Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1898-11-10
CHAPTER VIII.
TIE soMNAMBULIsr


| One night | was sitting in my room,
| devouring an old romance which
| had brought from the library. 1t was
late. The fire blaZed brightly; but the
candles were nearly burned out, and
| / grew sleepy over the volume, ro-
nance as it was.
Suddenly found myself on my feet,
listening with an agony of attention
| Whether I had heard anything,
could not tell; but 1 felt as if 1 had.
Yes: l was sure of it. Far away,
somewhere in the labyrinthine pile,
heard a faint cry. Driven by some
secret impulse, 1 flew, without a mo-
ment's reflection, to the closet door,
lifted the tapestry within, unfastened
the second door, and stood in the
great waste echoing hall, amid the
touches, light and ghostly, of the cob
webs set afloat in the eddies occas-
ioned by my sudden entrance.
A faded moonbeam fell on the floor,
and filed the place with an ancient
dream-light. which wrought strangely
on my brain, and filed it. as If it, too,
were but a deserted. sleepy house,
haunted by old dreams and memories.
Recollecting myself, went back for q
fight; but the candles were both flick
sring in the sockets, and I was COM
PEELED to trus, to the moon. l ascend
ed the staircase. Old as it was, not a
board creaked, not a baluster shook;
the whole felt as solid as rock. Find
Ing, at length, no more stairs to as
cend, l groped my way on; for here
there was no direct light from the
moon-only the light of the moonlit
air, ! was in some trepidation, I con-
Tess; for how should I find my way
back? But the worst result likely to
ansue was that l should have to spend
the night without knowing where; for
with the first ghmmer of morning, l
should be able to return to my room.
At length, after wandering into sew
eral rooms and out again, my hand
fell on n latched door. / opened it,
and entered n long corridor, with
many windows on one side. Broad
strips of moonlight lay slantingly
across the narrow floor, div-Ied by
regular intervals of shade.
started, and my heart swelled; for
[ saw movement somewhere-I
could not tell where nor of what; I
was only aware of motion. l stood
saw nothing. sped across rne ngnt
to the next shadow, and stood again,
looking with fearful fixedness of gaze
toward the far end of the corridor.
Suddenly a white form glimmered and
vanished. 1 crossed to the next
shadow. Again a glimmer and van
lshing, but nearer. Nerving myself
to the utmost, l ceased the STEALTH
ness Of my movements, and went for
ward, slowly and steadily. A tall
form, apparently Of woman, dressed
In a long white robe, appeared in one
Of the streams of light, threw its arms
over it's head, gave a wild cry-which,
notwithstanding it's wildness and
force, had a muffled sound. as If
many folds, either of matter or Of
space intervened-and fell at full
length along the moonlight. Amidst
the thrill of agony which snook me at
the cry, l rushed forward, and, kneel-
ing beside the PROSTATE figure, dis
covered that unearthly as was the
scream which had preceded her fall,
1t was the Lady Alice. 1 saw the fact
In n moment; the Lady Alice was a
somnambulist Startled by the noise
Of my advance, she had awaked; and
the usual terror and fainting had fol
lowed.
Cl,n
DEATH What was to be done? If I
called, the probability was that no
one would hear me; or if any one
should hear-but 1 need not follow the
course Of my thought, as / tried in
vain to recover the poor girl Suffice
1t to say, that both for her sake and
my own, I could not face the chances
Of being found, in the dead of night,
by common-minded domestics, in such
situation.
l was kneeling by her side, not
knowing what to do, when a horror,
as from the presence of death sud-
denly recognized, fell upon me. I
thought she must be dead. But at
the same moment, 1 heard, or seemed
to hear chow should know whichD
the rapid gallop Of horse, and the
clank of 4 loose shoe.
In an agony of fear, 1 caught her
up In my arms, and, carrying her on
my arms, as one carries a sleeping
child, hurried back through the cor
ridor. Her hair, which was loose,
trailed on the ground; and as / fled l
trampled on it and stumbled. She
moaned; and that instant the gallop
ceased. I lifted her up across my
shoulder, and carried her more easily.
How l found my way to the stairs
l cannot tell; 1 know that groped
about for some time. like one in 4
dream with a ghost in his arms. At
last l reached it, and, descending,
crossed the hall, and entered my room.
There l placed Lady Alice upon an
old couch, secured the doors, and be-
gan to breathe-and think. The first
thing was to get her warm, for she
was as cold as the dead. covered
her with my plaid and my dressing
gown, pulled the couch before the
fire, and considered what to do next