Ghost Stories of an AntiquaryJames, M. R. (Montague Rhodes)
General
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary
James, M. R. (Montague Rhodes)
Ghost stories, English; Horror tales, English; Short stories, English
The light was behind him, and he could see his own shadow clearly cast
on the wall opposite. Also the shadow of the bearded man in Number 11
on the left, who passed to and fro in shirtsleeves once or twice, and
was seen first brushing his hair, and later on in a nightgown. Also the
shadow of the occupant of Number 13 on the right. This might be more
interesting. Number 13 was, like himself, leaning on his elbows on the
window-sill looking out into the street. He seemed to be a tall thin
man—or was it by any chance a woman?—at least, it was someone who
covered his or her head with some kind of drapery before going to bed,
and, he thought, must be possessed of a red lamp-shade—and the lamp
must be flickering very much. There was a distinct playing up and down
of a dull red light on the opposite wall. He craned out a little to see
if he could make any more of the figure, but beyond a fold of some
light, perhaps white, material on the window-sill he could see nothing.
Now came a distant step in the street, and its approach seemed to
recall Number 13 to a sense of his exposed position, for very swiftly
and suddenly he swept aside from the window, and his red light went
out. Anderson, who had been smoking a cigarette, laid the end of it on
the window-sill and went to bed.
Next morning he was woken by the _stuepige_ with hot water, etc. He
roused himself, and after thinking out the correct Danish words, said
as distinctly as he could:
“You must not move my portmanteau. Where is it?”
As is not uncommon, the maid laughed, and went away without making any
distinct answer.
Anderson, rather irritated, sat up in bed, intending to call her back,
but he remained sitting up, staring straight in front of him. There was
his portmanteau on its trestle, exactly where he had seen the porter
put it when he first arrived. This was a rude shock for a man who
prided himself on his accuracy of observation. How it could possibly
have escaped him the night before he did not pretend to understand; at
any rate, there it was now.
The daylight showed more than the portmanteau; it let the true
proportions of the room with its three windows appear, and satisfied
its tenant that his choice after all had not been a bad one. When he
was almost dressed he walked to the middle one of the three windows to
look out at the weather. Another shock awaited him. Strangely
unobservant he must have been last night. He could have sworn ten times
over that he had been smoking at the right-hand window the last thing
before he went to bed, and here was his cigarette-end on the sill of
the middle window.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account