Condon globe. (Condon, Gilliam Co., Or.) 189?-1919, 1899-03-23
THE MUMMY
NECKLACE.

.hH HE mummy necAinc0 "01
Quaint, rough thing. more quaint
= than beautiful, yet with certain
picturesqueness, and an undeniable
fascination, alternate beads OF cornell
Ian ana gold. and two tiny hearts hang.
Ing from the three central beads.
My father gave It me one day. know
ing l had fancy for these out-of-the-
way Jewels. do not know It's history,
but was told II had been taken on the
neck OF mummy.
From the moment It was given me
its curious fascination oyercame me.
l wore it day and night. ! fancied y
would bring me luck. certainly felt
tiny soft pinches on my neck made by
the beads. This wondered at for
time but afterward grew too accus-
toned to them to wonder. There were
curious marks on the beads; they were
clipped of or indented. Here and
there were dark stains.
From the moment l began to wear
the necklace my health failed. grew
weaker and weaker, and at last fell
seriously Ill. Naturally did not dream
of connecting my illness In any way
with the influence Of my mummy neck
lace. on the contrary. chung to It
more and more, believing 1t to be tai
isman.
| was lying on my sofa one day, when
a friend. who had observed my neck
lace then for the first time. said. why
do you wear that? 1t isn't pretty. Let
me look at IT,"
She held 1t a moment and then shiv-
cred.
20. it's a horrible thlngl Don't wear
It. 1t will bring you dreadful ill-luck.
| believe those are the marks OF teeth
and the stains Of bloodv'
| i said, 1T bewitches me. can't bear
to part with 1t. and wear 1t day and
night"
Another friend of mine took a dislike
to II. She was believer in magic Of all
sorts. and was persuaded that the neck
lace had made me III and was prevent
ing my recovery.
"Yes," she said, "it has an influence
that believe-but for evil"
At last she persuaded me to let her
take 1t to clairvoyant. A certain cob
bier In a suburb Of London was the
clairyoyant we chose. He and had
had strange experiences some time be-
fore this, but, as Rudyard Kipling says.
''that Is another story"
I parted with the necklace reluctant
". My friend promised to arrange an
interview with the cobbler the next
day. IL possible.
That night fastened my pearl neck
lace on, missing the feeling OF the
mummy chain.
/ lay awake all night was not al
lowed sleeping draft and l had
coughed till ! was exhausted, but not
sleepy.
Towards dawn my nur1e shut the
door between her room and mine. re-
member observing the light coming
through the empty keyhole OF her door.
and each side Of my dark blinds.
The rain beat loudly on the windows.
lay listening to the weary sound.
Suddenly my wrist was seized and
violently shaken; the bangles wore,
hung with talismans, ratified and jim.
gled together. Another moment and
my throat was seized by tightly clutch.
Ing, strong hands.
said to myself: This is death, and
II ls terrible"
Still the clutch tightened. My pear
; necklace was shaken. Even then
thought: "The pearls will be scattered
Then the thought came swift ant
/. horrible:
. "He has come for his necklace" Gle.
/. The next flash of thought was, "ThiI
: is struggle Of thousands Of years age
: being re-enacted. Death is terrible. Il
! only could call for helpI II only
could speakr' But the fingers clutchet
/. my throat too tightly.
= And then opened my eyes and saw
!, a great gray formless thing. IT la,
: stretched out on my bed, and through
1t saw the light shining through tn,
empty keyhole.
Even then, through my terror,
n thought: "Shall be believed when
/. tell them tomorrow Yes, 1t must b
true, because hear the rain beatinI
!. on the window-pane all the time"
And all the time the clutchIng an,
, the struggling never ceased upon m
:. throat. l seemed to be so near t
y !. death that struggling on my part wa
: useless. 1t was at that supreme me
, ment realized most distinctly tn
> horror OF the great, gray, transparen
thing. AL my soul went out into or
for help to someone stronger than th
Z thing; and then It moved. It lifted
melted away into a gray mist-disaI
. peared.
!. Then I sat up in bed; lit candle
= which never dared put out again; oil
:. served the hour by my watch-betwee
- a and B; and lay back, stricken, e,
4. hausted, trembling longing for som,
= thing human to come and draw up th
. ]. blinds, and let In even the wet, dismi
= daylight, rather than lie alone with I'll
= memory OF my midnight horror.
y Two days after this my friend VII
J. y had taken the necklace to the claIrvo.
" ant came, bringing It back with her