In the angle nearest the
door Mr. Rosser stationed himself, and after a
whispered consultation his second left him, joining
the other near the door. At that moment the candle
was suddenly extinguished, leaving all in profound
darkness. This may have been done by the draught
from the opened door; whatever the cause, the effect
was startling.
'Gentlemen,' said a voice which sounded strangely
unfamiliar in the altered condition affecting the
relations of the senses--'gentlemen, you will not
move until you hear the closing of the outer door.'
A sound of trampling ensued, then the closing
of the inner door; and finally the outer one closed
with a concussion which shook the entire building.
A few minutes afterward a belated farmer's boy
met a light wagon which was being driven furiously
toward the town of Marshall. He declared that be-
hind the two figures on the front seat stood a third,
with its hands upon the bowed shoulders of the
others, who appeared to struggle vainly to free
themselves from its grasp. This figure, unlike the
others, was clad in white, and had undoubtedly
boarded the wagon as it passed the haunted house.
As the lad could boast a considerable former expe-
rience with the supernatural thereabouts his word
had the weight justly due to the testimony of an
expert. The story (in connection with the next day's
events) eventually appeared in the Advance, with
some slight literary embellishments and a concluding
intimation that the gentlemen referred to would be
allowed the use of the paper's columns for their
version of the night's adventure.
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