The River Falls times. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1894-1933, 1897-10-26
lily sheltered by those twining creep

fully sheltered by those twining creep
ers.
She lay awake for some time after
they had retired to rest, thinking of all
this.
Mrs. Webb had placed sofa bedstead
across the bottom of the large bed on
which Carmen reposed, for her use,
and as Margaret ensconced herself in it,
she found that her eyes faced the long
French windows, against the panes OF
which the green tendrils and many
colored blossoms were keeping up such
a pleasant music.
Margaret fell to sleep with her mind
full of strange imaginings- fancy
ing that tiny elves sat upon the broad
leaves of the creeper whispering to
each other; now that they swung them
selves down like nimble harlequins by
the twisted tendrils of the vine; anon,
that the half-opened roses changed
into lovely faces, and bowed toward
courtship.
Carmen, with the indolent, unimag-
NATIVE blood of her Spanish mother
walking slowly through her veins, had
never INDUCED in any such weird-like
fantasies; she lay on her soft bed now,
slumbering dreamlessly and dispassion-
ately. But restless, agile Margaret
twisted and turned, and had composed
a whole romance before she could per-
suade the god of sleep to visit her.
How long he stayed she knew not,
nor what subtle potion he had admins
tered to change all her lovely fairy
dreams to visions of the past life she so
dreaded to remember
But groans and curses and cries of
pain, or so the girl imagined, mingled
with her sleeping experiences, and she
woke with the full sense of some COM
ing horror on her mind The room was
wrapped in the peaceful repose in which
she had seen it last; the flowers and
leaves still shaded the unsheltered win
dow; but what was that horrid face
white, flat and senseless- was
pressed close against one of the panes
easy dream? A remembrance only of
some dreadful visage that had scowled
upon her when she was a poor, trem-
bling little Outcast, wandering in fear
about the London streets? Margaret
could not decide but the sight she saw
of fear she sprang from her own bed to
Garments, and succeeded at last in
arousing that sleepy young lady to a
consciousness of the cause of her alarm
When she had once seen it, Carmen ap-
peared as frightened as herself, and
rushing out into the corridor, called
loudly for Webb and then for 'fMr.
Brown" The last appeal was the most
effectual, for before the housekeeper APP
peared upon the scene, a respectable-
looking man in dressing gown and Slip
pers, answered the young lady's call,
and inquired the reason for it. Carmen
told it to him, whispering rapidly in his
ear; and the next moment he had en-
tered the room they had vacated and
Mrs. Webb appeared to lead them to
another.
What is it?'' inquired Magaret, trem-
bling. "a ghost?''
"Lor' bless the child began the
housekeeper. How should we have
ghosts at Abbotsville?"
But Carmen stopped her.
Yes, it is a ghost! Why not speak
the truth at once? Never mind, Mag
gle; don't shake so-we'H sleep up
stairs for the future"
you'd better come at once then. /"
said Mrs. Webb, as sounds of scuf-
fling and faint cries began to make
themselves heard from the deserted
room. You won't go back there to-
night, Miss Carmen, will you?-and
you're both beginning to tremble with
the fright and chill"
The girls did not sleep in the south
room again during their stay at Abbots
vile, and the remainder of their holi-
days was spent amongst the diversified
pleasures of country life.