Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1892-05-19

down on the left. There was nothing
| there. What did it all mean? Decid-
| edlv this must be @ new freak of her
imagination.
She was not yet thoroughly
frightened. The spirit who could
steal her pillows must have
some sense Of humor; it was pre-
ferable to drumming on the window
panes, and glaring through the blind
at her. Hearing and sight had been
tried, and now her sense of touch was
| to be tested.
But though she tried to make light
OF the affair, she felt that something
terrible underlay its comic aspect,
and little shiver ran through her at
the thought of getting up and striking
light. 1t was so much easier to be
courageous in the daylight than in
such darkness as this.
After all, perhaps the pillows had
slid out of bed in a natural way, and
lay just q little beyond her reach.
But rather than stretch her arm out
again in the dark, she preferred to put
up with the bolster doubled.
She doubled the bolster, and gave it
pat; then she put up q lock of hair
that had come down, and told herself
not to be stupid about little thing
like that; and, wondering whether she
should dare tell of this incident in the
morning, she dropped ON her elbow,
and lay down her head, -down, down,
4 iii - +1,,oboI tho bod
"What was ths?" she asked herself,
starting up in fright. She felt from
side to side;now the bolster was gone;
there was nothing there but the bed.
But this pantomime trick was no
longer comic. She felt the
tears OF fright springing to her eyes,
and something rising in her throat.
Cold fear chilled her to the bone.
Was she in reality awaken" The
striking OF the clock in the belfry as
sured her of that.
Ding-dong, dng-dong, ding dong,
ding-dong it lightly chimed; and then
the hour was tolled out slowly, soror-
ousl " solemn:
Boom, boom, boom, boom.
But, if this was not hallucination,
what was it? The work OF actual
hands? What then? If they had no
more direful intention than to play a
trick OF this kind, they were not to be
feared. 1t was not terrific; it was
merely childish mischief, and this re-
Election suggested that, after all, it
might only be Lola who was trying
to brighten her. And just for one mo-
ment, as she leaned back on her elbow,
she fancied she saw something like
thoseluminous eyes in the midst OF the
darkness. and close to her,-there!
there, above her, toward the side of
the bed.
els it you, Lola?" she asked, but
in a voice so faint, for she was sick
with fright, that she herself could
hardly hear the words she spoke.
1t was q fancy. or the eyes were
turned away. Yet, still leaning upon
her elbow, that quivered under her,
she strained her eyes to penetrate the
darkness.
Not long, perhaps, though it SEEM
ed so, her heart beating painfully, her
mouth parched and dry, the hot
breath catching the back OF her
throat.
Something seemed to be touching
her hair. Was it the lace curtain?
She raised her trembling hand.
and felt something level with the top
OF her head. But it was not the lace
curtain. 1t was the pillow, or she was
mad.
Her strength gave way, and she fell
back upon the bed; but the terrible
suspicion that the pillows had been
withdrawn for the purpose OF sn,oth-
ering her made her throw her hand up.
The pillow had descended; it was
close to her face. Shetried to scream,
but the pillow was already upon her
mouth, and smothered the cry.
1t closed down upon her head, firm
and hard. She could no longer breathe.
1t pressed upon her throat, as she
lay with the back OF her head
pushed down into the bed.
The touch OF Death aroused tine in
stinct OF self-preservation within her,
and; with a frantic effort, she tore