Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-10-31

the next instant the poor, overwrought creature fell in n swoon upon tho sand.
 Well, it was all very horrible, al- though even now we hardly knew what to believe. But we brought her to, gave her somo brandy and put her into her wagon for rest. And later on took her some soup and bread and made her eat it. She was exhausted now and told mo in low voice that she had lived on meal and water for weeks past. Pres ently we turned in, and all was quiet.
 'It was, supposed, some little time after midnight that Angus and were reused by loud voice beyond the camp fire, which lay between the other wao- On and our own. We listened. It was the vrouw herself. Hastily we got down from the kartel and went toward her. She was beyond the fire, and her figure was we'll nigh lost in the gloom of night. We could just see her white kapjo and an arm waving frantically. It was a terrible and uncanny scene There stood the woman. screaming in wild and excited tones at something be. yond, what we could not see and shiv- cred even to imagine. Yes, she cried. you come here to frighten me, Dirk Starreberg. I feared you not in life. I fear you not in death. I slew you, and I would slay you again. But I know why you walk thus through the veldt and come seeking to drive me mad night after night. Tomorrow-now that 1 caIi trek-I will come and bury your bones, and you may rest quiet if you can Trouble me no more, I say-begoner
 I ss ger, sick with horror though we were.
 Come back to your wagon, vrouw Starreberg, l called out 'You are dreaming. Go to rest again.
 Still glaring in front of her, the woman stepped back till she had met our advance. I am bound to say that looked, and Angus looked, with terri fled eyes, but saw nothing of what she saw or thought she saw. We took the poor mad creature's arms. She was trembling and wet, literally bathcd in precipitation. What the tension must have been if this sort of thing had been going on night after night I shuddered even to think of We took her to her wagon and gave her strong dose of brandy and water, and presently she fell into heavy sleep. Then Angus and I got down our harnesses. rekindled a roar ing fire and sat smoking by the blaze for the rest of that night. Scared as 1 was; I believe I dozed onco or twice, and Angus swears to this day that he once saw the figure of Dirk Sarrebcrg pass within the firclight 20 yards away. He woke mo, but it had gone. The cattle were uneasy and disturbed again, and our Kaffirs, who had heard the vrouw talking, as they said. at a spook, lay huddled together under our wagon. It was uncanny, dcvilish uncanny. 1 can tell you, that intangible horror about the camp.
 Well, the rest of my story is short. SrOuw Starreberg was moving before lawn and insisted that we must trek back to the old camp and bury the skel- ,ton. We, fearing more horrors, said it could not be done. and that we should at once quit the bush and strike for the road. She then utterly refused to leave her wagon unless we did as she asked. We seriously thought of taking her by force, but she was strong, powerful woman, her mind was already unhing ed, and We feared the consequences of a struggle. And sn, very reluctantly, we agreed to humor her and give her her wish. It was a ghaStly business. We only prayed to get it quickly over. At earliest streak of daylight we were inspanned and all day travelled steadily back toward the scene of Dirk s tragical ending. That night, strange to say, nothing happened tn disturb us. Everything passed quietly. We trekked again all next day and halted for the night some three miles short of the skeleton outspan, ns VIC called it. Our reason for ihis was that WIG hoped the burial might he quietly accomplished in tho bright sunshine of next morning and tho wCmET got well away before uightfall on the homcward journey. Vrouw Starreherg. I noticed, was rest. less and excited. but she mado no ob. jection. Again noticed that sho still carried her Bihlo tightly clasped under tho left arm. The vrouw lay in our wagon, Angus and sleeping by the fire | again. Wo wcro dog tired and slept | soundly until reused. just as daylight | broke, ny our wagon driver, Griqua | named AlhrCcht. Tho man was looking very strangely. 'Baas, he said, 'vrouw is not there (pointing to tho wagon). She went in the night. l heard hcl whispering, and looked from where was lying and thcro sho was beyond | the firclight, following n man-a Dutch man, tliink-or q spCOk. I don't know | which, toward tho murdorer's outspat | (de mordenaar's outspan to). I was frightened, baas, and dared not move There is her spoor. but the mans spool | I cannot sec.
 "We sprang to our feet and went straight to the wagon. The foreclap wa: pulled aside. The kartel was empty.
 Yes, she had gone, and our hearts were sick with n nameless fear. Taking Al
 brecht with us, we saddled up at onct and spoored the vrouw along the tracl toward the old outspan. And there
 surely enough, we found her, stone dead,
 by the side of the skeleton.
 ''There was no mark upon her, but
 in her face was the most awful look ot
 horror and of fright that ever saw upon the countenance of the dead. be
 lieve she had died of sheer terror ant
 of nothing else. What had happened il those silent, terrible night hours, by
 what ghastly agency she had been drag
 ged to the scene of the tragedy, how
 the end had actually come, God only
 knows
 "We were too anxious to get ava,
 from this dreadful place after sucl
 events. We buried the body and skele
 ton together and trekked out as fast a
 the oxen could travel, never stopping
 till we had struck tho road and reached
 Scio Pans.
 That, gentlemen. is my solitary ex perience of snooks I never want f,