St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1892-02-04
off, felt sure l could have gone on
IA IL r1arSelf


with it myself.
me with instruction not to visit in
my daily rambles over the plantation
certain low sections where l was
fond of going for the wild blossoms
and ripe fruit | could not under
stand the restriction, and said so
very freely. She then showed me the
boots l had worn-as she supposed
the day before in my rambles.
But l did not go out yesterday"
l exclaimed, no little astonished at
the sad condition of my rubber walk
ing boots, SO necessary for the low,
moist Louisiana lands.
They were found at your door
this morning." she told me, where
you usually leave them to be cleaned"
1t was odd, to be sure-and for
many weeks remained to me an enig-
ma. My mother, l was sure, be-
lieved l was telling her deliberate
falsehood, inasmuch a the very next
morning the boots were found in the
same place and in precisely the same
condition.
At length my mother removed the
boots to her own closet, and, lock-
ing the door, put the key in her
pocket; saying as she did so, Nov
we Will see who it is that's in the
habit of wearing your shoes. No
body knows where the key of the
closet door is hid except yourself,
Elsa
1 must explain that by this time,
owing to nv vehement denial as to
having worn the boots, suspicion
had fallen upon Louise, my mothers
housemaid, a quadroon girl about
my own size and age.
That night my dreams were terri
ble-the boots played no inconsider-
cradle part in my nervous and excit-
ed fancies, First, imagined that l
must have them, and in order to get
them it was necessary to obtain the
closet key hidden in the corner of my
mothers blue chintz gown that al
ways hung at night upon a chair
immediat ely behind her bed.
1 dreamed that l had seen her for
get to fasten the door leading into
her bedroom, and that arose, and
tiptoeing across the hall, went down
the stairs, and, sure enough, found
the door unfastened. | went in, and
cropping in the darkness, found the
blue chintz, removed the key, and
with the utmost ease found-and fit
ted it in-the closet door. found
the boots full as easily, locked the
door, returned the key to its place,
and went out as noiselessly as 1 had
entered.
sat down upon the doorstep in
the moonlight, drew the shoes upon
idly as 1 knew how toward the
graveyard, across the rice-held,
through the WITHHOLDING lagoon,
and int o the horrid shades of Dismal
Swamp. Ali night long, in my
dreams, I followed the wild birds or
fled from the hiss of the serpents
which made their homes in the dead
ly morass. The plover, startled from
his nest, brushed by me with shrek
and once l fancied a long serpent
swung from swamp willow and
planted it's fangs in my cheek. But
when put out my hand to brush it
aside l found that a branch of a
trumpet vine had swept across my
face, the rich red blossoms dropping
the dew from their cups into my lips,
which were parched and dry was
not in the least frightened, and
plunged deeper and deeper into the
vast wilderness. Once | heard the
blood-hounds baying, and knew they
were on the track of some runaway
slave who had fled to the protecting
jungles of the Dismal Swamp.
At last [ grew weary and turned
| homeward. l crossed the lagoon,
lying still and white in the gray
| dawn, and traversed again the rice
| field and the lonely path across the
graveyard; then 1 sat down upon
the doorstep and removed my long
boots, carrying them up to my door,
where left them for Louise to have
cleaned. Then crept to bed and re-
membered nothing more until noon,
when l awoke to find my mother
bending over me with heavy troubled
eyes as I had seen her many a time
when some of us were ILL.,
l yawned YEARLY.
"Mother," said, 81 went through
the Dismal SWAMP again in my
dreams last night.
"And the Graysville ghost was seen
again last night" she replied hesitat-
inglv, as if afraid to tell me.
Who saw it this time? [ asked.
81"
IN otheri"
sat up in bed, startled, and pale
with a great fear. l brushed my
hand across my temples to make my
thoughts clear.
AS 1 did SO 1 felt long deep cut
upon my cheek.
"Mother" l tried to say. moth
er!" and throwing off the bed covers
sprang out upon the floor.
My long night-dress was spattered
and dragged with mire; my knees