FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76  
77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   >>   >|  
y" sentiments. He attempts to turn on more light, but finds this is impossible. He shifts uneasily, finally picking up a paper lying on a small table within reach. Date and title startle him. How came this copy of _London Press_ of such date in possession of Sir Charles or Agnes? Paul's hand shakes as he glances over the paper's contents. He beholds, under heavily marked red lines, the account of the Thames tragedy. Just then the door opens from an adjoining room. Draped in seaweed, the form of Alice Webster appears, blood oozing from her bruised temple, long damp tresses clinging to her neck and face. With uplifted hand, the apparition slowly advances toward the cowering Paul, as if to strike. Paralyzed with terror, the guilty wretch falls upon the floor, begging for mercy. Slowly the ghost, without change of mien, passes backward through the open door, disappearing in rayless darkness. [Illustration: "WITH UPLIFTED HAND THE APPARITION SLOWLY ADVANCED TOWARD THE COWERING PAUL, AS IF TO STRIKE."] Paul recovers, and rising resumes his seat. Straining his bewildered gaze, he sees that the door is shut. He is alone. Everything is as before. It must have been an hallucination, but how dreadfully real the appearance of drowned Alice Webster! Where is Agnes? Soon he hears a voice in the next room. With solemn inflection it repeats from Hood's "Eugene Aram" these fearful lines: "'Nothing but lifeless flesh and bone, That could not do me ill; And yet I feared him all the more For lying there so still: There was a manhood in his look That murder could not kill. * * * * * "'So wills the fierce avenging sprite Till blood for blood atones. Ay, tho' he's buried in a cave, And trodden down with stones, And years have rotted off his flesh, The world shall see his bones.'" There is a minute's pause. "Wonder what detains Mr. Lanier!" Tremblingly Paul opens the door between the rooms, and there are many surprised remarks, followed by explanations. Agnes says: "I heard the bell, and supposed you entered the sitting-room. I continued my toilet, and was delayed by missing articles of apparel. The new servant, in her zeal, disarranged everything. Without directions from me about your expected appearance, the servant ushered you by mistake into my uncle's private room." The bewitching manner and artless
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76  
77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
appearance
 

Webster

 

servant

 
feared
 
ushered
 
expected
 

mistake

 

hallucination

 

murder

 

artless


directions
 
manhood
 

bewitching

 

solemn

 

inflection

 

repeats

 

drowned

 

Eugene

 

fierce

 

private


dreadfully
 

lifeless

 

Nothing

 
fearful
 

manner

 
Tremblingly
 
missing
 

Lanier

 

detains

 

apparel


articles

 

surprised

 
continued
 
sitting
 

entered

 
supposed
 

explanations

 

remarks

 

delayed

 

toilet


Wonder

 

trodden

 
stones
 

buried

 
sprite
 
atones
 

rotted

 

minute

 
disarranged
 

Without