The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1882-04-28

with dull, heavy sound, rs II there was
no vitality in them. Its arms hung ap-
parently paralyzcd by its side. and the
only nerve set rigidly in tho frame APP
penred about its brow. The eyes were
dilated and fixed with the expression OF
rhastly horror, and the petrified lips
moved not. rs the hideous moaning,
which came from the bottom 0f the
chest. escaped them.
1t began to move across the floor in
the direction Of my bed, its knees at ev-
cry step being drawn up with n sudden
jerk to the body. and its feet coming to
the ground as if they were moved by
some mechanical impulse, and were
wholly wanting in the elasticity OF hv-
ing members.
1t approached my bed. and mingled
horror and curiosity kept me still. 1t
came and stood beside it, and, childlikc,
chung 10 my couch, moving only to the
farther side. Slowly. and with the same
unnatural footballs. it pursued me thith-
cr. and again i changed my position. It
placed itself then at the foot of my bed,
and. moved by itspitcous groans. tried
to look calmly at il. l endeavOred
TO rally my thoughts-tO reason with
myself. and even to speculate upon the
nature of the object before me. One
idea that went through my brain was too
extravaganza not to remember thought,
among other things, that the phantom
was corpse, animated for the moment
by some galvanic process, in order to
tcrrify me. Then as / recollccted that
there was no one in the village to carry
such trick into eilcct-supposing even
the experiment possible-I rejected the
supposition. How, too, could those aw-
full means be produced from an inani-
mate being? And yet it seemed as if
every thing about it was dead. except
the mere capability of moving its feet
and uttcring those unearthly. expressions
of suffering. The spectre, however, if
so il may be called, gave me but little
opportunity for reflection. Its CHASTITY
limbs were raised anew with the same
aulomaton movement, and, placing one
of lis feet upon the bottom of my bed,
while its CLASSY eyes were fixed stead
tasty upon me, it began slowly stalking
towards my pillow.
confess that / was now in an agony
Of terror. sprang from the couch and
fed from the apartment. The Keen
sighteduess of fear enabled ME to dis
cover IN open closet upon the other side
of the hall. Springing into it, l closed
the door quickly after me. 1t had neith-
er lock nor bolt, but the closet was SO
narrow that by placing my feet against
the opposite wall could brace back
against the door so rs to hold it against
Il
arms for lever.
The perspiratiOn of mortal fear start
ed upon my forehead rs heard the SUI
pernatural tread of that strange visitant
approaching the spot. 1t seemed an age
before its measured steps brought it to
the door.
1t struck it; the blow was sullen and
hollow. as if dealt by the hand of a
corpse. 1t was like the dull sound of its
own feet upon the floor.
1t struck the door again, and, to my
intense relief, the sound was more. fee
bic than before. Surely, / thought, the
hand of no living man could produce
such a sound.
for now its thick breathing became so
loud that even the meanings, which
were mingled with the respiration, be-
came inaudible.
At last they subsidized entirely, becom-
ing at first gradually weaker, and then
audible only in harsh, sudden sobs,
whose duration / could not estimate,
from their mingling with the blastwhich
swept the hillsides.
The last sound that l remember of
hearing was the most terrible of all--the
sound which once heard can never be
mistaken for any other-the death-rat-
tie in human throat. 1t came with a
horrible distinctnrss; it seemed in my
very ear. IL appeared to me that the
accumulated horrors of the whole night
had been concentrated in that sound
that audible connection between life
and death.
What might have been heard of that l
know not, for insensibility came TO my
relief.
When / came to. knew that the
morning had come, and, scarcely know
inc whether or not il had been a hide
Gus dream, arose and opened the
door.
What words can describe the awful
horror of that moment? Before me stood
the spectre, with the full light of day re-
yealing its revolving features in all their
hideous deformity. The face was swol-
len and livid, the tongue protruded from
the mouth, and its eyes, bursting from
their sockets, glared at me and froze the
blood in my veins.
AL this is impressed upon my mind
with terrible distinctncss, although
the view ! had was instantaneous, for
the next instant the .apparition, whose
arms were extended forward, fell upon
me and claspcd me in a horrible en-
brace.
! gave wild shrek and fell, with the
CHASTITY thing upon me.
Once more inscnsibility came to my
relief.
The rest of my story is soon told. The
household of the inn heard my cry, rush
ed into the hall, and released me.
1t was the dead body of guest OF the
inn. lie was afflicted with some organ
ic affection of the system. and was sub
iect to gricvous fits of nightmare, dur
ing which he still preserved sufficient
powers of volitiOn to move to the bed OF
his servant, who, being used to his at
tacks, would take the necessary means
to relieve him. The servant had that
night remained out late, and when he
returned found his way in the dark to
the wrong room, and occupied the bed
| intended for me, whilst ] had stumbled
into the room occupied by his master
and rot into the servants bed. The
| ,,,,r man hoI follnn a victim tn his nal
ady and my cowardice.
A Frontier Humorist.
Away on tho extreme Western front