Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1910-05-26
TIL CIRCULAR STAIRCASE
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She moved at that, and. holding to
my sleeve, we felt our way, with nu-
merous collisions. to the billiard-room
and from there to the drawing-room
| The lights came on then, and, with
the long French windows unshuttered
| mad creepy feeling that each one
sheltered a peering face. In fact, in
the light of what happened afterward,
am pretty certain we were under
surveillance during the entire ghostly
evening. We hurried over the rest of
the locking-up and got upstairs as
quickly as we could. left the lights
all on, and our footsteps echoed ca
vernously. Liddy had stiff neck the
next morning, from looking back over
her shoulder, and she refused to go
to bed.
Let me stay in your dressing room,
Miss Rachel" she begged. IF you
don't I'll sit in the hall outside the
door. I'm not going to be murdered
with my eyes shut" ....
1t was IL o'clock when / finally pre-.
pared for bed. In spite of my assump.
ton of Indifference, locked the door
into the nall, and finding the tran
som did not catch, put chair eau
tiously before the door-it was not
necessary to rouse Liddy-and climb.
ing up put on the ledge of the tran
som a small dressing-mirror, so that
any movement of the frame would
send it crashing down. Then, secure
in my precautions l went to bed.
did not go to sleep at once. Liddy
! disturbed me just as l was growing
drowsy, by coming in and peering un-
der the bed. She was afraid to speak,
however, because of her previous
snubbing, and went back, stopping in
the doorway to sigh dismally.
Somewhere downstairs a clock
with a chime sang away the hours
eleven-thirty, forty-five, twelve. And
then the lights went out to stay. The
Casanova Electric Company shuts up
shop and goes home to bed at mid
night: when one has a party, l be-
lieve it is customary to fee the COM
pany, which will drink hot coffee and
keep awake a couple of hours longer.
But the lights were gone for good
that night. Liddy had gone to sleep,
as ! knew she would. She was a very
unreliable person: always awake and
ready to talk when she wasn't wanted
and doing off to sleep when she was
called her once or twice, the only re-
suit being an explosive snore that
threatened her very windpipe-then |
got up and lighted a bedroom candle
My bedroom and dressing room
were above the big living room on
the first floor. On the second floor
long corridor ran the length of the
house, with rooms opening from both
sides. In the wings were small cor
ridors crossing the main one-the
plan was simplicity itself. And just
as | got back into bed, l heard
sound from the east wing, apparently,
that made me stop, frozen, with one
bedroom slipper half off, and listen. 1t
was a rafting metallic sound, and it
reVerberated along the empty halls
like the crash of doom. 1t was for all
the world as if something heavy, per-
haps a piece Of steel, had rolled clat-
tering and jangling down the hard
wood stairs leading to the card-room.
In the silence that followed Liddy
stirred and snored again. l was eX-
asperated; first she kept me awake
by silly alarms, then when she was
needed she slept like Joe Jefferson, or
Rip-they are always the same to me-
l went in and aroused her, and 1 give
her credit for being wide awake the
minute l spoke.
Get up" 1 said, IF you don't want
to be murdered in your bed"
Where? How?" she yelled vocifer.
ously, and jumped up.
There's somebody in the house." |
said. Get up. Well have to go to
the telephone"
mot out in the hall" she gasped;
"Oh, Miss Rachel, not out in the
hall" trying to hold me back. But l
am a large woman and Liddy is small.
: We got to the door, somehow, and
Liddy held a brass andiron, which it
was all she could do to lift, let alone
brain anybody with. l listened, and,
hearing nothing, opened the door a
little and peered into the hall. 1t was
black void, full of terrible sugges-
ton, and my candle only emphasized
the gloom. Liddy squealed and drew
me back again, and as the door
slammed, the mirror had put on the
, transom came down and hit her on
the head. That completed our de-
moralization. 1t was some time before
l could persuade her she had not been
attacked from behind by burglar.
and when she found the mirror
smashed on the floor she wasn't much
better.
CTo BE CONTINUED)