Ellen Percy; or, The Memoirs of an Actress — page 341: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

ene ee —_—_—. 328 a OS hung the key upon the nail in the Janding ; whereas it is now evident that you merely took the key with you in some listless mood, without locking the door at all—and you snlict have dropped or laid the key somewhere, hut where you cannot now recollect.” Beda reflected for a few moments; and then she said, in a deliberative and uncertain manner, “Tt may be so—it must be so: but still—but still—it does indeed seem to me very, very strange id “Yes,” I hastened to interject; “it seems strange, my dear Beda, that you should do any- thing which aft all savours of neglectfulness,—you who are invariably so discreet, so regular, so punc- tual, and so accurate! But no matter! We need not lock the door at all—no one will come to disturb us. And now, dear Beda, let us retire to rest,” While we were disapparelling ourselves, I pur- posely talked in a gay strain, without making the slightest allusion to the incidents connected with the haunted room. Beda comprehended my pur- pose, and she followed my example. We knelt down together and said our prayers: we then sought the couch : we conversed for a little while —we bade each other “ Good night”—and silence prevailed in the chamber. I had read in old romances of haunted rooms in ancient castles—I had a vivid recollection likewise of Walter Scott’s description of such an apart- ment in “ The Betrothed,” and likewise of his fearfully graphic tale, “ The Tapestry Chamber :” but little had I ever foreseen that I myself should make personal acquaintance with a haunted room, or for two consecutive nights become the inmate of one. Yetsoit was. And now I asked myself whether I had been foolhardy in my conduct, and whether I deserved to be punished for what I was doing? But I was really enabled most conscien- tiously to acquit myself of all blame in this sense, Not so easy was it to answer the question, whether there was reaily anything to apprehend P I had seen. a muffled and cloaked figure pass out at a particular door at a time when I had actually known nothing of the legend which related to such a cloaked and muffled figure, or to the reason why the apparition should be supposed to haunt the vicinage of that particular door. But this was not all! I had fancied that I had heard the rattling of bones in a particular spot before I had ever heard a syllable to direct my attention to that spot or to engender in my imagination the idea which had so smitten me. Could all this be ac- counted for by the theory of coincidence? Could the gliding figure in the muffled cloak have been a creation of the fancy P Possibly so :—but, on the other hand, the sounds resembling the rattling of bones could not be similarly disposed of; for Beda had heard them as well as myself! | I endeavoured to avoid bewildering myself with these questions: I strove to turn my thoughts into another channel: I shut my eyes, and did my utmost to woo the presence of slumber. But all was of no avail. I felt restless and uneasy: there was an anxiety in my mind—a sort of readiness to be influenced by the first circumstance that might arise to change that anxiety into absolute terror. 1 could have kept on turning and tossing about in the bed—but I feared to disturb Beda, i a ee —_ ——— — OT COO ELLEN PERCY; OR, TRE MEMOIRS OF AN ACTRESS, though I could scarcely fancy that she was slum- bering. At length, as I did gently turn round towards her, the dear girl’s large dark eyes opened; and we both smiled as we thus looked at each other, for we mutually comprehended what was passing in our minds. ' ©'You cannot sleep, doar Miss?” said Beda, **No—nor you,” I answered. ‘Come, let us resolve to shut our eyes—not look at.each other— but do all we can to woo the advance of slumber. Everything is quiet—there is not a sound—and therefore let us sleep !” Beda assented to my proposition: we turned from each other, and shut our eyes. Half-an- hour might have passed away, and. sleep was stealing over me—all ideas were growing dim in my brain—the loss of consciousness was almost complete,—when all of a sudden an ejaculation burst from the lips of Beda. I started up; and then the same sounds as on the preceding night met my ears,—those sounds which resembled the rattling of human bones! “Now,” said Beda, springing from the bed, “we will see, dear Miss, what this really is !” “How do you propose to act?” I inquired, in- stantaneously gathering courage from the example of intrepidity which she was now setting me, “Look!” said Beda: and she produced from under the bed, a chisel, a mallet, and a tolerable- sized iron wedge, all of which articles she had taken from a store-room in the course of the even- ing. I was glad that she had done this: those sounds had been plainly heard again; and though they had suddenly ceased after lasting for merely a few moments, yet was their impression too strong upon my brain to be mistaken. Neither of us had any desire for slumbering immediately: we were both broad awake; and as I looked at my faithful com- panion, I saw that her lips were slightly com- pressed with the feeling of resoluteness that in- spired her. We opened the door of that cupboard which has been before so frequently mentioned ; and first of all we carefully examined the boards by means of one of the wax-lights. The floor of the cup- board, or closet, was not a continuation of the planking of the room itself, as is the case in most modern houses: but that flooring had been evi- dently laid down in quite a distinct manner. In short, there were two boards placed lengthways at the bottom of this cupboard. “I think you will first of all be compelled to remove a piece of the skirting-board,” I said; “ and then you may easily force up the plank.” *‘We will see,” answered Beda. ‘‘ Where are the nails which fasten down these boards? Ah! here is one! But it is quite loose! See! with the slightest effort it comes out!” And sure enough, by a very trifling touch with the edge of the chisel, the nail sprang out of its setting. “i do really believe, dear Miss,” said Beda, looking up with mysterious gravity into my coun- tenance, “ that these boards have been tampered with, and have at some time or another been raised since they were first laid down. Yes!—look! here is this piece of the skirting board which is all loose! Ah, it easily comes off !” .At that instant we heard some sound behind oo C—O Oe” ECORNICLOOC) SS (E(0)