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About Estacada progress. (Estacada, Or.) 1908-1916 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 1915)
The Fall of the Mouse of Usher SEE Continued from last Issue ihe Free Picture Show iSdturddy Afternoon And then S E E U S about Ihat Grocery Order You will need for the week. Make our Store your stopping place. Bring in Your Eggs W e will pay cash for all the fresh eggs you have. I “The Quality Grocers” Waterbury & Chapman Estacada, • Oregon Oak Dining Room Chairs Set of Six • $12.50 High Back Solid Oak Rockers $6.50 Mahogany Finish $5.50 Estacada Furniture Green Trilling Stampi $2. a day. Co. Undertaker* $10. a week The Hotel Estacada Modern Conveniences One ot the most delightful Resorts on the Coast L ocal and Tourist T rade Solicited Quality is Remembered W e are in business to sell Good Goods at Lowest Prices. T h e mail order houses neither buy your pro duce, help pay your taxes or sup port your schools. Trade A t Home. Estacada Pharmacy my cloth es with h aste, fo r 1 fe lt th at I should sleep no m ore during the n ight, and endeavored to arou se m y se lf from th e p itiab le ren d ition into widt h I bud fallen by pacing rapidly to and fro through the ap artm en t. I had taken but few tu rn s in this m ann er when a light step oil an ad jo in in g sta irca se u rrested my atten tio n . I presently recognized it as th a t of Usher. In an in stan t a fterw a rd he rapped with a gen tle touch a t my door and entered, b earin g a lamp. I lls cou n ten an ce was. as usual, cad av erou sly w an: but. m oreover, th ere w as a ape rie s o f mad h ilarity in his eyes, an ev idently restrain ed h ysteria in his whole dem eanor. I lls a ir appalled me. but a n y th in g w as p referab le to th e solitude which I had so long endured. “ And you have not seen it? ” he aaid ab ru p tly a ft e r having stared ab ou t him for som e m om ents in silen ce—“you have not then seen it? Hut sta y ! You sh all.” T h u s sp eaking and having ca re fu lly shaded his lamp, he hurried to one o f tiie easem en ts and th rew it i freely open to th e storm , j T iie im petuous fu ry o f th e en terin g gu st n early lifted us from our feet. It w as. Iiioeed. a tem p estu ous y e t stern ly b eau tifu l uight. and oue w ildly sin g u lar in its te rro r aud its beau ty. A w hirlw ind had ap p aren tly collected Its fo rce in ou r v icin ity , for th ere w ere freq u en t and violent a lte ra tio n s in th»» d irection o f th e wind, and th e excee d ing density o f th e clouds (w hich hung so low as to press upon th e tu rre ts of th e house» did not prevent our perceiv ing th e lifelik e velocity with which they flew caree rin g from all points ag a in st each oth er, w ithou t passing aw ay into th e distan ce, i say th at even th eir exceed in g d ensity did not prevent our perceiving tills. Y et we had no glim pse o f tiie moon or sta rs nor w as th ere an y hashing fo rth o f tiie lightning. Hut tin* under su rfa c e s of th e huge m asses o f ag itated vapor, as well jis all te rre stria l o b je c ts im m edi ately around us. w ere glow ing in tiie i u n n atu ral light o f a fain tly lum inous i and d istin ctly visible gaseous e x h a la tion which enshrouded th e m ansion, j “ You must n o t—you sh all not behold ! th is !" said 1 siitidderiiiglv to U sher as I I led him. w ith a gen tle violence, from | th e window to a seat. “T h e se appear* I am es which bew ilder you a r e m erely | electrica l phenom ena not iiiicom m on. | or it may be th at th ey h ave th eir i gh astly origin in tiie rank mJtksma o f j ilie tarn. L e t us close lid s casem en t. , T ile a ir is ch illin g and dangerous to ! your fram e. H ere is one o f your fa- j vorite rom ances. I will read, and you I sh all listen , and so we will pass aw ay I th is te rrib le night tog eth er.' | T h e an tiq u e volum e which I had tnk- j en up w as th e "M ad T r is t” o f S ir Lnu nee lot C anning, but I had called I it a fav o rite o f U sher's m ore in sad j je s t th an in earn e st, lo t. in tru th. | th ere is little iu its uucoutli and 1111- ! im aginative prolixity which could have | had in terest fo r th e lofty and spiritual i Ideality o f my friend. It w as. however, j the only book im m ediately a t hand. 1 had arrived at th a t well known ! portion o f th e story w here K thelred. | th e hero o f th e trist. having sought in , vain fo r peaceab le adm ission into tiie j d w elling o f th e h erm it, proceeds to ! m ake good tin e n tra n c e by force. H ere. it will be rem em bered, tiie w ords of j th e n arra tiv e run th u s: “ And Kthelred. who w as by n atu re | o f a doughty h eart and w ho was now J m ighty w ithal on acco u n t o f tiie pow- i e rfiiiu ess of Hie w ine w hich he had | d runken, w aited no longer to parley | w ith th e herm it, who. in sooth, w as o f an o b stin a te and m alicefu l turn, but. feeliu g th e rain upon Ids sh ou l d ers and fe a rin g th e risin g o f the teuqieat. . uplifted his m ace outrigh t mid with blow s made quickly room iu th e plankings o f th e door for his gnuntleted hand, and now. pulling th erew ith stu rd ily , lie so cracked and ripped and tore all asu n d er th a t th e noise oi the dry and hollow sounding wood alariiium ed and reverberated throughout th«* fo rest." At th e term in ation o f tills sen ten ce i sta rte d , and fo r a m om ent paused, for it appeared to me (although I at once concluded that my excited fancy had deceived mei th at from som e very rem ote portion or tin* m ansion th ere cam e Ind istin ctly to my ears w hat m ight h ave been in its e x a c t sim ila r ity o f c h a ra cte r, the «*» ho «but a stifled and dull on e certainly» o f th e very crackin g and ripping sound which Sir Lu uncclot had so p a rticu larly d escrib ed. I continued th e sto ry : “ Hut th e good cham pion Kthelred. now en te rin g w ithin the door, was sore enraged and am azed to perceive no signal o f th e nm iiceful h erm it: but. in th e stead th ereof, a dragon of a scaly and prodigious dem eanor, and of a fiery tongue, w hich s a te in guard b efore a palace of g o d . with a floor o f silver, and upon tiie wall th ere hung a shield of sh in in g brass with th is leg end c o w ritte n : Who entereth herein « conqueror hath bin: Who sla.veth the dragon, the shield he shall win. And Kthelred u p lifted his m ace and struck upon th e head <*f th e dragon, which fell b efore him :'i:d c a v e up Ills pesty b reath , w ith a s h r e k so horrid and harsh and w ithal so i iercin g th at Kthelred Imd fain to ch se his ears with his hands ag aln -r fft«* dreadful noise o f it. th e like w h ereo f w as nev er b efore h eard .” H ere again I paused ab ru p tly, and now with a f* miiig ot' wil',i am azem ent, fo r th ere cou d be no dou bt w h atever th at iu th is in stan ce 1 did actu ally ■bear, although from wlmt d irection it I proceeded 1 found it im possible to say. a low aud ap p aren tly d istan t, but h arsh, p rotracted and m ost unusual scream in g or g ratin g sound - the e x a c t coun terpart oT w h at my fan cy had a l ready con ju red up lor ilie dragon 's u n natural sh riek . O ppressed, as I c erta in ly was. upon th e o ccu rre n ce o f ih is second and most ! extrao rd in ary coin ciden ce by a th ou s a n d conflictin g sen sation s, iu which • w onder and e x trem e te rro r w ere p re dom inant. I still retain ed sufficient p resen ce o f mind to avoid e x c itin g by an y ob servation th e sen sitiv e nervous n ess o f my com panion, i w as by no m eans c e rta in th at lie laid noticed th e sounds in q uestion, although assured ly a stra n g e alte ra tio n had during th e last few m inutes taken place iu his dem eanor. From a position fronting my ow n lie nad grad u ally brou ght around ids c h a ir so as to s it w ith his fa c e to th e door o f th e ch am b er, and th us I could but partially perceive bis fe a tu res, alth ough 1 saw th a t his lips trem bled, as if la* w ere m urm uring in- aud lbly. i l l s head had dropped upon his b re a st, y et I knew th a t b e w as not asleep from tin* w ide and rigid open ing o f th e ey e as 1 cau gh t a g lan ce of it in protile. T h e m otion o f his body, too. w as a t v a ria n c e w ith th is idea, fo r he rocked from sid e to sid e with a g e n tle y et co n sta n t and uniform sw ay. 1 resum ed th e n a rra tiv e: “ And now th e cham pion, h avin g es caped from th e te rrib le fu ry o f tiie dragon, b eth in kin g h im self o f tiie brazen shield aud o f the b reak in g up o f th e en ch an tm en t w hich w as upon It, rem oved th e ca rc a ss from out o f j th e w ay b efore him and approached j valorous!y over th e silv er pav em en t o f , th e c a s tle to w h ere tiie sh ield w as upon th e w all, w hich in sooth ta rried n ot fo r his fu ll com iug. but fell down a t his fe e t upon th e silv e r floor w ith a m igh ty g rea t and te rrib le ringing sound.” m cKing m ovem ent ot L s b e r w. s un disturbed. i rushed to th e c h a ir in which be sat. I lls ey es w ere bent fix edly b efore him aud throughout his w hole cou n ten an ce th ere reigned a stony rigid ity. Hut a s I placed my baud u|>on his shoulder there c a m e a strong shudder over Ids whole person, a sickly sm ile quivered about his lips, and I saw flint he spoke a low. hurried and gib b erin g m urm ur, as if uncon scious o f m.v presence. Bending c lo se ly over him. 1 a t len gth drank In th e hideous im port o f his words. “ Not b ea r it? Y es. i h ear it and have heard it. Long. long. long, m any m inutes, m any hours, m any days have I heard it. y et 1 dared n ot—oh, pity me, m iserab le w retch th a t I a m —I dared n ot—dared not speak. W e have put her living in th e tom b ! Said 1 not th a t my sen ses w ere a c u te ? I now tell you th a t I heard h er first fe eb le m ovem ent in th e holiow coffin. I heard th e m — iiiii ny. many days a g o - y e t l dared not—I dared not sp eak! And now. tonight. Kthelred — Ini. h a !—th e b reakin g o f th e h erm it's door and th e death cry o f the dragon and th e elan- I gor o f th e shield say. rath er, th e rem l- ! ing o f h er coffin—and th e gratin g o f | th e Iron hinges o f h er prison and h er J stru g gles w ithin th e coppered a n hwa.v i j f th e vau lt! Oil. w h ith er sh all I fly? j W ill sh e not be h ere an on ? Is sh e not | h u rryin g to upbraid m e fo r my h a ste ? H av e I not heard h er fo o tstep on tiie j sta ir? Do I not d istinguish th a t beuvv j und h orrib le b eatin g o f her h ea rt? ! M adm an !” —here he sp rang fu riously I to Ids fe e t and shriek ed out his sylla- j hies a s if in th e effo rt he w ere giving up his sou l—“ M adm an! I tell you th a t sh e now stan d s w ithou t th e door!” As if in th e sup erhum an energy o f his u tteran ce th ere had been found th e potency o f a spell, th e huge an tiq u e p an els to which th e sp eaker pointed I th rew slow ly back upon th e in s ta u t th e ir ponderous and ebony ja w s. It w as tiie work o f tiie ru sh in g gu st. Hut. then, w ithout th o se doors th ere did stan d the lofty and enshrouded ligure of th e Lady M adeline or Usher. T h e re w as blood upon h er w hite rubes and tiie evidence o f som e b itter s tru g g le ti|H»u every portion o f h er e m a c ia t ed fram e. F o r a m om ent sh e re m a in ed trem b lin g and reelin g to and fro upon tiie th reshold : th en , with a low. m oaning cry. fell heavily inw ard upon th e person of her b ro th er and. in lier violent and now dual d eath agon ies, bore liiin to tiie floor a corpse and a victim to th e te rro rs he hart a n tic i pated. From th n t chn m lier and from th n t munsion I fled aglin st. T h e storni w as stili nhrond in all Its w rnth « s | fonnd u iy self Crossing th è old cm isew ay. Suddeiily th è re shot aloiig fin* patii a wild lighf. and I tn rn ed to see whein e a gleam so uiiusiial could bave Issued, fo r th è vnst house and its shadow s w ere alone hehinrt me. T h e radiam o w as flin t <»f th è rull. se ttin g and liloort red mnoii which now slm ile vividly through th at once hnrely d iscern ib le fissare o f which I bave hefore spokeu a s exten d in g troni th è roof o f thè hnliding in a zigzag direction to th è base. W hile i gazisi tliis flssure rapid- ly widoiied. th ere »aline a Aeree lireath o f th è w liirlw ind. th è en tfre »rii o f th è s a te llite lutrst a t on ce upon tny sigh t. my Inaili reeIed a* 1 snw th è m lghty wnlls ru shing asunrter. th ere w as a long, tiim iiltim ns shnu ting sound like th è voice o f a thousand w aters. and th è deep and dank ta rli at my fe e t closod sullén ly and siien tly over tb e fra g m en ts o f thè “ Fiouse « f Usher T h e en d . Consoling Thought. Country "V icar (to widow whose b est No soon er had th ese sy llab les passed pig h as died)—W ell, you know. Mrs. my Ups th an , as i f a shield o f b rass H iggs, th ese little trou b les a re sen t ua had indeed a t th e m om ent fallen h eav by P rovid en ce fo r ou r good. M rs. H iggs—Oh. yes. sir. B u t w hat ily upon a floor o f silver, I becam e a w a re o f a d istin ct, hollow, m etallic n c o m fo rt It Is to know th a t th ere's and clangorou s y et ap p aren tly muffled one ab ove ns won’t let Provid ence go reverb eration . C om pletely unnerved, I I too f a r !—T oron to tllobe. leaped to my fe e t, but th e m easured