Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-08-05
A Mysterious House.
BY ALGERNoN BLAcKwooD.

When, some Is years before the
time of which write, was schoolboy at
Eton made close friends with a fellow
above me in the school, named Pelham.
We were very great chums. and later on
we went to Cambridge together. where my
friend spent money and time in wasting
both, while 1 read for holy orders, though
never actually entered the Church. Since
that time had completely lost sight of
him and he of me, and. with the exception
of seeing his marriage in the papers, had
no news at all of his whereabouts. One
morning, however, toward the close of Sep
tember 1857, i received a letter from him,
short, precise, and evidently written in
great hurry, asking me TO 60 down and see
him at his family seat just outside Norwich.
/ packed my bag and went that very same
evening. He met me himself at the station
and drove me home. We had hardly re-
cognized each other at first sight, so much
had we changed in appearance, both being
on the dark side of 35, but our individual
characters had remained much the same
and we were still to allsppearances the best of
friends. Ny friend was not, very talka-
lively disposed, and I kept up a fire of
questions until we drew up at the park
gates. Going up the drive to the house he
frightened up considerably, and gave me
plenty of information about himself and
family. He was quite alone, was sur
prised to hear, his wife and two daughters
with an uncle of his having left for the
Continent two days previous. After dinner
he seemed quite the old Cambridge Un-
dergrad" again, and once settled round the
old-tashioned hearth, with cheroots and
coffee, We talked on over the days spent at
Eton and Cambridge. We were just dis
cussing our third edition of tobacco, when
Pelham suddenly changed the sub
iect, and said he would tell me now why he
had written so shortly to me to pay him this
unexpected visit. His face grew grave as
ne began by asking me if was still scep-
tic as regards ghostly manifestations.
"Indeed am, was my answer; 81 have
had no reason to change my views on the
subject, and think exactly as 1 used to at
Cambridge, when we so strongly differed;
but remember you then saying that, If
ever in after years you should come across an
opportunity proving TO me your ideas on the
subject, you would write to me at once, and 1
also recollect giving my word that, if pos
sible, would come. But during the 10
years that have since passed by 1 have be-
slowed little, if any, thought on the sub
ject."
Exactly" answered Pelham, with a
grave smile that did not please me; but
now have at last heard of a case which
will satisfy us both, think, so I wrote to
you to come down and fulfill your old
promise by investigating it.
"Well! let me hear all about it first" 1
said cautiously. / certainly was not over
joyed to hear this news, for, though a scep-
tic to all intents and purposes, still ''ghostS"
was q subject for which l had certain
fear, and the highest ambition OF my life
was not to investigate haunted houses and
the like Just because 1 had years ago
promised would should a chance occur
But repressed my feelings and tried to
look interested, which was, and delighted,
which l certainly was not. Pelham then
gave me a long aecount-thrilling enough
too it was-of the case, which l have some
what condensed in the following form.
Some three or four years before, my friend
had bought up house which stood on the
moorland about eight miles of. One morn
ing before breakfast the tenants of the house,
a Mr.. Sherleigh (who was there with his
family, suddenly burst into my friends
study without any cereni6ny, and, in great
heat and excitement, shouted out the fol-
lowing words:
"You shall suffer for it, Lord Pelham,
my wife mad, and the little boy killed with
fright, because you didn't choose to warn
us of the room next the drawing room, but
you shall" Here the footman entered
and at a sign from his master led the ex-
cited and evidently cracked old man from
the room, but not before he had crashed
ria0 foh h.
''That's the last rent you'll get for that
house, as sure as 1 am the last tenant"
swell, continued my friend, that very
day, now two years ago, 1 rode over there
myself and the house was empty. The
Sherleighs had left it, and since that day 1
have never been able to let it to anyone. Mr..
Sherleigh, who was quite mad, poor fellow,
threw himself before train, and was cut
to pieces, and Mrs. Sherleigh spread re-
port that it was haunted, and now no one
will take it or even 60 near it, though it
stands high and is in very healthy posi-
tion. Two nights age" he went on gravely
Il was riding pest the road which leads up
TO 1t, and through the trees / could see light
in one of the upper rooms, and figures or
rather shadows, of a woman's figure, with
something in her arms, kept crossing to and
fro before the window blind. determined
to go In and see what on earth it was, and
tying my horse outside l went in. In a
minute or two was close underneath the
window where the light was still visible,
and the shadow moving to and fro with a
horrible regularity. As / stood there, un
decided, feeling within warned me not 10
enter the house, so vivid, it was almost a
soft voice that whispered in nv ear.
heard no noise inside, the night air was
moaning gently through the fir trees which
nnad ha 0nn do nd ~,
obscured the upper part of the window
from view. l stopped down and picked up
large stone-it was @ sharp-edged flint
and without any hesitation hurled it with
all nv might at the window pane, some
eight or ten feet from the ground. The stone
went straight and struck the window on one
OF the wooden partitions, smashing the
whole framework, glass and all, into a
thousand splinters, many of which struck
me where / stood. The result was awful and
unexpected. The moment the stone touched
the glass the lights quite disappeared, and
in the blackness in which 1 was shrouded.
the next minute, could see hiding behind
the broken corners of glass dark face and
form for short instant, and then it went
and all was pitch dark again. There 1 was
among those gloomy pine trees hardly
knowing which way to turn. The face /
had caught a momentary glimpse of was
the face of Mr.. Sherleigh, whom knew to
be dead! My knees trembled. tried to
grope my way out of the wood, and STUN
bled from tree to tree, often striking my
head against low branches. In vain. With
the weird light in the window as a guide,
had taken but few minutes to come, but
now all was dark and 1 could not find my
way back again. 1 felt as if the dismal
tree trunks were living things, which
seemed to move. Suddenly 1 heard noise
on my left. l stopped and listened. Hor-
ror! l was still close to the window, and