The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-12-23


4e-lcNs came out with We were all very
practical, strong enough IN numbers to
make p very good fight IL occasion de-
man1ed, and 50 were troubled with none
% that feeling OF awe which overcornes
the lmaE nation on some excursions OF
this sort There was only one fact that
FEAST calculated 20 arouse suspicion OF Oc-
cu7anoy in this portion OF the house
There was no dust. The dOcr. though
dirty in the extreme, was not dusty The
ART was ground in and the surface was
smooth and even greasy boz places. There
were NO hooks or crannies where people
could De hidden and as the room was alb
sciltely devoid OF furniture of any de-
scription, the absence Of dust was attrlb-
uLea 70 campness. as that part Of the
house extended south and probably re-
c-l'ed the mists of the marsh just down
the hill.
''N e returned 10 the lower floor as fully
satisfied as ever that supernatural WISH
tors were impossibilities. and were en-
ufe-y prepared 10 cope with any human
agency that might make itself manifest
Warm today was brewed. new logs were
cast on the FIRE which blazed merriiy.
chips ratified in communicable way. and
by 9 o'clock we had forgotten that there
might be such things as haunted houses
and midnight shrieks- Everybody was in
a some what crippled condition financially,
as We were only several weeks out of san
Francisco and most of us were paying UP
leave debts. Therefore. the game was not
a heavy one and proceeded without any
heavy gains or losses. Until about 1879
o'clock the game went along smoothly
enough, and then there was an incident.
one OF the party. an ensign whom / will
call Ross. possibly the most nervous man
in the crowd. suddenly became as pale
as death. He laid down his hand of
cards, deliberately turned in his chair
81
ne did so. Then wheeling quickly. he fired
over our heads through the window oppo-
site him. In a second he had dashed
out OF the door into the dark and around
the house, followed by the remainder Of
us.
What was ito asked him.
a face he replied; an ugly face that
scowled horribly.
You evidently didn't hit him. said
l. for there was no trace OF any one
near the window. If it was a native you
might as well try to find a mouse in
garnet. for he's a mile and half away
by this time
The others after some swearing at
the interruption of the game. returned
10 the table. advising Ross 10 leave whis-
ky alone for the remainder OF the evening.
But before resuming play several of US
made a tour of the house, but found ev-
erything as IT was before the Interrupt
ton. Ross was evidently not satisfied
at the result of the investigation. and
certainly had a strong belief in his own
eyesight. for he did take another drink
Immediately
" 1t was a horrible face said he. The
cheeks were sunk in. the eyes had the
glare of a brute's. but the brow was
wrinkled into fearful frown, and the
mouth scowled a menace. 1t was an
unhealthful sight. But 1 imagine l scared
him a little
In half an hour the incident was for
gotten. We played until half past . with
moderation, and drinking little. At that
time came the shrek we had been waiting
for. For the first time i'm my life l knew
what was meant by 'curdlng of the blood
Those of you who have heard the sounds
from the the throat of an animal being
choked TO death, tortured by an occasional
let up of the grip, can form a partial idea
Of 1t. Make the sound human and fill ii
with an accent of terror and YOU are near
er TO it. 1t was loud enough to wake both
of the blue jackets who were sleeping in
the hallway outside.
K, the lieutenant an immense chan
and brave as lion. rushed out of the
room, followed by Ross and myself, to
the dark wing, from which direction the
sounds seemed to be coming. The Others.
according to previous arrangements threw
open the door and ran outside with the
i4ANNiANApl VI ottill6 lHdl no one got AWAY.
x had seized the big ships lantern. and
we three scrambled up the steep ladder
IKE stairs 10 the upper floor. Half way up
the light of the big lantern went out sud
denly. and we were left in total darkness.
except for the light of the moon. that came
through hole in the roof and from one
OF the windows in the front room The
feeling of terror at the shrfeks had died
away under the knowledge of the power
we possessed and the exertion of strug-
Cling UP the stairs. Now we felt that II
was no ghost, but a human being in dis
tress. and, what was more one who spoke
English, for We heard feeble cries Of
Help! Help before we reached the door
With revolvers drawn, nerves and muscles
tingling with the excitement. in A mo-
ment we rushed into the room.
What we saw there stunned us. and
we were paralyzed with the horror of II
At first we could distinguish nothing.
then an object moving feebly on the floor
became apparent. k stooped over the
dark mass of humanity, and as he dragged
1t over into moonlight dark blot marked
the floor where it had been and followed
1t in a sinister streak. There in the moon
light Law the Swedish consul with his
throat cut from ear to earl
Several shots. followed by veu of
pain. and then prolonged shouting from
our party outside, showed which wav tho
murderer had gone. Ross ran out and
down the stairs after the others but k
and ] stayed for a moment It was
horrible cash in the throat, and the Sv,ed-
ish consul died in ks arms yvitbcn+
speaking After that we went down and
outside, where we met the other marty
bringing up from down toward the marsh
the prisoner who, although wounded ana
with his arms bound to his side sin
struggled with the two blue Jackets who
held him. kicking at them vicious1v untiI
finally quieted by blows on the shins with
the butt Of revolver. In a few moments
we had him inside thrown in a corner of
the room on the lower floor secureIv
bound. iS
The prisoner was the srnuggler tbiaf
pirate and murderer. Chi-Foo. in search
OF whom the Swede had wanted m fo,,l
an expedition Poor fellow. he found hin.
hut not in the way he had hoped Tho
presence Of the consul in the bouse r1,,s
tilted us and it was not until aftary,,a,5
that the whole matter was evn1ai,,.5
Then it seemed sad 10 us that MOI, of
so fine a spirit and courage sboi,Id co.,
to violent death with hardly a chance il,
the struggle, victim Of his own practical
Joking. Tor such was the case. Tho oo1
SUI had treasured up a little s,lruriso Co.,
us. end himself had been surprised ard
murdered. He had believed no moro 49,,
We IN the supposed supernatural ,isi+ors