The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1888-08-31
ONE NIGHT OF MY LIFE.
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. EXPERIENCE
WITH A MADMAN.

with you to night. MY business takes
me to small town sbout twenty miles
from your house, and could not bear
to be SO near you without looking into
your sweet eyes and hearing you say
that you are true to me, so l shall ride
over in the afternoon, and God willing,
shall hold you in my arms tonight
YoUR OwN JACK.
Having despatched my days bust.
ness and sent this letter to my sweet
heart l, the Jack therein mentioned,
hastened to hire a horse for the purpose
of riding the twenty miles which sepa-
rated me from Alice, my betrotbed
bride. As my business--which was
that Of travelling agent for prosper
Gus house--obliged me to be often
away from home a chance like this to
see Alive was very precious to me-
1t was six o'clock in the evening
when started out on my horse from
the door of the inn where / had been
stopping. In vain wss it that the
landlord tried TO dissuade me his ac-
count of the lonely and desolate road
and of the frightful things which had
happe ned on it, of the murders and
midnight horrors which hung over it,
could not turn me from my purpose.
Even the thought that | must pass by
the haunted rock, in the dark alone and
with no hope of aid, should l require
it, that | must ride through passes
which the village legends peopled with
spirits and ghosts of the departed
travellers, could not deter me. spurred
onward amid the dark forebodings of
those assembled to witness my rash de-
parture, my landlords prophecy of a
sudden and violent storm ringing in
my ears as | went | treated these
superstitious tales as merely the in
ventions of ignorant villagers, and the
sounds which were reported to issue
from the haunted rock, as, at best, CON-
ing from the throat of some human
enemy, against whom pistol would |
be most effective.
There we're still two hours of day |
light before me, and as | rode along 1
was lost in thought of my sweetheart |
l seemed to see her standing on her |
vine-covered porch, ready to welcome
me with her bright smile. The dainty
figure, with its blue eyes and waving
hair, rose before my eyes, and so vivid
was the vision that l spoke her name
half alond. The sound of my own
voice startled me, and, looking up for
the first time, saw that the sky was
growing black, the wind was bowling
and rumbling, distant thunder was in
the air.
1t had come-the storm which my
landlord had foretold. l spurred on
my horse a big drop of rain splashed
over my face the darkness thickened
and at the same instant through the
gloom loomed up the outlines of the
huge boulder, which turn in the road
had before hidden from my sight. A
slight shiver crept over me as / recall
ed the tales connected with it and
thought upon my own lonely situation.
Something of this feeling seemed to
enter into my horse, for as we nesred
the rock, shrouded in darkness, he
trembled from head to foot. Using
all my strength I forced him past it
and at the same instant there sounded
upon my ear low burst of laughter
80 peculiar in its tone as to send an icy
shudder through me. A something
that was not human sounded in it. 1t
was fiendish--devilish. Conquering
my momentary weakness l strained
my eyes to pierce the darkness in the
hope of discovering the shape from
which those sounds proceeded, but all
was silent and deserted as the grave.
The form must have been swallowed
up in darkness for l saw nothing. A
strange feeling of dread weighed on
my heart, vague and indefinite, and the
night grew blacker and blacker.
The storm drew nearer, and my
every effort was now directed to gam
some place of shelter from the rain. / |
looked in vain for light in the dis.
tance all was black and desolate tor
rents of rain poured down, soaking me
70 the skin thunder crashed, and my
poor horse galloped a. for his life.
Once, between the thunder peals, / |
seemed to hear that same low, mad |
laugh in my ear, and shuddering, l |
wildly spurred my poor horse. Just |
then vivid flash of lightning illumin-
ed the road, disclosing hut about 100 |
feet in advance second flash enabled |
me to reach the opening which had |
once been door ; but the whole miser-
able place was in a ruinous condition. !
For years it had been abandoned to |
wind and weather.
Fearfully entered, and found my
self in the largest of the two rooms
which the hovel boasted. The ceiling |
was broken away and the rain poured |
in upon the rotting floor and beat
through the broken window.
Nothing more wild could be imagin-
ed, but still welcomed it, and, turn
ing the poor horse loose outside, pass
ed into the inner room. A lightning
flash illumined it, and standing bolt
upright against the opposite wall, l
saw the form of a man, his face dis
torted by smile of wicked cunning,
and, as the darkness fell again,
shrieking laugh mingled with the
thunder.
Made desperate by the terrors of the
night and of my loneliness, ! struck
match and rushed forward; but the
figure was gone, the room deserted.
Turning, i passed into the first room,
but is was equally tenantless. Full of
wonder and strange forebodiugs /
chose dry spot and threw myself upon
the floor and tried to sleep. Vain en-
deavor; the figure haunted me, and
often, as fatigue overpowered me and
sleep seemed on the point of relieving
me, the memory of that laughter
would ring through my brain, and l
would start wildly up to find myself
alone upon the floor with the storm
still raging without.
Finally quite exhausted, fell into
deep slumber, which lasted know
not how long but which was suddenly
and violently broken by that same
demoniac noise.
This time l tried to rise, in vain a
fearful weight was on my chest.
Straining open my eyes beheld in the