Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1895-05-07
A NAVAL YARN.

ther was retired army officer Of some
means, and they were travelling for pleas
ure. They took fancy 10 Ticn-tsin and
decided to settle there for awhile. Looking
about for house. they were much attract
ed by one just outside tho city, which
stood near the waters edge and command
ed beautiful view of tho harbor Their
friends, aud more especially their Chinese
servants, cried out aghast, "Thcy must
not think Of such thing" The house
was haunted. No one had lived In it for
years. IL was as much AS ones life was
worth even to pass IL after nightfall. The
Englishmen, however, were not to be
frightened of by any such silly stories.
They rented the house and moved In.
For several months all went we'll Both
father and son were delighted with the
place and finally decided to buy 1t. One
evening the son. who had been dining In
town, came home quite late. AS he opened
the front door he heard what seemed to be
q scufIle I'm his fathers room. Before he
could reach the top OF the stairs u soul
piercing shrek rose high above the con-
fused din. Then all was silent. Rushing
into his fathers room, the young man
found him lying on the floor In u pool Of
blood. There was no one else In the room,
nor was there any apparent way for any
ono 20 have left It without passing him In
the hall. A knife was sticking In the
breast Of tho wounded man, a wicked
looking Malay knife, with curiously
carved handle. Tho young man stepped
into the hall to call tho servants to his fa-
ther's assistance. When he stepped back
into the room moment later, the knife
had Disappeared
The wounded man never rallied. He
lived seyeral hours, but was not able 10
speak. His face was distorted by an ex-
preston of unutterable terror and he died
with tho look still In his eyes.
The associations of the place werc too
painful for his son to remain there longer.
He offered largo reward for the discovery
of his fathers murderer and left minute
description of the knife that had go mys-
teriously disappeared. Then he packed up
his belongings and returned to England.
The house stood vacant, of course, more
dreaded than ever.
Months passed, perhaps years. do not
know, but after certain lapse OF time one
of our men-of-war visited the harbOr of
Tien-tsin. Several of the officers were
ashore one night dining with n party of
foreign residents at the club. Some one
told the story of the haunted house and
the murdered Englishman, adding that
the natives said that the murder was re-
enacted every night at the same hour. Our
officers expressed lively interest in the
narrative.
Lets visit the house some night" one
of them suggested, land SEQ the show"
"Why not tonight?' exclaimed young,
Dane whom we will agree to call A. "Wc
have plenty of time, and the steward of
the club has the keys of the house. The
Englishman left them with him when he
went away"
The men were all young and keen for
adventure. Perhaps the excellent club
punch had made them even Drawer than
usual Anyhow the suggestion was re-
ceived with acclamatiOns. The Keys were
called for. Some one produced u lantern.
The rest filled their pockets with matches
and candle ends When they were ready
to start, they looked about for A. IIc was
nowhere to be found. The party set forth
without him. Ono Of our officers could
not refrain from expressing some amuse-
Incnt that the organizer of the adventure
should prove the only one afraid to carry
it through.
"A. afraid?" cried one Of the club mem
bers. "You don't know him. He doesn't
know what fear means. I'll wager he's up
to some dcviltry at this moment. Proba-
bly, he has gone on ahead to put on u pill
lowcasc and play ghost for u.s."
They had to hurry To reach the house at
the intended hour.
"There it is, 4" some ono said at last and
Lieutenant b., who carried the lantern,
looked ut his watch by its light and an
nounccd that they had just three minutes
to spare. Tho door was unlocked with
difficulty, for the fastcnings had grown
rusty from disuse
"By Gcorger' cried tho first man who
stepped into the hall, there's something
going on up stairs
Its A." said his friend, laughing,
and they all started up stairs, Mr. B.
walking ahead with the lantern.
A cry of agonized despair startled the
smiles from their lips and quickencd their
steps to u run. B. pushed open tho doOl
Of the room from which the sounds had
come. AS he did SO, and before he could
see anything, the lantern was dashed from
his hand and the door slammed behind
him. He stood still in the darkness for o
few awful, tsrror stricken seconds. Then
he took step forward and trippcd over
something on the floor. He stopped over,
and his hand encountered pool of warm,
oozing liquid. 1t flashed on his mind that
this was blood and that the thing he had
stumbled over was a mans body. His
heart almost stopped beating. He was
afraid to move, afraid to breathe. The in
stants during which his friends in the hall
were striking light and opening the door
seemed an eternity. Lieutenant ID. is now
the gray haired father Of family, but he
says the horror Of that moment is as fresh
as though 1t had all happened yesterday.
At last the door was opened. The young
men crowded i'm with their candles. There
at their feet lay poor A. with the Malay
knife in his heart.
Explanations are always an anticlimax.
But the explanation of the foregoing trag-
edy Is too curious To omit, though its pre-
tensions to being ghost story are thereby
destroyed. After this second murder tho
authorities were aroused to n display Of
tardy activity. The house was carefully