The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1903-05-22
NIGHT WITT.
A MYSTERY
downright. 1909, by O. r. Warner.l

Thirty VpHrS ago Il NlAoN u"A''N
ua,.,as living in a village about forty
= Iorfon dfsanpcared one
800 ..,,, ,,r Iva r,cad She
ave .''" '' r,o stona
0" H." XII" ""' a"
house DuHt Hu1iui'" HS"''
bought il, anu only Il po'I'o" y =
vas habitabie.
Here WAS a woman hio"H u! 'l7"'
at least to tour-hIll'> OF the '"" nspso.
pie. Sine HNeu Oh l"c "GS' "
did net seem 'i'"' S'l' 'o"'" rI
ed IA BLOCK without ~I''''''- q -
She was III u'F >I''''7 'o''l
o clock ID I'll" alieE"o'I, AZ '.'"' :
she was MISSING she i@," I''
for the Sireet-hau 10. ''i' tH' ioo'n' :
far rs me hi"Iu '""'" say
Yard mon WORKED al IHe III! 9'''| 'o'
SIX months before 'HSS 7"'' "P d"
despair.
SIX months aileI lH' N''"" "'9"r
peafahc1 Tue HOUSE, was = i'"' ."
though stories We're "IIe"u! '"'l,l''
mat IL WIS Lit"l'lv"' II P''0~ va
urSt taken ny " 7'o''t "T
hto" 10 '''1' "'"' "9 " lI
man Win PIeAl4 VI "''''' Il
er >lA weeks ItNi"''''e ~ ~ n'".' IN
nLoN'h Out ne l''" ""T'"
year l 10 Ho' h"o" """' 10y
nave loIa oiHe'S' Out Ut iNIoi niI' Nv
under promise Vi S'Sl',E 'u"t ne oe
IIeNeu the H"uSe ~ "t h""n',u'
II was no use 10 in'i0"'e nN' q
nlelllS, ioI Ht ""S "'
Inc TACT oi lis noN1n7 ou' pA0'0N
mat
1t was 4 year before any one eise
TOOK the house anu II was theh Naca'-
ed Tor good. Everybody no" hrhll!
oeI!e'ed IN the stories Oh d shos'' anu
though II was oAeFeu rent Tree 10 poor
people II" one "oulu nio'e lh'o It.
" Eeh II was put up III auc'loh NN'S'
there was OH! one ulu' aAu 81 no SUE
was ei1ected.
NhlIe ready 10 ADMIT that nan De
lleVed III the curse can lruthluils
declare that the stories reacnihs nle
from ume TO ulhe regarding the house
eGcIteu my contempt. for several
months before my oppor'uhlt! came
was anxious 10 pass Il night lhefe anu
see what would occur. House ana
GROUNDS had long peeh apahdoheu 10
tramps, but yet on certain occasions
these tramps had MADE queer state
ments about what had happened there.
The had been broken, the
doors torn away, ana the once me olu
uahsloh was u oau Wreck "heh l III
specteu IL one afternoon.
The only two doors left intact were
the Siding doors separating the par
lots Inc others hau peeh used lor Iuei
IN the hrepiaces. told no u OF my
intentions, out at lo CLOCK that night
arlleu WIN Il revolver canuie anu
matches. | returned TO the house ana
sat GOWN Oh the moo I'D a corner OF the
Oack parlor. Ihere was d doorway
etWee TINS room ana the dining room
anu one between lhat ana the hltclleh.
Ii was a warm night III summer, with
never a breath OF Wlnd. IL was as
quiet as a graveyard IN the house ana
about the oun You must not
think me bOaStful when | tell you that
l was not even shaky. / was some
what excited. but not at all nervous.
In the first place, believed that all the
stores had been grossly exaggerated,
ana, In the next, | was of the opinion
that some practical joker had a hand
In the business If there was anything
In it.
From 10 to l O'Clock nothing hap
pened nothing except my going to
sleep. heard the town clock strike
IL, and | heard the first quarter chime.
I didn't feel sleepy, and vet | dropped
off, and about a minute after | awoke
the clock struck l. The sounds of foot
steps awoke me. Some one came up
the graveled walk from the gate. pass
ed around to the kitchen door and en-.
tered. 1t was n shufHing. dragging
step. 1t passed across the kitchen
passed across the dining room. and I
firmly expected TO see a person in the
doorway. IT was not so dark but that
| could have made out even q rat M
one appeared. crept on hands and
knees to the doorway. No one could
be seen.
u-bi,o -