Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1886-09-11

seemed TO me, IN the haunted room; but / was
lying wide awake, and all my senses were 20
acutely alive that I was able to hear the faint
ticking Of the clock in the great entrance
hall, far, far away from this remote wing;
and while conscious that the darkness Of
night brooded all around me, I found that
everywhere I could zee as plainly as in the
daylight. Nay, more plainly, far; for now
doors and walls, and heavy hangings Of tap
estry and leather no longer INSTRUCTED my
vision. My eye pierced through all these
things and revealed to me everything which
lay beyond.
What wa it that-in that strange phan-
tasmagoria Of sleepefrst attracted my at
~tentions Far away in some distant part of
the great mansion I heard, with that prefer
naturally acute sense Of hearing with which
I now seemed to be endowed, a door stealth
lily opened. Some one peeped out into the
darkness Of the corridor. It was Flinter-or
rather It was Flinter's facs-that I saw,
through all the intervening doors and walls
and passages, as I lay hero on my bed In the
haunted room. But It wal Flinter's face
cruel, brutal, ~vicious-upon the body Of
woman; and I knew that I was looking upon
the lady who had done murder here where I
lay bound in the hideous spell of this night
mare vision.
Slowly the figure advanced. He-she-it-
I knew not what to call 1t, 30 frightfully COM
pounded wal 1t Of thereal F1inter and the le-
gendary woman-came slowly down the cor
ridor, something bright and sharp glittering
In its bony hand. Though no lamp was
lighted anywhere it advanced with unfalter-
ing certainty Of step, turning round many a
corner, now opening a door and passing q
ghostly chamber into the gallery beyond,
now climbing a stair, and now pausing for a
moment to feel the keen edge Of that fash
ing blade, and to indulge in a chuckle Of
devi1sh malice. I knew that some mysteri-
GUS agency had lifted me from my bed, had
carried me down all these intricate stairs
and corridors, and had placed me by the
side Of the apparition Twas following it
unseen and silently; conscious, too, that /
had been endowed suddenly with the power
Of flying, and that at any moment I could
soar into the air above me.
Suddenly l found that the figure had
reached a door which I recognized as the
outer door Of my own apartments. We
seemed to pass through the stout oaken bar.
rier, and across the little sitting room, and
then in an instant we had entered the sleep.
ing chamber, and stood by the side Of the
bed. Some one was quietly sleeping, with
his head half buried in q great square pillow
of down. l looked to see who the sleeper
was, and with a thrill of horror I saw 1t was
myself who was lying there. MYSELF No,
l was brooding, unseen even by the fearful
thing that l had been following, above the
bed, lowering In mid-air. while my body lay
below me, motionless, as under the spell Of
some mysterious trance.
The horrid thing with the knife looked
down with a grin Of cruel delight upon my
defenseless form. It was Flinter now that ]
saw. That woman's disguise had Teen cast
aside, and the rufllan stood there in his ordi.
nary attire, with all the mean and brutal
lines upon his face plainly visible. He
looked at me closely for q moment, ther
softly no turned down the covering and
placed his hand upon my heart With the
spell of an awful terror resting upon me, ]
watched him from above. Quickly he with.
drew his hand, and then I saw the other arm
appraised, the knife glittering in his grask
l tried to scream; I tried to throw my i'm
palpable self between the assassin and my
helpless body. l was powerless, frozen, life.
less. The knife descended like a bolt from
heaven, and l saw it buried deep In nv
heart
lawoke from my terrible dream bathed In
. chill Precipitation, and shivering from
head to foot with such a terror-cold and
ghastly-clutching at my heart as I had
never felt before. I knew that at the last
moment. as the knife fell, the spell of silence
had been broken, and I had uttered a CRY.
That or some other sound was still ringing
In my ears. What was 1T l knew that
had heard something-something which had
aroused me from that fearful nightmare
and that it had been close to my ear; but in
the agitation Of my mind at that first
moment of my return to consciousness ]
could not recall what it was that had aroused
me.
And then In an instant it all flashed upor
my mind. had heard a faint rustling as Of
a woman's dress sweeping across the floor
and then there had been q sharp sound, suct
as that which is made by the quick closing
OF q tightly fitting door. Yes; now that
was wide awake. I was conscious of the fac
that. IT that hideous fancy which had taken
possession of my brain while I slept was but
been visited in my chamber during my
slumbers.
l sprang from my bed, and, running tt
where I had seen a box of matches, struck g
light, and then turned to survey the room.
All was as 1t had been when I had lair
down to sleep an hour before. Alli Hooked
round upon those somber walls, through
which, in my terrible dream, my vision hat
pierced with ease. They gave me no hint o.
the secrets which they held. The door of thu
room was locked on the inside, just as I had
left It Nc one could have vanished through
That substantial barrier without leaving
some trace Of his passage. I felt thu
leathern hangings Of the walls. Behind
them the wainscot gave forth In re
spouse to my blows O muffled, hollow
sound; but it told me nothing. And
yet, that some one had been with me- In the
room, l felt certain. I no longer had any
superstitious approximations. 1t was nc
ghost, l was we'll assured, that had visited
my bedside. I shuddered at the thought
that perhaps my dream had been only tor
real. and that it was Flinter who, by somt
mysterious means, had found admission t.
my chamber-Flinter, whose last words, a.
I accidentally overheard them when 1 re-
tired to rest had pointed clearly, as I now
felt, to my W removal 1t might be that
he had been alarmed by my sudden cry al
the moment when he was about to dispatch
me, and had retired by some mysterious
doorway-such as I was well assured existed
to wait until I was again asleep.
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