Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-05-08
A RAILWAY GHOST.
An Explanation to Set Myself
Right Before the Public.

Right Before the Public.
AS there is a ghost in this story, &C.
cording to all established rules it ought
to commence with "once upon a time,"
but as l am somewhat of an i%conoclast,
not even such a venerable figure o.
speech can escape humiliation at my
hands.
Let me be exact in chronology a
least. had been hastily summoned
from Cornwall to the bedside of 6
wealthy old uncle from whom I hadex.
pections, and as the telegram informed
me that he could not survive his pres.
ent attack of govt, I thought it might
be as well for me to be Sin at the
DEATH" and so one foggy day in No.
vember, 1860, found me travelling tt
Ashbourne, a little, out-of-the-way
place, where the old gentleman lived.
There were but few passengers on the
train, and l had the comfort of a car.
riage all to myself. We stopped tc
coal at some little w~ay-station, when 8
passenger was hurriedly ushered, OF
rather banged. into my compartment
by the conductor.
The stranger was a tall, thin, mid.
dle-aged man. with a face lean and
withered like a shriveled apple. In a
dress tight-fitting and of an Glen and
faded black, he looked like a man who
had II very much to seed, which per.
haps accountedfor the luxuriant growth
of his arms and legs. Observing his
clothes steaming with the damp air, ]
began to realize that it had suddenly
become very cold.
''Quite a change in the wealth En-"
remarked. Very cold tonight, is il
not?n
.Don't feel the cold myself. Per-
haps you would like to change places
with me; there is no draft here"
l replied that 1 would be glad to do
SO if it did not inconvenience him, and
accordingly we changed seats.
1t was cold, and no mistake. Unjust
have taken a chill, for l felt che cold
creeping owe me in a most u%naccount-
able manner. Looking at my compan-
ION on the opposite seat, on whom tho
lamplight nov shone full, [ saw that
his face was not so thin nor his features
so withered as | at tirstsupposed; and l
must have made a mistake as to his
age. for he was by no means az old as
l had previously Judged. How cold it
was, to be sure! As l looked at him, l
noticed that his aspect changed mo-
mentarily-that he was growingyoung-
er: that the wrinkles in his face were
filling out and smoothing down, and
that he was gradually becoming like
cheeks grew round and ruddy, and his
hair changed from gray to brown be-
fore my very eyes, [ became nervous,
and endeavored to cry out, but could
not. 1 was paralyzed with the cold
cold that seemed to make my limbs
rigid and benumb my vitals, for l saw
that the man sitting before me was no
longer a stranger-no mere friend or
acquaintance-he had become Me!
I held up my hands to try to shut out
the sight, and, as I did so, saw that
they were withered, and thin, and old.
l pressed them to my brow, to see if 1
were dreaming, and l found it shriv-
eled, and scanned, and puckered. And
then l knew that this man-this fiend
had stolen my body and given me
his. Maddened with the discovery, L
o to my feet-his feet-wh;ch tot
tered beneath me, and l struck wildly
at the vision of myself on the other
scat. But l found my arms light as
vapor, for they passed over his body,
which went through them, giving me
the impression OF pain. 1t vas a body
OF shade that had been given me for
my own body of flesh and blood. which
this wretch had stolen. By some sor-
Gerry or another, we had indeed changed
places.
..Sorcerer-demon," I cried out, only
TO hear myself speaking with his sharp,
cracked voice. When l saw myself sit
ting opposite to me, coolly addressing
me in my own voice, | could no longer
credit my senses--if, indeed, l had any
OF them at all left OF my own.
Dare you think you are speaking
loud now," he said.
l answered by shouting for the con-
ductor as loudly as l could.
"Ah, you might call a good deal
louder than that. Why, if the carriage
were full OF passengers they could no
more hear you than they could see
YOU" he continued, chuckling, and
screwing my features up into a hid
eously knowing grin, such as 1 could
never have made them assume. 'You
see. my friend, yours is a body of air,
of shadow, insensible, impalpable to
all but myself, just as it was to all
but you when I entered the carriage.
You wish, perhaps, to know who !
am. Well, two years ago tonight
was a passenger by this train. There
was a collision with a stupid freight
train, you see, and the result was chat
moro inil1rod Ono