Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1914-02-07

ing night and day were alike to him,
and he knew his way along the paths
and about the lawn.
$50 back to your room, and fasten
yourself in," he said, sit is our only
security. Tap at the window to let
me know that all is fast. / beg you
to do this" he added earnestly; "you
cannot understand the feelings of a
man in my position-the torture of
conscious impotency as you feel ap-
preaching fate that you are powerless
to avert"
His voice ratified in his throat, and
indistinctly heard him mutter, as he
CROPPED his way along he wall of the
terrace
"Cramped in coffin, and the clods
falling, falling"
| closed the door, and returned to
my room with shudder.
When | had fastened myself in
tapped on the window, and Van
Hoeck replied by tapping on the wall
below.
The fresh air had revived me. / had
no longer to struggle with an irresist-
ible drowsiness-the inclination to
sleep was gone.
/ had my book to finish, but my
mind was not sufficiently composed
to read. AS | walked about the
room | thought of Edith and of Var
Hoeck, wondering if there could be
any connection between her strange
hallucination and the terrible pres
ointment which night and day pos
sessed him 1t seemed as if there
must be something abnormal in the
conditions under which we lived, to
produce an effect which, though char
acteriZed by different peculiarit;es,
was in both cases attributable only
to disordered imagination, and
wondered if |, in my turn should
come under this occult influence.
might have been occupied with the
speculation for half an hour or more
when | heard scream of terror that
| could not doubt came from the wing
in which Edith lay. In an instant
opened the door and ran through the
cirridor. The doors of the picture gal
lery were open, as ! drew aside the
curtains which closed in the staircase
corridor of the left wing, | saw Sir
Edmund come from his room with
lamp. The door of Edith's room ex-
actly faced his; it was wide open; all
was dark within.
What is it, my dear, what is it ?"
he called, as he entered the room.
There was no answer.
| followed to the door. Sir Ed
mund was standing by the empty bed
looking around him in blank dismay.
"She is gone" he gasped. "The
door was wide open"
The bed stood away from the wall.
| babe Sir Edmund look on the fur
the~ side.
There was scarcely room for him
to pass between the foot of the bed
and the wall, but as he lowered the
light, he said, in quick alarm
''She is here-unconscious-ring Tire
bell for the women"
| ran to the bell and rang it vio-
lently; then from the stairs in the
cross-gallery | called to the servants
to come down. In the meanwhile SIR
Edmund had raised Edith and placed
her on the bed, where she lay like one
dead.
From his room | got a spirit case,
but we knew not how to apply the
remedies at our hand, and it was an
intense relief to us when the house
keeper hustled in, followed by Edith's
maid, for we were as helpless as
children in this emergency.
The hOusekeeper told me to leave
the room. | went to the door, and
stood there trembling from head to
foot.
| had taken Ediths hand, and the
icy coldness of the lifeless fingers
that | had only known quick with
warm blood chilled my very heart
with fear.
There was long period of terri
BILE suspense, and then ! heard the
dear voice murmur, and, my heart
bounded with JOY, ! ventured fer
ward that | might see the life once
more in her beautiful face. Sir Ed
mund stopped me on the threshold
Thank Godw he said fervCntly, sire
has come back to US; but the women |
say she must he kept quiet. Go back |
TO your room, my dear fellow. and we /
will talk it all over at breakfast-time.
Goodnight, goodnight"
| returned reluctantly to my room. |
AS | passed his chamber | heard the |
Judge snoring loud and long.
1t needed something more thar such
rifles to wake him when he had bed |
% sleep in.
What already puzzled me was how
Edith's door came to be wide open
when she had tainted in a quite re-
note part Of the room.
CHAPTER TX.
What happened in Edith's room that
light | did not learn until the next
morning, but ! will give her account
n this place in order to preserve the
sequence of events.
True TO her resolve, she had left
he window open and the blind down,
as on the preceding night. 1t
vas her habit to lock the door, and
hat she did not omit to do so on this
occasion she was convinced by the fact
hat she found some difficulty in turn
ng the key, and had afterward tried
he handle to know if the bolt was
hot. She left the lamp burning on
he table, screened from her by the
ace curtains of the bed. 1t was half
,ast eleven when she lay down. and
he felt so little fear that she fell
sleep almost immediately.
A pillow slipping from beneath her
,ead aWOke her. she believed. Her