The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-08-03
UNDER a HOTEL BED.
What Happened to Man Who Didn't
Believe in Spiritualism.
From the Graphit

There may be nothing In splrltUelism-
in fact, | put no faith in the superstition
myseif-but when one has experienced
what purported 70 be a proof Of the belief,
and cannot explain it away on natural
grounds, one SC luts it less positively than
you have just DONE
The speaker was a gray-haired old gen
tlemen who had been a friend of our family
longe than | had been q member Of 1t, and
my surprise at hea ing him, practical,
bard headed bust ness man, admit not only
that there might be some foundation for
belief IN the supernatural. but that he him
self had had dealings with the spirits. as
tonished me vastly Mr.. Thompson. seeing
my surprise-and 10 doubt surmisi my
curioslty-c 1ntinued MS Dry as lows:
ut was four years ago last sumner at
l und myself in Montreal, died thlther
by business, and with three Of the early
evening hours to anuihilate before my trai
as due tD carry me to the town of Y. the
city sights were familiar to rue, the time |
had before me too limited for the theater,
i'd l had about composed nv mind to lone
!iness and cigar, when recollected an OLD
SC oolmate, VINO. wta his wife I'd ia nily,
was soJourning in place. Locating them
without difficulty, | started from the hotel
U make thom call, intending to return for
my baggage on my way to the train.
MY friends seemed glad to see me and in
troduced me to a fire they had with them
Mrs. Roth-an interesting talker ami an
attractive cultivated lady. Co versaJiOn
was general and drifted about from one
topic TO another, until at last rem irk |
made concerning spritualism brought out
the fact that ars. Roth and my friends
wife were firm believers in 1.-THE for Ter
claiming, | believe slight mediumistic
po ers. The subject was soon dis missed.
though not before had declared my skeD-
tlclsm In the hope Of drawing out the ooiD
isns of the ladies'
As rose to make nv adieu, soon after
our slight discus ION of the super iatural
had closed, Mrs Roth, raverting to it for
an instant, said to me: You say there mus
be natural cause for eve ything that oc-
ours. but tonight 50 netling viii happen to
you that you will never be able to explain,
according to your theory
1T was said ia a simple conversational
way, and did not impress me at the time
any more tina if she had predicted rain for
the morrow, and made soma half banter
Ing reply, bade them all farewell and hur-
rled on to get my baggage and catch my
train.
"Reaching my destination about mid
night, secured a 70 IN at the principal
hotel and took possession of it at once.
mere was n)thI & unusual about the
room, a good-siz d, comfortable one as
tne furniture, where one expects TO see
furniture of the fiji nsest sort. | at once
und essed laying all my clothes on one
chair, loo ed aud bolted the door, irving it
a1terward to make sure it was cure, and
then turned my attention to the shutters,
which were heavy, wooden affairs, with
static lary Stats, and bolted secure on the
inside. This precaution had nothing
to do with the threat of the un-
canny | had heard earlier in the even
lag; nat had quite slipped my mi i'd, but
carried a great deal of money with me
which belonged to the firm, and l was
naturally anxious for its safety After as
surfing myself tn a was secure and Dur
glars an impossibilty, l retired to rest and
slept soundly until dayliglt-in fact my
rest must have been unusually profDu I'd,
for | noticed when | rose that the bed was
very little disturbed; though | am ALWAYS a
good sleeper. l began dressing in the me-
chanical, preoccupie1 way il which we all
make our morning toilets, until | took my
vest ON the chair, just Where had laid
1T the mig 1T b3flre, wnel | oticed chat my
pocketb ok was not il its place. Perhaps l
ha pat II under the pillow. No; l turned
over both pillows and peeced in the cases.
Deco ming genuinely alarmed, l now
examined the one door and two windows
tthe only inlets b. the ROOM. half expecting
to fad traces of chic res in unbolted door and
in its place, al exactly as [ ha fastened
them the previous event lg, This circum-
sta ICE mewhat relieved my mind for |
knsw from it taat the pocket-book was in
t room, and supposing it had fallen Oh
the floor when | removed my vest, and that
l might have kicked it u der the bed witn-
out tlclng it, L klelt down and tri to
reach uader the bedstead In tlis | was
thwarted by the singular construction
of the heavy, old-fdshioned beds.ead
was very low, the spaces between the
legs form g arches, which, at their highest
part, were not far enough from the floor to
admit my arm. Bt | was somewhat con-
WINGED that my missing wallet was con-
cealed alb jut that bed and began a more
systematic search. Article by article of
the covering | lifted from the bed, shook
and carried aero the room to O char ba-
coming more worried over By los with each
piece which failed to yield up object of
my search, until It last the ma tresses we're
reached; after a moments hesitation
decided to throw them off aud take a look
under the bed before notifying the house of
my loss.
The first mattress was easily tossed Off
on to the floor, but the under one was too
large for the Oedstead, and had evidently
been forced into it With pressure; bat find
ing the stout straps ATTACHED to it, | man
aged, with great difficulty, to loosen it, and
! nnaliy got 1t, too, ON the floor.
'Peerlng down through the heavy Stats
thus ex osad l could see something that
looked like my operty-though the Stats
were too close together for me to distinguish
anything clearly between em-so | lifted
off four of them, heavy, clumsy pieces of
timber, and this is win L saw there in the
thick dust, W ich looked as if the chamber
maid and broo haA not visited it since
tie hotel was first furnished
my wallet lay IN the exact middle of
the space under the bed, its flaps wide open
and all its four sides exactly parallel with
those Of tue bed; around it were all the
bills it had CO ltainei, arranged in two per-
feet coneeAt lc circles, the inner corners
joined, he outer ones flaring. For the first
tine since they were sp ken of | remem-
ber=d Mrs. Roth's words: You de ide
spritualism, but tonight something will
happen you which you will never be a lie
to explain according to natural causes ?
Verify, it hap
WHERE CATpLG KATE DIED,