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THIS NKHRASKAN
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umber what it said, except that it was a accustomed to their lot, and were fairly con-
request for me to accompany it on some ex- tented.
pedition. All lm'H nll(1 ')0on cnankru(' wuvor, by
Frightened though I was, 1 yet had pres- the arrival of a new spirit whose actions
ence of mind enough to attempt to pass it off were beyond the comprehensions of the com
as a joke. munity in which it had come to dwell. Af
' ' Aflecting a manner 'a.: light and airy as ter trying in vain to solve the problem, the
my costume, I spoke somewhat as follows: ghosts had resolved to bring a mortal upon
"Really, I am very sorry. 1 would like aw- the scene to sec if it could be explained. I
fully well to go with you, but I don't sec very had been brought accordingly,
well how I can. Tl's hard luck, but I have Having furnished this explanation, my
an engagement for this hour. I promised to ghost (if I may so call it), led me to a large
meet a chum of mine here. He's a very nice stone directly in the center of the graveyard,
fellow. Maybe you've met him ; Morpheus Here 1 saw what I had never noticed before,
is his name." that there was a stone stairway leading down
The ghost, however, did not seem much into the ground, and ending in a long, dark
impressed. Without waiting to hear any- passage.
thing more, it reached out and grasped me Along this I was conducted, and soon
by the throat. And then I discovered that found myself in a large room which was
it had another peculiar feature its lingers filled with the same light which 1 have de
were abnormally long, and cold and clammy scribed before.
beyond expression. Although the clasp was It would be useless for me to attempt to
not at all light, and 1 felt no sense of sullb- describe this room. Grouped around in one
cation, yell seemed paralyzed and wholly end of it were a number of ghosts that did
unable to offer any resistance. not diller materially from the one which 1
I was picked up and carried out of the have described. They all seemed to have a
room. After that 1 became da.ed, and real- haunted expression. It seems paradoxical to
ized nothing more for sometime. speak of a ghost as being haunted, but that
When I recovered consciousness I found word best expresses it.
myself leaning against a tombstone with the I soon discovered the cause of it. At the
ghost standing over me. On looking around other end of the long room was another spirit
I soon discovered where 1 was. which J rightly presumed to be the one upon
A short distance southwest of the asylum which I was to pass judgement.
ivS an old cemetery where are interred the Although 1 had become somewhat hard
bodies of such inmates of that institution as ened by this time, I was almost overcome by
are not claimed by their friends. You can this new apparition. It was evidently the
easily imagine, therefore, that it would be a spirit of .some female, and while it very much
particularly eccentric lot of ghosts that fre- resembled the others in appearance, its ac
quent this place. J was not at all reassured lions were horrible beyond compare. It
when I found out where 1 was, would stand perfectly still for some moments
As soon as 1 was sufficiently recovered to and seemed to be reciting some sort of a
comprehend anything, my conductor ex- chant. Then it would be taken with a hor-
plained why I had been brought there. rible spasm and would go through all manner
It appeared that the ghosts of that place, of terrible contortions. These spasms seemed
with a few congenial spirits, were accus- to occur at regular intervals. It was awful,
tomed to congregate in a chamber in the I wondered what crime this person had
center of the graveyard. While they were committed while on earth to merit such a
not exactly happy there, they had become dreadful punishment. "Surely," I thought,
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