Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-08-27


another quarter of IN hour.
CAT last sleep came; calm, peaceful,
dream1ess sleep. How long | slept |
have no idea; perhaps for an hour,
perhaps for two. Then from within
my very room, of which [ had seen
every window barred, every door
bolted and locked, there came a long,
low, moaning cry, ending with a
shrek SO horrible, SO CHASTITY, that |
am ashamed to say that, as | rose IL
bed, my heart seemed to stop for a
moment and nay hair rise. stiffened on
my head.
''It was but for a moment. A faint
light from the waning moon came IN
through ore of the shutters. and, as
[ rose, there also rose across the room
a long, white figure! What? [ saw it
start from the floor and grow to
mans size or more, and, as [ gazed,
heard that dreadful shrek! What?
No matter. It was a something, and
with its presence returned all my
combativeness and anger; hot, fiery
wrath was my only feeling.
Some scoundrel, Isaid TO myself
is playing me trick. Some Of these
pirate smugglers avesarranged a
ghost for me, have they? Well, we'll
see who can play ghost the best!
GAS rose [ had taken my six
shooter from under the pillow and /
now called out, who are you? What
are you doing there, you scoundrel?
No reply. Who are you? Answer or
I'll shoot. Still there was silence. My
pistol was pointed a little above the
center of the figure and @sagain [ cried,
Answer or I'll shoot No answer
came and pulled the trigger. I was
sure of my aim, but yet the bullet
seemed to bury itself Aarmlessly into
the wall beyond. Lowering my aim
[ sent another ball somewhat lower
and then third almost to the ground
Still the figure neither moved nor
spoke. There it stood, white, CHASTITY
and seemingly. uhinjured by lead.
As the third shot left my pistol leap
ed from the bed and rushed upon the
shadowy form. & box of cartridges
lay upon the table and these [ thrust
into the breastSpocket Of my right.
dress. Cooking my revolver as [ ran
| tried TO seize the intruder with my
left hand, finging myself with all
my force upon him.
Horrors! An instant later [ was
thrown down, down, knew not Row
far or where, The floor seemed to
have opened and swallowed me up.
With crash came to the bottom of
the pit, bruised, bleeding, and In utter
darkness.
"Confused, half unconscious, I
struggled to my feet, and once more
there came, first that moaning cry,
and then that dreadful scream that
reused me from my sleep.
"You know how little superstition
there is IN my nature-some say, in
deed, too little, for it is difficult for
me to believe IN anything not patent
to the senses; but at that moment there
crept into my soul grisly fear of
something not of this world. A shud
der ran through my frame. [ could
feel my eyes dilate and open to their
utmost, and a sweat, cold as ice,
mingled from my brow with the blood
trickling from my wounds. All was
as still as death. | tried to shout; my
refused its office. No sound came to
break that awful silence. strained
nay eyes In the black obscurlty which
encompassed me-a darkness which
could be felt. which pressed upon me,
which seemed to hold me breathless,
in It's Internal embrase. Nothing. A
void, vast as the universe, narrow as
q tomb. Ny shuddering feet stood
upon a something dark, dark and
cold, as If they rested on nest of
serpents; above, around, q silent pail
of unutterable obscurity. Ny elbow
touched the wall; I started as if stung
by a scorpion or as if ghostly hands
had seized me from the nameless mys-
terry which lay around. Ny heart
stopped and then sent the blood whirl.
ing to the brain in sickening force.
Was / mad? Was this fever born
dream?
'Some dreadful thing, cold, Shiny.
as was everything in this hideous
place, crawled or wriggied from under
and beside my foot. Spots red and
green began 10 dance like demons
eyes in the distance-forned probably
by the pressure OF the blood upon the
brain and nerves.
[ have twice or thrice since then
faced what see ned like probable death
without much feeling about the mat
ter, but the foe was visible, tangible
not q hldeous void like that I faced
that November night.
Again l tried to call out, and this
time faint, hoarse sound, which
seemed to be the voice of another, is
eued from my lips.
II had struck my head violently in
my rapid descent, but gradually my
senses returned and drove eff the
nameless dread, only to replace it with
a feeling of he plessness, almost of
despair The air was bitterly cold,
cold with vault like chill, which
stiffened my limbs, clad as was only
IN a single garment, TO the bone But
with the return of thought came the
better feeling of wish to at least
struggle for existence. I tried to col>
lect my ideas, to in some manner ex~
plain how the strange thing could
possibly have happened 1t was all