Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1888-07-06
THE TERRIBLE TREE.

was studying, smo king and gener-
ally running my constitution IN the
little college town of N, one fierce
winter when settled apathy took
possession OF me. lost my interest
in every thing. Frequently, to rouse
my dormant energies, walked down
to the beach and plunged IN the icy
surge; but it awaited nothing. Books,
cigars-all were Intellectual. Life look
ed a dreary waste The cold, object
less fields, covered with snow, seemed
to me to image forth the future. Like
most very young men Ihad exhausted
sensation. As I sat by my little table
one evening III January I ran over in
my mind the possible stmulants I
could use to lash my dormant sersi-
bilities into life. I could not take to
drinking, because. like Dick Swiveller,
1 had taken to that before. I could
not take opium; that made me deadly
sick, and subsequently sleepy. Was
there any mental stimulent, such as
love, hate, remorse, that I had not
tried? No. I hated everybody. I
had been in love with all the college
widows" and several besides. "Man
pleasured me not; no, nor women
either" RemOrse! I had disobeyed
my father and grieved my mother.
felt, suppose, suitable remOrse for
these things, but they were peccadil-
lOes and did not answer.
RemOrse!-the word pleased me.
Should I stick a knife into the fat
sides of my Iandlady? Would her in
nOcent blood crying to heaven and
her last gasp calling me murderer
make my pulse beat quicker? No,
she was old, cheating, asthmatic. She
would have had no innocent blood to
cry with. She could not have cried
Murderer" audibly, on account Of
the asthma, and l think she would
have welcomed death as an agreeable
exchange from a life spent in taking
bOarders. Where was the victim
whom I could offer up to my dying
sensation? What Iphlgenia kRelt be-
fore the dull gleam of my languid
knife? Where-Tap, tap, tap! as if
a ghOstly finger touched my window
pane.
[ started Yes. I actually started.
The ocean IN January had greeted my
numbed frame as if it had been a
warm vapor bath. Thoughts of muir
der, of poison, Of love, Of fame had
crept through my veins as languidly
as a thought Of paying an old debt.
What these things had not done a tap
did.
1 looked out-nOthing there. The
/ cold moon looked down on the cold
earth; the cold snow surrounded the
/ cold white house; the leahess trees
/ outlined themselves on the cold sky,
/ the cold charity student, shiVering in
his thin coat, went by, making cold
ness visible.
/ Tap, tap tap!
kor the first time / saW-Would
/ that I had never seen it again. saw
the treel An old, Neutrality-suspicious.,
! dead sycamore, with two branches
/ left, and a charred top with one hole
burned in it by the lightning. There
it stood, q horrible cyclOp, tossing it's
two skeleton arms in the air, and
( looked at me with its one eye. One
I arm leaned over towards my window
1 and a skeleton fOre6nger tapped on
the glass.
I knew what it was. A demon lived
in that tree and wanted to make my
acuuaint ance. 1 nodded to the tree.
! should be happy 10 make the gen.
Uleman's acquaintance. A gust Of
wind surged through and through the
tree, and a horrible "Ha! hal" died
away in the air.
had seen the tree before, Of course
There it had stood q year before my
chamber window, but had never
seen it as I saw it to night. Former.
" to me it was a burned, dead tree
Now It was a familiar, companion.
able demon. / determined to GET
something out Of that tree.
Just as had admitted the tree &c
my confidence the door bell rang
Loud, approximate 20 be let IN, the
ringer spRke through the quiverius
wire. and was COR WINGED it was 8