Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1885-02-22

could IN any way summon flnfotd uu-
perceived BY my unweleome v~isitant
and oh, If it should moYel And it did
move.
AT that minute | did not imagine that
tefrercould have any lower depth, but was
soon undeceiyed when the figure, after 9 mo-
ment's pause, began to glide, thank God,
not in my direction, but in the direction Of
the window, where, drawing aside the cur
tains, it stood, apparently gazing out at the
night. The moOn was riding fast among
the clouds, and threw her beams upon thst
mysterious thing standing silently BY my
dressing table; but her light did not:sutice
to show clearly the outline of the hesGWhich
/ now saw was hidden in folds otthe same
shadowy material which disguised the owe
part of the shape.
THE idea of a trick never for an instant
crossed my mind. Sheer terror ~Daralyzed
every nerve. After some moments the crea-
ture dropped the curtain, and in the same
soup6less way began toreturn. Ihsve said
here was s large armchair beside the bed.
In this the figure lookup its position, still
holding the lamp in such a manner as to
keep the upper portion of it in deepest
shadow.
Tie Ginning clock in the hall peaied
merily, but The figure did not move. Great
beavers, ifit should sit there all night
How long do people take to 90 mad from
fright, ] wondered The very effort to lie
still produced a longing to move WAS al
most intolerable.
"lfI could only slip out of bed on the
side and take refuge with Pinfold. Would
it be possible to make a rush and gain the
haven Of her room before that horrible
thing should have time to glide around and
intercept my fight?
Should / try2 | would.
One r~esolute effort would bring to the
edge of the bed; but the bed was an ancient
one, and as ] tried TO move 1t creaked.
Still the figure sat motionless. Another
movement brought another creak, and, OH
horror, my enemy vas upon me! With
what seemed supernatural ~Quickness, and
il the same oppressive silence, IT rose and
came round to the side of the bed where L
was living. I~nstirctively | closed my eyes
and stroyc, anti | thought my heart would
burst, to breathe regularly and calmly as If
| were asleep,
by the glare | was made conscious Of
the light being held ctusc TO my GucOntroila-
bly, qGiveriug eyeIids, and in agonyl waited
knew not what. Then the receding light,
and | opened my eyes to see the figure Tilt
ting aimiessly about the room. But was 1t
a;mlessly?
"All the stories | had ever heard Of spir-
its haunting the spots their i'll deed had
polluted crowded upon my mind as l
watched hat figure prosecuting its
search.
Gould those tales of ghost hunting for
wills and documents, unrighteously sup
pressed, be true then after all? Hitherto |
had sat in the seat of the s~corntul when the
v~eracity of such narratives Was insisted on.
But | would willingly have given my adhe-
sion to the most mOnSlrOUS OF these state
meuts could have been spared ocular dem
onstration Of their truth Not one hole or
,orrer Of the room did tas ea,ur leave
unrarsacked. Drawer after drawer was
cugued ard closed agstn-nUt in totd!
~,ilenCe. but still in The same stCaithy mau'
n.r. How long this would have continued
1t is impossible to conjecture. but a sudden
Violent movement on my part put an end
10 the situation. My attempt to escape had
brought me TO the very edge ot the bed,
and in spite OF every effort 10 retain my
position, l now felt myself slipping, slipping
onto. the floor. 1t was no use to grapple
with the bedclothes in a desperate struggle
10 recover my position. There WAS nothing
for st but to make the hes: of a bad busi-
ness and to guard against the awkward con-
tingeucy of falling out Of he'd head tore
most. With some eXertion | righted my
self, but the noise | made in Going so wOuld,
feared, bring my terrible vision once more
upon me. In sickening expectation | stood
up for 3 moment with eyes closed; when l
opened them the thing was gone. Vt the
same instant | heard Pintold move in her
bed.
Miss Florence, she cried drowsily;
Miss Florence, what do You want in
here?s
But once relieved Of that awful pres
ence l did not stop to listen. The thought
of foul play had not up TO the present &C.
Cured to me. But now 1t crossed my
mind and changed all my terror into
rsge.
"Seizing my bell, | rang it till | pulled it
down.
"Piuiold, l cried, rushing into her room,
both doors Of which / saw were o open,
get up; don't stop to ask me ANYTHING.
There are robbers in the house. Fly down
stairs and call the servants as you 90: l
will rouse the gentlemen and send them
down the front staircase. BIZ that means
the thieves cannot escape. vii! tell you
everything by,and-b?.
81 never waited to see whether the terri
fed Pinfold obeyed my orders. | flew
along the passage and down the staircase,
where j already found q party assembling.
As it happened, my bell had rung down
stairs, and a startled contingent Of buffers,
footmen and various uuderstrappers were
mastering in the hall. hegrotesqueness Of
their improvised toilets makes me laugh
now as Think oft, but did not strike me
at the time as anything at all remarkable.
Make haste | cried; there are burglars in
the house. They have been in NV room.
Show me at once where your master sleeps,
and | will go with you. Make haste The
buffers figure was not built for speed; but,
thus adiured, he led the way with eStonish-
ing a~lacrity, his costume exhibiting a bold
combination of white, with shepherds
plaid tastefully arranged around his neck.
Get up! l cried, rushing unceremOni-
ously into the Cores room, which was, of
course, in total darkness; there are thieves
in the house! They cannot have got very
far as yet, Mr.. Gore; do wake and get
mp
ITO do him justice, though, when he did
understand the purport Of my visit, Mr..
Gore lost no time in answering the sum-
mons. Before FIVE minutes had elapsed he
assumed the lead ofthe search party, and l
was left behind to explain matters in detail
to nv astonished hostess. Considering her
impulsive manner, l was surprised to find
that after The first shock she took my
story very coolly, and was, indeed, inclined
10 pooh-pOoh my somewhat incOherent mar
rstiye.
you've been dreaming she said
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