The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-05-01
TERRIBLE GHOST STORY.


TERRIBLE GHOST STORY.
A few mornings ago a little group Of
newspaper men were waiting for daylight
after hard nights work. and fell to tell
ing ghost experiences and other uncanny
tales in appropriate conformity with the
season OF the night and their WORKOUT
nerves One OF the group had none of his
own to relate, but drew out worn letter
received a long time before from friend
residing in distant state. The friend
was an old schoolmate, intimately known
for years. She was in every way one or
those painfully practical people. with little
! or no senhmentality. and no patience with
isms or any theories not compatible with
reason and natural accountability. Spirit
/ uansrn, clairvoyance. or any other idea in
the realm OF the psychic and immateral
! had no place in her belief. and she scorned
even to give them passing notice. For this
reason her experience becomes all the
more interesting and significant. The let
ter referred TO was written in plain,
| firm hand. and its tone was light and airy,
| even approaching the frivolous. In the
midst of humorous recital OF some re-
| cent happening to her, and in the middle
/ OF a page. the sentence abruptly closed, or
rather did not close. but instead the words
ran jumbled together. followed by long
uuiverng line, which finally ended in a
blot, as though the writer had been sud
denly interrupted and that. too, in man
ner that had excited and confused her,
as from fright. surprise or anxiety. This
part of the letter had been written late at
night At the foot Of the page, in lead
pencil and written with an unsteady, halt
ing hand, were the words: "Oh. this is
terrible! Please excuse the blot and I'M
tidy appearance of last nights closing
sentence; I could not help it. Oh. what
shall do, What does it mean! Ask me
no questions; not now. for I can never tell
the awful load of hourly fear which 1
carry, and which viii soon end in some
tragic form of death or what seems so in
fniteIy worse, the insane asylum
How TO account for this strange conduct
her correspondent could not tell, and the
affair was the more mystifying, since the
young lady was so matter of fact in tenn
permanent and unlikely ever 10 become
hysterical or a crank on things mystic
and supernatural Three times again
this same thing happened. Letters would
be received which began and closed all
right. then one would come in which a
sentence would he as abruptly ended, and
in the same manner as the first The third
time she vouchsafed some slight eXplana
ton After the hurried stop, she tried 10
say. in a scarcely legible scrawl: 'Oh,
good night: must close now. as It is here
again. and viii not leave me until have
needed its sinister warning" This IN an
evident attempt 10 appear calm \ few
weeks after, the correspondent returned
10 his former home on visit. and so
wrought up had he become that he had
resolved to determine the cause Of these
inexplicable actions, and If necessary con
suit with the Iady's relatives ard friends.
fearing she had already become, or soon
would be. a raving maniac To this end
he at once sought out the friend Of his
long gone school days, and his welcome
was warm and earnest Many pleasant
hours were spent in talking over old times
and "reminiscences.
One dark night the two started for 4
stroll through a by-laRe on the outskirts
of the town. intending 10 return b. the
home Of a mutual friend and spend the
evening. While briskly walking along, all
the time chatting gsyly, wsth much laugh
ter and joking. the girl suddenly stopped.
and seized win q fearful grip The arm
OF her escort. ct the same time giving
forth husky cry.
Her companion, greatly aroused, looked I
first in front. and seeing nothing. gave a /
searching gaze Into her face. There he /
viewed q s.ght that seemed % chil the /
blood in MS veins. Her face. oaly q mo- /
ment before wreathed in smiles an5 gay
laughter. vas now lv.d with TIE olancaed /
and 5.ood.ess tue q death Her eyes /
seemed starting from their sockets and /
were dry and CLASSY. The I.ps were tight /
IS drawn. in evident awful pain ard sup
pressed pzralyzed acton. Horror and er- I
eu.ss:e agony we're graphically portrayed i
on every lineameat Ct those tortured. pain I
racked features 4 low moaning escaped 4
as though Kissed OK u Fps that were I
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