The Gavelyte, December 1910

\ h , 11 h. ,• inw in tlw H:tm <' m •HHH~l' fhtHh •cl ov r lh wir H • tholp<'rhaps th lw \ nuld r.nnw, n tlw n '· l train hut th train rush d hy th offic without 1 ,, 1 , 11 • npping. 'T'ht• H '<'Ot,tl train rushed JHlHt with~ut Hloppin~. In . th m an hil. th 11 :-wm, m 'HHllg, came fiaHhmg o, r th Wll" s C'V ry httle bit. I h wnH \wginning t o fC'<'I a lillle unec1sy. II thot if h only had a box or .,, nwth ing O , atl'h it, ouldn't b so bad but th mysl ry of the affair in that loiwlv pla 't' with no on within a mil and a half of him mad him f I a lilt! .. "r ~t.'P '. nut in half an hou1· he h ard anoth r train coming. He lhot that sur ly thi. trai ould st p. A th ~ train drew n ar th station it b gan to slow up then stopp cl in front of lh offic . Bob rusl)ed to the door and flung it op n in tim to e four men g t off th train carrying an oblong box. They carried th, bo.· into the offic and put it down, then went out and closed the door, boarded the train and said not a word to Bob. thi tim Bob decided that he was a coward. What was all this mys– t ry about anyway? But he ' decided that now as he had a box to watch he cer– tainly would watch it. So he built up the fire again and took out his revolver and sat down to "watch that box" for he thot that the box must contain some– thing very costly or else why so much commotion about it? The lights began to "burn blue" and shed a dim weird light over the room until at last only a red bed of coals was left. Again and again the messages flashed over the wires ''Watch that box. '' Out ide the wind was whistling around the corners of the building and it was dark. Inside, the coals in the open stove, shed a ghostly light on the objects in the room and Mpecially upon that box. Bob was too frightened to even fix up the fire. While he was wondering what on e~rth to do he heard a nail snap and then another and the lid of the box began to slowly move. Bob grabbed his revolver but his hands were shaking so that instead of pointing it at the box he was aiming it at almost every object in the room. He was too frightened to move let alone run, his only thot was "had I died an hour before this chance, I had liv(d a blessed time." After a short time the third nail snapped and then the fourth, the lid raised and out of that box a tall form dressed in black slowly raised itself majestically to full height and pointing its finger at Bob said in an icy breath, "PAY YOUR GAVELYTE DUES.'' HYPESHats ~nd ~en's"'.7ear , Spr1ng.f1eld, Ohio.