The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-02-16


 of his, exclaiming. "I am so glad thai you have come back" sat down on the bench beside him, and we chatted
 pleasantly about my travels during the summer, and about matters in general | He exhibited no signs of mental de- rangement. So far as l could zee his mind was as bright and clear as. ever Shortly after noon. dinner was announc- ed. we went in and partook of the plain hut abundant and wholesome food pro- vided for the inmates of the Asylum. | R. apparently seemed recalled back to | life again by my companionship ate past.
 After dinner we took stroll through | the lawn. It was a perfect day. The | air was soft and balmy, and filled with l the invigorating odor of the evergreens | Innumerable birds filled the air with their songs and chirps. The oaks, the hick- | ories and other familiar trees were clothed with that golden foliage. which makes the forest so beautiful in the early fall. We wandered on in pleasant conversa- 1 ton, and before we knew 1t the sun was | sinking in the West, and the shadows | were lengthening. We returned to the | Asylum, and seated ourselves upon a l bench in front. The setting sun was con | cealed from view by the great building l stretching It's length many rods on each | side of us. but in the East there were
 banks of clouds. looking like mountains l clothed in a perpetual snow, gleaming l with resplendent pink hue In the rays | of light. We sat looking at them. and
 to soothe R's troubled spirit His eyes | lost for the time their restlessness, his l features relaxed, and for the first time | he looked somewhat like hiu,self.
 Presently supper was announced. Af-
 ter supper the supervisor or head nurse | came to us. and indicated to R. that
 he must retire to his cell. l went with
 him. and entered behind him, and the door was looked after us.
 The cell or room was small. but beau-
 tifully filled up. On the wall were some
 handsome pictures. and some books lay ! upon his table. We sat down and re-
 1t as cheerful as possible We talked
 of many things and incidents and he | seemed to enter heartily into the con | persation. At length we became involved
 In an earnest discussion of books--a sub
 ject to which he had devoted consider.
 able attention. He took up book. and | as he did so I slipped my watch out of 1 my pocket, and placed 1t open slightly
 behind me where I could see 1t without
 attracting his attention knew that it
 was exactly right. it was a good time
 piece. had regulated 1t that morning l by Ms chronometer. It was half past
 Il. Seeing the fatal hour approaching.
 I exerted myself to the utmost to in | terest him in the conversation. hoping | that thereby the crisis might pass and l the fearful catastrophe averted. kept my eye on the watch. The hands marked | a quarter to 12, then ten minutes. then l five. How slowly 1t seemed to novel At | last it lacked half-minute. looked up. | R. had volume in his hands. and was | speaking with great animation in favor of his theories. Suddenly. the book dropped from his hands. his face was | frightfully distorted, and grew of a livld,
 ashy paleness. His gray hair stood erect upon his head. His lower jaw dropped,
 breath came hard with a hissing, moan ing distressed sound like that of per- son with terrible nightmare. The most fearful were his eyes. They protruded from their sockets. staring at a foot no conception before of the horrors of fear. I was startled. frightened by the
 awful change In nirn. the more appalling from its suddenness. Involuntarily fol-
 lowed the direction of hIs gaze. until my eyes rested upon the foot-stool. It
 remained as before. There was no al-
 teration, but in my soul 1 felt that fl
 was there-the Unseen. the Unknown. tho
 Supernatural felt my hair rising on
 end could hear my teeth chatter. Oh.
 the agony of that fear! 1 believe l could
 have faced death itself as easily as be-
 ing there in the presence of the Super
 of shadows. which I felt to be therc on
 that footstool. there in the room with
 me, which could not see, hut which
 seemed to scar my eyes. I was utterly
 unnamed My limbs quaked, my hands
 were convllsively clasped and 1t seemed
 that my eyes would start from their
 sockets. I turned to R. His expression
 had not changed No face could ever depleted upon his He was immovable, stiff. frozen with abject terror, his wide open, protruding eyes still fixed upon the foot-stool. Oh. the horror of that night!
 As the moments passed the terror did
 not diminish. it seemed rather to in- crease. Time. habit. nothing could re- concile us to the presence of that awful
 thing. have suffered in my life. but
 but an infinite part of the agony of that
 night. We could not move, we could
 not cry for help. We were benumhed with fear.
 The most frightful nightmare that ever fastened itself upon the breast of man could give no conception of our agony. And there we sat. The anguish of the damned. writhing in the internal pit. could not surpass our own. The night seemed endless. The minutes seemed years, the hours centuries of pain. At length, the day began to break, and as the light increased we grew calmer. until, when the sun arose, we were re- stored to consciousness. My prayer then was. May man, made after the image or his Maker never be subjected to the horrors of that dreadful nightr' l went to the window and looked out There
 was not cloud in the sky and the
 birds were singing and chirping in every tree. l opened the window, and cool
 breeze famed my fevered cheeks. I looked in the glass. My. face was strangely altered. ghastly pale. wan, hag- gard. My hair, which was jet black the evening before. was tinged with gray. l looked at R. He lay upon the bed utterly exhausted, and apparently asleep. l sat down beside him. He slept, but his face was twitching, every few mo- ments he would start painfully and nut ter something in a gutteral voice that l could not understand. I watched his troubled slumber until nearly noon, then he awOke with start. Seeing me he elapsed my hand, convulsiveiy looked at me a long time. and said, :'Such hor- both you and me" I did not contradict him. for I felt that l could not live through another such night.
 He arose. bathed himself, made few changes in his toilet. not many, for he had not been undressed. We went out and strolled over the lawn in front of the Asylum. After awhile, the morning meal was announced. We went in, but ate nothing of consequence. The food stuck in my throat. We again went, out and sat upon bench. We said nothing for long while. At length. he said, T feel, now, that all is lost. hoped and prayed that your presence might scare | It away. or that at least you might l strengthen me in the hour of trial You are no stronger than l."
 l besought him to tell me what 1t was that haunted him in this inexplicable | manner. He then told me the following story:
 "One evening I was walking along the | street. It was about dusk, and q storm | NafhGFino nf mo ac