The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1899-08-26

III Wv
Mamie was a ~ten-year-old girl who
had the good luck to be travelling
abroad with her aunt. They had been
in Paris and in Italy, and then went
to Switzerland to spend the summer
at a big hotel among the mountains.
Mamie enjoyed the life perhaps
more than most children would. She
was imaginative, and the beauty OF
the scenery around her gave her great
pleasure. Still, sometimes she felt
lonely and homesick, for her aunt and
nearly all the people she met were
grown-up, and lot very lively compan-
ions for her; and she often longed for
her brothers and sisters to play with.
These homesick feelings came on worst
at bedtime, and Mamie hated bedtime
for other reasons besides. Her bed
room was away up on the third floor,
at the very end of a long corridor.
She was sent to bed early, as all we'll
brought-up children are, and at that
time her aunt's room next door and all
the rooms were empty, for the grown
up people were downstairs enjoying
themselves.
When her aunt's maid had seen her
into bed, and said good night, n
shut the door behind her, and Mamie
heard Parker's footsteps echoing away
in the distance down the long, bare
corridor OF the summer hotel, she felt
dr%eadfully alone, and made haste to
get to sleep so that she might forget 1t.
She felt afraid, too, although she
did not know exactly of what; but she
would have beer ashamed to confess
her fears even to her kind aunt, for
she knew that it was silly for a young
lady who was grown-up enough to be
travelling about Europe to have any;
still, she couldn't help having them all
dering. supposing anything should
happen to her, how she could make
the people downstairs hear.
One night she hadn't beer In bed
very long when something made her
want to open her eyes. AS she did
so, she was startled to see a great
blazing eye gazing at her through the
darkness at the foot of her bed.
Nannie's heart went pitapat, and she
felt terribly frightened. What could
1t be7 She had heard stories about all
sorts of strange apparitions, but she
knew that these stories were not true,
and she knew that ghosts and bogies
did not exist. But 1t was all very well
to know that: she couldn't help feeling
miserably frightened as long as this
mystery was unexplained of the big
burning eye looking at her.
Mamie, shivering all over, and with
her head buried under the bedclothes
tried to reason with herself what II
could be, for she was a reasonable
little girl. She came to the conclu-
sion that she must have dreamt it
She did have nightmares sometimes
So she cautiously peeped u to sec
whether the eye were still there.
1t was staring at her as fiercely as
ever!
1t was dreadful! Mamie felt more
frightened than before, for she knev
now that she wasn't dreaming; she
was only too plainly ~wideawake! Sht
quickly took refuge again beneath the
b%edclothes, and racked her brains tt
think what she should do. 1t was NJ
use screaming out, for everybody wa.
too far away to hear her, and thu
thing might only come nearer and suf
focate her, or something. But the sus
pense was too agonizing to bear! Sh,
had almost rather be killed than suf
fer it any longer. Then IN inspiration
came to her. She said a little prayer;
20 God, please SEM that eye away, o.
at least make me brave enough to gel
up and see what it isl"
After that she felt better, and II
didn't seem to require so very much
courage after all to sit up in bed ready
to jump out-when, behold! the eye
had vanished!
Here was an immediate answer to
her prayer. Mamie felt delighted, and
down again contentedly, feeling that
a weight had been taken off her heart.
Lo! there was the eye again fixed on
herr This was too awful! Mamie
felt desperate. But surely, surely God
would not desert her in her hour of
need! Mamie could not bring herself
to believe that. After all, she had not
got up to face the danger; she had only
sat UP in bed. Evidently something
more was required of her. She would
make N more effort
Summoning all her resolution to heI
aid, and in excited haste lest her cour.
age should melt way too soon, the lit
tie girl Jumped out Of bed and walked
toward the eye. 1t seemed to disap'
pear as she moved. but she went stead,
fly on. until she was stopped by com
ing right up against the window Of hel
room.
Then she understood The window
was a long. high one. without an,
shade, and rs the night was warm