The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1886-06-25


on the instant. AT length he dropped
upon the bed as though exhausted, and
after few moments. waiting, was
about to whisper to Erred to get me out
of the room, when. with Il groan more
hollow and heart breaking THAN any
before, the figure sprung from the bed,
made but step to the window, and
threw himself ont. 1t was all over in
moment and seemed to break the
spell which had held us motionless; and
with an exclamation. Fred dashed to-
ward the window Ii was closed as
securely as before. and the outside
blinds were closed and fastened; and
when he turned to the bed whore three
minutes before we had both seen
heavy figure lying. it was smooth and
undentcd as though just made up
With look of ashen horror spread
ing over his face my husband came and
lifted me to the floor.
Come, = said he, '.let us get away
from this accursed room"
We huddled on our clothes, slipped
out into the hall, and found our way
down to the kitchen, where the fire and
the homely, every day look of things
somewhat settled our nerves. And
here, couple of hours later. the farmer ].
and his wife found us, and listened tc
our narrative AS it progressed they
looked at each other with comprehend
ing glances, and at the end the man
exclaimed:
"Well, I swear! it's al true then.
about the ghCst. None of us ever saw
him. and ! didn't believe it, or
wouldn't have put strangers into that
room on October S0th.
..But what does it meang'' Tell us!
/ asked
well, it all happened before our
time, when old miser Otis owned this
farm. He wasn't any kin of ours. and
don't hesitate to say he must have
been a mean old sinner He had a wife
and grown up family, but he was 50
stingy that they could hardly get the
necessarie9 of life; and he was so stern
and overbearing that life was scarcely
worth having anyhow-at least. to his
wife. When he was nearly sixty, there
came q strange couple to live in a little
house, over on the edge of the, woods
about mile from here-an old hag of
woman and girl, her reputed grand
child. The girl was q bold, handsome
thing. like d gypsy, always laughing,
singing, and dancing; and she just be-
witched old OTIS. He got SO infatuated
tnat he neglected his farm, and was
over at the hut constantly. And he
gave her presents and money, till he
had spent more on her in six months
than his family had had in as many
years. Well, she fooled him and de-
ceived him rs such a woman would, and
one evening he found it out He hung
around in the woods until his hand
some young rival went away, and
then he crept in and killed her. Twas
said that he strangled her by twisting
the lash of his whip about her throat,
and that next day when she was found
it was plainly seen where the cord had
cut into her soft neck. He came home
here and went up that staircase into the
room he occupied alone; and there.
overwhelmed with horror, rurnvrve,- ~ 81
the fear of arrest, just before dawn, he
threw himself from the window and
broke his neck And that was October
30th. and they told Us when we bought
the place that the ghost returned on
each anniversary of his crime; but we
never used the room except in the SUM
mer months, and I'd almost forgot the
old story. And you really saw hin?''
Yes. we really did, and even the reas
suring light of day, and the presence oi
other human beings, could not quite
drive away my nervous terrors, and i
was with heartfelt relief that we drove
away from that haunted house; and il
was months after our return to my
own, dear, bright home, before could
let myself think of the horrors of that
night in the Staircase Room. lid BITS.