The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1915-04-23

such as to hold in shadow all but the
central portion Of the room. With
sigh the sergeant dropped his ewes
from the walls he could barely distin-
gulsh and, following Judge Ostrander's
lead, passed with him under the torn
folds of the curtain and through the
narrow yestibule whose door was made
OF iron, into the room where, in a
stronger blaze of light than they had
left, lay the body of the dead negro
awaiting the last rites.
Would the judge pass this body, or
turn away from it toward a door lead
ing front? The sergeant had come
IN at the rear, but he greatly desired
to go out front, as this would give him
so much additional knowledge of the
house. Unexpectedly to himself the
judges intentions were in the direc-
ton OF his own wishes. He was led
front; and entering an old-fashioned
hall dimly lighted, passed a staircase
and two closed doors, both of which
gave him the impression of having
been shut upon past it had pleasured
no one to revive in many years.
Beyond them was the great front
door of colonial style and workman
ship, fine specimen once, but greatly
disfgured now by the bolts and bars
which had been added to it in salts
faction Of the judges ideas of security.
Many years had passed since Judge
Ostrander had played the host; but he
had not lost sense of its obligations.
1t was for him to shoot the bolts and
lift the bars; but he went about it so
clumsily and with such evident aver
sion to the task that the sergeant in
stinctiVely sprang to help him.
q shall miss Bella at every turn"
remarked the judge, turning with sad
smile as he finally pulled the door
open. This is an unaccustomed effort
for me. Excuse my awkwardness.
Something in his attitude, something
in the way he lifted his hand to push
back a fallen lock from his forehead,
impressed itself upon the sergeant's
mind so wildly that he always re-
membered the judge as he appeared
to him at that minute. Certainly
there were but few men like him in
the country, and none in his own
town. Of commanding personality
by reason of his height, his features
were of cast to express his mental
attributes and enforce attention, and
the incongruity between his dominat.
ing figure and the apprehensions which
he displayed in these multiplied and
extraordinary arrangements for per-
sonal security was forcible enough to
arouse any mans interest.
The sergeant was so occupied by the
mystery of the man and the mystery
of the house that they had passed the
first gate (Which the judge had I'M
locked without much difficulty before
he realized that there still remained
something of interest for him to see
and to talk about later. The two dark
openings on either side, raised ques-
lions which the most unimaginative
mind would feel glad to hear explained
Ere the second gate swung open and
he found himself again in the street
he had built up more than one theory
in explanation of this freak of parallel
fences with the strip Of gloom between.
He would have felt the suggestion of
the spot still more deeply had it been
given him to see the anxious and hes
itating figure which, Immediately upon
his departure entered this dark maze,
and with feeling hands and cautious
step wound It's way from corner to
corner now stopping abruptly to
listen, now shrinking from some mag
mary presence shadow among
shadows-till 1t stood again between
the gates from which it had started.