Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-06-07

still time. The man had awakened deel
interest in Westcott's mind concerning tn
old house and its surroundings, not omittinl
the beautiful Miss Carter Indeed, th
young man had pictured to himself a Lowell,
girl, from the Indians description, lighting
the Golden Lamp, long before the "vision'
came in sight. The first glimpse of Marian
when entering the precincts of Fishers Foil,
few hours ago, had somewhat resembled tn,
realization of a dream.
But Westcott had no time for such re
fectiOns at this moment, for he had reached
the foot of the steps and had come upon
long passage. 1t was at right angles to the
steps; it widened out sufficiently to enable
him to walk straight ahead. He at once
quickened his pace, but he was careful as he
advanced to observe every detail of the
brickwork, for he dreaded the mere thought
of losing his way in such q dark and mys.
terious locality.
To anyone with a belief in the super.
natural, however slight, this was not an ex-
pedition likely to awaken afeeling ofskepti.
cism. More than one strange fancy flashed
across Westcott' s brain. A sudden current
of air, which he now encountered, was like
the icy breath of some unseen phantom that
had hurried BY. But this only proved to be,
when he raised his lantern and examined
the walls, small iron grating, which was
doubtless placed there for ventilation. But
he had no sooner explained away this phe-
nomenon than a more weird sensation seized
upon him. The noise of muffied footsteps
broke upon his ear-footsteps that seemed
to be approaching nearer and nearer, for
each moment they sounded more dis
tinctly, and beyond the passage along
which he was advancing. Was it the tread
of a sentinel, in the shape of Mr.. Girdle.
stones ghost, On guard over the bags of
gold? Westcott stopped and listened. The
sound Of the footstep ceased; he had heard
the echo of his own football in an extensive
vault. A pace beyond where he had stopped
would have brought him to the entrance; q
few feet more and he would probably have
fallen head foremost into the cellar.
Was it to be wondered at that the Indian
servant, Westcott now thought, had fed SO
Precipitately from this house in Fishers
Folly after his masters death? If be had
once followed him into these vaults, as the
man professed to have done, his sudden
dread could be understood. Mr.. Girdlestone
must have seemed, in the eyes of this unre-
fecting native, something almost superhuman
"a being whose disembodied spirit haunted
Fishers Folly. Had not shadowy form,
as he imagined, appeared to him when he
was on the point of revealing the secret?
Even Westcott, who was among the most
skeptical concerning disembodied spirits,
began to experience certain indefnable
tremor; for the vault at the edge of which
he now found himself had no visible limit.
The light from the lantern in whichever
wey he directed it gave him no clue as to
the dimensions of the place: it was, he
could only conclude, an immense cellar He
shrank back with natural feeling of hesi-
tation. Which direction should he take?
II he descended and went forward into the
Impenetrabie darkness, the chance of find
ing his way back appeared remote. His
only plan would be TO follow, if possible,
the direction of the wall, either to the right
or to the left BY this means he might,
without abandoning all hope, continue the
search.
Before taking another step forward,
however, he resolved to make a close
examination of the spot And he
TO this passage along which he had come
had been cut out of the brick wall. The
hole was unsvmmetrical, but sufficiently
large for an ordinary-sized man to pass
through. The bricks which had doubtless
been taken from this hole Law in heap two
or three feet below. While inspecting this
heap, over which he had been on the point
of stumbling, the light from the lantern
fell upon something which set Westcott's
heart beating fast. The floor of the cellar,
as far as he could see, was unpaved: it was
covered with damp-looking clay. He crept
down over the bricks and alighted upon It.
The clay was trodden down into distinct
fOotpath toward the left and close
under the wall To what point
could this footpath lead? Westcott did not
hesitate another second. Bending forward,
with the lantern almost touching the ground,
he carefuflljy ff5ii6wed the Il 6sater srrsS. trsc
Presently he stopped and raised the Ian
tern. He was standing opposite a closed
door. In his impatience he struck it with
his heel; but it resisted the shock, He
hastened to detach the key from the lantern
and place it in the keyhole. 1t fitted the
lock, but no force could move the key; it
resisted all his efforts to turn it.
Westcott drew the KEY out of the lock in
despair. He stood looking at it with
puzzled face But presently the puzzled
expression changed. His eyes became
hopeful and animated. He noticed
marks of rust upon the key-marks
which were not there when he placed it in
the lock. He helt down and opened the
lantern. Having unscrewed the lamp near
the wick, he found the lower part more than
half full Of oil He poured some drops upon
the key and again thrust it in the keyhole
After some persuasion it began to show
III.
stuck, then moved again. Westcott's pa-
tience was becoming exhausted; his face
flushed and his hands shook from excite
ment. Suddenly the key turned and the
door few open. Westcott raised the lantern
hastily above his head and went stealthily
forward.
Meanwhile, Mr. Carter, asleep in his arm
chair, was dreaming about his old partner.
He dreamt that he could hear him pacing
up and down the dining hall, while he sat
at his writing table in the Office beloT. 1t
seemed to him that Mr.. Girdlestone had
found out the disastrous state Of affairs; that
the discovery had brought him out of his
grave, and that he was exerting all his great
financial faculties in order to save the house;
and his peculiar walk, as it appeared to Mr.
Carter, expressed his anger at the situation.
He felt himself greatly Inundated. He had
not the courage TO go and place the matter
clearly before Mr.. Girdlestone. He was
persuaded of his inferiority as fnancier-
though be had doue his best, as he kept re-
peating TO himself, he chad done his best"
But the monotonOus tread of his relentless
partner still went on: it seemed to enter
into the very throbbings of his brain. He
could not shut out the sound. At length
it became so unbearable that he cried out in |
despair, and awoke.
"Did you call me, father?"
Marian was standing at the entrance to |
the dining room with her eyes fixed |
anxiously upon the merchant. Mr., Garter |
put his hand to his forehead perplexedly. |
"a strange DREAM he muttered. Then |
suddenly looking up, he said: 'Where is
John?"
Marian glanced at the clock. The ten
minutes which John Wescott had named |
had almost expired Would be soon return? |
Il