El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-11-29
DURING THE NIGHT.
A Ledger Wakes and Smells Gas.
Nobody In the House and a
General Mystery.
By NEIL WYNN WILLIAMS.

By NEIL WYNN WILLIAMS. 3
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I 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 1 paid half
crown. The sensations that that half
crown brought to me were in excess of
what l had anticipated and strained
every nerve in my body. Yet 1 am not
q fool. and no one is in his own estima-
ton.
Twas a November day; the time,
o'clock in the evening. 1 was in Lon
don street and had just viewed to my
satisfaction a bow window in which
was hung up a. card with Apartments
to Let' printed upon it With the
knowledge that wanted a 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 flight of steps that lay before
me, krock, ring, enter and secure bed
for half a crown, paid in advance? To
my mind there was such a plethora of
vulgar incident in this that l remem-
Der the transaction but dimly. That 1
was received by a landlady (she was
middle aged, 1 think) and escorted by
her to a comfortable bedroom on the
second floor, that 1 was left there with
pen and ink, that 1 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 it to me 1 wrote several let
tiers and afterward went to bed-au
this is fixed vaguely in my memory by
its similitude to many another night
that have passed under a hired roof
Then there comes 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 whisper, to |
extinction A nervous feeling took !
pOSSeSSiOu VI LIE, anu, leu upon tne |
darkness, L sat up in bed and drew a
long breath to free myself of it's incu-
bus. What was there foul with the
night that it came so heavily to my
lungs? For the moment l was puz-
lied, but only for the moment, and
hen. half suffocated, 1 calculated: 1T
s gas! There is an escape of gasv'
With wave of my arm 1 threw the
,edclothes to one side and with an ca
ger leg placed foot to the floor. Then
stood up and hesitated. Should
ing, should 1 call? NO" l muttered
o myself as 1 reflected that it was
more than probable that the servant
would strike a match in coming to
ny room. Besides, the escape was
erhaps in my room. A step and a
rope would tell me. felt cautiously.
10; the tap was as it should be!
Then thought lapsed into instinct,
nd action supervened. / crept quietly |
, the door and, turning the key in it's
,ck with the caution of a thief and
the door into the blackness of
~ room, faced the blackness that
aster lay outside it. Gently, gently,
nth a hand touching a cold wall, l
rept onward and to my left. My fin ,
ers were caught by projection They .,
asSed it by and sank into a hollow
was a door. 1 turned the handle and
gently but distinctly through
ne now half opened door: Its l, Mr..
nipe, the ledger. Don't strike match. ,
here's an escape of gas The house is
ull of it Are you there? Do you {
ear? There's an escape of gas
No answer, but again the dog howl
d, and again L ielt a nervousness
ONE over me as 1 entered the room to
eel for the bed and found it-empty.
n and out of the walled blackneSS, to .
mother room and another-empty.
hen up the stairs, to right and left
nd back again-nobody.
Down and down through the dark .
ess, the ghost of light in hall glass,
With here a stumble and there-a STUN
Ie-to the basement, warm and odor-
ferrous with kitchen odors tainted with
as. Verify L. and only L, was In the
louse. Suddenly the dog ceased to
lowi, and heard the dripping of a
water tap-drip, drip, drip. And with
he fall of the water came to me a
Measure of time. and 1 thought again:
What does it mean, this empty, black
lOuse? Why is this sitting gas seeth