The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1883-12-14

49,
sure that the waitress was the cook In a
clean apron. she was dismissed when
desert was brought on and then 1t
seemed a little more social, though there
was an evident restraint over all of US.
II don't think the servant had been
gone more han five minutes when
there was the sound of heavy footsteps
in the chamber directly over u heads.
To make a noise like that a man would
have to have soles an inch thick and
cast iron heels.
"What is Mary doing ~ stairs?" Ham
ilton asked, with an expression of coun-
tenance which showed that he could be
cruel on occasion. Mrs. Hamilton rang
the bell. The servant appeared imme-
lately.
"You may bring more coffee, Mary"
she said. So here was Mary, and there
was the noise still going on. This was
the lady's only answer to her husband.
1t was certainly better than words.
"Oh, l know what 1t is. "said Hamil-
ton, Immediately recovering himself,
Its those heavy shutters banging back
ward and forward. They must have
had a prison or a lunatic asylum In
mind when they constructed this house.
Once locked up, ii Is as impregnabie as
a fortress"
might not the noise have proceeded
from the slamming of a shutter" one
of Macomber's companions inquired.
Impossible! / heard it a hundred
times afterwards, when everything else
ton excused himself and left the taole.
l took occasion to ask Mrs. Hamilton
some questions.
SIS there no occupant OF the apart
ment above usP" | inquired.
There are three in u family-the
three you have seen. We have no visit
ors-at least go far as | know"
"You would be likely to know, | pre-
sumo, if YOU had" | remarked with q
laugh.
ID will tell you one thing" she said,
hastily, and with a look Of q hunted ami
NAL in her ewes. we always hava that
noise when we have company. It never
fails. Ny husband will not admit it."
At that moment Hamilton returned.
at is just as / thought" he said. "The
shutters on the south side were dancing
a iig and that inspired the shutters on
the north ~side-ergo, a pandemonium
racket"
"I hope you have fastened them
securely" his wife remarked.
az rather think the bolts will hold
good this time" was the answer, and
Hamilton took his seat at the table. He
might have been there two minutes
when the internal tramping commenced
again and with ten times more force
than before. The noise was deafening.
Mrs. Hamilton leaned back in her chair,
as white as the lace in her neck; her
husband muttered some ~inarticulate
blasphemy, while / gave myself up to
listening. The moment we rose from
the table the noise ceased. Make a
note of this, boys. From the time that
tramping began till it stopped / felt per-
fectly normal, but the moment the last
step was heard there was the same aw-
full something at my back. When | could,
without being observed, turned around
suddenly, to see if / might not surprise
the frightful thing. But / did not sue
coed. Well, to condense a little, | be-
came after a while a regular visitor at
Hamilton's house. / went a great many
times when Hamilton was not there and
this occasioned the talk. But think a
minute. l found very soon that Hamll-
ton had married this girl because her
parents were rich and from nc other
motive. Mrs. Hamilton's father livedin
another town. She had no ~acquain-
tances in the city and no company save
when her relatives came from home.
The poor little creature was almost be.
side herself with fear. / found, too,
that Hamilton was out late at nights,
and frequently came home into xicated,
that he had disposed of her diamonds
and many of her wedding presents; that
whenever her parents gave her money
he always managed to secure it. In
fact, I found him to be allow, contempti-
BILE wretch. OF course these things
leaked out gradually, for Mrs. Hamilton
was proud; so proud that she had not
even limited to her family the misery
she was undergoing. They had tried to
persuade Hamilton to give up this I'M
canny house, but as Elsa had not seemed
to care about it they did not persist. A
few hours In the course of q month was
the extent of their stopping with their
daughter. So they knew very little of
the demoniacal goings-on. ] never pit
led any living creature as | pitied this
poor little woman"
"And pity is akin to love, yeu know"
onss of Macomber's comrades remarked.
"It wasn't in this case" he replied
gravely. "But / see, Jack, you share
the opinion of the rest of the mob.
You are entirely mistaken. MY feeling
for Elsa Hamilton was pity, pure and
simple. It was the feeling one might
have for a child who was abused and
neglected. There was nobody within
twenty miles who cared whether she
lived or died; in fact, there was nobody
but me to say q kind word to her. But
I never went there that / was not fol-
lowed by this diabolical and Intangible
something. The first and the last time
q ever asked Mrs. Hamilton TO play for
me a large, cold hand was placed on my
shoulder as / was in the act Of arranging
the music for her. When I told her
what had happened she said that no
music had ever been allowed in the
house since she lived in it.