The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1911-02-16

an1 tAss0 was aA oAes q scorched
leather through the room. from Hotch-
kiss shoes. The little detective vas
sound asleep. his decd pipe in his
Angers. The cat sat hock - its
Aauschss and walled.
The curtain at The door ~ tAo
hallway bellied slowly sut ioGo ths
roe0 sDA fell again. Ths ct leoke1
toward II asA oSessA IL 0ssth for
another howl ] tArHst q e With ny
foot, but II rsfusoA 70 DoVo. HoGch-
kiss stirred uasastly. snA his ~ elaa'
tered 70 The 1oae.
Ths cat was 0taadiag q ~ 6oel
staFing beAinA ~. Ayearsatly \ vas
following VIII ~ sges - shjost ~
sea TO ~. tAa9 0see1 beAioA Ne.
The uD q ~ tail vsvs1 thrsaassins-
". but vhsa ] vhsels1 saW nsthing.
took ths eaoA3s ~ 0aAe . circuit
q ths roe0. Dahia1 ~ csstaia that
haA moved ~ Aose vas securely
closed. Ths win1ovs veeo shst anA
loeks1. a1A svesyvhses ths stlsoes
vas absoluts. TAs CT Selleusd -
aajsstieally. ] stooDel - stroksA
~ bsad. but 4 Dsesistsd = ~ unca.-
" watching q tie esssses k the
rooo.
WHEN I weat baek y NJ Aivaa. an
er putting . ffssA Iag - the IRE. I
was rsassurs1. I took the Drscautioa.
and smiled at myself foe doing II, to
put the IRE toa0s within reach oe ny
hand. But The Ct vouA not ~ me
sleep. After . tias ! Aecidod that It
wanted water. aAl seastsd eat in
search q soos. eassyiag ~ candle
without the stanA. wandered
through several rooms. an caeoed and
dismantled. bsSses I found . small
lavstory opening o1 . btlliafa room.
The cat Tapped steadily. a1A I filed
glass to take hack With ~. The
candle 6ickered i1 0 sickly fashion
that throatsaed - leave Ne tAsrs lost
n the wanderings q Tie many hail.
ways. aA1 from somewhere there
came an occasional vislsat DsR Of
wind. The cat stuck by ny test. with
the hair on its back raised nssacing-
ly. ! don't like cats: there d some
thing psychic about then.
Hotchkiss was still asleep when
got back to the big rooA. I moved
his boots back from the IRE and
trimmed the candle. Then, with sleep
gone from me. I lay back on my divan
and reflected on many things; on
my idiocy In coming: On Alison West.
and the fact that only . week before
she had been . guest in this very
house; on Richey and the constraint
that had come between VI. From that
drifted back to Alison. and 70 the
barrier my comparative poverty would
be.
The emptiness. the stiffness were
oppressive. Once ! heard footsteps
coming. rhythmical steps that neither
hurried nor dragged, and seemed to
mount endless staircases without
coming any closer. I realized finally
that had not quite turned OF the tap,
and that the lavatory. which had cir
cled to reach, must be quite close.
The cat lay by the nre, its nose on
its folded paws. content in the warmth
and companionship. watched It idly.
Now and then the green wood Kissed
in the fire, but the cat never batted
an eye. Through an unshuttered win
dow the lightning flashed. Suddenly
the cat looked up. It lifted its head
and stared directly at the gallery
above. Then it blinked, and stared
again. was amused. Not until X
had got up on its feet, eyes still r1v.
eted on the balcony, tail waving at
the tip, the hair on its back bristling
brush, did glance casually over my
head.
From among the shadows face
gazed down at me, a face that seemed
a fitting tenant Of the ghostly room
below. l saw it as plainly as l might
see my own face in a mirror. While
/ stared at 1t with horrified eyes the
apparition faded. The rail was there,
the Bokhara rug still swung from II,
but the gallery was empty.
The cat threw back its head and
walled.