Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1895-11-23


would think l had been murdered and
come in with a light But If any one
heard The grCan he made an incorrect
diagnosis
/ picked myself up with some diff
Guilty.
Onece more on my feet, I sidled over
until 1 could touch the bookshelyes.
/ was nearing the banging shutter
now; could feel the cold air blowing
upon me.
l reached out with one foot and felt
that it rested on nothing. 1 felt down
farther with 1t, but could not touch
bottom. / stopped down and investi-
/ gated Somehow or other l had got
| turned around i'm my struggle with the
rocking chair, groped out of the den,
walked down the hall and was on my
way down stairs.
I got down on my hands and knees
| and crawled back into the den. ram
/ ming into a pile Of unbound magazines
| and strewing the floor with them.
After crawling into the den a sufi-
/ Client distance to guarantee myself
/ against another escape out eff the door,
/ [ rose 70 my feet. As l began this
I vancouver my head came In VIOLENT
1 contact with some hard substance, with
| crash that made a thousand lights
dance fearfully before my eyes, and
sank back 20 my former recumbent pos
I ture and went
l had crawled under the desk But
I I'm the awful darkness how was l to
/ know that?
/ I refrigerated from the desk. backing
, into q revolving chair. I felt my way
into This sat down, went into camp and
+ rubbed my head while l planned an
/ other forward movement
It bathought me that sometimes
J there was a box Of matches en- my desk
/ and reached ont and felt for 1t. ! put
/ my finger into the ink well.
[ did not dare go crawling and feel
. ing around among my papers with a
/ finger dripping with ink; | could lot
/ safely wipe 1t on anything on the desk.
SO did the best thing: / wiped it thor
I 0ughly and carefully on my hair.
Thank heaven, / said, Il am not
/ bald"
Next morning. when I learned upon
further investigation. that 1 had dip
ned my incer not into the Ink we'll
but into the mucilage rot, [ WASH L SO
/ sure that q head of hair was always
au advantage over @ bald and Slisten-
ing skull
The shutter. which had been silent
| for some time. now fired solitary shot
. This guided me i'm the right direction.
I moved forward with great caution
holding my arm Outspread and stepping
hfeh. With shrek that might nave
curJlcd the blood in turnip, l put my
foot into something cold and wet and
s1mv and something scoly and horn
BE- wrireled away from beneath If.
iorkel my foot into The air, and
trembling from head to foot, weak
I linn and terrified. sank TO my knees
ras0iuem ms shins as did so on the sides
of a common washtuh.
/ then remembered tina my son was
. KEEPING young alligator. about ten on
twelve inches long. for q young friend
who had recently brought it from
Florida. I now resolved that it should
20 into the ice house the next day, II
another morning should dawn IN TINS
world uu0n the wretched being sitting
fin the cold and dark, shivering and
sobbbing.
How long 7 remoiaed there I do not
know. II was an Oblivion of horror
I remembered an my sins-that is
/ some of them. 1 am not omniscient, OF
+ course.
/ I remembered especially one crime
/ had committed inadvertently, fol
which. had no doubt / was now being
. punished
One time. i'm the far away years when
( went a-lectUring. I was entertained
at the home of friend of mine, i'm
town i'm Pennsylvania. He was a
/ minister of the gospel When ] went
TO my room that night I noticed that
his daughters had decorated the
/ prophets chamber with an endless ar
1 ray of Chrtstmas cards and advertising
/ cbromOs-a very rainbow of color and
III Kaleidoscope Of design all over the
/ walls
The cards were stuck M with pins
/ Every inch of space was covered with
/ them walked around the room asOne
/ would walk about q picture gallery
/ Then I went to- bed and had the night
| mare
I had 90 take a train at o'clock the
/ next morning / refused to permit the
family TO get mp at the unearthly hour
at which I would have to arise / said
eoodby the night before. and carried
the alarm clock to my room.
AT 415 q. IN. 1 arose. It was dark as
| Erebus. this country. and l couldn't
find the matches. I had dim recol-
lection of seeing q matchSafe on the
wall the night before and went around
the room feeling for it. / scraped OF
/ o. gorgeous snowstorm of picture cards
Round and round that room 1 went
moving these resplendent walls with
/ my clawing hands, feeling and hearing
the pins and cards rain down about my
feet Once or twice I made my way &c
the bureau and picked MP box OF hair
pins. and inwardly reyiled the toolst
Urls who would nut q box Of hair pin.
ON q mans dressing table and forgo
the matches.
At last it occurred 10 me TO investi
gate the box more closely. l opened lt
liz contained matches.
/ Hehted the lamp and shuddered as
/ Z eazed upou those denuded walls.
Hieh as my icon0clastic hands could
reach there wasn't q pin or a card iI
SIGHT And the floor, SIewn with The
wrecks of the chrCmatic press thick a.
autumnal leaves that strew the brook:
. I'm VaUambrosa. With wild and guilty
/ haste. thrust myself into my clotbe:
/ and lied. locking the front door on th'
outside lest the family. awaking, should
/ discover what 1 had done, and pursue