Nevada County picayune., 1890-10-02
A HAND IN THE DARK.
Luck Y fellow :"

my lips as l threw myself into the luxurious easy chair drawn mp tempt ingly before the open grate. They applied equally to Tom and myself. Tom was lucky fellow, certainly the master of the grange and the husband of a charming woman-and l counted myself almost equally for tunate in my freedom from business cares for three whole weeks, and the prospect of unlimited fishing and driving.
 Cousin Tom had recently inherited fortune; l was still plodding alone in London; but for three weeks of liberty l determined to enjoy all the blessings the gods had vouchsafed me, and to imagine myself, for the noncc, as rich and happy as Tom himself.
 Although it was early fall the nights were little keen, and Con- stance-Tom' wife-had ordered a fire in my room, the cheerful blaze giving to the richly furnished room a delightful touch of warmth and CO., ziness.
 With such fire and such a chair, and with my favorite evening paper in my pocket, retiring was not to be thought of so drawing to my chair a table on which stood a shaded lamp, gave myself up to the peru sal of my journal.
 Over the long parliamentary re- port I must have gone to sleep, an d when l awoke the lamp had burned itself out, and but q few sparks re- mained of the cheery fire. The room was not in total darkness, for there was a moon, hidden by clouds, to be sure, but still throwing enough l light at the wide windows to make things dimly visible
 On the instant awakening 1 felt i that some one was near me, and, with that startled feeling one has on awakening suddenly from sound sleep, l cried out:
 "Who's there?"
 No answer came, and the only sounds were the tapping of tree branch against the window and the ticking of the clock over the fire place,
 Still l was conscious that some body-something-was near me, and l held my breath, straining my ears to catch some sound that should re- veal the intruder, but only the tar of the tree branch and the tick of the clock broke the silence.
 1 remembered that there were matches on the table, and turned my chair to search for them. An exr clamation of astonishment rose to my lips as I did SO, for on the sur face of the table was strange luml nous spot-neither lamplight, fire light nor moonlight.
 Up to this time my feeling hac been one of annoyance rather thar fear, but there WAS something so In describable, so supernatural about this light that sudden terror seized me, and l gazed as one fascinated unable to move.
 A earn and pencil l had takef from my pocket lay on the table and over this the light grew brighter and in the midst hand appeared-' woman's hand, delicate and beauti- ful, but of deathly whiteness, and or the third finger gleamed a ruby lh' stone held between two golden ser pents' heads.
 The fingers closed over the pencil and after making several irregular marks upon the card, letters began to be formed, and as 1 leaned Tor ward with breathless interest, l saw the pallid hand write with perfec distinctness:
 Search for the box in the ol' sell !"
 Then the strange light grew dim the hand gradually faded away, ant the moon, emerging from the clouds threw shaft of light into the room The spell that bound me was pro } ken. and in moment l had fouh' match and taper, and light in hand was bending over the table The card was blank a wore I T