The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1886-12-25

Of ordinary bell.mstal but Of another sub
stance WaRhed with q chemical solution
that gave It o peculiar, inCandescent vel
low hue, From the dark oaken panel Il
sohne like the gigantic eye Of an evi
beast and / confess that when / heard Il
ring for the second time Of its own accord
! was overcome by decided feeling o.
nervousness which noticed the doctor
shared. My vile and Lucy were thor
oughly frightened. They recovered them
selVes to some extent on my calling Il
mind Well-known instances where myater,
ious Hingings have been oCcasioned by rRtl
within walls scRmpering over bell wires
This idea would have instantly presented
itself 10 my mind Rs an calculation OF the
phenomena Just manifested, were It not
and hope the confession will not lower
me In Rnyone's eHtimation-th my al
ways exuberant fancy had been excited
to an unusual degree by the DOCTORS his
tory Of the supposed murder, Somehow
could not help ssaoCiating the ringing Of
the bell with the inexpliCRble disappear
snCe Of Mr., Mayhem, offer no apology
for this, nor do / attempt 10 explain 1t, ]
simply state 1t asa fact,
When Mamie was finally treasured and
/ had watched by her until she fell asleep
for the night, the doctor and ! resumed
our seats In front Of the FIRE. Isuggestsd
that Q stiff night cap might perhaps be
appropriate not only as q means OF induC-
ing Christmas reflections and sentiments,
but also as q calming influence for our
overstrained nerves, made bowl Of
strong punch, and while we drank and
smoked the conversation turned upon
topics in which the supernatural played
the chief part, had for many years
been close and interested student Of
what we termed occult sciences. ! had
even experienced personally wonderful
results from experiments In mind'reading,
animal magnetism and kindred subjects.
But while ! fully admitted the possibility
OF the interpretation oil unknown agencies
in numerous cases Rfording incredible re.
Velations, | was by no means prepared to
acknowledge that outside Unnatural forces
had even been definitely proven,
"For example," sid to the doctor, "it
has been frequently recorded that dead
persols have made extraordinary dis
closures 10 the living. Yet II there were
ourselves and the unseen, how remarka-
BILE 1t Is that the perpetrators OF crimes are
not unmarked every day by their hapless
victims. How comparatively easy, In fact,
would 1t be for old Mayhem, taking II for
granted he was murdered, to betray the
wretch who killed him, And indeed such
a contingency does not appear to me ex.
trayagant. A mind considered a. a force
cannot be destroyed, no matter what be-
comes Of the body. only marvelth at
we have not yet advanced sufficiently III
understanding OF those matters, to estab,
lish lasting proof that hitherto merely sus-
pectSd psychic influences positively exist"
"Do you live in expectation 81 seeing
courts Of Justice and detective bureaus
abolishedP" asked the doctor laughing,
"HRrdly that" l answered, "But We
have much yet to learn. What can be
mere incompfehensible or bizarre than tho
phenomena exhibited by magnetic NEE
uleV And how superior in power should
DO tho human intelleCtW
"Yery true" said the doctor, reflect
lively, after he had taken another sip Of
the punch. ~ quite agree with you,
Leavitt, as to the advantages we should
derive from nearer acquaintance with
some mysteries. And as to old Mayhem,
II he can make himself heard in any way,
II 10 his duty TO do go, and he could not
possibly have better opportunity than
the present. Here's to his health and my
best wishes for his sucCeasl"
The doctor raised his glass to hia lips,
and at that moment the bell gave forth q
series Of resonant tones that caused An.
drews and To stare blankly at each
other.
u am sure that is significant enough" |
exclaimed smiling al the doctors expires.
sion, Tor like him was somewhat exhila.
ratedby Coplous potations from the punch.
bowl. "Come Suppose we spend the
remainder OF our ChristmaB eve exploring
the mystery OF the golden bell; what do
you say Z"
"With oil my heart. But we may dis.
turb Mrs. Leayitt, and 1t is important that
she should rest,n
~ don't think We shall make much
noise, and II we do she probably will not
hear it."' l gently opened the bed room
door. Minnie was still sleeping soundly.
"That doae OF bromide you gave her Is
doing its work splendldly," l added.
"But what on earth are you plotting,
Leavitt ?" inquired the doctor, knocking
the ashes from the end OF his cigar.
" mean 10 see what 10 behind that
panel,N | answered, tapping the wainsCot
adjoining the hall entrance. rThe bell.
wire must be there to begin with, and the
woodwork does not appear to be very &c.
curely fastened"
The doctor approached and gszed fxedly
at the panel.
Npy George |" he said. ~ do believe 1t
Is one oil those celebrated sliding affairs
that we occasionally read about In antique
novels. AT any rate since you are bent
upon investigation lot Us remove the nails
and see."
eyes," l assentsd. ~ am going to
have that passed of at once"
Invent hastily down stairs to the kitch.
an, where the servants were enjoying q
Christmas iolliHCation OF their own, and
having procured hammer and s6rew-
driver, ] returned 10 the sitting.room.
Ever since you have been gone,' the
doctor was grumbling as entered, "this
internal bell has been dancing and iing.
ling over my head as II tho devil himself
were OF the handle. declare, Leayitt,
I'm getting interested In the thing myself
It's just possible" he continued" that in
mailing the panel on the moulding some.
thing has caught the wire, and that In
consequence any vibration in the room
causes the ringing. Deuce take i'll There
II goes sgaln
And 90 indeed It was going-Capering
about In lts somber corner, reyerberating
In light airy tinkle, then In deep.toned
solemn notes like funeral knell, and Il.
nally in harsh Jingle Of discord SO dia.
| botCsl In sound that every drop Of blood
In my body grew cold. Surely NO merely
accidental or ordinary reason was at the
root Of this unearthly Clangor. More than
ever was impressed with the notion oil
q hidden potency that had In view some
marvellous result.
you'd better 60 ahead, Lsavitt," said
the doctor, "and then perhaps the devil.
lsh thing will stop"
! Get myself diligently to work to re.
move the nails, and with some degree OIL
excitement, which naturally increased
when found the doctor was right In biz