The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-01-09

cottage mad Dtfn Standing empty {lIls
eight months. and il was a pity. Tor il
was a pretty tN~o-storied place. with al
old~-fashioned porch ana honeysuckl,
about i'll. / haze stood nan a tim.
and thought what 4 neat little nome
stead ii would make.
We'll. last Monday evening / was
taking a stroll down that way. when
met al empty van coming up the lane
and saw i pile Of arDet and things
lying about on thc grasS-pIot beside
the porch. Il was clear that the cot
lag- had at last been let. / walked
past il. and then stopping. as an idle
man might. / ran my eye over ii, and
wondered what sor. OF folk they were
who had come to live 50 near US. And
as / looked | suddenly became aware
that q face was watching me out OF
one OF the upper windows.
II don't know what there was about
that face, Mr.. Holmes. but it seemed
to send a chill right down my back. !
was some little way off. so that l could
not make out the features. but there
was something unnatural and inhuman
about the face. That was the impress
sion THAI | had. and | moved quickly
forward u get 4 nearer view Of the
person who was watching ne. But
as / did 50 the face suddenly disap-
peared, SO suddenly that it seemed
to have been plucked away into the
i ddl filCSS VI Tx IOOIlI- L Sbood - '
minutes thinking the business over.
and trying to analyZe my impressions.
| could not tell if the face We're that Of
4 man or a woman 1t had been too
far from me for that But its color
was had impressed me most. 1t
vas Of a livid chalky white, and WIKI
something set and rigid about it which
was s~hockingly unnatural. SO dis
turbed was / that | determined to see
q little more Of the new inmates Of the
cottage. / approached n knocked at
the door, which was instantly opened
by a tai. gaunt WOnan with a harsh,
forbidding face.
What may YOU be Wantin'?' she
I asked in q Northern accent.
a. am your neighbor over yonder,'
said | noddiEg towards. my house. I
see that you have only just moved in,
SO | thought that if | could be of any
help to YOU ii any
"'Ay, Wels just ask ye when we
| want ye,' said she. and shut the DOR
in my face. Annoyed at the churlish
rebuff. | turned my back and walked
home. All evening, though | tried to
think of other things, my mine would
still turn to the apparition at the Win
dow and the rudeneSS Of the III
| determined to say nothing about the
former to my wife, for she is a ner-
vous, highly strung oman and 1 mad
no wish that she should share the un-
pleasant impression which had been
produced upon myself. | remarked TO
her, however, before l fell asleep. that
the cottage was now occupied, to which
she returned no reply.
Il am usually an extremely sound
sleeper. It has been q standing jest in
the family that nothing could ever
wake me during the night! And yet
somehow on that particular night,
whether il may have been the slight
--~:4 - 49, ls-+1 IL
venture or not, | do not know, but
| slept muct more lightly han usual.
Half i'm my dreams / was dimly con-
sciouS that something was going on in
the room, and gradually became ware
that my wife had dressed herself and
was slipping Oh her mantle and her
bonnet. My lips were parted to muir
muir out some sleepy words of surprise
or remonstrance at this untimely pre-
paration, when suddenly my half
opened eyes fell upon her face, illuImi-
mated by the candle-light, and aston
ishment held me dumb. She Wore an
expression such as [ had never seen
befOre-Such as | should ave thought
her incapable Of assuming. She was
deadly pale and breathing fast, glanc-
ing furtiVely towards the bed as she
fastened her mantle. to see if she had
disturbed me. Then. thinking that I
was still asleep. she slipped noiselessly
from lilc foOIll- ana an instant later L
heard q sharp creaking which could
only come from the hinges of the front
door. | sat III in bed and raped my
knuckleS against the rail to make GER
tain that | was truly awake. Then I
took my watch from under the pillow.
1t was three in the morning. What
on this earth could my wife be doing
out on the country o at three in the
morning?
Il had sat about twenty minutes
turning the thing over in my mind and
trying to find some possible explana-
ton The more / thought the more
extraordinary and inexpIicable did it
appear. | was still puzZling over j.
when | heard the door gently close
again, and her footsteps coming up
stairs.
Where in the world have you been.
Eftie? asked as she entered.
She gave a violent start and a kind
of gasping cry when | spoke. and that
cry and start troubled me more thar
all the rest. for there was something
indescribably guilty about them. MY
wife a always been a woman of a
frank, open nature, and it gave me a
chill TO see her sinking into her own
room. and crying out and wincing
when her own husband spoke to her.
You awake, jack she cried. with
a laugh. Why. l thought
that nothing could awake you.
"'Where have you been?' [ asked
more sternly.
- don't wonder that YOU are sur
prised, said she, and | could see thar
her fingers We're trembling as she un-
did the fastening of her mantle. WHY
| never remember having done such a
thing in my life before. The fact is
that l felt as though l We're chokine
and had a perfect longing for a breath
Of fresh air. l really think that
SHOULD have tainted if l had not gone
out. | stood at the door for a few
minutes, and now am quite myself
again
\ he time that she was telling
me this story she meyer once looked in
my direction. and her voice was quite
unlike her usual tones. II was evident
to me that she was saying what was
false. | said nothing in reply. but
turned my face to the wall. sick al
heart, my mind filled with a thousand
Nenomous doubts and suspicious. What
was 1t that my wife was concealing
from me? Where had she been dur
ing that strange expedition? | felt
that l should have no peace tin