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Chapter 13
13-1 Compute for the edge beam shown in Fig. P13-1. The concrete for the slab and
beam was placed in one pour.
Ib
Because the slab and the beam have the same elastic modulus, Eq. (13-9) reduces to f
Is
1. Compute I b . The cross section of the beam is shown in Fig. S13-1.1 and I b is computed for the
shaded area.
13 in.
7 in.
20 in.
45
16 in. ≤ 28 in.
4
Part Area, in.2 ytop , in. Aytop I own , in. Ay 2 ,in.4
Web 320 10 3200 10,670 663
Flanges 91 3.5 319 372 2331
411 3519 Ib 14,030 in.4
3519
ytop 8.56 in.
411
I g 14,030 in.4
2. Compute I s . The cross section of the slab is shown in Fig. S13-1.2 and I s is computed for the
shaded portion of the slab.
(108 8) 73
Is 3316 in.4
12
13-1
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3. Compute f .
13-2 Compute the column-strip and middle-strip moments in the long-span direction for
an interior panel of the flat-slab shown in Fig. 13-25. Assume the slab is 6 in. thick,
the design live load is 40 psf and the superimposed dead load is 5 psf for ceiling,
flooring, and so on, plus 25 psf for the partitions. The columns are 10 in. 12 in., as
shown in Fig. 13-25.
6
qu 1.2 150 5 25 1.6 40 190 psf
12
Note: if the local building code allows a live-load reduction, the 40-psf live load could be
multiplied by the appropriate reduction factor.
12
n 14.5 13.5 ft
12
2 13.2 ft
The column strip extends the smaller of 2 4 or 1 4 on each side of the column centerline
(ACI Code Section 13.2.1). Thus, the column strip extends 13.2 4 3.3 ft on each side of column
centerlines. The total width of the column strip is 6.6 ft. Each half-middle strip extends from the
edge of the column strip to the centerline of the panel. The total width of two half-middle strips is
13.2 6.6 6.6 ft
From ACI Code Section 13.6.3.2, for an interior span, the total moment is divided as follows:
Negative moments
From Table 13-3 for f 1 2 1 0 (since there are no beam between the columns).
Column-strip negative moment = 0.75 37 27.8 kip-ft
Middle-strip negative moment = 0.25 37 9.3 kip-ft
13-2
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Half of the middle-strip negative moment, -4.7 kip-ft, goes to each of the adjacent half-middle
strip. Because the adjacent bays have the same width, 2 , a similar moment will be assigned to
the other half of each middle strip so that the total middle-strip negative moment is 9.3 kip-ft.
Positive moments
From Table 13-4 for f 1 2 1 0 ,
Column-strip positive moment = 0.60 20 12 kip-ft
Middle-strip positive moment = 0.40 20 8 kip-ft
13-3 Use the direct-design method to compute the moments for the column-strip and
middle-strip spanning perpendicular to the edge of the exterior bay of the flat-plate
shown in Fig. P13-3. Assume the slab is 7.5 in. thick and supports a superimposed
dead load of 25 psf and a live load of 50 psf. There is no edge beam. The columns are
all 18 in. square.
7.5
qu 1.2 150 25 1.6 50 223 psf
12
Note: if the local building code allows a live-load reduction, the 50-psf live load could be
multiplied by the appropriate factor.
2. Compute the static moment for the span perpendicular to the edge of the exterior bay
18
n 20 18.5 ft
12
2 19 ft
The column strip extends the smaller of 2 4 or 1 4 on each side of the column centerline
(ACI Code Section 13.2.1). Thus, the column strip extends 19 4 4.75 ft on each side of column
centerlines. The total width of the column strip is 9.5ft. Each half-middle strip extends from the
edge of the column strip to the centerline of the panel. The total width of two half-middle strips is
19 9.5 9.5 ft
From ACI Code Section 13.6.3.3, for a “slab without beams between interior supports and
without edge beam”, the total moment is divided as follows:
13-3
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Half of the middle-strip negative moment, -16 kip-ft, goes to each of the adjacent half-middle
strip. Because the adjacent bays have the same width, 2 ,a similar moment will be assigned to
the other half of each middle strip so that the total middle-strip negative moment is 32 kip-ft.
Positive moments
From Table 13-4 for f 2 1 0,
Column-strip positive moment = 0.60 94 56 kip-ft
Middle-strip positive moment = 0.40 94 38 kip-ft
13-4 For the slab configuration and loading conditions in P13-3, use the direct-design
method to compute moments for the edge-column strip and the middle strip
spanning parallel to the edge of the slab.
7.5
qu 1.2 150 25 1.6 50 223 psf
12
Note: if the local building code allows a live-load reduction, the 50-psf live load could be
multiplied by the appropriate factor.
2. Compute the static moment for the span parallel to the edge of the slab.
18
n 19 17.5 ft
12
For the definition of 2 refer to Fig. 13-22 in the textbook.
20 9
Edge frame: 2,e 10.8 ft
2 12
13-4
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Generally, the column strip extends the smaller of 4 on each side of the column
2 4 or 1
19 9
centerline (ACI Code Section 13.2.1).Thus; the width of the edge-column strip is 5.5 ft
4 12
The half-middle strip extends from the edge of the column strip to the centerline of the panel. The
total width of two half-middle strips is 20 9.5 10.5 ft .
The static moment M o can be calculated from Eq. (13-5).
223 10.8 17.52
2
qu
Edge frame: M o 2,e n
1 92.2 kip-ft
8 8 1000
223 20 17.52
2
qu
Interior frame: M o 2,i n
1 171 kip-ft
8 8 1000
From ACI Code Section 13.6.3.2, for the edge frame, the total moment is divided as follows:
Positive moments
From Table 13-4 for f 2 1 0,
Edge column-strip positive moment = 0.80 32 25.6 kip-ft
1
Middle-strip positive moment = 0.40 32 0.40 59.9 =18.4 kip-ft
2
13-5
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1
Note that 0.40 0.80 1.0
2
13-6
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13-5 A 7-in. thick flat-plate slab with spans of 20 ft in each direction is supported on 16
in. 16 in. columns. The average effective depth is 5.6 in. Assume the slab supports
its own dead load, plus 25 psf superimposed dead load and 40 psf live load. The
concrete strength is 4000 psf. Check two-way shear at a typical interior support.
Assume unbalanced moments are negligible.
One-way shear is critical at a distance from the face of the column. Thus, the critical
sections for one-way shear are A-A and B-B in Fig. S13-5.1. The loaded areas causing shear on
these sections are cross hatched. Their outer boundaries are lines of symmetry on which Vu 0 .
We will only check the shear for section A-A, since the check for section B-B is the same.
6
6
6 6
13-7
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( )
Because there is no shear reinforcement, we have Vn V c and from Eq. (13-27),
( √ ) ( √ )⁄
Punching shear is critical on a rectangular section located at d 2 away from the column face, as
shown in Fig. S13-5.2. The critical perimeter is 21.6 in. by 21.6 in. The average d value for
determining the shear strength of the slab is d 5.6 in.
( )
13-8
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Therefore, the smallest values is Vc 122 kips , so Vc 0.75 122 91.5 kips > Vu and the slab
is OK in two-way shear.
13-6 Assume the slab described in Problem 13-5 is supported on 10 in. 24 in. columns.
Check two-way shear at a typical interior support. Assume unbalanced moments
are negligible.
Punching shear is critical on a rectangular section located at d 2 away from the column face, as
shown in Fig. S13-6.2. The critical perimeter is 29.6 in. by 15.6 in. The average d value for
determining the shear strength of the slab is d 5.6 in.
( )
13-9
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24
For Eq. (13-25), 2.4 (since column is 10 in. by 24 in.). Therefore,
10
4
Vc 2 fc' bo d 2
4
2.4
1 4000 90.4 5.6 1000 117 kips
1
Therefore, the smallest values is Vc 117 kips , so Vc 0.75 117 88 kips > Vu and the slab is
OK in two-way shear.
13-7 The slab shown in Fig. P13-7 supports a superimposed dead load of 25 psf and a live
load of 60 psf. The slab extends 4 in. past the exterior face of the column to support
an exterior wall that weighs 400 lbs/ft of length of wall. The story-to-story height is
9.5 ft. Use 4500-psi concrete and Grade-60 reinforcement.
From Table 13-1, the minimum thicknesses of the four typical slab panels are as follows:
Panel 1-2-A-B (corner; treat as exterior), and panels 2-3-A-B and 1-2-B-C (exterior)
13-10
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Check the thickness for shear. We should check the shear at columns A2 and B2
The tributary area for column A2 is cross-hatched in Fig. S 13-7.1 The factored uniform load can
be calculated as:
8
qu 1.2 150 25 1.6 60 246 psf
12
Note that if the area of any of the panels exceeded 400 ft 2 , it would be possible to reduce the live
load before factoring it.
Fig. S 13-7.1 Initial critical shear perimeters and tributary areas for column A2.
The critical shear perimeter is located at d 2 away from the interior column face and 4 in. from
the exterior column face, as shown in Fig. S 13-7.1. In the following calculation for the factored
shear force transmitted to column A2, the shear force multiplier of 1.15 required for the first
interior support will be applied directly to the appropriate tributary lengths. Then,
davg 8 0.75 0.5 6.75 in. (assuming 3 in. clear cover and No. 4 bars as slab
4
reinforcement).
bo 22.75 2 23.38 69.5 in.
12 22.75 23.38
Vu 246 9 1.15 9 10 1.2 400 9 1.15 9 60700 lbs 61 kips
12 144
13-11
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From Eq.(13-25),
16
1
16
4
2 6.0 4 (does not govern)
From Eq. (13-26),
s 30 , for an exterior slab-column connection
sd 30 6.75
2 2 4.91 4.0 (does not govern)
bo 69.5
(b) Use the direct design method to compute moments, and then design the
reinforcement for the column and middle strips associated with column line
2.
A2 B2 C2
1 (ft) 20.0 20.0
n (ft) 18.67 18.67
2 (ft) 18.0 18.0
qu (ksf) 0.25 0.25
2
qu
Mo 2 n
(kip-ft) 196 196
8
Moment Coef. -0.26 0.52 -0.70 -0.65 0.35 -0.65
Moments (kip-ft) -51 +102 -137 -127 +69 -127
13-12
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A1 B1 C1
1 (ft) 20.0 20.0
n (ft) 18.67 18.67
2 (ft) 10.0 10.0
qu (ksf) 0.25 0.25
2
qu
Mo 2 n
(kip-ft) 109 109
8
Moment Coef. -0.26 0.52 -0.70 -0.65 0.35 -0.65
Moments (kip-ft) -28 +57 -76 -71 +38 -71
Wall load (kip/ft) 0.48 0.48
q 2
Wall M o wall n 21 21
8
Moments from wall
-5.5 11 -15 -14 +7 -14
(kip-ft)
Distribute the negative and positive moments to the column and middle strips and design the
reinforcement.
In each panel, the column strip extends 0.25 min 1 , 2 0.25 18 12 54 in. on each side
of the column lines. The total width of the column strip is 2 54 in.= 108 in. 9 ft . The width of
the middle strip is 9 ft. The edge strip has a width of 54 in. 12 in. 66 in. 5.5 ft .
Place the steel in the long direction close to the surface of the slab. Try No. 4 bars. Thus,
d 8 0.75 0.25 7.0 in.
Compute trial As required at the section of maximum moment (column strip at B2). The largest
M u is 102.3 kip-ft. Assuming that jd 0.95 ,
102.3 12,000
As (trial) 3.42 in.2
0.9 60,000 0.95 7.0
Compute a and check whether the section is tension controlled:
3.42 60,000
a 0.82 in.
0.85 4500 5.5 12
0.82
c 1.00 in.
0.825
Clearly, the section is tension-controlled; therefore, 0.9 .
0.82
Compute the value of jd : jd 7.0 6.59 in.
2
Assuming that a is constant for all sections (conservative assumption), compute a constant for
computing As :
M u 12,000
As (in.2 ) 0.0337 M u (kip-ft) (Eq. A)
0.9 60,000 6.59
13-13
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The values of As required in the following table are computed from Eq. (A).
From ACI Code Section 13.3.1,
As ,min 0.0018bh for Grade-60 reinforcement. Maximum bar spacing is 2h (ACI Code
Section 13.3.2), but not more than 18 in. (ACI Code Section 7.12.2.2). Therefore maximum is
16 in.
13-14
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(c) Check two-way shear and moment transfer at columns A2 and B2. Neglect
unbalanced moments about column line 2.
Column A2
13-15
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The critical perimeter is at d 2 from the face of the column, where d is the average depth. At all
exterior ends, the reinforcement is No. 4 bars and davg 6.75 in. The shortest perimeter results
from the section shown in Fig. S13-7.2 and the perimeter dimensions are,
b 1 20 in. d 2 23.38 in.
b 2 16 in. d 22.75 in.
For moments about the z z axis,
2 23.38 5.69 23.38 2
y AB 7.86 in.
2 23.38 5.69 22.75 5.69
Therefore, cAB 7.86 in. and cCD 15.52 in.
For moments about the w w axis,
22.75
cCB cAD 11.38 in.
2
For slabs designed by the direct-design method, the moment transferred from the slab to the
column axis z-z is 0.3M o , and using the moments calculated from part (b),
0.3 M o 0.3 196 58.8 kip-ft (acting about the centroid of the shear perimeter).
From part (b), we found that the unbalanced moment due to the wall moments is 7 kip-ft and
assuming that the loads acts at 2 in. from the edge of the slab,
23.38 2.0 7.86 13.52 in. from centroid
13-16
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Note that the unbalanced moment about column line 2 M w w is neglected as stated in the
problem.
50.9 12,000
As (in.2 ) 1.70 kip-ft (steel chosen OK)
0.71
0.9 60,000 7
2
The reinforcement ratio is,
A 1.8
s 0.0064
bd 40 7
and from Eq. (4-24),
0.85 0.825 4500 0.003
b 0.0311 ,
60,000 0.003 0.00207
and thus, 0.375b 0.0117 0.0064 and we can use f 1.0 . As a result, it is not necessary to
transfer any of the moment about z-z axis by eccentric shear stresses.
Column B2
The critical perimeter is shown in Fig. S 13-7.3 and the centroidal axes pass through the centers
of the sides.
bo 2 22.75 22.75 91 in.
13-17
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From Eq.(13-25),
4
2 6.0 4 (does not govern)
From Eq. (13-26),
s 40 , for an interior slab-column connection
sd 40 6.75
2 2 4.97 4.0 (does not govern)
ob 91
From Eq. (13-32), calculate the fraction of moment transferred by flexure (x-x axis),
1 1
f 0.6
2 2
1 b1 b2 1 1
3 3
The torsional moment of inertia can be calculated from Eq. (13-34),
b d 3 db3 b
2
J c 2 1 1 2 b2 d 1
12 12 2
Where d 6.75 in. and b1 b2 22.75 in. Thus, J c 54150 in.4
By inspection, the reinforcement that is already in the slab is adequate for moment transfer.
13-18
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From Eq. (13-30) and neglecting unbalanced moment about column line 2 (i.e. about axis y-y),
M u (shear transfer) M u 1 0.6 10 4 kip-ft 48,000 lb-in.
Then,
Muc 48,000 11.38
12.1 psi
Jc 45,150
So,
102,000 124,000
u (max) 12.1 166 psi 12.1 psi=178 psi c 202 psi
91 6.75 91 6.75
Thus, the shear is OK at this column.
13-8 Refer to the slab shown in Fig. P13-7 and the loadings and material strengths given
in Problem 13-7.
(b) Use the direct design method to compute moments, and then design the
reinforcement for the column and middle strips associated with column line
A.
13-19
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2
qu
Mo 2 n
(kip-ft) 174 174
8
Moment Coef. -0.26 0.52 -0.70 -0.65 0.35 -0.65
Moments (kip-ft) -45 +90 -122 -113 +61 -113
Distribute the negative and positive moments to the column and middle strips and design the
reinforcement.
In each panel, the column strip extends 0.25 min 1 , 2 0.25 18 12 54 in. on each side
of the column lines. The total width of the column strip is 2 54 in.= 108 in. 9 ft . The width of
the middle strip is 9 ft. The edge strip has a width of 54 in. 12 in. 66 in. 5.5 ft .
Place the steel in the long direction close to the surface of the slab. Try No. 4 bars. Thus,
d 8 0.75 0.25 7.0 in.
Compute trial As required at the section of maximum moment (column strip at B2). The largest
M u is 91.5 kip-ft. Assuming that jd 0.95 ,
Assuming that a is constant for all sections (conservative assumption), compute a constant for
computing As (Eq. A):
The values of As required in the following table are computed from Eq. (A).
13-20
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CHAPTER XX.
The sky was rapidly darkening. The wind came wailing with a low,
menacing sound over the waters. The sun sank red, fiery, and threatening in
the far west, and the scared water-fowl went skimming over the troubled
face of the bay, sending full, wild shrieks, as if to herald the coming storm.
The darkened sea heaved and tossed, as if struggling with an inward foe,
and the little boat quivered in every joint as it flew over the glassy waves.
Sibyl's eyes kindled as they surveyed the grand but terrible beauty of the
scene. On the east, as far as the eye could see, spread out the boundless,
tempestuous ocean; on the west stretched a long line of coast, forming a
sort of semi-circle, lost on one side in the dense primeval forest, that as yet
the woodman's axe had not desecrated, and on the other jutting out in a
wild, rocky promontory. On the south was the island, which they were now
approaching, looking a mere dark speck in the vast and mighty deep.
"If we don't have a screamer of a storm to-night you may say I don't
know nuthing 'bout the weather," said Carl, pausing for a moment to wipe
the perspiration off his heated brow, and glance at the darkening face of the
sky. "Such a one as we ain't had since the night me and Mr. Drummond and
Lem saved the man and woman what was washed ashore from the wreck."
"That was an awful night," said Sibyl, still keeping her kindling eyes
fixed on the gloomy grandeur of the sea and sky, "but how splendid, how
magnificent, how glorious this prospect is. Oh, I love a storm. I love the
grand jubilee of the earth, when sea, and wind, and lightning, and storm, all
join in the glorious hymn of the tempest. Oh, the nights that I have spent on
sea when nothing was to be seen but the black pall of the heavens above,
rent every instant by the forked lightning, while the crash of the thunder,
and the roar of the wind and waves mingled together in the sublime refrain,
and our ship went driving on, as if mad. Oh, for those nights again! when
my very soul was inspired by the unspeakable glory of the scene."
Her wild eyes shone and flashed like stars, and her cheeks flushed with
the impetuosity with which she spoke.
She was not addressing Carl, she was not thinking of him, she did not
even see him; her whole soul, and heart, and mind, were filled with the
present scene, and the remembrance of those she had seen.
Carl stared for an instant at the wild girl, wondering if she had gone
mad, but Sibyl recovered from her momentary trance, and asked, quietly:
"Do you think we will reach the island before the storm bursts?"
"Yes. I guess so. We'll be there in 'bout ten minutes now. Oh, by granny,
here it comes!"
A low, sullen rumbling, the herald of the coming storm, was heard, and
two large, heavy drops of rain fell pattering on the thwart.
"Lor' sakes! ef the squall comes now we'll go to the bottom for sartin,"
said Carl, pulling with the energy of desperation, until the perspiration
stood in great globules on his brow.
But the storm, as if in pity for that frail bark and its inmates, held up a
few moments longer, and Carl uttered a yell of triumph, as he shot into a
little natural harbor, sheltered by overhanging rocks, immediately below the
lodge.
"Let the storm come," he cried, waving his cap in exultation; "we're all
right as a trivet now."
And as he spoke his last words were lost in the roar of the wind and sea.
Safe and sheltered as it was in the little cove, the boat quivered for an
instant, like a reed in the blast, before the first furious crash of the storm.
Had it burst upon them a few moments sooner they would instantaneously
have been swamped. But Carl, bending before the furious gale, drove his
stanch little craft ashore in triumph and sprang out, followed by Sibyl.
The rain was falling heavily, and the wind blew so furiously, driving it
in her face, that for the first moment she shrank back, and was forced to
grasp a projecting rock to prevent herself from being blown backward. The
next instant her dauntless spirit returned, and, raising her head, she shook
the rain from her dripping locks, and sprang up the rocks with the fearless
agility of a young mountain-kid, until she stood at the door of Campbell's
Lodge, her ancestral home.
All the front of the house was dark and cheerless, for Aunt Moll never
visited the front chambers when the family were absent. Pushing open the
hall-door, which was never locked, Sibyl, accustomed to the way from
earliest childhood, passed through the hall to the door leading to the
kitchen, while the old house shook to its center, and every window rattled in
the furious blast of the storm. The very chimneys shook as though they
would fall and annihilate them, when Sibyl opened the door, and, wet,
dripping like a mermaid rising from the sea-foam, she stood before her two
astonished servants.
There was a bright fire roaring cheerily up the wide chimney, for,
summer or winter, Aunt Moll insisted on having a fire; and over this, the
affrighted old woman crouched, mumbling strange prayers and invocations
for mercy, and fairly gray with terror. Lem, little less alarmed, sat in a
remote corner, keeping his eyes tightly shut, to exclude the blinding glare of
the vivid flashes of lightning.
At the sudden and startling opening of the door, both looked up, and
beholding their young mistress, whom they supposed safe at the parsonage,
standing before them, her wild, black hair streaming in disorder down her
back, Aunt Moll uttered a piercing shriek, and, springing to her feet, rushed
over and threw herself into Lem's arms, with the cry:
"Ah, it's a ghos'! it's a ghos'! Oh, Lem, sabe yer poor, ole mudder! It's
our young missus' ghos'!"
At this, Aunt Moll ceased her shrieks, and looked up, and Lem looked
at her in utter bewilderment.
"Why, of course it is," said Sibyl, as soon as she could speak, for
laughter. "Come, Aunt Moll, I'm no more of a ghost than you are yourself.
Don't look so terribly afraid of me."
"Carl Henley's boat, brought me here; I wanted to see you and Lem,
Aunt Moll. And now, Lem, go and make a fire in my bed-room, to air it; I
am going to stay here, all night."
"S'pect you'll have to. Should like to know who could go out ag'in dis
night. Oh, Lor' a massy-sakes! jist listen to dat, will yer!" said Aunt Moll,
trembling and shrinking, as another furious blast made the old house shake.
"Yes, it's a terrible night. Heaven grant there may be no wrecks on the
coast!" said Sibyl, thoughtfully.
"An' now, honey, when de fire's made in yer room, yer mus' go up an'
take off'n your wet clothes, else you'll catch your deff o' cole. An' I'll get yer
supper, cause yer mus' be hungry," said Aunt Moll, approaching the
fireplace.
But at that instant, a vivid flash of lightning blazed down the wide
chimney, and old Moll sprang back, with a yell.
"Oh, Lor'! who ebber did see de like o' dat! S'pect it t'ought it had me
dat time; but I ain't cotched yet!" said the old woman, quaking in terror.
"Oh, don't mind, Aunt Moil; I do not care for anything," said Sibyl.
"And here comes Lem; so I will go to my room."
"Oh, Miss Sibyl, may I go too? 'Deed an' 'deed, I is 'feared to stay here!"
said Aunt Moll, in trembling tones, as she listened to the roaring, howling,
shrieking of the wild storm without.
"Certainly, Aunt Moll, if you think you will be any safer with me, you
are welcome to come. But your trust should be placed in a higher power. He
who rules the storm alone can help you," said Sibyl, gravely.
"Yes, Miss Sibyl, I knows all dat, an' I does trus' in Providence; but,
'pears like I'd feel safer ef I was with you. Seems like de danger wouldn't be
so near, nor so drefful," said Aunt Moll; "an' I allers was awfully skeered o'
lightnin'."
And Aunt Moll, glad of the permission, lit a candle, and preceded Sibyl
through the hall, and up the polished oaken stairs, at a shuffling trot, leaving
Lem, much against his will, sole possessor of the kitchen.
There was a bright fire burning on the hearth, which the damp, unused
rooms required, rendering the flickering tallow candle superfluous.
"Now, where are you going to sleep, Aunt Moll?" said Sibyl.
"There's no danger, Aunt Moll," said Sibyl; "it is just as safe here as in
bed."
"But it ain't, chile; you doesn't know. It's wrong, and likewise sinful, to
sit down a lookin' at de storm," persisted the old woman.
But Sibyl, without paying the slightest attention, still sat gazing out,
while Aunt Moll from entreating took to scolding, which was likewise
unheeded.
"Hold your tongue, Aunt Moll!" said her young mistress, at last,
impatiently facing round, tired of hearing the garrulous old woman.
And at this unprecedented rebuke, Aunt Moll sat down before the fire in
mortified silence.
Perhaps it was the wildly shrieking tempest, the appalling crash of the
angry elements, but an unaccountable depression weighed on Sibyl's spirits
—a creeping feeling of horror that no effort could shake off. She strove to
rouse herself, to reason herself out of the superstitious dread that was
overwhelming her, but in vain. A nameless terror had clutched her heart,
and would not relax its hold.
And so the hours wore on, and midnight approached. And the storm
without seemed to have shrieked and roared, and worn itself hoarse, and
was at last relapsing into sullen silence. The fire on the hearth was burning
low, and casting wild and fantastic shadows through the gloomy room. Aunt
Moll lay in that deep, deathlike sleep which only those of her race enjoy,
and her deep breathing sounded audibly through the room.
Exhausted with the excitement of the storm and her own thoughts, Sibyl
rose and prepared herself for bed, hoping in sleep to lose the strange feeling
that was overpowering her.
She lay down, but she wooed the drowsy god in vain. Sleep would not
come at her call. So she tossed from side to side, wishing—vaguely, wildly
—morning would come, and listening to the dreary beat of the waves on the
shore.
A death-like silence reigned within the old house, while the storm
without was still sullenly grumbling.
It was near midnight, and Sibyl lay with her hands clasped over her
forehead, when suddenly she heard the front door burst violently open, and
through the silent house arose the wild, terrific, appalling shriek of
"Murder!"
CHAPTER XXI.
THAT NIGHT.
"Come, madness! come with me, senseless death!
I cannot suffer this! Here, rocky wall,
Scatter these brains, or dull them!"—DE MONTFORD.
About an hour before the storm burst upon the island, Edgar Courtney,
the victim of his own diabolical passions, reached it unseen and
unobserved. "You will await my return here," he said, as he was moving
away. "I must be back in N—— before morning."
"Don't know 'bout that," said the boy who had taken him over; "there's
an awful storm rising; but if you ain't afeared to venture, I ain't."
Mr. Courtney glanced at the dark, sullen sky, but what was the storm
without compared with the storm within? Leave the island he must before
morning, so he replied:
"I must go back, let it storm as it will. You can remain here sheltered
under these rocks till I come back."
And wrapping his cloak around him, he moved swiftly away, and
concealed himself behind some overhanging trees to await the result.
The spot where he stood commanded a view of the sea on all sides.
And, therefore, when in the deepening gloom, some hours after, he saw a
boat approach the isle, containing the form of a woman, he had not a single
doubt as to who that woman was.
Oh, the demoniac look that his face wore at that instant! His face
upturned to the bleak light was that of a fiend.
"She will come—she will!" said Jealousy. "She has braved the storm to
come to the island; and, though fire should fall from heaven, she will keep
her tryst. Wait! wait! and you will have your revenge."
* * * * *
Mrs. Tom held up her hands in wonder and amazement when she heard
that Sibyl had braved all that furious storm to come to the isle.
"The girl must be clean crazy," she ejaculated, "to venture on the stormy
sea such a night! I do wonder, though, what brought Miss Sibyl here to-
night?"
"Dunno," said Carl, speaking with his mouth full of griddle-cake. "She
was talking sort o' crazy in the boat. 'Spect' she thought that Mr. Drummond
was here."
Christie, whose white fingers were, as usual, flying busily, as she plied
her needle, suddenly flushed to the temples, and then grew paler than
before. She knew what had brought Sibyl to the island, though she had
hardly fancied she would have ventured out in such a storm.
"Oh, I wish it had been clear to-night!" she thought, lifting her head, and
listening anxiously to the howling tempest.
By this time Carl Henley had dispatched his supper; and laboring under
a vague impression that some one would be in presently to carry him off by
force, as Mr. Drummond had done on a previous occasion, he made a hasty
exit up the ladder to bed, firmly resolving not to go out again, though Aunt
Tom should pull every hair out of his head.
And when he was gone, Mrs. Tom, having secured the windows and
doors, drew up her wheel, and sat down to spin. And Christie, with cheeks
flushed, and eyes bright with anxiety and impatience, sewed on in silence,
replying vaguely and at random to the stream of smalltalk kept up by Mrs.
Tom.
There were many anxious thoughts passing through the mind of the
young girl. Why had Willard been absent for so long a time?—why had he
appointed this strange midnight meeting?—would he venture on the sea in
night and storm; and, if he came, what could his visit and note portend? His
manner had changed so of late, that, in spite of herself, the conviction that
he already repented of his hasty marriage forced itself upon her with a pang
like the bitterness of death.
"Oh, I might have known," was her inward cry, "that he, so rich, so
handsome, possessing the love of one so beautiful as Sibyl Campbell, could
never be content with poor little me! Oh, I might have known he would tire
of me; but I was crazed, and believed all he told me. Something warned me
it would, sooner or later, come to this; but now that it has come, it does not
make it any easier to bear."
"Well," said the voice of Mrs. Tom, at this instant breaking upon her
reverie, as she stopped her wheel with a jerk and looked sharply into
Christie's face—"I would like to know what's got into you to-night! Here
I've asked you three blessed times to hand me that there gownd, an' you
don't mind me any more than if I was the cat. S'pose it's the latest fashion
not to answer your elders when they speak to you? What is the matter with
the gal?"
"I didn't hear you," faltered Christie, turning scarlet; "my head aches.
Please excuse me; I didn't mean to offend."
"Better go to bed, then, if you head aches. Time we was all in bed, for
that matter. No use sittin' up a-wastin' of candles, when we can get up airly
in the morning jist as well. Gemimi! how it blows!" said Mrs. Tom, as she
slipped the bands off her wheel and carried it over to its accustomed corner.
Glad of the permission, Christie arose and began arranging her bed on
the wooden settle in the kitchen, where she slept. And Mrs. Tom, who
preferred sleeping by herself, sought her own couch, where, by the
combined effects of a light heart and a clear conscience, she was soon in the
land of dreams.
It was awful to venture out in such a storm; but, had the tempest raged
twice as wildly, the faithful, loving child-wife would have braved it all, to
meet him, she loved.
Exerting all her strength, she closed the door after her without arousing
the sleepers, and quitted the house she was never destined to enter more.
On—through the falling rain, the driving wind, the vivid lightning—she
plunged, making her way blindly through it all. It was well she knew the
road she was traversing, and could pursue her way as well at midnight as at
noonday, or she would never have been able to follow that tortuous, rocky
path.
But, shrinking, and blinded by the rain, at times she was forced to stop
and cover her face in her mantle; and anon, at some more furious blast that
would have whirled her away as though she had been a feather, she grasped
some projecting rock or tree, to protect herself from being blown over the
crags; but still she toiled on to her destination.
"Will he be there?" she said, wildly. "Oh, if after all he should not come!
It seems madness, for me to expect him in such a storm; but, if he should, it
would never do for me to be absent. Oh, saints in heaven! what lightning,"
she said, as pale with terror, she hid her face in her hands.
But there was no time to pause—even now, he might be waiting for her,
on the beach; and still, on through night, and rain, and storm she pressed,
until at last, drenched, dripping, and totally exhausted, she gained the wet,
slippery beach.
Half dead, with cold and exhaustion, she sank on a rock, and cowered
beneath the pitiless blast. The dull booming of the waves near sent a thrill
of nameless awe and horror, into her very soul.
She could not long sit there, exposed to the peltings of the storm; so,
wrapping her mantle still more closely around her, she rose with a shiver,
and strove to pierce through the thick darkness, in search of that loved form.
In vain! The gloom of Hades could not be deeper than that which
enveloped every object.
"Oh, why does he not come?" was her heart's agonized cry. "Does he
not know, in spite of storm and tempest, I am awaiting him here?"
"Oh, he will not come! I know it! Shall I stay here longer, or shall I go
home!" thought Christie, in an agony of doubt.
Still another lurid blaze of flame! And now, looking up, she uttered a
cry of joy; for the tall figure of a man, wrapped in a cloak, was seen
descending the rocks, coming toward her.
He did not speak—he did not move—only he drew a step back and
folded his arms over his breast.
"Dearest Willard! I feared you would not come; but, oh! I am so glad
you are with me once more!" And her encircling arms clasped him closer,
while her sunny head sank on his breast.
With the storm within and the storm without, he heard not, heeded not
the name of Willard. But another flash of heaven's fire showed him a slight,
slender form, with the shining, golden hair of his faithless wife.
And now, for the first time, she noticed his strange silence; and lifted
her sweet face in surprise, saying:
"What is the matter? Why do you not speak to me? What have I done?
Oh, I am so sorry, if I have angered you. What, what have I done? Oh,
indeed, I love you more than life!"
His teeth closed together with a galvanic snap, his eyes were like two
living coals set in a ghastly skull, and his hand clutched something within
the folds of his cloak with a convulsive grasp.
And still she clung to him, and still he maintained that strange silence.
"Tell me what I have done? Speak to me, or I shall die!" she cried out,
in anguish and terror. "Oh, indeed, I love you better than any one in the
world! I would die sooner than offend you!"
"Die, then!" fairly shrieked the maddened man; "die, since your own
lips have proclaimed your guilt!" And clutching her fiercely by the throat,
he plunged the hidden knife into her side.
One piercing, terrific shriek, and she sank writhing, quivering at his feet
in mortal agony. And the wretched maniac above her unable to speak, or
move, or think, with distending eyeballs, glazing eyes—his ghastly face like
that of the dead—his trembling hands red with her life-blood—stood rooted
to the ground, caring not, feeling not the furious storm now.
Just at that instant there came a blaze of lightning, as though heaven and
earth were on fire, and he beheld that little, child-like form lying stiff and
rigid at his feet, the head fallen back; the blue lips parted, as if from them
the quivering soul had taken its flight; the arms lying limp and lifeless by
her side; the bright, golden hair, half shading, the cold, beautiful face, on
which the pitiless rain wildly beat.
All his jealousy, his hatred, passed away with that pitiful sight; and the
passionate love, the adoring worship his heart had first felt for her returned
like a swelling flood. The memory of the time when she had left home, and
friends, and all, to fly with him—when she had first been his loved and
loving bride—bright, happy, and beautiful—came back in overwhelming
force. And now she was dead—dead by his hand!
With the roar of a beast of prey, the furious waves, lashing themselves
into foam, rushed upon the shore. It recalled the miserable assassin from his
frenzy of despair; and with the instinct of self-preservation that never
deserts us while life remains, he seized the cold, stark form, and fled wildly
up the beach.
But just then—had the infernal regions yielded up their hosts to pursue
him?—a human form, bearing tin figure of a woman, revealed by the quick
flashes of lightning, came flying toward him, her uncovered hair streaming
in the gale—-her wild eyes glaring with the fires of madness.
Her eyes fell upon him and his bleeding burden at the same instant; and
throwing up her arms, with a piercing cry of "Murder! murder!" that pealed
high above the raging of the storm, she fled in the direction of Campbell's
Lodge.
That appalling cry, that awful apparition, drove the last spark of reason
from his maddening brain. With a perfect yell of terror, he flung his lifeless
burden on the rocks, and fled from the spot as if pursued by the avenger of
blood.
CHAPTER XXII.
NEXT MORNING.
"Between the enacting of a dreadful deed
And the first motion, all the interim is
Like the phantasma of a hideous dream."—SHAKESPEARE.
With blood on his hands, with horror, insanity, and wildest woe in his
eyes; and worse, far worse! with the dreadful mark of Cain branded
indelibly on his brow, the wretched man fled—hating himself, his crime,
the earth, and heaven—only longing to fly far away, where human eyes
would never more behold him, clutching his breast with his pale, talon-like
fingers, as if to tear hence his insufferable agony and remorse.
"What have I done?—what have I done!" was the cry that still rived its
way up through his tortured heart. And the wind and waves, in their terrific
uproar, seemed answering the cry with "Murder! murder!"
Midnight approached, and the storm began to abate, the rain ceased to
fall, and the mighty waters began sullenly retreating from the shore.
But still the stricken man lay prone on the ground, dead to everything
above, around, about him, with that gnawing, unutterable remorse at his
heart.
Another hour waned. The clouds rolled away, the lightning had ceased,
the wind abated its fury, and the troubled, heaving waves were slowly
calming down. And, suddenly, from behind a cloud, broke forth the moon—
brightly, gloriously, grandly shedding her soft, silvery radiance over sea and
land.
For the first time the murderer ventured to look up. Morning was near at
hand, and must not find him at the scene of the tragedy.
"What is to be done next?" was the thought that arose through all the
distracting rush of grief, horror, and remorse. "She will be missed; and if I
am found here I will be taken for the murderer, and—" A shuddering spasm
closed the sentence.
He reached the spot, where, in his first wild impulse of terror, he had
dropped the body; but, far beyond that, the waves had risen, and the lifeless
form was gone—swept away by the boiling waters.
A groan, so deep and hollow, that it seemed like rending his very heart,
broke from his lips at the sight—his murdered Laura had found a grave in
the boundless sea.
A footstep behind met his ear, and in terror he turned to fly; but, seeing
only the half-witted boy, who had brought him over, he restrained himself
and stood still.
Even through the dull mist of his clouded brain, the ghastly face before
him, struck terror to the boy's soul. And well it might; for, with that white,
death-like face, branded with a look of unutterable horror; those ashen lips,
sunken, collapsed cheeks, glazing eyes, shuddering form, and trembling
hands, he looked like a corpse galvanized for a moment, into a hideous
semblance of life.
The words he had been about to say, died on the boy's lips; and, with
distended mouth, and eyes all agape with surprise and fear, he stared at him
in stupid bewilderment.
"Why, you said you wanted to get back afore morning, and I reckon we
can start now. The sea runs pretty high, yet, but I guess there ain't no
danger."
Like a man in a dream, Courtney passed his hand across his brow, as
though to clear away a cloud. Again, self-preservation, "the first law of
nature," rose before him overcoming every other feeling. His eyes
wandered mechanically to the fatal spot, and he turned away with a
shudder.
"Don't think there is. You'll be apt to be sea-sick, though," said the boy;
"waves run pooty high. But what makes you speak so hoarse, and look so
scared, as if you'd seed a ghost? P'r'aps you did, too; they say there's one up
in that old house, there."
"Let us go!" said Courtney, unheeding his words, as he folded his cloak
closer around him, and started in the direction of the boat.
The boy shuffled after him, to where the boat now lay, high and dry on
the strand, requiring the united efforts of both, to launch her into the water.
"Precious hard time I had of it, all night in the storm," said the lad, as he
took the oars; "got soaked right through; and, by golly! if there wasn't some
thunder! I never wants to be out such a night again."
The boat was pitching and tossing wildly on the heaving waves,
threatening each moment to capsize; but Courtney, lost to all sense of
personal danger, sat striving to dispel the cloud of horror and remorse from
his mind, and answer the momentous question: "What is to be done next?"
His wife would assuredly be missed. How was her sudden disappearance to
be accounted for? It seemed probable that none but Captain Campbell knew
of her intended visit to the isle, save the boy who had brought her over; and,
in waiting on the dark, dangerous beach, in such a wild tempest, with the
advancing tide rising on the shore, what would be more natural than that
she had been accidentally overtaken, and swept away by the rapid rising of
the waves?
The mist was passing away from his mind, his burning fever of
excitement was abated by the cool sea-breeze, and every faculty,
preternaturaily sharpened by the fear of being discovered as a murderer,
was at work. Of the stupid lad who had brought him to the island he felt no
fear. Before the coming day's sun had set he would in all probability, have
forgotten all about it, and none else knew of the visit. He would endeavor to
hide all traces of guilt, and be the most zealous in the search after the lost
one. Perhaps, too, suspicion might fasten on Captain Campbell, and then
how amply would he be revenged! He thought of the note appointing the
meeting, and felt in his pocket for it, but it was gone. No matter—so that he
himself was not criminated, it mattered not.
Then came another thought: How was he to account for his absence
during the night? It seemed scarcely probable that his wife had told any of
the inmates of the parsonage of their angry parting and his brutal blow—she
had too much pride for that—and they could easily be made to believe that
sudden business had called him away. Doubtless, they would think it
strange he had not told them before going; but as he had already acquired a
character for eccentricity from his gloomy reserve, it would be readily set
down to that. He had business at Westport—he would go there—remain for
some hours, and return to N—— before night.
Regarding him for a moment with his customary vacant stare, the boy,
without a word, turned the boat in the direction indicated.
The rising sun was reddening the orient before they reached Westport.
And Edgar Courtney having paid the boy, dismissed him, and sauntered
about the town until the business of the day would begin.
Gradually the streets began to fill; men on their way to their daily labor
passed him in groups, now and then stopping to gaze in wonder at the tall,
muffled figure, pacing through the streets as though he were hastening for
life or death.
"This will never do. I must not allow my feelings to carry me away thus.
I must be calm, or I may be suspected. Nothing but coolness will save me
now."
Turning down the collar of his cloak, and pushing up his hat, that the
cool morning air might fan his feverish brow, he turned in the direction of
the Westport House.
The door had just been opened, and the rooms had that dreary,
uncomfortable look large, lonely rooms always wear in the gray dawn of
the morning, a yawning waiter, half-asleep, passed him, staring with lack-
luster eyes, as though he had seen a ghost, and a slip-shod, frizzle-headed
chambermaid uttered a faint scream as her eyes fell on his haggard face and
wet garments.
"Yes, sir; this way, sir," said the man, recovering from his surprise at the
entrance of so strange-looking an individual.
"Light a fire here, and bring me up a cigar and a cup of strong coffee."