The Isle of Pines

by Ambrose Bierce

　　

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For many years there lived near the town of Gallipolis, Ohio, an oldman named Herman Deluse. Very little was known of his history, forhe would neither speak of it himself nor suffer others. It was acommon belief among his neighbors that he had been a pirate--if uponany better evidence than his collection of boarding pikes,cutlasses, and ancient flintlock pistols, no one knew. He livedentirely alone in a small house of four rooms, falling rapidly intodecay and never repaired further than was required by the weather.It stood on a slight elevation in the midst of a large, stony fieldovergrown with brambles, and cultivated in patches and only in themost primitive way. It was his only visible property, but couldhardly have yielded him a living, simple and few as were his wants.He seemed always to have ready money, and paid cash for all hispurchases at the village stores roundabout, seldom buying more thantwo or three times at the same place until after the lapse of aconsiderable time. He got no commendation, however, for thisequitable distribution of his patronage; people were disposed toregard it as an ineffectual attempt to conceal his possession of somuch money. That he had great hoards of ill-gotten gold buriedsomewhere about his tumble-down dwelling was not reasonably to bedoubted by any honest soul conversant with the facts of localtradition and gifted with a sense of the fitness of things.On the 9th of November, 1867, the old man died; at least his deadbody was discovered on the 10th, and physicians testified that deathhad occurred about twenty-four hours previously--precisely how, theywere unable to say; for the post-mortem examination showed everyorgan to be absolutely healthy, with no indication of disorder orviolence. According to them, death must have taken place aboutnoonday, yet the body was found in bed. The verdict of thecoroner's jury was that he "came to his death by a visitation ofGod." The body was buried and the public administrator took chargeof the estate.A rigorous search disclosed nothing more than was already knownabout the dead man, and much patient excavation here and there aboutthe premises by thoughtful and thrifty neighbors went unrewarded.The administrator locked up the house against the time when theproperty, real and personal, should be sold by law with a view todefraying, partly, the expenses of the sale.The night of November 20 was boisterous. A furious gale stormedacross the country, scourging it with desolating drifts of sleet.Great trees were torn from the earth and hurled across the roads.So wild a night had never been known in all that region, but towardmorning the storm had blown itself out of breath and day dawnedbright and clear. At about eight o'clock that morning the Rev.Henry Galbraith, a well-known and highly esteemed Lutheran minister,arrived on foot at his house, a mile and a half from the Deluseplace. Mr. Galbraith had been for a month in Cincinnati. He hadcome up the river in a steamboat, and landing at Gallipolis theprevious evening had immediately obtained a horse and buggy and setout for home. The violence of the storm had delayed him over night,and in the morning the fallen trees had compelled him to abandon hisconveyance and continue his journey afoot."But where did you pass the night?" inquired his wife, after he hadbriefly related his adventure."With old Deluse at the 'Isle of Pines,'" {1} was the laughingreply; "and a glum enough time I had of it. He made no objection tomy remaining, but not a word could I get out of him."Fortunately for the interests of truth there was present at thisconversation Mr. Robert Mosely Maren, a lawyer and litterateur ofColumbus, the same who wrote the delightful "Mellowcraft Papers."Noting, but apparently not sharing, the astonishment caused by Mr.Galbraith's answer this ready-witted person checked by a gesture theexclamations that would naturally have followed, and tranquillyinquired: "How came you to go in there?"This is Mr. Maren's version of Mr. Galbraith's reply:"I saw a light moving about the house, and being nearly blinded bythe sleet, and half frozen besides, drove in at the gate and put upmy horse in the old rail stable, where it is now. I then rapped atthe door, and getting no invitation went in without one. The roomwas dark, but having matches I found a candle and lit it. I triedto enter the adjoining room, but the door was fast, and although Iheard the old man's heavy footsteps in there he made no response tomy calls. There was no fire on the hearth, so I made one and laying[sic] down before it with my overcoat under my head, prepared myselffor sleep. Pretty soon the door that I had tried silently openedand the old man came in, carrying a candle. I spoke to himpleasantly, apologizing for my intrusion, but he took no notice ofme. He seemed to be searching for something, though his eyes wereunmoved in their sockets. I wonder if he ever walks in his sleep.He took a circuit a part of the way round the room, and went out thesame way he had come in. Twice more before I slept he came backinto the room, acting precisely the same way, and departing as atfirst. In the intervals I heard him tramping all over the house,his footsteps distinctly audible in the pauses of the storm. When Iwoke in the morning he had already gone out."Mr. Maren attempted some further questioning, but was unable longerto restrain the family's tongues; the story of Deluse's death andburial came out, greatly to the good minister's astonishment."The explanation of your adventure is very simple," said Mr. Maren."I don't believe old Deluse walks in his sleep--not in his presentone; but you evidently dream in yours."And to this view of the matter Mr. Galbraith was compelledreluctantly to assent.Nevertheless, a late hour of the next night found these twogentlemen, accompanied by a son of the minister, in the road infront of the old Deluse house. There was a light inside; itappeared now at one window and now at another. The three menadvanced to the door. Just as they reached it there came from theinterior a confusion of the most appalling sounds--the clash ofweapons, steel against steel, sharp explosions as of firearms,shrieks of women, groans and the curses of men in combat! Theinvestigators stood a moment, irresolute, frightened. Then Mr.Galbraith tried the door. It was fast. But the minister was a manof courage, a man, moreover, of Herculean strength. He retired apace or two and rushed against the door, striking it with his rightshoulder and bursting it from the frame with a loud crash. In amoment the three were inside. Darkness and silence! The only soundwas the beating of their hearts.Mr. Maren had provided himself with matches and a candle. With somedifficulty, begotten of his excitement, he made a light, and theyproceeded to explore the place, passing from room to room.Everything was in orderly arrangement, as it had been left by thesheriff; nothing had been disturbed. A light coating of dust waseverywhere. A back door was partly open, as if by neglect, andtheir first thought was that the authors of the awful revelry mighthave escaped. The door was opened, and the light of the candleshone through upon the ground. The expiring effort of the previousnight's storm had been a light fall of snow; there were nofootprints; the white surface was unbroken. They closed the doorand entered the last room of the four that the house contained--thatfarthest from the road, in an angle of the building. Here thecandle in Mr. Maren's hand was suddenly extinguished as by a draughtof air. Almost immediately followed the sound of a heavy fall.When the candle had been hastily relighted young Mr. Galbraith wasseen prostrate on the floor at a little distance from the others.He was dead. In one hand the body grasped a heavy sack of coins,which later examination showed to be all of old Spanish mintage.Directly over the body as it lay, a board had been torn from itsfastenings in the wall, and from the cavity so disclosed it wasevident that the bag had been taken.Another inquest was held: another post-mortem examination failed toreveal a probable cause of death. Another verdict of "thevisitation of God" left all at liberty to form their ownconclusions. Mr. Maren contended that the young man died ofexcitement.

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