Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-10-27

the evil have worried you into a fever.
l am going to send for a physician and
send you to bed. 1 am also going to
remain here till Mr.. Finger returns, so
l may shield you from any anger he
may feel or express; the work shall go
on. and your curiosity shall be graft
fed"
The doctor was sent for, and when he
came, l was ordered to bed. I meekly
went, but 1 felt that no power on earth
would keep me there long.
1 took, before getting into bed. q
draught the doctor left for me, and be-
fore many minutes I was fast asleep.
For six weeks l raved with fever, dur
ing which time, they told me afterward,
l talked of my mother, my husband,
some strange room, and . chord Of
music that Invariably made me SILVER
and try to bury my head in the pillow.
When [ was able to speak nationally
and have my questions answered I asked
my faithful friend Briggs to tell me what
had happened and how long 1 had been
i'll. He then said:
II can tell you but little now, and
you must not get excited o ask any
questions. We found the room in the
wing as you described it to me; we also
found the grave under the floor, and a
coffin which we have not yet opened.
How the grave was dug, the coffin pur-
CEASED and brought into the house, and
the wall built without attracting atten-
ton. or leaking out, is q mystery, and
must have taken a fortunet to keep down.
Frau Stable was certainly an accom-
plice, for upon her return from Oak
land, at four o'clock on the day you
were taken ill, she saw the work going
on in the wing, and, not waiting to ask
any questions, she turned and hurried
away. Probably she went to Mr.. Fin
gers Office and told him of his danger,
for neither of them have been seen or
heard Of since. Possibly, my child, we
have discovered the mystery connected
withthe disappearance of your MOTHER
And Briggs left the ROOM.
l sank down into my pillows ex-
hausted, but happy, and my one thought
was: "Free-free from him and from it!
Would to Heaven 1 might blot my expe-
rience of married life from my memory
forever!"
In a week, during which time Briggs
visited me and consoled me every day,
l secretly decided to visit the wing
which had been q black shadow over
my life for SO many months. When l
reached the foot of the stairs and saw
the debris in the hall l felt faint,
but controlled myself and hurried on.
| reached the opening, which was
still in the rough as the workmen had
left it, and, taking a long breath as
though for a plunge in the sea, I went
in. How frightfully familiar it was!
How still! How awful! / went to the
piano and seated myself before it. I
dared not touch the keys-Ifeared they
would rattle like the bones in ''Danse
Macabre" if Ibid, and without realizing
what l did, 1 leaned my elbow on the
music rack before me, with my head
upon my hand. A current of air from
the opening in the wall stirred the cur
tains around me. I started to my feet,
and as l did so my right hand dropped
heavily upon the keys. Once more the
horrible d;scord fell upon my ears.
Thoroughly %unnerved and ill as l was,
this last was more than I could bear,
and, shrieking with terror, I ran straight
into the folds of the curtain which had
1 SAOS SOVSASo IL Au0O0AA . VASOAAA, 0AO
fell there senseless.
They found me there hours after, and
I was taken, i'll as I was, from the
house, into which I have never since
returned.
Even now-ten years after-as 1 write
l look around mi into the shadowy cor
ners of my little sitting ROOM, and
shudder at the memory Of those horri-
BILE days.
John Finger and his accomplice have
never been heard of since their guilty
flight. and though they will probably
never be found and given the punish
ment the law is %reserving for them, l
am satisfied, and feel that through
much suffering my mothers death has
been avenged.
And this is my dream, and what
came from it. And who can say it
came to naught, since it cleared a long
silenced mystery and caused the guilty
! ~ d. ~