The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1899-07-11

than thought positively, that here was
evidence which destroyed the halluci-
nation theory, for / was In prosaic
health. i even reasoned unintentionally
that here was a flash whose first ap-
pearance would discompose a sleeper.
and whose second. when he had been
disturbed. would complete his awaken
ing.
Then began the most appalling mo-
ment OF concentrated horror that has
fallen 20 my lot. l am held profession
ally To have good operating nerve;
but TO think OF that brief interval even
now sends a chill down my back. AT
the time my eyes seemed-to start from
my head, and my hands were lifted up
in terror. Slowly but steadily the white
circle grew on the wall. There was
dark mark In the center. which gradu-
ally formed itself into the awful hand
whose writing pronounced doom. In
stantly the word-painting OF the Book
OF Daniel rushed into my mind:
I'm the same hour came forth fingers
OF a mans hand, and wrote over
against the candlestick upon the plas-
ter OF the wall OF the kings palace; and
the king saw the part OF the hand that
wrote. Then the kings countenance
was changed, and his thoughts troubled
him, so that the joints Of his .loins were
loosed. and his knees smote one against
another"
And even while these thoughts cours-
ed through my burning brain the hand
began 10 write. 1t Traced one fearful
word. and only one: "Tekel." Daniel
himself has translated that portentous
symbol: Thou art weighed In the ball
ances, and art found wanting"
The vision disappeared from my un-
willing gaze. and 1 was again sitting
I'm the darkness. How long | remained
comatose l can not say. Ultimately
lighted the gas, and found that IL was
$500 o'clock. The power OF thought
seemed to return to me slowly: but aft
er time l recovered my mental facul-
ties. and began TO try and unravel the
tangle. The hallucination theory being
impossible, began 10 look for "a physi-
cal explanation. i was still at IL i'm
dun kind OF way when the dawn OF an
other day broke, and then i began to
think that l could see a light in
double sense
/ placed table under where the hand
had appeared. and stood upon IL. Put
ting my eye about on level with the
writing, i looked out of the window.
The direction was not at right angles
to the wall Of the bed room, but inclin-
ed TO the left and downward, thus end
ing with a view of a brick wall instead
OF looking squarely into the garden.
This wall was the back OF a modern
stable, and quite blank, the creepers
planted at the base not having grown
up IL. Ii was unsightly, but il sug-
gested a further idea. No one was
astir yet. and / let myself out noiseless-
ly and made my way 10 the stable. BY
placing the loft ladder against the wall
and climbing up backward / managed
10 reach about the spot where my
glance from the bed room had been
fixed. OF course. TO look at the bed
room window nov it was necessary 10
turn TO the right and upward. 1t is an
elementary law OF optics that the angle
OF reflected light from a plane surface
is equal To the angle of incidence. /
roughly estimated with my eye an
equal angle again TO the left and down.
ward. The glance ended at the back
window Of the first cottage in North
Lane. \ smirror then, hung where 4
stood would reveal in the bed room
what was going on in the cottage, or
vice versa, and the distance was not
great.
l slipped back into the Whytes' house.
Ii was $50 o'clock and everything was
still quite quiet. went out by the front
entrance. made my way round 20 the
cottage In North lane and raped loud
ly at the cottage door, intending 90
get a peep inside before the usual hour
for calIers.After a protracted interval
was answered by surly looking man
half dressed.
lis this Mr. Smith's?" ! asked. No
better question came into my head for
the moment and l had foolishly gone
without one ready prepared.
NO. said the man shortly. "Tom-
kins What do you want at this time Of
day