News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1903-08-19
4 HAUNTED WHEEL

know a thing about spirits and
things like that, but if you ever
catch me riding that wheel aftol
midnight | won't know it."
Thus did George Springwell vehe,
mently declare that the supernatural
had taken hold of his bicycle. The
tale that Springwell tells is certainly
a queer one, and one that is appar-
emily vouched for by number Of
his friends. They declare that any
one riding the wheel after 1890
o'clock on any night will wish he
wasn't. The sensations experienced
by such a rider are described as
startling in the extreme and accom-
| panied by manifestations that are
of the hair raising variety.
Springwell lives in a modest little
house on Lombard street and is a
clerk in one of the large dry goods
houses. He went to Buffalo last
July from New York and just be-
fore he left the metropolis he bought
a secondhand bicycle from a repu-
table dealer. This he took to Buffalo
and has ridden it steadily to and
from his place of business. He is
not what would be called a bicycle
crank, using the machine merely as
a means of locomotion between his
house and the store.
1t was only a few weeks ago that
he was aware of the supernatural
qualities of the wheel, and this he
discovered in startling manner. He
was accustomed to leave the wheel
in a small room in the rear of the
kitchen every night. One day he
bought a cyclometer, and with the
aid of the instrument he found that
the wheel was haunted.
He took careful note of the miles
registered on the little machine and
soon began to see that there were
small discrepancies, periods of ex-
actly three miles, for which he could
not account. Every night as he look
ed at the cyclometer he took careful
note of the amount registered, and
every morning it was just three
miles more. This bothered him con-
siderably, but he dismissed every
thing with the thought that the in
strument was defective in some way
or other.
But few weeks ago he rode out
into the country for the first time in
the evening. He took trip to the
falls, spent the evening there and
wheeled home in company with a
friend. He reached Tonawanda
about II o'clock and waited there
till midnight. Then he slowly ped
aled over the brick boulevard to-
ward home. He was somewhat tired,
and his friend, a man named Zeiler,
being more of a wheelman, was
about a sixteenth of a mile ahead.
Just as Springwell reached the
clump of trees on this side of Ken
more he began to experience what,
if his story is true, is something dis
tinctly marvellous.
He declares that as he was riding
along moderately he struck a chill
blast of air. This was on an August
night and he could not account for
the extreme cold. Then something
began to work in his throat. Before
he was aware he was a prey to a most
horrible and vague fear-horrible
because of its vagueness. Some
thing terrible, he felt, was about to
happen. He glanced from right to
left. Nothing could be seen or
heard. He thought he would call to
his friend ahead, but felt powerless.
Then, as he was riding, a power
full something seemed to suddenly
wrap itself about him. He could
feel cold hands suddenly seize his
hands as they guided the machine,
and he could not release them from
the iron grip. He knew that he was
in the power of some supernatural
monster and that the machine had
passed from his control. He wa
vered from side to side. The wheel
described curious curves and he
thought for a minute he was going
to be thrown to the ground. All
this time he did not have any con-
troll of the wheel. He tugged with
all his force at the handle bars, but
this did not deviate the wheel from
its path single inch.
Terrified beyond description, he
could not shout. He felt sicken-
ing sensation sweep through him.
He felt that something immeasur-
ably monstrous had complete con-
troll of every action. Of sudden
the pedals began to revolve with
rapidity that he declares was moth
ing shsrt of marvellous. He flew UP
the stretch that interviewed between
him and his friend with inconceiv-
able rapidity, some unknown power
having its ghostly feet on the pedals.
On he flew. His friend was passed
as though he were standing still