Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1912-09-02

enlng hOur, IL beemeo-DtAott sue Ieai-
lied that she was IN the room with the
man she loved. Her frightened eyes
caught sight Of him lying back in the
chair before the dying Ere in the chin
ney place. The lights were low, the
shadows gaunt and chill.
A terrified exclamation started TO her
lips. Her ears again caught the sound
Of some one moving In the house
some alien visitor There was no mis-
taking the sOund-the distant sepuleh-
raj laugh and the shuf1ing Of feet, al
most at the edge Of the couch. It
seemed
randolph she whispered hoarsely.
The man In the chair did not move
She threw on the blanket and came to
a sitting posture on the side OF the
couch. her fingers clutching the cover
ing with tense horror. Again the soft.
rumbllng laugh and the sound OF foot
steps on the stairway. Like cash she
sped across the room and clutched
franucally at Randolph's shoulders.
He awoke with an exclamation. star
ing bewlldered into the horrihed face
above.
"The-the ghostr she gasped. her
eyes glued upon the hall door He
leaped to bis feet and threw bis arms
about her.
you've had a bad dream" be said.
what a beast was to fall asleep.
Lord, you're frightened half out Of
your wits. Don't tremble 80, dearest
There's no ghost Every one knows
"Llsten-listenP she whispered. To
gether they stood motiOnless, almost
breathless before the fire. the glow
from which threw their shadows across
the room to meet the mysterious In
Yader.
GOOD Lord" he muttered, unwilling
to believe his ears. There is some
one IN the house. FVe-rve heard
sounds here before. but not like these"
Distinctly to their startled ears came
the low. subdued murmur Of human
voice and then unmistakable means
from the very depth Of the earth
from the grave, It seemed.
'Do you hearT she whispered. "oh.
this dreadful place! Take me away,
Randolph, DEAR
Don't be afraid" be said. drawing
her close. There's nothing super
natural about those sounds. They
come from lips as much alive as ours
I'll investigate" He grabbed the heavy
poker from the chimney corner and
started toward the door. She followed
close behind. his assurance restoring
In a measure the courage that had
temporarily deserted her.
In the hallway they paused to look
out over the broad porch. The storm
had died away. signing its own re-
QUEEN in the misty treetops Dawn
was not far away. A thick fog was
rising to meet the FIRST glance Of day.
In surprise Shaw looked at his watch.
her face at his shoulder. 1t was after
o'clock.
Ghosts turn In at midnight, DEAR"
he said, with a cheerful smile. They
don't keep such hours as these"
But who can It BET There are no
tramps in the mountains she pro
tested. glanclng over her shoulder ap-
prehensiyely.
"Llstenl BY Joye. that voice came
from the cellar"
"And the lock is broken" she ex-
claimed. "But how silly of me!
Ghosts don't stop for locks"
"I'll drop the bolts Just the same" Z"
he said as they hurried down the hall.
way. At the back stairs they stopped
and listened for many minutes Not a
sound came up to them from below.
Softly he closed the door and lowered
two heavy bars into place. IF there's
any one down there they probably
think they've heard spooks trotting
around up here"
"Really, It's quite thrilling, Isn't itr'
she whispered In her excitement
IN any event we're obliged to re-
main under cover until they depart,
be said thoughtfully. I'VE can't be
seen here. dearest"
NO" she murmured, mot even
though II Is our house" 4"
They returned TO the big room as
softly as mice. and be left her a mo-
ment later to close the heavy window
shutters on the porch. When be re-
turned there was a grim smile on his
face aud his voice shook a little as be
spoke.
'Pve heard the voices again. They
came from the laundry, think The
Renwoods were downright Yankees,
Penelope. will swear that these
voices are amazingly English"