The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-12-29


I tcec-ler in this dreadful house.
There was no ausWer-the silence OF
death seemed % brood over Us chris ina
sank upon ner knees ana hid ner face
/ again screamed jeans name and now
a pale, tolteriug figure. came Gown the
STAIR % answer 10 my call Jean, with a
face Ike a dead woman. it was so white.
came into sight. pointing upward n
. slfeecliess anguish Bella was UP there
/ alone and ID flashed upon me even then
mat mere was no one 10 reach ner but
ne I knew it, but how ! managed 70
Eet up, or how 7 dragged her down, 10
ms cay know not But
ed with the terrible strain upon my
. strength and my nerves
Chris INA had risen when I came down.
and Jean leant against he wall by Elz-
aoet4s door. s1uld only point and
sign for her 70 open It. She tried and
laAe1; then / dropped Bella, VINO was
reFiVing. and wreuched the handle round.
almost hinging myself into the room
Elizabeth lay on the floor in a death-like
sWoOn. but her eyes were wide open with
an expression OF sucn awful terror as
7 hope / shall never see in any eyes
again. Be--a had come round by this
time, ana We al tried 10 raise Elizabeth
but our strength had been 50 shaken that
We could not Ny own efforts in bring
ing Bella down had made me utterly
useless. my hands had no power in them.
Suddenly in the hall below the old gong
clock rang out midnight. The sound was
so startling that we all screamed. but
Christina and Bella seemed 10 lose all self
control, and uttered shrek after shrek in
violent Mysteries IN the middle Of all this
pahic the door bell pealed loudly, but the
unexpected ring a such an hour made
the two almost frantic. Another and
louder peal came, followed by the sound
Of mans voice beneath the window. !
rushed 70 IL and threw up the sash, for I
had sense enough left 70 know that the
voice was human.
who is there?' I called out as steadily
1T is /. Ronald Webster" answered a
deep. pleasant voice; don't be afraid VIII
ECu let us in2'
great thankfulness filed my soul
Without hesitatiOn-for fear vanished now
that help had cOme-I ran down. unbOlted
the heavy oaken door, and flung il wide
was struck, the gas was lit, and ] found
myself face 10 face with the two gentle
men had seen that morning in the High
street. Half crying in my excitement, /
told them what had happened, and about
Elizabeth's state.
They went upstairs with me at once.
Ronald Webster lifted my sister on 10 the
bed, while George accompanied me TO the
dining room for brandy and vinegar. With
great oifucnlty we brought Elizabeth
round. but after her senses returned she
seemed to be utterly unhinged She chung
to me-, implOring me not 10 leave her in
that hateful room. and before morning she
was in a high fever IT was a terrible
night-a night ] shall never forget. The
Websters stayed with us till morning,
then George went cut after conversation
with his brother. and Ronald remained
ill., Christina and Bella were quite pros
trate5, and even Jean and ] were pale and
shaky from terror and want of sleep At
I O'Clock George returned, bringing with
him an old lady, his aunt, Miss Webster,
and soon after we all removed into the
next house. Ronald Webster locking the
door of our dreadful abode, and taking the
KEY to Mr.. Munro.
We never entered the house again. For
many weeks Elizabeth lay too i'll to be
moved, and Of course, We had to stay
with her On her recovery we took
pleasant house at Fonthill, and there she
and Christina gradually regained their
former health and spirits. We learned
that the house we had at first thought
so delightful had stood empty for many
years, the old man to whom IL belonged
neither living in II himself nor seeking
tenant. He had simply used the garden
for fruit growing. But upon his death,
about four years previous, the trustees
of his estate had put the house in thor
ough repair and tried to let it. But
though taken several times. nobody had
ever lived more than a week in it. I met
the trustees, two old town residents, in
Mr.. Munro's office, and told them all our
experience. They had always scohed at
what the former tenants had asserted,
and refused to believe them, but they
could not refuse to believe me, my sisters
state was sufficient confirmation of the
truth Of my story: So to prevent any gos-
sip about it in the town, they cancelled
the lease, and we were quit of the place
altogether.
bic night, and have brought their changes.
Christina Is far away in Australia, mar
ried 10 George Webster, to whom she be-
came engaged soon after our frightful
experience, and as Ronalds wife j have
had a perfectly happy life in the house
that sheltered us when We left our own.
Elizabeth still keeps house in her stately
fashion at Heatherdyke. for Robert is a
bachelor and likely to remain so. The
house we vacated under such strange
circumstances has never been inhabited
since we left it. but | have heard lately
that II is to be demolished. and a hand
some modern villa erected on its site
Whether the nameless haunting morror
that nlled the old house viii be banished
from the new one I cannot tell, but |
think not. from something which occurred
soon after my marriage.
Ronald and 7 returned from our honey
moon on the first anniversary of the dav
on which / and my sisters had left the
old house. After dinner, as it was q love
ly' moonlight night, we took a stroll in
the quiet road under the trees still COW
cred with foliage AS we turned at the
end of our own garden wall to retrace our
steps, we saw coming toward US on the
came path two figures, a man and a wo-
man, clad in style which certainly did
not belong in this century. The man wore
a monks robe with the cowl drawn over
his head, the woman a long black gar
ment and streaming black veil Slowly
they came down the moonlit path toward
US, and again that awful, numbing hor-
rOf seized me. / graSped my husbands
arm, and as / looked up into his face I
saw an expression of awe stricken dread.
But before they had quite reached ms
they turned, and as they did so the woman
raised her face I'm the moonlight, and the
silvery beams shown full upon it. II was
a beautiful face, as lovely as a dream
but with a wild, despairing look upon If
like the anguish Of a lost soul For a fulI
minute they paused in the clear soft light.
then turned aside, and together passed
through the locked gate of the old house
and we saw them no more. | NAV he
wrong, but in my secret soul I believe
that let the builders build whatever thew
please upon the site of that old house
the blight. the curse of an unforgiyen
ever.
CThe Enid
a Flower Clock.
From Harper's Round Table.
An English journal contains the fol-
lowing ingenious hint 70 e.