Further Adventures of Quincy Adams Sawyer and Mason Corner FolksPidgin, Charles Felton
General
Further Adventures of Quincy Adams Sawyer and Mason Corner Folks
Pidgin, Charles Felton
New England -- Fiction
“My first thought was that Mrs. Bliss had put out the gas. Before I had
time to question her, Jack and I caught sight of a white spot that was
approaching us from the corner of the room nearest the doorway which led
into the hallway. This light, which was no larger than a man's hand at
first, increased in size and intensity until it covered a space at least
two feet wide and six feet high. I must admit that my hair was inclined
to stand on end.”
“And mine too,” exclaimed Jack.
“Suddenly,” said Ned, “the light, which was nebulous, began to fall away
in places and assume a shape like the form of a man. Then the portion
where a man's head ought to be, assumed the appearance of one. Jack and
I clasped hands and retreated to the farther corner of the room. This
act on our part was purely voluntary. If I had possessed a Remington
rifle, six Colt's revolvers, and a dynamite bomb, I should have backed
out just the same.
“We could not remove our eyes from the glittering, moving, thing; and
now a most surprising change took place. The light seemed to leave the
figure, so that it was not visible as a light, and yet it filled the
room with a radiant glow.
“Who was that who stood before us? Could we believe our eyes? Were they
playing us a trick? Were we the victims of a too active imagination? No,
there could be no mistake. The form that stood before us was that of the
man who lay dead in the next room.
“Turning towards us, from the form came the words distinctly spoken--'It
must be signed!' The figure pointed to the table near which Mrs. Bliss
still sat in an apparently unconscious state. I took the will from
my pocket, opened it, advanced to the table, and laid it thereon. The
figure reached out its right hand and beckoned. The thought came to
me that he wanted a pen. There was none in the room. Jack divined the
situation as quickly as I did and took his stylographic pen from his
visiting book, fitted it for use, and laid it on the table beside the
will. The form advanced, took up the pen, joined a small letter to the
capital 'T' already written, and finished out the name in full.
“The form then laid the pen upon the table and pointed to the places set
apart for witnesses. I wrote my name, Edward Everett Colbert, and Jack
put his,--John Loring Bannister, under mine.”
“Did the form sit down?” asked Quincy.
“No. The only chair near the table was the one in which Mrs. Bliss sat.
I could not resist the inclination to whisper in Jack's ear: 'What do
you think of that?' We both turned with the intention of taking another
look at 'That,' but it had disappeared and the gas was burning at about
half-light.
“Mrs. Bliss arose from her seat with a pleasant smile on her face. 'You
said that he had signed it--I understood you to say so, did I not?'
I said nothing, but drew the will from my pocket and pointed to the
signatures. Then Jack said it was his duty to see the sorrowing family
and for me to escort Mrs. Bliss to a car.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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