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The Purple Heart by Herman Sisk.
I was weary of the fog that hung

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over me like a pall. Fatigued
to the point of exhaustion. Since early

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afternoon, the chill wind had forced
it through my clothing like rain. It

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depressed me. The country through which
I traveled alone was desolate and unpeopled,

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save here and there, where some
bush assumed fantastic form. The very air

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was oppressive. As far as I
could see were hills, nothing but hills

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and those bushes. Occasionally I could
hear the uncanny cry of some hidden animal.

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As I pushed on, a dread
of impending disaster fastened itself upon me.

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I thought of my home, of
my mother and sister, and wondered

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if all were well with them.
I tried to rid myself of this morbid

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state of mind, but try as
I might, I could not. It

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grew as I progressed, until at
length it became part of me. I

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had walked some fifteen miles and was
so weary I could scarcely stand when I

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came suddenly upon a log cabin.
It was a crude affair, quite small,

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and stood back some distance from the
little used road in a clump of

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trees. A tiny window and door
faced the direction from which I approached.

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No paint had ever covered the rough
hewn logs from which it was made,

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and the sun and wind and fog
had turned the virgin wood to a drab

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brown. I felt it was useless
to knock, for the cabin had every

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appearance of being deserted. However,
rap I did no voice bade me enter,

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and with an effort I pushed open
the door and staggered into the house.

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Almost immediately, my weary legs crumbled
under me, and I toppled and

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struck heavily on my face. When
I regained consciousness, a rough room,

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scantily furnished, greeted my eye.
There was an ill looking table, the

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top of which was warped and rectangular
in shape. Standing in the center.

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To one side was a rustic chair. Beyond the table was a bunk built

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into the wall, and on this
lay a man with shining eyes and a

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long white beard. A heavy gray
blanket covered all of him but his head.

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You're right on time, he said, in a high pitched voice.

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I looked at him closely. I
don't know you, I said, nor

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I you, but I knew you
would come. You are ill and need

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help, I asked, no,
he replied in a strange monotone, But

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on this day somebody always visits here. None has ever returned, But I

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have yet to be alone on the
night of this anniversary. There was something

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so weird in the way he looked
at me out of those big watery eyes

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that I involuntarily shuddered. What anniversary, I asked, The murder of my

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father? He answered, It happened
many years ago. A strange man came

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to this cabin, just as you
have done. He paused. I said,

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nothing. You wish to stay all
night? He asked, yes,

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if I may, I replied a
moment later, I regretted it quite so,

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he said, with a slight nod
of his white head. Those were

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the very words he addressed to us. We took him in. When morning

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came, I found my father dead
in there, rolling his eyes and raising

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his head to indicate some point behind
him, with a dagger in his heart.

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You can see the room if you
open the door behind me. I

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looked at him for a moment,
hesitating. Then I went to the door

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and pushed it open, cautiously,
glancing into the other room. I saw

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there was nothing there but a bunk
similar to the one the old man occupied.

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Don't be afraid, he said,
evidently sensing my fear. Nothing will

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hurt you. Now is after midnight
when it happens. What happens, I

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asked, I don't know. No
two men have had the same experience.

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It all depends on one state of
mind. You mean, I began,

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Yes, he interrupted. One man
saw hands reaching him and ropes in the

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air. He was escaping the gallows. Another soft faces of beautiful girls.

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He was on his way to a
large church wedding. A third saw pools

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of blood and white snow stained by
human life. He was again living through

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a massacre in Russia. Do you
live here, I asked, No,

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no one does. The cabin is
quite deserted. I come each year to

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welcome the evening's guest. Is there
no other place to stay, I asked,

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a sudden fear, seizing me none. Besides, it has grown dark

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without and you would lose your weight
even if you could leave. There was

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something ominous in the way he uttered
these last five words. Yes, he

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went on, as if I had
asked the unuttered question in my mind.

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You may think you can go,
but you cannot. That is the curse

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my father placed on this cab,
and I come each year to see that

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his word is obeyed. Whoever enters
the door yonder on this date must stay

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until morning and endure the agonies that
only the rising sun can dispel. I

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looked about me and made sure he
and I were the only living things in

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the room. What is to prevent
me leaving? I asked, try it?

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He replied, an eery note of
glee in his queer voice. I

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walked to the door and gave it
a mighty pull. To my utter amazement,

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it was locked. I tried again, this time with greater determination,

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but the door remained unyielding. A
sudden terror seized me. I turned to

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beseech the old man to let me
go, but he was not there.

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I looked quickly about me. He
was nowhere to be seen. I ran

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into the other room. It was
as empty as before. I rushed to

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the door there and pulled vigorously,
but my efforts were in vain. Returning

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to his bunk, I examined it
closely. To my great astonishment, the

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heavy gray blanket was gone. In
desperation, I turned once more to the

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door through which I had entered the
cabin. It was still as inflexible as

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concrete. Darkness fell fast, and
the room became very dim. I groped

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about and discovered some matches and a
candle on a shelf under the table.

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I struck a match and lighted the
candle, letting some of the tallow drip

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on to the table, I made
a stick for it. I then sat

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down on the edge of the bunk
and anxiously awaited developments, but nothing occurred

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to mar the somber silence of my
prison. Thus I remained until my watch

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pointed the hour of nine. My
journey had greatly fatigued me, but my

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fears counterbalanced my weariness, so that
I kept awake in spite of it.

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At length, however, my eyelids
grew heavy and my eyes became bleary,

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so that the candle multiplied and my
head drooped until my chin rested on my

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chest, Letting the candle burn,
I lay back on the hard bunk.

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I was cold and very nervous,
and greatly felt the need of food and

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dry clothing. But my fatigue soon
overcame me, and I fell asleep.

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When I awakened a sense of suffocation
and bewilderment hung over me. Whereas the

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room had been cold when I lay
down, it now seemed close and hot.

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I pulled myself to a sitting position. The room was dark, the

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candle was out. I I jumped
to my feet and started toward the table,

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but in another moment I stood frozen
to the spot. My eyes arrested

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and my body palsied by what I
saw before me. At the far end

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of the room was a purple glow
in the shape of a human heart.

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It was stationary when I saw it, but almost immediately it began to move

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around the room. Now it was
at the window, then beside the table

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again. It moved quickly but silently
into the other room. I pulled my

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frightened senses together and groped my way
back to the table. I found a

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match with trembling hands. I struck
it and lit the candle. To my

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surprise, it was almost as tall
as when I had fallen asleep. I

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looked at my watch. It was
one o'clock. A moment later, the

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flame was snuffed out and I was
again in total darkness. I looked wildly

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around me horrors. The purple heart
was beside me. I shrank back in

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terror. It came closer. Suddenly
I acquired superhuman courage. I grasped for

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the specter. I touched nothing.
I placed my left hand before me,

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at arm's length. Lo it was
between me and my hand. Presently it

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moved away. A great calm settled
over me, and I began to sense

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a presence in the room. Now, without any fear, and with steady

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hand, I again struck a match
and lighted the candle. It was promptly

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extinguished. I struck another with similar
results, and now something brushed my lips,

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and an arm was pressed lightly upon
my shoulder. But I was no

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longer afraid. The room remained cozily
warm, and a greater sense of peace

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came over me. Presently, I
lay down again and watched the purple heart

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as it came toward me and took
its place at the edge of the bunk,

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like some loved one sitting beside me. I must have fallen asleep again,

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for I knew no more until broad
daylight awakened me, and I found

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myself lying in the middle of the
room. There was no fog, the

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sun was shining brightly, and a
broad beam was streaming through the dusty window

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pane, The candle and the matches
were no longer visible. Suddenly I thought

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of the locked door, Springing to
it, I gave a mighty pull.

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It opened easily. I snatched my
cap from the rough floor and hurried into

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the warm sunlight. A short distance
from me, a man came trudging along.

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He was a powerful looking fellow of
middle age, and was dressed in

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coarse working clothes. Do you know
anything about that cabin, I shouted,

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as we drew closer. Sure it's
haunted, he replied. He looked hard

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at me. Were you in there
last night? I related my experience.

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That's queer, he muttered. But
I ain't surprised. Last night was the

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night? What night? I demanded. Ten years ago, an old man

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was murdered in that cabin, and
his son swore on his deathbed he'd come

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back every anniversary and lure somebody into
the cabin for the night and torture him.

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I shrugged his white face, stared
at the cabin. Come away,

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he whispered, Come away, it's
halted, Its halted. The End of

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the Purple Heart by Hermann Sisk