Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1891-07-17

spirits Above the Babel like noise ex,
CARNATIONS and snatches Of conversation
cOnid be heard, such as; "Impossibler
"Who knows? Do your "What will
you betY' II am no fooll" ~ bet q
hundred francs no can't prove itr'
strange things happenF" etc.
The gambling lementassertingita elf,
bets ran high, and It was finally agreed
to deposit the stakes in the hands Of the
incredulous man; and then they called
upon the S~piritualist with the weird look
ia his eyes to make good his words.
He seemed strangely reluctant and
sighed and hesitated, but at last hemade
up his mind and said:
"If l comply with your request you
must all submit to my conditions. You
must give me your promise that no one
viii attempt to intrude upon me or dis
turb me in any way, and that Ishali
have one witness with me-
This was considered quite reasonable,
and all consented readily.
Il need not add that Of course you
win hold yourselves bound in honor to
keep the conditions faithfully. You, sir, "
he continued, fixing his basilisly eye on
his opponent, who WINGED perceptibly,
"shall be that witness. Y5t must ac-
company me into the next room; the
doors shall be left open, and you will
have to describe aloud whatever you
may see. If the experience turns out to
be q painful one you have only yourself
to thank for it."
With these words he rose and walked
toward the corridor leading TO the inner
part Of the house, and beckoned to the
other man, who, by this time consider
ably subdued, hesitaied for q minute.
but, putting on The best face no could,
he took up a lighted lamp from a table
and followed him into che first room to
the right, leaving tho doors wide open.
As they disappeared a strange hush
fell over the noisy and excited com
pany. Silence reigned for some time,
until the twelve strokes Of midnight
were heard sounding dist,Siltly from a
church clock. Then a voice arose in the
next room, saying slowly and solemnly:
Maurice Durandl thou who didst
promise that on tho anniversary Of our
cruel parting thou wouldst give me the
consolation Of seeing thee again il /
called upon thee TO appear, remember
thy promisel Dear friend, | entreat
thee come, Mauricel Appearp'
Then carae a pause, amid breatiless
silence; but o the voice was heard
again, saying;
"Maurice, remember thy vowl be-
seech thee, appearl"
Another silence. Then another voice
was heard, saying in tremulous accents.
"There is a faint light in the darkest
part Of tho room. = = . 1t takes a
shapel = I-tapproaches! = = .
It is = Ali i = 4 Awavp
An unearthly shrek rent the air, fol
lowed by a crash and a heavy fall, and
and Then all was silent once more.
The startled listeners looked at each
other with dismay. Some had turned
pale, while others looked i'll at ease, but
all felt uncertain, irresolute what to do.
Some time elapsed before it was sug-
gested that they ought to disregard their
promise md go in and see what had
happened, 30 as to render assistance if it
we're ttvcdod. A-taao~o~~as .alstle tsward
the room, but it was in total darkness.
A light was procured, and this was what
they found:
The room was empty, the lamp was
upset, the table overturned aud the
window wide open. = y . The two
men had gone-and theBtakes with them.
From the French.