The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1900-03-20
DURING THE NIGHT:
Fl Narrowing Predicdment.
b. Men Wynn Wuliams.

There's an escape of gas. The house
is full of it. Are you there? Do you
hear? There's an escape of gas--w
No answer, but again the dog
howled, and again L felt n nervous
ness come over me as [ entered the
room to feel for the bed, and found it
empty. In and out of the walled
blackness, to another room and an
other-empty. Then up the stairs,
to right and left, and back again
nobody.
Down and down through the dark
ness, the ghost of light in n hall glass,
with here stumble and there a
stumble--to the basement, warm and
odoriferous with kitchen odors tainted
with gas. Nerily-I aud only | was
ceased to howl, and L heard the drip
ping of watertap drip, drip.
And with the fall of the water came
to me Il measure of time, aud /
thought again "What does it mean,
this empty, black house? Why IS
this sitting gas seething around me,
and only me? All there is n foul
evil in the night-away and out, out
of the housed"
With n rush, / fought my way up
step and step to the hall above, and
CROPPED toward the dim light shining
pallidly through marrow glass win
dow above the door. 'Will it be
locked?" L thought fearfully TO my
self. us there not something fol
lowing on my track?" I turned the
handle and pulled it fiercely toward
me. The door yielded and I rushed
into the open.
Anything wrong, sir?" aud with
the words came broad flash of light
which, settling momentarily on my
face, dropped as quickly to my bare
feet and back again. Anything wrong,
sir?' aud the voice drew closer, the
light flashing past me into the dark
hall behind. Then the outline Of a
helmet and cloak doomed darkly upon
me, and ] found my voice in the pres.
ence Of constable of the law.
Yes; the house is full OF gas.
aud-they'ye gone. / might have
been suiiocated; perhaps they wanted
TO suilocate mo I don't know-I-"
"Wlo'yo gone? What's their
name?' the constable interrutod alb
ruptly.
"The landlady the laudlord-the
daughter. ! don't know their names,
but look here, constable, and ! pro-
ceodcd TO give my late experience"
to him in n wool of words
The man evidently did not know
what Interpretation TO place upon
either me or my story land small won
der, I hardly knew myself, but, OK
tinguishing bis lantern, proposed that
VIC research tho house together. This
We did carefully and cautiously. At
the initial stage Of orr exploration
we, or rather he, discovered that Che
hall gas burner was turned on full and
the gas issuing from it al n high
pressure ''Might have been blown
out by tho draught, suggested the
constable as he turned into the Sitting
room, which ] had already searched.
and threw open tho windows 10
swCctcu tho atmosphere. yes. it
might ] assontcd especially IL they
loft by the hall door, which, blythe
by, was unboltcd when j came down
stairs
But 20 make long story n short
Oue-thcre was nobody i'm the house
Not living thing, with the exception
Of dog chained up in the backyard,
which was suroundcd, so far as we
could see, by high walls This was
the poor brute whose mournful howl
ing had first aroused me, and that
now seemed frantic with JOY at the
delusive prospects Of social termina-
ton TO his gloomy reflections With
the discovery OF tho dog and the yard
our search ended, and the constable
animated TO me that he should sum