Chapter II

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Episode Transcript

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Chapter two of Sinister House by LelandHull. The LibriVox recording is in the
public domain, read by Ben Tucker. Chapter two, No dear, I
said to Annette that night we camefrom dining with a surprisingly happy bachelor Julia.
I found out nothing more about thehouse. Some time before, I

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may add here we had gleaned froman old store keeper in Stanton, within
the bounds of which it stood,that it had been built for a summer
house by an eccentric old man,very religious, Morgan Snart by name.
We thought the name had an evilsound, but the old fellow had been
apparently more than respectable, and hehad not been near the place for many
years before he died, not atany rate, since his daughter Holda had

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married. Holda was dead too,had died just on top of her father.
According to the old storekeeper, shehad taken to religion even more entirely
than her father had, and heguessed from what he had heard the village
people say, she had seen thelight, powerful, strong. Though the
memory of them was rather drab,they were wholly enough, as Annette said,

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they were too good to be deniedheaven, and must have been wholly
folded up in bliss, a conclusiondisappointing to us, who were given to
thinking that the errant, damned soulof at least a murderer must be haunting
the place. I was rather puzzledto have my wife bring up the subject
of the house again. We hadcome to accept the fact that Julia and
Eric loved it, even though wedidn't, And thinking of this, I

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asked Annette abruptly, whatever had sether to suspecting the house again? Oh?
Nothing, she replied thoughtfully. Iwasn't suspecting Julia's been so attached to
it, and what you said aboutEric's leaving her in such a gloomy place,
I suppose. I wonder, Pierre, if you and I are you
remember cousin Giles thought it was acharming old place. Perhaps we're not educated

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to see in those old places whatother people see. Let's get some books
on architecture and read it up,and then our eyes will be opened.
Of course, I shouldn't think fora moment of bringing up my children in
such an unsanitary old shanty. Ican't help it. I think it's damp
and horrid and gloomy there now heavensAnnette I cried, turning to face her.
What's the matter? I knew thatshe was quite stirred up about something.

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Usually she was gracious enough to referto Nettie and little Bobby as our
children. Oh nothing, she said, again, with the airy inflection women
use when they think it hardly necessaryto take their husbands into their confidence.
Nonsense, I replied, firmly,but kindly. Something's made you mad.
She turned, surprised round eyes atme. It has too, I went

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on, why, Pierre, shesaid, innocent as a lamb, just
because I suggest that we improve ourminds. But what I asked, surer
than ever made you think of sucha thing. Well, it could be
done, couldn't it. Do youthink, dear, that I am not
naturally ambitious? This was supreme pity. Do you think that I do not

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want the best for my children andmyself? And you, dear? If
there's something in architecture more than wethink, we ought to get busy and
learn about it. Cousin Giles tellsme that my sense of beauty is undeveloped.
Heaven knows what he'd say about yours, dear, but he's in the
family, and I don't mind him. Now we'll get to the heart of
this, I said, smiling.It's nothing to get to the heart of

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Annette went on serenely. It's simplythat old house. I told Julia.
I thought it a horrid old place. Annette, well, not baldly like
that, of course it was.When we came. I well, I
invited Julia to come and stay withus while Eric's away. You know,
I said, we have a nice, sunny, spare room, and I
think it would do you much moregood than to stay shut up in a

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gloomy old house like this. Well, that was going some and then she
was very top lofty. No,I interrupted, not top lofty, not
Julia, Yes, Pierre, willyou let me finish? I tell you.
She was very top lofty. Oh, she said, just like that.
So you find this house a gloomy, shut up old place. And

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since I had gone that far,I wasn't going to take anything back,
and I came out flat and toldher I thought it was horrid. Then
she said, but I love it. Thank you a thousand times for asking
me to stay with you while Eric'sgone. You mustn't think, though,
that this house's lonesome. She gavequite a queer little laugh, and then
she told me that it was asweet old place, and she said,

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you don't think, after all thatEric and I've done with it, that
I want to leave it for asingle night, do you? I know
some of the rooms are shady,but you wouldn't have me drive from our
nest by a shadow, would you? She got quite excited, so I
said, I only thought our housewould be more cheerful for her in Eric's
absence, and I admitted that Ididn't see in her old place what she
saw in it. And she justturned her back on me and said,

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I suppose not not like that?I cried for Annette had given the little
remark a most disagreeable, almost aninsolent ring. Yes, Pierre, Annette
replied with something like indignation. Shewas very sharp and rather snobbish. I
know Julia's artistic in all that,but Goodness knows. Though I may be
only a plain, practical woman,I'm not a country know nothing, and

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she has no right to put onairs with me, just because I don't
happen to see in her old housewhat she sees in it. I say,
frankly, that little else could havemade me sorrier than to have my
wife fall out with Julia Greer.I've never met two persons to whom I
have been so drawn as to Ericand Julia Greer, and I've heard the
Nettes say the same thing. Forher part, they were so good looking

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and so generous, and they hadsuch warm voices. While I felt much
the same as a Nette about theirhouse, I could not help confessing that
compared with them, Annette and Iwere well, not ordinary, but not
extraordinary either. It is, ofcourse only fair to a Nette to remind
you that the distinguished artist Giles Pharaohwas her cousin, not mine. For

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my part, I could name perhapshalf a dozen colors, and could recognize
the names of twice as many morebut tons, shades and tints. Not
that Julia and Eric ever talked ofsuch details with me, but Giles used
to talk such stuff with them,and they used to be very much interested
in it. So I told Annettethat Julia had meant nothing, that the

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tone might easily be misunderstood, whilethe words and themselves were entirely innocent.
After all, no one but Juliacould be expected to see in that house
just what Julia saw. Annette letme rave on a while about beauty,
and then she asked me if Itoo found beauty in that old house.
Yes, I said, valiantly,a certain beauty, Yes I do.

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But I blushed as I said it, and it was so holy sham,
so holy manly, Annette said that. We both burst out laughing. Suddenlynnette
stopped, poised a second, andthen fled upstairs in her stocking feet,
shouting down at me. It's raining, great guns, and all the windows
are open. Go out and bringin the baby carriage. It was raining

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hard and the wind was blowing agale. I got pretty wet hauling the
baby carriage back backwards to the frontporch, but once there with it,
I was sheltered, and I stoodthere a few moments facing north. The
night was absolutely black, for wehad as yet no street lights in the
outer parts of Forsby the light fromthe bulb on the porch behind me,
however, lit up the heavy dropsof rain that fell from the coping and

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down the granolithic pathways. I sawlong streaks of rain reflect it back now
and then like steel. Through allthe noise of rain and wind, I
just barely heard the whistle of thelast train from the city. The tracks
were a couple of miles away.Half past twelve, I went in and
locked up the house for the night. Oh serenity of the sound new house.

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At every stage of my toilet,I thought of it, our neat
square bedroom with its window east andits two windows south, and all Julia's
rooms were queer shaped. Our tiledbathroom, with its white enamel, its
shining nickel, its open plumbing.And I don't believe Eric had a bit
of shining nickel or open plumbing inhis whole place. Our electric light beside

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the beds and over the mirror andeverywhere one might want it, And their
dingy gas and flickering candles. Mythoughts went on as I brushed my teeth
over the bright nickel toothbrush basin thesanitary equipment. If our house was up
to date and complete, as italways should be, in a house that
shelters young children, If the Greershad children, now, it wouldn't be
so lonesome over there. But they'dhave to clear the place up more,

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cut down those rotten old trees,and let the sun in all day,
all round. Funny Julia was asmerry as a lark this evening and looked
as she looked the first day Isaw her, before the summer had well
pulled her down, I guess,and she was as fresh and sparkling as
the sun on a brook. Aren'tyou ever coming to bed? Annette called
to me. I snapped off thelight and went into the bedroom. As

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I opened the window, the windroared in, flapped my pajamas about my
legs, and hurled the rain halfway across the floor. Say Annette,
I, I don't know about openingthis window. Come along the other'll be
just as bad, and we'll mopup the floor in the morning. Roll
the rug back, dear, andcome to bed. That for good tight
floors. I got into bed andthen snapped out the little table lamp with

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rose colored shade right beside me.The room was instantly in darkness, but
I was safe in bed, betterthan dingy gas and flaring candles. Ah,
old girl. I reached out myhand from the bed for hers.
That sleepy as she might be ordark, the room never failed to find
mine and bridge the little space betweenour beds and a good night clasp.

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Just the same, she murmured sleepily. I'm going to study architecture till I
see in that house, what Juliussees. I chuckled and pressed her hand
that you'll never do, my love, good night. I'll never forget how
Annette pulled on my hand when atthat very moment, a banging on the
front door resounded through the house.End of Chapter two.