Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1895-03-21

els there anything you want me
particular to do ?" Mrs. Prowett
asked him.
She has always laid great stress
upon the fact that she observed ev-
erything that occurred that night
accurately and has been unvarying
in her narrative.
lis there a table in the room :''
the lawyer asked, absently.
eyes; Mr.. Mulford requested me
to put one in for him."
"That is we'll. Then all | wish
Is to be entirely undisturbed.
have many papers to examine to-
night" be said, tapping the blue
bag. 81 am engaged on a matter
of vast Importance to a wealthy es-
tate. and | shall ask you to see that
no one is admitted to the room. /
am ready to 60 to work now, if you
please"
Mrs. Prowitt showed him to the
thlrd-foor front, turned up the
light, and before leaving, saw him
take from the bag a large bundle Of
papers, tied with pink tape, and
lay them busiIy upon the table. He
then pulled up chair and sat down.
She noticed particularly that the
Japanese screen stood about three
feet from the back of his chair and
about two feet from the windows.
The weather being cold, the sashes
were down and locked, and the low
er inside shuttersdra an d latched.
There was sheer descent from the
windows to the pavement, with no
outside ledge below them, so that it
was impossible for any one to have
entered the room through them.
Mrs. Prowett has been unwaver-
ing in this statement, as we'll as in
In declaring that no one was hidden
behind the screen or elsewhere in
the room when she admitted the
lawyer.
1t was only few minutes after
nine when she left the old man in
teEtly engaged over his papers.
On her way down stairs she stopped
in Mr.. Baylor's room to tell him
that Mulford's friend had come.
She did SO, she said, not because
they had all looked for HIM so long.
but because the man had given her
a queer feeling of dread that she
could not throw off. She naturally
wondered what could have brought
so rich lawyer to her house: but
1t was not this query that made her
uneasy. She told Baylor of this
strange impression, and of the fact
that, while with the old lawy in
the room, she had creepy notion
that she was entirely alone, al
though he had been plain to her
eyes. She had noticed that he had
walked vigorously, but his steps had
been surprisingly faint, and the pa
pers had not ratified when he took
them from the bag. She was very
nervous. She did not believe in
ghosts, she declared, but certainly
this was the strangest lodger she
had ever had in her house. She was
afraid something dreadful might
happen, and she asked Baylor to
keep his door open and to walk up
the stairway occasionally and listen.
lie promised to do so, and she left
him.
At IL o'clock she hurried back
and said:
Would you mind going with me
to MIR. Mulford's room and listen
outside the door: | want to know
whether that old man is sleeping.
| see from the pavement outside
that he has turned the gas out
That can not be- Baylor an
swered, excitedly. Il walked up the
stairs not more than five minutes
ago and saw his light shining
through the transom.
Saw his light:' echoed Mrs. Pro-
witt, in an awed whisper. 1T was
just about five minutes ago that l
looked from the pavement outside
and his windows were dark. Are
you sure you saw the light
Yes; but | could not hear a sound
inside the ROOM
'Mr. Baylor, there is something
terrible in the air tonight, and |
can't tell what it is. Let US 90 up
there and listen
They ascended to Mulford's room.
Bright light was shining through
the transom. Mrs. Prowitt knock