Sullivan republican. [volume] (Laporte, Pa.) 1883-1896, 1889-12-06

ooH "dtcu pcoPiC uoih III 'A
house. The tenants is respectable fam
lies, and they don't like no meddlin'. If
YOU want these rooms YOU can have 'em,
but you won't stay long if you ask too
many questions about your neighbors. We
don't want no troublesome or worrying
people here"
1t was evidently useless to ask further
questions, so l tramped downward
through the ill-smelling, narrow halls,
my suspicious far from lulled.
When | again spoke to Holt on the
subject, and told him that my suspicious
still existed, he frowned and said: ''1f
your permit yourself to go on in this way
you'll be in bed again. There is no rea-
sonable doubt of your hallucination. The
books are full of such cases. Further
more, the woman could not have been
actually murdered, or the crime would
have come to light before this, and if
she was only wounded, it is not your
business to ferret the matter out If
you're not careful you'll get into the
newspapers and be made ridiculous"
This last argument was enough. l
gradually came to accept the theory of my
friends. l passed through the winter
without further illness, but gained
strength slowly, and when spring APP
peared my sleeplessness returned. With
it came an irresistible attraction toward
the bathroom window, whence my vision
of few months before had been seen.
Whenever lay awake, went some time
during the night and stared out toward
that uncanny lodging house. Night after
night saw nothing, and turned away,
relieved at the assurance that one symp-
tom of my former illness was wanting.
Finally, at l o'clock on cool April
morning, after three hours of vain toss
ing in bed, | entered the bathroom, with
my eyes directed toward the house. For
an instant | could not credit the vision
that met my gaze. On the luminous cur
tain where had seen the shadow panto-
mime before, the same tragedy was being
enacted. This time had arriveda little
later in the progress of the scene, for all
| saw was the falling woman and the
withdrawn dagger in the hand of her
companion. The man stopped, as before,
toward his victim, and / waited to see
him rise in hopes of obtaining some as
surance that what [ had seen was real. |
saw nothing further. If the shadowy
slayer had stopped to real victim, he
must have risen in such spot that his
figure was not brought again before the
light and the curtain.
Filled with forebodings of new i'll
ness, | awoke Holt and told my vision.
We went to the window, looked toward
the lodging house, and saw only the faint
CLEAN of unlighted panes. Holt gave
me an opiate, and next morning the doc
tor had me removed to the country.
I renamed out of town all summer,
bathing, fishing and boating. For three
months | went to bed tired every night,
and slept ten hours. Then l took long
sea voyage, and arrived back in about
the middle of September, more robust
than | had ever been before. Holt and |
laughed at the old hallucination, and the
doctor rallied me considerably upon my
detective spirit of the winter before. On
the first night in my lodgings | forgot
the fateful window, and slept without
dis. arbance. The next night, however,
came in late, and yielded to sudden
whim that led me to the bathroom win
dow.
As | entered the bathroom | looked
over toward the lodging-house, and gave
a little start at seeing light in the very
apartment that had so long possessed for
lllt IL lSSCIlldtlHS ihhOlSot' hS
was warm and the window whence the
light shone was hoisted. The curtains
were drawn also, and l could see pretty
clearly a man and woman sitting oppo-
site each other near the center of the
room. ! shivered little on discovering
that the couple were very like those of
pantomimes.
As I gazed saw the woman suddenly
start toward her companion with some
cleaning weapon in her upraised hand.
| felt my heart quicken and my breath
come thick. The man rose to receive
the attack, and saw a shining dagger
plunged into her bosom. Trembling
with horror, was about to cry out, when
hearty natural laugh burst upon my ear
from the hall.
On looking round saw my friend