Passaic City record., 1899-07-29

Dou. l. uTeW UdCh tuo CuItaluS hAet
gently opened the venetians. Every
thing in the garden was absolutely
still, and pitch, pitch dark. Not a
sign was to be seen in any direction
of light of any sort or kind, and even
the stars were blotted out by great
black clouds. 1 turned back toward
the room. 1t, too, was entirely dark
with the exception of the glass,
which was still brilliantly lighted
| from top to bottom.
But, all at once, I noticed an ex-
traordinary circumstance. The glass
did not reflect the stove aad chair
which were the only objects now in
front of it. neither did I see myself
mirrored in it. On the contrary, I
saw in it only bed and in the bed lay
form-a woman's form. I could see
quite plainly how her black hair was
tossed about on the pillow in curly
disorder.
eft seems queer" said to myself.
with, must confess, very weird and
uneasy sensation; "deuced queer!"
J. should like to have done some
thing-turned on the light, rung a
bell, or, in fact, done anything but
what I did do, stand there rooted to
the spot, with fascinated eyes fixed on
that glass.
Where the dickens did that bed
come from? And who was the woman
in it? 1t was not my wife, that I could
swear, for her hair was fair and fluffy,
and that woman's was black as night.
Then, as I watched my hair literally
stood on end with horror. I believe
I was shaking with fright, for I saw
that figure sit bolt upright in bed, a
look of such wild terror in her face as
shall never forget-never to my
dying day. Her eyes fixed on some
thing I could not see. grew strained
and staring, in a perfect agony of fear
and horror. Isaw her open her mouth
as though to say something-to cry
out-I thoughtit was. I saw the flush
of sleep fade from her cheeks, leaving
an ashy whiteness in its place. Then
she threw out her hands with pas
sionately pleading gesture toward
something that was coming to her-a
very agony of appeal in her every
movement.
And at that moment there came
into the blaze of light tall mans fig
ure. He seemed to come from the
end of the bed, as though he had en-
tered the room by door Immediately
opposite to it. I'm flash of recollec-
ton I remembered third door in our
room, opening directly opposite my
wife's bed) could not see the mans
face; he was dressed in some sort of
dressing gown, and in his uplifted
hand he held knife. He paid not
the slightest heed to the agonized ges-
lures of the woman. He simply ad-
vanced to the head of the bed with
great strides. The woman crouched
back against the pillows, her poor lit
tie hands pitlfully beating against his
shoulder, but he seemed utterly re-
gardless of her terror or of her ap-
peals. He pressed her back-farther,
farther back against the pillows, and
1 saw her white, upturned face CLEAN
in the flashing light. I could see the
fearful, deadly terror in her dark eyes
as suddenly he raised the great knife
in one hand, holding the other over
her mouth-to stop her screaming,
I suppose.
But he did not, as I expected,
plunge the knife deep into her heart
No, he lifted the pillow, like another
Othello, and pressed it down, down
upon her. till 1 felt as if l myself was
being suffocated. Then he lifted it
up again, and laid her down, and as he
did so and turned away, laying the
knife beside her on the bed, I saw his
face-a dark, evil, devils face. It
seemed to glover at me out of the
brilliantly lighted glass just for Sec
ond, and then saw his every feature
the black, evil eyes, the hard
mouth, the low forehead, over which
straight lock of hair fell. I saw
how he lifted his hand to push the
hair out of his eyes-and then, all at
once, the light faded out of the glass
and could see no more.
! The room was in darkness, and,
sick with horror, shivering with hor-
rible dread, I crept into bed again. I
did not sleep another wink. I could
only lie and puzzle over the gruesome
thing had seen, and speculate over
and over again as to its cause and OBJ
ject. But I arrived at no solution,
and never in my life have I been so
thankful as I was that morning to see
the gray dawn steal through the We
netians and to hear the birds calling
to each other in the garden below.