Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-04-05

u
| farther door, it swung open as noise
lessly as the other had done, although
it had been locked by Mr.. Lape. The
footsteps moved steadily and audibly
along the hall, leaving their trail of i'm
pressions in the dust. and went cd the
stairs. Mr.. Lape followed in time to
see the door of one of the bedrooms
open noiselessly and then close again.
The trail Of footprints led to this door,
yet when Mr.. Lape reached it it was
locked securely. He opened it with a
key which he had with him, but the
room was empty. There was no other
door by which it could be entered, and
the only other egress from it was by
the window, which was securely fas-
tened.
When Mr.. Lape turned to go out of
the room, he found the door closed. He
heard no sound of closing and had left
the key in the lock on the other side
when he opened it. He set his lamp
down and tried to force the door open,
but couldn't bulge it. When thorough
~ exhausted with efforts TO get out OF
the trap in which he had been cap
tured, Mr.. Lape paused, with the iuten-
ton of getting out of the window. As
he picked up the lamp from the floor
he was surprised to see the door slowly
and quietly open, and then he walked
down stairs. There he found all the
doors closed and locked, although he
had left them open when he went up
stairs.
Most men would have had enough
by this time, but Mr.. Lape had his
"dander up" as he expresses it, and
was resolved to see the show out. He
again placed the lamp on the table and
sat down by it to read one of the pa
pers he had brought along. His reading
was soon interrupted by u sensation of
intense cold, and at the same time the
light from the lamp began to grow
DINNER and DINNER. Not only the
lamp, but the fire in the crate began to
grow dim. while in the air before him
what appeared like Il cloud, with the
outlines of human form, was visible.
Mr.. Lape's attention was now at
tracted to the dog, which had forsaken
his position in front of the fire and had
sneaked to the farthest corner of the
room. There he stood with his back to
the wall, every muscle strained, as if
about to leap on something, his hair
erect and his teeth barred, while the
froth dropped from his lips. Mr.. Lape
called TO him. but the animal paid no
attention. Then Mr.. Lapes attention
was called from the dog to the cloud
like shape that was before him and to
which he attributed the intensely cold
feeling that affected him. From this
cloudy shape could be plainly seen two
eyes-eyes that were the essence of
maliSnity and devilish hate. The light
had grown so dim that the room was
by this time almost in darkness. Once
or twice Mr.. Lape said that he felt an
icy clutch at his throat, but this he
brushed away.
IF had betrayed the least fear" he
said. Il am certain I would now have
been a dead man"
This horrible appearance was in the
room. as near as Mr.. Lape can reckon,
about fifteen minutes. Then the cloudy
shape disappeared, and the figure of
young and beautiful woman was seen
sitting mt the table where Mr.. Lape
had sat. She appeared to be in the
deepest distress and groaned and
wrunG her hands in agony. The wom-
an sat thus for several minutes and
then. rising, moved toward the door
leading into the hall and vanished.
Immediately the lamp, which had
been burning so dimly, blazed up to its
natural fl me, and the fire in the CRATE
became bright again. Mr.. Lape then
looked toward the corner where the
dog had stood and saw the animal ~
ing down as if sleeping. The dog did
not answer to his call, and when he
walked over to it and stopped down to
pat it he found that the poor animal
was dead. This was all that Mr.. Lape
could stand, and he left his house.
Dallas Crume, another of the ten
ants, is Il nervy and original young
man who recently married and started
housekeeping in the haunted house
One bright afternoon he heard noise
in the parlor, and on turning he was
positive he saw the dim head and