Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1888-12-09

the first thing that met his eve was a
great ircn chest with tie lid open while Q
very short examination showed that his
precious title deeds had bsen distracted.
he found his way hack to where Conrad
lay with staring eyes in the moonlight and
searched the body for the deeds without
success. Returning through the window,
his wife sat up and looked at him and his
hleods'ained hands, but her face was the
fIce OF manisc, and she never recovered
her reason, dying many years afterwsrd
within the walls Of q madbouse.
He saw the whole d.vilish plot now.
Conrad Gillingham, using bis wife as his
tool, had intended TO abstract the deeds,
snd, with these in his possession, to attaint
him of high treason and claim the Is 'ates.
There was State trial, which any one
can read to this day, and he was scout ed,
with universal expression of pity for his
misfortune and loathirg 70: the subject of
his vengeance.
ITO piece together these facts has c2ss
me months Of lab1r in reading through
old diaries and letters in the imminent
roos, for / have never felt cure whether
some day or other / or some of my de-
scendants might not be challenged to pro-
ducs the title deeds of Gillingham. The
blow has fallen upon me a! last. 1t seems
that some descendants Of that old collateral
branch, all long since dead and gone, SIS l
hoped and believed, have turned up. At
any rate there are agents busily at work
making all manner of inquiries, searching
registers and go on, and my lawyers have
| Dna mt hat
be called upon to produce these deeds, and
that II they are not forthcoming my tenure
of Gillingham Towers may be in serious
jeopardy. Un'ess you, my young friends,
with your keen wits and ready invention,
can help me, my resources are ct an end"
Hs turned and rarg the bell, ard then
leaned his head upon bis hand, his elbow
on the mantslpiece. A servant entered. and
locking up he said, quite naturally: Put
out all these lights and close the room
a2sin, Mal!am-I only wanted TO show Mr.
Psllatti how it looks on state occasion
and take the cigars and things into the bl-
lizard room. We win finish the evening
| there"
Of the almost incredible events which
| followed | confess that am unshls to offer
any explanation. l can Only vouch for
their having actually occurred Whether,
as Mr.. Pallatti honestly believes, the sou!
can in certain rare instsnc.s leave the
body and wander up and down the spirit
world, Ike dog in fair prying into the
secrets of the dead, or whether those events
were merely the result Ito quote the Dec
Tor in Martin Chuzzlewit') of q "most
extraordinarily harDy on5 faror 10 onn
junction OF circumstances, will forever
remain mystery to ne.
Wien I got into rel that night by brain
was in q whirl, and / sho1ld have been
! glad to exchange nerves with cat. The
unusual quantity Of wine had drunk, the
dazzling splendor of the state drawing
room, the awful midnight tragedy Of
century ago, and the lite-hke portraits of
the principal actors seemed TO for bid the
very idea of sleep. Bat when | thought
myself most wide awake began to dozs
of aud was soon "as fast as a church"
How long it had lasted l could not tell,
when I awoke with q start and for
the third time in my life found myself
a'one in the dark. l stretched out my
hind for the matches, but they were
gone, and at the same time the luminous
glare appeared upon the wall. Then the
room, with its one tall opened window. the
broken furniture, the case of stuffed birds
and the two figures Of my former vision de-
vslopsd rapidly. could see the last plain
| ly enough Eow-a man in long horse
mans cost and brown boots with great sill.
yer spurs, a woman 10 long white
wrapper, with fair hair flowing over her
shoulders nearly to the ground, and they
stood together by the table reading from
large sheet Of pspsr which they held
between them, by the light Of a single
candle in tall silver candlestick. Occa-
sionally they turned their faces toward
me with an anxious expression, as if
they were listening for something, and
Immediately recognized two o.!
the portraits in the state
drawing room. Suddenly they started
violently, the man rushed to the window
aud lespsd out, the woman thrust the pa
psrs into her dress, and a second man with
drawn sword Fishing in his hand dashed
into the room and through the window in
pursuit of the fugitive. Then the woman
drew out the papers and tried to tear
them, bat they must have been parch-
ment and she failed; She put them over
the fame Of the candle, bat one corner
only began to shrivel, and they would not
burn. At last che turned to one OF tie
dirty prints, which opened ct her touch,
thrust the document into cavity in the
wall, and reclosing the aperture fell head
long to the ground. l could not have
borne much more, when there was glare
Of light in my eyes, hand shook me
roughly By the shoulder. and voice
! (Pallatti'e) exclaimed: "Good heavens!
Houghton, what ia the matter? You must
have had the nightmare and look quite
exhausted" BE took tiny vial from his
pocket, ard pouring the contents into a
teaspoon pat it TO my lips. Whatever the
potion was, it was 30 strong that it nearly
took ray breath away. but it's effect was
! Instantaneous, and / asked him quite
calmly: "How on earth did you come
! Let?n
"Why, felt so nervous and wakeful
after Sir Georges entertainment that
couldn't sleep, aud as got worse and
worse l thought l would see il you were
in the same plight. You certlinly sem
! to have bseu no better off than /, and
think we bad better stick together and
keep Ourselves awake By talking till day
light doth appear"
/"Mcst willingly" I said, "snd I will
begin by t:llipg you my vision like
modern Pharaoh, and perhaps you may be
atle to expound il, CHI Joseph. There
may be nothing in it or everything, who
knoTs?'
The next morning, after al slmost ur-
tasted breakfast, Slr George and PalIa.ti
ard l were prosecuting vigrous search in
tie haunted wing, bat after an hour Of
hnntin,. ard rnkirn intn nraru hnle and