Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-02-26

thoroughly lighted by electricity | can
not deny that this incident. following I
so quickly upon the buffers story, oc- I
casioned a moments acute hair raising.
accompanied by an uncomfortable
tremor Of the legs. As already hintei
lay no claim TO great valor. As fos
ghosts / am half persuaded Of their !
existence and. after witnessing pres |
entation of Hamlet always feel that
Shakespeare is as safe a guide III such
matters as the destructive scientific
critics.
There were various plausible expla-
nations Of the failure of the lights.
Some switch that l did not know OF.
perhaps in the third floor hall. might
have been turned, or the power house
in the village might have been shift
ing dynamos Either solution of the
riddle was credible But the ghostly
touch on my face could not be &C
counted for 80 readily. Leaving the
lights on, I continued to the third
floor and examined the switch and
sought in other ways to explain these
phenomena. Ny composure returned
more slowly than l care TO confess.
and think it was probably in my
mind that the ghost OF King Georges
dead soldier might be lying in wait for
me, but saw and heard nothing. The
doors Of the unused chambers on the
third floor were closed, and l did not
feel justified in trying them. The
servants were housed on this floor at
the rear OF the house, and door that
cut of their quarters proved on eI'
animation to be tightly locked.
The fourth floor was only half sto
~, used for storage purposes. The
roof was gained, recalled, by an iron
ladder and a hatchway in a trunk
room. l ran down to my room and
found a candle. to be armed against
any further fickleness Of the lights,
and set out for the fourth floor. l had
changed my coat and with couple of
candles and a box of matches started
for the roof My courage had risen
now. and was ready for any further
! adventure that the night might hoSd
/ for me Miss HOLSTER and Cecilia
We're both in their rooms. presumably
! their doors barred against ghostly Wis
| itOrs. and the house was mine to ex-
1 plOTe as ] pleased.
/ think | was humminE slightly as l
| mounted the stair. which. In keeping
| with the general righteousness that
/ characterized the furnishing Of the
| house. was thickly carpeted even TO
/ the fourth floor. | was slipping my
/ hand along the rail and mounting. |
/ dare say. little jauntily as ! screwed
my courage TO an unfamiliar notch
when suddenly, midway of the first
/ half and just before ! reached the
turn where the stair broke. the lights
failed again with startling abruptness.
This was carrying the joke pretty far,
and instantly l clapped my hand TO
my pocket for the box of safety
matches. dug it out and then I'm my
haste dropped the lid essential to igni-
ton and stopped TO find it.
( The stair had narrowed on this
fight. and as l sought with futile
eagerneSs to regain the box lid could
have sworn that some one passed me.
Still half stopping. | stretched out my
/ suddenly had ! thrown myself for
ward that / lost my balance and roll
ed downward the space OF half
dozen treads before | recovered my
self ! was badly scared and hardly
less angry at having missed through
my own clumsinesS the joy Of Crap
ping with the ghost of one Of King
Georges soldiers. But the matches
having been lost in the pitch darkness
Of the stair. ! could get my bearings
again only by clinging to the stair rail
until ! found the second floor switch.
| should say that two full minutes had
passed between the loss of the matches
and my flashing on of the lamps.
From top TO bottom the lights shone
brightly But no one was visible, and
| heard no sound in any part of the
house.
As began to analyze my sensations
during the temporary eclipse Of the
lights | was conscious of two things.
The being. human or other that had
passed me had been light of step and
feet Of motion. There had been some
thing uncanny in the ease and speed
OF GEll IHSSlUS. was WITHOUT con-
vicrion as 10 its direction. whether up
or down. though ] inclined to the for
NOR notion for the reason that the en-
ployment of a concealed switch above
seemed the more reasonable argument
And a faint, an almost imperceptble
scent, as OF a flower, had seemed 10
be part of the passing Mine is a
sensitive nostrn. and | was confident
that II did not betray me in this
! gathered up my matches and start
ed again for the roof. The trunk room
door opened readily, as on my morn
ing inspection OF the chimney pots
but as | glanced up l saw that the
hatch was open. Through the aper
ture shone the heavens. d square OF
stars and bright with the moons ra
dance. Pocketing my matches. 1 ran
nimbly up the ladder
| had been surprised 10 find the hatct
open. but it is not too much to say
that was greatly astonished by wha'
/ on -, mi