The Louisiana populist., 1897-03-26

to me Of sudden that had left it n
the lock inside on going to town, and
turning the handle Of the door saw it
had not been locked at ALL This was
really Of little consequence. as "the
ranch was not near the road. and | had
often b0asted that lock meant nothing
there anyway, though in the darkroom
it had probably saved a negative or two
on occasion.
went in and from pure force Of habit
turned the key, leaving it in the lock.
Then struck match, found my lamp,
lighted it and poured my chemicals out
into my graduate and tray. Then, with
the lamp covered and only the thin
stream OF red light coming duly forth,
| opened dOuble-back and pulled out
a plate. 1t was "Ariadne and the Pan
ther," for which l hoped great things.
AS put the plate into the developing
tray and picked up my graduate to
pour forth the developer | was startled
by rustling that seemed to come from
the corner where | kept my printing
stuff. 1t sounded like a movement Of
the stiff curtain that hung there, but
! 1t occurred to me that the strange sound
could have come from 4 wind puff
among the leaves outside. So poured
the developer upon the light yellow
plate and began to rock the tray gently.
Nowhere, except probably on your
wedding morning or on getting a wrap
ped copy Of your first book, does the
charm Of expectancy get such a hold
upon you as IT does on watching for the
image Of an exposed object to appear
upon Photographic plate.
On the yellow blank before ME now
came, softly and silently, the figure Of
the smooth-limbed Ariadne, sitting her
panther with the majesty l had seen in
| the marble. But she was coming on
rather too quickly because of overtim-
ing, and rapidly reached back for the
bottle Of bromide. AS l measured off
four crystal drops that fell splashing
into the developer heard slight graf
ing sound, as Of key being taken from
a lock- Surely the charm Of Ariadne
must have been strong upon me, for the
| incident did not excite so much alarm
as it did mere annoyance.
"Must have been in rather loose and
just dropped out" was my illogical
thought, but who can be logical con-
cerning things external when snug in
his own tight world of photography?
Arladne came on beautifully. and l
laid her in the water near my right
hand to gain detail before fixing. Then
l took out Venus and began to develop
her. She came on we'll enough, and
dipped her into the water, too. Every
thing was going well, and I should have
a fine set il this kept on. Being my
first trial with such hard lot Of sub
jects, I was rather proud Of myself.
Then my fingers CROPPED for Ariadne,
who was now ready for the fixing bath.
But though felt all about in the water
my finger tips never touched the glass.
1t was hard situation to sense, but
Arladne was gone.
leaned back in my chair in a state
bordering on utter collapse. Water
doesn't melt solid glass, and an Sx1O
negative doesn't get up and walk out
Of tray. What in the name of the
great Daguerre did this thing mean?
Looking at the trap in vague distress
l saw a great black hand steal silently
into the circle Of the dim red light,
grasp the Venus negative and as silent
ly dart back into the thick, impenetra-
ble gloom OF the darkroom. l would
have jumped up If could, but the ugly
circumstance weighed me down. Then
heard the negative strike the floor and
shiver into little bits. This started me
up. grasped the cover Of the red light
and was about to lift it when the whole
contrivance was wrenched from the
table and the ruby glow was turned full
upon my face. Behind it l could see
nothing, but the handle at the bottom
was clutched by that same black hand.
The lamp was raised high and then it
came, crashing against the floor, the
light hlOtting out in the heavy dark
ness"
] Isprang for the door, and, missing it,
grasped something soft and slippery
that slid from my grasp. 1t was like
clothed arm, but it was SO cold and
Shiny that 1t seemed hardly human At
the same time form full of burly
strength knocked harshly against me,
whether accidentally or not could not
tell. 4 slight mass of cold slime that
reeked horribly came off the form and
adhered to my face and the side of my
neck. This was more than l could
stand My clogged throat opened and
yelled like demon.
"Out of this! Out of this! whatever
you are!'
Then was forced upon my mazed
mind a popularity Of the creature that
I had not noted before. 1t did not
speak, nor growl, nor utter any sound.
1t would have been q relief even tn