Part 6 (2/2)
As they strolled out, Andrews pointed to some blood and said:
”Any one hurt in your house?”
”No--yes--that is, nothing serious; one of my negroes cut his hand this morning,” replied Drysdale, shuddering. ”I can't look at blood without feeling sick,” he explained, as he saw that Andrews was wondering at his agitation.
As they continued their walk, Andrews noticed that Drysdale was very self-absorbed, and so they strolled down the street without conversing.
Their course took them past the bank, and as Mr. McGregor was standing on the steps of the side entrance, he accosted them heartily.
”Why, how do you do, gentlemen?” he asked. ”Won't you walk in for a few minutes? I havn't seen you since your illness, Mr. Drysdale; won't you come in and rest a while?”
On hearing McGregor's salutation, Drysdale started as if stung, and trembled violently. He had been walking along with his eyes down, so that he had not seen Mr. McGregor until spoken to.
”No, thank you,” he replied; ”I think I won't have time--that is, I promised my wife to come back soon. You must excuse me this time.”
He hurried on with a nervous gesture of courtesy, and he did not recover his calmness until some minutes afterward. Andrews accompanied him to his home, and on the way they agreed to go to Drysdale's plantation for a short visit on the following Monday. Having settled upon the time for starting and returning, Andrews declined an invitation to dine with Drysdale that evening, and they separated. Andrews dropped into Breed's shop on his way back to the hotel, and there he found young Green, the man who had made his book-case. They talked together only a few minutes, and Andrews then went to his room, where he stayed the remainder of the day.
On Monday, Andrews and Drysdale rode off to the plantation at daylight, and the latter's spirits seemed to lighten rapidly after leaving the immediate vicinity of Atkinson. In the afternoon, Andrews took his gun and wandered off into the woods, but he did not seem very desirous of shooting anything, for he soon took a position whence he commanded a full view of the house. In about half an hour, Drysdale came out and walked slowly toward a small cl.u.s.ter of trees, about five hundred yards from the house. Here, he leaned against a tree, and paused to look around in every direction; then he began to stride with a measured step in a straight line. When he stopped, he began to examine the ground carefully for some minutes, and finally, he seemed satisfied with his inspection, and returned to the house.
During the remainder of their stay at the plantation, Andrews and Drysdale were constantly together, and the latter seemed to find the greatest pleasure in the former's society. He frequently recurred to the subject of ghosts and spooks, and always closed by discussing the character of the apparition he had seen on the roadside. There was no doubt that it had made a deep impression upon him, for he never tired of talking about it. Andrews laughed at him, ridiculed his vivid imagination, cross-questioned him, and reasoned with him upon the absurdity of his hallucination, but all to no effect; Drysdale maintained in the most dogged manner, that he had seen a ghost.
On Friday, they were to return to Atkinson, and in the morning Andrews rode over to make a short visit to a neighbor. He was so hospitably entertained, however, that he did not get away until after two o'clock, and it was nearly three before they started on their homeward ride. As before, it was growing dusky, when they reached the banks of Rocky Creek, and Drysdale was in a state of high nervous excitement.
On reaching the spot where Drysdale had seen the ghost before, he kept close at Andrews' side, and endeavored to appear unconcerned. Suddenly, he grasped Andrews by the arm with a faint groan, and said:
”Andrews, look! look! for G.o.d's sake, tell me, don't you see it?”
As he spoke, he pointed toward the same ghastly object which he had seen before. There, right under his eyes, pa.s.sed the image of the murdered George Gordon.
”There, I was afraid you would have the same folly again,” said Andrews, soothingly, as if anxious to attract his attention away from his ghostly friend. ”What the devil is the matter with you?”
”Tell me, tell me, Andrews,” gasped Drysdale, in such terror that his parched throat and quivering lips could hardly p.r.o.nounce the words; ”can't you see that horrible man close to the fence, walking toward the creek?”
”I tell you, my dear fellow,” replied Andrews, earnestly, ”that you are laboring under a most unpleasant hallucination. There is absolutely no person, or any moving object in sight, except you and me.”
At this moment, the sound of approaching hoof-beats could be plainly heard, and Drysdale turned his head to look back in the direction whence they came. On looking for the ghost again, it was nowhere to be seen.
”Andrews, it is gone--the earth has swallowed it up,” he said.
He would have fallen from his horse, if Andrews had not caught him around the waist, and just as he did so, Mr. Breed and Mr. O'Fallon, the station agent, rode up, one on each side of them.
”What's the matter with Mr. Drysdale?” asked O'Fallon.
”Didn't you see it? Tell me--did the ghost pa.s.s you?” Drysdale queried eagerly, turning toward the new comers.
”What are you talking about? What do you mean by 'the ghost?'” asked Mr.
Breed, in great wonderment.
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