Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1911-06-29
THE GRAY PEOPLE"
BY John Campbell Haywood.
Copyright. 1910, by the Pearson Pub
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| some distinctness, and he could see the
efforts OF the investigator as he passed
| from place TO place, at one time seemingly
within reach of the glimmering disks, the
| next moment encircled only in the shadow
of the fair green.
Come back" he called softly. "Can-
not you see" he said, as Thorne reached
his side, THAT they are Will-o'-the-wisps
that you cannot touch? See, there they
| are nowl"
AS he spoke the blue ball rose from the
| ground and dropped short, the green one
following almost at once to place within
| long putting distance of where both the
watchers knew the hole to be.
Having learned his lesson on the first
! stretch of the course Thorne was content
| to follow, without attempting to investi-
| gate too closely, the game of the phantom
| balls to the sixth green. There was no halt
! in the game; each disk rose from the tee
and fell with noticeable equality-the
| greenish-hued being as d rule in advance
| on the drive, but the strokcs-which the
| watchers were able to count-to putting
distance being rarely of remarkable differ
| ence until the sixth hole.
This was a stretch of meadowland, a
| short drive to a sunken green. The expe-
| riences of the morning were not forgotten.
| 1t was beyond here the innkeeper had said
| the Gray People" had never been seen.
| It was here that Hartley and Thorne had
| heard notes.-the one sad vi animal life,
| the other convinced of some supernatural
| agency.
1t was therefore with something like
CONSERVATION they watched the drive and
| saw the green disk, to their Imagination
more baleful in its weird CLEAN as it lay
upon the tee than before, rise in the air and
| take en- cratic direction. 1t fell far TO the
| right of its true course into a spinney.
| Boththe watchers being golfers, recognized
at once an impossible approach to the put
ting green.
This" whispered Thorne, sees the
end of the game"
Slowly they made their way to the knoll
overlooking the pit The blue ball, played
a second time, lay in the center of the
| green. For some moments it glimmered
in the shadows, a solitary light, glowing
gently, on field of velvet-then beside it
| there lay another-a ball like a clot of
blood-an effulgent mass of deep red which
seemed to drip light on to the carpet of
the pitt
An unreasoning terror shook the two
| men. Clutching each other, they stood
and looked. As they looked, it seemed to
them that the pit became filed with figures
that swayed and fought about the pale
blue light, always with the blood-red light
upon them. There rose on the air q cry
cry repeated and breaking into the
silence until every breath around them bore
some wall of agonized spirit form. And
then-they ran-ran full of the panic of
fear, clutching at their breathS, sobbing
with an awful horror of the things they left
behind. Once Thorne stumbled and fell;
it was at the edge of the grave yard, and
Hartley helped him to his feet and over the
fair green's TO the caddy house. In there
were light and people. Thorne dashed in
and fell painting to the floor.
There was no mark of hurt upon him, but
he asked to be driven to the doctors.
It was three years after the death of
Thorne when Hartley returned to America.
He had gone away Immediately following
the inquest at which he had repeated the
legend as told him by Thorne, and had
given in detail all the circumstances lead
ing to the fatal end of his friend. That he
had been looked upon with some suspicion
he knew, but the verdict cleared him and
he left the place, bearing a burden of
thought he sought to tighten by travelling
abroad
Yin the library of mutual friend shortly
after his return, he first saw Legendary
Pathways" by Professor Albion Thorne,
published by his literary executor about
year after his death. Turning to the index,
he saw that the last chapter, written by
the executor, told of ThOrne's death and
the manner of it, and of the Gray PeO-
pie" and of the phantom balls, but-and
he thanked God for it-there was no men
ton of his own name, only that " a friend
was with him." He turned other pages
idly until he found under chapter headed
"The Contagion of Thought" this pas
sage:
"There have been believers in legends
throughout the ages and always will be.
1t is belief which, inoculating childhood,
saturates the blood and if not early elm
mated, formulates in manhood an almost
overpowering faith in mysticism and makes
many followers of occultism and its atten-
dant so-called sciences. 1t is quite possible
to become so imbued with the apparent
truth in legend that in some natures the
things sought to be seen are made visible.
Atmosphere are created, not only around
the Investigator, but through the strength
of his belief extending to the senses and
mental attitudes of his companions. This
transmission of thought from one will
create panic of fear, or the exultation OF
great Joy in the minds of many who have
no knowledge of the actual cause OF fear
or reason for Joy. Then the imagination
will operate to see and bear as the imagina-
ton of the instigator of such emotions Is
seeing or hearing"
Hartley closed the book
81 cannot BELIEVED it" he muttered, "the
thing is impossible-with mel"
For some moments he sat brooding over
the trend of thought the book had conjured
to his mind.
Besides" he said, throwing the book
upon the table, al saw the Gray People
before Thorne did saw them before he
came up the slope"
He went to the window and looked
out
Ozark" he said, dark and foggy,"-
then suddenly he stretched out his hands
toward the darkness.
"Thorne," he called, "Thornel if you
are there-if you can speak to mc-tell
me-show me if you can-must l too be-
lieve?"
There was no answer.