The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-11-09

| We spent that night with the dying
mah- BY snatches. between the terri
Die hts Of sinking and gasping for
breath, he related. or rather con-
/ lessed. the horrors OF the last two
years.
his uncle and cousin were not ex.
efnpt from the RotheIan curse. They
Quarrelled. and the son disappeared.
I SCne strange stories were told Of his
! iawless deeds. then for several wears
no word was heard from him About
I this time Arthur Rothela2's Nrifa ,4fsr5
and he came TO stay with his unc,s
/ His little girl had been left IN har
/ grandmother's charge. When the nm
I Gle came to is. the father-lova v,s
. Gle came 20 die. the father-Iova W..
I Rotheian TO Arthur. only on condition
Edward never came back
Arthur Rothelan. n gay. extrava-
CANT man of the world, enjoyed hi,
new possessions with a wonderful
zest. He never for an instant dreamed
his cousin was alive. Year after year
he considered himself master OF all.
and ruled absolutely. One night a
feeble. tattered wretch demanded ad-
Iaittance. and proclaimed himself the
lost heir; showed his birthmark-a
scarlet cross on the right shoulder
He was Ill. worn out with the disso-
lutte life he had led, and begged FOR a
place 10 die in. but instead OF speedily
quitting the world. seemed 10 grow
stronger, and talked about his claims.
The master took his valet into Nis
confidence. He was a willy villain
ana dazZled by the prospect OF a
moderate fortune. Fortunately for
them hA x-fG
been mentioned 20 the other servants.
and where people were constantly
coming and going no one felt curious.
The valet and his master arranged
q room in the chapel, filled in a thick
wall around IL to deaden sound. ar
ranged a window In the ceiling for
light and air. and conveyed their
prisoner 20 IL. Arthur Rothelan could
not endure the thought OF poverty:
moreover. his cousin was a degraded
besotted man, who scarcely seemed
10 miss his liberty at first, as his
jailer kept him We'll supplied with
liquor. Six months after this. whiIs
on visit TO the city. the valet was
robbed and murdered. and Arthur
Rothelan held his guilty secret alone
He took every precaution. 1t became
mania with him. Nights when Ed
ward would be noisy. he used 10 20
through the house to see IL any one
could be listening. This had been his
errand on the first night of my stay
there.
How Edward Rothelan could have
so duped his jailer and prepared for
his escape seemed indeed singular.
He must have worked industriously
for a long while, and perhaps pos
sessed more sense than Arthur gave
him credit for. And now the secret
was at an end-the ghost OF Rothelan
was laid forever.
L told Edna how I had witnessed
the escape. We lived in momentary
expectation OF Edwards return. but
he did not come. Was he waiting TO
take some fearful retribution? How
ever that might be. Arthur RotheIan
was soon beyond his reach. | think
he died much as he had lived That
very day William came in terrified
and breathless TO tell Of a dead body
he had discovered in the woods. A
presentiment seized me, and / went 10
view it, Emaciated, the eyes sunken.
the hair and beard matted. n most
miserable looking object. / tore open
the clothes-on the right shoulder was
g scarlet cross.
After the funeral / took Edna 20 tbs /
city. II was a long while before she 1
recovered her health and spirits. /
Rothelan was sold, and the enterpris-
ing purchasers remodeued 81 into n
hotel, and created n fashionable wa
tering-place. We went there once. {
and walked under the cedars. II is !
still known as the Ghosts Walk"
though the legends they tell are |
purely fanciful. but all agree that a /
beautiful and desperate woman left
her malediction on the place. 1 COM ,
fort Edna by saying a daughter broks !
the spell. and that she u no longer q
Rothelap-