Liberian Literary Magazine
mantlepiece. The talisman
was in its place, and a
horrible
fear
that
the
unspoken wish might bring his
mutilated son before him ere
he could escape from the
room seized up on him, and
he caught his breath as he
found that he had lost the
direction of the door. His
brow cold with sweat, he felt
his way round the table, and
groped along the wall until he
found himself in the small
passage with the unwholesome
thing in his hand.
Even his wife's face seemed
changed as he entered the
room. It was white and
expectant, and to his fears
seemed to have an unnatural
look upon it. He was afraid of
her.
"WISH!" she cried in a strong
voice.
"It is foolish and wicked," he
faltered.
"WISH!" repeated his wife.
He raised his hand. "I wish
my son alive again."
The talisman fell to the
floor, and he regarded it
fearfully. Then he sank
trembling into a chair as the
old woman, with burning
eyes, walked to the window
and raised the blind.
He sat until he was chilled
with the cold, glancing
occasionally at the figure of
the old woman peering
through the window. The
candle-end,
which
had
burned below the rim of the
china
candlestick,
was
throwing pulsating shadows
on the ceiling and walls, until
with a flicker larger than the
rest, it expired. The old man,
with an unspeakable sense of
relief at the failure of the
talisman, crept back back to
his bed, and a minute
afterward the old woman
January Issue 0115
came
silently
and
apathetically beside him.
Neither spoke, but lat
silently listening to the
ticking of the clock. A stair
creaked, and a squeaky
mouse
scurried
noisily
through
the
wall.
The
darkness was oppressive, and
after lying for some time
screwing up his courage, he
took the box of matches, and
striking one, went downstairs
for a candle.
At the foot of the stairs the
match went out, and he
paused to strike another; and
at the same moment a knock
came so quiet and stealthy as
to be scarcely audible,
sounded on the front door.
The matches fell from his
hand and spilled in the
passage. He stood motionless,
his breath suspended until the
knock was repeated. Then he
turned and fled swiftly back
to his room, and closed the door
behind him. A third knock
sounded through the house.
"WHAT’S THAT?" cried the
old woman, starting up.
"A rat," said the old man in
shaking tones - "a rat. It
passed me on the stairs."
His wife sat up in bed
listening. A loud knock
resounded through the house.
"It's Herbert!"
She ran to the door, but her
husband was before her, and
catching her by the arm, held
her tightly.
"What are you going to do?"
he whispered hoarsely.
"It's my boy; it's Herbert!"
she
cried,
struggling
mechanically. "I forgot it was
two miles away. What are you
holding me for? Let go. I must
open the door."
"For God's sake don't let it
in," cried the old man,
trembling.
68
"You're afraid of your own
son," she cried struggling. "Let
me go. I'm coming, Herbert;
I'm coming."
There was another knock,
and another. The old woman
with a sudden wrench broke
free and ran from the room.
Her husband followed to the
landing, and called after her
appealingly as she hurried
downstairs. He heard the
chain rattle back and the bolt
drawn slowly and stiffly from the
socket. Then the old woman’s
voice, strained and panting.
"The bolt," she cried loudly.
"Come down. I can't reach it."
But her husband was on his
hands and knees groping
wildly on the floor in search of
the paw. If only he could find
it before the thing outside got
in. A perfect fusillade of
knocks reverberated through
the house, and he heard the
scraping of a chair as his wife
as his wife put it down in the
passage against the door. He
heard the creaking of the bolt
as it came slowly back, and at
the same moment he found
the monkey's paw, and
frantically breathed his third
and last wish.
The
knocking
ceased
suddenly,
although
the
echoes of it were still in the
house. He heard the chair
drawn back, and the door
opened. A cold wind rushed
up the staircase, and a long
loud wail of disappointment
and misery from his wife gave
him the courage to run down
to her side, and then to the
gate beyond. The street lamp
flickering opposite shone on a
quiet and deserted road.
The End
Remember, to be careful
for what you wish for in life