The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1904-10-14
CHAPTER V.

When / met Sir Edmund in III
morning / told him that my partner
had agreed with me to alter the claus
in the agreement though we had no
yet decided in what manner.
81 am glad to hear it," he said; amy
thing will be better than that agree
ment as IL stands"
Edith came down late TO breakfast
She looked pale, and said sne had
oversight herself.
"For the first time in your life, j be
lieve" said Sir Edmund. you did
not fall asleep quite so readily as usual
-heyP he asked, smiling.
~ could not sleep" she answered
but so grayely that / saw il was not
from the cause the baronet implied
the love that had kept me awake; and
then she added II have been terribly
frightened"
We looked at her in astonishment
and anxiety.
81 will tell you all about IT," she con-
tinued, because you may be able 10
explain what perplexes me, and that
will be great relief"
She paused as il to collect her
thoughts, and then said:
II was nearly asleep when ! noticed
sound coming from the window. 1t
was as if some one were rdpping upon
the glass-not loudly or quickly, but
softly, as though with the tip Of the
finger, and at intervals. / might have
counted twenty or !lirty between one
tap and the next. / took little notice
of ii at first, thinking Is l had left
the window partly open, il might be
the wind moving the Venetian blind,
tap-tap irritated me. l rose and lit
n candle, then | went TO tfN window.
The lattice was just as l had left IL.
The blind hung perfectly motionless.
l drew il up and looked out. There
was a gray mist everywhere. Not a
breath of air stirred; the flame Of the
candle burned as steadily as though
the window had heen clo' ID. let
down the blind and listened; there was
not the sligh: st sound"
"A moth on the ceiling" said Sir Ed
mund; they have worried me in the
same manner. Then you get light
and the thing stops"
Hold on, we amt heered the last
ON IL, l kin see" sad the Judge look.
Ing at Miss Lascelles intently, his
shaggy hroyg bent over his quick
eyes. ;A-----. - l+sssl-,-,ll lsis. ..,
~"FrxpIalned it as you DO, papa.
put out the light and tried to sleep. !
heard no sound for quite ten minutes,
/ think, and then again that soft, slow
tap-tap-tap came from the window
the same sound, with the same long
interval between them.
"It was not like the beat OF n moths
wing. 1t was like nothing but the
touch of human finger. But l tried
to think it was an insect in the wall
the insect that Is called the death
watch And | did my best to take no
notice Of it, but could not help hear
ing IL; and after n time l grew fright
ened, and the sound grew dreadful to
my ears. 1t became unedurable; i
could not lie there listening penslvely.
got up again and struck match.
The wick of the candle was slow TO
light. and during those moments / no
ticed the sound had ceased. AS / say,
j was frightened-very frightened.
And the unbroken silence seemed
more terrible than the sound. There
was something ghostly and supernat-
ural about il that brought the old ter
ror 1 used to feel as a child in passing
the room that is said to be haunted at
night. And just then the clock in the
belfry struck. l dared not 90 TO the
window. My hand trembed so that
could not take up the candle but l
looked toward the window. The first
thing that struck me was that the
laths of the blind, instead of lying fat.
as they generally do. when down, and
as | had left them. were opened and
turned edgeway-do you know how
meanP
she held her hands that trembled
with the recollection of her terror, one
above the other horizontally.
But the next thing" she continued,
and then stopped, with little shud-
der. while we who listened held our
breath-"the next thing l saw was
two great black eyes that caught the
light from my candle as they glared
in between the lower laths of the
Blind"
IL think | fainted-I must have done
30. for | was conscious of nothing af-
Ter that. until found myself upon the
floor. The light was still burning upon
the table. AS recollection returned 10
ne, l looked toward the window. The
laths were no longer open. but turned
fiat. Then il occurred TO me that all
j had seen was merely imaginative
that ii was merely n realistic dream
that | had gone through these expert
hnces in my sleep. My great terror
was gone. / went without fear 10 the
window 70 ascertain il the night was
rs ! had seen IT, There was the gray
mist; the flame of the candle did not
flicker. Nevertheless. when | look eC
down and saw how impossible ii was
for any one TO have stood outside the
window, | felt convinced that 1t Least
the vision of the two eyes was imag
inary-an outcome of the fear fel
when / looked toward the window.
lay down. again. and though | coul,
not sleep for some time. l heard n,
further sound whatever. save the chin
Ing OF the clock"
"Is IL not very probable. my dear.