The Statesmen Snowbound

by W. W. Jacobs

  VIII

  SENATOR WENDELL READS "THE CREAKING OF THE STAIRS"

  "After four years of luxury at the Capital there came a most disastrouschange in the Administration and I lost my rather exalted position underthe government. This was all the greater shock, for I had cherished thecomforting idea that I was protected to some extent by the Civil Servicelaw. However, when I recovered from the first effects of the blow Ilooked the situation squarely in the face, and was content with a straycrumb which fell from the opposition table. I had still some influenceto command, and after superhuman exertion managed to secure atwelve-hundred-dollar clerkship.

  "My wife, always cheerful under the most trying circumstances, was fullyequal to this occasion.

  "'Well, my love,' said she, 'of course we must give up everything here,and that will be a little trying for a while, I'll admit, but we shouldbe thankful that you are not thrown out altogether,' adding with a tingeof melancholy, 'I don't think, though, that I could bear to live inWashington after the change. Suppose we try A---- for a while.'

  "A---- is over in Maryland, about six miles from town, and veryconvenient trains are run between the two places. One can live quitecomfortably there for very little, so my wife's suggestion was quicklyadopted.

  "'It reminds me of dear, dear Salem,' she said some weeks later, 'andrents are so cheap. Think of the ridiculously small price we pay forthis house.'

  "'Suspiciously small, you mean,' said I gloomily, not at all reconciledto my wife's choice of abode. But as my feeble protest was treated withsilence I held my peace. 'Anything for a quiet life' has ever been afavorite conceit with me.

  "Mrs. Ploat had taken an old-fashioned house in Queen Anne Street, largeenough for a family of twenty persons. Now, as my household consisted ofonly my wife, her unmarried sister, and myself, I could not understandwhat was wanted with such capacious quarters. But I had no say in thematter. My wife fancied the house, it seemed to me, on account of itscolonial air, wide halls, huge high-ceilinged rooms, and general lack ofmodern improvements.

  "I never liked the house in Queen Anne Street, though this aversion wasapparently unreasonable, for we were cosy enough after the throes ofmoving in and settling down were over. But it struck me from the startthat there was something decidedly uncanny about the place, and a vaguefeeling of uneasiness became very keenly defined in me whenever I heardthe creaking of the stairs.

  "The stairs throughout the house had an infernal habit of creaking--oneafter another--as if somebody was coming up or down. At first I thoughtit was the rats that infested the old mansion in legions; but Iabandoned this idea after a few experiments which proved conclusivelythat the creaking sounds could only be made by a person or thing quiteas heavy, if not heavier, than myself--then tipping the beam at onehundred and eighty pounds.

  "In the course of time I became personally acquainted with each stair inthe Queen Anne Street house, and especially with those in the mainflight. Business, or pleasure, often compelled me to keep late hours,and on such occasions, on arriving home, I would naturally try to reachmy room as quietly as possible. With my shoes in my hand, and by aseries of agile leaps from one less noisy stair to another, I usuallysucceeded in attaining the upper part of the house without muchdisturbance.

  "The annoying sounds occurred at all hours, but were of course morenoticeable at night. I am a light sleeper, and was invariably awakenedby them, and this, with the loud ticking of a grandfather's clock on thefirst landing, usually banished further slumber, and I would arise atdaybreak, weary and unrefreshed. The clock was finally stopped, after aheated discussion with my wife and sister-in-law, who regarded it withsomething akin to reverence. It was indeed a venerable affair. I hatedthe thing even when it was quiet, for it reminded me of a coffin set onend, and I would pass it in the dark hurriedly, and with averted face.

  "I do not think that either my wife or sister-in-law ever heard thecreaking of the stairs. If they did they never said anything about it tome. For my part, I was silent, because I did not want to be laughed atby my womenkind, and I knew also that if the matter reached the ear ofour only servant she would immediately take her departure. Help is noteasy to obtain in A----, and if it were known that our home was hauntedwe would be obliged to do all our own drudgery in future.

  "This state of things continued nearly a year. Occasionally, for a weekor two at a time, the creaking stopped altogether. In these intervals Islept well and improved in every way, but when the disturbances returnedI became more depressed and gloomy than ever. My health was wretched atthe time, and I felt that I was gradually breaking down.

  "At last I determined to call upon my landlord, Doctor Matthai, and laythe trouble before him. He was born and raised in the house, and Ithought it probable that he could solve the mystery, or at least suggesta remedy. Doctor Matthai lived just across the way in a quaint cottagecovered with great climbing roses and set well back in a prim garden,with hollyhocks and hedges of box, and an ancient sun-dial which was mywife's never-ending delight.

  "The doctor was a short, thick-set, heavily whiskered gentleman, andlooked more like a retired man of affairs than the prosy recluse that hewas; but he had long since ceased to take any active interest in life,and gave himself up entirely to scientific study and research of a moreor less abstruse nature. A useless sort of existence, it seemed to me,as mankind was never destined, nor intended, to reap the benefits of hislabor. His sister kept house for him, and had full charge of all hisbusiness matters. The doctor owned considerable property, and MissRegina proved a capable manager; as a collector of rents she certainlyhad no equal--to that I can cheerfully testify. She was not popular inA----, nor was her eccentric brother. Unpleasant tales were told aboutMatthai. I never knew all the particulars, but they had something to dowith the murder of a slave in antebellum days. The townsfolk wereextremely reticent on the subject, and very mercifully so, for, as Ihave since learned, the tragedy occurred in our house in Queen AnneStreet.

  "I found Doctor Matthai in his library, immersed in study as usual;quite out of the world so far as every-day happenings were concerned. Hegreeted me rather coldly.

  "'I beg your pardon,' said I, 'but I have come to see you about thehouse.'

  "'My sister, Regina----' he interrupted.

  "'Yes, I know,' said I, 'but this visit is to _you_, though I fear youwill look upon what I have to say as very nonsensical and farfetched. Tome, though, it is a very serious matter.'

  "I dwelt at length upon the grievance; putting it as strongly aspossible. The doctor listened attentively, and when I concluded, laughedand said, 'I believe you fully as to the creaking of the stairs, but youattach entirely too much importance to it. The noise results, I have nodoubt, from perfectly natural causes. You must remember, sir, that thestairways are very old indeed, any jar from the movement of persons inother parts of the house, the action of the wind against the walls, orthe rotting or shrinking of wood from age will produce just such soundsas you have heard. I quite fail, therefore, to see any mystery aboutit.'

  "'However,' he continued, 'I will send a carpenter around who willprobably set things to rights; that is, if the expense be not too great.I am not prepared to put a large sum of money on the house; andstairways, you know, are costly arrangements at best.' I fully agreedwith him.

  "'By the way,' said he, blinking at me through his thick glasses, 'thereis just a bit of nervousness in your make-up, isn't there? "A little offyour feed," as Regina says; liver out of shape--something of that sort,eh?' I confessed that that was just it. I frankly told him that I wasnot only a nervous man, but a miserably sick and frightened one to boot.He did not offer to prescribe for me, and after some moments of silenceI judged that he considered our interview at an end. I arose to go, buton leaving the room fired a parting shot, which, to my surprise, proveda telling one.

  "'Doctor,' said I, 'before you send the man to make repairs I would likeyou to hear the creaking of the stairs for yourself--just as a matter ofcuriosity. My wife and sister-in-law are
going up to the old home in afew days. Suppose you come over and spend a night with me while they areaway.'

  "The doctor chuckled, 'You are a queer fellow, Mr. Ploat; a queerfellow, and no mistake. You say you are run down, played out, can'tsleep. Take more exercise, sir; give up late suppers, drink less, stopsmoking. A man leading the sedentary life you do should take more careof himself. I am older than you are, and a physician. My advice may beworth something. As to coming over and staying with you, I don't seethat there is anything in that. It seems absurd, quite so; butnevertheless, I will humor you. Let me know when to come, but on noaccount say anything of this to my sister. My absence would greatlyalarm her. I have not been out of this house after dark for over fortyyears!'

  "With this strange assertion our conversation closed.

  "The following Monday my wife and sister-in-law left for Salem, andDoctor Matthai promised to be with me on Wednesday night. When I foundmyself alone in the house I resolved to put into execution an idea whichstruck me with much force. I thought it very likely that I would findout whether the creaking of the stairs was of human or supernaturalorigin; and this I hoped would be made plain before the doctor cameover. That the noise was due to natural causes, as he so adroitlysuggested, I, in my heart of hearts, could not bring myself to believe.Poe is my favorite author, and he perhaps could have suggested asolution of the perplexities that beset me; but no inspiration came tome from the oft-read pages which I turned over and over in despair.

  "My plan was a simple one, and it was odd that I had not thought of itbefore; but after all, it would have been impracticable as long as mywife and sister-in-law were in the house.

  "On Tuesday night I sprinkled a thin layer of flour over each stair,from basement to attic. This was a task of an hour or so, but I feltthat I did not labor in vain. Then I turned in and slept soundly untilmidnight, when I was awakened as usual by the creaking of the stairs. Itis hardly necessary to say that I remained in bed, making no attemptwhatever to investigate, but valiantly drew up the covers over my head,fully expecting every moment to feel the weight of a dreadful hand uponsome portion of my body.

  "In the morning, my bravery having returned, I found upon each stair theclear impression of a naked human foot! The footprints were very large,and were made in ascent. There was no trace of them beyond the thirdfloor, for the flour on the stairway to the attic above had beenpartially brushed off as by a trailing garment. The attic was perfectlybare, affording no hiding-place for man or beast, as there were noclosets, presses or means of concealment of any kind. My visitor mayhave gone out by way of the trap door in the loft which opened upon theroof, but it was securely bolted on the inside, and the bolts, whichwere caked with rust in their fastenings, had evidently not been pulledout for years. I made a thorough search of the attic, the loft, and theupper floors of the house, but failed utterly to discover any furthertrace of the prowler.

  "--Upon each stair the clear impression of a naked humanFoot!"]

  "I hardly knew whether to feel relieved or not when I learned that theunknown was no ghost after all. Certainly not the vapory, unsubstantialkind that flit through mansions such as mine. Here was a being of solid,nay, gigantic proportions, as the creakings and huge footprints fullyattested. I knew, though, that I would assuredly have the best of Dr.Matthai should he (or she) of the massive feet see fit to appear on thecoming night.

  "After carefully sweeping up the floor I shut up the house, and resolvedto keep my own counsel. I breakfasted in Washington that morning,having, for obvious reasons, given our servant a holiday, and returnedto A---- about five in the afternoon; dining later with Doctor Matthai,who met me at the station and very hospitably insisted upon my goinghome with him. Shortly after dinner I bade my host and his sistergood-evening and went over to my own deserted dwelling. An hour or soafter, Doctor Matthai came in. Both of us were armed, and I thought itsingular that the doctor, who appeared to treat the whole affair as ajoke, should have taken that precaution. We sat by the open fire in mydining-room, smoking; the doctor lingering somewhat mournfully upon thedeparted greatness of A---- which, it seems, had once been a town ofconsiderable social and commercial importance. With reminiscence andancedote the hours sped by, and it was nearly midnight when we retired.

  "The doctor, sharing my bed, asked me to arouse him if I heard anythingduring the night. I slept fairly well until the clock on the mantelstruck two, when I awoke with a start. Complete silence reigned, and Irolled over again for another nap. As I did so I heard a faint creakingsound on the upper stair!

  "'Ah,' thought I, 'it is coming down.' And so it proved. I gave thedoctor a violent nudge. He opened his eyes and looked at me stupidly.

  "'Hush,' I whispered, 'don't you hear it? Don't you hear it?'

  "'Yes, I do,' replied he, sitting up and peering into the darkness.

  "Creak! Creak! Creak! Nearer 'It' came, and our floor was reached.Clutching his revolver, Doctor Matthai sprang out of bed and ran to thedoor. Then a horrible scream of terror and anguish rang through thehouse. An invisible hand seemed to drag the unfortunate man out of theroom. There was a brief, desperate struggle on the landing, the creaturewent heavily down the stairs, and the street door shut with a bang!

  "When I recovered to some extent from the panic of fear and tremblinginto which I was thrown by this awful and inexplicable occurrence, Ihurriedly dressed, and seeing nothing of the doctor, went over at onceto his cottage. Remembering his caution about Miss Regina, and notwishing to otherwise frighten her, I ran around to the alley at the rearof the grounds and climbed over the fence. The doctor's library andbedroom were adjoining apartments on the ground floor, and the long, lowwindows of each opened upon a porch at the side of the house. All theblinds were closed and securely fastened. I knocked on them severaltimes, but there was no response, though a dim light was burning in thelibrary. I heard some one moving inside, and for a moment I thought Iheard the sound of voices in angry argument or expostulation. But ofthis I cannot be positive. I remained on the porch at least ten minutes,vainly trying to get into the rooms, then I gave it up and left thepremises.

  "My state of mind after the harrowing events of the night was indeeddistressing. I did not--could not--return home. I have an indistinctrecollection of walking swiftly up and down the deserted streets and farout into the country. Daylight found me several miles from the town;hatless, wild-eyed, a sorry spectacle, at whom one or two farmers, ontheir way to early market, gazed in amazement. When I turned back, thesun was high in the heavens. I went again to Doctor Matthai's. A crowdstood about the door. I was rudely seized and placed under arrest,charged--oh, my God!--with the murder of Doctor Matthai! The shockinglymutilated body had just been found in the hallway of the old house inQueen Anne Street! * * * I am innocent, innocent! Weeks--they seemcenturies--pass, and I yet await trial. * * *

  * * * * *

  "George Delwyn Ploat, the writer of the above remarkable story, washanged in the jailyard at A---- for the wilful and brutal murder ofDoctor Ambrose Matthai, a retired practitioner of that place. The pleaof insanity, so strongly urged by the prisoner's counsel, provedunavailing, and the condemned man paid the penalty for his crime onFriday morning last."

  * * * * *

  "You know what a story like that demands, I suppose," said ColonelManysnifters, reaching for the button; "and as I seem to be theself-appointed chairman here, I will now call upon the gentleman fromMichigan for a few remarks. I am sure that he will not disappoint us.Senator, we are waiting for you, sir."

  "Very well," said Senator Hammond, "since there seems to be no escape, Iwill do the best I can."