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Speaker 1: The Purple Heart by Herman Sisk. I was weary of

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the fog that hung over me like a pall. Fatigued

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to the point of exhaustion. Since early afternoon, the chill

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wind had forced it through my clothing like rain. It

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depressed me. The country through which I traveled alone was

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desolate and unpeopled, save here and there, where some bush

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assumed fantastic form. The very air was oppressive. As far

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as I could see were hills, nothing but hills and

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those bushes. Occasionally I could hear the uncanny cry of

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some hidden animal. As I pushed on, a dread of

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impending disaster fastened itself upon me. I thought of my home,

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of my mother and sister, and wondered if all were

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well with them. I tried to rid myself of this

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morbid state of mind, but try as I might, I

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could not. It grew as I progressed, until at length

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it became part of me. I had walked some fifteen

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miles and was so weary I could scarcely stand when

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I came suddenly upon a log cabin. It was a

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crude affair, quite small, and stood back some distance from

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the little used road in a clump of trees. A

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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

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which it was made, and the sun and wind and

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fog had turned the virgin wood to a drab brown.

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I felt it was useless to knock, for the cabin

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had every appearance of being deserted. However, rap I did

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no voice bade me enter, and with an effort I

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pushed open the door and staggered into the house. Almost immediately,

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my weary legs crumbled under me, and I toppled and

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

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rough room, scantily furnished, greeted my eye. There was an

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ill looking table, the top of which was warped and

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rectangular in shape. Standing in the center. To one side

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was a rustic chair. Beyond the table was a bunk

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built into the wall, and on this lay a man

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with shining eyes and a long white beard. A heavy

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gray blanket covered all of him but his head. You're

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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,

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nor I you, but I knew you would come. You

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are ill and need help, I asked, no, he replied

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in a strange monotone, But on this day somebody always

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visits here. None has ever returned, But I have yet

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to be alone on the night of this anniversary. There

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was something so weird in the way he looked at

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me out of those big watery eyes that I involuntarily shuddered.

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What anniversary, I asked, The murder of my father? He answered,

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It happened many years ago. A strange man came to

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this cabin, just as you have done. He paused. I said, nothing.

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You wish to stay all night? He asked, yes, if

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I may, I replied a moment later, I regretted it

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quite so, he said, with a slight nod of his

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white head. Those were the very words he addressed to us.

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We took him in. When morning came, I found my

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father dead in there, rolling his eyes and raising his

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head to indicate some point behind him, with a dagger

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in his heart. You can see the room if you

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open the door behind me. I looked at him for

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a moment, hesitating. Then I went to the door and

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

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saw there was nothing there but a bunk similar to

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the one the old man occupied. Don't be afraid, he said,

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evidently sensing my fear. Nothing will hurt you. Now is

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after midnight when it happens. What happens, I asked, I

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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,

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I began, Yes, he interrupted. One man saw hands reaching

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him and ropes in the air. He was escaping the gallows.

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Another soft faces of beautiful girls. He was on his

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way to a large church wedding. A third saw pools

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of blood and white snow stained by human life. He

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was again living through a massacre in Russia. Do you

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live here, I asked, No, no one does. The cabin

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is quite deserted. I come each year to welcome the

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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

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dark without and you would lose your weight even if

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you could leave. There was something ominous in the way

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he uttered these last five words. Yes, he went on,

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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

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is the curse my father placed on this cab, and

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I come each year to see that his word is obeyed.

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Whoever enters the door yonder on this date must stay

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until morning and endure the agonies that only the rising

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sun can dispel. I looked about me and made sure

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he and I were the only living things in the room.

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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.

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I walked to the door and gave it a mighty pull.

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To my utter amazement, it was locked. I tried again,

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this time with greater determination, but the door remained unyielding.

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A sudden terror seized me. I turned to beseech the

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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.

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I ran into the other room. It was as empty

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as before. I rushed to the door there and pulled vigorously,

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but my efforts were in vain. Returning to his bunk,

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I examined it closely. To my great astonishment, the heavy

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

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to the door through which I had entered the cabin.

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It was still as inflexible as concrete. Darkness fell fast,

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and the room became very dim. I groped about and

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discovered some matches and a candle on a shelf under

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the table. I struck a match and lighted the candle,

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letting some of the tallow drip on to the table,

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I made a stick for it. I then sat down

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on the edge of the bunk and anxiously awaited developments,

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but nothing occurred to mar the somber silence of my prison.

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Thus I remained until my watch pointed the hour of nine.

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My journey had greatly fatigued me, but my fears counterbalanced

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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

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became bleary, so that the candle multiplied and my head

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drooped until my chin rested on my chest, Letting the

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

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was cold and very nervous, and greatly felt the need

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of food and dry clothing. But my fatigue soon overcame me,

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and I fell asleep. When I awakened a sense of

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suffocation and bewilderment hung over me. Whereas the room had

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been cold when I lay down, it now seemed close

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and hot. I pulled myself to a sitting position. The

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room was dark, the candle was out. I I jumped

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to my feet and started toward the table, but in

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another moment I stood frozen to the spot. My eyes

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arrested and my body palsied by what I saw before me.

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At the far end of the room was a purple

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glow in the shape of a human heart. It was

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stationary when I saw it, but almost immediately it began

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to move around the room. Now it was at the window,

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then beside the table again. It moved quickly but silently

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into the other room. I pulled my frightened senses together

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and groped my way back to the table. I found

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a match with trembling hands. I struck it and lit

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the candle. To my surprise, it was almost as tall

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as when I had fallen asleep. I looked at my watch.

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It was one o'clock. A moment later, the flame was

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snuffed out and I was again in total darkness. I

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looked wildly around me horrors. The purple heart was beside me.

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I shrank back in terror. It came closer. Suddenly I

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acquired superhuman courage. I grasped for the specter. I touched nothing.

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I placed my left hand before me, at arm's length.

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Lo it was between me and my hand. Presently it

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

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began to sense a presence in the room. Now, without

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any fear, and with steady hand, I again struck a

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match and lighted the candle. It was promptly extinguished. I

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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

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I was no longer afraid. The room remained cozily warm,

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and a greater sense of peace came over me. Presently,

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I lay down again and watched the purple heart as

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it came toward me and took its place at the

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edge of the bunk, like some loved one sitting beside me.

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I must have fallen asleep again, for I knew no

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more until broad daylight awakened me, and I found myself

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

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the sun was shining brightly, and a broad beam was

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streaming through the dusty window pane, The candle and the

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matches were no longer visible. Suddenly I thought of the

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

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It opened easily. I snatched my cap from the rough

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floor and hurried into the warm sunlight. A short distance

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from me, a man came trudging along. He was a

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powerful looking fellow of middle age, and was dressed in

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

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I shouted, as we drew closer. Sure it's haunted, he replied.

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He looked hard at me. Were you in there last night?

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I related my experience. That's queer, he muttered. But I

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ain't surprised. Last night was the night? What night? I demanded.

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Ten years ago, an old man was murdered in that cabin,

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and his son swore on his deathbed he'd come back

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every anniversary and lure somebody into the cabin for the

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night and torture him. I shrugged his white face, stared

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at the cabin. Come away, he whispered, Come away, it's halted,

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Its halted. The End of the Purple Heart by Hermann

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Sisk