River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1903-04-23

covered from her faintness.
Mum and his companion were jour
neying to the North Cape, and as we
were the only Americans among the
present lot of tourists at the hotel
it naturally came about that we
formed little party of our own.
From Tromso we set sail for Ham
merfest, which is principally famous
for being further north than any
other city in the world. Strange to
relate, the harbor at this remote spot
never freezes over, though it lies
! within the arctic circle.
This open water is due to the gulf
stream and the fotsam of southern
seas is frequently gathered here,
floating trunks of palm and orange
trees, and tropical vegetation strange
to the northern fora.
Soon / began to suspect that Hor-
ace Mum had second rival in the
field quite as formidable as Barrister
had been. This was Edward Tarking-
ton.
On our return to Hammerfest,
Harrington was compelled to remain
some little time on business, out
promised to join US later, so Mum
was once more left a clear field, eX-
ceDt for certain letters that came
with commendable regularity to Dull
cimer-at least, for some weeks they
came, then suddenly ceased, and
noticed a troubled look on Dulcimer,s
face.
Rv Christmas we were settled in
Florence, and my wife renewed her
hopes regarding Horace Munn's suit.
lie was surely a persistent wooer.
at all depends on the Christmas
ghost,'" declared my wife to me, in
private. "She will reject Horace
Mum if it appears. Of course, it ex-
lists only in her Imagination, so let
us do all we can to keep her mind
on more pleasant subjects. If we can
manage to tide over this especial
night all will yet end well.'
On Christmas day we haunted the
shops to see the holiday displays, and
at night attended the theater, as
! guests of Horace Mum, then after
! a quiet little supper went to our no.
! tel.
Shortly after midnight a cry of
alarm from Dulcimer's room brought
us there. She stood in the doorway
the embodiment of consternation
holding some strange object which
she thrust in my hands, then dropped
in a swoon at our feet.
On bringing her to consciousness,
little by little, we gathered the story
of her dismay. She had abruptly
awakened out of a deep sleep to find
the figure of a man standing by her
bedside. Thinking that burglar had
gained entrance to her room, she
screamed, then she remembered that
it was Christmas night, and knew
that her ghostly visitant had once
more appeared.
At the sound of her voice the mys-
terious figure leaned over the bed
and placed some object in her hands.
then seemed to disappear through
| the window.
In confrmatio of her story, she
! showed the ghostly gift as a tangi-
BILE proof. 1t was a small flask, wick
er-covered, it's metal top cankered,
encrusted, it's neck covered with a
fringe of dried seaweed and small
clinging shells, as if gathered in a
long voyage over many leagues OF
ocean-the flask that Dulcimer had
seen twice before when the ghostly
visitant appeared to her.
As / examined the article carefully
the knowledge slowly dawned on me
that it was my very own flask, once
filed with orange wine, which [ had
given to David Barrister long months
before in Florida, on the fatal morn.
ing he had gone forth, never to re-
turn.
When the cankered stopper was re
moved a small roll about the thick.
ness of a lead pencil fell from the
flask. 1t proved to be visiting caro-
rolled in oiled paper, while on it was
written these words, now scarcely
legible:
The boat has been tempered with
and is sinking. Mum caused it. He
knows / cannot swim, and has left
me to my fate. | trust this message
to the waves. My last thoughts, Dull
elmer, are of you"
Mechanically, l turned the card
over. On the other side was the en-
graved name-David Barrister.
Not until several months later was
the mystery of the strange recovery
of my wicker flask made clear. On
their bridal trip Edward Harrington
told Dulcimer that he had bought it
of a fisherman who had picked it up
the past fishing season.
Harrington, fully alive to the mean
ing of the recovered flask, and also
suspecting treachery on Munns part
in his own case, set out to find us,
and only succeeded in locating our
party at Florence on Christmas
night. The room given him was next
to Dulcimer's at the hotel He had
been somnambuist since early boy
hood, and on this Christmas night.
filled with doubts as to what course
he should pursue in regard to this
silent witness of a rivals villainy-
Il witness that had been strangely
drawn over countless miles by the
forces of mysterious phenomena. to
give testimony within the arctic cir
Gle itself of a deed committed long
months before on semi-tropic seas
Harrington had arisen in his sleep.
made his way from one balcony to
another, and finding the window of
| Dulcimer'S room unfaStened, had