Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1908-01-28
CHAPTER XIV.
.EN O'Clock that night found Kin
ross in the haunted bedcham
ber. He had come to the room

Der. lie W
i without further permission
from Mrs. Morningstar than the reluc-
tant half consent he had extracted
from her at noon. The subject had lot
been broached between them again,
so he had taken the law into his own
hands. and soon after the family re-
tired he carried his kerosene lamp
down the long corridor which cut on
the haunted part from the rest of the
house and reached the fatal room.
He was relieved to find that the door
was not locked. Once across the
threshold he did not even glance about
him until he had carefully closed the
door behind him. Then, turning. he
raised high his lamp.
The ghost herself, If she appeared in
the course Of his vigil, would not give
him a greater shock Of surprise than
he received rs his eye fell upon the op-
posite wall Of the room. The last thing
he would have expected TO find IN the
vicinity OF the Morningstar farm con-
fronted hinl-a bookcase filed with
books, little library of classics. TO.
even across the width Of the room he
could read the gilt lettered names.
Shakespeare, Milton, Spenser, Eliot.
Browning and the rest.
The rest of the room-a bedchamber
furnished in handsome old mahogany
was not in any way noteworthy save
that there was something in its gcner-
al aspect which seemed TO give evil
dence of higher grade of people than
the Morningstars. There was nothing
sufficiently grewsome about it, ut leas
In the matter OF Its appointments. to
suggest either murder or ghost.
True, he felt an atmosphere Of uncan'
niness about the place hard TO accoun:
for except on the theory that his I'm
agination, filled with the account %!
the deed of horror these walls had
witnessed, colored the room with all
the somberness of the tale.
He walked across the floor and, plac-
ing his lamp on the top of low shelf.
plunged into an examination Of the
bookshelves.
There were the novels Of Scott, Du'
mas. Dickens. Thackcray. George Elio;
and Charlotte Bron:e. the ta'es o.
Poe, Macau,a.y's "Englanl,' Gibbons
"Rome," Carlyle's French Rerolu'
tion," the plays Of Shakespeare. many
of the modern English and American
poets, the works Of Spenser. Milton
and Pope, the Canterbury Tales and
Johnson's Lives Of the British Poets. y
Taking down volume at random,
| he had a vague instructive surprise nj
finding no dust on It. The fact had
no definite significance at the mo,
ment, but later, in the light Of other
developments, he recalled the circum,
| stance.
He had soon made mental inven,
tory Of the lower shelves. The books
were in good condition, though they
showed signs of having been handled
considerably.
"The parents Of Eunice were at
least not ilitcrate," he concluded.
He now turned his attention to the
topmost row of books, which was out
of his reach. 1t consisted Of set OF
Balzac. He mounted chair and
taking down volume, was Il little
surprised to find that 1t was a French
| edition. The book was thick with
dust, and it's removal from the shelf
had sent little cloud Of dust into his
eyes. He had passing wonder in the
fact that the top shelf alone was
dusty.
perhaps the ghost can't read
French, but enjoys the English clas'
sics."
He turned the pages Of the Balzac
1t, too, however, showed signs Of hav'
Ing been read. for 1t bore several
marked passages.
Suddenly rs he turned leaf his eye
fell upon, not printed page. but a
sheet of letter paper. yellow with age,
closely covered with feminine hand
writing. He turned toward his lamp
and read:
A CONFESSION.
I, Beatrice Daniels. make the following
confession in the face of imminent death.
being unable longer to live and hear the
burden of my crime. My husband threat
ems to murder me IL | confess our crime
and I myself would choose death at my
own hands rather than languish In pris.
on. whjrl =, the fa;c my confession would
bring upon me II lived to face 1t. There
fore when this paper Is found and read
shall be dead. either having taken my
own life or having been murdered.
Tie child Eunice-
Kinross started as ut this instant his
ear was suddenly caught by a faint
sound In the corridor without-the
sound, he thought, of an approaching
tght step. In a moment he had blown
out his light and stepped down from
his chair. folding and thrusting the
paper into his pocket as he did SO. One
aulck glance about him, and he slipped
behind the high headboard Of the ole
fashioned bed. There he waited mo
tionless for the appearing Of the spirit
or whatever 1t was that was coming
for the sound of approaching steps OF
the bare wooden floor Of the hall wa!
now quite unmistakable. 1t was no
mice either. OF that he was sure al
J with tense expectation he waited ant