The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1888-05-04
CHAPTER VIII.

CHAPTER VIII.
Edith could not say whether the latl,s
She had seen turned We're open when she
went to the window, and there were no
means of confirming the fact afte,ward,
ecans IN pulling up the blind they
would, If open, he returned to their
CORNER position. In face of my evidence.
she was firmly convinced that what she
nad seen and heard was IN extraordinary
Illusion of the senses parallel to that
which furnishes the sole excuse for n
solerab!y widespread belief in superna-
tural appearances. She was ashamed of
the ~feebleness of mind which her exper-
fences seemed to imply, and resolving ia
overcome the weakness, she resisted all
her fathers persuasions to change those
conditions under which she had passed
the last two nights.
Van Hoeck alone refused to believe in
Edith's h~allucination.
"One has only to hear Miss Lascelles
speak to discredit a notion of that kind
ne said; "she has every sign of mental
vlgor and physical strength, and to ac-
cusa such n girl of that kind of morbid
insanity called hallucination is Just as
c~redltaele to your understanding as to
believe in the simplicity and honesty of
q vagabond Californian c%ard-sharper and
Che half-breed wench he chooses to call
his daughter"
When night came, he said to me, after
we bad separated from the rest:
This is no time for sleep, Thorne; we
must watch through the night, whether
you like it or not, If it is on{v for Miss
Lascelles' sake"
l readily agreed to this, and for an
h0nr wa wlIga1 on a r,rt ce Tho o-,.
from which | could see Edith's window.
Then the rain, which had been drizzling
for some time, fell heavily, and forced
us to go in.
We changed our boots for slippers, and
sat together in my room, I with a book,
he with his chin in his hands, his face
hideous with the light of the lamp on his
%protruding eyes.
Heaven knows, l was not wanting in
love for Edith, or solicitude for her vel
xare, and yet l could not keep awake. It
must be remembered that I had no sleep
the preceding night, and that l did be-
Aeve in Edith's hallucination, and there
fore saw 40 actual danger menacing her.
4 tried to interest myself in the boob, but
my thoughts grew confused, the type
swain before my eyes, and helped to be.
muse my senses. AT length l put down
the book. and shaking my wits together,
l said to Van Hoeck:
Let us talk"
Talk" he muttered, scornfully; "why
not ask me to sing you a comic song! IL
the Mo were here lsuppose you wouldn't
van me to amuse you. You could keep
awake until three or four in the morning
watching her, but as it's only your flu
ture wife who is concerned, you are log
headed before midnight"
lhls sarcasm did not prevent me doz-
ing again a few minutes later. I was
ashamed of my drowsiness, and after q
minutes doze 1 would wake witha guilty
start, only to drop off again in a few
moments. know not how long this
bad been going n when Van Hoeck
shook me by the arm, and woke me
thoroughly.
lit IS counting destruction to sit here
with the door open" he said, Zone of us
blind, and the other dead asleep. l can
not stand it any longer; it is intolerable.
Tell me if it rains"
! went to the window, and found that
the rain had ceased. l told him this.
Il will go out; take me down to the
door," he said.
l led him down stairs, and gave him
ais umbrella and hat. Then / took mine
and opened the door quietly, fearing to
awake Edith. ! would have accom-
panied him, but he refused, saying night
and day were alike to him, and he knew
his way along the paths and about the
lawn.
$50 back to your room and fasten
yourself in" he said, sit is our only BE-
curity. Tap ut the window to let me
know that all is fast. l beg you to do
this he added, earnestly; "you cannot
understand the feelings of a man in my
lsosltlon-tlie torture of conscious impo-
tency. as you feel the approaching fate
that you are powerless to avert"
His voice ratified in his throat, and in.
distinctly l heard him mutter, as he
CROPPED his way along the wall of the
terrace:
"Cramped in a coffin, and the clods
falling, falling"
closed the door, and returned to nv
room with a shudder.
When | had fastened myself in I tap
ped at the window, and Van Hoeck re-
Piled by tapping on the wall below.
The fresh air had revived me; I had
no longer to struggle with an irresistible
drowslness-the inclination to sleep was
gone.
had my book to finish, but my mind
was not sufficiently composed to read.
as walked about the room l thought
OF Edith and of Van Hocck, wondering
II there could be any connection between
her strange hallucinatjon and the terrible
presentiment which night and day pos
sassei him. II seemed as if there must
be something Abnormal in the conditions
under which we lived, to produce an ef-
feet which, though characterized by Diff
ferent pecuIiaritics, was in both cases at
t%rihutabie only to disordered imagina-
ton, and ! wondered if /, in my turn,
should come under this occult influence.
! might have been occupied with the
sl,eculation for half an hour or more
when heard a scream of terror that I
could not doubt came from the wing in
which Edith lay. In an instant opened
the door and ran through the corridor.
The doors iD tho picture-gallery were
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