The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1897-11-03

and went out of that house like one in
dream.
How managed to attend to my work
that day don't know. hardly remem-
Der one incident of the IL hours. l
was overwhelmed with dreadful antici-
pations of events to transpire during
the coming night. The third night.
The third night was the traditionally
fated night!
Twas tempted to unbosom myself to
friend and get him to so and sleep with
me, but was too much ashamed OF my
pusillanimousness. Better suffer any
thing at the hands of a spook than have
myself the laughing stock OF all my
friends.
This time l was determined to see it
out. 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 shut my windows, dragged
down the shades so that the light would
not be conspicuous from the outside,
and prepared myself for the ghostly on
slaught.
That | should have lived to encounter
real ghost! t-must have been born.
under the necessarily peculiar circum-
stances qualifying me for supernatural
encounters. / devoutly wished other
circumstances had been employed.
By this time was ill-physically ill.
I 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. l almost thought
time loitered with malice aforethought.
When ones head is on the block they
say it is n relief for the AK to fall. be-
lieve could have anticipated and suf-
fered decapitation less disagreeably.
At ten o'clock l wound and set by my
watch my precious alarm, and placed it
| in its customary place upon the mantel.
1t was caprieious 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 a hideously
unpleasant manner. / don't think l
have ever heard wind blow as it did
upon that particular night. Imagined
it to be thick with inlSy devils that bel
lowed and groaned and laughed and
shrieked all in breath. The branches
of 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 l never heard before or since.
Oh, the interminable time sat there
sick at heart, worn out in mind and
body watching and waiting for-I knew
not what--Buck Anderson's ghost tt
come and take it out of me. A swee
state had worked myself into, truly
How would it end? What would he dt
to ME? Fall upon and belabor me
A small matter. / was not afraid O.
what any human could do to me;
could yield up my life with as mucl
grace as the next man; but ghost
what means would he employP lcoul'
not anticipate it, would have to Sc
it, have to experience it.
l glanced up at the little clock, AM
if knife had been plunged into m.
heart the emotion could not have beel
otherwise than it was when saw tha
it had moved! The clock had moved
A certain ornamental point which | ha
noted matched with certain figure il
the mantel lambrequin upon which
had rested my eyes had unmistakabl.
moved. broke into cold sweat. M
throat hurt me horribly, and l felt m
, hair rise upon my head. l was power
less to change the position of finger
1t had moved! There was no chanc
for doubt, 1t was fact.
l gazed spellbound, all my senses at
sorbed into that of seeing. For hour
, and hours 1 sat in state of half cor
sciousness watching the clock movt
Slowly, slowly, to the left, almost to
slowly to be perceptible, until it ha
{ turned entirely round. Then slowly
, slowly, round again. Round and rount
again andag winding my poor brai
, into very Gordian knot, while the slo'
hours dragged by, and the fire burn
. lower and lower and went out; and tn
7 wind subsidized, and the cold crept in an
{ numbed my corresponding body. The
all at once l saw the clock tip over tn
t edge of the mantel, and come crashin
), to my feet. had just strength enoug
Y left to examine the position of ii
! hands. Twenty minutes after thre
: o'clock! 1 fell back into my chair in
Y deep swoon.
: / had spellof serious sickness aftt
that. l think / was in condition fl
t it anyway, and that nights Wig
e brought it to climax. l was i'll II
d? several weeks. But was not conyale
cent many days before solved IL
d clock mystery. i gotsthe idea one ID
n while lying upon my bed, and late
d 4 putting it. to the test, found l WI
g right. in my calculation. By placir
i the clock upon its back, the .thpm'
I piece (for winding) was brought IN CO
j. tact with the mantel'shelf, and, natura
y ly, the clock tfnwindf6g turned'itse1f t