The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1908-11-30

No beseeching would induce the
Carolnian to reveal the nature of
his dream, but he promised his
friend to relate the whole of it the
following morning. The promise
was fulfilled when they We're joined
at the breakfast table by the con-
gresham, to whom was shown the
blood besmeared ace of hearts as
evidence of the Carolinian's I'M
canny experience, That afternoon
both young men moved out, the
Carolinian, at least, firm in the con
viction that the place was haunted.
To this day he has in his possession
that weird ace of hearts.
Coincident with the departure Of
the young men, a message was re-
ceived by the congressman, stating
that the Scotchman was i'll and
wished to see him. The request was
readily complied with, the visit to
the old mans bedroom disclosing
the fact that he was indeed very
i'll. Here is the story he related as
the reason for requesting to see the
congressman:
''As you know | am an old man.
For the last ten days | have been
sick. and | am now SO weak and
emaciated that | do not hope ever
again to rise from this bed. | have
little strength left, and, realizing
that it perhaps is a matter of hours
with me on this earth, l can no
longer bear the thought of passing
out into the great beyond without
telling someone of the awful life I
l. t,rG ,-r
years But let me begin the recital
with my own young manhood. | am
a Scotchman by birth and lived on
my fathers estate near Glasgow un-
til my twentv-fifth year. In spite of
the careful home training which |
received in my youthful days, | grew
up to be wild dissipated young
man, and was fast bringing dis
grace upon my honored parents
when, one day, my father proposed
to me that | go to America and
there make my home, thinking the
change would make of me the man
he had hoped for The proposition
was agreeable to me, especially after
learned that it was also the pur-
pose of a boyhood friend to emf
CRATE to America.
I'VE sailed together, each of us
having considerable money, and fin
ally drifted to Washington. Shortly
after the outbreak of the great civil
war / bought this home intending
to return to my native land and
bring back with me the girl who
could never discover in me the
faults so many others found But
could not shake off my inordinate
passion for gambling-the thing
took complete possession of me. AS
the climax to this irresistible desire
for the game of chance | invited
the friend of my boyhood days to
spend the night with me, with the
purpose of inveigling him into a
card game. He cared little for cards,
but agreed to play to please me.
i lost steadily for hours, the stakes
meanwhile mounting higher and
higher. Finally ! risked my all on
one lone hand; every dollar | had
In the world was thrown in the bal
ance and lost. The thought of
the utter ruin which stared me in
the face completely overcame and
crazed me, and drawing from my
pocket dagger | drove it to the hilt
in the heart of my friend. The
blood spurted out over the table
and cards, and he sank to the floor
and died without a groan
Realizing the awful crime ! had
committed and the necessity to dis
pose of the body to save myself, |
dragged it downstairs from the rear
room of the third floor, where we
had played, to this very room and
buried it under the floor. Not one
night in all the long years since
committed the horrible crime have
| failed to sleep in this room, with
in few feet of the body of my
ing that my strength was fast leav-
Ing me. and unable to withstand the
irrepressible desire once more to
visit the scene of my crime, l stole
silently upstairs to that fated room.
Upon discovering that the room was
occupied, | left it as quickly as my
feeble strength would permit, but
dropped to the floor an ace of
hearts, besmeared with the life
blood of my friend
No one can imagine the horror
haunted life | have lived since that
night more than twenty years ago.
Now, | beg of you not to repeat the
story of my crime until
The stricken man had sunk bach
on his pillow unable to say more
Within twenty-four hours dissolu-
ton had come and his soul had
passed out into the great beyond,
there to be tried for his crime be-
fore a greater Judge than he had
evaded on earth--Savannah News.
Winter blasts, causing pneumonia,
pleurisy and consumption will soon