San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-02-26

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contain a miniature of lady and child, and
also a short letter, which ran as follows:
NEPHEW Prank leave TO you the old house,
which has been in our family since It was built
Though IL Is desolate enough now, it once echoed
th. voices Of those very dear to me- See that you
| do not suffer anything TO be destroyed parted
| In anger with your mother, my only sister; but
| now would prove n you, the only remaining de
| scendant Of the old house, are worthy TO bring
| back its former state Patience and perseverance
are necessary but If you strive you will In the end
| be rewarded. My blessing rest on you, II you
| obey. HORACE OLDCAsTLA
After reading the letter several times
rang for old Grggs to try to get some infor.
nation about my uncle.
"He we're a close man, were Muster Old
CASTLE" said he, living here by himself since
his wife and child died, years ago. He left
the old place exactly as it was when they
we're alive, and could not bear to see stran-
gers. Ny idea is that the trouble made him
bit queer He caused the west wing to be
shut up. md they do say as sorne Of the Old
castles walk there | never see any OF em,
but there's strange noises O. noights."
! made an inspection of the house, and
pitched upon a bedroom next to my uncle's
study as being most convenient Mrs. Griggs
lit fire there, and bringing in some bed
clothes made the room in a little while as
comfortable as circumstances would permit
The wind had now increased to gale and
heavy drops of rain dashed against the
window. Returning to my uncles study,
settled myself before the fire to enjoy snug
evening before turning in for the night The
old couple, who occupied some rooms In a
distant part of the house, having retired,
felt myself cut off from the world. A pair OF
candles fickered on the table, and the change
full light of the fire lit up and threw into
gloom the dark walls and furniture. Taking
a book, | was soon deep in its pages. 1t was
an old collection of legends and romances OF
Spain. One tale took my fancy 1t related
how q certain Don Alphonso made search
in the Alhambra in Granada, and how, after
many strange adventures, at length was snc-
cessful in breaking the charm that held
great treasure guarded by enchanted Moors.
and became possessed of the whole | be
came deeply interested in the Old World
legends After a while | closed the book,
and leaning back in my chair, fell into
brown study. Suddenly became aware of
a strange thing. An old man, whom knew
to be my uncle, though had only seen him
once, was standing by the cabinet, looking
intently at the books on the shelf. stared at
him with all my eyes, and yet, though full OF
amazement, felt no fear. After short time
he took down a book, opened 1t, and seemed
to make a mark inside. He then replaced 1t,
and took down the next, and, by slow de
gress went through most of the library
Suddenly heard loud knock at the door.
and, breaking the spell that bound ice. |
started up and confronted Mrs. Griggs.
Turning to the cabinet, saw no one there;
the books were on the shelf, and | noticed
the empty space from which had taken the
Spanish legends. For a time | could do
nothing but stare at Mrs. Griggs, who kept
courtesying and asking me if would take
any supper. Asking her if any one was in
the house except her husband, she said no,
and that the door had been locked for more
than an hour.
Dismissing the old woman with a good
night, seated myself by the fire, and, on
thinking quietly over the strange event, came
to the conclusion that / must have fallen
asleep and dreamed it.
A sudden thought struck me that perhaps
| might find something in the books about
which my uncle had seemed so busy Look
ing at the backs, saw that each book was
marked with letter stamped in gold under
the title. Beginning at the left hand vol
ume which was marked A, each was marked
in alphabetical order, ending with the last
volume, T. Looking over the pages of the
irsJ volume l could find nothing written in
it, the only mark being a red cross on one OF
the leaves Reading this particular part
threw no light on the mystery, as the text
related to legal matters about the possession
of land Having no more relish for reading
that night l retired to my bed in the next
room, and soon forgot my uncle in sound
sleep.
AS time went on, / became more resigned
to my new home, but still found it very dull;
and my occupations being so limited, the
days dragged slowly by. l made few nc
quaintances, but found no congenial COM
panion to fill up my empty hours. Spring
blossomed into summer, and summer, with
all its beauty, mellowed into autumn, when
an event occurred which turned the current
of my life.
One morning in September l received
letter from Tom Saxon, an old chum and
school fellow, saying he would like to spend
n few weeks with me in Sussex, if agreeable.
| was delighted for two reasons: because
Tom was a good fellow and because Toms
pretty sister Clara and | were waiting till
my prospects would entitle me to hope for
favorable reception at the hands OF Mr..
Saxon senior. | was in a fever OF lmpa-
thence to meet Tom. | went to the station
long before the train was due, and when 1t
did come in | could have rushed into his
arms. After dinner our time was taken up
with questions and answers on both sides.
"By the bv Frank y" said Tom, suddenly,
"yOu mentioned something strange about
your first night hcre-connected with your
uncle Tell me all about it..