The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-04-04

muscles, and traces of blood that was
like mud on the cleanly cutoff bones,
severed as with an ak near the middle
of the forearm. Around the wrist an
enormous iron chain, riveted and SOL
dered to the uncleanly limb, fastened 1t
to the wall by staple strong enough to
hold an elephant.
II asked what it was. The English
man coolly answered:
That was my dearest foe. He came
from America. That was cut off with
sword. and the skin scraped off with flint
and dried in the sun for eight days.
Pretty good for me, wasn't it2'
81 touched the remnant of humanity,
which must ha belonged to aColossus.
The immoderately long fingers were at
tached by enormous teudons, to which
shrcds O: the skin still adhered. The
hand was frightful to behold, fayed as it
was; it naturally suggcs cd barbarous
revenge.
"'The man must have been very power
full said I.
"'oh. yes said the Englishmau,
gently, but was stronger than he was.
| put that chain on it to hold it.
"Thinking he was jesting, l said:
The chain is rather useless now.
The hand won't get away
"Sir John replied, seriously: It's al.
ways wanting to get away. The chain
is necessary
81 gave him quick look, wondering
whether he was mailman or practical
Joker. But his face remained unmoved,
calm, and kindly. I changed the subject,
and examined his guns. noticed, how
ever, that three loaded revolvcrs lay IN
different places on the furniture, as If
the man lived in constant fear OF an at
tack.
II called on him several times, and
then went no more. Every one had
grown accustomed to his presence, and
Consequently VIII lily indifferent to him.
ga whole year went by, when one
morning my servant awakened me with
the news that Sir John Rowell had been
assassinated in the night. Half an hour
later I entered the Englishman's house
with two po ice officials. The French
valet, frightened and overcome, was
wringing his hands at the door. He
was the man first suspected, but he was
innocent.
"The murderer was never discovered.
Entering Sir Johns drawing room, l
at once pert eived his body lying
stretched on the floor in the middle of
room. His coat was torn, one sleeve
was wrenched off and hanging, every
thing gave evidence of a terrific struggle.
The Englshman had been strangled to
death. His black, swollen face ex-
pressed the most horrible fear; he held
something between his clenched teeth,
and his throat was pierced with five
bleeding holes as if made by iron points.
A surgeon Joined US, and examined the
finger-marks in the flesh. He uttered
the singular words:
II should say he had been strangled
by skeleton
II felt the chills run down my back,
and glanced up at the wall where had
seen the horrible fayed hand.
"It was there no lon ger. The chain
hung broken.
IL bent over the corpse, and found IN
it's teeth one of the fingers of the van
ished hand, cut, or rather shaved OFT by
the teeth just at the second joint.
"The inquest was held, but nothing
was d scovercd. No door had been
forced, no window opened, no furniture
DISPLACED. The two watch dogs had
not wakencd.
THE servants testimony was about as
follows: For a month past his master
had appeared troubled. lie received a
great many letters, which he burned as
last as they came. Often, picking up a
riding whip in a rage that approached in
sanity, he would lash the dried hand
that was fastened to the wall, and which
had been removed so mysteriously the
n eht of the crime. He went to bed
very late, locked himself in carefully, and
always kept weapons close at hand. He
would often speak out loud at night as
if he were q"arreling with some one. On
the night in question, as it happened, ne
made no sound, and it was only when
the servant came to open the windows
that he discovered Sir John had been
assassinated. He had no suspicious of
anybody. I reported the whole matter
to the proper authorities, and the island
was minutely searched. Nothing came
to light.
"Now, one night, three months afrer
the crime, l had frightful nightmare.
1 dreamed I saw the hand, the hideous
hand, running like scorpion, or
spider, up and down my walls and cur
tains. Three times I awoke, three times
l went to sleep again, and three mes |
saw the feshless horror crawl around my
room, moving its fingers like legs. Next
day the thing itself was brought to me.
1t had been found in the graveyard on
Sir .,ohn Rowell's tomb. He had been
b b;ricd there because his family could not
be traced.
''The hand lacked its first finger!
"That is the story, ladies. There is
nothing more to it."
The terrified women were pale and
trembling Gnc of them exclaimed:
THAT is not solution, nor an ex
planat:on. We shall none Of us sleep
tonight unless you tell what you think
really took place.
The magistrate now smiled severity.
"Oh, Shall certainly spoil your ter
rible dreams, ladies'" he replied; II
simply think that the legitimate owner
Of the hand was not dead at all, and that
he came to get his severed hand back
with the one he still possessed. But
certainly never discovered how he
managed it. The whole thing was 4
vendetta"
One of the women murmured:
II don't believe it was that way at
ALL"
: And the great lawyer, continuing to
smile, concluded with: