Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-10-27
and this child would never have been

and this child would v have been
a you been true to me. Because you
thought me dead, you imagined your
sen 1ree from your promise to me, and
falsely accepted the proposals of an
other man, leaving my life the dreary
blank it must become. The memory of
my past seems cursed, and my future
seems like a desert in the night. This
room, which I furnished with so much
beauty, because l thought you might
some time use it, has become but a
tomb for my hopes, and now to see you
standing here, yet not belonging here,
want to strangle you, and curse the
DAY you were born. 1 owe you no mer-
cy. Once l loved you tenderly, now l
hate you tiercely, and this child of an
others is but a toad in nv pathway.
which I will either kill or tortured"
The hand that held the curtain seemed
to hold all the nerves of the body in it's
grasp. SO firm and still it was, and the
voice which answered. this DEVILS speech
was as unmoved and strong as the
hand:
"And what, then, do you propose to
DO, since I again refuse to leave all and
follow you?"
Her bearing and calmness seemed to
madden him, for with a CLEAN in his
eye with which 1 feltfamiliar, he sprang
rom his seat like a leopard from its
hiding place, and said, in a husky voice
which its master had no longer any con-
troll over:
"This-and this-and this" and the
strong young life was dashed out of the
proud form that had stood SO fearlessly
there but q moment before. He pulled
the curtain over the dead body, stepped
over it, and strobe out of the room.
For a while all was dark; then again
! found myself in the wing; but years
had passed by, and all around me was
in ruins. I walked to the piano and
seated myself before it; instinctively 1
placed my elbow on the music rack and
my head on my hand. MY right hand
raised itself to strike the keys; then for
the first time ] noticed how fruitless
would be the act, since long ago all
power of sound must haye left the rusty
case. I again looked around the room.
The curtains, the rugs, the cushions,
were falling to pieces, the frescoes on
walls and ceilings were moldy and
stained with damp and mildew. Dust
was deep on everything, and in despair
l struck with my hand the dead keys
before me. To my horror the same
chord arose from under my touch which
l had heard before. l arose to leavethe
horrible place, when out of the resting
folds of satin came a form holding its
left hand to its throat. tried to es-
cape. but was held down by some I'M
seen force, and the hand was slowly
taken away from the throat, leaving ex-
posed to my unwilling eyes an ugly,
discolored bruise.
I covered my face, but felt the ghost
ly hand pointing at me, and then l
heard my mother 8 voice say:
"My child. avenge my DEATH"
could bear no more, but fled, with
out we'll knowing the direction I took.
But l could find nc door. 1 grasped
wildly at the hangings by the windows,
but they fell at my touch. I felt over
every spot on the walls that I could
reach, yet found no outlet. All was
dark about me. There seemed no place
where a CLINT of light could possibly
strike through. In an agony Of fright
bordering upon madness I raised the
rug upon the floor, and there, like a
friend with open arms to receive me,
was a pit that seemed to have no bot
tom. With a maniacal shrek I leaped
into this grave, that closed upon me
like a wave, and I seemed to fall for
ever.
This shrek I had given in reality,
and by it had awakened my husband,
who shook me violently and said:
"Wake up! You're dreaming"
Dreaming" sobbed l, land the
wing, the ghost, the grave-that horri-
BILE grave into which 1 fell. oh"
But more :frightful than all I had
seen in my dream was the face of my
husband at that moment. He stood be-
side the bed in the moonlight; his face
was livid, his hands clenched spasmod-
ically. 1 hid my face in the pillow, but
he vas leaning toward me and Kissing
into my ears the horrible words:
clark you, my lady. Another word
of this devilish wing, and the ghosts
and the graves that your head is added
with, and I'll choke the life out of
you, as l did'- But here he caught
himself with an oath, and, snatching
up q dressing gown from a chair near
by, he left the room.
Next day, in imagination, I occupied
the room of my dreams. 1 could not
escape from it. and soon 1 learned to
dread the nights that brought me
dreams, and the days that were filled
with the shadows of the nights. l
became so weak and ill that I begged
my husband to take me away, and he,
having business in the mountains, and
not wishing to leave me alone too long
to pry into his secrets, took me with
him. Change of scene and faces soon
restored me to health, and 1 was not
sorry to return to the place I was
obliged to call home, when it was time
to 60.
But when we had returned I again
became Influenced by the uncanny air
which surrounded the house, and with
the first night, returned my maddenins
dream.
Before morning I had come to a firm
decision, which [ started to carry out
as soon as 1 was left alone that day.
At nine o'clock I called the carpen-
ter, and told him to go to work at once.
ond ~oEo a door IN fhot ,uol1