The morning news., 1894-11-25

ering away from something and staring
at it.
The match suddenly flared and went out.
| Then l heard a kind of moan, and some
thing blundered toward me in the dark and
almost knocked me over. 1t gripped me
/ convulsively by the coat 1 will confess |
was scared in the darkness, and then as
put up my hand to defend myself knew it
was Wilderspin
oh" he cried "save me! save metz
His fright infected me. Baiy was
frightened too, 1 think He suddenly
opened the street door and out we all
blundered, Wilderspin sobbing and clutch
ing me.
The door slammed. Then as we stood on
| the doorstep it began to open again in that
! noiseless sinister way it had. 1t was too
| mucn for me, 1t was too much for all of
us. We went down the steps in a hurry.
WllderSpin began 10 sob louder. Some
! people under umbrellas We're hurrving
along the parade toward us, laughing.
| Let's take him in" said Bailey he's
| been scared out of his wits" I will admit I
never took my eyes off the portico of No. 7
| while we were outside of No. 6. 1 don't
/ quite know what l expected We helped
him up stairs and sat him on his bed. 1t
was no good asking questions He simply
| sat on his bedside and shiVered and stared
| in front of him. The fright seemed to
| have altered the expression of his face
| for good.
At last we determined to put some spunk
! into him with brandy, but it only made
him worse. We put him to bed, and that
! seemed to soothe him better. Presently he
| began crying quietly on his pillow, for all
| the world like youngster.
Il will go into No. T. said the tall man.
| IF any one else viii come"
Hang itn said Bailey" I'd rather be
! devoured by ghouls than by this curios-
| ity."
l said I would come too But we waited
until Wilderspin was asleep.
| / suppose it was about half past II
| o'clock when we went out, and things
We're as quiet as midnight. We went up to
| the door of No. T. give me a match or
| two" said the tall man.
1t made me jump almost out of my shoes
| TO hear a voice in my ear suddenly. l
| turned and saw a policeman grinning be-
| hind me. He had stolen up to us with
| those discovered shoes of his Whats
! the little gamer he said suddenly blind
! ing me with his lantern
There's something wrong in this house g"
/ said the tall man. THE door was open."
He went into the hall and we followed
| quietly. The brilliant unsteady circle of
his lantern preceded him. Then he rave
/ vent to sudden Ugh He was almost
eAaetiy IN the place where we found VIII
| derspih, and tie beam of his light fell
through the banisters and followed the di-
rection of Wilderspin's stare.
| Look he said to the tall man.
Then Bailey looked and then |.
don't think it is any use to describe
What we saw. suppose that the peculiar
horror Of the thing was the way in which
the front of the face had been injured.
quite understand what it must have been
| to Wilderspin jumping at him out Of the
dark as the lightning flashed. However
there IS no reason why one should de-
scend TO details
Even when We saw it we did not under.
stand. But the tall man presently found
| an explanation
The dead man was one OF. those miserable
| thieves who rob empty houses Of their
plumbing and gas fittings The honse had
no lightning conductor but above it was
haS-stan, stupidity tipped by a gilt
| spear-head, and braced bv zinc wires in.
| stead of ropes It was the charred and
splintered remains of this, I found next
day, that had noticed above the parapei
of the house The flash of Iightninp-very
| probably il was the first flash that had
started the rush from the common-must
have struck the fiag-staff, and then camt
| streaming down through the gas fittings
! water pipes and Whatever other conduct
| ing substances afforded 1t q path to the
| earth. Above the body at the turn of tbs
| staircase. was very pretty little bras,
| bracket lighting the landing. and a bras,
handrail ran down the wall No doubt thf
poor wretch had been in contact with tbes,
when he was 80 suddenly and awfulh
struck out of the roll of the living.