Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1903-08-18


ious TO do his duty. We all three con
tinued our progress to the fourth floor
Arrived in front of No. 222. we listened
intently. but we could only hear faint
occasional groan
| Hes nearly dead / said. The
manager called aloud. but there was
no answer. Then he vainly tried to
open the door, The night porter de
parted and returned with stout pair
OF steel tongs. With these and the nat
ural ingenuity peculiar to hotel porters
he forced open the door. and we enter
ed No DBL
A stout, middle aged man lay on the
bed fully dressed in black On the
floor near the bed was silk hat AS
we approached the great body seemed
to futter, and then it lay profoundly
and terribly still. The manager pui
his hand on the mans head and held
the glass of his watch to the mans
parted lips.
s.TIe is dead" said the manager.
"H'mtr / said
sI'm sorry you've been put to any
inconvenience" said the manager,
"and I'm much obliged to you"
The cold but polite tone was a re-
quest to me to re-enter my own cham
Der and leave the corpse to the man
ager and the night porter. ! obeyed.
"What about that manr / asked the
hall porter early the next, or, rather,
the same, morning. l had not slept a
wink since O'Clock. nor had / heard q
sound in the corridor.
"What man, sir?" the porter said.
"You know / returned rather an
grily-''the man who died In the night
No. 222"
II assure you, sir" he said, Il haven't
the least notion what you mean"
Yet his face seemed as honest and
open as ever.
/ inquired at the Office for the mana
ger and after some difficulty saw him
In his private Office.
Il thought I'd just see about that
man. began.
what man?' the manager asked ex-
actly as the porter had asked.
Look here" l said, as l was now
really annoyed; ITS all very well CIV
Ing instructions to the hall porter. and
l can quite understand you want the
thing kept as quiet as possible, but !
saw the corpse and was of some assist
ance to you"
Excuse me-" said the manager. Ell
Their you or must be completely mad
.sDo you mean to say" remarked,
with frosty sarcasm, that you didn't
enter room 222 with me this morning
at 3 a. IN. and find dead man thereY'
II mean to say just that" he an
swered.
"Welr'- l got no further. paid my
bill and left. but before leaving went
and carefully examined the door Of No.
222 The door plainly showed marks
Of some iron instrument
"Here," I said to the porter as de.
parted Accept this half crown from
me. admire you"
In the course of my subsequent trav-
els once more found myself late one
night at the Grand Junction Terminus
hotel.
"Alr. Edge said the night porter,
1--WE been looking out for you for
weeks and weeks. The managers com
pliments, and he would like to see you
in his room"
Again saw the youngish, alert man
ager.
''AIr. Edge" he began at once, sit Is
probable that / owe you an apology.
At any rate think 1t right to inform
you that on the night of the 9th Of No
yember, the year before last, exactly
twelve months before your last visit
here, a stout man died In room No. 222
at a. m. / forgot the circumstance
when you last came to see me In this
ROOM"
1T seems queer" said coldly, that
you should have forgotten such cir
cumstance."
"The fact isl he replied, II was not
the manager at that time. Ny prede-
cessor died two days after the discoy-
cry OF the corpse in room 222."
"And the night porter-is he, too, a
new manY
eyes, said the manager. 1.-THE porter
who, with the late manager, found the
corpse In room 222 is now in Han
well Lunatic asylum"
'Then you think" said, that was
the victim of a haliucination on my
previous visit here!'
"On these Matters said the mai
ager, Il prefer to think nothing"