The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-12-25


black hand. The lamp was raised high.
and then down IL came, crashing against
the floor, the light blotting out In the
heavy blackness.
spranS for the door, and, missing e,
grasped something soft and slippery that
. sho from my grasp. 1t was like clothed
arm put II was so cold and Shiny that it
seemed hardly human. At the same time
FORM full of burly strength knocked
harshly against me, whether accidentally
or not l could not tell. A slight mass of
cold slime that reelSed horribly came of
the FORM and adhered to my face and
neck This was more than l could stand
, my eloSged throat opened and / yelled
like a demon:
out Of this! out Of thsl whatever
you arel'
Then was forced upon my amazed mind
a popularity of the creature that / had
not noted before. 1t did not speak. nor
growl, nor utter any sound 1t would
have been relief even to have heard il
MSS; It's silence was more awful than any
sort of utterance.
Flattening my quick-moving hands
along the side of the wall, touched the
door at last, and, feeling for the knob,
turned 1t and tugged at il like a young
giant. But the door did not move, and
the key was gone OF course that was
what | had heard when beginning my
NAcN hlbpHlilE out OF the KEY. 30
down | dropped to feel for it all about the
floor near the door, but to feel in vain
was locked up in the dark with a
nameless creature, sinister and powerful
from whom there was no flight, for the
dark room had but one exit--the door,
There was no window nor any hole save
the small ventilation traps through which
not even so much as a hand might be
thrust.
While there was any hope by way of the
door, had not been more than commonly
fearsome, but now my fright was more
than mere alarm. 1t was a steady growth
of terror-the kind of terror that makes
the scalp feel priclSly and the breath come
hard 1t was chill, palpitatlng fear of the
kind that makes you turn sick and sets
your shoulders twitching. And the chief
of it was a pallid dread of something I'M
speakably uncouth and loathsome-actual
contact with the thing in the dark room.
| believe / could have borne a stroke
from any weapon it might have in hand
better than touch or close meeting with
the body of the repulsive creature.
i crawled into the corner nearest the door
and waited with strained ear. Presently
l heard a low shutting, and then a patting
along the wall and a scraping along the
floor. He of the black hand was feeling
for me- of that / was certain. My ear Is
good, and, judging the location of the pat
ting and scraping, as well as of another
sound, like the dragging OF some small,
soft body upon the floor. moved without
noise around the edge, away from my pur-
suer. Though shaken and fevered, l kept
out of that dread clutch.
1t was nerve-straining work and the ten
sion was something frightful, but l kept
it w until l fell over a box and went
sprawling right into the arms of the crea-
ture My head fell upon its clammy Shout
NH oazaH ia noignnp rnnig-
ture and its wet and ill-smelling arms
closed upon me, bringing to bear such force
that l thought they would crush my very
breast bone. At the same time there came
out a low, throaty laugh-a laugh so un-
couth and lacking in levity as to be posi-
lively narrowing.
There was fight in me yet, shaken and
crushed as / was, and, getting one arm
loose, / hammered with all my force upon
the creature, striking where | judged It's
head should be. My blows slid off because
OF the slime that enveloped the face, Gut
once / struck ful hard upon solid jaw,
and before / could pull my hand back, my
thumb was bitten nearly in two. And then
the hand of the creature-that great black
hand that had seen in the low red light
stole up to my throat, and, clutching 1t In
mighty grasp, shut off my breath and
made me grow dizzy and faint there in the
dark room. My own hands, flying about
wildly, now struck an iron hat hook in the
wall Wrenching this hook Off drove 1t
SO deeply into the hand at my throat that,
breathing very hard, almost gasping in
pain the creature suddenly let go its hold
upon me, and was free.
Now l was furious-frenzed. l darted
at my assailant with the hook in my hand.
and presently dealt vicious blow full IN
the face.
The creature butted forward with head
Iiaw I.aN NH ct
breast / thought my breath was gone. /
fell over and 1t came upon me again, Its
blood falling on my face and its breath
hot on my forehead.
OF a sudden there was a shock as OF the
solid earth bursting asunder, and l sped
off into space and oblivion.
When next knew the world the door OF
my dark room was open and the morning
sun was shining in upon the floor where |
lay, with aching head, and soaring sense
Of pain in my throat, while my bitten
thumb fairly throbbed. My face, hands
and clothes were nearly covered with
blood green slime and muddy ooze, and
all about the studio the walls and floors
were streaked and daubed with the same
offensive mixture. In one place there
was the plain imprint of five long I'm
gers doubted not that it had been
made by tine great black hand that had
clutched my throat in the darkness.
cfdWled 10 the Sink anu washed my
self and took a good drink, after which l
made my way out Of the dark room into
the house, where / changed my clothes
and bandaged my thumb.
At my gate / saw two men on horse
back
"Seen anything of big buck Niger go
ing by here?" asked one of them. Hes
got big hands and feet and is perfectly
dumb. We tracked him down to the
slough where he probably waded across .
/ stared at the men.
yes" / replied, 1--WE seen him, or at
least rive seen his hand. Where Is re
FROM"
"Nape Insane Asylum. Broke loose yes
terday morning"
ExTRAORDINARY WEAPONS.