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

The date was the 9TH of November
It was Friday, and yet there are PEG
pie who affect to believe that Friday i
not day singled out from its six com
panions for mystery, strangeness ant
disaster The number Of the room wa
222 The hotel shall call by the nam.
of the Grand junction Terminus hotel.
The Grand Junction Is full ever,
night in the week except Friday, Sat
urday and Sunday Every commercial
traveller knows that, except ON thes'
nights, IL he wishes to secure room
he must write or telegraph for it in ad
vance. And there are 400 bedrooms.
1t was somewhat late in the evening
| when l arrived in L.. On the spu
Of the moment decided to stay at th'
Grand Junction if there was space TO
me- 1t is thus that fate works.
l walked into the hall, followed by |
platform porter with my bag. Thu
place seemed just as usual, the perfec
ton of the commonplace, the business
like and the unspiritual.
Have you a room?" I asked tn
young lady in black whose yellow hal
shone gayly at the Office window undo
the electric light.
She glanced at the ledgers In the Inn
,,,d ,l<4, al, o1 amen xx-1,;ot, b,,
tel young ladies with yellow hair inya
riably affect and CALCULATED.
"No. 221."
"Pity you couldn't make 1t all twos,
/ ventured, with timid popularity. How
could guess the import OF what wa
saying?
She smiled very slightly with dis
tant condescension. Manner she de
handed
Edge"
In another moment was in the ele
vator.
No. pol was the last door but one a
the end of the eastern corridor of tn
fourth floor. 1t proved to be a doubt
bedded room. large. exauisitely ugly
but perfectly appointed in all matter
of comfort In short, 1t was character
istic of the hotel knew that ever.
bedroom in that corridor presented eS
actly the same aspect. One instructive
ly felt the impossibility of anything
| weird, anything bizarre, anything terri
Bile, entering the precincts of an abod
so solid. cheerful, orderly and middl
| class.
1t will be well for me to relate al
that did that evening. I went dow
to the billiard room and played hun
dred up with the marker. To shoy
| that my nerves were at least as stead
as usual that night may mention thai
although the marker gave me fifty an
beat me- made break of twenty cd
which won his generous approval. TIL
game concluded. | went into the hal
and asked the porter ii there were an
kilograms ior me. There were not.
noticed that the porter-it was the nigh
porter. and he had just come on duty
seemed to have peculiarly honest an
attractive face. Wishing him goo
night, / retired to bed.
At o'clock | awoke, not with
start, but rather gradually. / know
was exactly 8 O'Clock because the strih
ing of VIGOROUSLY noisy church cioc
in the neighborhood was the first thin
/ heard. But the clock had not avail
ened me- felt sure that somethin
else, something far more sinister than
church clock, had been the origin of dll
turbance.
listened. Then ! heard 1t again.
was the sound Of groan In the mex
room.
& Some one indisposed, either In bod
or mind" | thought lightly, and trie
to go to sleep again. But | could nc
sleep. The grpans continued and grey
more poignant. more fearsome. At las
I jumped out of bed and turned on th
light.
THAT man, whoever he is, is dying,
The idea. as 1t were. sprang at 10
throat. Only man who saw Deaf
by his side and trembled before the al
| partition could groan like that"
/ put OH some clothes and went ii
to the corridor. 1t seemed to stretc
away into illimitable distance, and IA
of solitary electric light glimneres
My end was d haunt of gloomy shat
ows, except where the open door a
lowed the light from my bedroom
illuminate the long. monotonous pa
tern OF the carpet.
| proceeded to the door next my ow
the door of No. 222. and put my es
against the panel. The sound of groaI
was now much more distinct and mol
terrifying. | called. No answe
Whats the mattery' I inquired.
answer Then tried to open the doc
but it was fast.
Yes I said to myself, seither he
dying or he's committed murder al
is feeling sorry for it. / must fetch Il
night porter"
! was compelled to find my va
along endless corridors and dow
flights of stairs apparently innumer
BILE. Here and there an electric Hg
sought with its yellow eye to pier
the gloom. At length | reached L
hall.
There's man either dying or We
iii in No. ID" / said to the night pc
4 ter.
4 is that so. sirs" he replied.
Il aYes," / insisted II think he's d
ing. Hadn's you better do something
IF you think he's dying. sir, III c;
up the manager. Mr.. Thorn"
iii DO" / said
The manager slept on the first fioa
! and be soon appeared, youngi