The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1882-11-03

certainly IN easy dream to explain.
looked out toward the bank, good
three miles from where / stood, and
sent ont wish for the safety of my be-
loved friend.
The storm was coming. Great gusts
of wind roared around the house. The
darkness was intense. / took another
drink, thought of my stock in the
water-works, Thought there ight not
be another water cock open in the
whole city at that time, and that the
great pumps might be working for me
alone in the silence of the night. did
not shut off the water, but looked at
my watch, which indicated ten minutes
past II, and then got into bed again
without turning out the gas.
remember thinking of some Of the
many incidents with which meant t.
fort fy my position and arguments with
reference TO tho increased acuteness Of
the hearing during some dreams. Then
slept and dreamed again. L dreamed
/ stood in the pumping-works and
watched the ponderous machinery
move Only there was 20 regularity
now, as there had been in the daytime.
The great piston which 1 watched
would make now long sweeping
stroke, and again q stroke like flash
of light. And the long and short
stroke, translated into dashes and doss,
said over and over and over again /:
Help! Murder Help Murder Help!
Murder !"
could see the movement as / had
seen Arnold's hand, but this time /
could hear it, too. A. murmur or pulse,
not unlike the noise made by steam
engine running almost silently, now
long, now short, saying to the ear what
the graceful movements of the piston
said to the eye: "Help! Murder!"
/ started wide awake in moment. L
hope no one will be cruel enough to
joke when | say seemed to be all ears.
1t is certainly no joking matter.
The storm had como at last, and was
dashing in fury against the window and
wall put in the real dash of the rain
for the movement of the piston / had
heard in my dream.
But heard dozen mice in the
wainscot, in different. parts of the
house. had not heard them before,
and the noise of the storm seemed deaf
ening. Over in the next street could
hear man walking. L could not have
heard him on quiet day. Despite the
thick walls between, heard something
fall in the next house. And above the
noise of the storm-no, above it would
be wrong-but, in spite OF the noise of
the awful tempest, there was sound
like a breath---a sob-or the thought of
a sob-intangible almost, dreamlilse al
most, but real for all that. Now, like
memory of long-drawn breath
caught quickly, it pulsed on and on. 1
was never wider awake in my life. Nv
mind was never keener. But | could
hear, with waking ears this time. the
pulses and puffs which spelled Help!
Murderw
For one terrible moment my heart
seemed 10 stand still. After that L
never failed in courage and sense during
the whole OF that terrible night.
I sprang from bed and dressed with q
rapidlty of VIII ,ch / should have thought
myself incapable, and that terrible
message was repeating itself in my ears
all the time. / dropped my revolver
into my pocket, took my heavy cane,
put on my waterproof coat, shut off the
water from the water-cock, and the
sounds stopped. / opened it, and the
message began again Help! Murder |!
Help Murderl"
/ bent over and looked at the water
"a il fell into the basin. / half fancled
that the stream was not steady, that it
diminished little and then increased
again. could not tell positively any
tn ng about it. / could not say that
the plash it made lesscned and strength
ened, nor could when found by several
trials that the message came while the
cock was open, and stopped when it was
closed. That was all l found out then
and it is all know now.
/ passed down stairs, noticed that the
clock in the hall pointed to twenty min
utes past II, and stepped out. 1t was
terrible night. The wind blew gale.
The rain was a torrent. The lightning
was over and the sky was blackness.
A livery stable WAS within two blocks ;
police station block behind that. 1t
was terrible walk to the stable, but 1
got there ut last The owner knew me
but said 1 could not have team on
such night; no driver wonld go on
such an occasion. / was desperate, and
asked him to name some price, any
price, for which he would furnish me a
team and driver for the rest of the night.
had no theory, no definite thought; 1
only knew that / must and would know
why Arnold Percy was not home vet. 1
gave him $50 the moment il was de-
manded, and put $40 into the hand of
the driver when 1 ordered him to the
police station.
/ did not tell anything ut the station
more than that Mr.. Percy had not re-
turned, and that / wanted to go to the
bank and find out why. l could not
relate series of dreams as a reason for
sending police officer three miles in a
terrible storm, and, as for the message
knew / had heard, who would believe
it? And where did it come from2
L expected to make little or no inn
preston on the officer in charge. l
was disappointed. L asked for police
man to go with me to the bank, and L
got four, including the officer in charge
of the station