Daily Yellowstone journal., 1890-08-20

Do you know where / came fromy'
/ did not, indeed, and | told him Sd,
wishing within myseS with my whole
heart that he would take it into his
crazy brain to find his way back there
and leave me 10 sleep in peace,
You don't know, ehi Well, don't
mind telling you. Don't you see that
church spirc away there to the LETT"
No, | didn't see the church spire O
anything else in the world AT that mo-
ment but the burning eyes of the Ia
mac; So | told linn | didn't see the OBJ
iect he spoke of.
Don't see il. ELI! How blind! Why,
see there And 10 aid me in discern
ing this imaginary object he rose and
went toward the window and looped
the blind still further back. There
see il nowI'
NO" | said, Il don't see it YETI
and | hoped he would try to pull the
curtain still further back, or pull it
down, or omething-anything to divert
his attention from me a moment longer,
that | might leap from the bed and bolt
out of the room.
l was already sitting up, and to glide
down upon the floor was the work of
an instant: but ut that moment the
mailman, ANNOYED that / couldn't see
the church spire, dropped the blind,
turned round quickly, muttering,
Blind, blind" and instantly comprc-
bending my intention To escape bound
ed toward me with "A spring Ike wild
eat, and catching hold Of me with his
bony hand waved the cleaning knife
over me in such close proximity TO my
face as to be anything IN the world but
pleasant.
20 you will. will you! Just lie down
there; still, now, still, or I'll kill you
before the half hour is up. Lie down"
And with herculean strength he
lifted me up with his one hand-and !
was no feather in weight, | can tell
you-and bounced me down with a
force that shook the whole bed.
did lie down. and seeing that | wat
inclined to obedience, he directed my
attention to the window again by in
curing:
''Do you see the church spire now!'
didn't see it any clearer than be-
fore, it being slightly impossible, as no
church spirc existed within ten miles.
But | saw that the maniac was getting
irritated at my want of capability to
see what did not exist. so | thought it
might be as well to keep upon good
terms with him, and TO his question
this time ! admitted | did sec the spire.
"Ah, good, good. Well, under that
spire is a church, and around the
church is a graveyard. There ! live
and there ] came from. It's very lone.
some sleepingthere in the damp, cold
ground, and the grave wor1ns-ugh.-
to feel them creeping along over ones
skin, so Shiny and slippery and cold,
banqueting upon the warm flesh Of the
dead. They say the dead are cold; it's
a lie, sir, a lie! Feel my flesh; is it
coldr'
He barred his skinny arm and forced
Inc TO lay my hands upon it.
There, is that coldf'
l told him no.
SIS il warm"
| replied that it was, and he ION.
tinued:
They make it cold, the grave worms
do. They make it cold and Shiny as
the crawl over it. Did you feel the
grave worms on your ilesh!'
] shuddered with disgust as told
him NO"
You didn't, ehl Lucky dog, lucky
dogl But you're not dead yet: wait
awhile, and you'll feel them just as |
dc. Pretty soon"
And lac whirled the carving knife
round and round his head and then
brought il down with "A sudden swoop
till lac grazed my throat.
With "A cry of agony, not for the
slight scratch. but the horror Of mind
under which | was, | recoiled from the
glittering blade, sLuddering as If I
would have sunk down through the
bed-down, down through the floor.
How ! wished in my soul that | could
have done so-down anywhere out of
that horrible presence! With a loud
laugh the maniac observed my terror,
and then he said:
frightened, ehl Frightened /
won't kill you for half an hour yet.
I'm going to experiment upon you. l
think I'll bleed you to death, Just to
try how long il will take you to die.
En- what do you think of itf'
What did / think of itl My God! I
thought nothing, only that | would soon
be dead, or as mad as my companion,
II some deliverance was not soon opened
up. never prayed much-God forgive
me.-but Just then | breathed some
thing, / scarcely know what, for aid,
for help, for deliverance. know that
I dared not attempt to escape. My first
movement would have been the signal
for my death blow, and IL ! called
aloud | might not awaken any one in
the house, but merely lnfuriate the