The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1906-1907, 1907-09-10
A PHAN TOE


that should never quit it without 60
ing through strange adventure.
"supposing" rumInated /, ''suppos-
ing the landlord himself should be a
practical robber and should have TAX
en- the lock and bolt from OF this
door for the purpose Of entering here
In the dead of the night abstractlng
all my property and perhaps murder
ing me. thought the dog had a very
cutthroat air about him" Now, l had
never had any such idea until that
moment for my host was a rat (all
| Dutchmen are fat, stupid looking fel.
| low, who l don't believe had sense
/ enough to understand what robbery |
or murder meant, but somehow or
/ other whenever we have anything real /
| ly to annoy us land ii certainly was
not pleasant to go TO bed in a strange
place without being able to fasten |
ones DOOR we are sure to aggravate
Il by myriads of chimeras of our own
brain.
SO on the present occasion, in the
midst OF a thousand disagreeable rev
cries, some of the most wild absurdi-
ty, | jumped very gloomily into bed,
having first put out my candle, and
soon fell asleep, perfectly tired out
with my days riding.
How long lay asleep l don't know,
but suddenly awoke from a disagree
able dream of cutthroats, ghosts and
long, winding passages ia a haunted
inn An understandable feeling, such as
never before experienced, hung upon
me. II seemed as If every nerve in my
body had a hundred spirits tickling it
] and this was accompanied by SO great
r n heat that, inwardly cursing mine
, hosts sauerkraut and wondering how
: the Dutchmen could endure such poi
son, | was forced to sit up i'll bed to
cool myself The whole of the room
was profoundly dark, excepting at one
place, where the moonlight, falling
through a crevice Ia the shutters, threw
a straight line OF about an inch or so
thick upon the or-clear, sharp and
8 intensely brilliant against the dark
t hess. | leave you to conceive my hor-
a ror when, upon looking at this said
Z line OF light. / saw there naked hu-
man toe-nothing more.
For the first instant | thought the
: vision must be some effect of moon
y light, then that was only half awake
I and could not see distinctly. So | rub
% bed my eyes two or three times and
10 looked again. Still there was the ac
Is cursed thing plain. distinct, lmmova-
le ble-mnrbleIike in its tlxedness and
n rigldity, but in everything else horri-
70 bly, human.
Il ! am not an easily frightened man
No one who has Travelled so much and
seen 50 much ana been exposed to SO
:" many dangers as / have should be
~ but there was something SO unusual
In the appearance of this single tot
that for short time could not think
10 what to do, 50 / did nothing but stare
IN ut II In state of utter bewiderment
as At length, however, as the toe die
N not vanish under my steady gaze,
thought | might as well change my
tactics, and remembering that all mid
Ia night invaders, be they thieves, ghosti
or devils. dislike nothing so much as
good noise l shouted out in a louC
voice:
Nv who's there?'
The toe Immediately disappeared IL
the darkness.
Almost simultaneously with IN,
words l leaped out OF bed and rushe,
IA toward the place where had behel,
as the strange appearance. The next In
lm slant | ran against something and feel
in an iron grip round my body. Afte
ma this | have no distinct recollection o
lts what occurred. excepting that a fear
!. ful struggle ensued between me an
my unseen opponent; that every nov
aud then We were violently hurled /
In the floor from which we always ros
He again Ia au instant. locked Ia CeaC
a ly embrace; that we tugged and strain
IRE ed aud pulled and pushed. | In tn
In eonyulsive and frantic energy of
~ fight for llre he flor by this time ha
-. discovered that the intruder was a hi
man being actuated by some passio
70 OF which | was ignorant: that W
On whlrled round and round and rount
ate cheek TO cheek and arm to arm, |
OF fierce contest. until the room appeal
ed ed to whlz round with us, and that q
the last dozen people (my fellow travele
vas among theml, reused, suppose. by GU
.th. repeated falls, came pouring into til
- room with lights and showed IN
~ struggling with man having nothin
i'e' on but shirt, whose long. tangle
tne hair and wild, unsettled eyes told IN
Sho he was insane. And then. for the frs
i'm time, | became aware that had r,
eeiyed In the conflict several gashs
eat from knife. which my opponent sti
A., held In his hand
~ To conclude my story In a few word
- for dare say ali of you by this tim
" =. are getting very tired, It turned o,
nc that my midnight visitor was a ma,
Iiy man who was being conveyed to a |,
rom matte asylum at The Hague aud thi
the be and his keeper had been Obliged