The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1883-12-21
Once locked up, it is as impregnaple as

IOu oACuS6U himself anu loIC the aDt0.
l took occasion to ask Mrs. Hamilton
some questions.
us there no occupant of the apart
ment above us2" I Inquired.
There are three in our family-the
ors-at least so far as l know"
"You would be likely 4, know, I pre-.
sumo, If YOU had" l remarked with q
laugh.
II will tell you one thing" che said,
hastily. and with a look of hunted ami
NAL in her eyes, we always have that
noise when we have company. 1t never
fails. My husband will not admit it."
At that moment Hamilton returned.
at is jnstas l Thoughts" he said. "The
shutters On the south side were dancing
q JIG and that inspired the shutters on
the north side-ergo, q pandemonium
racket"
III hope you have fastened them
securely" his wife remarked.
II 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 i%nartlculate
blasphemy, while l 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 l felt per
fectly normal. but the moment the last
step was heard there was the same aw-
full something atmy back. When | could
without beingobserved, turned around
suddenly, to see if | might not surprise
the trightful thing. But l did not sue.
coed. Well, to condense a little, be.
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 verv soon that Hamll-
t"n had married this girl because her
parents were rich and from no other
motive. Mrs. Hamilton's father llvedin
another town. She had no %acquain-
tances in the citv and no company save
when her relatives came from home.
me poor little creature vas almost be
sd herself with fear. | found, too,
That Hamilton was out late at nights,
n frequently came home intoxicated,
mat 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, | found him to be allow, contcmpti.
Bile wretch. OF course these things
leaked out gradually, for Mrs. Hamilton
was proud; SO proud that she had moi
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
CIV hours liz the course of a month was
the extent of their stopping with their
daughter. So they knew very little of
the demoniacal goings-on. l never pit
led any. living creature as l pitied this
poor little woman
"And pity is akin to love, you know"
one of Macomber's comrades remarked.
cit wasn't in this case" he replied
gravely. "But l see, Jack, you share
the opinion of the rest of TIE mob.
You are entirely mistaken. My feeling
Elsa Hamilton was pity, pure and
simple. 1t 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
l never went there that I was not fol-
lowed by this diabolical and intangible
something. The first and the last time
| ever asked Mrs. Hamilton to play for
me a large, cold hand was placed on my
shoulder as l was in the act of arranging
the music for her. When l told her
what had happened she said that no
music had ever been allowed in the
house since she lived in it,
but we will have some music" I re-
piled. "Please take your seat" | saw
she WAS afraid and so kept my hand on
her arm till she was seated. Instantly
an awful change came over her face.
"She looked like a dead woman. Her
hands and arms grew rigid and | found
she was unconscious. l took her in my
arms and carried her to the lounge. The
servant and | worked over her for nm
hour before there was any sign of life.
Then without opening her eyes and with
her limbs still rigid. she said slowly and
distinctly, as ii repeating the words
after some one 81 solemuiy swear that
l will never attempt to sing or play
again while l live in this house," Then
the muscles relaxed and she opened
her eyes. tell you boys, have wit
messed some horrible scenes, but never
one that could approach that. She
to have no rememberance 0fany.
thing that occurred aud when | told her
what she had said she shuudered and
made no answer. Sometimes by the ex-
ercise of considerable ingenuity I sue.
ceeded in making her forget the tragedy
OF her life, bat it wa only for Il moment.
The demon that made this house a Top
het would always interfere at the
~ % NV y,,, Tan x(p1y v,1,o,, MI, Ill
laughed quite heartily a small rocking
and slammed down with force enough to
shatter 1t But there wasn't a scratch on
it. In tact, nothing was ever injured
excepting nerves-that I was aware of.
One day as l was taking my coat off in
the hall the same icy hand was drawn
slowly across my face. 1t gave me such al
intense headache that I was obliged 10
go home and go to bed. For three days |
was not able to sit up and when I next
called on Mrs. Hamilton the change in
her was something %irightfui. Her U.s.
band had been on a protracted spree
and Mary told me that fortwo DAYS they
had really not had necessary food. r1rs.
Hamilton looked starved and pinched
and frightened to death. The noises in
the house had been almost ;ncessant
and of n more terrifying char ter than
usual. used every argument to induce
Mrs. Hamilton to go home to her par
ents, but she would not consent.
81 married against my parents Wishes"
she said, land l will bear all the con-
sequences"
''It was plain to me that she would
not live to bear much more, and | told
her SO.
"Oh do you think SOP" she asked with
n radiant smile.
"But things only come out in such
nice ways in novels" she added wearl-
ly, after a pause.
Zone evening, as I was just about to
ring the door. bell, Hamilton stumbled
up the steps. Awful glad to see you,
Did boy he said. Il was Just telling the
that thora WASN'T ANYBODY in