The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-09-15
THE SECRET OF
 THE CELLAR
BY ANITA sHLvANI.

l ID ANAAA ANFAANAs
 Copyright, 1905, by Daily Story Pub Company) ..
 did not like the house. The very first time I saw 1t I felt d creepy, un- eanny feeling and if I had visited fl alone we would never have taken 1t But George was with me and he liked the house. and we had house-hunted i till I was weary. could find out nothing against the house. so we moved in.
 Then I wished we had never seen the place? l could not tell. I only knew that as night came and the dusk gathered in the corners of the room I began to feel creepy sensation, a horrid. crawly, creepy feeling as though all my flesh was being drawn upon by the action Uf gigantic sucker which envolved me with a fllmy cob web like materiality. 1t was as | though my life was sucked away from me by the capillary attraction of a giant octopus ghost.
 George laughed at me and prescribed gardening in the open air. and truly 1t was a relief to stay out of doors. Tn my own little sewing room the feel- Ing was worst of all. although 1t was light room with three windows. Strange also that the children, Malsie. '. and Harry. years old, be- gan to droop and fade like flowers withering on their stems. They got languid and did not care to play and wanted to lie down and sleep contin- uaIly and I would find one or other of them in 0 sort Of half stupor rather than natural sleep at all sorts of hours, and always lying outside lit tie iron grating like ventilator which was on the shady side of my sewing TnS f,skr 1f Ia ton, the one dark side of the house a nasty, damp-looklng place.
 They would stare at me stupidly and say they did not know why they went there. and Maisie, bright child usual ly, added that she felt as if long hand as long as a rope drew them there and held them till they fell asleep.
 l hardly knew whether to be angry or alarmed, 1t all seemed so intangi- ble and foolish; yet that was just how felt when I sat long in my sewing room.
 When tried to tell George how pale the children were he got angry and said had started that foolish idea before we entered the house and that I was losing my wits and making the children H.
 Two nights after that I was awak- ened from a dreadful dream Of being wrapped in the coils Of a boa con- strictor, to find George struggling like man in a fit and fighting with his arms as if trying to free himself just as had been doing in my dream. His eyes were starting out of his head and hls face was lived.
 "Clara! Help mel" he gasped. 'Oh, Lord! Help me to shake off the ghastly thingl"
 TO spring from bed and throw open the window and the door was the work Of 6 moment. but even as 1 did so I seemed to break through some nlmy rope, elastic and yielding, yet powerful as steel wire. Then i seized the water jug and emptied 1t over George. scarcely knew why. except that l wanted to rouse him.
 Then the chifdren! 4 thrill of fear passed through me. and I rushed to their room.
 The moon shone into the room and showed me the two little beds and both children asleep. but surely in no natural sleep. for their Iimbs were drawn up and twisted and their heads hung over the side of the bed. could mt aropse eithsr. though Maisie gaye