The evening world., 1911-04-01
A Mysterious
Visitation.

"My mother. who has hip trouble and
cannot go up or downstairs without
help: my ward. Iris Pierce, who had
gone to her room to take a nap and was
SO sound asleep upon her bed that when
they went COR her twenty minute later
she was aroused with difficulty: m old
colored nurse. Ulame. whom you must
have seen pass through here a moment
arc: ard the cook. who was In the back
part OF the house The two maids were
ont. The gardener, who was the only
other person anywhere ABOUT the place,
had been busy in the conservatory, but
about a quarter of three ven 10 sweep q
light snowfall from tho walks. Fifteen
minutes later my mother In her bedroom
In the north wing heard the door bell
but no one went to the door"
The bell did not ring again7"
NO: It rang only once. Yet almost
Immediately after the ringing the wom-
an was inside the house; for my mother
heard her voice distinctly and
Now the voice your mother heard
II was n strange voice?'
Yes: n very shrill. excited voice Of q
child or a woman"
"Your mother could be sure II was the
voice OF a stranger"
Yes. Two or three loud screams
were uttered by the same voice. and
we're repeated AZ intervals during all
that followed. There vas noise OF
humping or pounding. which ] believe
10 have been occasioned In opening the
study door. Then. after a brief inter
val. came the noise OF breaking glass.
and, at the end of another short inter-
val. a smell OF burning"
THE screams continuedT'
Yes. Ulame came to my mother.
Then vlame ran TO tho rear window
and called the gardener. and h cook.
crossing tho han TO the second floor or
the south wing. aroused Iris. whom, as
I said, she FOUND 90 eoundly asledp that
she wac awakened with difficulty. They
found the museum filled with an acr'd
haze OF smoke. and the door OF the
study closed. They could stnl hear
through the closed door the footsteps
and movements OF the woman in the
study. Then the gardiner pushed open
the door. The glass front OF the cab
met in which my papers were kept had
been, broken. and a charred mass sth!
smoking. in the centre of the compost
tion floor OF the study was all that We
could find OF the papers which repre-
sented my fathers and my own life
work, Mr.. Trant. The woman whose
footsteps only the instant before had
been heard in the study by iris and the
gardener besides the otners, nAu conn
pletely disappeared. IN spite OF the fact
that there was no possible pace for a
woman, or even a child. to conceal her
self In the study. or 20 leave II except
by the door which the other entered"
And they found no other marks or
Indications Of the persons presence"
at that time-nbsolu,ely nome"
Pierce replied. slowly. But when ]
returned that night and myself wah
able to go owe the room carefully with
Iris, 7 found-this. Mr.. Trant." he
thrust a hand into his pocket ana OK
tended II with a solitary little egg
| shaped stone cleaning upon his palm
this. Mr.. Trant." he repeated. staring
at the little blazing crystal egg ~
though fascinated. the mere sight OF
which ,a1i such All extraordinary
spell upon my ward. Iris"
80 th's In the littl. green stonei"
'Yes: that is the l!ttls green stone"
Pierce cried. 'The chalchihuiti stone:
the green turquoise Of Mexico. The
hrst sight Of II struck Iris dumb and
dull-eyed before mo and started this
strange. this bafrl!ng. inerplicabi ~
apathy toward mel"
Ten vsuia AAs19 hsvs ssisa WA