The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-03-27

young lady,-the apparition, mean, as you
chose tc call it, You said an accident"
"Lor' bless you, sir" he interrupted sadly,
"'twas only my chaff. never heard any
thing about young lady; but l thought as
you seemed bit scared it would make your
mind easier like, and that's why shifted
you. l can't give any reason why such a
fancy came into my head; but it's as well it
did, sir, for it just saved your life, saved it
by the ghost of chance as one may say"
and there was faint return of the old hui
morous twinkle in the mans eye as he thus
aptly made play upon the words. SIT was
the carriage you were in that suffered the
most" ''Well, there's many true word
paaP hd n be 5stu1sa s. care h sas
four or more killed. We cont know the
cause at prisent sir; 'twasn't collision. and
don't appear TO have anything to do with
the stopping of the train while ago. These
things do turn one up more than bit, SIR"
added the man as he was called away. The
lamps of the special train were now sighted
and we, the unscathed, were speedily in our
place and arrived at our destination with
out further hurt or hindrance. But what
perplexed ideas whirled in rapid succession
through my mind as we were hurried along.
I Here was l, saved from dreadful and un-
timely death by what? Not dream, GER
tainly; but what ever it was, by most mar
Vicious interposition, or perhaps, as the
guard said, "by the ghost of chance " How
could call it a dream or entertain the no.
/ ton OF ghostly influence, when the earring
picked up by my own hand was now safe in
my pocket! Was it safe? / looked. Yes,
safe enough, the wheel suspended from the
birds claw. A wheel Of fortune it had in
deed proved to me.
''And do you mean to tell me this is
foot T yaI II E,,sc had
friends manuscript. Every word of it, as
Lam a living man, he answered. sSee, here
is the earring" and he handed me the trink-
ct. "Well," I continued, after examining
it. "What are you going to do? How are
you going to finish your story?" "Oh, don't
know, can't you give me a notion" He
knows have an eye for dramatic situations.
"Not l, indeed; you will have to invent that
1 suspect" And we talked a good deal
more, of course about the strange affair, be-
fore left him: and equally of course, at the
friend is only dabbler, and seldom brings
any of his efforts in art or literature to
fruitful issue. l little thought it would de-
volve on me to take up the thread of this
one and finish it for him.
Before parting, however, asked, ''Did
you see the girls face?' 'sNot very clearly
The light was dim. could not distinguish
her features precisely, nor the color of her
eyes, nor any details exactly, you under
stand; yet there was look' he went on
after pause-"yhich reminded me of
somebody, or I rhought'it did, could not
tell whom, that had seen before 1t was a
mere impression, quite uniformed, vague to
degree. l had forgotten, even, that any,
thing of the kind crossed my mind until YOU
asked: the question" Would you know
her againr'
"Humphr p - he hesitated 81 hardly
know. think should if she were similar
ly dressed and posed" Then he said good
bye; and for two years do not think we
have mentioned the subject above twice !;
once,, when inquired if he had finished the
story; and once, later on, when, if did not
clear it up, threw weird light upon the
mystery; the light by which am enabled to
make a sort of second part to the first which
l found him writing.
My friends rooms again; Looking much as
usual. save that he is at his easel instead of
at his desk. Again, as usual, keen for the
time being upon what he is doing, he does
not rise when enter and stand talking to
him for awhile behind his chair. We have
not seen each other lately, and he rallies me
good-humoredly about dropping the acquain-
lance of careless bachelors like himself since
my marriage-for that momentous event has
happened within the last six months. He
was abroad at the time and does not know
my wife yet. Soon we passed from this in
teresting topic, and I said something about
the water-color drawing he was working at,
as l still stood watching its progress over his
shoulder. 1t was small study, done the
previous evening at life-school, as he told
me, from what artists call the draped model
"a rustic figure of girl seated on stile.
CONCLUDED MoNDAY..1