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Show 1 THE HAUNTED COLLEGE. n I 1 iiv nn.i, h. (in)i.uv. I 1 MR I I CopyrljMtJ, I'M, by Thi Authori 1'MtMng Company SjJl , This Is tlio tnlo told mo by Hal !Ttj Burton, soldier, Ilolicmlnn, globo-trot- H; r tor, and good follow generally, ono Hi Bloomy winter night when wo sat, Vt v ituig and warm by Uio blazing hearth Bj of a roadsldo Inn, sipping our alo, m L ' puffing our pipes and listening to tho W K howling of tho flcrco blasts without. B? S "It was during tho franco-Prussian 'XL war thirty years ago," began Burton, R "that tho strnngo ndventuro which I m t. am about to rclato took place "When that mcmorablo strugglo bo- K F can tho United States was In a stato Bv r of profound pence, both at homo and K j abroad. After tho campaigns wo had m passed through, llfo In tho army was B Insufferably dull. Tiring of enforced H- (- Idleness, I and somo half dozon others BL of the ounger ollleers throw up our t commissions and sot out togother for Europe In search of adventure "Wo offered our soi vices to tho K$ f French. They wcro Immediately nc-B nc-B coptod and wo woro sent to Join tho E h, array at tho front. Hi P-i "Wo wuro oncamped In a lonoly H j ' spot In Alsace. Within our lines, near H p the camp, was situated a largo build-BJ build-BJ K Ing, formerly used as a medical colli col-li J lego. At tho opening of tho war tho BJ jS services of tho students had bcon Bj jf. brought Into requisition, elthor as sol-m sol-m , , dlors or surgeons, and tho forsaken K '' building had been left to caro for It- M t' . soir. Bj ('" "Being to near tho French camp, It n BW , seemed stiango that tho chief ollleers Eg fe1' ' did not uso tho deserted collego for II I, their headquarters. Hut tho placo had H m a gloomy, fo bidding look, and I proof pro-of Y' ' sumo nono of them cared to occupy In I1' " w i 'i "I belonged to tho skeptical ma-Pi ma-Pi Jorlty. Ono night whon It was rain-fm rain-fm L Ing and tho ground was soaking wot, 1m W I proposed to my tent-mute, u oung In 1 Amorlcan ofllcer llko myself, that wo mk K should movo Into tho collego for tho ifflp., night to shcltor ourselves from tho Hi, itorra. HJM. "'No' thank yu.' ho rcpllod; 'I'd Iffi"' father sleep on tho wet ground under llR ft leaky tent than In a building ten- 11" anted by ghosts.' 111'. "'Ghosts? Fiddlesticks!' I ex- Mf. "Y claimed, 'Do you mean to say you bo- ' tlovo that nonsenso?' Hm "'Why shouldn't I?' ho demanded HJf?,.l' Quickly, 'I have Hoard say that all jHffo.' the medical students who havo been Bm' killed In tho war como back thoro Hr i at midnight to hold high rovol, and ww I fully bellovo It. Why, I camo past fm Uiero late tho 'other night and tho Wt building fairly shook with their ghost- EHf,3 ly carousals.' f r 1 " 'Shook with tho wind, moro like- r ( ''' I '"All right; 1'vo told you what I B- - heard; if you thlnl; you can sloop Hn thoro, go ahead. I pri'fer tho tout.' Umii "So saying, ho rolled over on tho BflyfiK damp ground nnd was soon snoring KBr llko ono of tho fabled Sovcn Slcop- Bm crs' Br.' "Tho rain was streaming into tho m&g tont and was standing In pools on flio ijEp Wrapped myself In my blanket. rare I r mi'i ground, and I was bent on finding; a K dryar and more comfortable couch, it ,'fe. poaalble. I gathorcd up my blankets, 5f wrappliiE thorn closely around me to "jt, ket out the driving rain, and sot out Wfm for the. old building, determined to sK Ta thn rest of tlin night thoro. $3r "Qroiiing my way carefully In Oio darkness, I came to a stairway, ? rit ,- ceiiding which and passing through HBBBSBBSBfllr '' ' an open doorway, I found myself In a largo, oblong-shaped room, with an unusually high celling, fitted with several sev-eral largo skylights, evidently intended intend-ed to supplement the light afforded by tho somewhat narrow windows, located lo-cated at regular Intcnals along two sldos of tho room. "In tho center of tho room stood a long table, with a marhlo slab for a top, nnd ranged about it wcro a number num-ber of straight-backed chairs and benches, from which I Judged that Turned his eyeless sockets In my direction. the apartment had been used as a dissecting dis-secting room by tho medical students. "All this I discerned by tho lurid flashes of lightning, which occasionally occasion-ally lighted up tho room from overhead. over-head. "Aftor a hasty survey, I wrapped myself In my blankets, keeping on my uniform and sword, and, lying down on tho floor, was soon In tho land of dreams. "I had looked at my watch Just boforo lying down. It was thon oxact-ly oxact-ly cloven o'clock. How long I slept I know not. 1 suddonly awoko with a strango fooling of dread. My heart was thumping violently, and I could feel my hair standing on end from fright. J "liaising myself on my elbow, 1 glanced scarchlngly around tho room. Tho air was filled with a pocullnr, phosphorescent light, by which I was enabled to clearly dlBcorn oven tho smallost objects. "Prosontly, at tho further end of Uio apartment, a door which I had not boforo sepn, swung opon, nnd four uniformed men ontered, carrying a nude body on a stretcher, followed by a procession of nbout thirty, "Threo timfcs they marched, sol-omnly sol-omnly and slowly, around tho room. As thoy passod mo I pcrcolvod that tho corpso was Rtalncd and bloody, ns If recently slain in battlo. I also dlscovored, to my horror, that tho forms which at first I had mistaken for raon, wcro skelotons. Thoy wero dross cd In tho regular French uniform; uni-form; but beneath each visor, Instead of tho bronzed fnco of a soldlor, there was a grinning skull. "After tho third circle of tho room had bocn completed thoy deposited their ghastly burden on tho tablo previously pre-viously mentioned. "Thon ono of tho ghostly throng un-rollod un-rollod a uniform which was struppod to his knapsack, and, with tho assistant as-sistant of bis companions, drosscd the body in It. "When tills operation was completed, complet-ed, tho leader of tho spoctral crow stopped to tho table, and, bending over it, ho mado a number of mystic signs; then, whirling slowly around three tlmos, ho stamped his right foot and turned away. Immodiatoly tho form aroso from tho table, gravely saluted his loador, thon pissed slowly down tho lino of his comrades, and took a place at tho foot of tho ranks, "Tho shadowy throng took up tho lino of march toward tho open door by which thoy bad onterod tho room. At the threshold tho leador paused and turnod his oyoloM sockets In my direction, and from them seomod to omjnato a baleful nlnnm that frozo my very marrow Silently ho motioned to his followers and in obodlonco to tho signal they iii'ted und faced mo "A shudder crept over me and the blood rushed bacK on my heart as I rvr them reach for their scalpels. Umwlng them simultaneously, they raised the gleaming blades aloft and bore swiftly down on me llko c bayonet bayo-net charge. Springing, to my feet, I drew my sword, and, swinging it in a circle around my head, I rushed among tho skclton warriors and forced a passage, though when I reached It I held in my right hand nothing but tho hilt of my trusty weapon. "With a flying leap I cleared the stairs and hurried from the building. Hastening to tho camp, I awoko my taut-mate and related my harrowing experience t but he calmly remarked that It served me right for not listening listen-ing to his advice, and then rolled over and resumed his interrupted slumber. "However, thcro was no further sleep for mo that night, and I Bat up, shivering from cold and from the horrible experience I had been through, until morning. "As soon as daylight appeared a party of us visited tho deserted collego, col-lego, and found tho broken blado of my sword near a badly-dented seat in tho room whero tho strango events had ta'.on placo. My blankets wero found on tho lloor whero I had abandoned aban-doned them In my hurried flight from tho building; but whon wo examined tho door through which I had scon tho skeleton band enter, much to my surpriso it was found locked and bolted; furthermore, thero was no key In tho rusty lock, and after careful scrutiny wo found no vislblo cvldenco that tho door had bcon recently opened. op-ened. Neither hnd tho accumulated dust of weeks on tho heavy marble-topped marble-topped tablo been disturbed; yet nothing noth-ing on earth can over convince me that tho scenes which I saw woro not real-' |