till it stood right in the dim light
OF the turned-down gas.
shall never forget the terrible sight
that met my eyes. would have scream
ed, but my tongue remained glued to nv
mouth. L was looking at dead wo-
man risen from the grave Her face had
been beautiful in life; now it was ashen
gray. The eyes were sunken in their
sockets, and her lips were pale and col
orless. The figure was draped in long
white STROUD, and l fancied that the
room was heavy with the awful odor of
an open grave. Slowly the phantom
moved toward the next room and glided
in. For a moment all was still. Then
came faint cry. The man was awake
and alone with the apparition "Drusil-
la? he shrieked. ''Mercy! mercy! Have
mercyr'
| heard a hollow voice answer him,
Rise and follow me-"
What would you have with me:,
Confess
what shall confess ?" answered the
wretched man, his voice trembling in an
agony of fear
Confess the foul wrong you did me.
Confess where my poor body lies, that it
may be buried in holy ground"
Again the mans trembling voice wall
ed out, Il will confess ALL"
Follow mel"
The apparition glided from the inner
room, and the man followed her
The dead woman pointed to the table
where the pen and ink were, and the
man obeyed her gesture mechanically.
write all"
/ could see from rent in the valance
the whole scene. The man, white with
terror, the beads of cold perspiration on
his brow, sat and wrote.
The apparition glided behind him and
looked over his shoulder
Once he paused in his task
Write all" said the white figure.
And again the man wrote.
The figure then gr;.sped the paper
with its waXen fingers. "Gol" 1t said,
pointing to the inner room.
With his eyes fixed upon its livid face,
the man backed slowly for some PAGES
With Il violent effort and Il little scream
he seized the door, swung it to, and
bOlted it on the inside.
Then, for the first time, the dead
woman trembled.
She seemed strangely nervous and agi-
tated now. she clasped the paper close
ly, then put it in her bosom, and glided
from the room.
l had got over the sudden terror in
spired by such strange sight, and had
made up my mind tkat had detected
some terrible Imposture. There was
slight pause in the lobby, and the noise
vi q SdIuiCllt DCluSS uldNu Oll llIcH Tic
outer door opened and the visitant
passed out on the staircase.
l followed as quietly as 1 could. The
staircase was lighted with gas. As [
trod on the second landing the ghost
heard the noise and looked up. She was
dressed in an ordinary black costume
now, and her face was a natural color
To my intense surprise she neither
screamed nor attempted to run away
She stood still, and beckOned me to her
side.
what are you going to do ?" she said.
'To give you into custody"
"Are you friend of has Pr
1 answered YES" mechanically
'Then let me go free if you value his
life"
IF l let you go l am yonr accom-
plice," murmured; your accomplice
is some vile imposture'
mo. If you are my accomplice to-
night, you are an accomplice in the ho-
lest deed a woman ever wrought. Pass
me through the gates if you doubt me;
watch me; follow me home; give me
into custody if you like; don't care;
I've got what wanted"
l took her arm as though had been
policeman, and said: "Pass through the
gate, then, and if you attempt to get
She nodded to the proposition. The
man at the gate was half asleep. l reused
him, and from his box he pulled the
cord and let us pass through the wicket
door into the strand.
/ then listened to the strangeSt story
that ever mortal lips had uttered, and
there was no doubt that every word of it
was true.
The confession which the trembling
wretch had written at her dictation-as
he believed at the dictatIon of his dead
wife, had read. 1t was a plain state
ment of how he had poisoned the poor
gIrl whom he had welded, in a fit of mad
jealousy, and how he had concealed his
crime; how at the last moment he had
overheard whisper that some one Sis
pected foul play; and how, fearing the
body might be exhumed, he had, with
the assistance of an accomplice, since
dead, stolen the body that night and re-
buried it in the garden of house in a
lonely part of the American town where
this accomplice lived.
This woman was his wife's sister, and
she had suspected foul play from the
first. She was an actress, and was away
on a provincial tour when BlisSett En-
erton wooed and won Drusilla and took
her abroad with him. Emerton had new
er seen this sister. The marriage had
been secret and hurried, and he had
seemed strangely anxious to leave the
country. They were to be back in five
months.
Drusilla-poor trusting fool i-idoliZ-
ed the man and obeyed him. To her he
was knight without reproach.
But soon his conduct TO her altered
strangely, and she began TO suspect that
all was not right. He grew cold and
cruel, and she was miserable and UNI
happy.
She wrote secretly 10 her sister told
her troubles and how quickly her hus-
bands conduct had altered. The sister
urged her to leave him and come home
She was expecting her to do so, when
there came the news of her illness and