The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1911-07-26

Ouc OI the women DCBdu W bihb
Suwanee River just above her breath,
and the others joined in, half-hunl-
ming. half-crooning. II was like the
singing OF children In Its teneiess uni
son. in It's dragged rythms and slur-
ring from note to note; and the
absurd resemblance OF the scene TO a
game OF Jenkins-Up gave the final
touch OF incongruity. These people,
or some OF them at least, awaited the
very presence OF the dead; all were
In quest OF the supernatural or the
unknown. Here were the dimness, the
fragil tension, the impalpable weight
OF mutually, the atmosphere OF a!
coming crisis; and this in the CON-
monplace room, closed up for the.
summer, with the traffic OF the ave-
nue. outside and the commonplace
people within. incongruous In their
ordinary clothes, sitting with their
hands upon table and humming
hackneyed melody little on the key.
There was an unreality about IL all,
a touch OF theatrical tawdriness, OF
mummery and tinsel gold and can
vas distances, an acuteness or tina.
feeling which one always has In the
elimaxes OF actual life that they can
not be quite real because the setting
is not strange enough. The monoton
GUS sound and the close air made me
drowsy, thinking with the hurried
vividness of doze. Ii was unnatur-
al for mysteries TO happen in draw
ing-room; but then, mysteries were
themselves unnatural. and must hal
pen IL at all in the world OF there and
then. Though II seemed somehow
that a ghost should appear only up
on the stored battlements OF Elsi-
more to people in archaic dress. yet
to Hamlet himself those surrounding
were the scene OF ordinary days; and
the persons of all the wonder-stories
had been In their own sight contem-
quo at the dinner-table. and II was
the people In the street who crowded
to look upon the miracles.
The eventless waiting drew out In
terminably. There were long silences
then the humming OF some other
tune; and Il was an episode when
some one coughed or stirred. Yet
the monotony, despite boredom and
drowsiness, did not relax the nervous
tension. still felt that something
was going TO happen tie next min
ute; the air grew closer and closer,
and the odd sense of crowded human
intimacy was more oppressive than
at first; and the rigid regularity OF
Maclean's audible breathing was
enough to tell me that even his SKIER
ticism was not proof against the same
influence The circle about the table
were swaying their heads little In
time with their singing, while the
old gentleman In the corner idgetec
uneasily. In the street outside, n
child began to cry loudly, and was
taken away still wailing around the
corner. Surely, l thought, OF all
people ought to understand that In
congruous look OF strange things hap
pening in actual life; my own had
been for weeks a nightmare and a
romance; and even now / was Crop
| ing mentally in the maze Of revela-
ton that had the lurid logic Of a
melodrama. fiawlessly plausible and
incredible only because was an-
willing to believe. Curucci's story
was a fabrication, because tangled
marriages and family mysteries hap
pen I'm books and newspapers. amon6
| printed people, not among those VIC
4 know:-syet melodrama itself builds
with the material OF actually, and |
had been living amid family mys'
teries. Such things do happen TO
some one: and that one must be to-
| TO others-the reality that Lady was
to me.
I started violently, and sat bolt up.
right, my hair tingling and every
muscle frightened. A dull rappinG
like the sound of q hammer upon
wood covered with cloth, came from
the table. The circle were silent,
| leaning back In their seats, their
hands still joined before them. The
medium had sunk down In her chair,
| her arms extended along the arms
of IL, so that those next to her had
to reach out to keep hold OF her
hands. And above the group l saw,
or imagined that | saw, the vaguest
conceivable cloudiness In mid-air, like
mist on a foggy night or the glim-
mer seen inside closed eyelids after
looking at a brightly-lighted window
The more l tried to make sure that
I saw IL, the more I doubted whether
| Il were not merely imagination. II
you hold your spread hand before
dark background, you will seem to
see a cloudy blur outlining the fin
gers; II was like that. The rapping
was repeated more loudly, and
through the throboing In my ears and
the almost suffocating oppression,
caught myself remembering the scene
of the knocking at the gate In Mac
beth. Then a voice began to speak;
querulous, throaty contralto that
came In Jerks and pauses.
Here you are again." Il said; Il
don't--want to talk--to any OF you
l feel trouble-somewhere. Where's
mother"
That's Miriamf said Professor
Shelburgh. in the tone of casual rec
ognition.
I do not know whether Il was the
shock of the coincident name, or
only that the heat and the excite
ment of the day had reached their
natural climax. But I grew suddenly
hot and cold in waves; my skin
crawled. and I felt at once q strang
| ling hurry OF heartbeats and hollow
nausea. For an instant, I set my teeth
and tried to master L.; but IL was no
use. must get out into the open
light and air. OF I should make an
exhibition of myself. rose and TIP
ltoed hurriedly across the room
through an atmosphere that seemed
/ like a heavy liquid, dizzily aware thai
Maclean had followed me a step or
two and that the group around the
! table looked after me In surprise