Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1886-08-26
house / csnno, tell. Jb.J ~, ~

house | cannot tell. | had not been
there Tor years. Sydney could never
have been in it, aud yet he led on
rapidly and never faltered or hesitat.
Ell once. think chat the moon must
have come out. for there was faint
light shining through the windows "A
We passed, and by that light he guild.
ed me. We crossed several empiy
rooms and passages. aud at last cana
out into a long corridor. That, too.
We traversed. At the furthec end a
door opened before MS. / stepna3
Through it into my own library, and
stood there in the lamplight gazing
ssupldly into Sydney's face.
He, too. had paused. Bat he never
spoke word. nor looked at rns.. His
eyes were liked on tall bookcase in a
corner OF the room. Presently he be-.
gan to move slowly toward il, and 4.
still holding him followed. Then ss
We approached it. to my utter amaze.
ment the whole bookcase swung back
upon ITS hinges, revealing a small
closet which / had never seen before
with some dusty rolls of paper living
on a shelf within it. With weir3
cry Sydney sprang forward, wrench
ing himself from my grasp. He seized
the papers and. turning, thrust them
into my hand. Then with his face 40
white as snow and eyes distended be
raised one arm and pointed TO the
window. In another moment he had
tottered back aid fallen on the floor.
But | IVES already at the window.
La nay frenzy I dashed my shoulder
against it. The fastening gave. The
glass came crashing down above me.
| was outside, standing in the chill.
blue night. Round me the wind was
whining and clustering. The fog had
melted away. Overhead the stars
were burning golden. The banished
clouds had gone. But no sign of any
human hgure, man or ghost, was there.
Only the desolata avenue, with its fir
trees bending over it, and at the far
end, III the dimness. the high moon
over the whitened sea
When | went back into the library
l found sydney in a dead faint on
the floor. rushed to the bell and
rang 1t till its tones went pealing and
clashing through the house. Then |
raised the boy in my arms and carried
him easily into the lighted hall. The
blood from the cuts of the broken
glass was running freely down my face
and hands. But / did not mind il,
for | felt as if life had suddenly come
back to me, And when my mother
and the servants came out and gath
cred, startled and lamenting, round
US, fell down on my knees besides
the boy aud wept as never | wept, |
think, before that day or since.
l have no more to tell. The closet
III the library opened, found, by
secret spring-but what hand opened
it that terrible night never knew.
Among the papers which sydney had
thrust into my hand was the long lost
document which confirmed my title to
the estate. Sydney was for long very
i'll, but at last, with careful nursing
| know my mother and did all we
could for him, and somebody else, who
shall be naneless, did more than we
he recovered, and has sver sin, re-
manned with Inc. Neither of us ever
spoke much of the things We had seen
that Winter day. The mystery Of
my inheritance Is mystery still,
and men will bury it with us in our
graves. Only this / know and will
tell You, that from that hour TO this,
Sydney has never seen ghost again.
80 | am Grant of Tully hardane, and
the heiress of Glen Levannoch is INV
wife.