Gloucester County Democrat., 1899-10-26
DURING THE NIGHT.
A Lodser Wakes and Smells Gas.
Nobody In the House and a
General Mystery.
BY NEIL WYNN WILLIAMS.

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| have an affinity for awkward pre-
dicaments, and to submit to what is
popularity known as an experience"
is. If not exactly my daily lot In life.
my very frequent fate. For the one
that ] am about to describe paid half
a crown. The sensations that that half
crown brought to me were in excess of
what had anticipated and strained
every nerve in my body. Yet am not
fool. and no one is In his own estima-
ton.
Twas November day; the time. 9
o'clock in the evening. | was in Lon
don street and had just viewed to my
satisfaction a bow window in which
was hung up card with Apartments
to Lett printed upon it. With the
knowledge that wanted bed for the
night and with the card before me,
what could be more natural and with
In the ordinary lot of man than to as
cend the fight of steps that lay before
me, knock. ring. enter and secure bed
for half crown. paid In advance? TO
my mind there was such plethora Of
vulgar incident In this that remem-
ber the transaction but dimly. That !
was received by a Iapdlady (she was
middle aged. ! think and escorted by
her to q comfortable bedroom on the
second floor, that was left there with
pen and ink. that ! called for some
writing paper and was waited upon by
q girl who said that she would ask her
father for some, that when she had
brought 1t to me l wrote several let
ters and afterward went to bed-all
this is fixed vaguely in my memory by
It's similitude to many another night
that | have passed under hired roof.
Then there comes a blank. which grows
into memory again with the lugubrious
sound of a prolonged howl-a dogs.
1t was dark, so dark that the cur
tanned window of my room offered but
the faintest suggestion of the fog
swathed light without. Again and
again the oppressive silence and heavy
gloom around me were intensified to
my semiconsciousness by the howl
without dying down to a whisper, to
extinction. nervous feeling took
possession of me, and, fed upon the
darkness. sat up in bed and drew
long breath to free myself of it's incu-
bus. What was there foul with the
night that 1t came SO heavily to my
lungsY For the moment | was puz-
zled. but only for the moment. and
then, half suffocated. | calculated: 1T
is gas! There is an escape of gasv'
With wave Of my arm | threw the
bedclothes to one side and with an ca
ger leg placed foot to the floor. Then
| stood up and besitated. Should /
ring, should | call? NO" muttered
to myself as | reflected that it was
more than probable that the servant
would strike a match In coming to
my room. Besides, the escape was
perhaps in my room. A step and a
grope would tell me. | felt cautiously.
No; the tap was as it should bel
Then thought lapsed into instinct.
and action supervened. crept quietly
to the door and. turning the key In it's
lock with the caution of a thief and
drawing the door into the blackness of
my room, faced the blackness that
vaster lay outside 1t. Gently, gently,
with a hand touching cold wall.
crept onward and to my left. My fin-
gers were caught by q projection. They
,.cee,5 IL ~ oud conk into a hoIlouy--
twas q door. ! turned the handle and
whispered gently but distinctly through
the now half opened door: ITS |. Mr..
Snipe. the lodger. Don't strike match.
There's an escape Of gas. The house is
full of 1t. Are you there2 Do you
hear? There's an> escape of gas
No answer. but again the dog howl
ed, and again felt a nervousness
come over me as entered the room to
feel for the bed and found it-empty.
In and out of the walled blackness, to
another room and another empty.
Then up the stairs. to right and left
and back again-nobody.
Down and down through the dark
ness. the ghost of light in hall glass,
with here stumble and there a STUN
ble-to the basement. warm and odor-
ferrous with kitchen odors tainted with
gas. Verify |, and only L was In the
house Suddenly the dog ceased to
howl, and | heard the dripping of q
water tapdrip, drip. drip. And with
the fall of the water came to me
measure of time. and thought again:
what does 1t mean. this empty, black