Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1902-12-09
WHAT WAS 1T?

t~opSEs8nts ASVA. by Z. b. LeWiO.1
When It was announced II he cit1
q Mexico that three Americans ver
going to pass night h the I'D Pila,
mansion, there was great astepssa
nent. They were Han. Peters and
Townsend, and had wagersd q asnas,
that they would do this.
Many years ago the Marquis d
'Piiar built 4 beautiful house n TIKI
city and its duplicate In the country
where he lived with his beautiful wife
One DAY two people were found tori
TO pieces In the saloon of the country
house. with nnger marks On thei,
Threats. The whole country wa
shocked. but the perpetrators were moi
discovered. After that the Pillars wer>
gradually extermfnated.
Then came young heir with q
friend who decided to investigate the
place. The next day they were found
dung out upon the terrace before the
house, dead.
That was the last. The city had in.
vestgated, the government had inves.
dgated, the old place had been ran
sacked, thousands Of dollars expended,
but to no avail, and for ten years no
one had gone near the place, and the
story was seldom mentioned, but every
street gamin In the city could tell you
Ill about 1t.
At $50 o'clock Of the day Of the wa
ger the trio Of Americans were escorted
out to the grewsome ruins BY q party
Of half dozen who were to return in
carriages at sunrise IL receiving nc
word meantime. After q lot OF chaff in
regard to the coming dinner they shook
hands, the Mexicans locked the gates,
and the Americans picked up hamper
they had had filled, shouldered a roll
Of blankets and, with laughing adieus
went down the dusky avenue to meet
their fate.
At = o'clock the next morning the
same carriages, supplemented by half
a dozen more loaded with gay young
men from the Jockey club, drew up be-
fore the entrance, and their shouts
shook the heavy gates as they swarmed
about while the man with the key
fumbled with the rusty lock and looked
anxiously toward the silent house.
At the turn Of the drive in front of
the great door they found Han. He
had been thrown under the spreading
branches Of silvery green pine, and
when they drew him gently out and
laid him on the graveled walk his
heart was still beating. but his neck
was frightfully discolOred and his
tongue, black and swollen. protruded
between his teeth.
The house was found tightly closed,
and not until the authorities were sent
for could they force the door open.
They were locked On the inside, and
when the great door that led to the
saloon was forced the chain was in it's
place. as was the case with the door by
the mantelpiece. The shutters were
also tightly closed, and a small fire
still burned upon the hearth.
Peters and Townsend were inside the
great room-what there was left Of
them. But no man could say which was
which. Hall was taken to the hospital
and everything possible done for him.
but 1t was fifteen days before the light
Of reason came back to the bold eyes,
and at the first look the doctor knew
It was but the light before eternal
darkness.
The police and detectives had ex-
hausted themselves in their efforts to
unra vel the mystery, and company OF
soldiers guarded the fatal house. Then
came the day when the wounded man
opened his eyes. and the doctor saw In
their blue depths the glorious hight of
reason side by side with the black
shadow Of the unknowable. and, ses-
ing, kept his promise to notify the an
thorites.
The large room was bright and sunny
and very quiet. A dosen distinguished
looking men stood about small iron
cot on which lay q tall, blond man
with q death white face. Beside him
nat the doctor, who gave him IN occa-
sional stimulant. On the opposite ssds
ut a small table rat q notary, prepared
10 write. In q chsir ut the head OF |
the bed sat 4 gray haired old man with
4 srief stricken countenance.
Eyes; l remember what took place
On the night Of Aug. 3, 1884," replied
Tho patient when gently questioned
my companions and myself left The
gate after, seeing It locked. We went
down the avenue. entered the housA.
and after lighting some candies and
4 IRE in the big fireplace IN
The saloon, where We were to spend The
night, We decided to explore the place.
1T was quite empty. We found moth
Ing of interest We returned to the
room on the ground door. The hxe was
burning all right and We sat about
smoking and falling stories until about
1880. when we ate the lunch we had
along. After that We took one
more look about the room. It was OBJ
ong in shape, with large windows at
both ends. They had heavy shutters
inside and strong bars outside. Then
here was the door through which We