Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1896-09-27
BACK TO LIFE.
\ Weird Story OF the Experience OF Two
Scientific Men in the North.

e
geological survey in the north. On
CcId NoIember day we shouldered our
krarsacks and turned our faces nome.
ward. Our way led through cha-n OIL
black and rugged hills toward d frontier
town. twenty miles distant. A more
forbidding region it has never been my
misfortune to see. II was a perfect
chaos.
We halted at sunset, and building
fire a the fool of & crag, disposed our
selves To rest as well as we might. HOW
long I had slumbered l knew not, when
I found myself sitting upright peerlng
nervously into the darkness. 1t seemed
10 me that some one had uttered wild,
apDealing cry in the very portals Of my
ears. I was on the point OF lying down
again when l was arrested by repeu-
ton Of the cry. This time there could
be no mistake. Wild, long drawn, and,
! it appeared to me, full of incolerable an
guish. ! shook the doctor to awake him.
BE quiet" he mutlered; Il heard 1t
all"
The cry was repeated. It was a wo-
mans voice. but it expressed such SUI
preme misery as, believe, woman never
felt before. Again it came; but now like
a low. tremulOus sob. | am not super
stitious man, but l confess that sat
there shivering with a species Of horror
that was utterly new to me.
Help o God. help"
AT this ineligible appeal to our man
hood our supersuiOUs weakness Instant
" disappeared. Selling a torch, We
made our way hastily toward a pile OF
rocks 4 few hundred yards distant.
Scrambling up the height we came sud
denly upon a strange and mOurntul
scene. Before us stood a wretched look
ing hui. Through the open door we saw
the body Of man, apparently Iteless,
lying prone upon the floor. Beside him,
with arms flying wildly over her head,
knel, the CURE of a woman, evidently the
knelt the figure Of q woman, evidently the
The woman raised her eyes as we ap-
preached, but gave no further heed to us.
She was young creature, hardly twenty,
and. despite The signs Of hardship and
sorrow, very beautiful. Her companion,
a young man OF about her own age, at
tired IN q course woOdsman's suit, had
evidently succumbed to hardship or dis
ease. and was either insensible or dead.
WHO are yOu?" said the doctor very
gently, and what mas bappened?"
"He. is dead-Gead" she muttered
hoarsely.
perhaps It is not so bad as that" he
rejoined
He died ibis morning before my very
eyes" she mOaned; died oh. my Cod,
o. starvation. And never knew that ne
was depriving himself for my sake on.
my husband! Why did you not lie. me die
with yOu?' And she threw herself
across the body, sobbing as if her poor
heart would break.
We felt that We had CHANGED upon a
strange, sad story Of love, pride and suf-
fering. The doctor stopped down and
fel, at he heart Of me PROSTATE man.
He is dead" he whispered.
How We made the truth known to the
poor wife l do not remember. It would
seem tha, she had preserved some faint
remnant CT hope. With low groan she
fell suddenly d, our feet. insensible. For
tuna,ely the doctor had his medicine case
in his pocket. Administering powerful
sleeping potion TO her, he placed her
upon the wide couch.
WiJhCu, vanity can say that both he
| doctor and myself have received some
few testimonials as 10 cur scientic ability
from the world. You will probably be-
lieYe, then, that we are capable of de-
gliding upon very simple case of death
by starvation. Very good; remember.
then, that l assert upon my professional
reputation th2- the man was stone dead.
Yes added the doctor, who had hith-
orto remained silent, life must have been
extinct more than five hours when we
found him."
Wen, having satisfied ourselves upon
this point. we covered the corpse decenuy
and sat down to wait for morning. But at
| length. completely overcome with weari-
ness and excitement ! fell into a SLIGHT
slumber. Almost Immediately it seemed I
was awakened with shock. The doctor
was bending over me with wonder and
alarm upon his face
Wake up" he said. in n troubled whis-
per; something very strange has been
going on in this room for many minutes
past"
what IS it?" I asked. "I thought that
heard some one speaking"
You did" he replied; u have distinct
ly heard a voice close beside us. yet there
IS no one in the room except ourselves and
these two poor people
Perhaps the woman has been talking in
her sleep" 1 suggested. COR may be that
the man is not dead after all"
No, l have looked at BOTH" he return
ed.
There it is again." ho mutterod, agi-
tatedly.
low, confused murmur arose in the
room. Again it arose. coming from point
over our heads. until it seemd to emanate
from some invisible source behind US.
/ "Oh. my poor wife,
The weird. uucanny, startlingly signif-
cant words amazed us.
We scrutinized the corpse. It had not
changed position or appearance. The flesh
had grown perfectly cold. the muscles
rigid. There was not trace Of vitality in
it.
Now. 7 do not expect you tobelieve what
followed. Yet ! swear to you. on the word
of an honest man. that I DO not devate
from the truth by syllable.
In the name of God. assist me back to
life" We're the next astonishing words.
We gazed at each other absolutely un-
nerved and appalled,
Again was the voice audible. "Oh, have
pity" it said.
Who speaks to u.s." cried the doctor at
last.
THE soul of the man who lies dead be-
fore YOU"
1t is impossible that the dead can
speak. said the doctor.
NO for the intelligence never dies. Ny
body is dead. but that with which I lived