Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1896-04-09
A TRAVELLING COMPANION,
BY TERESA ". BROWN.
"a first to Kings Cross.n

OF the night mail for London, when the
above words caused me to turn round
with a start. There was something
weird and uncanny in the tone of the
voice which impressed me with an in
defnable feeling of apprehension
could not account for. Turning round,
found myself face to face with the
speaker.
lie was a remarkably tall and mas
sively built man, possessing every In
dication OF great personal strength.
He was envelopcd from head to foot in
~ long black cloak, buttoued closely
under his chin and reaching almost
down to the ground, which concealed
tho whole of his person with the ex-
ception of large, bony hand OF a
strange, unnatural, almost cleaning,
whiteness. Tho face also riveted my
attentions y broad, massive forehead,
alrinly sch jaw, high cheek-bones, n
deep sallow complexion, and u pair OF
coaJ black eyes which seemed to glow
with unnatural brillancy-these were
the most striking features of the
strange individual who stood before
NE.
AS l confronted him, his eye rested
upon me for n moment with n dark,
malevolent expression, but it was in
stantly ayerted; whether it was fancy
or not l cannot explain, but l felt as
though under the influence of some
mysterious power of fascination, which
required the exercise Of all the self
control / possessed to overcome. The
sound of the bell announcing the de-
parture of my train had the effect of re-
calling me to my Senses and hastened
away, not o little relieved to see my
strange tcllow-traveler, instead of fol-
loving me, move toward the ether end
of the train.
After Iun of some three hours the
train drew up at Peterborough. Here
my companion and alighted and at
tempted to swallow cup of boiling
coffee IN the five minutes allowed.
ScNcely had we taken our places again
when, CHANGING to look out of the car
liage window, beheld tine identical
figure in the black cloak. Again the
old feeling came over me, for although
he averted his eyes the moment they
met mine, and moved away, felt con-
vinced he was watching me. My
startled look must have been noticed by
my y'felsow- traveller, for he Immediately
asked:
Are you acquainted with the gentle
man OH the PLATFORM"
1t was only by great effort that l
could answer in the negative, adding,
with assumed unconcern:
What led you to think SOP"
because" returned my friend, 81
have observed at every station where
we have stopped during our journey,
he has walked past our window and
looked in at you as il expecting you to
recognize him. His appearance is so
remarkable that do not think could
possibly have been mistaken"
"a cold shudder ran through my
limbs, and, as ] wiped the thick, clam
my perspiration from my forehead, l
could not help recalling all the wild
stories i had heard or read respecting
The power of the evil eye, and the mys.
sterious influence of mind upon mind.
What was the meaning of the subtle
& fascination which that dark stranger
seemed to exercise over me that night?
WAS it only the effect of an excited
imagination? / tried to persuade my
tEolf that it was delusion-a nightmare
Ia borrid dream, but it was of no avail.
al8I was wide-awake; there was my
companion opposite me. evidently dis
turbed by my strange demeanor. My
brain was in n whirl; | felt sick and
giddy, and remained entranced in Il
kind of morbid stupor out of which
Il was only awakened by the stopping
of the train at IIitchin.
rWell, good-by," said my fellow
traveller; "here's the end of my jour
ney," adding, hastily: ''By Jove! here
he is"
] have dim recollection Of his leay-
ing the carriage and some one else en-
tering. Who it was l knew we'll, al
though some time elapsed before l
could muster sufficient courage to raise
my eyes. At last looked UT. 1t was
ms I had foreboded. There, opposite to
me, in the far corner of the carriage,
Z. sat the tall figure in the black cloak,
the same wild look in his restless eye,
the same evil expression in his forbid
ding face. "e
E tI1:roo}I oyoo ~, 1a Ion nod frnr,,
b his seat with the yell of wild beast.
p Something bright flashed in the dim
+. lamp-Gght, and as he paused for an
instant as if preparatory to spring,
l saw that his hand gTasped % clasp
knife, whose long, glittering blade was
the terrible truth burst upon mel
was alone with raving maniac, tho
train going at express speed, and no
stoppage nearer than London. Escape
was mkt to impossible. / saw at a
glance that in struggle for life and
death l should not stand the slightest
chance against my gigantic adversary.
Under the impulse of the moment
l stretched out my hand to seize the
handle of the door, determined to risk
desperate leap rather than await GER
tain death by remaining where was.
4 burst of fiendish laughter greeted
the futile attempt.
Locked" he ,'ellcd. Then modulat-
ing his voice w strong effort, he con-
tinued: "Now ] entreat you to be rea-
sonable, my friend. Let me explain.
OF course, you must see that you have
no possible chance of escaping me.
Listen calmly to what have got to say.
i took fancy to your throat the frs :
moment | set my eyes on you in the
booking ofIice at York. said to my
F teif; Thtt mans throat is the very ont
J am in search Of. His carotid Is per,