The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1908-11-30
THE BLOODY ACE OF HEARTS
Mysterious Room in Old Mansion
Had Been Scene OF Foul
Murd,r


Among the number were two young
men-one from Carolina the other
from Texas-between them fast
friendship sprang up as the result
of a chance acquaintance, formed
EN- route to the National capital.
Neither had ever visited Washing
ton, hence their knowledge of the
city was necessarily limited. Moth
Ing was more natural, therefore
than that they should agree to
seek lodging at the same place. tenn
porarily, at least. A modest but re-
spectacle hotel had been recon-
mended to the Texan, at
which they were for some days com
fortably established. Fire came
along one night, however; the hotel
was Quilted and the young men had
to find quarters elsewhere. At a loss
to know whittier to go, they sought
the aid of the congressman who rep
resented the home district of the
Carolinian. His assistance was read
lily given OF course he knew where
they could be accommodated in
deed, the family with whom he was
staying in the northwest would be
pleased he doubted not to take the
young men in.
The place was some distance out
but not inconvenient to the govern
ment offices. The house was large
roomy, we'll furnished and withal g
desirable home, in most respects II
had been built by a retired southern
planter of the Calhoun Webster
Clay era, who, having disposed OF
his immense holding of slaves anG
plantations, had come to Washing.
! ton to spend his declining days il
feast and luxury and to be near the
scene of the momentous political
discussions, which We're then we'll
nigh the all-absorbing topic of pub.
lie interest.
During the war the place had
passed into the hands of a Scotch
man, a somewhat mysterious man
about whose past and present life
little was known. For years he had
been the sole occupant of the house
but after considerable Importantly
had reluctantly agreed to lease the
three floors above ground to the
present defendants, retaining the
Easements for himself The house
had recently been repaired within
and was now attractive enough in
side; but for some reason, singu-
lar and unexplained, the Scotch
man had refused absolutely to al
low any improvements to be made
to the interior of the buildings or
the grounds, declining even to dis
cuss the matter.
furthermore, there was one room
in the building which, he announc-
ed must be little altered. This room,
on the rear of the third floor, might
be used, but he insisted that no
changes be made therein further
than necessary to make it habitable.
The room, the congressman added
was Immediately to the rear of the
one he himself occupied, and he
thought it the only unoccupied room
in the house. If the young men hes
itated to use the room because of
the Scotchman's singular solicitude
concerning it, they need not, of
course, do so. even if it were offer
ed them.
The young men had little trouble
in locating the place. but both were
surprised to find the house and
grounds even more desolate and fore
boding than they had surmised.
The iron gate groaned YEARLY on
its rusty hinges, the lawn if
such it could be called,) was un-
Kept and covered with dead leaves
ana dying grass, a marble statue
had fallen from it's base and lay
half hidden in the tangled mass of
rotting heritage, here and there an
old-fashioned flower, growing wild.
struggled for existence among the
weeds and briars and shrubbery had
long since failed to bear evidence
OF kindly care; the house a mas
slve brick pile, was old, weather
beaten, uninviting in the extreme,
and looked as If no human foot had
crossed its threshold for ages
"o'er all there hung the shadow of
a fear"
Once within, however, the trans
formation OF the gloomy outward
appearances of the place was in
such marked contrast to the CHEEKY
hospitable surroundings that all
thought OF the former was forgot.
Only one room. they were told, was
at the disposal of the landlady, a
rear room on the third floor; and
she would be pleased to allow the
young men to use it since they were
by her distinguished
guest. Did they care to- see the
room? Yes. There was nothing OBJ
1ectionabls about it, as both agreed.
though the furniture was OF an anti
1uated, out-of-date pattern. In one
corner there stood a small table
covered with green cloth, that ap-
oeared to have been roughly used.
Across the top the table bore num-
Der OF stains, the peculiar browpish
color of which suggested human
blood; and on the opposite sides of
he wall there hung the portraits
IF two young men, each OF striking
appearance, but of distinctly diff
'erent type, who seemed to be look
ng fixedly at each other. In many
respects the room was not unlike
many others the young men had
'een, and instead of being displeas-
I'd because of its somewhat quaint
md indeed outer appearance, each
l.