The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1902-07-29

me and being very close at the point
where they ceased. This point was al
ways the same, as I determined by
means of a small rug that lay diago-
nally upon the floor, rather awkwardly
placed as it seemed to me. Invariably
when reached the rug the footsteps
ceased, but the rug itself had nothing
to do with this, for 1 moved it away,
and the effect remained the same.
Returning, 1 was not followed. There
was silence, except for such noise as l
myself made, but always my invisible
companion was ready to begin the
course He returned noiselessly, but
with precision.
could make nothing out of this phe.
nomenon except that some previous
tenant had once walked that brief dis
lance under the influence of that pc
culiarly acute and concentrated emo
ton which has the power of register
ing itself upon the surroundings.
AS to what emotion had swayed my
predecessor in that room during the
critical moments 1 attempted to make
guess, but it was vague at first.
Putting my mind into a receptive state,
] perceived only a strong, confused
impulse, a thrusting forward, as of
one dominated by a fixed and desper-
ate purpose. Yet the man, to judge by
the footsteps, had certainly walked
rather slowly. He had hating gait
and stepped more strongly upon the
left foot than upon the right, though I
should have said that he was scarcely
lame enough to have it noticed in his
ordinary walking.
In the present instance it required
some hours of patient work to make
this invisible creature visible to the eve
of the mind. 1t was long after mid
night when 1 said to myself that I
could trace every movement that he
had made, beginning with the first au-
dible football. This, by the way, was
quite sharp and clear; it was the right
foot that had touched the floor. The
man had stepped out of the closet with
a considerable stride, his body partly
supported upon the left side, obviously
w LIS hlhd upOu TIC AllOU VI Tie OUT
swinging door.
All this heard, over my shoulder as
it We're, while pacing slowly there in
the night, and at the last, after l be-
came quite sure what deed was regis
tered in these family echoing steps,
began to feel a slight disquietude re-
garding the closet from which my in
visible friend always stepped out. This
illusion, by the way, was so perfect
that fifty times l turned, expecting to
see the door swinging into the ROOM
the hand upon the knob, the mans face
pale, acknowledgements the back
ground of darkness.
No such spectacle presented itself,
however, but when / lighted a candle
at the crate and walked toward the
closet with a definite purpose l beheld
the semblance of a dull gray eye look
ing out through what had been a key
hole, but was now somewhat enlarged
the lock having been wrenched away.
The candies rays struck fairly into
this aperture, revealing the eye, which
vanished instantly.
Inc natural reluctance Oh the BODY
not fear, but the mere instinct of self
preservation-held me for some sec
onds. Then 1 opened the door and saw
the closet bare, as it was in the after
noon. 1t had once been the half of a
passage communicating with the next
room, but was now closed off by par
tition of heavy and firm planks. Ger
tainly there was no mortal creature
in it.
returned to my seat by the fire and
arranged the facts definitely in my
mind. 1t appeared chat at some date
not to be determined man with dull
gray eyes and of compact and clumsy
frame, the more awkward because of
slight lameness of the right leg had