The morning call., 1892-01-03

down the hall again. his footsteps re-
echoing, his spur clankng.
ALONE.
Again ! was aIone, again l was in fear
and anguish of mind.
Why, oh. why did my lover lock me away
from him and leave me? And in that
ancient, desolate place. Perhaps he would
return TO Inc soon. | began to look about
the nom and examine its features. 1t was
square, rOCmy apartment entirely of stone,
walls. floor, ceiling and all.
One small, square window space, high up
from the floor, let in the moonlight which
slanted in milky shaft across the room
and rested on the floor in a far corner
L raised myself on the wndow-iedge as
far as l could and tried to peep over il at
the outside world but | was not tall enough
to see beyond the edge. The only object 10
sight from within was the crumblng corner
of high outer wall OF the ancient pile.
Escape from the ruin | felt could never.
But where was my lover, who had fetched
me here, caressed me tenderly and then
locked me in this cell? | stood still and
listened, and, with faintng, sinking heart,
an awful terror and despair, heard once
more those powerful, rhythmic hoof-beats,
this time recedng further and further from
me, down the mountain road, down on the
valley turf. All, he was gone agaiu-gone
forever
/ felt with an agonized, intuitve appre-
henslon that the fates in this strange, ter
rible, affrighting land were grave and abso-
lutte.
Deserted. imprisoned In a massive old
ruin, the haunt of evil spirits perhaps, ter
Tible enough If only the pen of a live
crea'ur doomed 10 live on in torture till
slow, ultimate death, that can enter any,
where, crept close and fastened itself upon
her as sure victim.
| staggered to the door and flung myself
against ii, but it stood still and solid, never
seeming to feel the shock. | tried 20 find
some way OF christening it, knowing all the
while how pite0usly useless were my at
tempts since l had heard 1t bolted and
barred on the outside. Back | went to the
window, and putting up my arms onto the
stone ledge made a mighty effort TO raise
myself upon it. 1t was an impossiblity. !
was too tiny, too exhausted, the ledge too
broad and slippery to be grasped.
LISTENING.
paused and listened again for the sound
of the horses trampling. All was silence
The stiffness of death, of unutterable age
and desOlatiOn lay upon the world. |
seemed the only living, moving creature,
and soon, too, would l be still-as still as
the stones in the floor, that till now human
foot had not touched for perhaps thousand
years; as still as the creeping, vanishing
moonlight that lit up my living tomb.
| stood beneathi the window space. erect
against the cold wall, my dull, troubled head
pressed against it, and gazed long and
steadily at the soft, pearly shaft of moon
light that fell across the room. Hope, re-
beIlion, anger, all passed from me. | made
no new resolutions. no new efforts to escape.
| was yet young, full of the sensations of
youth, and | desired life, yet | did not
dread death, only the manner of its coming.
/ falt mVeplf IN ha p0Narlacs haln
came to calmly contemplating my situa-
ton That this strange territory was not
purgatory for my soul released from its
mortal fold | had realized after the emo
tons which overwhelmed me when first
my earthly lover had stood before me in
yOnder valley.
| had recognized then that was verita-
bic woman; so that my mortal flesh could
still die, had not yet suffered the death
pang. But | knew that it would surely
strike me soon, lone and forgotten captive
When tried to reflect on my lovers action,
of which my present plight was the conse-
Quence, my MUD refused to think
Whatever 1t ali meant, might mean, /
could not perceive nor study out for myself:
could not will my mental faculties to reason
on or adjudge.
AS thus stood dreamily zing In alb
straction at the patch of moonlight that lay
In the far corner of the room / began to
notice that square-cut as it had till now
been. 1t was slowly commencing to curl and
float little.
| watched it curiously. scarcely frightened
at first, had endured so many appalling ex-
periences.
The grayish cloud continued to SWAY and
waver and slowly rise in height from the
floor, growing tall and slender, and after
many evolutons throwing out long, con-
torting arms. With silent, ghostly motions,
the awful thing took shape, resembling
human figure; the figure of a slender woman
with the form of the vaporish, transparent
moonlight. The only distinguishable fea-
lures OF the frightful face were the eyes,
black, dead. shiny. fixed piercingly ON my
eyes.
GHosTLY CREATURE.
I knew not who or what the ghostly
creature was. whether the confguration of
death that would surely come to me, or
whether the spirit OF some woman of that
other world l had dwelt In that was per-
mitted now to visit and torment. perhaps
destroy, me in revenge for some past Iced;
though none could / recall save that of low
ing man who was, perhaps, the husband
Of another living woman-ah it might be
that this was the unquiet spirit Of her who
had disgraced his love, yet would not see it
given TO another, thought. She was dead,
then. If this was her spirit, and she had
come to face me, fill in the 1esh The fear
full presentinent chilled me with horror.
The cold stone wall at my back was not
colder than | as the gbostly embodiment of
evil lifted itself and foated about before
me. / was paralyzed; | could no longer
think; / was dumb as the stones while those
transfixing, shining eyes were upon me.
Then the horror, swaying and qulvering as
with potent sting and nate, came slowly,
tortuously across the floor toward me, its
wavering arms aloft and its horrible eyes
fascinating me. Move | could not and the
conviction pressed upon me that 1t was
fated that this dreadful appariton should
come upon me and annihate. me.
Closer and closer / pressed back against
the hard wall that seemed to push me for
ward, and nearer and nearer crept the
ghostly fend. Not sound was uttered.
vet seemed to hear tie percing shrieks