The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-09-10

Il sits. I mov 4 = theee tAo1g
q ! livinr he'll for me TO feel e
shadow from b grave. q =
able to leave IT'D side when u WIZ
It IL there now"
I / not believe him, for I felt con-
he was suffering from . terr1ol
20 / went to the chai
to show him how ground
less were mis- fears yet his words ha
made such an impression upon m
that I approached It with q certai
amount OF hesitation. I sat down
It: there was nothing.
There, West" I said. ITS all purd
on your part. Come ands
try it yourself"
mo. no." he almost shrieked. II
tell you he is there. He's there to me
if to no one else. I would not sit in
that cofin-chair for heaven itself.
Ke&ealSs in it."
I shrugged my shoulders and re-
sumed my former seat
Yes, Bethell," West went on.
"Kelsall sits there and writes, and with
Al eve~r-increasing demand upon me
and what he nov writes isn't ut for
He grabbed hold Of a handful of copy
and gave it to me-.
I read a page, and that was enough.
It simply made my flesh creep. It
might nave been written by a soul In
purgatory. for Of all the iendish hor-
rors the brain Of man eve conceived
this was surely the most terrible. To
think such things was awful; but to
read them impossible. I let h paper
fall from my hands in sheer terror.
"And I have to stand by for days at
a time and see that, and worse than
that" continued West. ITS beyond
human endurance. Yet, IL I try to es-
cape, this invisible power holds me
back. Good God! what shall I do"
I must say I felt for the man. In
credible as it may seem, I was begin
ming to believe in his story, for the
evidence he had just showed me SEEM
ed insurmountable. Could any living
being have written what I had just
read? They were indeed the thoughts
of n from the other world; and every
word West had spoken seemed to come
from his very heart. Yet how could I
help him in his terrible position?
What do you wan me to do" I
asked.
Il don't know, Bethel" he said
YEARLY; "but it has eased my mind to
tell you all. Surely you, with your cool
Wv Sbh NS SO1ALC&I1I6s III IL
over. Yet, stay; I was forgetting. It
did occur to me that If you came in
when the typewriter was working,
your presence might counteract KEEL
sails influence. At any rate, you
might try. Come in tomorrow morn
ing n drag me out by main force,
and break this internal spell. Will
you?"
Certainly I will, West. But why
not now?"
IT. cannot. I haven't the strength
for the struggle. I'm dead beat. I
haven't slept two hours at a stretch
for a week. I feel better now, though,
after this talk with you and I think I
could Sleep"
Right you are, West. I'll come as
soon as I can tomorrow. I would not
leave you now but for the office work;
but I'll not go till you've had a good,
square meal. You'll let me ring for
Mrs. Harper, won't you?"
West nodded listlessly.
His landlady came in reply to the
bell; and in a quarter Of an hour West
vas sitting down before a substantial
meal. But he wouldn't eat. He took
a few mouthfu1s, and hen pushed the
tray away impatiently: and nothing I
could say would induce him to have
more. He drank off some brandy and
then threw himself on the sofa. I saw
a good fire made, arranged his pillows
and wraps, and then left him, reluc-
family enough.
It was two o'clock before I left The
Pioneer office. I was more than half
inclined to return to Mrs. Harper's,
but hesitated to disturb the house, and
possibly West, at that time OF the
night. So I went back to my rooms
n tried to get a few hours rest.
But I could not sleep, for my mind was
busy with West.
Now that I was away from his per-
sonal influence, the utter improbability
Of his story forced itself upon me. Yet
could I say it vas impossible? The ap-
pearance of a friend in spirit form
after death was firmly believed in by
many. But even If Kelsall could have
visited West, would he have troubled
and tortured his friend in this way.
He was the kindest Of men when hv-
ing, and I knew he was attached to
West and much appreciated his de-
votion. And could he possibly have
written the horrors I had read? And
yet, If he had not written them, who
had? Could West have lone it? I'm
| possible. After all, what I had learnt
only confirmed what some believed
that the tales were really KelsaIs.
- ~ "SAC SOs via COOIO DS OOuSs -uG
mere forcing West from his room
would not break the spell. Kel,all
would follow him-and what then?
How would it all end? West would go
mad under the strain-if he were not
SO already.
With my brain full of these conflict
ing and distressing thoughts, I at asst
dozed away. I dreamt I was in Vests
room. There was nc one there but
myself-myself and the typewriter.
As I looked at it, the keys were pressed
down by an invisible hand, and the
letters struck the paper. I was drawn
toward it by the unknown force that
had mastered West. I tried to hold
back; but it drew me like a mag1et
and as I came near the machine ]
knew Kelsall was there. I could tee,
his presence, cold, cold in death; inc
h invisible fingers moved and the
letters clattered down. I looked Vel
and read what they were writing; an6
as I read, my heart seemed to shn6
still, and L shrieked aloud. BIT
could not move away. There I hal t.
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