The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1886-01-22

- WCSVEAu OEOnt CtUly.
The following strange story comea
from the city of Burlington, Iowa, and
is vouched for by responsible parties.
There lives a few miles out from Burl-
ington, in one Of the suburban towns, a
merchant called Jones, who every few
months goes into the city to replenish
his stock of goods. Last May he went
to Burlington for that purpose, and ar
irving late in the afternoon went direct
to the hotel he was in the habit of stop
ping at and registered. He told the
clerk that he wanted his old room, No.
81, and to have 1T all ready, as he would
not be in until late, for he expected to
visit the different stores, select his
goods, and finish up so as to take the
morning train. The clerk told him he
could have the room, but would have
for a bedfellow a Methods preacher,
who had already been assigned to that
room. He replied that it made no diff
ference so he would leave the door I'M
locked. He was out making his pur-
chases and came in very late-a few
minutes after IL o'clock, midnight.
The light was turned down pretty low,
and he proceeded to un6ress and get
ready for bed. He noticed that his bed
fellow had nothing but a sheet over
him, and, although it was not warm, it
was not very cold, and he concluded
that if a Methodist preacher could stand
it with a sheet as his covering he could,
and so he got in. He was almost asleep
when he heard his door open, and look
ing up saw a young man and lady enter
and take seats on the opposite side of
the room. They had hardly entered
when the young man commenced to
make love to the girl in the latest APP
proved fashion-kissing her and telling
her he would die for her, swim rivers
and kill men.
Jones says it got SO Amusing that he
poked his bedfellow in the ribs to
awaken him that he might enjoy the
fun, thinking it would be as amusing to
a preacher as to any other mortal. The
preacher showed no signs of awakening,
and the ~love-making went on stronger
than ever. He punched again and
again, but failed to awaken his friend.
At last the pair got so far along that
Jones could stand it no longer, and, af-
ter giving the preacher a good kick in
the side, raised up and pulled the sheet
down off of his face so he could see. AS
he pulled the sheet down his hair stood
on end and his face blanched with hor-
ror, for there beside him lay the corpse
of a beautiful woman with dark hair
and wrapped in a shroud, and a silver
dollar on each of her eyes.
WhoD ha raonryora1 frn~a @ho Grct
shock he sprang from the bed, and as he
landed on the floor, his face as white as
the dead body in the bed and his hair on
end, the young man went out of the
window, taking the glass and sash with
him; the woman, with a shrek, fell
fainting to the floor. Jones grabbed
the chair on which were his clothes and
started out. AS he opened the door he
saw his mistake, as the number was "a
instead of 81. A few steps took him to
"a, and, entering, he made sure his bed
fellow this zine was alive. He didn't
sleep, and rose early and went down to
breakfast. Here, in the dining-room,
the whole conversation was about the
mysterious action of the corpse. Some
who entered a few minutes after declar-
ed the body had never moved or been
moved, as the dollars were still on her
eyes. Others thought the pair had fall
en- asleep and the man had a dream of a
ghost, and. rushing through the win
dow, had frightened the lady. Jones
never said a word, and this is the
first time it has ever been told, and
no doubt the mystery will now be clear
ed up.
1t appears that the body of the dead
lady had beed placed in No. "a, and the
young man and lady were sitting up
with it. At II o'clock midnight, as IS
the custom out West, the watchers went
down to the dining-room for a lunch,
which had been spread for them, and
during their absence Jones, in his hurry,
had entered room "a instead of 81, and
had undressed and got in bed before
their return. Whether the woman who
was one of the watchers ever married
the man, who had hardly finished his dec
laration Of being rsady co die for her,
etc., before he left her, at the sight of
what he supposed to be the dead woman
rising, is not known Cinctnnati En-
qutrer.
H