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+Project Gutenberg's The Ghost of Guir House, by Charles Willing Beale
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Ghost of Guir House
+
+Author: Charles Willing Beale
+
+
+Release Date: May, 2005 [EBook #8182]
+This file was first posted on June 27, 2003
+Last Updated: May 16, 2013
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GHOST OF GUIR HOUSE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by John Hagerson, Suzanne L. Shell, Charles Franks
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE GHOST OF GUIR HOUSE
+
+By Charles Willing Beale
+
+1897
+
+
+{Illustration: Guir House}
+
+
+
+
+1
+
+
+When Mr. Henley reached his dingy little house in Twentieth Street, a
+servant met him at the door with a letter, saying:
+
+"The postman has just left it, sir, and hopes it is right, as it has
+given him a lot of trouble."
+
+Mr. Henley examined the letter with curiosity. There were several
+erased addresses. The original was:
+
+  "_Mr. P. Henley, New York City_."
+
+Scarcely legible, in the lower left-hand corner, was:
+
+  "_Dead. Try Paul, No. --, W. 20th_."
+
+Being unfamiliar with the handwriting, Mr. Henley carried the letter
+to his room. It was nearly dark, and he lighted the gas, exchanged
+the coat he had been wearing for a gaudy smoking jacket, glancing
+momentarily at the mirror, at a young and gentlemanly face with good
+features; complexion rather florid; hair and moustache neither fair
+nor dark, with reddish lights.
+
+Seating himself upon a table directly under the gas, he proceeded
+with the letter. Evidently the document was not intended for him, but
+it proved sufficiently interesting to hold his attention.
+
+                                      GUIR HOUSE, 16TH SEPT., 1893.
+
+  MY DEAR MR. HENLEY:
+
+  Although we have never met, I feel sure that you are the man for
+  whom I am looking, which conclusion has been reached after
+  carefully considering your letters. Why have I taken so long to
+  decide? Perhaps I can answer that better when we meet. Do not
+  forget that the name of our station is the same as that of the
+  house--Guir. Take the evening train from New York, and you will be
+  with us in old Virginia next day, not twenty-four hours. I shall
+  meet you at the station, where I shall go every day for a month, or
+  until you come. You will know me because--well, because I shall
+  probably be the only girl there, and because I drive a piebald
+  horse in a cart with red wheels--but how shall I know you? Suppose
+  you carry a red handkerchief in your hand as you step upon the
+  platform. Yes, that will do famously. I shall look for the red silk
+  handkerchief, while you look for the cart with gory wheels and a
+  calico horse. What a clever idea! But how absurd to take
+  precautions in such a desolate country as this. I shall know you as
+  the only man stopping at Guir's, and you will know me as the only
+  woman in sight.
+
+  Of course you will be our guest until you have proved all things to
+  your satisfaction, and don't forget that I shall be looking for you
+  each day until I see you. Meanwhile believe me
+
+  Sincerely yours,
+
+  DOROTHY GUIR.
+
+"Devilish strange letter!" said Henley, turning the sheet over in an
+effort to identify the writer. But it was useless. Dorothy Guir was
+as complete a myth as the individual for whom her letter was
+intended. Oddly enough, the man's last name, as well as the initial
+of his first, were the same as his own; but whether the P. stood for
+Peter, Paul, or Philip, Mr. Henley knew not, the only evident fact
+being that the letter was _not_ intended for himself.
+
+Reading the mysterious communication once more, the young man smiled.
+Who was Dorothy Guir? Of course she was Dorothy Guir, but what was
+she like? At one moment he pictured her as a charming girl, where
+curls, giggles, and blushes were strangely intermingled with
+moonlight walks, rope ladders, and elopements. At the next, as some
+monstrous female agitator; a leader of Anarchists and Nihilistic
+organizations, loaded with insurrectionary documents for the
+destruction of society. But the author was inclined to playfulness;
+incompatible with such a character. He preferred the former picture,
+and throwing back his head while watching the smoke from his
+cigarette curl upward toward the ceiling, Mr. Paul Henley suddenly
+became convulsed with laughter. He had conceived the idea of
+impersonating the original Henley, the man for whom the letter had
+been written. The more he considered the scheme, the more fascinating
+it became. The girl, if girl she were, confessed to never having met
+the man; she would therefore be the more easily deceived. But she was
+expecting him daily, and should not be disappointed. Love of
+adventure invested the project with an irresistible charm, and Mr.
+Henley determined to undertake the journey and play the part for all
+he was worth. It is true that visions of embarrassing complications
+occasionally presented themselves, but were dismissed as trifles
+unworthy of consideration.
+
+It was still early in October, while Miss Guir's communication had
+been dated nearly three weeks before. Had she kept her word? Had she
+driven to the station every day during those weeks? Mr. Henley jumped
+down from the table, exclaiming:
+
+"Yes, Miss Dorothy, I will be with you at once, or as soon as the
+southern express can carry me." A moment later he added: "But I shall
+glance out of the car window first, and if I don't like your looks,
+or if you are not on hand, why in that event I shall simply continue
+my journey. See?"
+
+But another question presented itself. Where was Guir Station? The
+lady had mentioned neither county nor county town, evidently taking
+it for granted that the right Henley knew all about it, which he
+doubtless did; but, since he was dead, it was awkward to consult him,
+especially about a matter which was manifestly a private affair of
+his own. But where was Guir? In all the vast State of Virginia, how
+was he to discover an insignificant station, doubtless unknown to New
+York ticket agents, and perhaps not even familiar to those living
+within twenty miles of it? Paul opened the atlas at the "Old
+Dominion," and threw it down again in disgust. "A map of the infernal
+regions would be as useful," he declared. However important Guir
+might be to the Guirs, it was clearly of no importance to the world.
+But the following day the Postal Guide revealed the secret, and the
+railway officials confirmed and located it. Guir was situated in a
+remote part of the State, upon an obscure road, far removed from any
+of the trunk lines. Mr. Henley purchased his ticket, resolved to take
+the first train for this _terra incognita_ of Virginia.
+
+The train drew up at the station. Yes, there was the piebald horse,
+and there was the cart with the gory wheels, and there--yes,
+certainly, there was Dorothy, a slender, nervous-looking girl of
+twenty, standing at the horse's head! Be she what she might,
+politically, socially, or morally, Mr. Henley decided at the first
+glance that she would do. With a flourish of his crimson handkerchief
+he stepped out upon the platform. "Rash man! You have put your foot
+in it," he soliloquized, "and you may never, _never_ be able to take
+it out again." But he could as soon have passed the open doors of
+Paradise unheeded as Dorothy Guir at that moment.
+
+"Mr. Henley! So glad!" said the girl in recognition of the young
+man's hesitating and somewhat prolonged bow. "He's a little afraid of
+the engine," she continued, alluding now to the horse, "so if you
+will jump in and take the reins while I hold his head--"
+
+Paul tossed in his bag and satchels, and then jumping in himself
+gathered up the reins, while the girl stood at the animal's head.
+
+Although Mr. Henley had hoped to find an attractive young woman
+awaiting him at the station, he was surprised to discover that his
+most sanguine expectations were exceeded. Here was no blue-stocking,
+or agitator, or superannuated spinster, but a graceful young woman,
+rather tall and slight, with blue eyes, set with dark lashes that
+intensified their color. Her complexion, although slightly freckled,
+charmed by its wholesomeness; and her hair, which shone both dark and
+red, according as the light fell upon it, seemed almost too heavy for
+the delicate head and neck that supported it. Although not strictly
+beautiful, she had one of those intelligent and responsive faces that
+are often more attractive than mere perfection of feature and form.
+
+"It does seem funny that you are here at last!" she said, when seated
+beside him with the reins in her hand.
+
+"It does indeed!" answered Paul, with a suspicion that he was a
+villain and ought to be kicked. For a moment he scowled and bit his
+mustache, hesitating whether to make a clean breast of the deception
+or continue in the role he had assumed. Alas, it was no longer of his
+choosing. He had commenced with a lie, which he now found it
+impossible to repudiate. No, he could not insult this girl by telling
+her the truth. That surely was out of the question.
+
+Miss Guir touched the horse with the whip, and the station was soon
+out of sight. They ascended a long hill with gullies, bordered by
+worm fences and half-cultivated fields. Such improvements as there
+were appeared in a state of decay, and, so far as Henley could see,
+the country was uninhabited. Presently the road entered a wood and
+became carpeted with pine tags, over which they trotted noiselessly.
+Where were they going? Dorothy had not spoken since starting, and
+Paul was too much disconcerted to continue the conversation. He hoped
+she would speak first, and yet dreaded anything which it seemed at
+all probable she would say. The novelty was intense, but the agony
+was growing. At last, without looking at him, she said:
+
+"You haven't told me why you never answered my last letter. You know
+we have been expecting you for ages."
+
+Paul coughed, hesitated, and then resolved to tell a part of the
+truth, which is often more misleading than the blackest lie.
+
+"I--I did not get it," he answered, "until a day or two ago."
+
+Miss Dorothy looked surprised.
+
+"Strange!" she said; "but, after all, I had my misgivings, for I
+never could believe that a letter like that would reach its
+destination. But you know you told me--"
+
+"Yes, I know I did," interrupted Paul. "You were perfectly right. You
+see I got it at last, and 'all's well that ends well!'"
+
+"Not necessarily; because if you are as careless about other matters
+as this, why--I may have--that is, _we_ may have to part before
+really knowing each other, and do you know, _I_ should be awfully
+sorry for that."
+
+Although she laughed a quick, nervous laugh, the words were uttered
+as if really meant. Paul suffered, and tried to think of something
+non-committal--something which, while not exposing his ignorance of
+the real Henley's business, might induce the girl to explain the
+situation; but no leading question presented itself. He thought he
+could be happy if he could but divert the conversation from its
+present awkward drift.
+
+There was a quaintness about the young lady's costume that reminded
+Henley of an old portrait. Evidently her attire had been modeled
+after that of some remote ancestor, but it was picturesque and
+singularly becoming, and Paul found it difficult to avoid staring in
+open admiration. Inwardly he concluded that she was a "stunner," but
+in no ordinary sense; and despite the novel and somewhat embarrassing
+situation, he was conscious of a fascination not clearly accounted
+for. Thoughts of the defunct Henley, with his store of inaccessible
+knowledge, were discouraging; but then the memory of the girl's
+smiles was reassuring; and, come what might, Paul determined to
+represent his namesake as creditably as possible.
+
+The loneliness of the country road begot a spirit of confidence, so
+that Miss Guir soon appeared in the light of an old friend, to
+deceive whom was sacrilege. Mr. Henley realized the enormity of his
+conduct each time he glanced at her pretty face, but had not the
+courage to undeceive her. And why should he? Was not Dorothy happy?
+"Would it be right," he argued, "to upset the girl's tranquillity for
+a whim, for a scruple of his own, which had come too late, and which,
+for his as well as the girl's peace of mind, had better not have come
+at all? No, he would continue as he had begun. Doubtless he would be
+discovered ere long, but would not anticipate the event."
+
+The forest was beginning to take on its autumnal tints, but Mr.
+Henley's conscience barred his thorough enjoyment of the scene. They
+followed the bank of a brook where wild ivy and rhododendrons
+clustered. They climbed steep places and descended others, and
+crossed a little river, where rocks and a rushing torrent made the
+ford seem dangerous. It was lonely, but exquisitely beautiful, and
+the mountain ridges closed about them on every hand.
+
+The twilight was rapidly giving way to the soft illumination of a
+full moon; and it was not until Paul noticed this, that he began to
+ask himself, "Where are we going?" He could not put the question to
+the girl, and expose his ignorance of a matter which he might
+reasonably be supposed to know.
+
+After a prolonged silence, Henley ventured to observe that he had
+never been in the State of Virginia before, hoping that the remark
+might lead to some information from his driver; but she only looked
+at him with a wondering expression, and after a minute, with eyebrows
+lifted, said:
+
+"And I have never been out of it."
+
+Paul would have liked to pursue the conversation, but did not know
+how to do it. So far from gaining any information, he felt that he
+was sinking deeper in the mire. "After all," he reflected, "there are
+worse things in life than being run away with by a pretty girl, even
+if one doesn't happen to know exactly where she is taking him, and
+even if she doesn't happen to know exactly whom she is taking." He
+stretched out his feet and leaned back, resigned to his fate.
+
+Not a house had been passed in more than a mile. The road was
+deserted, and Paul's interest in future developments steadily
+growing.
+
+Suddenly there was a terrible crash, and Mr. Henley's side of the
+cart collapsed. Dorothy drew up the horse and exclaimed:
+
+"There! It is the spring. I was afraid it would break!"
+
+"Too much weight on my side, Miss Guir," said Paul, jumping to the
+ground.
+
+"It is not that; it was weak; and I should have remembered to place
+your luggage on my side. It is too unfortunate."
+
+"What are we to do?" inquired Henley.
+
+"It is difficult to say. We are miles from home, and the road is
+rough."
+
+She was examining the broken spring by the uncertain light, and
+seemed perplexed.
+
+"Can I not lead the horse while we walk?" suggested Paul.
+
+"We could, but the break is too bad. I fear the body of the cart will
+fall from the axle. But stop; there is one thing I can do. There is a
+smith about half a mile from here, upon another road, which leaves
+this about a hundred yards ahead. I will drive on alone to the shop,
+and, although it is late, I feel sure the man will do the work for
+me. You, Mr. Henley, will wait here for the stage, which will be due
+directly. Tell the driver to put you off at the Guir Road, where you
+can wait until I come along to pick you up. The distance is not
+great, and I will follow as quickly as possible."
+
+She was off before he had time to answer, leaving him standing by the
+roadside, waiting for the promised coach. It was not long before the
+rumbling of a heavy vehicle was heard, and but a few minutes more
+when an antiquated stage with four scrubby horses emerged from the
+shadow of a giant oak into the open moonlight, scarce fifty yards
+away. Mr. Henley hailed the driver, who stopped, and looked at him as
+if frightened. The man was a Negro, and, when convinced that it was
+nothing more terrible than a human being who had accosted him, smiled
+generously and invited him to a seat on the box.
+
+"I 'lowed yer was a _hant_" observed the man, by way of opening the
+conversation, when Paul had handed up his bags and taken his place on
+top. Henley lighted a cigar, and the cumbersome old vehicle moved
+slowly forward.
+
+Their way now lay through a beautiful valley, beside a picturesque
+stream, tunneling its course through wild ivy and magnificent banks
+of calmia, and under the wide spreading limbs of pines and hemlocks.
+The country appeared to be a wilderness, and Paul could not help
+feeling that the real world of flesh and ambition lay upon the other
+side of the ridge, now far behind. The night was superb, but the road
+rough, so that the horses seldom went out of a walk. Presently the
+driver drew up his animals for water, and Henley took the opportunity
+to question him.
+
+"Do you know these Guirs where I am going?" he inquired.
+
+The man paused in the act of dipping a pail of water, and seemed
+puzzled. Thinking he had not understood, Paul repeated the question,
+when the man dropped the bucket, and staring at him with a look of
+horror, said:
+
+"Boss, is you uns in airnest?"
+
+Henley laughed, and told him that he thought he was, adding that Miss
+Guir was a friend of his.
+
+"Now I knows you uns is jokin', 'case dey ain't got no friends in dis
+'ere country."
+
+"But I am a stranger!" argued Paul.
+
+"Well, sah, it ain't for de likes o' me to argify wid you uns, but ef
+you wants to know whar de house is, I kin show it to you; leastways I
+kin show you de road to git dar."
+
+"That's it; but tell me, don't the people about here like the Guirs?"
+
+"Boss, ef dey's frens o' yourn, I reckon you knows all about 'em;
+maybe more'n I kin tell you, and I reckon it's saiftest for me to
+keep my mouf shet tight!"
+
+"Why so? Explain. Surely Miss Guir is a very charming young lady."
+
+"I reckon she be, boss; dough for my part I ain't nebber seed her.
+Folks says as how it ain't good luck when she trabels on de road."
+
+"What do you mean? Are any of her people accused of crime?"
+
+"Not as ever I heerd on, sir."
+
+"Then explain yourself. Speak!"
+
+But not another word was to be gotten out of the man. He was like one
+grown suddenly dumb, save for the power of an occasional shout to his
+horses. A mile beyond this the driver drew up his team, and turning
+abruptly, said:
+
+"You see dat paf?"
+
+After peering doubtfully through the moonlight into the black shadows
+beyond, Paul thought he discerned the outline of a narrow wood road,
+and placing a tip in the man's hand, picked up his satchel and
+climbed down to the ground.
+
+"Tank 'ee, sir, and de Lawd take keer o' you when you gets to de
+Guirs'," called the driver, as he cracked his whip and drove away,
+leaving Mr. Henley standing by the roadside listening to the
+retreating wheels of the coach. The forest was dense, and the
+moonlight, struggling through the tree-tops, fell upon the ground in
+patches, adding to the obscurity. Henley seated himself upon a fallen
+tree, to await the arrival of the cart. Although quite as courageous
+as the average of men, he could not help a slight feeling of
+apprehension concerning the outcome of his enterprise. Of course, he
+knew nothing about these people; but the girl was prepossessing and
+refined to an unusual degree. It seemed impossible that she could be
+acting as a decoy for unworthy ends. He laughed at the thought, and
+at the fun he would some day have in recounting his fears to her, and
+at her imaginary explanation of the driver's silly talk. At the same
+time he examined his revolver, which he kept well concealed, despite
+the law, in the depths of a convenient pocket.
+
+When twenty minutes had passed, he began to grow impatient for the
+girl's arrival, and, when half an hour was up, started down the road
+to meet her. Scarcely had he done so when the sound of approaching
+wheels greeted his ears, and directly after Miss Guir was in full
+view.
+
+"I hope you have been successful," Paul asked as she drew up beside
+him.
+
+"Quite," answered the girl; "indeed, they put in a new spring for me;
+and we can now drive home without fear."
+
+"Do you know, I have been half frightened," said Paul, climbing into
+the cart beside her.
+
+"And about what, pray?"
+
+"Absurd nonsense, of course; but the old man who drove the coach
+talked the most idiotic stuff when I asked him about your people.
+Indeed, from his manner, I believe he was afraid of you."
+
+Miss Guir did not laugh, nor seem in the least surprised. She only
+drew a long breath and said:
+
+"Very likely!"
+
+"But why should he be?" persisted Henley.
+
+"It does seem strange," said the girl, pathetically, "but many people
+are."
+
+"I am sure I should never be afraid of you," added Paul,
+confidentially.
+
+"I hope not; and am I anything like what you expected?" she asked
+with languid interest.
+
+"Well, hardly--at least, you are better than I expected--I mean that
+you are better--looking, you know."
+
+He laughed, but the girl was silent. There was nothing trivial in her
+manner, and she drove on for some minutes, devoting herself to the
+horse and a careful scrutiny of the road, whose shadows, ruts, and
+stones required constant attention. Presently, in an open space,
+bathed in a flood of moonlight, she turned toward him and said:
+
+"I can not reciprocate, Mr. Henley, by saying that you are better
+than I expected, for I expected a great deal; I also expected to like
+you immensely."
+
+"Which I hope you will promptly conclude to do," Paul added, with a
+twinkle in his eyes, which was lost on his companion, in her endeavor
+to urge the horse into a trot.
+
+"No," she presently answered, "I can conclude nothing; for I like you
+already, and quite as well as I anticipated."
+
+"I'm awfully glad," said Henley, awkwardly, "and hope I'll answer the
+purpose for which I was wanted."
+
+"To be sure you will. Do you think that I should be bringing you back
+with me if I were not quite sure of it?"
+
+He had hoped for a different answer--one which might throw some light
+upon the situation--but the girl was again quiet and introspective,
+without affording the slightest clew to her thoughts. How did it
+happen that he had proved so entirely satisfactory? Perhaps, then,
+after all, the original Henley was not so important a personage as he
+had imagined. But Paul scarcely hoped that his identity would remain
+undiscovered after arriving at the young lady's home; then, indeed,
+he might expect to be thrown upon his mettle to make things
+satisfactory to the Guirs.
+
+They had been jogging along for half a mile, when, turning suddenly
+through an open gateway, they entered a private approach. Paul
+exclaimed in admiration, for the road was tunneled through such a
+dense growth of evergreens that the far-reaching limbs of the cedars
+and spruce pines brushed the cart as they passed.
+
+"Romantic!" Henley exclaimed, standing up in the vehicle to hold a
+branch above the girl's head as she drove under it. The little horse
+tossed the limbs right and left as he burrowed his way amongst them.
+
+"Wait until you know us better," said Dorothy, dodging a hemlock
+bough; "you might even come to think that several other improvements
+could be made beside the trimming out of this avenue; but Ah Ben
+would as soon cut off his head as disturb a single twig."
+
+"Who?" inquired Paul.
+
+"Ah Ben."
+
+Mr. Henley concluded not to push his investigations any further for
+the present, taking refuge in the thought that all things come to him
+who waits. He had no doubt that Ah Ben would come along with the
+rest.
+
+A sudden turn, and an old house stood before them. It was built of
+black stones, rough as when dug from the ground more than a century
+before. At the farther end was a tower with an open belfry, choked in
+a tangle of vines and bushes, within which the bell was dimly visible
+through a crust of spiders' webs and birds' nests. Patches of moss
+and vegetable mold relieved the blackness of the stones, and a
+venerable ivy plant clung like a rotten fish-net to the wall. It was
+a weird, yet fascinating picture; for the house, like a rocky cliff,
+looked as if it had grown where it stood. Parts of the building were
+crumbling, and decay had laid its hand more or less heavily upon the
+greater part of the structure. All this in the mellow light of the
+moon, and under the peculiar circumstances, made a scene which was
+deeply impressive.
+
+"This is Guir House," said Dorothy, drawing up before the door. "Now
+don't tell me how you like it, because you don't know. You must wait
+until you have seen it by daylight."
+
+She threw the reins to a stupid-looking servant, who took them as if
+not quite knowing why he did so. She then made a signal to him with
+her hands, and jumped lightly to the ground.
+
+"Down, Beelzebub!" called Dorothy to a huge dog that had come out to
+meet them, while the next instant she was engaged in exchanging
+signals with the servant, who immediately led the horse away,
+followed by the dog.
+
+"Why does the boy not speak?" inquired Paul, considerably puzzled by
+what he had seen.
+
+"_Because he is dumb_," answered the girl, leading the way up to the
+door.
+
+Paul carried his luggage into the porch where he saw that Dorothy's
+eyes were fixed upon him with that strange _quizzo-critical_ gaze,
+with lids half closed and head tilted, which he had observed once
+before, and which he could not help thinking gave her a very
+aristocratic bearing.
+
+"You should carry one of those long-handled lorgnettes," he
+suggested, "when you look that way."
+
+"And why?" she asked quite innocently.
+
+"To look at me with," answered Henley, hoping to induce a smile, or a
+more cheery tone amid a gloom which was growing oppressive. But Miss
+Guir simply led the way to the great hall door, which was built of
+heavy timber, and studded with nail-heads without. As the cumbersome
+old portal swung open, Paul could not help observing that it was at
+least two inches thick, braced diagonally, and that the locks and
+hinges were unusually crude and massive. He followed Miss Guir into
+the hall, with a slight foreboding of evil which the memory of the
+stage driver's remark did not help to dispel.
+
+
+
+
+2
+
+
+There are few men who would not have felt uncomfortable in the
+peculiar situation in which Mr. Henley now found himself, although,
+perhaps, he was as little affected as any one would have been under
+the circumstances. It was impossible now to retreat from the part
+assumed, and he resolved to carry it out to the best of his ability,
+never doubting for an instant that the deception would be discovered
+sooner or later.
+
+Following Miss Guir across the threshold of her mysterious home,
+Henley entered a hall which was by far the most extraordinary he had
+ever beheld, and he paused for a moment to take in the scene. The
+room was nearly square, with a singular staircase ascending from the
+left. Upon the side opposite the door was a huge chimney, where a
+fire of logs was burning in an enormous rough stone fireplace, doubly
+cheering after their long drive through the cool October evening. A
+brass lamp of antique design, with perforated shade of the same
+material, was suspended from the ceiling, and helped illumine this
+strange apartment. From each end of the mantelpiece an immense
+high-backed sofa projected into the room, cushioned and padded, and
+looking as if built into its present position with the house. The
+walls were covered with odd portraits, whose frames were crumbling in
+decay, and the window curtains adorned with fairy scenes and
+mythological figures. The ceiling was crossed with heavy beams of
+oak, black with the smoke of a century; and the stairway upon the
+left was also black, but ornamented with a series of rough panels,
+upon each of which was painted a human face, giving it a somewhat
+fantastic appearance. Paul could not help glancing above, toward the
+mysterious regions with which this eccentric stairway communicated.
+An antique sofa, studded with brass nails, exhibited upon its
+towering back a picture of Tsong Kapa reclining under the tree of a
+thousand images at the Llamasary of Koomboom. There were scenes which
+were evidently intended to be historical, but there were others which
+were wild and inexplicable. The quaintness of the room was
+intensified by the flickering fire and the shafts of yellow light
+emitted through the perforations of the lamp.
+
+A faint aromatic odor hung upon the air, possibly due to a pile of
+balsam logs in a corner near the chimney. Over all was the
+unmistakable evidence of age, and of a nature at once barbaric,
+eccentric, and artistic. Who had conceived and executed this
+extraordinary apartment? And what were the people like who called the
+place their home? Paul stood aghast and wondered as he inwardly
+propounded these questions.
+
+The girl led the way to the fire, and, seating herself upon one of
+the sofas described, invited Paul to the opposite place. His
+bewilderment was intense, and with a lingering gaze at the oddities
+surrounding him, he accepted the invitation. Not another soul had
+been seen since he entered. Did the girl live alone? It seemed
+incredible; and yet where were her people?
+
+Dorothy pulled off her gloves and warmed her fingers before the
+cheerful blaze, and then stood eying with evident satisfaction the
+costly gems with which they were loaded. The light seemed to shine
+directly through her delicate palms, and to fall upon her face and
+hair and quaint old-fashioned costume with singular effect. There was
+something so bizarre and yet so spirituelle in her appearance that
+Henley could not help observing in what perfect harmony she seemed
+with her environment. It was some minutes before either of them
+spoke--Paul loth to express his surprise for fear of betraying a lack
+of knowledge he might possibly be expected to possess, while Dorothy,
+in an apparent fit of abstraction, had evidently forgotten her guest
+and all else, save the cheerful fire before her. Presently she
+withdrew her eyes from their fixed stare at the flames, and, looking
+at Paul, said:
+
+"You must be hungry."
+
+There was something so incongruous with his surroundings and recent
+train of thought in the girl's sudden remark that Henley could not
+help laughing.
+
+"One would scarcely expect to eat in such a remarkable home as yours,
+Miss Guir," he replied, looking into her earnest eyes, and wondering
+if she ordinarily dined alone.
+
+"Nevertheless, we will in an hour," she answered, "and I shall expect
+you to have an excellent appetite after our long drive."
+
+Paul wanted to ask about the members of her family, but thought it
+wisest to say nothing for the present. Surely they would appear in
+due season, for it was impossible the girl could live alone in so
+large a house, and without natural protection; and so he simply made
+a further allusion to the apparent age and great picturesqueness of
+the building.
+
+"Yes," said Dorothy, again gazing into the fire, "it is old--considerably
+more than a hundred years. It was built in the Colonial days, when things
+were rougher and good work more difficult to obtain."
+
+"But surely these portraits and historical scenes were the work of an
+artist," Henley ventured to observe, looking at a strange head of
+Medusa.
+
+"Yes," she answered, "the one you are looking at was done by Ah Ben."
+
+He had been led to believe that Ah Ben was a living member of the
+household, who would shortly appear, but this now seemed impossible,
+for these extraordinary pictures were as old as the house itself.
+What did the girl mean? Had this Ah Ben done them all? Should he ask
+her and expose his ignorance? Paul thought he would venture upon a
+compromise.
+
+"And are these pictures as old as they appear?"
+
+"Quite," answered the girl. "As you can see for yourself, the house
+and all that is in it date from quite a remote time, and many of the
+portraits were painted before the house was ever begun."
+
+That seemed to settle the question. Ah Ben was evidently a deceased
+ancestor; possibly a friend of the family in the distant past, and
+Henley concluded that he had misunderstood the girl in her former
+allusion to the man.
+
+Dorothy had not taken off her hat, nor did she seem to have the
+slightest intention of doing so; meanwhile Paul's appetite, which had
+been temporarily lulled by his novel surroundings, was beginning to
+assert itself, and as there was no prospect of an attendant to
+conduct him to his room, he was about to ask where he might find a
+bowl of water to relieve himself of some of the stains of travel.
+Before he had finished the sentence, however, his attention was
+arrested by the sound of a distant footstep. He listened; it came
+nearer, and in a minute was descending the black staircase in the
+corner. Paul watched, and saw the figure of an old man as it turned
+an angle in the stairs. Then it stopped, and coughed lightly as if to
+announce its approach.
+
+"Come," cried Dorothy, "it's only Mr. Henley, and I'm sure he'll be
+glad to see you."
+
+The figure advanced, and when it had descended far enough to be in
+range with the fire and lamplight, Paul saw a most extraordinary
+person. The man, although very old, was tall and dignified in
+appearance, with deep-set, mysterious eyes, and flowing white
+moustache and hair. The top of his head was lightly bound in a turban
+of some flimsy material, and a loose robe of crimson silk hung from
+his shoulders, gathered together with a cord about the waist. As he
+advanced Henley observed that the bones of his cheeks were high and
+prominent, and the eyes buried so deep beneath their projecting brows
+and skull, that he was at a loss to account for the strange sense of
+power which he felt to be lodged in so small a space.
+
+"This is Ah Ben, Mr. Henley, of whom I have spoken," said Dorothy,
+rising.
+
+The old man extended his hand and bowed most courteously. He hoped
+that they had had a pleasant drive from the station, and then took
+his seat beside the fire.
+
+Paul was dumfounded. Probably he was expected to know all about the
+man, and he had only just decided that he had been dead for a
+century. How could he so have misinterpreted what he had heard?
+
+Ah Ben stretched his long bony fingers to the fire, and observed that
+the nights were beginning to grow quite cold.
+
+"Yes," said Henley, "I had hardly expected to find the season so far
+advanced in your Southern home."
+
+"Our altitude more than amends for our latitude," answered the old
+man; and then, taking a pair of massive tongs from the corner of the
+mantel, he stirred the balsam logs into a fierce blaze, starting a
+myriad of sparks in their flight up the chimney. Dorothy was looking
+above, and Paul, following the direction of her eyes, observed a
+model of Father Time reclining upon a shelf near the ceiling. The
+figure's scythe was broken; his limbs were in shackles, and his body
+covered with chains. It was an original conception, and Henley could
+not help asking if Time had really been checked in his onward march
+at Guir House.
+
+"Ah!" said Dorothy, "that is a symbol of a great truth; but I am not
+surprised at your asking;" then, turning to the old man, added: "Mr.
+Henley has not yet been shown to his room, and I am sure he would
+like to see it. It is the west chamber."
+
+"True," said Ah Ben, rising and taking a candle from the mantel,
+which he lighted with a firebrand; "if Mr. Henley will follow me, I
+shall take pleasure in pointing it out to him."
+
+Paul followed the elder man up the black stairs, through devious
+passages, and past doors with pictured panels, until he began to
+wonder if he could ever find his way back again. At last they stopped
+before a rough door, hung with massive hinges stretching half way
+across it, discolored with rust, and looking as if they had not been
+moved in an age, and which creaked dismally as Ah Ben entered.
+
+"This will be your room," he said, bowing courteously, and placing
+the candle upon the table near the chimney. He then reminded Henley
+that their evening meal would soon be ready. "If there is anything
+further which you will need, pray let me know," he added, and then
+retired.
+
+"I should like my luggage," said Paul, having left it below, with the
+exception of a small satchel.
+
+"It shall be sent to you at once," the old man answered, as he walked
+slowly away.
+
+Left to himself, Henley looked around with curiosity. Every comfort
+had been provided, even to an arm-chair and writing-table by the
+fire; but the room, as well as its furnishing, was old and quaint,
+and rapidly going to decay. Everything he saw related to a past
+period of existence. The window was high, and deep set in the wall.
+There was a bench under it, upon which one was obliged to climb to
+obtain a view of the country, and Henley pulled himself up into the
+sill to look out.
+
+The landscape presented an unbroken panorama of forest. No farming
+land was visible, and the distant mountains closed in the sky-line,
+and all bathed in the soft light of the moon, made a picture of
+extreme beauty and loneliness--a solid wilderness, shut in from the
+busy world without. There was a musty smell, as if the room had not
+been used in years, and he lifted the sash. The rich perfume of fir
+and balsam was wafted in, displacing the disagreeable odor.
+
+The bed was a high four-poster, and there were steps for climbing
+into it. On examination, it was discovered to be built into the room
+with heavy timbers, and framed solidly with the house itself. A few
+faded rugs were scattered about the worm-eaten floor, and in every
+direction the wood-work was rough and unpainted, though massive
+enough for a fortress. Above the wash-stand was a strange picture,
+painted upon a fragment of coarse blanket, which had been stretched
+upon the wall. It depicted the setting sun, with red and gold rays,
+and a blue mountain in the distance. Around the entire scene, in a
+semicircle, was the word "Illusion," singularly wrought into the
+shafts of light, and undecipherable without the closest scrutiny. The
+figure of an old man in the foreground was contemplating the scene.
+It was a crude piece of work, but impressive. There was a large
+mahogany cabinet, mounted with brass; but its double doors were
+locked and its drawers immovable. Beside the bed was a worm-eaten
+door, and in idle curiosity Paul tried the handle. It opened easily,
+revealing a spacious closet, with hooks and shelves. Throwing the
+small satchel he had brought up with him upon the floor within, it
+struck something, but the closet was too dark for him to see what;
+so, taking the candle, he made an examination. In the farthest corner
+was a hand-rail, guarding a closed scuttle, in which was inserted a
+heavy iron ring. Henley took hold of the ring, and with some effort
+succeeded in opening the scuttle. Looking down, he found to his
+surprise that it communicated with a rough stairway leading below. He
+peered into the darkness, but could discern nothing save the steps,
+which seemed to go all the way to the cellar, and were just wide
+enough to admit of a human body. He then removed his belongings back
+into the room, shut down the scuttle, and closed the door. As there
+was no fastening, he wedged a chair between the knob and the floor,
+in such a manner that it could not be opened from within. He then
+threw himself upon the bed, wondering what would be the outcome of
+his unlawful enterprise, and while inhaling the tonic air of hill and
+forest, half wished he were well away from this uncanny house and its
+eccentric inmates. And yet, despite the mystery which enshrouded it,
+there was a charm, a fascination, he could not deny. It was the
+dream-like unreality of his surroundings--unreal, because different
+from all that he had ever known. Should he suddenly find himself a
+dozen miles removed, he felt certain that he would straightway
+return.
+
+The musty smell had disappeared, and as the room was getting cold,
+Paul got up and closed the window. At the moment he had done so,
+there was a low knock at the door. He replied by a summons to enter,
+but there was no answer. The knock was repeated, and again Paul
+shouted, "Come in"; but, as before, there was no response. He now
+went to the door and opened it, and found a servant standing outside
+with his luggage.
+
+"Why did you not come in?" Paul inquired.
+
+But the man did not answer; he simply entered and placed the bags
+upon the floor. Henley now asked him another question, but the fellow
+did not even look at him, and left the room without saying a word.
+Suddenly Paul remembered that he had seen him before. It was the dumb
+man who had met them on their arrival. It was the only servant he had
+seen. Could it be possible that these people kept no other?
+
+When Henley had completed his toilet, he blew out the candle and then
+groped his way down to the hall, where he found Miss Guir and Ah Ben
+awaiting him. The girl came forward to greet her guest, and to reveal
+her presence, the fire having died away and the hanging lamp
+affording but a dull, copperish glow, barely sufficient to indicate
+the furniture and outlines of the room.
+
+Dorothy was radiant, but peculiarly so. She was unlike the girls to
+whom he was accustomed in the city. Moreover, her manner was more
+quiet, more earnest and dignified than theirs. She looked more
+charming than ever in a white gown, while her burnished hair was held
+in place by a tall Spanish comb, and decorated with a flower. To be
+sure, the details of her costume were only suggested in the vague,
+uncertain light, but her pose and manner were unusually impressive.
+
+"I hope you will not think that all Virginians are as inhospitable as
+we appear to be, Mr. Henley," she exclaimed, with a graciousness that
+was quite bewitching.
+
+"I'm sure," said Henley, "that I have never been treated with greater
+consideration by any one; my room is simply perfect!"
+
+"In its way, yes; but its way is that of a century past. But what I
+was referring to in the matter of special negligence was the time we
+have kept you from food."
+
+"Do you know," Paul replied, "that I have been so absorbed with the
+many strange things I have seen since my arrival that I have scarcely
+had time to think of food?"
+
+"But I told you that you would be expected to have a good appetite."
+
+"And I have. In fact, when I think of it, I am ravenous," he
+answered.
+
+"Then follow me," she said, leading the way toward a heavily-curtained
+door upon the right. They passed into a narrow passage, and then,
+turning to the left, entered a softly-lighted room. Paul was amazed
+at the sight that met his eyes. A round table, set for two, loaded
+with flowers, cut glass, and silver, and lighted with wax candles
+grouped under a large central shade of yellow silk, with a deep
+fringe of the same material. The distant parts of the room were in
+comparative shadow forming a proper setting for the soft candle-light
+in the center. Evidently no one else was expected, and Dorothy, taking
+her seat upon one side of the cloth, requested Paul to sit opposite.
+
+"And will not Ah Ben be with us?" inquired Henley, glancing around to
+see if the old man were not coming.
+
+"I'm afraid not," replied Dorothy; "he rarely dines at this hour."
+
+If Mr. Henley had been told of the reception awaiting him at Guir
+House before leaving New York, he would doubtless have considered it
+a hoax. As it was, he was astounded. The odd character of the house
+and its inmates had already given him much ground for thought, even
+amazement; but to suddenly find himself face to face, _tete-a-tete_
+with a bewitching girl, at a gorgeous dinner table, laid for them
+only, was a condition of things calculated to turn any ordinary man's
+head. Never for an instant had the girl given the slightest intimation
+of why he, or rather the original Henley, had been wanted, and every
+effort to gain a clew of his business was thwarted--sometimes, it
+seemed, intentionally. The table was deftly waited upon by the same
+dumb man, who was a man-of-all-work and marvelous capacity, but his
+orders were invariably given by signals. Paul wondered if he were
+mistaken; could it be another servant with the same affliction? But
+that seemed incredible.
+
+Miss Guir's eloquent face, her wonderful hair and eyes, doubtless
+interfered with Paul in the full enjoyment of his meal. In fact, he
+was bewildered--dazed. He could neither account for the situation or
+the growing beauty of the girl. Was it the candle-light that had
+proved so becoming? But there was another matter that disturbed him,
+perhaps, quite as much as this. It was the fact that Dorothy would
+not eat. Scarcely a mouthful of food passed her lips, although the
+dishes were of the daintiest, and she barely tasted many which she
+recommended heartily to him. Was she ill? or was it not the usual
+hour for her evening meal? Manlike, Henley was distressed for
+anything not endowed with a hearty appetite, and after the long cool
+drive he was sure she ought to be hungry. When he ventured to allude
+to the fact, and to remark that neither she nor Ah Ben ate like
+country people, the girl only smiled and declared that they both ate
+quite enough for their health, although she would never undertake to
+judge for others. With this he had to be satisfied.
+
+From time to time Paul's eyes would wander around the table; and from
+its dainty dishes and exquisite flowers return to their true
+lodestone, his hostess. In fact, the girl possessed a mesmeric charm
+for him, which had grown with marvelous rapidity since his arrival.
+
+"It is all wonderfully beautiful!" he said, looking straight into
+Dorothy's eyes.
+
+"I'm so glad you like it," she answered smiling, "but you're not
+eating like a very hungry man."
+
+She was helping his plate to a salad of cresses, to which she was
+adding an extra spoonful of dressing.
+
+"I think you will find this quite the correct thing," she added,
+pushing the plate toward him.
+
+"Everything is much more than perfect," answered Paul; "in fact, I am
+not accustomed----"
+
+But he checked himself suddenly. How did he know what the real Henley
+was accustomed to? Possibly he was a millionaire, while he, Paul--was
+not.
+
+Whate'er she was doing, in every pose, Miss Guir was a picture--a
+quaint, unusual picture, to be sure, but nevertheless a picture. In
+helping the fruit which was brought on after dinner, her white hands,
+ablaze with precious stones, shone to peculiar advantage; and when
+she poured out the coffee that followed, Paul wished for his kodak,
+for he had seen nowhere, save in old-fashioned engravings, just such
+a picture as she made. But it became Miss Guir's turn to be critical.
+
+"Do you know what I think?" she said, looking him full in the face,
+and without a suspicion of embarrassment.
+
+"About what?"
+
+She bent toward him with her elbows on the table, her chin resting
+upon her clasped hands.
+
+"I think that if you had a flower in your buttonhole--you wouldn't
+mind it now, would you, if I were to give you one?"
+
+And then without either smile or apology, she took the chrysanthemum
+from her hair and tossed it over to Paul. There was something so odd,
+and yet so deeply earnest in the way the thing was done that Henley
+accepted the favor as he might have accepted a command from royalty
+than as a flirtatious banter from a girl. He placed the flower in his
+buttonhole without the faintest desire to respond with one of those
+frivolous speeches he would have used under most similar
+circumstances.
+
+Before the meal was finished, Ah Ben entered the room and poured
+himself a cup of coffee, which he drank without sitting down. It was
+all that he took.
+
+
+
+
+3
+
+
+When Ah Ben had finished his coffee, the three retired to the great
+entrance hall, where the fire was burning brightly, and the hanging
+lamp lending its uncertain aid to the illumination of the curious old
+apartment. Ah Ben produced a couple of long-stemmed pipes, one of
+which he handed to Paul, with a great leather pouch of leaf tobacco
+which he showed his guest how to prepare for smoking. They seated
+themselves in the pew before the fire, Dorothy nearest the hearth,
+while Paul placed himself upon the lounge opposite.
+
+A great stillness pervaded the house, and Mr. Henley could not help
+wondering again if there were not other members of the establishment.
+Dorothy was staring into the fire, her thoughts far away, while Ah
+Ben smoked his pipe in silence. "Perhaps they have theories about
+digestion," Paul reflected, while he pulled at his long Ti-ti stem,
+and watched the meditative couple before him. The firelight played
+upon Ah Ben's white moustache and swarthy features, and the colored
+handkerchief upon his head, and set the long thin fingers all of a
+tremble upon the pipe-stem, as if manipulating the stops of a flute.
+It danced over Dorothy's gown in a dazzling sheen of white, and
+flashed upon her jeweled hands in colored sparks of green and gold
+and purple and red, and lit up her face and hair with the soft warm
+tints of a Rubens. Such a picture did the twain combine to make; they
+looked indeed as if they might have stepped from the canvas of some
+old master and come for a brief season to taste the joys of flesh and
+blood and life.
+
+The outer regions of the hall were in darkness, the ancient lamp
+barely revealing the oddities of brush, chisel, and structure, that
+combined to make the most remarkable living-room that Henley had ever
+seen. The decaying portraits, the singular carvings and peculiar
+furniture, now only revealed themselves by suggestion in the faint
+illumination of the lamp and uncertain flicker of the fire.
+
+But what were these people, Dorothy and Ah Ben, to each other? It was
+out of the question that they could be husband and wife--it seemed
+equally so that they could be father and daughter. Paul searched the
+faces of each for traces of similiarity, but there were none. Their
+manner to each other, the girl's mode of addressing the man, all
+indicated the absence of kinship. Yes, Henley felt quite certain that
+Ah Ben and Dorothy Guir were neither related nor connected, and that
+they were never likely to become so.
+
+From time to time the old man would arise to mend the fire, and a
+quiet conversation upon indifferent topics ensued, Dorothy uttering a
+few words occasionally, in a dreamy voice, with her head propped upon
+a cushion in the corner. At last she failed to answer when spoken to;
+evidently she had fallen asleep.
+
+"My daughter, you need rest," said Ah Ben gently, and at the same
+moment a clock upon the stairs began striking eleven.
+
+Dorothy opened her eyes and looked around.
+
+"I must have fallen asleep!" she exclaimed quite naively.
+
+She bade them each "Good night," and then started up the uncanny
+stairs. Near the top she paused in the darkness, and looking over the
+balustrade into the hall below, seemed to be waiting. Perhaps she was
+not so completely in the shadow as she imagined, and perhaps Paul did
+not see aright, but through the gloom he thought he caught the flash
+of a diamond as it moved toward her lips and away again. If tempted
+to return the salute, his better judgment prevailed, and while
+holding the stem of his pipe in his right hand, pressed the tobacco
+firmly into the bowl with his left. A troublesome thought presented
+itself. Could this girl have entered into any kind of entanglement
+with his namesake which would have demanded a tenderer attitude than
+he had assumed toward her? Had he neglected opportunities and failed
+to avail himself of privileges which he had unknowingly inherited?
+For an instant the thought disturbed Mr. Henley's equilibrium, but a
+moment's reflection convinced him that the idea was not worth
+considering. Whatever it was he had seen upon the stairs he knew was
+not intended for his eyes, even if it had been meant for himself.
+
+"Shall we smoke another pipe?" said Ah Ben. "I'm something of an owl
+myself, and shall sit here for quite a while before retiring."
+
+Paul was glad of the opportunity, and accepted with alacrity. He
+hoped in the quiet of a midnight conversation to discover something
+about this peculiar man and his home. Perhaps he should also learn
+something of the girl, her strange life, and the Guirs.
+
+"We may not be so comfortable as we would be in our beds," continued
+the elder man, "but there is a certain comfort in discomfort which
+ought not to be undervalued. Sleep, to be enjoyed, should be
+discouraged rather than courted."
+
+"Yes," answered Paul, "I believe Shakespeare has told us something
+about it in his famous soliloquy on that subject."
+
+"True," replied Ah Ben, "and I suppose there is no one living who has
+not felt the delusion of comfort. Like many other material blessings,
+it is to be had only in pills."
+
+Ah Ben had stretched his legs out toward the hearth, and while
+passing his hand across his withered cheek, had closed his eyes in
+reverie. The dim and uncertain shadows made the room seem like some
+vast cavern, whose walls were mythical and whose recesses unexplored.
+The lamp had expired to a single spark, and there was nothing to
+reveal their presence to each other except the red glow from the
+embers.
+
+"No," said the man, continuing to speak with his eyes still closed,
+"luxury is not necessary to a man's happiness, although he has
+persuaded himself that it is so."
+
+"Perhaps not," Paul admitted, "although I contend that a certain
+amount of comfort is."
+
+"By no means. There was never a greater fallacy, although I am free
+to admit that under certain conditions it may conduce to that end.
+But tell me, have you never seen one happy amid the greatest physical
+privations?"
+
+"Not absolutely."
+
+"No, not absolutely; the absolute does not belong to the finite. I
+refer to what most men would consider happiness."
+
+"Oh, if you're talking about saints, they're outside my experience."
+
+A faint smile played over Ah Ben's face as he answered:
+
+"Saints, my dear sir, are no more to me than to you. Have you ever
+seen a prize fight?"
+
+"Oh, yes; several."
+
+"Do you not believe that the winner of a prize fight, even when
+covered with bruises, and suffering in every bone of his body, is
+happier at the moment of victory than he was the previous morning
+while lying comfortably in his bed?"
+
+"I dare say; but now you're speaking of--"
+
+"Happiness," suggested Ah Ben, "and if you will pardon me for saying
+so--for possibly I may have thought more upon this subject than you
+have--I can tell you the one essential which lies at the root of all
+happiness, without which it can never be acquired, but with which it
+is certain to follow."
+
+"And what is that?" inquired Paul, with interest.
+
+"_Power_" said Ah Ben, with an assurance that left no doubt of the
+conviction of the speaker.
+
+"I suppose that is a kind of stepping-stone to contentment," answered
+Paul, reflectively.
+
+"Precisely; for no man who lacks the power to accomplish his desires
+can know contentment. But contentment is transitory, and rests upon
+power. Power alone is the cornerstone of happiness."
+
+"Do you really believe that?" Paul inquired, half incredulously.
+
+"I know it. With me it is not a matter of speculation; it is a matter
+of knowledge."
+
+"Then let me ask you why it is that the greatest power in the world,
+which is undoubtedly money, so often fails of this end?"
+
+Ah Ben refilled his pipe, then raked a coal out of the fire with the
+bowl and pressed it firmly down upon the tobacco, and then said,
+reflectively:
+
+"You are mistaken. Money does confer happiness to the full limit of
+its power, but this limit is quickly reached--first, because man's
+ambitions and desires grow faster than his wealth, or reach out into
+channels that wealth can never compass, or, and principally, because
+wealth is an impersonal power and not a direct one. Give the earth to
+a single man, and it would never enable him to change his appearance
+or alter one of his mental characteristics, nor to do one single
+thing he could not have accomplished before--it giving him the power
+to make others do his will; and so long as his will is not beyond the
+power of others to do, he is to that extent happy. But to be really
+happy, a man must have _personal power_. Wealth is not power. Power
+is lodged in the individuality."
+
+"I don't know whether I quite understand you," said Paul.
+
+Ah Ben looked at him searchingly with his luminous, deep-set eyes.
+
+"Can gold restore an idiot's mind," he inquired, "or a cripple the
+use of his limbs? Would a mountain of gold add one iota to the power
+of your soul? And yet it is gold that men have labored for since the
+earth was made. Could they once understand its real limitations? What
+a different planet we should have!"
+
+"That is all very well," answered Henley; "but this personal power of
+which you speak is born in a man, and is not to be acquired by
+anything he can do; whereas, the battle for wealth can be fought in a
+field open to all."
+
+"There again I must beg to differ from you," said Ah Ben. "There is a
+law for the acquirement of this soul-power which is as fixed and
+certain as the law of gravitation; and when a man has once gained it,
+he has no more use for worldly wealth than he has for the drainings
+of a sewer."
+
+"Do you mean to say that by a course of life--"
+
+"I do, and it is this: _Self-control is the law of psychic power_."
+
+"Then, according to your theory, the better mastery a man has over
+himself, the more he can accomplish and the greater his happiness?"
+
+"I go still further," the old man continued. "I claim that _self-control
+is the only source of happiness, and that he who can control his
+body--and by this I mean his eyes, his nerves, his tongue, his appetites
+and passions--can control other men; but he who is master of his mind,
+his thoughts, his desires, his emotions, has the world in a sling. Such
+a man is all powerful; there is nothing he can not accomplish; there is
+no force that can stand against him_."
+
+The fire had died out, save for a few glowing embers, but Ah Ben's
+singular face seemed to draw unto itself what light there was, and to
+hold Henley's eyes in a kind of mesmeric fascination. He had put off
+going to bed for the sole purpose of gaining some knowledge of the
+house and its inmates; and yet now, with apparently nothing to hinder
+his investigations, he felt an unaccountable diffidence about making
+the inquiries. An impression that the man was a mind-reader had
+doubtless increased this embarrassment, and yet he had had no
+evidence of this kind, nor anything to indicate such a fact beyond
+the keen, penetrating power of those marvelous eyes. Paul felt that
+there was a mental chasm, deep and wide and impassable, that yawned
+between him and the strange individual before him. Such stupendous
+power of will as lodged within that brain could sport with the forces
+of nature, suspend or reverse the action of law, disintegrate matter,
+or create it. At least such was the impression which Mr. Henley had
+received.
+
+It was past midnight before a movement was made for bed, and when Ah
+Ben brought a lighted candle, inquiring if everything in the
+bedchamber had been satisfactory, Paul was about to reply in the
+affirmative, when he suddenly remembered the staircase in the closet.
+
+"I was about to forget," he said, "but would you mind explaining the
+object of a very peculiar staircase I discovered in the closet of my
+room?"
+
+"This house is old," Ah Ben replied simply. "It was built when the
+State was a colony and full of Indians. The stairway communicating
+with the lower floor was doubtless intended as a means of escape. I
+had not thought of this annoying you, but can readily see how it
+might. You shall be removed to another room at once."
+
+"_Removed_?" exclaimed Paul. "My dear sir, I had no intention of
+making such a suggestion. The most I thought of asking for was a bolt
+for the door, or scuttle; but since your explanation I do not wish
+either."
+
+They bade each other good night, and Paul undertook to find his room
+alone, declining Ah Ben's offer to accompany him. But the house was
+full of strange passages and unexpected stairways, making the task
+more difficult than he had expected. After wandering about he found
+himself stopped by a dead wall, at least so it had looked, but
+suddenly directly before him stood Ah Ben.
+
+"I thought you might need my assistance," he said quietly; and then
+without appearing to notice Henley's astonishment, led the way to his
+room.
+
+When Paul found himself alone, he became conscious of a growing
+curiosity concerning the stairs in the closet. He opened the door and
+looked in, and then quietly lifted the scuttle by the ring. He peered
+down into the darkness, but, as the stairs were winding, could
+discern nothing for more than a half dozen steps below. He listened,
+but the house was perfectly quiet, Ah Ben's retreating footsteps
+having died upon the air. Somehow he half doubted the story which the
+old man had told him about the original intention of the stairway as
+a means of escape. It seemed improbable, and dated back to such a
+remote period that he could not help feeling distrustful. Candle in
+hand, he commenced to descend, looking carefully where he placed his
+feet. As everywhere else, the woodwork was worm-eaten, and the
+timbers set up a dismal creaking under the weight of his body, but he
+had undertaken to investigate the meaning of this architectural
+eccentricity, and would not now turn back. On he crept, noiselessly
+as possible, adown the twisting stairs, carefully looking ahead for
+pitfalls and unsuspected developments. Once he paused, thinking he
+heard the distant tread of a foot, but the sound died away, and he
+resumed his course. Some of the steps were so broken and rotten that
+extreme caution was necessary to avoid falling. At last he reached
+the ground, and found himself at the bottom of a square well, around
+the four walls of which the stairs had been built. He was facing a
+massive door, which occupied one of the sides of the well. Paul tried
+the lock, but it was so old and rust-eaten that it refused to move.
+There was no other outlet, and the place was narrow and damp. He
+looked wistfully at the solitary door, feeling a vague suspicion that
+it barred the entrance to a mystery, and resolved to return at some
+future time, when not so harassed with sleepiness and the fatigues of
+travel, and make another effort to open it. Paul looked above, and as
+he did so a gust of air swept down the narrow opening and blew out
+his light; at the same instant he heard the fall of the scuttle and
+realized that he was shut in.
+
+"Trapped! and by my own cursed curiosity," he muttered, as he
+commenced groping his way up in the darkness. But it was not so easy
+as he had supposed. Twice he slipped his foot into a rotten hole, and
+once the stairs trembled so violently that he thought they were about
+to fall. Nevertheless he reached the top, as he realized when his
+head came in contact with the trap-door, upon the other side of which
+he pictured Ah Ben standing with an amused smile. Henley placed his
+shoulder against the door, and to his amazement found that it opened
+quite easily. He then procured a light, and having satisfied himself
+that there had never been the slightest intention to entrap him, the
+door having simply fallen, he went hurriedly to bed.
+
+
+
+
+4
+
+
+The breakfast room was a charming little corner reclaimed from a
+dingy cell, where in by-gone days guns and ammunition had been
+stored, but the peace-loving inhabitants of later times had rendered
+these no longer necessary. It was now the most modern room Paul had
+seen since his arrival at this great unconventional homestead,
+looking quite as if it had been tacked on by mistake to the dismal
+old mansion.
+
+Upon entering, he found Miss Guir sitting alone at the table. She was
+attired in a charming costume, and looked as fresh as the flowers
+before her. She greeted him with a smile, and asked how he had slept.
+
+"Perfectly!" he answered, seating himself by her side, where he
+looked out of a low French window opening upon a garden with boxwood
+borders and a few belated blossoms.
+
+"But do you know," he continued, "the most extraordinary thing
+happened."
+
+He went on to tell of his experience in the closet, thinking it best
+to take the _bull by the horns_ and see if anything in Dorothy's
+expression would lead him to suspect foul play. She listened to his
+story with interest, and, as Paul thought, a slight display of
+anxiety, but nothing more. When he had finished, she simply advised
+him not to go down those stairs any more, as they were rotten and
+dangerous. This was all. Nevertheless Henley felt sure that the girl
+knew what lay upon the other side of the door at the bottom. They
+chatted along quite pleasantly, Paul endeavoring to lead the
+conversation into some instructive channel, but without success.
+
+"I thought perhaps I should have met some of your people at
+breakfast," he said, while sipping his coffee.
+
+Dorothy stopped with a piece of toast half way to her lips.
+
+"_My people_!" she exclaimed.
+
+"Yes," said Paul, unmindful of the impression he had made.
+
+"Really, Mr. Henley, what are you talking about?"
+
+"The Guirs!" said Paul, still unheedful.
+
+Suddenly he looked up, and the expression on the girl's face startled
+him.
+
+"Are you ill?" he cried. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
+
+"No, no," she gasped. "It is nothing. I am nervous. I am always
+nervous in the morning, and you gave me quite a turn. There now, I
+shall feel better directly."
+
+If Paul was astonished before, he was dumfounded now. He could not
+imagine how anything he had said could produce such an effect, but he
+watched the return of color to the girl's face with satisfaction.
+Presently she looked up at him with a smile and said:
+
+"It is all right now, but you must excuse me for a minute. I shall be
+back immediately."
+
+She got up and left the room, leaving Paul alone. His appetite had
+quite departed, so he turned his chair around and looked out of the
+window at the boxwood bushes and the trees beyond. Not a human figure
+was in sight, nor was there a sound to indicate that there were
+living creatures about the premises. Where was the family? Surely
+such a large house could not be occupied solely by the few
+individuals he had already met. If there were other members, where
+had they kept themselves? He would have given the world to have asked
+a few straightforward questions, but there seemed no opportunity to
+do so. Where was Ah Ben? Even he had not shown his face at the
+breakfast table. A painful sense of mystery was growing more
+oppressive each hour, which the bright morning sunlight had not
+dispelled, as he had hoped it would. If this feeling had confined
+itself to Ah Ben and the house, Paul thought he might have shaken off
+the gloom while in the company of the girl, but even she was subject
+to such extraordinary flights of eccentricity, such sudden fits of
+nervous depression, that he felt she was not surely to be depended on
+as a solace to his troubled soul. While he was meditating, the door
+opened, and Dorothy returned. She was full of smiles; and the color
+had come back to her cheeks.
+
+"I can't imagine how I could have given you such a turn," said Paul
+apologetically, as he resumed his place at the table.
+
+"It was altogether my fault," she answered. Then looking at him very
+earnestly, added:
+
+"I hope, Mr. Henley, that you may never become an outcast, as I am.
+I hope _your people_ will never disown you. But let us talk of
+something else."
+
+As upon the previous evening, she was solicitous about his food, that
+it should be of the best, and that he should enjoy it, although
+apparently indifferent about her own.
+
+"Of course, you will find us quite different from other people, Mr.
+Henley," she continued, sipping her coffee (she never seemed to drink
+or eat anything heartily); "our ideas and manner of living being
+quite at variance with theirs."
+
+"Yes," Paul replied, as if he understood it perfectly. She was toying
+with her cup as though not knowing exactly how to continue. Presently
+she looked up at him appealingly, possessed of a sudden idea, and
+added:
+
+"And what do you think about the brain?"
+
+Paul was astonished at the irrelevancy of the question.
+
+"I think it is in the head," he answered, smiling, in the hope of
+averting a difficulty. "That is, I think it ought to be there," he
+added in a minute, "although it is doubtless missing in some cases.
+Still, there can be but little dissent from the general opinion that
+the skull is the proper place for it."
+
+She looked puzzled, and Paul began to wonder if he had offended her,
+but in another moment she relaxed into a smile.
+
+"I'm sure you don't think anything of the kind," she answered, "for
+if you do, you're not up to date. The latest investigations have
+shown that brain matter is distributed throughout the body. No, I'm
+not joking. We all think more or less with our hands and feet."
+
+"I've not the slightest doubt of it," Paul answered, applying himself
+to his food; "and even if I had," he continued, "I should never
+dispute anything you told me." And then, looking her full in the
+face, he added: "Do you know, Miss Guir, that you have exerted a most
+remarkable influence over me? It might not be polite to say that it
+is inexplicable; but when I recall the fact that no girl ever before,
+in so short a time--"
+
+He paused for a word, but before he could discover one that was
+satisfactory, she said:
+
+"Do you mean to say that you have formed a liking for me already?"
+
+"It is hardly the word. I have been fascinated from the moment I
+first saw you."
+
+"I'm so glad," she answered, without the slightest appearance of
+coquetry, and as simply and naturally as though she were talking
+about the weather. Paul was puzzled. He could not understand her, and
+not knowing how to proceed, an awkward silence followed. Presently
+she leaned her head upon her hand, her elbow resting on the table,
+and with a languid yet interested scrutiny of his face, said:
+
+"You doubtless know the world, its people and ways, far better than
+I, and perhaps you wouldn't mind helping me with my book."
+
+"Indeed! You are writing a book, then?"
+
+"No, but I should like to do so."
+
+"And may I ask what it is about?"
+
+"It's about myself and Ah Ben, and the awful predicament into which
+we have fallen."
+
+"I should like greatly to help you," said Paul, thinking the subject
+might lead to a clearer insight of the situation; "but even were I
+competent to do so, which I doubt, I can not see how any little
+worldly knowledge I might possess could possibly be of service in a
+description of your own life."
+
+"It is only that I should like to present our story in attractive
+form--one which would be read by worldly people."
+
+"A laudable ambition. But what is the predicament you speak of?"
+
+"The predicament is more directly my own; the situation, Ah Ben's."
+
+"Perhaps if you will explain them, I might aid you."
+
+"You might indeed," she answered seriously, rising from the table;
+"but it would be premature. Let us go into the garden."
+
+She led the way through the back of the house out into the old-fashioned
+yard, where boxwood bushes and chrysanthemums, together with other
+autumnal flowers, adorned the beds. They walked down a straight path
+and seated themselves upon a rustic bench in full view of the edifice.
+Paul lighted a cigarette and watched the strange old building before
+him, while Dorothy was content to sit and look at him, as though he
+were some new variety of man just landed from the planet Mars. Presently
+she arose and wandered down the path in search of a few choice blossoms,
+leaving Paul alone, who watched her until she disappeared among the
+shrubbery.
+
+Sitting quietly smoking his cigarette, Mr. Henley became absorbed in
+a critical study of the quaint old pile which had so suddenly risen
+to abnormal interest in his eyes. A part of the structure was falling
+rapidly to decay, while other portions were so deeply embedded in ivy
+and other creeping things that it was impossible to discover their
+actual state of preservation. The windows were small and far apart,
+and Paul recognized his own by its bearing upon a certain tree which
+he had noticed while looking out upon the previous night. Following
+down the line of the wall, he was surprised to find a large space
+which was not pierced by either door or window, and naturally began
+to wonder what manner of apartment lay upon the opposite side, where
+neither light nor air were admitted. The wall, to be sure, was
+covered with Virginia creeper, which had made its way to the roof,
+but it was evident that it concealed no opening. Then his thoughts
+wandered back to the mysterious well, and he began to wonder if the
+closed door at the bottom connected with the unaccounted-for space
+behind this wall. His curiosity grew as he brooded upon this
+possibility--a possibility which he now conceded to be a certainty as
+he marked the configuration of the building. The blank wall was
+beneath his bedroom. The well descended directly into it, or upon one
+side of it, and communicated with it through the door mentioned.
+There was nothing to be learned by inquiry, and Henley determined to
+make another effort to force open the door. His resolution was not
+entirely the result of curiosity, for he had taken such a sudden and
+strong liking for the girl that he disliked the thought of leaving
+her; and yet the riddle of her environment was such that he conceived
+it to be no more than a proper regard for his own safety to take such
+a precaution while visiting her. Having reached this determination,
+he cast about for the means of executing it. He thought he should
+require a hammer and a cold chisel, but where such were to be found
+he could not conceive. Moreover, even were they in his possession, it
+was impossible to see exactly how he could make use of them without
+arousing the household. He thought of various devices, such as a
+muffled hammer, or a crowbar to wrench the door from its hinges, but
+these were discarded in turn as impracticable, from the fact that
+they were unobtainable. He looked about him among the shrubbery, but
+there was nothing to aid him; and, indeed, how could he expect to
+find tools where there were no servants to use them? He got up and
+walked down the path, absorbed in reverie, and although unable to
+devise any immediate plan to accomplish the task, his resolution
+became more fixed as he dwelt upon it. He would risk all things in
+opening that door, and was impatient for an opportunity to renew the
+effort. Then the girl's voice came floating through the air in a
+plaintive melody, and Henley was recalled to his surroundings. In
+another minute she had joined him.
+
+"I was afraid you would be lonely without me," she said, "and so I
+returned as soon as I had carried the flowers to the house."
+
+"I am so glad," he replied, with a look of unmistakable pleasure. "Do
+you know, this is the most romantic place I have ever seen in all my
+life, and you are certainly the most romantic girl."
+
+"Am I?" she answered sadly, and without a glimmering suspicion of a
+smile.
+
+They walked slowly down the path until reaching a decrepit old gate,
+where they stopped.
+
+"This is the end of the garden," she said. "Shall we go into the
+woods for a walk?"
+
+"Dorothy!" Paul began, "pardon me for calling you by your name, but
+do you know I feel as if any prefix in your case would be irritating,
+from the fact that you strike me as a girl who is utterly above and
+beyond such idle conventionalities. One would almost as soon think of
+saying Miss to a goddess."
+
+"And may I call you Paul? You will not think me forward if I should
+do so?" she asked, looking up at him.
+
+"I will think myself more honored than any poor language of mine
+could describe," he answered.
+
+"You know I would not want to call you Paul," she added, "unless I
+believed in you--unless I thought you were true and honorable in all
+things."
+
+Paul winced. Was he not deceiving the girl at that very minute? What
+could he say?
+
+"Dorothy," he answered, after a moment's hesitation, "I am not true,
+nor honorable neither. Perhaps you had better not call me Paul. I do
+not deserve it."
+
+She was looking him straight in the face, with her hand upon the
+gate. He felt the keen, searching quality of her eyes, but was able
+now to return the look.
+
+"We sometimes judge ourselves harshly," she continued. "I have myself
+been often led by an idle temptation into what at first appeared but
+a trifling wrong, but which looked far more serious later. Had I
+acted with the greater knowledge, I had committed the greater fault."
+
+What was she saying? Was she not describing his own position?
+
+"Therefore, when I say Paul," she added, "I do it because I like you,
+and because I believe in you, and not because I think you perfect."
+
+She lifted the rickety old gate with care, and he closed it after
+them; then they walked out over the dank leaves, through the
+brilliant coloring of the forest. The day was soft and tempting,
+while a mellow haze filled the air.
+
+"I am going to show you the prettiest spot in all the world," said
+Dorothy, "a place where I often go and sit alone."
+
+They walked side by side, there being no longer any path, or, if
+there had been one, it was now covered, and the sunlight, filtering
+through the tree-tops, fell in brilliant patches upon the gaudy
+carpet beneath their feet. They had walked a mile, when Paul heard
+the murmur of distant water, and saw that they were heading for a
+rocky gorge, through which a small stream forced its way in a jumble
+of tiny cataracts and pools. It was an ideal spot, shut in from all
+the world beyond. The restful air, barely stirring the tree-tops, and
+the water, as it went dripping from stone to stone, made just enough
+sound to intimate that the life principle of a drowsy world was
+existent. They seated themselves upon a rocky ledge, and Dorothy
+became absorbed in reverie; while Paul, from a slightly lower point,
+gazed up at the trees, the sky, and the girl, with mute infatuation.
+
+"You lead such an ideal life here," he said, after some minutes of
+silence, "that I should imagine the outer world would seem harsh and
+cold by contrast."
+
+"But I have never seen what you call the outer world," she answered,
+with a touch of melancholy in her voice.
+
+"Do you mean to say that you have lived here always?"
+
+"Yes, and always shall, unless some one helps me away."
+
+"I don't think I quite understand," he replied, "who could help you
+away, if your own people would not. Pardon the allusion, but I do not
+grasp the situation."
+
+"I could never go with any of the Guirs," she answered, with a
+shudder, "for I am quite as much afraid of them as they are of me."
+
+Paul was again silent. He was meditating whether it were best to ask
+frankly what she meant, and risk the girl's displeasure, as well as
+his own identity, or to take another course. Presently he said:
+
+"Dorothy, I would not pry into the secrets of your soul for the
+world, and am sure you will believe in my honesty in declaring that
+there is no one whom I would more gladly serve than yourself. I think
+you must know this."
+
+An eager glance for a moment dispelled the melancholy of her face,
+and then the old look returned with added force, as she answered:
+
+"Yes, Paul, I believe what you say, and admit that you, of all men,
+could be of service; and yet you have no conception of the sacrifice
+you would entail upon yourself by the service you would render. Could
+I profit myself at the cost of your eternal sorrow? You do not know,
+and alas! I cannot explain; but the boon of my liberty would, I fear,
+only be purchased at the price of yours. I had not thought I should
+be so perplexed!"
+
+He had not found the slightest relief from the embarrassing ignorance
+that enshrouded him. The girl's utter lack of coquetry, and her depth
+of feeling, made his position even more complex than it might
+otherwise have been.
+
+"As you must know, I am talking in the dark," he continued after a
+minute, "but this much I will venture to assert, that no act of mine
+could be a sacrifice which would put my life in closer touch with
+yours; for although it was only yesterday that we met for the first
+time, I love you; and I loved you, Dorothy, from the instant I first
+caught sight of you at the station. I do not pretend to explain this,
+but have felt an overpowering passion from that moment."
+
+"And you will not think me unmaidenly, Paul, if I say the same to
+you?"
+
+She made no effort to conceal her feelings, and they sat murmuring
+sweet things into each other's ears until a green bird came
+fluttering through the air, and lighting upon a bough just above
+their heads, screamed:
+
+"Dorothy! Dorothy!"
+
+It was a parrot, and there was something so uncanny in its sudden
+appearance that Paul started:
+
+"He seems to be your chaperone!" he observed.
+
+"He is my mascot!" cried Dorothy. "If it were not for his company, I
+fear I should go mad. I am so lonely, Paul, you can not understand
+it."
+
+"Have you no neighbors?" he inquired.
+
+"None within miles; and we live such a strange isolated life that
+people are afraid of us."
+
+Paul thought of the stage driver, and his look of horror on hearing
+where he was going.
+
+"I can't understand why people should be afraid of you simply because
+you live alone," he said. "For my part, I think your life here is
+most interesting. But you have not told me how I can help you."
+
+"Nor can I yet," she answered. "There is a way, of course, but I can
+not consent to so great a sacrifice from you; at least, not at
+present."
+
+"And would it compel me to leave you?"
+
+"No; it would compel you to be with me always."
+
+"And have you so little faith in me as to call that a sacrifice? I
+did flatter myself that you believed what I told you just now."
+
+"But, Paul, you do not know me. Wait until you do. Then, perhaps, you
+will change your mind."
+
+She spoke with emphasis and a strange depth of feeling, and he
+wondered what she meant.
+
+"I could never change, Dorothy," he replied with fervor, "unless you
+wished it; but if you did, do you know I believe it would not be in
+your power to reverse the bewildering spell you have wrought, and
+make me hate you, for never before have I felt anything approaching
+this strange sudden infatuation. But do not keep me in suspense; tell
+me, I pray, what is this mystery in your life which you think would
+change my feelings toward you?"
+
+"I belong nowhere. I have no friend in all the wide world," she
+answered bitterly.
+
+"You have forgotten Ah Ben," suggested Paul. She did not answer, but
+continued stroking the parrot which had lighted upon her shoulder,
+demanding her caresses with numerous mutterings.
+
+"Modesty prevents my reminding you of my humble aspirations to your
+friendship," added Paul, nestling closer to her side. Suddenly she
+looked up at him with an intense penetrating gaze, while she squeezed
+the parrot until it screamed.
+
+"Do you think you could show your friendship and stick to me through
+a terrible ordeal?" she asked earnestly.
+
+"I'm sure of it," he answered. "My love is not so thin-skinned as to
+shrink from any test. Only try me!"
+
+"Then get me away from this place," she cried, "far, _far_ away from
+it. But, mind, it will not be so easy as you think."
+
+"Are you held against your will?" demanded Paul.
+
+"No, _no_! You can not understand it. But I could not go alone. I
+will explain it to you some time, but not now. There is no hurry."
+
+"Is Ah Ben anxious to keep you?" inquired Henley.
+
+"On the contrary, he wishes me to go. You can not understand me, as I
+am quite different from other girls. Only take my word for what I
+tell you; and when the time comes, you will not desert me, will you?"
+
+There was something wildly entreating in her manner and the tones of
+her voice, and a pathos which went to Henley's heart. What it all was
+about he could no more imagine than he could account for any of the
+mysteries at Guir House; but he was determined to stand by Dorothy,
+come what might.
+
+Suddenly the girl had become quiet, rapt in some new thought. In
+another minute she placed her hand lightly upon Paul's shoulder, and
+said:
+
+"Remember, you have promised!"
+
+"I have promised," answered Paul. "Is there anything more?"
+
+"Yes," said Dorothy.
+
+She paused for a minute, as if what she were about to say was a great
+effort.
+
+"Well," he continued, "after I have got you safely away--which, by
+the by, does not seem such a difficult task, as no one opposes your
+going--but, after we have escaped together, what further am I to do?"
+
+"Naturally, I feel great delicacy in what I am about to say," said
+Dorothy; "but since you have told me that you love me, it does not
+seem so hard, although you do not know who or what I am--but, to
+be candid and frank with you, dear Paul, after you have gotten me
+away--why, you must marry me!"
+
+Paul snatched her up in his arms.
+
+"My darling!" he said, "you are making me the proudest man on earth!"
+
+"Do not speak too soon," said Dorothy, releasing herself from his
+grasp. "Remember I have told you frankly that you do not know me.
+Perhaps I am driving a hard bargain with you!"
+
+For a moment Paul became serious.
+
+"Tell me, Dorothy," he asked, in an altered tone, "have you, or Ah
+Ben, or any member of your mysterious household or family, any crimes
+to answer for? Is there any good reason why I, as an honest man,
+should object to taking you for my wife?"
+
+She turned scarlet as she answered:
+
+"Never! There is no such reason. There is nothing dishonorable, I
+swear to you--nothing which could implicate you in any way with
+wrong-doing. No, Paul; my secret is different from that. You could
+never guess it, nor could I ever compromise you with crime."
+
+Her manner was sincere, and carried conviction to the hearer of the
+truth of what she said.
+
+"It is time we were going to the house," she added, rising, with the
+parrot still upon her shoulder; and side by side they retraced their
+steps along the woodland way homeward.
+
+
+
+
+5
+
+
+Although Mr. Henley had no doubt of the truth of Miss Guir's assertion,
+the mystery of her life was as real and deeply impressive as ever.
+Perhaps it was even more so, as seeming more subtle and far-reaching
+than crime itself, if such a thing were possible. Paul was determined
+to investigate the secret of the closet stairs; for while Ah Ben's
+explanation was plausible to a degree, the blank wall and heavy door
+at the bottom filled him with an uncanny fascination, which grew as he
+pondered upon them. Exactly what course to pursue he had not decided,
+but awaited an opportunity to continue his efforts in earnest. There
+were two serious difficulties to contend with; one was the want of
+tools, the other the necessity of prosecuting his work in silence.
+
+As upon the previous evening, Dorothy and Mr. Henley dined alone,
+although Ah Ben, appearing just before they had finished, partook of
+a little dry lettuce and a small cup of coffee. Dorothy, as usual,
+ate most sparingly, "scarcely enough," as Paul remarked, "to keep the
+parrot alive."
+
+After dinner they went together into the great hall, where Ah Ben
+prepared a pipe apiece for himself and his guest.
+
+The logs were piled high upon the hearth, and the cheery blaze lit up
+the old pictures with a shimmering lustre, reducing the lamp to a
+mere spectral ornament. It was the flickering firelight that made the
+men and women on the walls nod at each other, as perhaps they had
+done in life.
+
+They seated themselves in the spacious old leather-covered pew; Ah
+Ben and Dorothy upon one side, while Paul sat opposite. The men were
+soon engaged with their pipes, while Miss Guir had settled herself
+upon a pile of cushions in the corner nearest the chimney.
+
+"You have been absent from home to-day, I believe," said Henley to
+the old man, by way of opening the conversation, and with the hope of
+eliciting an answer which would throw some light upon his habits.
+
+"Yes," Ah Ben replied, blowing a volume of smoke from under his long,
+white moustache; "I seldom pass the entire day in this house. There
+are few things that give me more pleasure than roaming alone through
+the forest. One seems to come in closer touch with first principles.
+Nature, Mr. Henley, must be courted to be comprehended."
+
+"I suppose so," answered Paul, not knowing what else to say, and
+wondering at the man's odd method of passing the time.
+
+A long silence followed after this, only interrupted at intervals by
+guttural mutterings from the parrot, which seemed to be lodged
+somewhere in the upper regions of the obscure stairway. When the
+clock struck eleven, the bird shrieked out, as upon the previous
+night.
+
+"Dorothy! Dorothy! it is bed time!"
+
+Miss Guir arose, and saying "Good night," left Ah Ben and Mr. Henley
+to themselves.
+
+"I am afraid I have been very stupid," said the old man,
+apologetically; "indeed, I must have fallen asleep, as it is my habit
+to take a nap in the early evening, after which I am more wide awake
+than at any other hour."
+
+"Not at all," answered Paul, "I have been enjoying my pipe, and as
+Miss Guir seemed disposed to be quiet, think I must have been nodding
+myself."
+
+"Do you feel disposed to join me in another pipe and a midnight
+talk," inquired the host, "or are you inclined for bed?"
+
+Paul was not sleepy, and nothing could have suited him better than to
+sit over the fire, listening to this strange man, and so he again
+accepted eagerly. Ah Ben seemed pleased, declaring it was a great
+treat to have a friend who was as much of an owl as he himself was.
+And so he added fresh fuel to the dying embers, settled himself in
+his cosy corner by the fire, while Paul sat opposite.
+
+"Every man must live his own life," resumed Ah Ben; "but with my
+temper, the better half would be blotted out, were I deprived of this
+quiet time for thought and reflection."
+
+"I quite agree with you," replied Paul, "and yet the wisdom of the
+world is opposed to late hours."
+
+"The wisdom of the world is based upon the experience of the _worldly
+prosperous_; and what is worldly prosperity but the accumulation of
+dollars? To be prosperous is one thing; to be happy, quite another."
+
+"I see you are coming back to our old argument. I am sure I could
+never school myself to the cheerful disregard for money which you
+seem to have. For my part, I could not do without it, although, to be
+sure, I sometimes manage on very little."
+
+"Again the wisdom of the world!" exclaimed Ah Ben, "and what has it
+done for us?"
+
+"It has taught us to be very comfortable in this latter part of the
+nineteenth century," Paul replied.
+
+"Has it?" cried the old man, his eyes fixed full upon Henley's face.
+"I admit," he continued, "that it has taught us to rely upon luxuries
+that eat out the life while pampering the body. It has taught us to
+depend upon the poison that paralyzes the will, and that personal
+power we were speaking of. It has done much for man, I grant you, but
+its efforts have been mainly directed to his destruction."
+
+"No man can be happy without health," answered Paul, "and surely you
+will admit that the discoveries of the last few decades have done
+much to improve his physical condition."
+
+He was nestling back into the corner of his lounge, where the shadow
+of the mantelpiece screened his face, and enabled him to look
+directly into Ah Ben's eyes, now fixed upon him with strange
+intensity. There was a power behind those eyes that was wont to
+impress the beholder with a species of interest which he felt might
+be developed into awe; and yet they were neither large nor handsome,
+as eyes are generally counted. Deep set, mounted with withered lids
+and shaggy brows, their power was due to the manifestation of a
+spiritual force, a Titanic will, that made itself felt, independent
+of material envelopment. It was the soul looking through the narrow
+window of mortality.
+
+"Health?" said Ah Ben, repeating Henley's last idea interrogatively,
+and yet scarcely above a whisper.
+
+"Yes, health," answered Paul. "I maintain that the old maxim of
+'early to bed' says something on that score, as well as on that of
+wealth."
+
+"True, but you said that a man must needs be healthy to be happy."
+
+"That's it, and I maintain that it's a pretty good assertion."
+
+"There again we must differ. Happiness should be independent of
+bodily conditions, whether those conditions mean outward luxury or
+inward ease. I must again refer you to the prize-fighter. But if you
+will pardon me, I think you have put the cart before the horse; for
+once having granted that personal power, happiness must ensue, and
+your health as a necessity follow. First cultivate this occult force,
+and we need submit to no physical laws; for inasmuch as the higher
+controls the lower, we are masters of our own bodies."
+
+"That is a pretty good prescription for those who are able to follow
+it, but for my humble attainments I'd rather depend on physic and a
+virtuous life."
+
+"Quite so," answered Ah Ben, thoughtfully, "but, speaking frankly,
+this limitation of your powers to the chemical action of your body
+only shows the narrowness of your scientific training. Had men been
+taught the power of the will as the underlying principle of every
+effect, one drug would have proved quite as efficacious as another,
+and bread pills would have met the requirements of the world."
+
+"But in the state of imbecility in which we happen to find
+ourselves," added Paul, "I should think that a judicious application
+of the world's wisdom would be better than trifling with theories one
+does not comprehend."
+
+"As I said just now," observed Ah Ben, "I have no desire to force my
+private views upon another, but I must distinctly object to the word
+'theory,' as associated with my positive knowledge on this subject.
+Every man must do as he thinks right, and as suits him best; but, for
+my part, I have disregarded all the physical laws of health during an
+unusually long life."
+
+Paul straightened himself up, and looked at his host in the hope of a
+further explanation.
+
+"I don't think I quite understand you!"
+
+"Yes," said Ah Ben, repeating the sentence slowly and emphasizing the
+words, "_I disregard all laws usually considered essential to living
+at all_!"
+
+Henley was silent for a minute in a vain effort to decide whether or
+not he were speaking seriously. He could not help remembering his
+abstinence from food, but at the time had not doubted the man had
+eaten between meals.
+
+"Then you certainly ought to know all about it," he continued,
+relaxing into his former position, but quite unsettled as to Ah Ben's
+intention.
+
+"You must admit that I have had sufficient time to be an authority
+unto myself, if not to others," added the old man. And then as he
+pressed the ashes down into the bowl of his pipe with his long
+emaciated fingers, and watched the little threads of smoke as they
+came curling out from under his thick moustache, Paul could only
+admit that the gravity of his bearing was inconsistent with a
+humorous interpretation of his words.
+
+"You interest me greatly," resumed Henley, after scrutinizing the
+singular face before him for several minutes, in a kind of mesmeric
+fascination, "and I should like to ask what you mean by the
+cultivation of this occult power of which you spoke?"
+
+"It is only to be acquired by the supremest quality of self-control,
+as I told you yesterday," answered Ah Ben; "but when once gained, no
+man would relinquish it for the gold of a thousand Solomons! You
+would have proof of what I tell you? Well, some day perhaps you
+will!"
+
+Henley started. The man had read his thoughts. It was the very
+question upon his lips.
+
+"You are a mind reader!" cried Paul. "How did you know I was going to
+ask you that?"
+
+Ah Ben made no answer; he did not even smile, but continued to gaze
+into the fire and blow little puffs of smoke toward the chimney.
+
+"You referred just now to the prize-fighter," Paul resumed after a
+few minutes, "but I am going to squelch that argument."
+
+"Yes," Ah Ben replied, now with his eyes half closed, "you are going
+to tell me that, although the man may have been battered and bruised,
+he really feels no pain, because of the unnatural excitement of the
+moment; but there you only rivet the argument against yourself; for I
+maintain--and not from theory, but from knowledge--that that very
+excitement is an exaltation of the spirit, which may be cultivated
+and relied upon to conquer pain and the ills of the flesh forever!"
+
+"It would go far indeed if it could do all that, although I believe
+there is something in what you say, for in a small way I have seen it
+myself."
+
+"Yes, we have all seen it in a small way; and does it not seem
+strange that men have never thought of cultivating it in a larger
+way, through the exercise of their will in controlling their minds
+and bodies? This exaltation of spirit is only attained through
+effort, or some great physical shock. It is the secret of all power;
+it conquers all pain, and makes disease impossible."
+
+"Makes disease impossible!" cried Paul in astonishment.
+
+"Yes," answered the elder man quietly. "This soul power, of which I
+speak, is the hidden akasa in all men--it is the man himself--and
+when once recognized, the body is relegated to its proper sphere as
+the servant, and not the master; then it is that man realizes his own
+power and supremacy over all things."
+
+"But," persisted Henley, "if you go so far as to say that this occult
+or soul power can conquer disease, you would have us all living
+forever!"
+
+"We do live forever," answered Ah Ben.
+
+"Yes, after death; but I mean here!"
+
+"_There is no such thing as death_!" remarked Ah Ben quietly, as if
+he were merely giving expression to a well-established scientific
+fact.
+
+"And yet we see it about us every day," Paul replied.
+
+"There you are wrong, for no man has ever seen that which never
+occurs!"
+
+"You are quibbling with words," suggested Henley.
+
+"There is a change at a certain period in a man's life, which, from
+ignorance, people have agreed to call death. But it is a misnomer,
+for man never dies. He goes right on living; and it is generally a
+considerable time before he realizes the change that has taken place
+in him. He would laugh at the word death, as understood upon earth,
+as indeed he frequently does, for he is far more alive than ever
+before."
+
+"You speak as if you knew all this," said Paul. "One might almost
+imagine that you had been in the other world yourself."
+
+"_Had been_!" exclaimed the old man with emphasis. "_I am in it now,
+and so are you. But there is a difference between us; I know that I
+am in it, because I can see it, and touch it, and hear it; while you
+are in it without knowing it_."
+
+There was an air of authority that impressed the hearer with the
+conviction of the speaker. This was not theory; it was the result of
+experience. There was a difference as vast as the night from the day.
+"I suppose, when I am dead, I shall know these things too," said Paul
+meditatively.
+
+"No," answered Ah Ben, "not when you are dead, but when you have been
+born--when you have come into life."
+
+"Pardon me," answered Paul, pondering on the man's strange assertion;
+"but this knowledge of yours is in demand more than all other
+knowledge. Positive information about the other world is what men
+have sought through all the ages; why do you not impart it to them?"
+
+"Impart it!" exclaimed Ah Ben. "Can you explain to one who has been
+born blind what it is to see? Can you impart to such a man any true
+conception of the world in which he has always lived? But _couch_ his
+eyes, remove the worthless film that has covered them, and for the
+first time he realizes the glorious world surrounding him. Likewise
+_couch_ the body, remove the shell that covers the spirit, and it is
+born."
+
+"I perceive, then, that it is only through death that most of us can
+hope to gain this knowledge."
+
+"Death, if you prefer the word," said Ah Ben. "Yes, it is the death
+of the film over the eye that reveals the world to the blind; but I
+should hardly say that the man was dead because he had so entered
+into another existence."
+
+"Would you mind telling me how it is that you have gained this
+knowledge in such obvious exception to the rule!"
+
+"The power of the occult is dormant in all men," answered Ah Ben;
+"and as I have already said, may be developed slowly, through the
+exercise of the will, or suddenly, as in some great physical shock,
+and of a necessity comes to all in the event called death. Were I to
+tell you how _I_ acquired this knowledge, Mr. Henley, it would
+startle you, far more than any exhibition of the power itself. No, I
+can not tell you; at least, not at present; perhaps some day you may
+be better prepared to hear it."
+
+The spark in the hanging lamp had almost expired, and the fire was
+reduced to a mere handful of coals, casting an erubescent glow over
+the pew and its occupants. Ah Ben stretched his hand toward the
+chimney, and as he did so, a ball of misty light appeared against it,
+just below the mantel. It was ill defined and hazy, like the
+reflection a firefly will sometimes make against the ceiling of a
+darkened room; but it was fixed, and Paul was sure it had not been
+there a moment before.
+
+"Do you see that?" asked the old man, breaking the silence.
+
+"Yes," answered Paul; "and I was just wondering what it could be."
+
+"Watch! and you will see."
+
+They sat with their eyes fixed; but while Paul was staring into the
+mantel, Ah Ben was looking at him.
+
+"Observe how it grows," and even as he spoke the strange illumination
+deepened, until it assumed the distinct and definite form of a lamp.
+Then the mantelpiece dissolved into nothingness, and Paul was staring
+through the chimney into a strange room, whose form and contents were
+dimly revealed by the curious lamp which occupied a table in the
+centre. Two persons sat at this table, the one a woman, the other a
+boy, and near at hand was an English army officer. The woman was
+small, with dark eyes and hair, and a skin the color of tan bark. Her
+head was bowed forward and rested upon her arms, which were crossed
+upon the table. The man was looking down at her with a troubled
+expression, and in a minute he stooped forward and kissed the top of
+her head; he then turned suddenly and left the room. The scene was
+distinct, although the outer part of the room was in shadow.
+Presently the woman threw herself to the floor with a heart-rending
+shriek, and Paul started up, exclaiming:
+
+"What has happened? She will wake everybody in the house!"
+
+He bounded to his feet; but as he did so, the lamp in the strange
+room went out, and the chimney closed over the scene, leaving him
+with his old surroundings. Looking up at Ah Ben, he said:
+
+"I must have fallen asleep. I've been dreaming."
+
+"Not at all," answered Ah Ben. "You've been quite as wide awake as I
+have, and we've been looking at the same thing."
+
+Paul demanded the proof, which the old man gave by telling him what
+he had seen in every detail.
+
+"Then it's magic!" said Henley, "for surely no room can be visible
+through that chimney."
+
+"That," answered Ah Ben, "is mere assertion, which you can never
+prove."
+
+"Do you mean to tell me that the thing was real? There is a secret
+about this house which I do not understand!"
+
+His manner was excited. He felt that he had been the dupe of the man
+before him, the prey to some clever trick; the thing was too
+preposterous, too unreasonable.
+
+"Be calm," said Ah Ben; "there is nothing in this that should disturb
+you. The room has disappeared from our sight, and will no more
+trouble us. Shall we have another pipe?"
+
+The words had an instantaneous effect, so that Paul resumed his seat
+and pipe, as if nothing had happened. For several minutes he sat
+silently gazing at vacancy, and listening to the north wind as it
+moaned through the old pines. He was trying to account for what he
+had seen, but could not. The mystery was deepening into an
+overpowering gloom. The house, with its eccentric inmates; the girl
+Dorothy, with her freaks and manner of living; the odd circumstance
+of the stairway in his closet; these, and other things, flashed upon
+his memory in a confused jumble, and seemed as inexplicable as the
+vision just witnessed through the chimney.
+
+Suddenly a thought struck him. Could this last have been hypnotism?
+He put the question straight to Ah Ben. The man passed his withered
+hand over his face thoughtfully as he answered:
+
+"Hypnotism, Mr. Henley, is a name that is used in the West for a
+condition that has been known in the East for thousands of years as
+the underlying principle of _all phenomena_."
+
+"And what is that condition?" Paul inquired.
+
+"_Sympathetic vibration_," answered the elder man.
+
+"Vibration of what?" asked Paul.
+
+"Of the mind," said Ah Ben. "The condition of the universal mind
+vibrating in our material plane, or within the range of our physical
+senses, is represented in the trees and the rocks, in the earth and
+the stars. Our physical senses, being attuned to his form of
+vibration, are in sympathy with it, and apprehend all its phenomena.
+There is but one mind, of which man is a part. Thought is a product
+of mind. Thought is real, and, when sufficiently concentrated,
+becomes tangible and visible to those who can be brought into
+sympathy with its vibrations. There is but one primal substance,
+which is mind. Mind creates all things out of itself; therefore, to
+change the world we look at, it is only necessary to change our
+minds."
+
+"Let me ask if what I saw was hypnotism?" repeated Henley. "I ask
+this, first, because I know it is impossible to see through a brick
+wall, even if there should be such a room in the house; and,
+secondly, because I cannot believe that I was dreaming, consequently
+the thing could not have been real."
+
+"Hypnotism is a good enough word," answered Ah Ben; "but that which
+men generally understand by the real, and that which they consider
+the unreal, are not so far apart as they suppose. You say the room
+was not real, and yet you saw it; had you wished, you might have
+touched it, which is certainly all the evidence you have of the
+existence of the room in which we are now sitting. Hypnotism is not a
+cause of hallucination, as is commonly supposed, but of fact. Its
+effects are not illusory, but real. Perhaps it would be more correct
+to say that they are _as real_ as anything else, and that _all_ the
+phenomena of nature are mere illusions of the senses, which they
+undoubtedly are. But whichever side we take, all appearances are the
+result of the same general cause--that of mental vibration. Matter
+has no real existence."
+
+Paul was meditating on what he had seen and what he was now hearing.
+Ah Ben's words were endowed with an added force by the vision of the
+mysterious room.
+
+"When you tell me that there is practically no difference between the
+real and the unreal, and that matter has no real existence, I must
+confess to some perplexity," observed Henley.
+
+Ah Ben looked up and smoothed the furrows in his withered cheek
+thoughtfully for a minute before he answered:
+
+"Unfortunately, Mr. Henley, language is not absolute or final in its
+power to convey thought, and the best we can do is to use it as
+carefully as possible to express ourselves, which we can only hope to
+do approximately. Therefore when I say that a thing is hot or cold,
+or hard or soft, I only mean that it is so by comparison with certain
+other things; and when I say that matter has no existence, I mean
+that it has no independent existence--no existence outside of the
+mind that brought it into being. I mean that it was formed by mind,
+formed out of mind, and that it continues to exist in mind as a part
+of mind. I mean that it is an appearance objective to our point of
+consciousness on the material plane; but inasmuch as it was formed by
+thought, it can be reformed by thought, which could never be if it
+existed independently of thought. It is real in the sense of apparent
+objectivity, and not real in the sense of independent objectivity,
+and yet it affects us in precisely the same manner as if it were
+independent of thought. What, then, is the difference between matter
+as viewed from the Idealist's or the Materialist's point of view? At
+first there is apparently none, but a deeper insight will show us
+that the difference is vast and radical, for in the one case the tree
+or the chair that I am looking at, owing its very existence to mind,
+is governed by mind, which could never be did they exist as separate
+and distinct entities. Therefore I say with perfect truth that matter
+does not exist in the one sense, and yet that it does exist in the
+other. I dream of a green field; a beautiful landscape, never before
+beheld; I awake and it is gone. Where was that enchanting scene? I
+can tell you: for it was in the mind, where everything else is. But
+upon waking I have changed my mind, and the scene has vanished. Thus
+it is with the Adept of the East, with the Yoghis, the Pundit, the
+Rishis, and the common Fakir; through the power of hypnotism they
+alter the condition of the subject's mind, and with it his world has
+likewise undergone a change. You say this is not real, that it is
+merely illusion; but in reply I would say that these illusions have
+been subjected to the severest tests; their reality has been
+certified to by every human sense, and when an illusion responds to
+the sense of both sight and touch, when the sense of sight is
+corroborated by that of touch, or by any other of the five senses,
+what _better_ evidence have we of the existence of those things we
+are all agreed to call real? Yes, I know what you are about to say,
+you object upon the ground that only a small minority are witnesses
+of the marvels of Eastern magic; but you are wrong, for I have seen
+hundreds of men in a public square all eye-witnesses to precisely the
+same occult phenomena at once. Now if certain hundreds could be so
+impressed, why not other hundreds? And with a still more powerful
+hypnotizer, why could not a majority--nay, all of those in a certain
+district, a certain State, a certain country, _in the world_--be made
+to see and feel things which now, and to us, have no existence? In
+that case, Mr. Henley, would it be the majority or the minority who
+were deceived? _All is mind_, and the hypnotizer merely alters it."
+
+"You said just now," answered Paul, "that matter, being mind, was
+governed by mind, and that the tree or chair before me, owing its
+existence to mind, is subject to that mind; do you mean by that to
+say that the existence of that sofa, as a sofa, may be transformed
+into something else by mental action alone?"
+
+"I do," said Ah Ben, "under certain conditions; namely, the condition
+called hypnotism. On this material plane we are imprisoned; the will
+is not free to operate upon its environment, but in the spiritual
+state this dependence and slavery to the appearances we call
+realities is cast aside; the will becomes free and controls its own
+environment--in short, we are out of prison. But even here, Mr.
+Henley, by practicing the self-control we were speaking of, the will
+becomes so powerful that it can sometimes break through the bondage
+of matter, which, after all, is no more real than the stuff a dream
+is made of, and mold its prison walls into any form it chooses; in
+which case, of course, it is no longer a prison, and the other world
+is achieved without the change called death!"
+
+"And why do you call it a prison, if no more real than a dream?"
+
+"Have you ever had the nightmare? If so, you must know that your will
+was insufficient to free you from the horrid scene that had taken
+such forcible hold of you. Was the nightmare real or not?"
+
+Paul was silent for several minutes. He could not deny the reality of
+the scene through the chimney, for it had the same forceful existence
+to him as anything in life. Ah Ben, seeing that he was still puzzling
+himself over the problem of mind and matter, the puzzle of life, the
+great sphinx riddle of the ages, said:
+
+"Let me ask you a question, Mr. Henley--I might say several
+questions--which may possibly tend to throw a little light upon
+this subject, and perhaps convince you that matter is really mind."
+
+"Ask as many as you like."
+
+"Pantheism," continued Ah Ben, "is scoffed at by many people calling
+themselves Christians as being idolatrous, and yet to me it is the
+most ennobling of all creeds. Without knowing anything of your
+religious faith, I would first ask if you believe in God?"
+
+Paul answered affirmatively.
+
+"Do you look upon him as a personal Deity--I mean as an exaggerated
+man in size and power--or as a Spirit?"
+
+"As a Spirit," Paul replied.
+
+"Very well, then; do you believe that Spirit is infinite or finite?"
+
+"Infinite."
+
+"Then, if it is infinite, there can be no part of space in which it
+does not exist."
+
+"That is my idea also."
+
+"If, then, that Spirit exists everywhere, it must penetrate all
+matter; in fact, all matter must, in its very essence, be a part of
+it; it must be formed out of the very substance of this infinite
+Spirit or Mind. Hence all is mind!"
+
+"That seems clear enough," said Paul; "in which case it seems to me
+that we are a part of God ourselves, and God being spirit, we must be
+spirits now."
+
+"Of course we are," answered Ah Ben; "as I have already told you, we
+are in the spiritual world now, although much of it is screened from
+our view, because we are temporarily imprisoned in a lower vibratory
+plane, called matter."
+
+Ah Ben arose, and procuring candles, which he lighted by the expiring
+fire, the men went to their beds.
+
+
+
+
+6
+
+
+It was past midnight, and the house quiet, when Paul determined to
+have another look at the mysterious door at the foot of his closet
+stairs. He had sat for more than an hour before his bedroom fire,
+after bidding Ah Ben good-night, to make sure that the inmates of
+Guir House had retired; and as not a sound had been heard since
+locking his door, he sincerely hoped they were asleep. Before
+descending into the noisome depths, however, he concluded to climb up
+into his window, and have another look at the beautiful panorama of
+mountain and woodland shimmering in the meagre light of a hazy sky
+and a moon past full. The uncertain outline of a distant horizon; the
+interminable stretch of forest, which bore away upon every hand; the
+rugged heights, now soft and colorless; the aromatic smell of pine
+and fir; the distant murmur of falling water; and the assonant
+whispering of wind in the tree tops, had all become strangely
+fascinating to him, more so than such things had ever been before.
+"Never was a house so situated, so lost to the world, so tightly held
+in the lap of unregenerate nature," thought Paul; "no laugh of child,
+no shout of man, no bark of dog, nor bellowing beast to break the
+stillness of the midnight air; an impenetrable, imperturbable, and
+silent wilderness shuts out the busy world, as we know it, forever
+and forever. It is a fitting place for such witchery as the old man
+seems master of, and I do not wonder that he has chosen it for his
+home; but the girl--the poor girl!--she must get away!" He closed the
+window, and prepared for his descent into the well.
+
+Removing his shoes, he put on a pair of soft felt slippers, and then,
+with candle in his hand, a box of matches and a revolver in his
+pocket, entered the closet, and opened the scuttle in the floor. A
+mouldy smell rose upon the air, and Henley recoiled at the thought of
+what might be in waiting below. He had not the slightest idea of how
+he should open the door at the bottom, but would make a careful study
+of the situation, hoping that a solution of the difficulty would
+present itself. The steps creaked dismally as he placed his weight
+upon them, and it was necessary to use extreme caution to avoid
+breaking through the more rotten ones. He had not descended more than
+a dozen, when there was a terrible crash above his head, and he found
+himself in absolute darkness. The trap had fallen as upon the
+previous night, he having forgotten to fasten it back, and the wind
+had blown out his candle. Henley hastened back up the stairs, fearful
+lest the noise had waked some one in the house, and without
+relighting his candle threw himself upon the bed to await
+developments. After listening for some minutes, and hearing nothing,
+he became convinced that no one had been disturbed; and so, creeping
+out of bed, and lighting his candle by the dying embers in the
+fireplace, started in afresh. This time he was careful to fasten back
+the scuttle door, and in doing so discovered that one of the great
+iron hinges was loose. It was more than two feet long, and with very
+little difficulty he managed to wrench it off, thinking it might
+possibly be of service in forcing the door at the bottom. He was
+careful this time to let the scuttle down quietly after him, thinking
+it safer to do this than to prop it open.
+
+The bottom was reached in safety after the usual doleful crunching
+and creaking of the timber, and Paul sat down on the bottom step,
+with his candle, to rest and quiet himself, before proceeding with
+his work upon the door. A dead stillness reigned all about him,
+broken only by the occasional resettling of the steps above his head,
+but which, to his excited brain, was like the report of a pistol;
+still even this ceased in a few minutes, and the silence was
+undisturbed. He now made a careful examination of the door. It was
+very heavy, and solid. Holding his candle close against the crack, he
+could see, to his surprise, that it was bolted upon the inside.
+Placing his ear close against the keyhole, he listened, but it was
+silent as a tomb within; and how the door became fastened upon the
+inside was inexplicable, unless indeed there was another outlet,
+which from his examination of the building had seemed improbable.
+Then, taking out his knife, he stuck it into the wood in various
+directions to ascertain the condition of its preservation. The door
+itself was in an excellent state; but in examining the lintel, the
+blade of his knife suddenly sank into the rotten wood up to the
+handle. Here, then, was the place to begin operations, and
+fortunately it was on the side from which the door opened. Henley had
+soon dug away a great segment of decayed wood, exposing the bolt
+clearly to view. Then taking the hinge which he had brought with him,
+and slipping the small end between the bolt and the frame of the
+door, he used it as a lever to pry against the bolt within. The iron
+was so old and rusty, and his purchase so poor, that he only
+succeeded in making a rasping sound where the two metals scraped
+against each other, and so stopped, discouraged. Presently he
+bethought him of his handkerchief, which he wrapped carefully around
+the end of the hinge, and thus not only gained a better purchase,
+increasing his leverage, but was able to operate without the
+slightest sound. It was a long time before the bolt moved, but to his
+intense gratification it did move at last, and Henley took a fresh
+grip upon his hinge. Backward and forward he worked his lever, and
+with each turn the old bolt slipped back a little. At last he could
+see the end of it, and then it was clear of the frame entirely. He
+had expected no difficulty in opening the door when the hinge was
+once slipped, but to his surprise it was still immovable. He pulled
+and tugged and pushed, but it would not budge; then suddenly, just as
+he was about to give up, it came tumbling down upon him, so that he
+was barely able to save it from falling against the stairs with a
+terrible crash, but fortunately caught it upon his shoulder, and
+lowered it to the floor without a sound. Imagine his surprise in
+going to what he now believed to be the open portal, to find that the
+doorway had been bricked up from within, and that the door itself had
+simply been the back of a solid wall. Naturally, he was disappointed
+at finding himself no nearer the inner chamber than before. A careful
+examination of the masonry showed that the work of bricking up the
+entrance had undoubtedly been done from the other side, and after the
+door had been closed and bolted. This was evidenced from the fact
+that there was no mortar next the door, against the smooth inner
+surface of which the bricks had been closely laid. Henley worked his
+hinge between some of the looser joints, and found, just as he
+expected, that the mortar had been laid from within. By degrees he
+managed to wedge one of the bricks out of its place, and then pulled
+it bodily from the wall. The inner surface was plastered over. He
+tried another, which he got out more easily, and it told the same
+tale. Then he went to work in earnest, and had soon dug a hole large
+enough to admit his body. Leaning over into the aperture, with his
+candle at arm's length, the place looked dark and empty, with faint
+masses of lighter shadow. Then, with a certain indescribable awe,
+Henley commenced crawling through the breach. Stepping upon an
+earthern floor, he found himself in a vault-like chamber--damp,
+mouldy, and foul of atmosphere. He glanced hurriedly about, and then
+turned to examine the wall through which he had come. Just as he had
+surmised, the bricks had been laid from the inner side, and plastered
+over within. The person who had done the work must have had some
+other means of escape. This set him to wondering where the other
+entrance could be, and to a careful search around the wall; but there
+was no door, no window, nor opening of any kind. How had the work
+been done? While he was wondering, he stumbled over something in the
+floor, and, recovering, threw back his head, holding his candle high
+above it. He was startled by the sight of what appeared to be four
+shadowy human faces, looking directly at him from above.
+Instinctively he sought his revolver, but before drawing it perceived
+that what he had taken for living people were simply four portraits,
+of the most remarkable character he had ever beheld. Paul stared in
+bewilderment at the sight before him. The pictures were so old, their
+canvases so rotten and mildewed and stained with the accumulated
+fungi of time and darkness that it was only by degrees that the
+intention of the artist became manifest. In the hall and other
+apartments of the old house, Henley thought he had seen the most
+original and inexplicable pictures ever painted; but here, buried
+forever from the sight of human eyes, were the most dreadful
+countenances ever transcribed from life or the imagination of man.
+Torture was clearly depicted upon each face; but not torture alone,
+for horror, fright, and mental agony were strangely blended in each.
+Not a face that looked down upon him from those antiquated frames but
+bore that agonized, heart-broken, terrified expression. Paul was
+paralyzed; a kind of mesmeric spell held him to the spot, so that he
+could not remove his eyes from the uncanny scene before him. Then a
+wild desire to be rid of the place forever seized him, and he stepped
+backward. At the same minute he observed for the first time what
+looked like some faded letters painted upon the wall directly beneath
+the four mysterious portraits. Examining these with his candle, he
+saw that they formed the words:
+
+  "_The last of the Guirs_."
+
+"No wonder Dorothy said that she was afraid of them," Paul reflected;
+"their portraits alone would drive me mad." He took another long
+searching look; and as his eyes grew accustomed to the faded
+coloring, he observed how cleverly the work had been done. Evidently
+the pictures had been painted from life, though under what
+circumstances Henley could never imagine. The faces were all those of
+a feminine type; they were of young women, apparently but little more
+than girls, and each with this life-like, though dreadful expression.
+As Paul stood marveling and wondering, a new interest seized him. At
+first he could not quite understand what it was, but it became
+stronger and better defined, he knew, for he recognized one of the
+faces. Yes, there could be no mistake about it; the picture on the
+left was a _portrait of Dorothy herself_. Henley rubbed his eyes, and
+looked again and again; he could not believe their evidence, but they
+had not deceived him. He tried to make himself believe that it was
+the likeness of some ancestor, to whom she had a strange resemblance;
+but, despite the look of pain, it could be no other than Dorothy, and
+indeed this very expression helped to heighten the likeness, for had
+he not seen a similar expression at the breakfast table? The longer
+he gazed at it, the more convinced he became that this was a portrait
+of Miss Guir. At last, thoroughly mystified, he turned away,
+intending to leave this grewsome chamber of horrors forever; but now
+for the first time the heap of rubbish in the center of the floor
+engaged his attention. Taking his hinge, he stirred up the mass; some
+shreds of cloth, which fell to pieces on being touched, and beneath
+them some human bones. This was all, but it was enough; and
+overwhelmed with horror, Henley rushed out of the room, bounding
+through the aperture he had made in the wall, and up the rickety
+stairs into his own bed chamber. He carefully closed the scuttle,
+heaped some firewood upon it, shut the closet door and fastened it
+securely from without. He then built up a roaring fire, lit another
+candle, and sat meditating over what he had seen until the dawn of
+day. When the light of the sun came streaming into his room, he
+undressed and went to bed.
+
+Whatever may have been Mr. Henley's suspicions concerning the
+implication of the Guirs with the crime which he could no longer
+doubt had been committed in their house, they were promptly
+dispelled, so far as the young lady was concerned, upon meeting
+Dorothy at the breakfast table. Her innocent though serious face was
+a direct rebuke to any distrust he might have entertained; and he
+even doubted if she had any knowledge of the state of things he had
+discovered in the vault. This, of course, only added to the mystery;
+nor was Mr. Henley's self-esteem fortified by the memory of how
+unscrupulously he had become the guest of these people, and of how
+equivocal had been his treatment of their hospitality. All this,
+however, related to the past, and, as he felt, could not be now
+undone. He must act to the best of his ability in the extraordinary
+position in which he found himself.
+
+After breakfast they walked again into the garden, and while Paul
+smoked his cigarette, meditatively, Dorothy gathered flowers for the
+house. There was an earnestness in everything that she did, quite
+unusual in a girl of her age, and at times her manner was grave and
+sad, but strangely attractive, nevertheless. When she had completed
+her labors in the garden, she came and seated herself beside him.
+
+"Some day, Paul, we'll have a cheerier home than this; won't we?" she
+said, looking wistfully up at the quaint old pile before them.
+
+"I don't think we could have a more romantic one," he answered; and
+then, hoping to elicit an explanatory answer, added, "but why should
+Guir House not seem cheerful to you?"
+
+"I don't know; it has always been gloomy; don't you think so?"
+
+"Not having known it always, Dorothy, I am not in a position to
+judge; but it will always be the sweetest place on earth to me,
+because I met you here for the first time."
+
+"Yes, I know; but you must not forget your promise."
+
+She seemed nervous and anxious concerning his fulfillment of it.
+
+"And do you suppose that I could ever forget anything you asked me?
+No, Dorothy, while you will it, I am your slave; but, as I told you
+before, you exert such a strange power over me that you could make me
+hate and fear you. I don't know why this should be so, but I feel
+it!"
+
+"Hush!" she said, extending her outstretched hand toward his mouth;
+"do not talk in that way; you frighten me; for, O Paul! I was just
+beginning to hope that in you I had found a friend who would never
+shrink away from me. Do not tell me that you will ever become afraid
+of me like the others. I could not bear it."
+
+"I shrink! God forbid," he answered, "but tell me why are other
+people afraid of you? You mystify me."
+
+"Because I am different--so different from them!"
+
+"I'm quite sure of that," he replied, "else I should never have come
+to love you within an hour of meeting you."
+
+She did not smile; she did not even look up at him, but sat gazing at
+nothing, with countenance as solemn and imperturbable as that of a
+Sphinx.
+
+"How am I ever to understand you, Dorothy, you seem such a riddle?"
+said Paul presently.
+
+"You will never understand me," she answered with a sigh, "No one
+ever has understood me, and you will be just like the rest!"
+
+"But you will never let me be afraid of you, like the others, will
+you?" he exclaimed half in earnest.
+
+"I don't know; others are; why should not you be?"
+
+She was still staring into vacancy, with her hands clasped, and Paul
+thought he detected a little, just a little, of the same expression
+he had seen in the portrait. He started, and Dorothy saw him.
+
+"What is the matter?" she inquired, looking around at him for the
+first time.
+
+"Nothing; only you looked so dreadfully in earnest, you startled me."
+
+"But surely you would not be startled by so simple a thing as that!"
+
+"Why not? I am only human," he answered.
+
+"Yes, but I am sure there was something else. Now tell me, was there
+not?"
+
+"Why, how strangely you talk!" he replied, searching her face for an
+explanation. "Of course there wasn't; why should there be?"
+
+She leaned back, apparently still in doubt as to his assertion, while
+her countenance grew even more grave than before. Henley was puzzled,
+and while Dorothy had not ceased to charm him, he was conscious of a
+very slight uneasiness in her presence. This, however, wore off a
+little later when they went together for a stroll in the forest. The
+girl's extreme delicacy of appearance, her abstracted, melancholy
+manner, and sincerity of expression, both attracted and perplexed
+Paul, and kept him constantly at work endeavoring to solve her
+character and form some conception of the mystery of her life. He had
+not yet had even the courage to ask her if Ah Ben were her father,
+dreading to expose himself as an impostor and be ordered from the
+place, which, despite his discovery of the previous night, he could
+only regard as an unmitigated hardship in the present state of his
+feelings; and so he had let the hours slip by, constantly hoping that
+something would occur to explain the whole situation to him. And yet
+nothing had occurred, and now upon the third day he was as grossly
+ignorant of the causes which had produced his strange environment as
+at the moment of his arrival.
+
+"One thing I do not understand," Paul observed, as they wandered over
+the vari-colored leaves, side by side; "it is why you should be so
+anxious to leave this ideal spot."
+
+"Have I not told you that it is because I am out of my element;
+because I am avoided; because I have not a friend far nor near! Oh,
+Paul, you do not know what it is to be alone in the world!"
+
+"And do you believe that a simple change of locality would alter all
+this?" he asked.
+
+She paused for a moment before answering, and then, looking down upon
+the ground, said as if with some effort:
+
+"No, not that alone."
+
+"What then, Dorothy?" he asked with solicitude.
+
+"I have already told you," she replied without looking up. "Oh, Paul,
+what a short memory you must have!"
+
+"Of course I understand that we are to be married," he responded
+hastily, "but how can that alter the situation? Dorothy, if we have
+not found congenial friends in that position in life in which God or
+nature has placed us, how can we hope to make them in another? Do you
+not think there may be some deeper reason than simple locality and
+single blessedness? Would it not be natural to look for the cause in
+the individual?"
+
+"Undoubtedly you are right," she answered, "but your premises do not
+apply to my case, for neither God nor nature ever intended that I
+should live this life. Oh, Paul, believe me when I tell you that I
+know whereof I speak. Do not judge me as you would another; some day
+you may know, but I can not tell you now."
+
+She spoke pleadingly, as imploring to be released from some awful
+incubus which it was impossible to explain. Paul listened in deep
+perplexity, and swore that the powers of heaven and earth should
+never come between them. So different was she from any girl that he
+had ever seen, that her very eccentricity bound him to her with a
+magic spell. When he had again asked her if Ah Ben would oppose their
+marriage, or indeed if any one else would, she declared that no human
+being would raise a voice against it.
+
+"Then what is to hinder us?" he asked; "I am poor, but I can support
+you; not perhaps in such luxury as you are accustomed to, but I can
+give you a home; and if you are so unhappy here, why submit to
+unnecessary delay?"
+
+He had become impassioned and enthused by the girl's strange
+influence over him.
+
+"True, Paul, there are none to hinder us," she replied seriously,
+"that is, no one but--but--"
+
+She paused, not knowing how to proceed.
+
+"Then there is some one," cried Paul earnestly. "I thought as much.
+Who might the gentleman be?"
+
+"Yourself!" exclaimed Dorothy, her eyes still fixed upon the ground.
+
+"Myself!" shouted he in amazement. "Do you mean to say that I should
+oppose my own marriage with the girl I love?"
+
+"You might," she answered demurely, casting a side glance up at him,
+and allowing the very faintest, saddest kind of smile to rest for an
+instant upon her face.
+
+"Well!" said Paul, "I do not suppose you will explain what you mean,
+but it would be only natural that I should like to know."
+
+"I only mean," she replied, resuming her meditative attitude, "that
+you do not know me; that you neither know who nor what I am. If I did
+not love you, I might deceive and entrap you, but not under the
+circumstances."
+
+Later they returned to the house.
+
+
+
+
+7
+
+
+It was not until Mr. Henley had made another and longer visit to the
+dark room that he became convinced beyond all doubt that the work of
+sealing up the place had been done from within, and that there was,
+and had been, no other outlet but that through which he had entered.
+To suppose that the main wall of the house had been closed in at a
+later period would be preposterous, and for manifest reasons. His
+examination of the room's interior had been most thorough and
+exhaustive. The place was smoothly plastered upon the inside, and
+even the mason's trowel had been found upon the floor within, so that
+it became at once evident that those who had done the work had been
+self-immured. Although the reason for such an act was utterly beyond
+his comprehension, Paul felt a certain satisfaction in having reached
+this conclusion, as it showed the impossibility of Dorothy's being in
+any way implicated in the affair. It seemed even possible that she
+was ignorant of it. But this discovery in no wise lessened the
+mystery; it rather increased it.
+
+A few evenings after Paul's decision regarding the self-immurement of
+those discovered in the vault, he and Ah Ben were again enjoying
+their pipes by the great fireplace in the hall. The elder man was
+generally disposed to conversation at this hour; and after Dorothy
+had retired, Paul alluded to the strange scene he had witnessed
+through the chimney, and expressed a desire to learn something of
+occultism. Taking his long-stemmed pipe from his lips, the old man
+gazed earnestly into the fire. He seemed to be thinking of what to
+say, and to be drawing inspiration from the glowing embers and
+dancing flames before him. At last he spoke:
+
+"Occultism, Mr. Henley, is difficult--nay, almost impossible--to
+explain to a layman; or if explained, remains incomprehensible; and
+yet a child may acquire its secrets by its individual efforts.
+Spiritual power comes to those who seek it in proper mood, but,
+injudiciously exercised, may cause insanity."
+
+"Nevertheless," urged Paul, "if you won't consider me a trifler, I
+should like to see a further manifestation of the power."
+
+Ah Ben looked at him compassionately.
+
+"Pardon me, Mr. Henley," he said, "but it is not always well to
+gratify our curiosity upon such a subject; but if you seriously wish
+it, and can believe in me as an honest and honorable custodian of the
+power, and will prepare yourself for a serious mental shock, I will
+show you something."
+
+"Before proceeding," said Paul, "I should like to ask you a question.
+Was the room I saw through the chimney a real room? I mean had it any
+material existence upon earth?"
+
+"Most assuredly. It was a scene in my early childhood, and originated
+in the Valley of the Jhelum, in the Punjab. The officer and lady were
+my parents. It was the last time I ever saw them. I was the boy."
+
+"May I ask how it is possible to reproduce a scene so long passed out
+of existence, and which took place so many thousand miles away?"
+
+"Easily told, but not so easily understood by one whose mind has
+never been trained to think in these occult channels," answered the
+elder man; "for to understand the thing at all, you must first divest
+your mind of time and space as outside entities, for these are in
+reality but modes of thought, and have only such value as we give
+them. India, doubtless, seems very far to you, but to one whose
+powers of will have been sufficiently developed, it is no farther
+than the wall of this room. So it is with time. How can we see that
+which no longer exists? But a little reflection will show us that
+even on the physical plane we see that which does not exist every day
+of our lives. Look at the stars. The light by which some of them are
+recognized has been millions of years in transit, so that we do not
+behold them as they are tonight, but as they were at that remote
+period of time; meanwhile they may have been wrecked and scattered in
+meteoric dust."
+
+"But that is hardly an explanation of the scene referred to,"
+answered Paul. "Whenever I direct my eyes in the right quarter, the
+stars are visible; whether they be actually there or not, they are
+there to me; but not so with the vision of the room. In my normal
+condition there is no room there, while in my normal condition the
+stars are always there."
+
+"True, and because your normal condition is sympathetically attuned
+to the vibrations of starlight. Your consciousness is located in your
+brain, and so long as those vibrations continue to strike with
+sufficient force upon the optic nerve, you will be conscious of the
+light. But suppose the machinery of your body were finer--suppose
+your senses were absolutely in accord with those vibratory movements,
+instead of only partially so--do you not know that the starlight
+would reveal far more than it now does? Then you would see not only
+the light, but the scenes that are carried in the light, but which by
+reason of their obtuseness can not penetrate your senses. Were this
+improvement in men really achieved, our conceptions of time and space
+would be modified, and the condition of other worlds as plainly seen
+as our own."
+
+"Yes," said Paul, determined to follow up the original question, "but
+what of a scene that occurred in this world some years ago, and whose
+light vibrations would require but the fraction of a second to reach
+our point of consciousness--no matter where situated on earth--and
+which vibrations have long since passed beyond the reach of man, and
+been lost in infinite space?"
+
+"Nothing is ever lost, and infinite space is but a phase of infinite
+mind. All that is necessary to review such a picture is to change our
+point of consciousness from the brain to a point in space or _mind_,
+where the vibratory movement is still in progress. In other words, to
+overtake the scene by transposing our consciousness. Granted these
+powers, which are born of the soul, and we may behold any event in
+history with the clearness of its original force. Man is mind, and
+mind is one; but all mind is not self-conscious. The consciousness of
+mind is in spots, as it were, and here its consciousness is fixed in
+a spot called brain, where with most men it remains until the will,
+or some abnormal condition or the event called death, liberates it
+from its prison. You believe that with your God, the scenes of
+yesterday, to-day, and forever are alike visible?"
+
+"Even admitting all that you say," answered Paul, "I can not see how
+it was that I, who have no such power, could see clearly an event in
+your life."
+
+"Again the power of sympathetic vibration. The scene was reflected
+from my mind to yours."
+
+"But you just now said there was but one mind."
+
+"Perhaps then it would be more correct to say, from my point of
+consciousness to yours; or, to be still more accurate, to say that
+the intensity of my thoughts struck a sympathetic chord in yours, and
+vibrated through you as one consciousness. Without undue familiarity,
+Mr. Henley, I have found in you a responsive temperament. There are
+few men I can not influence, and with some the effort is trifling."
+
+Paul was interested, and sat quietly reflecting upon what he had
+heard. Naturally the ideas were not so clear as they would have been
+had he given more thought to the conditions of spirituality, which
+for so many years had been a part of Ah Ben's existence, and which
+state was as familiar to him as the body in which he appeared. Time
+and reflection alone, as this strange man had declared, could bring
+one to comprehend and realize a condition of existence so totally
+differing from that of our material plane. The inability of language
+to express that of which we have no parallel, and of which we can not
+conceive, is a grave obstacle to our understanding; but the man was
+ever ready to exert himself to make the matter clear when he found
+his listener interested.
+
+"If I am not tiring you," continued Paul, "I should like to call your
+attention to another point. You said that nothing was absolute; that
+all was relative; and yet when it comes to fixed measures, I think
+you must admit that this is not so. For example, a mile is a mile,
+and a mile must always be a mile under every conceivable condition.
+Am I not right?"
+
+"At first thought it would seem so," answered Ah Ben. "A mile
+certainly appears to be an absolute unchanging quantity of so many
+feet, which must always and under every circumstance affect us in the
+same way; and yet a little reflection will show that this can not be
+so, and that a mile, after all, is only fixed so long as our mind is
+fixed. In other words, it is a mental conception, and relative to
+other mental conceptions. Let us, for example, suppose that the world
+and all its contents, and, in fact, the entire universe, were exactly
+twice as large as it is, the mile would then be twice as long as it
+is now; and that which we _now_ call a mile would only make the
+impression of half as much distance as it now does. And so with all
+material conditions; I say _material_, for in the spiritual life we
+see these things more truly as they are, and not as they appear.
+There is but one class of facts which is absolute. I speak of the
+emotions. These are the realities of life--the soul qualities. Could
+we measure _love_, _hate_, or _happiness_, the standard would be
+fixed."
+
+"Do not forget your promise to show me something more of your power
+in the region of occultism," said Henley, "for I am greatly
+interested."
+
+"I will keep my word, but I warn you to prepare for a shock!"
+
+"I am ready, and should like nothing better than to witness an
+example of your greatest power!"
+
+The old man looked solemn, and then slowly answered:
+
+"You shall be gratified. It is now past midnight. Dorothy is asleep,
+and it is a fitting time. If you will follow me to my own room, I
+will show you a mystery."
+
+For a moment Paul hesitated. The thought of following this strange
+man at such an hour into the realm of the unknown, to investigate the
+supernatural, was uncanny, and he half wished he had not made the
+request. He knew the man to be no trifler. That which he promised, he
+would surely perform. Then, procuring a candle, Ah Ben led the way.
+
+They walked along the narrow passage at the rear, Ah Ben stopping to
+close the door quietly behind them. They then mounted a still
+narrower stairway at the back, Paul following closely. Presently they
+entered a passage which led in the opposite direction from Henley's
+bedchamber, and then, turning sharply to the right, found a narrow
+hallway which terminated in a door. Here the men stopped.
+
+"I am going to take you into my sanctum, and you must not be
+surprised if you find things different from the ordinary. The
+circumstances of my life have set me apart from most men; and if my
+surroundings are at variance with theirs, you must set it down to
+these facts."
+
+Here he opened the door.
+
+The room was lighted with the same lamp that Paul had seen through
+the chimney. There were odd-looking things, such as a skeleton with
+artificial eyes; a glass manikin with a reddish fluid that meandered
+through his body in thread-like streams; a horoscope and a globe,
+suspended from the ceiling, with the signs of the Zodiac. Various old
+parchments, covered with quaint cabalistic figures, were tacked
+against the walls. In a cabinet, embellished with hieroglyphics,
+stood another human form, a mummy wonderfully preserved.
+
+"Here we are alone," said Ah Ben; "it is the quietest hour of the
+night, and therefore we are least apt to be disturbed."
+
+"And what do you propose?" asked Paul with a misgiving he was loth to
+admit.
+
+"Whatever you may desire, Mr. Henley; for you must know that which is
+born of spirit is not subject to the restrictions of matter. But
+remember that all is natural; there is no supernatural, and therefore
+no cause for alarm."
+
+Ah Ben led the way to the window, and having drawn aside the curtain,
+threw up the sash. To Henley's amazement they walked directly through
+the open casement and found themselves upon a broad stone terrace in
+the glaring light of day. Beneath them lay a city of marvelous
+beauty, whose streets were lined with palaces, surrounded by their
+own parks, and whose inhabitants were walking in and about the shaded
+thoroughfares, or resting in the public seats beside them. The change
+was so sudden, so bewildering, that Paul drew back, his hand pressed
+against his head; whereupon Ah Ben took him by the arm and said:
+
+"There is nothing here to alarm you. Come, let us descend these
+steps, and walk through the town!"
+
+The voice and touch of the man reassured him.
+
+Walking down the broad stone steps, they found themselves in a noble
+avenue lined with trees and adorned with sparkling fountains.
+Everywhere the people looked happy. There was neither hurry nor
+effort, but the grandest monuments to human action were visible upon
+every hand. Such palaces of dazzling marble; such lace-like carvings
+in stone; such noble terraces and gardens; and open to all the world
+alike.
+
+"See," said Ah Ben, "the people here are of one mind. There is no
+wrangling nor struggling for place. These palaces are the property of
+the public; and why should they not be, since man's unity is
+understood? Exclusiveness is the result of ignorance, but privacy and
+seclusion may even be better enjoyed in the conditions prevailing
+here than in our own state of existence, and because of the unlimited
+power and material to draw upon. No man can crowd another after he
+has come to realize that all is mind, and that mind is infinite."
+
+"But where is Guir House, and the estate?" inquired Paul, feeling as
+if the whole thing were an incomprehensible illusion.
+
+"They have not been disturbed," the old man answered. "They are where
+they always were, _in the minds of those who perceive them, and upon
+whose plane they exist_."
+
+"It is too utterly bewildering. These things appear as real as any I
+ever saw."
+
+"Appear! They _are as real_. Let us go into one of these bazars, and
+see what the people are doing."
+
+They turned through an open doorway resplendent with burnished metal
+and sculpture to where great corridors, halls, and galleries, stocked
+with properties and merchandise of every description, were crowded
+with people. No one was in attendance; and those who came and went,
+carried with them what they pleased. No money was passed, nor did
+compensation of any kind seem forthcoming. "If anything strikes your
+fancy, take it," said Ah Ben. "All things here are free, and yet
+everything is paid for."
+
+Paul asked for an explanation, which Ah Ben gave as follows:
+
+"The city before you is located in the year 3,000, more than a
+thousand years in advance of our time. It is called _Levachan_, and
+will appear upon earth about 700 years hence; in about four hundred
+years from which time it will attain the size and splendor you now
+behold. We here see it in its spiritual state, which precedes and
+follows all material forms. It will begin its descent into matter,
+through the minds of physical man, about the time I have mentioned.
+It is merely a type of a class toward which we are tending, and I
+show it to you that you may see the vast strides we shall have made
+by that time. In the state of society in which we find ourselves,
+compensation is made by a system of absolute freedom in exchange.
+Here, if a man wants a coat, he takes it, and the owner reimburses
+himself from the great reservoir of the world's goods, which is open
+to all men as integral parts of a unit."
+
+"What check have you upon the unreasoning rapacity of a thief, who
+will take ten times as much as he requires?"
+
+"The system operates directly against the development of that trait.
+Here, men are only too anxious to have their goods admired and taken;
+for, being certain of their own maintenance, they feel a pride in
+contributing to that of others, and there is no temptation to take
+that which can not be kept, since his neighbor has equal right to
+take from him an idle surplus. Here the laws are the reverse of ours,
+for here a man is encouraged in the taking, but never in the holding.
+Wealth is measured by what a man disburses; hence all are anxious to
+part with their individual property for the advancement of the
+commonwealth, knowing that the _one_ can only thrive when the many
+are prosperous."
+
+They continued their walk amid the marvelous wealth that surrounded
+them. There were fabrics of untold value; jewels of indescribable
+splendor; men, women, and children with strangely eager faces. They
+seated themselves upon revolving chairs in the midst of a great space
+to watch the glittering show.
+
+"But tell me what it all means," inquired Paul. "I feel as if it were
+a dream, and yet I am absolutely certain that it is not."
+
+"You are right; it is not a dream. Levachan is as real as New York,
+Boston, or Chicago, although invisible to men of earth. Its
+inhabitants are as conscious of their existence as you and I are of
+ours. They are quite as alive to their history and probable destiny
+as any well educated citizen of America or Europe."
+
+"But where is Guir House, and all it contained?" repeated Henley,
+unable to understand.
+
+"Nothing has been changed by this any more than if you were in your
+bed dreaming it all. But to you it is incomprehensible, as I told you
+it would be, because your mind has never been trained to think in
+these realms."
+
+"No," answered Paul, turning uneasily in his chair, dazed by the
+marvelous pageant that moved constantly about them. "No, I admit that
+it has not, and that the whole thing is utterly beyond me; and this,
+none the less, because I am aware that one of the fundamental facts
+of nature is that two things can not occupy the same space at the
+same time. My previous education, instead of helping me, makes the
+situation more difficult. The Guir estate and this city can not both
+be here at once; of that I am sure."
+
+"That is a mere assumption on the part of materialists," answered
+Ah Ben. "Not only two things, but ten million things, can occupy the
+same space at the same time; for what is space, and what is time?
+They are mental conditions, as are all the phenomena of nature.
+Even your scientist will tell you that the infinite ether penetrates
+all substances, and that cast-steel or a diamond contains as much
+of this mysterious element as any other space of equal size. The
+varying vibrations of this ether, or universal akasa, make the world
+and all that is in it; and these vibrations are interpenetrable and
+non-obstructive. Even on the material plane we see how the vibrations
+of light and heat penetrate those of visible and tangible substance,
+and how, in your more recent discoveries, light rays penetrate solid
+metals formerly called opaque. When I say that these vibrations are
+interpenetrable and non-obstructive, the statement must be taken as
+approximating the truth, and not as a finality, independent of all
+conditions; for by the power of the will, or as a result of mental
+habit, a man may either exclude or admit to his consciousness the
+thought vibrations of others. But you may set it down as a fundamental
+fact that there is nothing or no condition of which the mind can
+conceive that may not become an objective reality, which is the
+creative faculty in all of us. This city is here to us just as really
+and actually as were the trees of Guir forest a short time ago. By
+opening our inward sight, and putting ourselves in accord with another
+vibratory plane of existence, we are in full _rapport_ with a condition
+that makes no impression upon the members of the sleeping world not so
+impressed."
+
+"But we left the house at midnight, and here we are in the broad
+light of day. Do you mean to tell me that the mind controls the sun
+itself? The thing is so astounding that I feel as if I were losing my
+reason."
+
+"And did I not tell you that it was unwise to gratify curiosity in
+this realm when unprepared by a long course of training? But let me
+quote you a few words from one of our greatest philosophers"; and Ah
+Ben quoted the following from Franz Hartman's "Magic, White and
+Black":
+
+"Visible man is not all there is of man, but is surrounded by an
+invisible mental atmosphere, comparable to the pulp surrounding the
+seed in a fruit; but this light, or atmosphere, or pulp, is the
+mind of man, an organized ocean of spiritual substance, wherein all
+things exist. If man were conscious of his own greatness, he would
+know that within himself exist the sun and the moon and the starry
+sky and every object in space, because his true self is God; and
+God is without limits."
+
+"These thoughts are utterly beyond me," said Paul uneasily.
+
+"As I told you they would be," replied Ah Ben, turning his chair and
+looking at his pupil with a kindly expression; and then, with his
+usual earnestness, he added: "But they will not be so always."
+
+"And you tell me that these things are actually as real as the
+furniture in Guir House?" inquired Henley.
+
+"Quite!" answered the guide. "Test them for yourself. Do you not see
+this magnificent dome above our heads, supported upon these wonderful
+pillars? Try them, touch them, strike them with your hand. Are they
+not solid? Apply every test in your power to their reality; they will
+not fail you in one--and, let me ask, what further evidence have you
+of the furniture of which you speak? Thought is real; and the man who
+can hold to his thought long enough endows it with objectivity."
+
+"It is a mystery involving mysteries," sighed Paul; "and I could
+never even ask the questions that are crowding into my mind."
+
+"So it is with all life," the old man replied thoughtfully, pressing
+his hand against his forehead as he gazed into the brilliant scene
+without seeming to look at anything especial; "and so it is with all
+life," he repeated in a minute; "it is a mystery involving mysteries!
+What are dreams? Give them a little more intensity, as in the case of
+the somnambule or clairvoyant, and they are real. The trouble is, Mr.
+Henley, that few of us ever come to realize that life itself is a
+dream; and when science recognizes that fact, many of the
+difficulties she now encounters will vanish. Let me repeat a few
+lines from the Song Celestial, or _Bhagavad Gita_.
+
+  "Never the spirit was born; the spirit shall cease to be never;
+  Never was time it was not; end and beginning are dreams,
+  Birthless and deathless and changeless remaineth the spirit forever;
+  Death has not touched it at all, dead though the house of it seems.
+
+"These thoughts are better understood in the East," continued Ah Ben,
+"where the people give less time to _religion_ and more to the
+_philosophy_ of life. And what are dreams but a part of our inner
+existence? None the less mysterious because we are so familiar with
+them. There are numerous authenticated records of dreams that have
+carried a man through an apparently long life, but which have really
+occupied less than a second of time as counted with us; through all
+the minutiae and details of youth, courtship, marriage, a military
+career, war with all its horrors, the details of the last battle
+where death was inevitable, and where the last shot was fired and
+heard that brought the great change--of _awakening_, and the sudden
+perception that the entire phantasmagoria had been caused by the
+slamming of the door, which the exhausted sleeper had only that
+second opened as he dropped into a chair beside it. The facts in this
+case are proven; no perceptible time having elapsed. Time--time is
+nothing. Time is only what we make it. An hour in a dungeon might be
+an eternity, while a million years in the Levachan of the Hindoo
+would seem but a summer's day."
+
+
+
+
+8
+
+
+Continuing their walk, they followed an avenue of dazzling beauty,
+which led to a green hill overlooking the town, upon which stood a
+temple of transcendent splendor. The sunlight flashed upon its marble
+walls and _chevaux de frise_ of minarets. Paul was filled with
+amazement, and demanded an explanation.
+
+"Let us climb the hill and see for ourselves," answered his guide,
+leading the way.
+
+Crowds of people passed in and out through the open portals of the
+temple; and when sufficiently near, Paul read the inscription above
+the principal entrance:
+
+  "_In Commemoration of the Birth of Human Liberty_."
+
+"I am as puzzled as ever," he declared, with a look of resignation.
+"It is the most stupendous and remarkable edifice I ever beheld!"
+
+They passed up by a marble terrace and entered the building through
+an archway so wide and lofty that it might have spanned many ordinary
+houses. Windows of jeweled glass scattered a thousand tints over
+walls and columns of barbaric splendor, where encrusted gems of every
+hue, scintillating with strange fires, were grouped in dazzling
+mosaics portraying historic scenes in endless pageant. It was a
+miracle of art and trembling iridescence. White pillars, set with
+jewels, rose and branched above their heads like the spreading boughs
+of gigantic trees. The throng of humanity surged hither and thither,
+and yet so vast was the nave of the temple that nowhere was it
+crowded. Paul clung closely to his comrade's arm, fearful lest his
+only friend in this strange world should be lost to him. On they
+walked; Ah Ben having an air of long familiarity with the scene,
+while Paul was dazed and bewildered. Occasionally they would stop to
+examine some object of special interest or to take in with
+comprehensive view the marvels surrounding them. But the temple was
+too grand, too glorious for a hasty appreciation of its wonders.
+
+Entering an elevator, they ascended to the roof and stepped out upon
+a mosaic pavement of transparent tiles. Looking over the parapet,
+they beheld a country of vast extent, where field, forest, and
+watercourse combined in a landscape of rare beauty. Beneath lay the
+marble city with its palaces, parks, and fountains. In the distance
+were shadowy hills and gleaming lights; and above, a sky whose
+singular purity was reflected over all. The height was great, but the
+roof so extensive that it seemed more like some elevated plateau than
+a part of a building. A multitude of spires rose upon every side like
+inverted icicles, and Paul was amazed to discover an inscription at
+the base of each.
+
+"I have a distinct impression of the meaning," he said, looking up at
+his guide; "but how, I can not tell."
+
+"Yes," answered the old man solemnly, "you now perceive that this
+stupendous temple commemorates the birth of liberty, or the death of
+superstitions, and the consequent liberation of the human mind from
+the slavery of false belief. The temple itself is a monument to the
+whole, while each minaret commemorates the downfall of some
+scientific dogma, and the consequent release of the human mind from
+its thralldom. The limit of man's power over his environment has been
+extended again and again; and even in your day, Mr. Henley, you have
+witnessed such marvelous advances as have adduced the aphorism, that
+this is an age of miracles. We speak from one end of the continent to
+the other. We sit in New York and sign our name to a check in
+Chicago. We reproduce a horse race or any athletic sport just as it
+occurred with every movement to the slightest detail, so that all men
+can see it in any part of the world at any time quite as well as if
+present at the original performance. We photograph our thoughts and
+those of our friends. We reproduce the voices of the departed. We
+commune with each other without the intervention of wires. We have
+lately pictured the human soul in its various phases. We see plainly
+through iron plates many inches in thickness, and look directly into
+the human body. Our food and precious stones are made in the
+laboratory, and a syndicate of scientists has recently been formed
+for the transmutation of the baser metals into gold. When man can
+produce food, clothing, and all the precious metals at will; when he
+can see what is occurring at a distance without the necessity of
+lugging about a cumbersome piece of machinery like his body--when all
+these and many other discoveries have been brought to perfection, the
+farmer and manufacturer may cease their labors. The necessity for war
+will no longer exist, as the righting of wrongs, the acquisition of
+territory, and the payment of debt will not demand it. But all these
+things and many more, Mr. Henley, will be brought to perfection
+before the liberation of man shall have been effected, which will be
+when he comes to understand that, with proper training and the
+ultimate development of self-control, there is no limit to his power.
+As I have told you before, self-control is the secret of all power.
+The day is not distant when the dogmas of science will be set aside
+for the spirit of philosophic inquiry. Then men will no longer say
+that they have reached the goal of human capacity or that they can
+not usurp the prerogative of the gods, for it will be known that we
+are all gods!"
+
+Later they descended to the ground and passed into the superb public
+gardens of the city. Seating themselves beside one of the numerous
+fountains sparkling with colored waters and perfumed with strange
+aquatic plants, they watched the brilliant scene that surrounded
+them. Aerial chariots flashed above, and men, women, and children
+moved through the air entirely regardless of the law of gravitation.
+Occasionally a passer-by would nod to Ah Ben, who returned the salute
+familiarly, as if in recognition of an old friend; but no one stopped
+to talk.
+
+"And you know some of these people!" cried Paul in astonishment.
+
+"Some of them." But a look of intense sadness had settled upon the
+old man's face, quite different from anything Henley had seen. For a
+moment neither spoke, and then Ah Ben, passing the back of his hand
+across his forehead, said: "Yes, Mr. Henley, I know them, but I am
+not of them; and as you see, they shun me."
+
+"I can not understand why that should be," answered Paul, who was
+conscious of a growing attachment for his guide.
+
+"I can not explain; but some day, perhaps, you may know. Let us
+continue our walk."
+
+Looking up at the marvelous examples of architecture that surrounded
+them, Paul observed that many of the houses had no windows, and
+inquired the reason.
+
+"Windows and doors are here only a matter of taste, and not of
+necessity," answered the elder man; "the denizens of Levachan enter
+their houses wherever they please without experiencing the slightest
+obstruction. Likewise light and air are not here confined to special
+material and apertures for their admission. We are only just
+beginning to discover some of the possibilities of matter upon our
+plane of existence. Here these things are understood; for matter and
+spirit are one, their apparent difference lying in us."
+
+"Yes," said Paul, "and I perceive that the inhabitants move from
+place to place through the upper atmosphere in defiance of all law!"
+
+"Law, Mr. Henley, is the operation of man's will. Where man through
+uncounted eons of time has believed himself the slave of matter, it
+becomes his master. I mean that the belief enslaves him, and not
+until he has worked his way out of the false belief, will he become
+free."
+
+They continued their walk through gardens of bewitching beauty, and
+amid lights so far transcending any previous experience of Henley's
+that he no longer even tried to comprehend Ah Ben's labored
+explanations. At last his guide, turning, abruptly said:
+
+"Come, let us return; the time is growing short!"
+
+"Time!" said Henley, with an amused expression. "I thought you told
+me that time was only a mental condition!"
+
+"True, I did," said Ah Ben, with a return of the same inexpressibly
+sad look; "but did I tell you that it had ceased to belong to me?"
+
+There was no intimation of reproof, no endeavor to evade the remark;
+but Paul could not but observe the change in the man's manner as they
+retraced their steps. Indeed, he was conscious of an overpowering
+sadness himself, as he turned his back upon the strange scene.
+
+"Come!" said Ah Ben, with authority, leading the way.
+
+They passed up the grand stairway to the terrace, entering the room
+at the same window by which they had left it, and Ah Ben closed the
+sash and drew the curtains behind them.
+
+A moment later Paul went to the window and looked out. There was an
+old moon, and the forest beneath lay bathed in its mellow light. The
+sudden transition to his former state was no less astounding than the
+first.
+
+"Which, think you, is the most real," asked the old man, "the scene
+before us now, or the one we have left behind?"
+
+Paul could not answer. He was revolving in his mind the marvels he
+had just witnessed. He could not understand how hypnotism could have
+created such a world as he had just beheld. It was not a whit less
+tangible, visible, or audible than that in which he had always lived,
+and he could not help looking upon Ah Ben as a creature far removed
+from his own sphere of life. How had the man acquired such powers?
+These and other thoughts were rushing through his mind. Presently his
+host touched him lightly upon the shoulder, and said:
+
+"Come, let us descend into the hall again, and finish our pipes."
+
+And so they wandered back through the silent house to the old pew by
+the fire; and Ah Ben, stirring up the embers and adding fresh fuel,
+said:
+
+"Although it is late, Mr. Henley, I do not feel inclined for bed; and
+if you are of the same mind, should be glad of your company."
+
+Paul was glad of an excuse to sit up, and so settled himself upon the
+sofa, absorbed in meditation. The firelight flickered over their
+faces and the strange pictures on the wall, and the head of Tsong
+Kapa shone more plainly than ever before. The portraits on the stairs
+were as weird and incomprehensible as they had appeared on the first
+night of his arrival; and the old man and the girl, and their strange
+life, seemed even more deeply involved in mystery than they had upon
+that occasion. Paul was now beset with conflicting emotions. The
+gloom of the house was more oppressive than before; and were it not
+for his sudden and unaccountable affection for Dorothy, he might have
+left it at once, had it not again been for the vision of splendor and
+happiness just faded from his sight. He could not bear the thought of
+losing forever the sensation of life and power and ecstasy just
+beginning to dawn upon him, when so cruelly snatched away; and but
+for Ah Ben he knew he should hope in vain for its return. Naturally,
+his emotions were strong and tearing him in opposite directions. The
+old man perceiving the depression of spirits into which his guest had
+fallen, reminded him gently of his warning regarding the shock of
+occult manifestation to those who were unprepared.
+
+"It is not that so much," answered Paul, "as the regret I feel at
+having left it all behind. When a man has only just begun to
+experience the sensation of life--_of real life_--to find himself
+suddenly plunged back into a dungeon with chains upon his shoulders,
+you must admit the shock is terrible."
+
+"Do I not know it?" answered the old man feelingly. "The return is
+far more to be dreaded than the escape into that life which you were
+at first inclined to call unreal; and yet, Mr. Henley, you must admit
+that it is difficult to decide the question of reality between the
+two worlds."
+
+"True," answered Paul; "and yet I know that what I have just seen can
+be nothing else than a hypnotic vision; it is impossible it should be
+otherwise, for it has gone--and beyond my power to recall. What
+amazes me to the point of stupefaction is the marvelous impression of
+truth with which hypnotism can fill one. I had always imagined the
+effect was more in the nature of a dream, but this was vivid, sharp,
+and perfect as the everyday life about me. I am more bewildered than
+I have words to express."
+
+"And yet," answered Ah Ben, "you still insist that the things you saw
+were unreal, because, as you say, they were the result of hypnotism.
+It seems difficult to convince you of what I have already told you,
+that hypnotism is not a cause of hallucination, but of fact. You
+insist that because the minority of men only are subjected to
+hypnotic tests, the impressions produced must be false. You will not
+admit that a minority has any claim to a hearing, although their
+evidence is based upon precisely the same testimony as that of the
+majority--namely, the five senses. You have no better right to assume
+that your present surroundings are any more truthfully reported by
+your senses than those of your recent experience. You see, you hear
+and touch; did you not do the same in Levachan?"
+
+"I did, indeed," answered Paul, "and with a clearness that makes it
+the more difficult to comprehend; still, of course, I know that the
+vision of Levachan was a deception, while this is real!"
+
+"And because you are convinced that a majority of men would see this
+as you see it. What if it should be proved that you are wrong?"
+
+"That would be impossible," answered Paul.
+
+"You think so, indeed," answered the old man with a strange look in
+his eyes; "and yet, if you will look above you and about you, you
+will see for the first time the way in which this old house looks to
+the great majority of mankind--indeed, to such a vast majority, Mr.
+Henley--that your individual testimony to the contrary would be
+regarded as the ravings of a madman. Look!"
+
+Paul lifted his eyes. The roof was gone, and the stars shone down
+upon him through the open space. About him were rough walls of
+crumbling stone, rapidly falling to decay; there were no pictures,
+there were no stairs with their uncanny portraits, there was no great
+open fire-place with the blazing logs, nor hanging lamp, nor cheery
+pew--all--all was gone--and nothing but ruin and decay remained, save
+some bunches of ivy which had climbed above the edge of the tottering
+wall, outlined dimly in the moonlight. The floor had rotted away, and
+dank grass and bushes and heaps of stone had filled its place. A pool
+of water in a distant corner reflected the sky and a star or two, and
+the dismal croaking of a frog was the only sound he heard. Through
+the open casements wild vines and stunted trees had thrust their
+boughs, and beyond were the pines and hemlocks. Paul stood erect, and
+stared around him in blank amazement. Where was Ah Ben? He too had
+departed with the rest. Dazed and wondering, Henley sauntered toward
+the door, or rather to where the door had once stood, now only an
+open portal of crumbling stone, from the crevices of which grew
+bushes and a tangled network of vines. Climbing down over a mass of
+fallen bricks, he wandered out into the grounds. The lawn was buried
+beneath a confused jumble of rubbish and weeds, and the forest
+encroached upon its rights. The graveled road was no longer visible,
+wild grass, moss, and piles of fallen stone having covered it far
+below. As he looked above, the moon shone through the casement of a
+ruined window, and an owl hooted dismally from the open belfry. The
+old house was a wreck, a tottering ruin, from whatever point he
+looked; and no room above or below seemed habitable. He walked around
+to see if the blank wall which guarded the secret chamber was still
+intact. Yes, there it was; it alone remained untouched by the ravages
+of time or war. The portraits and human remains were probably safe in
+their hiding place, and Paul shuddered at the thought. What hand had
+bound them up in that strange old corner to be hid forever from the
+eyes of men? He had heard no human word, nor was there apparently any
+shelter where man or woman could live. Presently amid the deep
+shadows of the forest something moved. It came nearer, and then from
+beneath the trees walked out into the moonlight. Paul started; but at
+the same moment a familiar voice spoke to him. It was Ah Ben's.
+
+"Do not let what you see alarm you, Mr. Henley, for it is the first
+time in which you have perceived Guir House in what you would call
+its normal state. As you now behold it, the majority of men would see
+it."
+
+"Then I have been duped ever since my arrival!" exclaimed Paul in a
+slightly irritated tone.
+
+"Not at all," answered the elder man complacently. "I have simply
+presented the house to you as it stood a hundred years ago. The
+impression you have had of it is quite as truthful as the one now
+before you. Indeed, it is as truthful as the view you now have of
+yonder star," he pointed to a twinkling luminary in the north; "for
+time has put out its fires more than a thousand years ago, so that
+you now behold it as it then was, and not as it is to-night."
+
+"This hypnotism of yours is quite undoing me," answered Paul, passing
+his hand across his eyes.
+
+"And yet what you now behold is not hypnotism at all, but fact, as
+the world would call it. It is what the vast majority of all men
+would see if here to-night. But I perceive that it is troubling you.
+Let us return to our old place by the fire, and the house as it was a
+century ago. In that state of the past I think you will find more
+comfort than in the melancholy ruin before us."
+
+They climbed back over the fallen piles of bricks, stone, and mortar;
+and then Ah Ben lifted his withered hand, and touching Henley lightly
+upon the forehead, said:
+
+"And now we are back in our old seats, just as they used to be in the
+days of yore!"
+
+Paul looked about him. The fire was burning brightly. The pictures
+had been restored to their places on the walls. The old lamp and the
+strangely decorated staircase were all restored, just as he had left
+them a few minutes before. He gazed long and earnestly at the scene
+around him, and then fixing his eyes upon Ah Ben, helplessly, said:
+
+"If then I am to understand that this is no longer real, but that the
+old ruin just beheld is the existing fact, might I ask in what part
+of the wreck you and Miss Guir have been able to fix your abode, for
+I saw nothing but crumbling walls--a roofless ruin?"
+
+"The question you ask involves a story, and if you care to listen I
+will tell it to you, although the hour is late and the night far
+gone."
+
+"I should enjoy nothing more," said Paul.
+
+And the men filled and lighted their pipes, and Henley listened while
+Ah Ben told him the following:
+
+
+
+
+9
+
+
+"In the early settlement of this State, an Englishman by the name of
+Guir pre-empted a large body of land, near the center of which he
+erected this house. Although his intention in coming from the old
+country was to make his permanent home in the colony, his reasons for
+doing so were quite different from those which usually induce
+immigration. Guir was an artist, and a man of some means; and his
+object in colonizing was not so much to cultivate the soil, or to
+trade with the Indians, or engage in any business enterprise, as to
+gratify a craving for nature and surround himself with such scenery
+as he loved to paint. It would be folly to pretend that Guir was a
+man of ordinary tastes and disposition; for had he been such, he
+would never have undertaken a journey, with a family of girls, into
+such a wilderness as Virginia was at that time. No; from the very
+circumstances of his birth and education, he was unfitted to live
+with his countrymen; hence his early adoption of the colony as a home
+for himself, wife, and daughters. This happened a hundred and fifty
+years ago."
+
+"He was an ancestor of yours, I presume," said Paul, hoping to gain
+some clew to the man's identity.
+
+"No," answered Ah Ben, "he was not."
+
+"Pardon the interruption," added Paul, fearing he had annoyed the
+speaker.
+
+"Naturally, in a country without roads, or even wagon trails,"
+continued the old man, without noticing the apology, "it was years
+before a house of this size could be completed, as every brick and
+nearly every stick of timber was brought from England. These, of
+course, were conveyed by water as far as the rivers permitted, the
+rest of the journey being performed upon sleds drawn by oxen. But it
+was Guir's hobby, and in the course of a dozen or fifteen years the
+job was completed, and the house stood as you see it now. Then the
+owner set himself to work with brush, canvas, and chisel to decorate
+his home, and make it, according to his ideas, as beautiful and
+suggestive of his early youth as imaginable. With his own hands, Mr.
+Henley, he painted most of these pictures, although his three
+daughters, inheriting his tastes, assisted him. And thus, as the
+years rolled by, Guir House became more and more a museum of artistic
+efforts, embracing many unusual subjects, and in every degree of
+perfection. The broad acres of the estate produced much that was
+necessary toward the maintenance of life, and what they lacked was
+supplied once a year from a distant settlement near the coast. As you
+can readily understand, there were no neighbors, and but occasional
+visits from the red man, who looked distrustfully upon the pale-face.
+This feeling became mutual, and trifling acts of hostility on the
+part of the natives grew both in frequency and magnitude.
+Depredations upon Guir's fields and cattle were at first ignored, in
+the effort to maintain peace, but in time it became necessary to
+resist them. Upon one occasion, a raid upon a distant field was
+successfully repulsed, with the aid of his wife and three daughters,
+attired in men's clothing and mounted upon fast horses. The Indians
+were so completely surprised by the ruse, being apparently attacked
+by five men, where they had believed there was only one, that they
+fled, completely routed, nor did they return for several years.
+Meanwhile, fearing another and closer attack, Guir converted one of
+the lower rooms of his house into an impenetrable and unassailable
+place of refuge. The windows were walled up, to correspond with the
+stonework of the house, leaving no suspicion of there having been
+once an opening. Likewise the doors were treated, and then carefully
+plastered both within and without, with the exception of one, which
+he made anew, to communicate with a private stairway leading from one
+of the upper bedrooms. This was the only entrance to the dark
+retreat, and a heavy bolt was placed upon the inside, to be used by
+the family in case of attack. There was no reason to suppose that a
+marauding party would ever find the way to this secret chamber, as
+the entrance was carefully covered by a scuttle in the floor of a
+dark closet; and the place being thoroughly fire-proof, the family
+felt unusually secure in the possession of their new retreat."
+
+"I think I have seen the stairway you speak of," said Paul.
+
+"Yes," answered the old man, "it communicates with the closet of your
+room.
+
+"One day Guir had left his home. He had ridden alone into the distant
+hills to dispute the range for some cattle with his natural enemy,
+the red man. The pow-wow had been long and trying, and it was only
+with the setting sun that he had come to a proper understanding, as
+he supposed, with the ugly chief who dominated the region about.
+
+"It was midnight when he reached his home. He pounded sharply on the
+door; but his good wife, who never retired without him, failed to
+answer the summons. So, after repeated knocks, Guir forced the door
+and entered. All was dark. An unearthly stillness pervaded the air,
+and a horrid suspicion forced itself upon him while groping his way
+forward to secure a light. Finding the chimney, he raked together a
+few coals, which he blew into a flame, and then, with trembling
+hands, lighted the candle upon the shelf above. Looking about him,
+Guir's heart sank. His house had been wrecked. His pictures, the work
+of years, were scattered in fragments about the floor. The windows
+were smashed, and the hall starred with broken glass. Not an
+ornament, not a treasure remained intact. But this he knew was as
+nothing to the horrible sight which he expected momentarily to greet
+his eyes. He called aloud to each member of his family, in the
+failing hope that some one would answer; but no sound broke the awful
+stillness. Suddenly he bethought him of the secret chamber, and with
+a wild prayer that his loved ones had been able to reach it in
+safety, and were still in hiding there, he started down the narrow
+stairs in search. Reaching the bottom, he found that the door had
+been wrenched from its hinges and thrown to the ground; and then
+Guir's heart sank, never to rise again. Stepping across the threshold
+of the room, candle in hand, a vision of blood swam before his eyes,
+and the dimly-burning light revealed the horror-stricken faces of his
+murdered family. Not one was left to tell the tale, but the story
+pictured before him was unmistakable in every detail. The treacherous
+natives had first tortured and then butchered them. For a time he
+stood transfixed with horror, unable to remove his eyes from the
+awful scene, or his feet from the spot where he had first beheld it;
+then, with the cry of sudden madness, he threw himself beside the
+bleeding corpses and lost all consciousness. How long he remained
+there was problematical, but on awaking Guir was still in the dark,
+and where he had fallen. At that moment a strange and overpowering
+desire seized him. He must paint the portraits of his murdered family
+before it became too late. Had he been sane, such a ghastly thought
+would never have possessed him; but Guir was crazed, and for days and
+nights following he worked in that dismal vault, by the light of a
+smoking lamp, at the task he had set himself, his fired imagination
+even intensifying the horrors of the grewsome tableau.
+
+"Upon each canvas he depicted the awful countenance which fact and
+fancy had imprinted upon his brain. Guir painted not only what he
+saw, but what he imagined he saw--dreadful faces, loaded with torture
+and despair. When completed, he hung them upon the walls of the room,
+and then with his own hands bricked up the entrance from within,
+having first carefully replaced and bolted the door. When Guir had
+thus entombed himself, he lay down again upon the floor, and then,
+still a madman, opened a vein in his wrist. The letting of blood may
+have sobered him or restored his mental equilibrium; for suddenly,
+with a wild change in his feelings, he bounded to his feet and
+repented. Again he was in darkness, and could not guess how much time
+had elapsed since his fatal act. Staggering to the closed doorway, he
+endeavored to tear away the bricks he had so recently placed there,
+but the mortar was hardening fast, and he was unable to find his
+trowel. Groping frantically along the floor, he searched in vain for
+some tool to open the vault in which he was buried, and then, with
+the anguish of despair, dropped again upon the ground to await his
+fate. Thus Guir died, in an agony of remorse, and with the intensest
+desire to live."
+
+Ah Ben stopped suddenly, and fixed his eyes upon Henley, as if trying
+to read his thoughts.
+
+"There is one thing in that story that strikes me as very peculiar,"
+observed Paul, returning his host's look with interest.
+
+"And what is that?" answered the old man, his eyes still fixed on
+Henley's face.
+
+"The fact that you are able to repeat with such circumstantial detail
+the feelings and actions of a man who died under such peculiar
+conditions, and quite alone."
+
+"It might indeed appear strange to you, Mr. Henley, but my
+familiarity with the case enables me to speak with knowledge and
+accuracy."
+
+"And would you mind telling me how that is possible?" inquired Paul.
+
+"_Because I am the man Guir himself; and I have lived on through such
+ages of agony that I have no longer the will or desire to appear
+other than as the ancient wreck before you_."
+
+Paul started.
+
+"Do you mean to tell me then that I am talking to a ghost?" he cried
+in dismay.
+
+"As you please, Mr. Henley; but ghosts are not so different from
+ordinary people--that is, when they have become materialized. I have
+just now shown you the real condition of this old house, or rather
+the way in which the majority of men see it. I do not hesitate,
+therefore, to show you the ghost that haunts it; nor do I object to
+explaining the dreadful cause of the haunting, or a little of the
+philosophy of hauntings in general."
+
+Paul looked aghast. Easy enough was it now to comprehend how the man
+had talked so familiarly of death and the next life after having
+actually crossed the threshold and passed into the realm of
+experience. But there was something too real, too natural about this
+personality to accept the remark as literal. Familiarity with Ah Ben
+had shown him to be a man. Paul felt sure of it. And yet here were
+revealed mysteries never dreamed of; one of which was even now
+producing an occult spell. Henley drew a deep breath in agony of
+spirit.
+
+After a moment's pause, the old man continued:
+
+"Ghosts, Mr. Henley, are as real as you; and when a spirit returns to
+earth in visible form, it is the result of some disquieting influence
+immediately before the death of the body, or, as I might say,
+previous to the new life. At the hour of physical birth, such
+influences cause idiocy or such imperfection of the bodily functions
+that death ensues, and the spirit returns to seek another entrance
+into the world of matter. When a man dies dominated by some intense
+earthly desire, his mind is barred against the higher powers and
+greater possibilities of spirit; his whole nature is closed against
+their reception, so that he perceives and hopes for nothing save the
+continuance of that life which has so completely filled his nature.
+His old environment overpowers the new by the very force of his will;
+and if this continues, he becomes not only a haunting spirit, but a
+materialized one, visible to certain people under certain conditions,
+and compelled to live out his life amid the scenes which had so
+attracted him. This, Mr. Henley, has been my case. I shall live upon
+earth, and be visible to the spiritually susceptible, until the
+strong impression made at the hour of death shall have worn away."
+
+"And the young lady, is she your daughter?" inquired Paul.
+
+"She is my daughter," answered the old man solemnly.
+
+"How comes it, then, that she addresses you by so singular a name?"
+
+"It is the one she first learned to use in infancy. As I partially
+explained to you, my mother was a Hindoo, while my father was
+English. The name Ah Ben belongs to the maternal side of my family."
+
+"Another question--more vital than any I have yet asked, because it
+concerns my own well-being and happiness," continued Paul; "how is it
+possible that Dorothy can live in a place like this with a being who
+is only semi-material?
+
+"Because her nature is double, as is mine," answered the old man.
+"Dorothy, like her sisters and mother, passed out of this life more
+than a hundred and fifty years ago."
+
+"And did the same causes operate to bring her back to earth?"
+
+Ah Ben became more serious than ever as he answered: "You have
+touched upon the sorest point of all, and one which requires further
+elucidation. Sudden and unnatural death has a retarding tendency upon
+the spirit's progress; but where one has caused his own destruction,
+the evil resulting is incalculable. I was a suicide; and ten thousand
+times over had I better have borne all the ills that earth could heap
+upon me, than have stooped to such folly. For in what has it resulted?
+A prolonged mental agony, such as you can never conceive; for I have
+no home in heaven nor earth, but am forced to wander amid the shadows
+of each world, unrecognized by those either above or below me. Here I
+am shunned upon every hand, and, as you saw for yourself, I was equally
+avoided in Levachan. But that is not all; in the ignorance and
+selfishness of my grief, I yearned for my lost ones with a solicitude,
+a consuming fierceness and power of will which insanity only can equal.
+By nature I was intense; and even had I not committed the fatal act, my
+vitality would have burned itself away with the awful concentration of
+feeling. But it must be remembered that I was not the only sufferer from
+this pitiful lack of self-control. The stronger desires and emotions of
+the living influence the dead--I use the words in their common
+acceptation for the sake of convenience--and here is where I caused
+such incalculable injury to my own child; for Dorothy, having entered
+the spirit world with inferior powers of resistance, fell under the
+spell I had wrought, and joined me in the haunting of this old house.
+Here, Mr. Henley, am I, a suicide, justly deserving the punishment I
+receive; but there is my child, as innocent as the air of heaven,
+forced to suffer with me, and it is no small part of my chastisement
+to realize this fact. People fly from us as they would from pestilence,
+both in this world and the other, although many of the dwellers in the
+higher state, from their greater knowledge and loftier development,
+simply avoid us. And we can not criticise their action in either world,
+for we are not adapted to either state. We are outcasts."
+
+Ah Ben paused for a moment, and then became deeply impressive, as he
+added:
+
+"Mr. Henley, let the experience of one who has suffered, and who will
+continue to suffer more than you can possibly understand--let his
+experience, I say, warn you against the unreasonable yearning for the
+return of those who have passed on to their spiritual state! Here our
+eyes are blinded to the blessedness to come, and it is well it is so;
+for, were it otherwise, the discipline of earth life would be lost,
+as too monstrous to be endured. No man could submit to the restraints
+of matter, with the power and freedom of spirit in sight. If once I
+could have realized the dreadful results entailed upon what I had
+lost, by my effort to recover it, I would have known that the
+blackest curse would have been trifling by contrast. Let the dead
+rest! and let one who knows persuade you that their entrance into
+spirit life is a time rather for rejoicing than regret!"
+
+"And is Dorothy to suffer as you have suffered, for what was no fault
+of hers?" demanded Paul.
+
+"Yes," said Ah Ben; "the law of Karma is the law of nature and the
+law of God; and while ordinarily she would have passed safely on in
+the possession of her new-born powers, the pitfall which I blindly
+laid beset her unwary feet, and she fell. There is but one course
+open; but one way in which Dorothy can reach either heaven or earth,
+by a shorter road than that which I am compelled to travel. It is
+simple, and yet one which, under the circumstances, is almost
+impossible to achieve; and this from the fact that it requires the
+cooperation of a human being."
+
+"I should imagine that any one with the ordinary feelings of
+humanity would gladly do what he could to assist such an unhappy
+fellow-creature!" exclaimed Paul.
+
+"But she is not a fellow-creature," urged the old man.
+
+"True, but I understood you to say that she might become one with the
+cooperation of a human being."
+
+"I did," Ah Ben replied; "but where is that to be found?"
+
+"Not knowing the nature of the task, it would be difficult to say,"
+answered Paul, "but I will adhere to my first proposition, that one
+with the ordinary feelings of humanity would gladly do what he
+could."
+
+"Mr. Henley, have you the ordinary feelings of humanity?"
+
+"I hope so," answered Paul.
+
+"Would you be willing to marry a ghost, and be haunted for the rest
+of your life; for the ghost would be sure to outlive you?"
+
+Paul started.
+
+"I have put the case too strongly," continued Ah Ben; "Dorothy is not
+a ghost in the ordinary sense. She is a materialized spirit, and
+that, my dear friend, is exactly what you are, with this difference:
+you have practically no control over your body; while she, having
+returned from the summer land abnormally, can, like myself, become
+invisible at will; but, upon the other hand, she is not always
+visible, even to those whom she would like to have see her. In short,
+as I have told you before, we belong to neither one world nor the
+other. But through union with a human creature, Dorothy can once more
+assume the functions of mortality, and after another period of earth
+life, become fitted again for the land of spirits."
+
+"I understand you entirely," answered Paul, "and can say, without
+hesitation or reservation, that I love your daughter, and, be she
+whom or what she may, will gladly marry her, if she can say as much
+for me."
+
+"I thought I could not be mistaken in my man," answered Ah Ben. "I
+have believed in your frankness, honor, and courage from the
+beginning; and although you came to this house with the intention of
+deceit, I feel sure that in the more serious situations of life you
+are to be relied upon. You have spoken to Dorothy, Mr. Henley, and I
+am confident she shares my trust in you."
+
+"I hope so," answered Paul.
+
+"I know it," the old man replied; "and let me tell you further that
+this match is not one subservient to the ends of utility or profit;
+for, were such the motive, the very end would be defeated. Dorothy
+must love the man she marries, with all her heart and soul; and you
+can readily understand, ostracized as we are, how difficult it has
+been to find such a one. For more than a century we have sought in
+vain, and I have pressed every opportunity and strained every power
+to bring about such a meeting and such a result as I trust will
+shortly follow; but the world has given us no chance, and those few
+who have been able to see us have only fled in terror!"
+
+"Am I at liberty, then, to prove my devotion to your daughter by
+asking her to marry me?"
+
+"You have already done so," replied Ah Ben, "and I have already given
+my consent; but I warn you, Mr. Henley, that in your intercourse with
+my daughter you should remember that you are dealing with a nature
+far more intense, and with far greater capacity to love, than any you
+have ever known. While the most fervid desire of Dorothy's life has
+doubtless been to meet some creature with whom she might affiliate, I
+believe she would forego even that happiness if convinced that it
+would prove disastrous to the object of her affection."
+
+Paul extended his hands to Ah Ben, who took them with fervor. "Dear
+old man!" he said, "although I am speaking to a ghost, I am not
+afraid of you; and knowing how much you have suffered, it shall be my
+aim to help and comfort you; for have you not shown me how close is
+the other world, and so in a measure removed the dread of death? How
+truly do I feel that those who have left us may be close around us,
+although we can not see them."
+
+And then, with a new light on all that surrounded him, Paul bade Ah
+Ben good-night, and went to his room.
+
+
+
+
+10
+
+
+The following morning, Mr. Henley was puzzled, in thinking over the
+conversation of the previous night, to remember that he had not been
+alarmed at the revelations which Ah Ben had made. The things he had
+seen and the words he had heard were amazing, but they had not
+terrified him; and when he recalled the easy and natural manner in
+which he had talked, he attributed the fact to the same mental change
+whereby he had perceived the visions.
+
+The breakfast room was deserted, neither Dorothy nor Ah Ben being
+present; and so Paul partook of the meal alone, which he found
+prepared as usual. He lingered over his second cup of tea in the hope
+that the young lady would join him; but after loitering quite beyond
+the usual hour, he sauntered out into the garden, trusting to find
+her there. But Dorothy was nowhere to be seen, and Henley sank
+dejectedly into the old rustic bench to await her coming.
+
+An hour passed, but no token of a human being was in evidence; not
+even the voice nor the footstep of a servant had been heard, and Paul
+sat consuming cigarettes at a rate that showed clearly his
+impatience. At last he returned to the house, and going to his room
+took pen and paper and wrote, in a large hand:
+
+  Will Miss Guir kindly let me know at what hour I may see her?
+  I shall await her answer in the garden.
+
+                                                   PAUL HENLEY.
+
+Not being able to find a servant, he took this downstairs and
+suspended it from the hanging lamp by a thread, and then returned to
+the garden to tramp up and down the neglected paths, between the
+boxwood bushes, and to burn more cigarettes. He had not the slightest
+hope of finding Ah Ben, as that individual never put in an appearance
+until the day was far spent--in fact, not generally until after the
+shadows of evening were well advanced; and the only servant he had
+seen was the dumb boy alluded to, and even he had only appeared
+occasionally. Clearly there was nothing to do but wait. But waiting
+brought neither Dorothy nor Ah Ben, and Paul began to wonder
+seriously where his hosts could have taken themselves. The time wore
+on, and the shadow of a tall fir showed that the hour of noon had
+passed. Had he been left in sole possession of this old mansion,
+whose history was so amazing, and yet whose very existence appeared
+mythical? He wandered back into the house, and passing through the
+hall, stopped suddenly. His note was gone. Surely it had been taken,
+for it could not have fallen. Examining the lamp, Henley saw that a
+short end of the thread was hanging, indicating that it had been
+broken and the note carried away. Some one had passed through the
+building since he had left it. Could it have been the girl? and if
+so, why had she avoided him? One thing appeared certain; she would
+know where to expect his letters, and he would now write another. In
+twenty minutes he had prepared the following, which, having sealed,
+he again suspended from the lamp in the hall:
+
+  DEAREST GIRL--I have waited all the morning to see you, and am
+  growing fearfully impatient. Is it business or pleasure that keeps
+  you away? Why not tell me frankly just what it is, as I can not
+  bear to think that I am avoided from indifference, or because you
+  are getting tired of me. Have I outstayed my welcome at Guir House?
+  I entreat you to give me an answer and an interview, as I am so
+  lonely without you; just how lonely I will tell you when we meet.
+
+                                                             PAUL.
+
+Having left this dangling from the same thread, he went out for a
+walk; and thinking it possible that he might meet Ah Ben in the
+forest, went in that direction.
+
+The leaves were now falling rapidly, and the clear sky was visible
+through the bare limbs above; and the open spaces were beginning to
+give the woods quite a wintry aspect. Guir House was visible from a
+greater distance than he had ever seen it, and Paul sat down upon a
+fallen log to take in the picture of the quaint old mansion, buried
+in the depths of a trackless, almost impenetrable forest. He sang a
+verse of a familiar song in a loud voice, with the hope of attracting
+attention, but the distant echo of the last words was the only
+response that he got. Then he threw himself upon the ground and
+whistled and smoked alternately, his anxiety constantly growing; but
+the gentle sighing of the wind in the tree tops, and the uncertain
+rustling of the leaves, were but poor comfort. Was this to be the end
+of his strange visit? Was he to start back upon his homeward journey
+without an opportunity to bid his phenomenal hosts good-bye? He could
+not bear the thought. Dorothy at all events must be found. He would
+search the grounds and ransack the house. Surely she must be
+somewhere within reach of his voice. But then she was so strange, so
+different from any woman he had ever known. How could he tell,
+perhaps she had left the old place forever! Henley had not realized
+until now what a deep and overpowering dependence had suddenly
+developed in him toward these people. They seemed to hold the key to
+another world in a more practical and tangible way than he had ever
+deemed it possible for any mortal-appearing man to do. Even to be
+shut out from the wonderful city of Levachan would be an overwhelming
+loss, and how could he ever hope to see it again without their aid?
+To be deprived forever of the spiritual influence of these eccentric,
+half-earthly acquaintances was a thought he could not tolerate. Even
+the horrors through which they had passed appeared trivial as
+compared with the glimpses they had afforded him of happiness. But to
+see these things--to feel the mystery of their power and beauty just
+beginning to descend and take possession of him--and then to be
+snatched back to earth, with the inability to return, was too
+horrible, and like the ecstatic visions of a drowning man cut short
+by rescue. While he had Ah Ben and Dorothy within his reach, he felt
+the possibility of return; but suddenly they had gone, and for the
+first time he realized what they had been to him. Then it began to
+dawn upon him what these people must have suffered in a century and a
+half, and what they must continue to endure for untold time to come,
+in their inability to return in full to that world they had left, or
+even to take part in the affairs of this. Surely their case was far
+worse than his, for after a few years he would be freed from the
+bondage of matter, and would grapple with the mysteries which had
+become so fascinating; but with them it was different. Unfitted for
+either world, without a friend and alone, they must drag out their
+weary existence until the law of Karma was satisfied. But he would
+not give them up; he could not; for were they not the new life, the
+new atmosphere, the very essence of his newly discovered self? He had
+felt, and seen, how possible it was for a man to tread on air--to
+walk the upper regions of the sky, and he could never again be
+contented to crawl upon the surface of the ground like a worm. But
+without Ah Ben he must crawl. With him, Paul felt that all things
+were possible, which powers he felt that Dorothy also possessed;
+though, alas, through the crime, and earth-bound cravings of his
+host, these powers had been sadly curtailed.
+
+Nerveless and dispirited he returned to the garden gate. Some one had
+been there since he had passed, for there were fresh foot-prints
+along the walk, of a small, feminine type, and directed toward the
+forest. The steps had passed outward, and their track was lost in the
+leaves beyond. Surely Dorothy had left the house and gone for a
+ramble in the woods without having seen him. How could he have missed
+her, and could it have been intentional, were thoughts which came
+unpleasantly to Paul at that moment. He stood gazing long and
+earnestly in the direction taken by the departing footsteps, and
+doing so, his attention was attracted by the flight of a bird which
+came swooping towards him from the depths of the woodland glade.
+Nearer and nearer it came, uttering a strange, shrill cry, as if to
+attract his attention; and then, after circling in the air above his
+head, came fluttering down, and lighted upon the gate-post at his
+elbow. It was Dorothy's parrot. But what did it mean by this unusual
+freak of familiarity? Paul spoke to the bird, which pleased it; and
+when he put out his hand to smooth its feathers, the parrot lifted
+its wings, and with a loud cackle exhibited a note which had been
+carefully tied beneath one of them. Henley relieved the animal of its
+burden, and discovered that the note was addressed to himself. When
+he looked around again, the parrot had flown away. This is what the
+note contained:
+
+                                                     GUIR HOUSE.
+
+  MY OWN DEAR COMRADE--I call you my own because you are all that I
+  ever had, but even now the memory of our few brief interviews is
+  all that is left to me, for I must go without you. So happy was I
+  when we first met, that I don't mind telling you, since we shall
+  not meet again, how, in anticipation, I rested in your dear arms
+  and felt your loving caresses; for you were all the world to me
+  then--the only world I had ever known--and the break of day seemed
+  close at hand. But soon the thought of drawing you down into that
+  awful abyss 'twixt heaven and earth, which has whirled its black
+  shadows about me for more than a century, seized me, and I could
+  not willingly make a thrall of the one I loved; and so I leave you
+  to those for whom you are fitted, while I shall continue my
+  solitary life as before. You say that you are lonely without me!
+  But what is your loneliness to mine? I, who never had a comrade;
+  who never felt the joy of friendship; and who was dazed with the
+  sudden flush of love, of hunger satisfied, of companionship! Have
+  you ever felt the want of these, dear Paul? Have you ever known
+  what it is to be alone--to live in an empty world--and that, not
+  for a time, but for ages? Yes, you will say, you understand it, and
+  that you pity me, and yet you do not know its meaning; for you at
+  least can live out the life for which God and nature have fitted
+  you, while I am fit for nothing. You know not what it is to be
+  shunned; to be avoided; to be feared! You go your way, and smile
+  and nod to those you meet, and they are pleased to see you. You are
+  welcome among your friends, as they to you. Live on in that
+  precious state, and feel blessed and happy, for there are worse
+  conditions, although you know it not.
+
+  And now I am going to tell you a strange thing. It is this: I have
+  shadowed your life from the hour of your birth. I have watched your
+  career, and where able have guided and helped you, knowing that you
+  were one whom I could love. I have helped to make you what you are,
+  and therefore my right of possession is doubly founded, even though
+  my love be too great to lead you astray. Gradually I led you up to
+  the hour when all was ripe, and then mentally impressed you with
+  the letter which you thought you received, and which I knew would
+  affect you through your strongest characteristics--love of
+  adventure, and--curiosity--as well as from the fact that you were
+  susceptible to mental influence. You came, and I was happy--more
+  happy than you will ever know--until my unsated Karma thwarted my
+  plan, and showed that while seeking my own peace, I might possibly
+  endanger yours. That ended all. I could go no further. But even
+  now, as before, I shall come to you in spirit, during the still
+  hours of night; for my love is more intense and strangely different
+  from that which waking men are wont to feel. It is that which
+  sometimes comes in dreams. Do you not know what I mean?
+
+  You will feel bewildered on reading this, and at a loss to
+  understand many things, but remember that your inward or spiritual
+  sight has been opened through the power of hypnotism, and you must
+  not judge things as in your normal state.
+
+  When you reached our little station of Guir, you were expecting to
+  find me there, and expectation is the proper frame of mind in which
+  to produce a strong impression; and therefore, although you did not
+  know what I was like, Ah Ben and I together easily made you see me
+  as I was, together with the cart and horse; and although you
+  actually got into the stage which was waiting, you thought you were
+  in the cart with me. The incident of the broken spring was merely
+  suggested as a fitting means to bring you back physically from the
+  coach to the cart, where for the first time, in the moonlight, you
+  saw me in semi-material form, visible as a shadow to some men, but
+  wholly so to you. Had I appeared thus at the station, I should have
+  alarmed all who saw me, and so I came to you only. The two worlds
+  are so closely intermingled that men often live in one while their
+  bodies are in another, and to those who are susceptible, the
+  immaterial can be made more real than the other. I know these
+  things, because, while at home in neither, I have been in both.
+
+  And now, dear comrade, think sometimes of her who loves you, and to
+  whom you have been the only joy; and she will be with you always,
+  although you may not know it, except in your dreams.
+
+  One more word. Think happily of the dead, for they are happy, and
+  in a way you can not understand. If you love them truly, rejoice
+  that they have gone, for what you call their death is but their
+  birth, with powers transcending those of their former state, as
+  light transcends the darkness. Disturb them not with idle
+  yearnings, lest your thought unsettle the serenity of their lives.
+  Let the ignorance which has ruined me be a warning. Some day I
+  shall complete my term of loneliness, and begin life anew. We will
+  know each other then, dear Paul, as here. Remember, I shall always
+  be your spirit guide.                                     DOROTHY.
+
+Henley folded the letter and looked about him in bewilderment, and
+with a sense of loneliness he had never known before. He thought he
+could realize the emptiness of life, the dissociation with all
+things, of which Dorothy had spoken. He was adrift, without anchor in
+either world. Heart-broken and crushed, he determined to find the
+girl at all hazards, and bounded down the garden path in search of Ah
+Ben, who alone could help him. At the last of the boxwood trees he
+stopped, and then, _in an agony of horror, beheld the roofless ruin
+of the old house as Ah Ben had shown it to him_. The crumbling walls
+and broken belfry, half hidden amid the encroaching trees, were all
+that was left of Guir House and its spacious grounds. Heaps of stone
+and piles of rubbish beset his path, and the open portals, choked
+with wild grass and bushes, showed glimpses of the sky beyond. In a
+panic of terror lest his reason had gone, Paul flew madly on in the
+direction from which Dorothy had first brought him. But not an
+indication of what once were ornamental grounds remained. Beyond, an
+unbroken forest was upon every side, and the growth was wild and
+dense. On he rushed, with both hands pressed tightly against his
+head, neither knowing nor caring whither he went. But at last two
+shadowy forms emerged from a dense thicket of calmia upon his left,
+and Paul felt that their influence was kindly, and that they had come
+to guide him back into the world he had left behind.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Ghost of Guir House, by Charles Willing Beale
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