The Afro-American advance., 1900-08-25

ing, gurgling sounds, however, eontin.
ued, and then suddenly she heard the
clank of chain being dragged along
the floor.
The thing reached the corner of the
wall and paused there for a moment
Then it emerged and began TO Greet
slowly along the base of the secone
wall, which would bring 1t within .
yard or two of the post of the bed. The
young woman got as far as TO hei
knees and remained there watching its
progress. There was no question oi
shrieking for help. She was locked n
with the thing. whatever it was. with
the key of her door somewhere in the
housekeeper's room, and the house.
keeper asleep. She knew. too. without
trying that she could get no sound oui
OF her throat.
"It shuffled down the second wall with
many pauses, but choking and gurglina
always. Once she thought il might be
some sort of animal. but as il passed
near the moonlight at the windows sht
saw that ii was not. 1t had rather q
horribly grotesque resemblance to Q
man. Having reached the second cor
ner it began 10 move along the thirt
wall straight toward the foot of the
bed. The young girl stumbled out al
the head to the floor. The thing pulleC
itself over upon the footboard and be.
gan to search through the bedclothes
Finding nothing it tore the clothe,
with teeth and hands furiously. The
young woman watched the process
from half way down the wall. She triet
to think what would have happened tc
her had she failed to awake when SHIT
did.
by degrees il seemed to grow calm,
er, and finally in turn crawled down
from the head of the bed. The young
woman could not tell whether it saw
her or whether ii could see. As il ap.
preached. she moved softly along the
wall. When she reached the corner
she proceeded down the next wall, the
thing following, until, with many
pauses, they had made the circuit oi
the room. Then the circuit was re.
peated. On this time round she hearC
a clock in some distant part of the
house strike 10. The housekeeper ex.
pected to call her about seven. Later
she heard the same clock strike one
Once she shuddered at the thought OF
fainting in the things path, but she
knew that she should not faint. She
thought of it's leaving the wall and
making for her directly across the
room. but it stuck closely to the base.
board. feeling its way along. The dis.
tant clock struck two. Then il seemed
TO the young woman that the Journeys
around the room were being made al
a slower rate. The thing paused often.
er, and longer at time. Finally il
must have stopped for quarter of an
hour, only to creep on a yard or two
and stop again. After that it moved
no more. The young woman stood
watching half a dozen yards further
along the wall.
I'm the morning the housekeeper un.
locked the door, looked in. and prompt.
ly tainted across the threshold. The
young woman still stood with her
hands against the wall. She tiptoeG
across to the housekeeper, dragged her
into the hall, locked the door behind
her, and went swiftly downstairs. In
the sitting-room she came upon her
aunts. When they saw her one of them
tainted as promptly as had the house
keeper upstairs. The other ran up &c
her screaming:
Mildred. what has happened
Then the young woman smiled and
began talking foolishness. They called
me in to see her within an hour. IL
happened that l had seen her on her
arrival the afternoon before, a brown
eyed, dark-haired, beautiful girl. II
was small wonder, therefore, that
was a bit shaky when i had been
brought into the presence of my pa.
tient. In one night her face had been
scared and furrowed as with the cares
and sorrows of three-quarters Of a cen
tury, and her hair was as white as
snow. incidentally she was suffering
from an ugly-looking case of brain
fever, and for two months reason, and
life itself, hung in balance that would
have turned for a hair. But four
months later. when she went back
home under the care of her mother,
her mind was as good as il had ever
been, and the lines and burrows had
been rubbed out of her face, and the
plumpness and color of youth was re-
turning fast. But her hair was never
anything else but white as snow.
What was the thing In her room?
Nothing in the world but a horrible
example Of public savagery and official
There was a poor-farm
some eight miles from our town, and a
miserable pauper, having gone violent.
ly insane, they knew nothing better TO
do with him than chain him in an out.
house and treat him like a dangerous
animal. You can imagine, or rather,
you can't imagine, the effect on both
his personal appearance and on his dis
ease. One afternoon be escaped, carry.
ing part OF his chain with him, and in
his wanderings reached the elderly
aunt's house, which stood open in the
midst of house cleaning. Attracted by
the GOODNESS inside he had crept up
into the old wing, where he had en-.
tered one of the chambers and hid
den in the great fireplace, and gone
to sleep. The light Of the young won.
ans candle that night had reused him,
and his journeys round the wal! were
mere animal instinct searching for an
exit.
They called for him the same morn.