You had to
fight it, shut your mind against it, oppose your will to it like a
stone wall, refuse to let it master you. Then, as if defeated, it
would go as suddenly, as inexplicably, as it had come.
That's what I did then, more by instinct than reason. But I was
exhausted when I finally got back to sleep.
CHAPTER III
THE DEAR LITTLE GOD!
When we went over Hynds House the next morning and took stock, I
began to entertain very, very peculiar feelings toward Great-Aunt
Sophronisba Scarlett, who, it would appear, had given me a white
elephant which I could neither hire out for its keep, nor yet sell
out of hand. I had to live in Hynds House, and Hynds House as it
stood wasn't to be lived in.
The rain had ceased, and from the outside jungle came innumerable
calls of birds, and fresh and woodsy odors; but the whole aspect of
the place was grim and forbidding. At the back, where there wasn't
such an overgrowth, the lane had been closed, barricaded with
barbed-wire entanglements, and fairly bristled with thistles and "No
Trespassing" signs.
"All this house needs is a mortuary tablet set up over the front
door."
But Alicia demurred.
Pages:
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45