The Forrest City times., 1891-05-08
TIE HAUnTED CHAMBER.
sr s.rus Ducnrss. !"
Author ef "Konied," '.Aons Scsllv,w
 'Phylks," etc., etc.
CHAPTER I.

thing. The shadowy twilight lies soft ly on sleeping flowers and swaying bOughS, on quiet fountainS-the marble basins of which gleam snow-white in the uncertain light-on the glimpse of the distant ocean seen through the giant elms. A floating mist hangs in the still warm air, making heaven and
 earth mingle in one sweet confusion. The ivy creeping up the ancient walls of the castle is rustling and whispering l as the evening breeze sweeps over it. | High up the tendrils climb, past null lioned windows and quaint devices, | and twine lovingly round it, and push through the long apertures in the ma sorry of the walls of the haunted cham Der.
 It is here that the shadows cast their
 heaviest gloom. All this corner of the | old tower is wrapped in darkness, as though to obscure the scene of terrible crimes of past centuries.
 | Ghosts of dead-and-gone lords and ! ladies seem to peer out mysteriouSly
 from the openings of this quaint cham
 Der, wherein no servant, male or fe- | male, of the castle has ever yet been
 known to set foot. It is full of dire
 horrors to them, and replete with le-
 gends of by-gone days and grew some sights ghastly enough to make the stoutest heart quail.
 In the days of the Stuarts an old earl
 had hanged himself in that room, rath- CT than face the world with dishonor attached to his name; and earlier still beauteous dame, fair but frail, had been incarcerated there, and slowly starved to death by her relentless lord. There was even in the last century 8 baronet-the earldom has been lost to | the Dynecourts during the Common
 wealth-who having quarreled with his 1 friend over a reigning belle, had smit- ten him across the cheek with his glove, and then challenged him to mor- tai combat. The duel had been fought in the luckless chamber, and had only ended with the death of both combat ants; the blood stains upon the flooring were large and deep, and to this day the boards bear silent witness to the sanguinary character of that secret fight.
 Just now, standing outside the castle
 in the warmth and softness of the dy- ing daylight, one can hardly think of by-gone horrors, or aught that is sad and sinful.
 There is an air of hustle and expect ancy within-dOors that betokens com ing guests; the servants are moving to and fro noiselessly but busily, and now and then the stately housekeeper pass eS from room to room uttering com mands and injunctions to the maids as she goes. No less occupied and anx-
 ious IS the butler, as he surveys the work of the footmen. It is so long
 since the old place has had resident
 master, and so much longer still since
 guests have been invited to is, that the
 household are more than ordinarily ex- cited at the change now about to take place.
 Sir Adrian Dynecourt, after pro-
 longed tour on the Continent and lin-
 gering visits to the East, has at last
 come home with the avowed intention
 of becoming staid country gentleman,
 and of settling down to the cultivation
 of turnips, the breeding of prize oxen,
 and the determination to be the M. F.
 H. when old Lord Dartree shall have
 fulfilled his declared intention of retir-
 ing ill his favor. He is tall young
 man, 1.-the and active. His skin, though
 naturally fair, is bronzed by foreign
 travel. His hair is light brown, cut
 very close to his head. His eyes are large, clear, and honest, and of a pecu- liar dark violet; they are beautiful eyes,
 WAAlililS iId SWCCt, dAO olCtdN III tlClk glance. His mouth, shaded by droop- ing fair mustache, is large and firm, yet very prone to laughter.
 It is quite the end of the London sea- son, and Sir Adrian has hurried down from town to give directions for the reception of some people whom he had invited to stay with him during the slaughter of the cartridges
 Now all is complete, and the last train from London being due half an hour ago Sir Adrian is standing on the steps of his hall-doOr anxiouSly await ing some of his guests.
 There is even touch of genuine im- patience in his manner, which could
 hardly be attributed to the ordinary
 longing of young man to see few of open and undisguised, and there is
 little frown upon his brow. Presently
 bis face brightens as he hears the ron
 of carriage-wheels. When the carriage
 turns the corner of the drive, and the
 horses are pulled up at the hall door, Sir Adrian sees a fair face at the win-
 dow that puts to flight all the fears he
 has been harboring for tho last half
 hour.
 You have come2" he says delighted ly, running down the steps and opening the carriage door himself. Il am so glad I began to think the train ran away from you, or that tho horses
 "Such a journey as it has beenl" ex- claims voice not belonging to the face l that had looked from the carriage at Sir Adrian. "It has been tiresome to
 the last degree. really don't know when felt so fatigued!"
 A little woman, small and fair, steps languidly to the ground as she says this,
 and glances pathetically at her host. She is beautifully "got up," both in dress and complexion, and at first
 glance appears almost girlish. Laying
 her hand in Sir Adrian's she let it rest there, as though glad to be at her jour- ney's end, conveying at the same time by gentle pressure of her taper fin gers the fact that she is even more glad
 that the end of her journey has brought her to him. She looks up at him with with bewildered expression in her
 pretty blue eyes that adds to the charm
 of her face.
 @It's an awful distance from town!"
 says Sir Adrian. as if apologizing for
 the spot on which his grand old castle
 has been built. And it was more than good of you to come to me. can only try to make up to you. for the discom- fort you have experienced to-day by throwing all possible chances of amuse-
 ment in your way whilst you stay l here.s
 By this time she had withdrawn her hand, and so he is free to go up to his other guest and bid her welcome. He says nothing to her strange to say, but
 1t is his hand that seeks to retain hers 1 this tiIne, and it is his eyes that look
 1ongingly into the face before him.