Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-03-30


the book IN the dark. But got nike
up with the specimen cases and had Il
strike n light and run the chances o
using up my one lucifer without ind
Ing the book That's just what I dii
do. My match burned down till !
scorched my fingers. but II iidn't ligh
upon any notebook, and after IL had gOn
out, Of course / was as blind as n bat
"Woii. / hunted around there fol
maybe five minutes lorger, and finally
got down on my knees and began Il
gropc around on the floor under the Ia
BILE. All this time there hadn't beer
n sound in the room except the noise
was making. But as l got my head
out from under the table. and straight
ened up on my knees to rest my back
there came suddn sharp click from
| the other side OF the room. II sounded
like the cooking Of a revolver.
1T startled me. and It startled me
pretty bad. l turned my head to lis
ten when there came another click, and
then muiiled sound as II something
were being dragged over the floor. II
was coming slowly toward me along
the end gallery. where there weren't
any windows except one about ten feet
from me; and of course l couldn't see
| thing OF what 1t was. / guess I'd
have run for the stairway, but I'd have
| had to cross those squares OF moon
| light by the side windows, and some
now uiun want 10 40 tflut.
IAN this time the thing kept drag
cling itself nearer and nearer and, by
George, 1t had a most devilish. un-
earthly sound. You can bet l wasn't
hankering to stay there and wait for
1t. either. l even thought OF hanging
from the edge OF the balcony and drop.
ping to the floor below, but | knew II
| did I'd probably light on a glass case
and slice myself. so / didn't dare try
1t. But for a fact ! was getting hor-
ribly scared, and pretty soon | was
wondering again why / didn't hurry
across that moonlight and make n bolt
for the stairway.
Just then ! heard n scraplnE sound
on the iron railing of the gallery.
stared at the place. and in n moment
or SO, there came n hand slipping along
that railing Into the moonlight not n
human, but skeleton hand. like a big
brownlshblack claw. 1t kept on NOV
ing, and the bones of the forearm be-
gan to follow IL out into the moonlight.
1 guess l must have shut my eyes or
something OF the kind. for when /
looked again skull was hanging there
at the edge Of the moonlight, about on
n level with the railing and foot or
go from 1t. Cad, what II sight It was,
j can see those grinning Jaws and eye
less sockets yet: and they're n mighty
ugly vision. | can tell you.
II caught glimpse of ribs and thigh
bones, and then the whole thing
seemed TO fall back in heap on the
floor, and along with the noise OF the
bones / heard kind OF moan. That
was mighty near the last straw for me.
l couldn't have got up off that box If
somebody had struck at me with an
axe But there wasn't much time to
speculate. The hand and the skun
both showed up again big as life They
got themselves braced once more. ana
gave. that queer twitchinR Jerk. and at
last there stood the whole bloomIn'
skeleton before me in the moonlight.
The thing stage there n minute sort
of making sure of Its balance. Then
II let 70 of the railing, took n step
forward. held out Its hand toward me
! heard noise from its face like one
bone era ting another. l staggered back
around the corner OF the table as far as
the wall. Then he came over toward me
and held out his fin again. and as true
az I'm sitting In this chair, l heard
him say Good evening" He didn't say
1t plain but kind of mufIled. as If the
words were coming through wooden
partition.
Now maybe you think 1 was tlckled
at this turn OF affairs. If you do. you
don't know your man: that's all. As
a matter of fact I was scared worse |
than ever didn't want to shake hands |
with the thing and wasn't going to. |
But he kept on holding his claw out,
and | was afraid to refuse That |
was the queerest handshake / ever ex-
perienced. or ever want to experience. |
/ don't think my greeting could have |
been very cordial.
HE motioned me to sit down on my |
box. and l thought I'd better do as he |
wished.
Now. I'd been wandering, sort OF un-
ever since the thing first
came out into the moonlight where 1t
was that ] Ind seen II before Just |
the n II came over me that this must
be the mound-bullder skeleton that l
used to see over at the southwest cor
ner OF the gallery, In a glass case / |
found that l had recognized him by n
big jagged hole in his forehead.
I'VE must have sat there on those
boxes for four or five minutes without
| sound. Then my friend hltched around
and began TO tell me who he was. He
had some trouble with his Jaws at first.
but they soon oiled up and got to rum
ming like steam engine. / couldn't
begin to tell you all he said, but l
that he told me that his
name was Seewala Sagoomba, and that
he had belonged to a tribe named. i
think, Mashada. He said he'd learned |
to talk English by lying in his box and |
listening to the students. 1t was then |
that he asked me for that stogie that
was telling you about and he smoked |
Il all right, too. Then he had a whole
ot of rag-tag to tell about what a great |
warrior he'd been in his palmy days.
Said his kinsmen had given him the |
title of 'Monee Tiklki Pr or some such |
name. ! asked him what that meant. |
and he said that literally It was Lord |
High Shooter and Almighty Howler.'
Finally he came out OF the dumps |
and asked me IL didn't have a pack I,
lt cards with me. Said he'd heard the |
talk so much about poker. | |
taken to the party, and | was only too |
glad to give them to him, for thought /,
maybe he'd get jollled up and let me |
go. So / took them out and began to |
shuttle them. ! had something else in |
another pocket, something that | had |
got for Bob. that l wasn't so anxious |
for him to ask for. But Of course that's |
Just what he wanted. the very next |
minute almost. said he'd like something |
TO drink; had some fool mound builder |
name for II. | unCorlSed Bobs flask and /
gave IL to him. | wondered anyway how |
he was going to drink with nothing to |
hold the LIQUOR In him but u bone |
frame. But he didn't have any trouble. |
not In the least. He drained off half |
of the pint at gulp, and he didn't
ir5zle down through his bones either.
IAN tell. ! simply know that II dsap-
He gave me the flask back and I
'orked IL and put It away while he had |
his skull turned In another direction
Then we proceeded to our game. |
wanted to make 1t seyen-up or some
peaceoblc game, but he was bound to
nave II poker, l told him we couldn't
play without chips and | didn't have