The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-06-24
HORROR SEVEN HOURS LONG
AN EXHIBITION OF COURAGE BY 4
YANKEE SCHOOLMA'AM.

1t Is said" remarked the old doctor. that
. person can't live and retain his senses In "A
state Of blind. animal terror for more than a
very few minutes at a time, Either Nature
will take refuge In her cyclone cellar. uncon-
seriousness. and the person will faint: or the
brain tension will get beyond the swapping
point and he will become insane; or the heart
will collapse under the strain, and death will
follow. Or any two. or all. OF these things
may occur at once. so say the authorities.
/ was Of the same opinion once. but I've known
better for a good many years. although I've
never seen a second case to disprove the rule.
Did II ever occur to you. when some long
standing record Of courage or endurance. or
the ability to bear pain has been broken. how
often 1t Is a woman that breaks it?
This was a young woman, q New England
school teacher by the name Of Mildred Wicks.
She had been invited to pay a visit to two ell
derby maiden auntS who lived on the outskirts
Of an old town in the central part of Virginia.
where l began the practice Of medicine. The
house was one Of those three-storied southern
colonial structures with broad verandas, and
futed columns the entire height of the front.
From the left, in the rear. there extended a
considerable wing which. in some former period
Of prosperity. had been given over TO guest
chambers, but which now for years had been
little used.
by some misunderstanding the young
woman arrived just a week earlier than she was
expected, to find her aunt's house in the midst
Of preparatory housekeeping 1t consequently
became necessary. until "A room in the main
part of the house could be prepared for her
to put her in one of the wing chambers, and
In ppo ~ fbnGa an tho tbirl pn,r ,ha ,,as Inl,,
Installed. It was one Of those high
studded rooms that have entirely gone out Of
fashion nowadays, even in large houses. There
was a great fireplace in 1t and solid mahogany
furniture Of a sombre. old-fashioned type.
The elderly aunts we're somewhat appre-
hensive lest the remoteness and long disuse
OF the chamber might cause their niece some
uneasiness. but she was a healthy young per-
son not given to nervousness. and scoffed at
the idea. 1t was arranged. nevertheless, that
the housekeeper who ordinarily slept in the
main division Of the house, should occupy. for
that night, a chamber adjoining tho visitors
for the sake Of company.
AT bedtime. however. an unexpected difl-
Guilty arose. II was suddenly remembered
that the keys TO both the young woman's and
the housekeeper's chamber had been missing
for a number OF years. and that the doors were
also unprovidcd with inside bolts. The only
duplicate keys were on the housekeeper's
bunch held together by a solid brass ring.
from which they could be removed only by
breaking or filing the brass ring. Leaving the
young woman's door entirely unsecured was,
Of course. not TO be thought Of. The house,
keeper finally proposed that she should lock
the door for the night from the outside. taking
the keys with her into her own room and I'M
locking 1t again early in the morning. Tho
windows Of the chamber being three stories
from the ground there was no possibility OF
Intrusion from that source, and should the
housekeeper's presence be needed at any time
during the night it needed only a few vigorous
raps on the wall to summon her. ' The young
woman found no objection to this plan. and the
housekeeper. after bidding her good night.
went out and locked the door after her.
Left TO herself. the young woman, tired
from her journey. lost no time In undressing
and getting into bed. and once in bed 1t was a
very few moments until she was sound asleep.
The next she knew she found herself sitting up
wide awake staring out into the room. how
hours. she thought, since there had been no
moon when she had gone to bed and il now
shone in her window from we'll up in the sky,
men WIN Il START IL came 10 neT mat Sne
had not awakened naturally; that there had
been some sort of a noise. She pcercd around
the room but could see nothing alarming, and.
save for the sound of insects, the night was as
quiet a. the grave, SO finally she lay down again
and in a few moments was halfway in a 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 a series Of
gurgling, sputtering. sterterous sounds, exactly
a. though some one was choking. The young
pierce the darkness, But she could distinguish
only the vague outline of a crouching form.
The choking, gurgling sounds, however. con-
Of a chain being dragged along the door.
The thing reached the corner Of the wall and
paused there for a moment. Then II emerged
and began TO creep slowly along the base Of
a yard or two OF the post OF the bed. The
young woman got as far as to her knees. and
remained there watching It's progress, There
was locked In with the thing. whatever II was,
with the key Of her door somewhere In the
h9usekeeIep'f room, and the hoasekeeePef
she could get no sound out OF her throat,
1T shufled down the second wall with many
Psuses but choking AID gurslins always.
nal but as it passed near the moonlight at the
windows she saw that 1t was not. 1t had rather
a horribly gro!esque resemblance TO, a man.
move along the third ii wall straight toward ward" the he
foot Of the bed. The Young girl stumbled out
ut tho head the. floor. The thing pulled
Itself upon over the footboard and began 10
search through the bedcothos. Finding nothing
II tore the clothes with teeth and hands furiously.
The young woman watched the process from
halfway 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 calmer. and
finally In. turn crawled down from the head
OF the bed. The young woman could not tell
whether II saw her or whether it could see. As
L approached, she moved softly along the wall
When she reached the corner she proceeded
down the next wall. the thing following until.
with many pausc5. they had made the circuit
Of the room. Then the. circuit was repeated.
On this time round she heard Il clock in some
distant part Of the house strike twelve. The
housckeeper expected 10 call her about seven.
Later she heard the same clock strike one, Once
she shuddered a. the thought Of f~ainting in the
things path. but she knew now that she should
not faint, She thought Of Its leaving the wall
and making for her directly across the room,
but 1t stuck clos NY TO the base board feeling its
way along. The distant 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 oftener, and longer
at a time. Finally II must have stopped for a
Gmar,"r Of an hour, only to creep on a yard or
more. The Young. woman stood watching half
a dozen yards further along the wall.
In the morning the housekccper unlocked
the threshold The, louiS woman still stood
with her hands against the wall. She tiptocd
across to the housekeeper, dragged her into
the hall, locked the door behind her. and went
came upon her auIts. When they saw her one
Of them tainted as promptly as had the house,
keeper upstairs. The other ran up to her
screaming:
Then. the young woman smiled and began
talking foolishness. They called me In to see