The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1891-12-31
A TERRIBLE NIGHT.

you tonight My business takes me to q
small town about twenty miles from your
house, and could not bear to be so near
without looking into your sweet eyes and
hearing you say that you are true to me- so
shall ride over in the afternoon and, God
willing, shall hold you in my arms tonight.
Your Own JACK
Having despatced my days bust
ness and sent this letter to my sweet
heart, I. the Jack therein mentioned,
FASTENED to hire horse for the pur-
pose ofriding the twenty miles which
separated me from Alice, my be-
trothed wife. AS my business which
was that Of travelling agent for a
prosperous house obliged me to be
often away from home chance like
this to see Alice was very precious to
me-
1t was 6 o'clock in the evening
when | started out on my horse from
the door of the inn where I had been
stopping. In vain was it that the
landlord trisd to dissuade me; his ac-
count ofthe lonely and desolate road
and of the frightful things which had
happened on it, of the murders and
midnight horrors which hung overit,
could not turn me from my purpose.
Even the thought that I must pass
by the haunted rock, in the dark
alone and with no hope of aid, should
| require it, that / must ride through
passes which the village legends peo-
pied with spirits and ghosts of the
departed travellers, could not deter
me. | spurred onward, and the dark
forebodings of those assembled to
witness my rash departure, my land
lords phrophecy Of sudden and
violent storm ringing in my ears as
[ went. I treated the superstitious
tales as merely the invention of
| ignorant villagers and the sounds
which were reported to issue from the
haunted rock, as at best, coming
from the throat of some human
enemy, against whom pistol would
be most effective.
There were still two hours of day
light before me, and rs [ rode along
| Was lost in thoughts of my sweet
heart. Iseemed to see her standing
! on her vine-covered porch, ready to
welcome me with her brig ht smile.
The dainty figure, with it's blue eyes
and waving hair, rose before my
eyes, and 80 vivid was the vision that
lspoke her name half aloud. The
sound of my own voice startled me,
and, looking up for the first time, 1
saw that the sky was growing black,
the wind was bowling and rum bling,
distant thunder was in the air.
1t had cOme-the storm which nv
| landlord had toretold. I spurred on
my horse; a big drop of rain splashed
over my face; the darkness thickened,
and at the same instant through the
gloom doomed up the outlines of the
. huge bowlder, which a turn in the
! road had before hidden from nv SIGHT
A slight shiver crept over me as I re-
F, called the tales connected with it and
: thought upon my own lonely situa-
! ton. Something ofthis feeling seemed
to enter into my horse; for as we
neared the rock, shouded in darkness,
he trembled from head to foot.
Using all my strength I forced him
| past it, and at the same instant
there sounded upon my ear a. low
i burst of laughter so peculiar in it's
tone as to send an icy shudder
through me. A something that was
not human sounded in it. It was
fiendish-devilish. Conquering my
momentary weakness, I strained my
eyes to pierce the darkness, in the
hope Of discovering the shape from
which those sounds proceeded, but
all was silent and deserted as the
grave. The form must have been
swallowed up in the darkness, for I
saw nothing. A strange feeling of
dread weighed on my heart, vague
and indefinite, and the mig hit grew
blacker and hlacker.
The storm grew nearer, and my
effort was directed to gain some
!, place of shelter from the rain.
looked in vain for a light in the dis
tance; all was black and desolate;
torrents frain poured down, soak
ing me to the skin; thunder crashed,
and my poor horse galloped as if for
life.
Once, between the thunder peals, I
seemed to hear that same low, mad
laugh in my ear, and, shuddering,
wildly spurred my poor horse. just
then a vivid flash Of lightning illumi-
mated the road, disclosing hut
about 100 feet in advance; a second
flash enabled ME to reach the open
ing which had once, been a door, but
. the whole miserable place was in a
ruined condition. For years it had
been abandoned to wind and
weather,
Fearfully entered and found my
self in the largest of the two rooms
which the howell boosted. The cell
ING was broke away, and the rain
poured in upon the rotting floor and
beat the broken window.
Nnt I,if.r ~ .