The Bossier banner., 1899-11-09
BENTON LOUISIANA, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER y 1899


he's dead" !
The Taylor house, two-story white
cottage, stood Oft by itself just at the
edge of the town limits. On one side
was an uneven looking hedge fence, |
forming the boundary line between the
Taylor and the Brownson lands. A few |
tail willow trees grew so close to the
house that their branches touched and
scraped upon the roof as they swayed
back and forth by the breeze from
the prairie.
1t was about ten o'clock when I
opened the front door and found my
way through the hall by the aid of a
lighted match. There were no curtains
on the windows, and as assembled the
stairs l could see through, into the
empty rooms, where the moonlight
formed fantastic figures on the bare
floors as it fiickered in through the
branches of the trees outside
AS stepped on the uncarpeted stairs
they creaked, and gave out hollow
sound which echoed throughout the
house until it mingled with the noise
made by the doors and windows as they
were shaken and ratified by the wind
When 1 reached the front room up
stairs I lighted the lamp. brought over
from the hotel by Jane in the morning,
and with cool bravery proceeded to take
survey of the place. | calmly took
note of the size and shape of the room
which had been the scene of the aw-
full dependency and grim despair
which resulted in the self-destruction
of old man Taylor.
There was evidence on all sides of
his occupancy. In one corner stood his
blackthorn cane, in another an an
tique sword. On the wall. near the bed,
hung a picture of his dead wife. His
large, old-fashioned armchair was
drawn up alongside marble-top CEN
ter table. on which now rested the lamp
which had just lighted. The very at
mosphere seemed pervaded with his
presence.
fell to speculating on the awful deed
and to wondering what were his seGsa-
tons when he tied the fatal rope about
his neck and dropped to death. ! took
late paper from my pocket and settled
| myself to read, but the image of the dis
| torted features of the suicide repeated
| ly came between my eyes and the print
ed page.
II am nervous" muttered, as flung
the paper aside, then partially undress-
ing I threw myself on the bed, first TAX
ing the precaution to place my revolver
close at hand.
The windows continued to rattle omi-
nously, the doors to slam, and at fire.
quent intervals the wind came beating
the tops of the trees vigorously against
the roof, moaning dismally as it died
away in the distance.
l tried in vain to sleep. | counted uI
to so, and then on to 100. Iconjured uI
images of sheep jumping over fences;
had recourse to different eNpedients o.
the wakeful in their efforts to WOO
slumber, but without success.
Sometimes my nerves would be SCI
vibrating by the loud, shrill whistle O
passing locomotive, as it whirle(
through the town, and then again thu
wind would resume its furious tirad'
with the gables of the house.
""Tis strange" / said to myself, :"
have slept soundly at hotels in the mids
of the most populous districts of crowd
ed cities, with the din of the stree
traffic in my ears, and yet here, in thi
lonely old house, with no sound to dis
turb me, save that made by the BLOWN!
of an ordinary prairie wind, | find sleel
/ utterly impossible
: I was tempted to get up and retur1
to the hotel, but was restrained by tn
: thought that such an act would be
weak acknowledgment on my part Q
i the truth of the stories in circulatio
| about the house, and which | had S
t ridiculed.
A few strange chickens were roostin
t ON the branches of the tree near my wiz
: dow, and their occasional futterin
t was welcome, as it seemed companion
1 able.
e At last, thol oughly exhausted froI
f tossing about, l began to doze little
D but suddenly / awoke with a start.
n opened my eyes and looked directly i
t front of me. / kept my eyes securel
| fastened on an object standing at tn
= foot of the bed. The form was that {
n a man with ghastly, pallid face, an
: long. white beard. About him we
f thrown what seemed to me shrolr
+ such as that in which Hamlet's de. 2'ts
4 sire was wont to parade when maxim
t night hideous; but the other was whit
n like his beard. I tried to speak,
II move; both were impossible. | SCENE
to feel all my senses slowly ebbing ava
e as l gazed. My faculties became mum
a and frozen; / was trembling with fe;
e in every member. had my hand clio:
n to my revolver, but l was powerless
It move it.
/ now became seized with horrib
o superstitious dread. My heart cease
e. to beat, my blood congealed in II
s veins; / was almost as one in death.
lie My eyes neTer ceased for one insta:
to keep fastened On the apparitit
/. which. immo.able for SO long a time,