Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1897-10-28

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very heart beats, of the moaning wind
very act itself would bring about some
fearful climax.
don't know how long might have
sat there, chilled to the marrow, but at
last a faint streak of dawn cleaning
through the window treasured me in d
measure. got up and into my clothes
and went out of that house like one in a
dream.
How managed to attend to my work
that day don't know. hardly remem-
Der one incident of the IL hours. /
was overwhelmed with dreadful antici-
pations of events to transpire during
the coming night. The third night
The third night was the additionally
fated night!
was tempted TO unbcsom myself to n
friend and get him to go and sleep with
me, but was too much ashamed OF my
pusilIanimousness. Better suffer any
thing at the hands of Il spook than have
myself the laughing stock of all my
friends.
This time l was determined to see it
cut 1 would sit up all night to watch
that clock and see with my own eyes
how it was managed and by what
means.
| accordingly made arrangement for
a big fire to be kept up all night, sew
eral extra lights, something to eat and
drink, my pipe and plenty of books.
Then l shut my windows. dragged
dcwn the shades so that the light would
ha q
and prepared myself for the ghostly on
sIaught.
That should have lived to encounter
a real ghost! I must have been born
under the necessarily peculiar circum-
stances qualifying me for supernatural
encounters. l devoutly wished other
circumstances had been employed.
By this time l was ill-physically i'll.
1 could neither eat, drink nor smoke. l
could only think, and my mind was in
perfect whirligig of confusion.
How the hours dragged. as hours will
that are unemployed. 1 almost thought
time loitered with malice aforethought.
When ones head is on the block they
say it is relief for the AK to fall be-
lieve l could have anticipated and suf-
fered decapitation less disagreeably.
At ten o'clock I wound and set by my
watch my precious alarm, and placed 1t
in its customary place upon the mantei.
1t was n capricious little affair at best,
and lately had to be laid upon its back
in order to keep proper time-in fact,
to run at all; so / turned it on its back
as usual, and sat down to watch it. The
rain had cleared up, but the wind con-
tinued to howl around in hideously
unpleasant manner. 1 don't think |
have ever heard wind blow as it did
upon that particular night. Imagined
it to be thick with inky devils that bel
lowed and groaned and laughed and
shrieked all in a breath. The branches
of a sycamore tree scraping against the
roof made my flesh creep, while the
wind surging through the wild orange
trees created a queer whistling sound
which / never heard before or since.
Oh, the interminable time 1 sat there,
sick at heart, worn out in mind and
body watching and waiting for-I knew
not what-Buck Anderson's ghost to
come and take it out of me. A sweet
state I had worked myself into, truly.
How would it end? What would he do
to me? Fall upon and belabor me?
A small matter. l was not afraid of
what any human could do to me; /
could yield up my life with as much
grace as the next man; but a ghost,
what means would he employ? could
not anticipate it, / would have to see
it, have to experience it.
1 glanced up at the little clock, and
if knife had been plunged into my
heart the emotion could not have been
otherwise than it was when | saw that
it had moved! The clock had moved.
y certain ornamental point which had
noted matched with a certain figure in
the mantel lambrequin upon which |
had rested my eyes had Enthusiastically
moved. broke into cold sweat. My
throat hurt me horribly, and l felt my
hair rise upon my head. L was power
less to change the position of finger.
1t had moved! There was no chance
for doubt, 1t was fact.
/ gazed spellbound. all my senses alb
sorbed into that of seeing. For hours
and hours l sat in a state of half con-
seriousness watching the clock move
Slowly, slowly, to the left, almost too
slowly to be perceptible, until it had
turned entirely round. Then slowly,
slowly, round again. Round and round,
again and again, winding my poor brain
into a very Gordian knot, while the slow
hours dragged by, and the fire burnt
lower and lower and went out: and the
wind subsidized, and the cold crept in and
numbed my corresponding body. Then
all at once / saw the clock tip over the
edge of the mantel, and come crashing
to my feet. 1 had just strength enough
left to examine the position of the
hands. Twenty minutes after three
o'clock l fell back into my chair in a
deep swoon.
1 had spell of serious sickness after
that. / think l was in a condition for
it anyway, and that nights vigil
brought it TO a climax l was i'll for
several weeks. But was not GONZALES
cent many days before l solved the
clock mystery. l got the idea one day
while lying upon my bed, and later,
putting it to the test, L found l was
right in my calculation. BY placing
the clock upon its back, the thumb
piece (for winding) was brought in con-
tact with the martel shelf. and, natural
ly, the clock unwinding turned itself to-
ward the left; round and round, each
time coming a little nearer the edge
until it toppled over.
And hainer cat