Strong High School - Mussul Unsquit Yearbook (Strong, ME)

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THE MUSSUL UNSQUIT 17 by the next winter a new camp was stand- ing where the old one once stood. A dif- ferent crew of men worked there, the same by name but different in spirit, due to the wonderful work of Joe Blake. D. M. D., '22, THE MYSTERIOUS HAND Representative Short Story of the Super- natural N the city of Chicago there was a man by the name of G--, who owned an old, brick house on the outskirts of the city. For five years the house had been deserted by all human beings. It was said to be furnished, and that whenever anyone went in a hand beckoned him about the house, and always to the dining room where a large dinner was always on the table. One day during the month of June, 1397, a young man came to the city. At the young menls club, he heard some of the men talking about the haunted house. They said that no one ever went farther than the dining room. Al was not a believer in ghosts and told the young men that he would go to that house and would find out what the hand was. The next week A-- went to see Mr. Gi about staying at the house. They talked thus: No one has ever stayed in the house longer than half an hour since September 28, 1891 said G-. I am going to stay all night, anyway, and maybe longer, for I a1n going to find out what haunts the house. VVhy, a man was murdered in the cellar of the house and no one, that is to my knowledge, has ever been in the cellar since. It is said that the police found, when they searched the house after the murder, the murdered man's hand beside the cellar door. So whenever one goes there that hand beckons him through the housef, XXVell, I'm going to go to that house and Hnd out the mystery. I may get frightened out of the house, but I inte11d to try, anyway. All right, go ahead, but whatever hap- pens, don't ever blame me. So long, I'll see you later if nothing happens. You say the door is unlocked? Yes. Well, that may account for a lot of the mysteryg so far so good. A- reached the house and stood in the street looking at it. It was an old- fashioned, brick house covered with green vines. The large piazza that extended all around the house had been screened in once, but the screening was torn and full of holes now. In front of the house were some large maple trees. The board walk that led to the house was torn up and rot- ten. The fence about the yard had fallen down in many places and the gate was off the hinges. He walked through the yard and stepped onto the piazza. As he took hold of the door knob, the door opened a little way and a hand beckoned to him. He went in and found himself in a large hall. He heard a noise and turned around: he saw a door that was partly open and the hand was beckoning him to come. IIC went through the door into a large dining room where there was a large, steaming hot supper on the table. AL sat down and forced him- self to eat, although he was almost too frightened to do much of anything. VVhile he was eating he looked about the room. It was a large room with a high ceiling and it had only one window, which looked out toward a side street. After a time he got up from the table and went back into the hall. Another door opened a crack and the hand beckoned him in. He went in and found himself in a large parlor. There was a bright tire burn- ing in the fireplace. He sat down in a large easy chair, picked up a book and tried to read, but was 11C1'VOLlS so he got up and paced the Floor for a while. Then he turned to go and saw the hand motioning him into the hall. He followed the hand and it led him out through the hall, up the stairs, and into a large bed room. Here, also, there was a

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Dorman spoke, 16 THE MUSSUL UNSQUIT self. The men were thick-set, coarse fea- tured, with dirty clothes, and unkempt hair which hung nearly to their shoulders. Joe walked into the camp and sat down as if he belonged there. He sat there some minutes unnoticed. At length jim Russe, a red-headed, dirty-looking fellow, noticed him. jim was drunkg he had just come from the saloon -a shed where Dor- man kept liquor which he sold to his crew. Jim leered towards joe and said in a loud voice- H'llo pall Whar you frum ? joe answered the question much quieter than it had been asked. 'K Oh, I just hap- pened in, thought perhaps I might strike a job. At this Jim laughed loud and long. A job! VVal, I guess not heah! By this time quite a few of the men had gathered in the camp, some drunk, others partly under the influence of drink. It was not long, however, before Dorman appeared and Joe hired out for the winter. At first, joe was liked by all of the men but when it was found that he would not touch a drop of their liquor and must wash his hands and comb his hair before every meal, they began to jeer at him be- hind his back, yet they respected him. One night Joe lectured them on their bad habits of drinking and uncleanliness. When he had finished, they all arose, and instead of going to the saloon for a drink, they went to bed. joe was happyg he had made them understandg but the next morning he was disappointed for they drank worse than ever. That night he lectured again but to no avail. They would not change. joe worked there all winter, praying that in some way he might make the men give up their bad habits, but he could not seem to accomplish the work he sought to do. Although they knew that joe was right, that he was living a higher and better life, they could not seem to break away and fol- low in his footsteps. One night in early spring, joe left them as mysteriously as he had come. The men went on in the same old way, drinking and swearing, yet it would seem to the looker- on that the men were cleaner and that they drank less. But this might have been due to the warm spring which necessitated a shave, and to the lack of liquor, for the supply was running low. Joe had returned to his own little cabin in the clearing, but with great diliiculty. He was just able to crawl through the door- way and into bed. His condition was due to mere exhaustion and hunger. The next morning when he awoke he found that he was very ill and could not live long, so he wrote his last wish and desire on a scrap of paper. He died that night, alone in the cabin which had been his only home for so many years. The next day the lumbermen from Dor- man's camp came upon this little cabin on their way to the settlements. They knocked at the door, and as no one answered, they went in. They found Ioe's body and decided at once to give him a decent burial. So they buried him under a huge pine at the back of the cabin and set up a marker over his grave. Dorman found the paper joe had care- fully placed on the table. He read, My last wish is that Dorman will come to his senses and leave off drinking and that he will make his men do the same. In my mind, I can see a new camp, a big, white, clean one standing where Dorman's old one now stands. The men are drinking clear, cold water, and are clean in their dress and personal habits. This was all. As soon as Dorman fin- ished reading, he looked from one to another of his workmen. They seemed to understand. At length, he spoke, Pals, this heah letter has changed my whole lifeg frum now on I will not touch liquor of any kind. And, goin' to work for me, y'u same! If ye are willing, paw. Every hand was raised. another drop of Pals, if you are 've got to do the raise yore right huskily, Pals, I shore am glad. We 'll build that thar new camp what he spok' of. The next morning they went away. But

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18 THE MUSSUL UNSQUIT fire on the hearth. He put on his dressing gown and sat down before the fire. After a short time he got up and locked the door, then went to bed. Several times during the night he thought he heard noises but nothing came of it. All of a sudden something wakened him with a start and he found the lights burning brightly, as was the fire, also. He looked toward the door and saw that it was open and the same hand was beckoning him. He followed it down into the dining room and he started to open a door that led into the kitchen, when he did so there was a terrible noise and A-- became so frightened that he turned and fled to his room. After quieting his nerves he re- turned to bed. Again he awoke and found the hand beckoning him. This time he went into the kitchen. There was a fire in the stove, and a kettle was singing merrily. Beside the stove there was a door that was bolted. This door unbolted itself and then opened a little way, and the hand appeared and beck- oned A- to go down cellar, but A- was terrified and returned quickly to his room as before. He decided to sit up the remainder of the night. He heard the door creak and saw the hand motioning again, although very weary of that hand, he seemed powerless to resist following where it led. This time it led him to the attic and something pushed him into a room, and a voice that seemed to come from everywhere, and which was very hollow and ghostly, said, Stay there until you can do what the hand bids you. A-- was now almost beside himself with terror. He leaped to the door and tried to force it open, but it was fast and could not be opened so he turned and went back to a little cot, that was in the room, and sat down upon it. What could this mean? was the question that was before A--- to solve. It must mean that I am being punished for not go- ing down cellar as the hand wished, thought A- to himself. After a few hours the same voice was heard to say, Now, let us try againf' and Ai- was led back down the attic stairs to his bed room. After being there a while, he heard a noise and turned, only to see the hand beckoning him to follow it. He arose and followed it, hardly realizing what he was doing. It took him down the stairs into the parlor and then disappeared. Ai seated himself and took up a paper from the table, intending to read it. As he glanced through the pages he saw that the date was October 3, 1892. After gazing over the pages, he saw an account of the murder of C. N. Wilson. This must have been the same man, thought A- to him- self. As he had become interested in it he heard the voice again, Better dress, it 's cold down there. Mystified and terrified, A-L returned to the second floor and dressed himself slowly, because he was wondering what was going to happen next. After dressing he sat down to see the hand beckoning him, so he got up and followed the hand down the stairs. Again he heard the voice, Put on your coat, it's cold down there. Not realizing what he was doing, A- went into the cloak room and put on his coat. Upon returning to the hall expecting to be called into the kitchen, he found nothing. Listening, he heard a num- ber of strange noises, which seemed to come from the cellar. Then he thought he heard voices, which of course seemed to come from the cellar. After a time he became tired of waiting for the reappearance of the hand and wan- dered into the parlor and sat down to read the paper again. He had hardly picked it up when the hand appeared and beckoned him to follow. He followed it out through the hall, into the dining room, and then into the kitchen. Upon entering the kitchen, Ai turned to the cellar door, and as he looked it unbolted and opened a little way and the voice said, Come! Come! A- hesitated, but the voice repeated the words, and, unable to resist any longer, he advanced to the door, and although he was