Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1898-02-12

actions by drawing, not his finger, but
the huge knife, determinedly and slow
ly across his exposed throat. After
this ghastly pantomime, second time
he took his leave, proceeding along
the narrow foored passage, and down
the step-ladder to the inn'yard.
The man before whom this awful
dumbshow has been performed crouch
ed and trembled in his bed. He had
often heard of spectral and supernat-
ural appearances, and had affected to
laugh at those who declared they be-
lieved in them. But was not this, af-
ter all, an unearthly visitation? 1t
looked extremely like it. He would
not, however, fully conclude that be
had really seen an apparition; yet he
would guard against third invasion
of this uncanny guest. He would do
what he now remembered he had
unfortunately hitherto neglected-he
would fasten the door of his room, and
thus put stop to any further ingress.
To his disappointment, however,
when he came to secure his room door,
he found that it was destitute of all
fastenings. Feeling with his fingers,
in the dim twilight, no lock, nor bolt,
nor bar could he discover. Here was
desperate fix; and what plan for
his safety, could he now resort to :?
Thinking rapidly over the matter,
nothing better, it seemed to him, re-
mained to he done than to roll his bed
stead, head foremost, against the door,
and thus efectually block up all means
of entrance. Luckily, the bedstead
was upon castors; it was therefore,
easily moved so that our friend had
no difficulty in carrying out his scheme,
and returned once more to bed, some
what more certain of immunity from
intrusion. He could not, however,
settle himself for further sleep; he
had been too much disturbed and un-
nerved for additional repose, so he re-
solved to lie awake in his bed until
broad daylight.
A quarter of an hour had but bare
ly passed, when our traveller for the
third time heard the same footsteps
approaching his bedroom. He felt
somewhat calm and Indifferent, how
ever; fot had he not rendered his
apartment completely impregnable :?
But short-lived was this feeling of con-
idence, for in few minutes the steps
had reached his door, and he heard
hands moving over and pressing hard
against it. Then a violent push was
made, and after that another and an
other, till the bedstead, on its too facile
castors, was driven back into the mid
die of the floor. Again his dread Wis
itor approached him, and with tenfold
added horrors, for his face and hands
were smeared with blood, as was also
the knife which on his second coming
he had carried. Holding it as before,
in his right hand, he drew the GRIM
son stained weapon for the second time
across his throat, repeating the action
once, twice and thrice, then again
shook ominously his dishevelled locks,
and turning upon his heel, with a look
of angry portent, left the apartment.
Our traveller was almost sick with
terror; he shook in every limb, while
the cold perspiration oozed from every
pore of his body. He was an unbe-
lever in apparitions no longer. He
could not stand out against positive
proof, and here he had the clear and
certain and repeated demonstration of
his bodily senses. When he judged
the spectre quite gone and the coast
clear, he rose and hastily dressed him.
self, rushing down the step-ladder and
into the inn, where he reused the
whole inmates of the house with his
cries that some dreadful tragedy had
been committed on the premises, and
that every effort should be made to
discover and arrest the murderer.
So much for the ghost and now for
the laying of it. 1t turned out, upon
inquiry, that the gaunt and grotesque
figure which had haunted our travel
er was only poor, dumb lad, who
was accustomed to help the hostler to
kill pigs. On this morning three of
these animals had to meet the common
doom of their kind. The first visit of
the lad to our travellers room was to
inform his comrade, who he knew u.s.
ually slept there, that the hour was
coming for their deadly work, intimat-
ing the manner of it by the three
passes of his finger across his throat.
Upon leaving the room, and finding,
after due interval, that the hostler-
as he took our traveller to be-had not
arisen for his task, he returned the
second time, angry that his call had
not been obeyed, and took the slaugh-
tering knife with him as token and
sign of what the lazy hostler had TO
get up and do. BY the time of his
third visit to the room, he had him
self done the work of death without
the aid of his fellow, and he brought
the bloodstained knife to signify as
much and also in dumb show to say /:
"You may now lie in your bed there
for another hour or two, if you like,
but it has been too bad of you to leave
all this troublesome piece of butchers
work to me-"
We are sorry we cannot add that