The Washington herald., 1912-02-04

long to find the room on the second
floor and they entered Il together.
When they threw open the door and
looked inside, there was nothing there
but Ascot bed. The mahogany chest
was gone; so was the chair. On the
hoor lay half burned-out candle and
there was no clothing on the pallet.
This bed has never been here be-
fore, said the keeper. Your story. sir.
must be correct. To tell you the truth
your honor, / never come 10 10 the
house any more. There be strange
noises here, you know, and i have seen
people
Then my father and the keeper went
over to the little lodge and my father
sat down upon the keepers bed and had
a chill. The keepers wife gave him a
cup of strong tea, but his teeth kent OF,
shaking, and he said that he had caught
cold in the tree. The hounds Law around
on the floor and whined.
My father resumed the even tenor
OF his life after that, and soon dropped
back into his old ways of tranouiliity
and repose. That is, his life went on
as usual for about a month after this
experience. Then things began to
happen
"One day when my father was due
at court and was riding by the keepers
lodge of Essex Manor, he became
aware that some one was following him
l say he became aware, because you
know very well that il is often perfectly
evident to us that some one is follow
ing US. II was toward dusk when this
happened, and the some one-or the
thing, whichever II was-did not seem
to care to show itself. It was a noisy
something that made enough disturb
ance to be heard, but was always out
OF sight, either on the right or the left
OF the road when my father looked
around. i say that my father felt this,
rather than that he actually saw this
thing. II made him most uncomfort-
able, and he did not sleep that night.
Every once in so often my worthy
parent would experience this same SEN
sation, and It was not pleasing, for il
tried his nerves. One day when he
went to the barn to get his horse,
something jumped from the hay and
made off. / repeat that il was some
thing, because It was not man and II
was not an animal, but II was a some
thing. My father began to grow un-
comfortable, and my mother began TO
reproach him for his moroseness, and
when he told her that he was thinking
OF moving over to another county, she
did not like il.
so things went along until, one day,
an event happened which changed his
life and mine. IL was in early Nav
and the weather was perfect. My father
had been delayed longer than usual at
court, and was coming home quite late,
in the warm and hazy air. Twilight
was about him when he rode by that
impenetrable fence at Essex Manor, and
he saw the two wolfhounds rolling over
each other before the house, which
looked more bleak and gloomy than
ever.
my father was mounted on his ia
vorite horse. He kept four, but this
was his best one, and an animal which
had more than customary horse sense
AS usual, my good parent was smoking
his briarwood pipe.
AS said before, he had passed we'll
by the gloomy Essex Manor, and was
walking his trusty animal down an even
stretch of road, when he suddenly be-
came conscious that something was fol-
lowing him. There was a rustling in
the bushes to the right, and in his very
marrow he felt chill. But he regained
his usual composure, and-quite un-
usual for him-determined to investi-
gate. Suddenly. checking his mount, he
leaped to the ground and walked over
to the side OF the road where he felt
absolutely conscious that the thing
whatever II might be-was hiding.
Raising his riding-crop, he parted the
bushes with It, and peered into the
shadow. In the other hand he held the
reins of his mount.
'"As he looked into the shrubbery i'm
mediately-with bound-ar body, large
and ferocious, was upon him. He put
up his riding-crop before his face to
protect himself, and he struck the thing
with all his might As he did so, his
startled horse snorted and reared up
ward. He jerked the reins from my
fathers hand, and, in a SECOND more,
was running down the road in terriheo
fight, while my father was graphing
with a murderous assailant
ut was not a human being with