Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1903-03-14


betty shd'frs hi khtingsefreet upon 7ny
lifel'a4ll bonot.of1r didfnot regard yia8t
affhfr axysfon ger as the one gf "a n5Safir
rfer which stosbd bet tween me and happi,
nessn afthqdgb he desire for exc i5aa;:
ti91, Yasks Than ever ,,orr,',. =
Wiss,.spFs Of FloTepcs , lpyev, nd
tfust, but l could not wish her sweet
selftainleed Iforeverrto one over whose
life rioodcf suspicion. kungs Her ioye
was an Inspiration IAN inseatiyes pader
its infuepse l hoped, to accomplish re
suits which even the, vast resources OF
the bank had failed in. 80 = y
To devote all my Thought, AT the
energy I possessed. to this one end -was
q o -Rl7s.c s1cfsg tsAsrs5.H
now my ptrpose. tfhst sma III nsyste,
rious events Svere arising vcitla their at
tendant iuritatiuus,l tirrestening Eto, <iis
vide the resources Of 1myTsmina and
body whichub desired concentrated TO
one end, filled me, with, impatiepce,
Then, too. the certainty that Horace
Jackson seemed TO feel that Florence
would be compelled to,fulflf her prom
Use, weighed heavily Upon me. why
had-JacksonTTchauged chis oopinion-rs-
garding my innocenee2 What devel-
opmepts had arisen which would throw
new light on the case, and make an in
nocent man Dear the consequences of a
crime he knew nothing-of?' So MS
just before retiring ii Occurred 10 me
that the lights of Mr. MorIeys house
might beoseen from the attic window
It. seemedHass Though sleep would be
sweeter after a glimpse of those lights.
some. of which were casting radiance
over Florence's loved form.
Tleft my room and quietly assembled
the stairs Arrived at the attic, |
grouped my way to the small window
through which L had gazed that morn
ing.a Istood; fora few minutes con-
templating the lights Of the Morley res
idenee, on the hill opposite.
A brisk breeze was piping down the
valley. Through cracks and crevices
it rcrept into the ola attic with soft wall
ing and fnoaninga 9Fherewas hemesick-
nessoir the mournful tones, and a sad
ness, as sthough rthes spiritsvef the de-
parted were signing for a return to old
familiar scenes. o..,.,....
What was there about my old place
that produced such depressing effect
upon my Spirits? ILF7ssoo Il -
The 'happsest homents of-Hfeahavel a
slightnshadow To thenlp rs though to
warn as that CaHsjoy is,feetinga1Per-
hsps it was only this shadow which
caused, the undefnable feeling of in
security. But there was a,qua1ity, also,
Which hreafhed4 of events 70 come Of
dife import I seemed like the rhaFfntr
on dark sea, conscious of breakers
ahead, and knowing-not which way to
steer. Even my dreams in the restless
slumbernef the past night seemed pre-
monitions-,l az s,fcr- y,.,,.,,.,
=, That vogue -f9rebodings should come
when my mind WASH Was ifi1ed with thoughts
of the beloved one Who had given me
herheart, was most strange. I could
not shake off the depression. The,dark-
ness of the attic deepened it.
1 was about to retrace my steps to
the, stairway, when sounds reached my
earwRich caused ME 10 pause and listen
"a series of raps; alternating with a
rasping noise, but so feeble and indis-
tinct that I was unable TO form en- opin-
Ion of the cause All Auld determine
was that they seem 10 come from
ASove.
S1N7 loose shingfeior piece: of timber,
rafting in tho svind. ywould hare made
a, dull heavy sound, while the gentle
raPs,I heard, had had, clear, mellow, ring.
like that produced by the vibrations OF
a tuning fork.
After lighting al the matches 7 had
with me and making as thorough an
examination of the roof as tho brief
fiickering lights wo-r.l, allow, / CROPPED
toward the stairs. y.o,.ty I....,r.-,r.
Probably half the, distance to the
landing was passed when upon my ear
fell the voice, the unearthly voice, the
weird tones OF which / had first heard
in my room downstairs. G." "ol
It could not possibly be heard up I'm
the attic, when speaking In, my cham
her, So thenrft must have the faculty
of being able to change from one apart
ment to another just as the whim seized
it,
Like the voice which had sounded
downstairs, the tones were intermit-
tent; in the present instance they al
ternated with the rappings. q 80 81
After standing metioniess, with hear
Ing strained to- the utmost. noticed
that at no time did the voice and the
rappings, sound together. ..,,,ar
, The few, detached words I distin-
guished had no possible reference TO
myself; nevertheless the voice seemed
to follow me- was unwilling to at
tribute the sounds to supernatural
causes, cfor nwasI not a believer in the
supernatural It mightsbe that the par
ties who had walled up the CELLAR found
s9me OF their plans, whatever they
may have been, upset by my advent.
and had taken this Way TO ffrighteh M
and cause my departure. 10 T4"s All
On 'secoffd Thought the idea did mot
appear tenablepa For Ii the purposewas
to frightem me. u q fiercer and more ter
rifXipg demonstration would be used.
4Was there only one voice which in
some way. sounded both In my room and
in the attic. or were there various Voices
ALI over the place. each independent Of
theSothef?z Dn- n Il 2 eYYys q 90