Tom Ossington's Ghost

by Richard Marsh

  CHAPTER IV

  IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT

  Madge was asleep almost as soon as she was between the sheets,and it seemed to her that as soon as she was asleep she was awakeagain--waking with that sudden shock of consciousness which is not themost agreeable way of being roused from slumber, since it causes us torealise too acutely the fact that we have been sleeping. Something hadwoke her; what, she could not tell. She lay motionless, listening withthat peculiar intensity with which one is apt to listen when wokesuddenly in the middle of the night. The room was dark. There was thesound of distant rumbling: they were at work upon the line, where theywould sometimes continue shunting from dusk to dawn. She could hear,faintly, the crashing of trucks as they collided the one with theother. A breeze was murmuring across the common. It came from ClaphamJunction way--which was how she came to hear the noise of theshunting. All else was still. She must have been mistaken. Nothing hadroused her. She must have woke of her own accord.

  Stay!--what was that? Her keen set ears caught some scarcely utteredsound. Was it the creaking of a board? Well, boards will creak atnight, when they have a trick of being as audible as if they wereexploding guns. It came again--and again. It was unmistakably a boardthat creaked--downstairs. Why should a board creak like thatdownstairs, unless--it was being stepped upon? As Madge strainedher hearing, she became convinced that there were footsteps downbelow--stealthy, muffled footsteps, which would have been inaudiblehad it not been for the tell-tale boards. Some one was creeping alongthe passage. Suddenly there was a noise as if a coin, or a key, orsome small object, had fallen to the floor. Possibly it was somethingof the kind which had roused her. It was followed by silence--as ifthe person who had caused the noise was waiting to learn if it hadbeen overheard. Then once more the footsteps--she heard the door ofthe sitting-room beneath her open, and shut, and knew that some onehad entered the room.

  In an instant she was out of bed. She hurried on a pair of bedroomslippers which she kept beside her on the floor, and an olddressing-gown which was handy on a chair, moving as quickly and asnoiselessly as the darkness would permit. Snatching up hercandlestick, with its box of matches, she passed, without a moment'shesitation, as noiselessly as possible from the room. On the landingwithout she stood, for a second or two, listening. There could be nodoubt about it--some one was in the sitting-room. Someone who wishedto make himself or herself as little conspicuous as possible; butwhose presence was still sufficiently obvious to the keen-earedauditor.

  Madge went to Ella's room, and, turning the handle, entered. As shedid so, she could hear Ella start up in bed.

  "Who's there?" she cried.

  "Hush! It's I. There's some one in the sitting-room."

  Lighting a match, Madge applied it to the candle. Ella was sitting upin bed, staring at her, with tumbled hair and sleepy eyes, apparentlyonly half awake.

  "Madge!--what do you mean?"

  "What I say. We're about to experience another of the drawbacks ofrural residence. There's some one in the sitting-room--anotheruninvited guest."

  "Are you sure?"

  "Quite. If you care to go downstairs and look, you'll be sure."

  "Whatever shall we do?"

  "Do!--I'll show you what we'll do. Where's that revolver of JackMartyn's, which he lent you?"

  "It's in my handkerchief drawer--but it's loaded."

  "All the better. I've fired off a revolver before to-day, and I amquite willing, at a pinch, to fire off another one to-night. I'll showyou what we'll do." While she spoke, Madge had been searching thedrawer in question. Now she stood with the weapon in her hand."Perhaps you'll be so good as to get out of bed, and put something on,unless you prefer to go downstairs as the Woman in White. I supposeyou're not afraid?"

  Ella had got so far out of bed as to sit on the side, with her feetdangling over the edge.

  "Well--I don't know that I am exactly afraid, but if you ask me ifbeing woke in the middle of the night, to be told there's burglars inthe house, is the kind of thing I'm fond of, I'll admit it isn't."

  Madge laughed. Ella's tone, and air of exceeding ruefulness,apparently struck her as comical.

  "It occurs to me, Miss Duncan, that it won't be long before Mr. Martynmakes a convert of you. As for me, now my blood's getting up--and itis getting up--I am beginning to think that it is rather fun."

  "Are you? Then I'm afraid your sense of humour must be keener thanmine." She followed Madge's example--putting on a pair of slippers anda dressing-gown. "Now, what are you going to do?"

  "I'm going down to ask our guest to show me his card of invitation."

  "Madge! Hadn't we better open the window and scream? Or you might fireinto the air--if you're sure you do know how to fire a revolver."

  "I'll soon show you if I know--and I'll show our visitor too. And Idon't think we'd better open the window and scream. Are you coming?"

  Madge moved out of the room, Ella going after her with a rush.

  "Madge!--don't leave me!"

  The two girls stood listening at the top of the stairs--Madge with thecandlestick in one hand, and the revolver in the other.

  "It strikes me that we sha'n't be able to inquire for that card ofinvitation, because he doesn't mean to stay for us to ask him. Hisintention is not to stand upon the order of his going, but to go atonce."

  Apparently the proceedings in Ella's bedroom had been audible below.Evidently the person in the sitting-room had become startled. Therewas a stampede of heavy feet across the floor; the noise of furniturebeing hastily pushed aside; then they could hear the sound of thewindow being unlatched, and opened. It was plain that the intruder,whoever it was, was bent on showing a clean pair of heels.

  It seemed as if the certitude of this fact had inspired Ella withsudden courage. Anyhow, she there and then shouted, with the fullforce of her lungs, as if she all at once had found her voice.

  "Who's that downstairs?"

  "Speak!" exclaimed Madge, with a nearly simultaneous yell, "or Ifire!"

  And she did fire--though no one spoke; or, for the matter of that, hada chance of speaking; for the words and the shot came both together.What she fired at was not quite plain, since, if appearances could betrusted, the bullet lodged in the ceiling; for, at the same moment, asmall shower of plaster came tumbling down.

  "Madge!" cried Ella. "I believe you've sent the bullet right throughthe roof! How you frightened me!"

  "It was rather a startler," admitted Madge, in whose voice thereseemed a slight tendency to tremor. "I'd no idea it would make such anoise--the other revolver I fired didn't. Ella!--what are you doing?"

  The question was induced by the fact that Ella had rushed to thelanding window, thrown the sash up, thrust her head out, and wasshouting as loudly as she could:

  "Thieves! thieves!--help!"

  Madge came up and put her head out beside her.

  "Can you see him? Has he gone?"

  "Of course he's gone--there he is, running down the road."

  "Are you sure it's a man?"

  "A man! It's a villain!--Help! thieves! help!"

  "Don't make that noise. What's the use? No one can hear you, and itonly gives him the impression that we're afraid of him, which we'renot; as, if he comes back again, we'll show him. There's more bulletsin this revolver than one--I remember Jack saying so; and I'm notforced to send them all through the roof."

  Ella drew her head inside. There was colour in her cheeks, and fire inher eyes. Now that the immediate danger seemed past her humour was aferocious one.

  "I wish you'd shot him."

  Madge was calmer, though still sufficiently sanguinary.

  "Well--I couldn't very well shoot him if I never caught a glimpse ofhim, could I? But we'll do better next time."

  Ella clenched her fists, and her teeth too.

  "Next time!--Oh, I think a burglar's the most despicable wretch on theface of the earth, and, if I had my way, I'd send every one caught inthe act right stra
ight to the gallows."

  "Precisely--when caught. But you can scarcely effect a capture bystanding on the top of the stairs, and inquiring of the burglar ifhe's there."

  "I know I behaved like a coward--you needn't remind me. But that wasbecause I was taken by surprise. If he were to come back----"

  "Yes--if he were to come back?" Madge looked out of thewindow--casually. "I fancy there's some one coming down the road--itmay be he returning."

  Ella clutched at her arm.

  "Madge!"

  "You needn't be alarmed, my dear, I was mistaken; it's no one afterall. Suppose, instead of breathing threatenings and slaughters 'afterthe battle is over,' we go down and see what mementoes of his presenceour visitor has left behind--or, rather, what mementoes he has takenwith him."

  "Are you sure he was alone?"

  "We shall be able to make sure by going down to see."

  "Oh, Madge, do you think----"

  "No, my dear, I don't, or I should be no more desirous of going downthan you. I'm only willing to go and see if there is some one therebecause I'm sure there isn't."

  There was not--luckily. There was little conspicuously heroic aboutthe bearing of the young ladies as they descended the stairs tosuggest that they would have made short work of any ruthless ruffianwho might have been in hiding. About halfway down, Madge gave what wasperhaps an involuntary little cough; at which Ella started as if theother had been guilty of a crime; and both paused as if fearful thatsomething dreadful might ensue. The sitting-room door was closed. Theyhung about the handle as if it had been the entrance to someBluebeard's den, and unimaginable horrors were concealed within.When Madge, giving the knob a courageous twist, flung the door wideopen, Ella's face was pasty white. Both perceptibly retreated,as if expecting some monster to spring out on them. But no onesprang--apparently because there was no one there.

  A current of cold air came from the room.

  "The window's open."

  Ella's voice was tremulous. Her tremor had the effect of making Madgesarcastic.

  "That's probably because our visitor opened it. You could hardlyexpect him to stop to close it, could you?"

  She went boldly into the room--Ella hard on her heels. She held thecandle above her head--to have it almost blown out by the draught. Sheplaced it on the table.

  "If we want to have a light upon the subject, we shall have to shutthat window."

  She did so. Then looked about her.

  "Well, he doesn't seem to have left many tokens of his presence.There's a chair knocked over, and he's pushed the cloth half off thetable, but I don't see anything else."

  "He seems to have taken nothing."

  "Probably that was because there was nothing worth his taking. If hecame here in search of plunder, he must have gone away a disgustedman."

  "If he came here in search of plunder?--what else could he have comefor?"

  "Ah! that's the question."

  "What's this?" Stooping, Ella picked up something off the floor."Here's something he's left behind, at any rate."

  She was holding a scrap of paper.

  "What is it--a _piece de conviction_ of the first importance: thebutton off the coat by means of which the infallible detective huntsdown the callous criminal?"

  "I don't know what it is. It's a sort of hieroglyphic--if itisn't--nonsense."

  Madge went and looked over her shoulder. Ella was holding half a sheetof dirty white notepaper, on which was written, with very bad ink anda very bad pen, in a very bad hand:--

  "TOM OSSINGTON'S GHOST."

  "Right--Straight across--three--four--up.

  "Right--cat--dog--cat--dog--cat--dog--cat--dog--left eye--push."

  The two girls read to the end--then over again. Then they looked ateach other--Madge with smiling eyes.

  "That's very instructive, isn't it?"

  "Very. There seems to be a good deal of cat and dog about it."

  "There does, I wonder what it means."

  "If it means anything."

  Madge, taking the paper from Ella's hand, went with it closer to thecandle. She eyed it very shrewdly, turning it over and over, andmaking as if she were endeavouring to read between the lines.

  "Do you know, Ella, that there is something curious about this."

  "I suppose there is, since it's gibberish; and gibberish is curious."

  "No, I'm not thinking of that. I'm thinking of the heading--'TomOssington's Ghost.' Do you know that that enterprising stranger, whocame in search of music lessons he didn't want, asked me if my namewas Ossington, and if no one of that name lived here."

  "Are you sure Ossington was the name he mentioned? It's an unusualone."

  "Certain; it was because it was an unusual one that I particularlynoticed it. Then that dreadful woman was full of her ghosts, evenclaiming, as you heard, to be the ghost's wife. Doesn't it strike you,under the circumstances, as odd that the paper the burglar has leftbehind him, should be headed 'Tom Ossington's Ghost'?"

  "It does seem queer--though I don't know what you are driving at."

  "No; I don't know what I am driving at either. But I do know that I amdriving at something. I'm beginning to think that I shall see aglimmer of light somewhere soon--though at present I haven't thefaintest notion where."

  "Do you think it was either of your visitors who has paid us anothercall to-night?"

  "No; but I tell you what I do think."

  "What?"

  "I shouldn't be surprised if we've been favoured with a call from theindividual who wasn't one of my visitors; the man in the road, whotook to his heels in such a hurry at the sight of the woman."

  "What cause have you to suppose that?"

  "None whatever, I admit it frankly; but I do suppose it all the same.In the first place the man was burning to be one of my visitors, ofthat I'm persuaded--and he would have been if the woman hadn't comealong. And in the second, he looked a burglar every inch of him. Ella,I'll tell you what!" She brought her hand on to the table with a crashwhich made Ella start, "There's a mystery about this house--you markmy words and see. It's haunted--in one sense, if it isn't in another."

  Ella cast furtive glances over her shoulder, which were suggestive ofanything but a mind at ease.

  "You've a comfortable way of talking, upon my word."

  Madge threw her arms out in front of her.

  "There is a mystery about the house; it's one of these old, ramshacklesort of places in which there is that kind of thing--I'm sure of it.Aren't you conscious of a sense of mystery about the place, and don'tyou feel it's haunted?"

  "Madge, if you don't stop talking like that, I'll leave the house thisinstant."

  "The notion is not altogether an agreeable one, I'll allow; but factsare----"

  "What's that?"

  "What's what?"

  Ella, clutching at Madge's arm, stared over her shoulder with a facewhite as a sheet.

  "Did--didn't I hear s-something in the kitchen?"

  "Something in the kitchen? If you did hear something in the kitchen,I'll shoot that something as dead as a door nail."

  Madge caught up the revolver, which she had placed on the table.

  "Madge, for goodness sake don't do anything rash!"

  "I will do something rash--if you call it rash to shoot at sight anyscoundrel who ventures to intrude on my premises at this hour of thenight!--and I'll do it quickly! Do you think I'm going to be playedthe fool with because I'm only a woman! I'll soon prove to you I'mnot--that is, if it is to be proved by a little revolver practice."

  Madge spoke at the top of her voice, her words seeming to ring throughthe house with singular clearness. But whether this was done for thesake of encouraging herself and Ella, or with the view of frighteninga possible foe, was an open question. She strode out of the room withan air of surprising resolution. Ella clinging to her skirts andfollowing her, simply because she dare not be left behind. As itchanced, the kitchen door was open. Madge marched bravely into theroom--only to find that
her display of courage was thrown away, sincethe room was empty.

  Having made sure of this, Madge turned to Ella with a smile on herface--though her cheeks, like her friend's, were whiter than they werewont to be.

  "You see, we are experiencing some of the disadvantages of two lone,lorn young women being the solitary inhabitants of a ruralresidence--Jack Martyn scores."

  For answer Ella burst into tears. Madge took her in her arms--as wellas she could, for the candle in one hand and the revolver in theother.

  "Don't cry, girl; there's nothing to cry at. You'll laugh at and beashamed of yourself in the morning. I'll tell you what--I'll make anexception!--you shall have half my bed, and for the rest of the nightwe'll sleep together."