The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1900-09-27

0 AAoA AcE journey, lOS1 no time In
undressing and getting into bed, and
once in bed it was very few moments
until she was sound asleep. The next
she knew she found herself sitting up
staring out into the room. How long
she had been asleep she could not tell;
hours, she thought, since there had
been no moon when she had gone to
bed and it now shone in her window
from well up in the sky.
"Then with a start it came to her
that she had not awakened naturally;
that there had been some sort of a
noise. She peered around the room,
but could see nothing alarming, and,
save for the sound of the insects, the
night was as quiet as the grave. So
finally she lay down again and in q few
moments was halfway in doze. Then
suddenly she found herself sitting up
again, her heart throbbing wildly.
Something was moving along the base
of the wall opposite her bed. As it
moved there came asseries of gurgling,
suffering, sterterous sounds, exactly
as though some one was choking. The
young woman clutched the bed clothes
and tried to pierce the darkness. But
she could distinguish only the vague
outline of crouching form. Thechok-
ing, gurgling sounds, however, contin-
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 moment.
Then it emerged and began to creep
slowly along the base of the second
wall, which would bring it within a
yard or two of the post of the bed. The
young woman got as far as to her
knees and remained there watching its
progress. There was no question of
shrieking for help. She was locked IN
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 out
of her throat.
ut shuffied down the second wall with
many pauses, but choking and gurgling
always. Once she thought it might be
some sort of animal, but as it passed
near the moonlight at the windows she
saw that it was not. 1t had rather a
horribly grotesque resemblance to a
man. Having reached the second cor
ner it began to move along the third
wall straight toward the foot of the
bed. The young girl stumbled out at
An N ha ~
itself over upon the footboard and be-
gan to search through the bedclothes.
Finding nothing it tore the clothes
with teeth and hands furiously. The
young woman watched the process
from half way down the wall. She tried
to think what would have happened to
her had she failed to awake when she
did.
"By degrees it 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 it could see. AS it 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 OF
the room. Then the circuit was re-
peated. On this time round she heard
clock in some distant part of the
house strike IL. 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 its 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 it seemed
to the young woman that the journeys
around the room were being made at
slower rate. The thing paused often
er, and longer at time. Finally it
must have stopped for a 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 dozen yards further
along the wall.
I'm the morning the housekeeper un-
locked the door, looked in, and prompt
" tainted across the threshold. The
young woman still stood with her
hands against the wall. She tiptoed
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 to
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. 1t
happened that had seen her on her
arrival the afternoon before, brown
eyed, dark-haired, beautiful girl. ! 1t
was small wonder, therefore, that l
was bit shaky when / 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 q CEN
tury, and her hair was as white as