HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1931-12-31, Page 6PAGE SIX
John Uri Lloyd
THE SEAFORTH NEWS.
Never before had village bay dared„ to
Press the ,grass where 1 recalled. Nev
er before had child beheld either Sun -
Ishine or shadow from the place I c-
cnpied; a spot, it was said, the In-
dlans shunned because of its evil in-
fluence on him in -volved inits ocett
mazes. In the tradi:ton of the early
settlers an Indian maiden had here
met a tragic death' and we knew that
it was here tl�at the faaher of the
„Corn Bug" (sot -iii ksslrned because of
his propensity for lathe juice, of the
corn) 'had been mued•ered. In mature
life no intelligenit person believes
ghost stories or th e absurd Indian
traditions; tales VI • cluster , around
every precint o'f .o lid and find rest-
ingpl'a'ce in, the me es of children and
.of ignoranIt people. But to us children
and to the .ne'groes with whom we
were so intimate, that place was ac-
cursed, and would so have been' held
by us, even in the face of any testi-
mony to the contrary. Although the
said was rich, bashes of sas'sa'fras and
persimmolle !God's.emissaries for
worn-out grounds too poor for other
pleat • existence—refused to grow on
or near the spot. In this silent dell of
the "dark and bloody ground," that
from a clestance we children, venturing
cautiou'sl'y, had once timidly approach-
ed, Whisperingly pointed to, and then,
huddled together, ran from as if from
Satan, 1 now lay alone. My heart
throbbed and thumped, my flesh quiv-
ered at I knew not what, my limbs re-
fused to move; and the face of the
great sun, clear as crystal and bright
as molten silver, sank slowly in the
west. ,Simultaneously the weird earth
shadow, that singular grey cross, fell
slowly toward nae. I watched it leng-
then until the dihtended arms crept
over my form and enveloped rhe, and
then a quivering play of changing sun-
set -lights spread about the sky, amid
which at last the upper rim of the
sun disappeared, the rays flickered;
yet, strangely enough, before twilight
deepened darkness fell upon,me. Whe-
ther the shadow to which I refer was
an abject from the material or out-
side part of life that appeared to my
real eyesight, or a shade from the in-
ner circle that impressed my percep-
tive faculties, I shall not presume to
say; the reader may form his own
conclusions concerning the cause of
the phenomenon. 1 report only what
I witnessed; and I yet recall vividly
the spectral outline of this weird,.
strange shadow, stretching down the
long, barren hillside. I remember that
as I lay prostrate on the lone tomb;
gazing at the approaching umbra, I
wondered first if it would reach my
feet, and then, as its apex passed over
them, if its great arms would engulf
me. I remember to have given a sigh
of relief as the last vestige of the sun
was about to disappear; for I had un-
consciously accepted, without think-
ing it out, that should the arms of the
grey cross reach my body, any life
would end with the sinking of the
suss and the lengthening of the shad-
ow-, Then I recollect that the upper
rias of the crescent sun sank and pass-
ed from view, and the final slanting
rays bent themselves and streamed up-
ward, the arms passed over my body, leave that hateful valley as far behind
and I recollect nothing more. How
long I lay in the dew of the blue grass
1 cannot say, but when I regained
consciousness it was a's if I were a-
ivakeifing front a dream.
It seemed as though I had been
possessed of a vision, yet no details
remained. I had surely experienced
the knowledge of sweets and so ars,
sorrow and pain, peace and distress,
but not of thiu'ge, thoughts, or sights.
A black object, wrapped in black pap-
er, has an existence in the night, al-
though it 'cannot be seen; a fragment
of platinum foil, thrown on a furface
of molten silver, has an existence in
the light, yet is not to 'be seen; a trans-
parent object is in a transparent li-
quid held between the eye and Sill
is, and yet is not perceptible to the
sight. Thought's and experiences of
my sleeping self had been realities,
but to my waking self were not real, I
had lived and died, had passed flit]
other realms and back again, and ex-
periencing all, I yet recollected noth-
ing. This struck Inc as more than
strange; but only for an instant did
I think ofOccurrence, heo
tf r I realis-
ed immediately that I was not now
alone. As yet I had not opened my
eyes; but as the sleeping child intently
watched becomes restless, stirs before
it awakes, so did I feel the presence of
some body or spirit other than my
pwn.
Catteionsly seeking to disniver the
person gazing at me, for my nerves
were conscious of that piercing eye,
I raised myself upon my elbow and
Peered about, to see standing close
behind me an Indian girl, tall, erect,
beautiful. By the light of a full moon
T saw her form clearly, distin•etly, and
noted that her head was decorated in
gaily colored feather, and that her
dress'was•made of the draped skins of
anilpalsr Her 'bosom was partly coy
erect, partly bare; her face and bust to-
gether, as 1 flaw recall) the scene, mak-
ing a picture that might serve as an
artist's' ideal,' One hand rested on her
side; the fourth finger of the other was
olaccd upon her lip, as if; in the lan
sly name is Samuel ,Drew. and I am ''home one Saturday afternoon, I found
now professor of chemistry in the uni-
versity on' the Hill. 1iW'hen. I think of
1my boyhood, memories of the Ken-
tucky pike arise, and I recall the ex-
periences of Sammy Drew, a bare-
footed child. The boy, who, in Aug-
ust's heat, between noonday and mid-
afternoon, dared to walk barefooted
upon that road, raised his feet quick-
ly. I know Whereof T speak, for I of-
ten relieved nay blistering soles by
slipping aside into the weed -lined by-
paths. preferring them, even if they
passed near the honey -locust tree, un-
der which danger lurked in the great
brown thorns that always menace the
barefooted boy of Kentuck. That pike
is yet vivid t'o memory. Again I see
the dust of bygone times. Again the
sun's fierce rays force me to greater
laziness. Often I seek a shade tree at
the roadside, there to find the grassy
brink of a grateful spring, and, leaning
over the sward, bury my face in the
hard limestone water, drink deep and
long. Then, thoroughly content, I sit
on the overhanging sod in the shadow
of the tree, and spatter the cool water
with my toes, bathing a stone -bruise
in the very fount from which I drank.
With nose -tip close to the water's sur-
face, I eye the flitting cloud shadows,
,,can the reflected tan=fre'ekled face,
argil watch the water=bugs and craw-
fish as, deep in the limpid pool, they
stir the sand in the vein's, Finally I
turn upon my back and gaze into
space, dreaming of nothing, thinking
of nothing.
From earliest school -days chemistry
excited my keenest interest. When but
a child I sat absorbed during the ex-
periments made by the teacher while
he instructed the advanced class—the
class in chemistry—of our country
school. By chance I finally obtained
a copy of "Comstock's Chemistry,"
and day by day kept abreast with the
students who recited in that subtle
science.
Either luck or fate made a chemist
of me, — hick, because the subject
chanced to be taught in my roam; or
fate, because "what is to be will be" I
could net carry a rule in "Brown's
Grammar" from one day to another,
and I still detest the word "grammar"
because of those twenty-six artificial
rules. If I committed to memory
some portions of history, in a week
thereafter I mixed the incidents, un-
less they were connected with some-
thing of chemical significance. I could
not have remembered from day to day
whether Gustavus Adolphus fought m
the War of the Roses or conducted the
Thirty Years' confiict. Of everything
but chemistry my head seemed vac-
ant. All else slipped through as a
wind -struck fog flies through a leafless
woodland. T h e result was that.
though other subjects filtered out of
my brain as through a sieve, chem;stry
remained securely caught by the wind
meshes. I should add, however, that
historical events connected with the
enticing science rema'incd, as. under
similar conditions, did mathematical
signs and formulae. Chemistry served
as a nucleus of attachment. My one -
sister' mind caught the chemi a
s g Y of a
subject and hound therto or blended
therewith all connected hatters, as al-
cohol blends ethyl and water.. The tea-
cher scolded me often in the kindness
of severity for my indifference to
other subjects. I was one of the
blockheads; at least he seemed to re-
gard me as such, not appearing to
know anything of my one talent. The
little begs rf my row each learned
Inething concerting everything, as
, all mediocre brains, and one by one
passed beyond me; and I, in humilia-
I, sat a n=picu'dis amrong younger
. ; ,rbed in the one nn-
reached study that was destined in af-
ter, years to wreck my life. Chemis-
try! Would to fed I could bipt out
the wardl
CHAPTER I.
The Vision in the Moonlight,
Professor Drake, the village school-
teacher, in conversation with my
mother. .Before my presence was not-
iced—far, being barefooted, my step
was noiseless -1 caught the fragment
of a sentence: "It 'is painful to be forc-
ed to tell a mother these facts about
her son, but duty compels me to say
that I despair of teaching him." Then
seeing Inc, he paused and said some-
thing ab'out continuing the subject at
another time. Slow as I was in sone
respects, his words needed no inter-
pretation. \4y .cheek burned in humil-
iation, my heart beat violently; for it is
not pleasant to one mentally incapaci-
tated to hear the fact stated, and, less
still, for •oiie who loved his mother as
intensely as I did, to realese that the
most painful part of her life of the de-
voted privation snag small in compari-
son with the distress that resulted
from my stupidity. I was indignant,
and felt tempted to return and upbraid
the teacher, for were not his words the
immediate cause of my mother's sor-
row ? Her face was expressive of de-
spair. But the facts were on the peda-
gogue's side; and, moreover, I appreci-
ated that he, too, grieved over my -mis-
fortune. i fled from the house and
aimlessly moved on, meditating, mis-
erable. I climbed the back fence into
the woodland pasture, upon which our
little garden jutted, and after crossing
it wandered away from Stringtown, I
cared not whither. An hour passed,
and my auger and mortification sub-
sided, I ceased to think of the incid-
ent; indeed, no record remained 10 re-
mind my now dormant intellect of the
fact that I exietcd. My mind lead 'be-
came as unconscious of all external
things as it was of inherent emotions,
My limbs moved irresponsively and
my body automatically .passed. along.
I fancy that I had assumed the con-
dition of a brute of the lower class or
a creature like the turtle, the differ-
ence being that in my brain an intel-
lectual spark rested, and through it
the drowsy I of self could be excited
into consciousness, while the lethar-
gic mind of the turtle rests irredeem-
ably in the unreachable shadows with-
out. The great distinction between
man and brute is that man knows he
is man, and the brute knows nothing
of himself. I existed and was awake.
it ie true, but in this trance that pos-
sessed ane knew nothing of external
thing.
The sun sank slowly toward the dis-
tant tree -tops, and still 1 wandered
without method. The village disap-
peared behind me, but, regardless of
my whereabouts, I strolled dreamful-
ly along until at last T stumbled over
an inequality in the grass. An'd as
the flash shoots upwards when a spark
touches a fibre of gun -cotton, so the
sudden fall caused my mind to dart
hack into self-consciousness. The in-
stant I fell I became aware .of the fact
that never before had I ventured into
the present locality. I neat observed
a shadow that the sinking sun seethed
to throw toward me. A long shadow
upon the hill behind me, took She ,form
of a gigantic cross, the, apex reaching•
to and touching the mound beside me.
This did not, at the in'st'ant, cause me
the least concern; a shadow is but a
shadow. I raised my eyes to seek the
object that broke the ray of sunshine,
and, child that I was, marvelled then
at the mleacle; for smooth, as if plan-
ed by hand, the top of the hill stretch-
ed across my field of vision; there s'as
no intervening object between the sun
and me. The ace of the day king, un-
marked by tree or shrub, shone clear
and untarnished over a 'horizontal
ridge -summit feat etas fenceless, ob-
jectless, as straight as a ruler. Stretch-
ing down the barren hillside, came
those rays straight into my face; and
down that smooth hillside projected
toward ate, as if it had an intent in
thus poin'tin'g at myself, thegreat grey'
shadow lay sharp, and as still as tf car-
ved in stone—an effect withouta cause
—
-and'just'beynnd its tip I fay.trembl-
ins.
I now realised fully m;y location. He
Returning unexpectedly to my little paha heeded not the warning to avoid
that spot bred trouble for his future,
•
to
guage all nt'tione understand, the lan-
guage of signs she were bidding hie
be silent; and thus she stood, with el-
bows
lbows extended gazing before her. She
made no movement, and, as one en-
tranced, I lay motionless' at her feet,
She seemed to be listening for a
sound, and to fear that I. would .move
or speak; but I was powerless and
could not stove,
Then again I observed a strange
phenomenon,', The graceful position'
her form:unconsciously assumed cast
a'shadow 'over the earth, onand up
into the clear sky. Over the crest of
the hill, back toward where the sun
had sunk, the figure of a gigantic cross
high in .heaven was upeifted,-a perfect
cross. The distended dhows of the
maiden created the two sh'ad'ow -arms
of the, weird cross, and from behind
her, shining ' through leer forn'i as•
through a (haze, h saw the rising
moon's face. Marvellous ap'parit'ion!
The visage of t'he moon peered at me
through her very body, and thrust
that shadow over the earth and into
spade beyond. Strange -d remember
to have thought—strange that when
facing the sun I should have closed
my eyes upon a cross in heaven. Yet
While this query led my wondering
thoughts, it did not surprise me that
the girl's form was translucent; neith-
er did it seem remarkable that I
heard, 'in answer to my mind's, words,
the reply,—
"Not strange at all. The figure be-
fore you was present while the sun
still shone, but shch creations are in-
visible in the sunlight. She it was who
absorbed the radiance of the sun's
rays, and thus permitted the shafts of
darkness behind her to cast back at
the sun the skeletlon of that deple'ted
sun -ray. The shadow observed on
the hillside in the sunlight resulted
from the dominating p'o'wer of the
shade of darkness behind. To mortals
the sun prevails over all else, but to
other existences shade is the reality.
She whom you now see is only p'er
ceptible when a person occupies the
peculiar position, both of body and
mind, that you now'' enjoy; not every
one can see what you behold."
My reverie was at this point sud-
denly interrupted; a second shadow
crossed the molon's face, and I be-
held, stealthily approaching the girl
from behind, an Indian with uplifted
stone axe. I tried to scream, to move,
but could not. The smile on the face
of the unsuspecting girl remained
sweetly, wildly beautiful. Behind her
countenance that other face peering
through her own—as if the tracing of
a saint were threewn before the picture
of a devil—leered, sinister, desperate,
ugly—and through both of them the
moon. was shining. I tried again to
warn her of the danger, but could not
break the spell that bound me; staring,
Motionless and powerless, I saw the
uplifted war -axe of the phantom chief
sink deep into the black hair that cov-
ered her spectral skull.
Following now a sheep -pant along a
hillside, now a corn -row through the
field, now a dry creek -bed, I ran. Whe-
ther my cottree led to the right or the
left concerned me not. I only asked to
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1931
esti God help the cowaldI God pity,
hini who, frightened lies powerless
with consciousness intact. Fright blots
out all other pain; and he who adds
one useless pang to the suffering of a
terrified -creature must ,anewer for that
despicable act in the lierafter where
sins are ex'pia'ted,
iExhanste'd, bleeding, suffering phys-
ical pain, • and yet content, .I rested
uplon the floor, mentally thlein'g nate of
the surroundings. ,The room was that
of a plain log house. The floor was
very rough, being made of hewn split
heed logs,, the rounded .portion down,
the edges roughly jointed ,',together,
The furniture Was of the simplest de-
scription; the place was, lighted by 'a
single candle. "A .girl and a pian oc-
cuplied'the cabin,' the latter none other
than the "Corn Barg;" ane it seas evi-
dent that I had wandered from Airy
course :perhaps in a spiral out and back
again, for She valley in which I saw
the strange grey cross was, I well
knew. but a short distance front, rhe
rade log house in which I now was
sheltered. ,The other occupant of the
house was to me unknown;' a singular
little creature, with great eyes and
round face encircled by wild flowing
hair, a curious child who fascinated
my gaze despite my pain and terror.
The silence caused by my strange en-
trance was at length broken by the
Corn Bug."
"Sammy, ,what's the 'natter " he
said.
r'I ani last," I ,answered.
"Not while you are here,"
"I was seared."
"Wall," he continued slowly, "there
ain't no bars ner catamounts now:
why did net you' lie down beside a
fence er in a briar patch this warm
night an' sleep ?"
"I w'as too scared."
"What scared yo' sonny ? There
ain't no varmints hereabout"
"I saw something terrible."
as my strength udould carry me. Could
I have known the way, I would cer-
tainly have fled to my home; but I
sped bewildered, and saw no famil-
iar landmark. A sudden rustle of the
hashes at my feet caused my heart to
jump, sty steps to halt; a timid rabbit
crossed my path, vanishing in the
darkness as quickly as it had sprung
from cover. Again T fled, only to
halt, trembling; an abject, black, of
mammoth size, of strange shape, ap-
peared before me, and as I stood
transfixed the monstrous forte grew
before my eyes, evolved from nothing,
Floating from out the air, it towered
to the very heavens above; and then as
suddenly as it had appeared did it
shrink and assume the familiar form of
a black easy. She advanced along the
path uplon which I stood, steadily and
peaceably, possibly ruminating o78
subjects too deep for human cogita-
tion. Quickly it flashed Upon my
mind that to trace back the path the
cow had trodden would carry the to
the barnyard and the home of her
owner, and acting on the im'pul'se, I
fixed n gaze ae a
Y g p,ou the moonlit
ground and steadily walked along that
well delfined cow.-path."When next I'
raised my eyes, the light of a candle
shining through a window .gladdened
my sight; with rapid step I reached an
open doorway, and without knocking
or even sounding a cry leaped into
the room. As I made that last spring
forward, it seemed as though unseen
hands clutched my coat -sleeves, as
though goblins and ghosts threw
themselves upon me, as though weird
arms encircled' my form and clutched
my ankles and feet, and as though
superhuman things, cried and moaned
shout me.
CHAiPTE1R II.
Cupe's Story and the Omen.
A delightful sensation came over ane
as I Pay in security once more among
human beings. Only theme who have
been through experiences such as I
suffered can appreciate the relief I
PROFESSIONAL CAIRDS.
To be continued.
Want and For Sale ads, 1 week 25c.
THE N9cKILLOP
Mutual Fire Insurance Co.
Medical
FIARM ANiD ISOLATED TOWN
PIRIOIPERITY, 0 N'LY, INSURED
Officers — John Bennewies, 'Brod-
hagen, President; Jas. Connolly,' God-
erich, \rice.JPres.; ID. IF. !McGregor,
Seaforth No, 4, iSec,-Treas.
Directors—'Geo. R. McCartney, Sea -
forth No. 3; Alex. Broadfoot, •Sca-
forth No. 3; lames Evans, 'Seaforth
No. 15; IRobt.:Ferris, 'Blyth No. 1; J'as,
Sholdice, Walton No. 4; John 'Pepper,
Bnuefield; 'William Knox, Londes-
borough.
Agents—+Jas. Watt, (Blyth No. 1; W.
E. 'Hinchley, :Seaforth; J. A. Murray,
Seaforth No. 3; W. J. Yeo, Clinton
No. .3; ,R, G. Tarmuth, Bornholm.
/Auditors — Jas. 'Kerr, ISea'forth;
Thos. Moylan, ISeaforth No. 5.
Parties desirous to effect insurance
or transact other business, will be
Promptly "attended to by applications
to any of the above named officers ad-
dressed to their respective post
offices.
(DR, H, HUGH ROSS, Physician
and Surgeon. Late of London Hos-
pital, London; England. Special
attention to diseases of the eye, ear,
nose and throat. Office and reef-.
dence behind Dominion Bank, Office
Phone No. 5; Residence Phone 104.
DR.: F. J. BUIRI3bOIWIS, Seaforth. •
Office and residence, Goderich street,
east of the United Church. Coroner
for the County of Huron, Telephone
No. 46. ,.
'DTR. C. MIAQh1AY.—C. Mackay,
honor graduate of Trinity University.
and gold medallist of Trinity Medical
College; member of the College of
Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.
DIR. F. J. R. RO'RJS1TEIR—yEye, Ear
Nose and Throat. Graduate in Medi-
cine, University of Toronto 1897.
Late Assistant New York OQpIlrthal-
asic and Aural Institute, Mooredleld's
Eye, and Golden Square throat hospi-
tals, London, England. At Comm-
ercial Hotel, 'Seaforth, 3rd Monday in
each month, , from 11 a,na. to 3 p.m.
DDR, W. C. SI1RO.A'T.-'Graduate of
Faculty of Medicine, University of
Western' Ontario, London: Member
of College of Physicians and Sur-
geons of Ontario. Office in rear of
Aberhart's drug . store, Seaforth.
Phone 90. Hours 1.30-4 p.m., 7,30
-9 pan. Other ;flours by appointmemt.
Dental
DR. J. A. MUN'N, Successor to
Dr. R. R. Ross, graduate of North-
western University, Chicago, I11. Li-
centiate Royal College of Dental Sur-
geons, Toronto. Office over Sills'
hardware, Main St., Seaforth. Phone
151.
DR. F. J. BECHLELY, graduate
Royal College of Dental Surgeons,
Toronto. Office over W. R. Smith's
grocery, Main St, Seaforth. Phones,
office 185W, residence 1'85J.
Auctioneer.
GEORGE ELLIOTT, Licensed
Auctioneer for the County of Huron.
Arrangements can be made for Sale
Date at The Seaforth 'News. Charges
moderate and satisfaction guranteed.
WATSON AND REIMS
REAL ESTATE
AND INSURANCE AGENCY
(Succssors to James 'Watson)
•IVIAIIN ST., SEAF;ORTH, ONT.
All kinds of Insurance risks effect-
ed at lowest rates in First -Class
Companies.
-v--vv-rv-vrry .rs v o y o•
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