Show WHAT WAS IT A number of years ago there wat was played in ODO one of tho the largo wine houses at eye ego harbor ity a steady 3 a oung follow of german gorman ascent named joseph zeigler lor but sometimes cappone to german gorman OWR oung moa ab u well as to thoo of strict merican parentage joseph wae was in ve va two or three oreal evenings ovary wook ivock this devote do vote young D alk four malej out into tho the bush to ul ill upon a pretty koltow halrid paulain who answered to tho the name of inn vanzandt aud to whom he ox ex acted to be married ae as eoon soon as ho he wa was blo to lepport a family so it is not great crest source of on derment that it m as often well along toward morning fare he entered onto red the little om at egg harbor choro at present to a was wa lodging I 1 thua thus it a imo me about that Josoph was trudging on along through the land and of a narrow and bush old od among the wee email small hours at ho little end and of tho the day ho ila had just oft tho the vanzandt homestead a and nd tho the harming and ample minna moon and nat rally enough ha he waa was a happy man blore than two miles of dusty high bruy ay lay before him before the next learing lcarl nr would be reached and large largo acts of land thickly covered with scrub rub oak and eluo pi 00 crowded close pon the roi dildo occasional paths ind nd openings led out into ho the wood and on either aide side but in spite of base the walk was decidedly lone lome ome and so thought tho the young fellow follow a question quo atlon in spite of pleasant houch ts of tho fair hatred haired madchen hem bo be had just lod left so be he rather ho he could have company though he evening was a bright and moonlit BO suddenly and without tho the slightest warning joseph became con can clous that ho he als not alone an old nan an with 1 lonz gray board waa was talk ng along by bv his aide side though seem angly ignorant of his pt mity tho the young man wondered much at ils presence re at that hour but its Is company was decidedly welcome or it if the truth bo be told joseph was aeling a trifle timid good oc ning sir if it it is not too late ate eaid said ho he to tho the stranger with a new tew to being sociable the old man p i id not the A slightest tightest attention to the salutation ho he did id not ppe aras if he had oven even heard it for ie e kept walking along in tho the bame ibs orbed and silent manner wio geets main freund eald said o aph in a little louder tono tone think ng gm ble hi com companion might not under tand english or was somewhat deaf ut still there was no sign that ho he as hoard heard the old man only walk d along as quietly and unsociably as iver ver joseph looked at him even more barcly than before but ho he could not ee anything about him to occasion be least alarm the silent old od man ot only made no offer to molest him n any way but ho he paid no more at ution to him than he would to a once poet post if one bad had boon been there evidently he was not a tramp for ie e was well dressed and tho the glitter of i gold charm crossed his vest front also ob observed sered that ho he walked ith a 4 stout staff whoso hoad head was grotesquely rotes quely carved into the semblance if f a human skull and that his features vore ore pale eve to ghastliness tho the taciturn stranger walked along 7 bli his side aid lor for nearly a mile tulle and hough joseph spoke to him sacral times in to both german gorman and english bo he not even attract his attention fheo boo bo be suddenly down a larrow arrow bypath by path that led lod off among the on the right and disappeared n the shadows much mystified zeigler walked rap adly ho ard and when bo he again billed ilea uron his beloved a few event lck g later he fie mado some inquiries in efurd to the matter dut but herr van andt know of no ono answering at ill it to the djung mans maiks description no ne no lived out in tho the bush in that di dl ec tica and thero there wore were no paths thero there except cattle trucks leading nowhere n u palti culli iho fair mina soon engrossed X j PW attention however so 0 o bo queer eld old inan man WM was an entirely forgotten or gotten lie thought DO no moro bout about tho the affair tul till bo he sot lot out on his return that night or rather the next morning tor for I 1 it was paal past midnight at about tho the ama pot spot was by suddenly discovering cov erinc that the mysterious old man was again agnin walkley loir at III bit I 1 eldo side how and chonce he came joseph could not explain tho cret ho he know tho the old man wa was there aa As before all efforts to attract bid bl attention wore useless at tho the same ritt rift through tho the bushes tho the old man udd aly stopped und and for or tho the first time looked at his gomo somewhat what alarmed companion it was a piercing glance it only a momentary ono and joseph noticed that had a dim phosphorescent light as ot of shouldering ing gro lurking in their depths ho he turned on hie his hoet heal walked rapidly off air through tho the bushes and disappeared as befaro for that could not have explained even to himself ho 83 said id nothing to anyone ot of this second encounter on with tho gray ft boarded stranger but whoa when next ho be returned from ho he kept close watch in la othor to BOO sea whom tho the old man camo came from should ho he again intrude upon him it was all in vain before ho he know it bis his ilent silent com canlon was once more at his sido side and ho he was none tho the wisor wiser as to phonco ho came in spite of hie his watchfulness tho the tint thing bo he know tho the old man was thoro them thoroughly terri terrified flod zeigler broko into a sharp run in order to leave him in tho the rear tho old roan man nover never turned his bead head and apparently was perfectly ign ignorant orent of his unwilling companion existence yet he still kept his place beside him joseph stopped short in the road tho the old man did tho the same finding ho he could not cot I 1 lid id of his remarkable companion joseph mado made tho the best bost of him but bid steps rapid for bo he was much alarmed olar mod ho he did not like tho singular manner of tho the stran por and at once decided that bo he must bo be insane As on the former occasion the old man stopped and pave gave joseph a piercing look from his glowing eyes are ho he turned off into the woods but this time bo he did more than that ho ila motioned with great oarn earnestness estness for his companion to follow him finding ho he would not do so ho he then thou turned slowly away and vanished among tho the bushes it was more than two weeks b eforo joseph called upon minna mona again tho the riek risk of encountering that eilent ellent uncanny old man pain again was too much for his rather limited amount of courage but when the moon was nearing ita its full once more ho he summoned up nil all his determination and went ile felt that ho be must twe ce fraulein vanzandt Yun Vun zandt again in spite of all the crazy people in ia new now jersey he ile dreaded his lonely walk a goo cooj deal bowber ho bo und it was not much to bo at blat U it he fortified forti flod hira him sell with more th n the usual amount of herr borne bome made wine lie ile also started fur homo home a 4 much earlier hour it was the same story over ain agraan tho the old man was apparently on tho the lookout for him as bo he suddenly ap appeared at his side ile carried the singular ein ular staff in bis his hand and still refused to bo be distanced or to reply to any remark addressed to him As he le turned off aror the road ho he beckoned even more mom urgently than before for bis his to f follow him herr wine was having considerable effect on josephs cour and bo be felt as bold as a lion so he unhesitatingly stepped out of the highway in obedience to the invitation and followed the singular madman along through the bushes but the band hand in his coat pocket gripped firmly the butt of a revolver with which ho he bad taken the precaution to arm him bolf the path conducted tho the strangely assorted some ten ton or fifteen rods into arito the thicket thio kot and finally ended in a little opening among a cluster of low dark pines thero there the remarkable guide gulde came to a bait balt ho ile turned around end ind faced his companion where the moonlight maou light fell most lAron gly upon his form and features and removed tho the broad brimmed bat hat thai he wore As he did so the young mai man stat ted back with un an exclamation exclamation of horror the thick gray hair was matted and fairly soaked with blood and a thin dark stream of it waa was beginning to trickle down across tho the pallid eatores ea tures it was a ghastly sight joseph uler U ler had re arcely car cely noticed all this when it seemed to him as if it tho the old mans flesh suddenly dropped away from him and dissolved in the pale moonbeams moon beams before his very eyes for a brief instant a bleached and whitened skeleton stood there in the flood good of moonlight then the TJ 11 ml roll la to 11 confuted bla his foot with a harp sharp dry rattle the tha fictitious courage bora born of wine loo vanished in a au du la slant at the bor eight with shriek of terror joseph turned and od flod from tho gilsky chaotam pha and one ho he I 1 never slackened his headlong paco till abe bo found himself on ono of the ileac streets at erg harbor city tho the next morning ho he bended a little exploring party aad nod conducted hem through tile busho bushes till thoy they ra 0 d tho the little circio circle of pinos that bad had but shut in tho the horror of the night bocora lying thero there among the leaves anil and rubbish thoy they found tho the bleaching bonos homes of a mani mans skeleton and celoso 1 beside lay a walking stalk chono heavy knob was a jimlo kull skull and to aa an anlo angle of which till still clung a few gray hairs ibo ube cranium bad had been crushed in oo 00 sido ai as if by a terrible blow from rora a bluJ bludgeon geon and thero wits no tro of tho the glittering gold chain worn by Zol glera ulers strange companion of the preceding ovon Inz the tace staff a ie low shreds of cloth and nod tho the trees wera ah ali that remained to toll of somo some thing that hod had boon a man the remains were taken away and givan a decent decant burial but noth ing further was wits ever discovered in ro card to them whoso thoy they were could never bo be ascertained whether an insane murderer had taken this awful way to guide tho the world to hie his victims body or whether tho the spirit of tho the murdered man him solf sell had bad returned from ita IU abode in tho unknown and mystery shad owed future to point out his mortal remains for or interment Int ormont will probably never bo be known joseph tried la in vain to find out the identity of tho the singular man who conducted him to that midnight scene of horror on an that pleasant moonlight night and if it was not a it man what was it |