Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1866-05-17
through the whole deception at once.

| through the WnOle ueceptiUu aV OuOe' IA
few remarks on this head will suffice.
The reader will please take the following
facts Into consideration. Only the first
floor, proper, and portion of the basement
of Harcourt Hall, were at all habitable,
the two upper stories having been aban-
doned for sixteen years or more. These
upper rooms, some eleven in number, were
infested with fabulous number OF rats
and mice, hundreds of bats owls and do
nestle pigeons, the three last finding easy
entrance and exit through the broken win
dow panes. Here, undisturbed and un'
molested, they built their nests and reared
their young, season after season, and year
after year. AS a natural consequence the
most singular combination of sounds, the
most unheard of noises often proceeded
from this cbeerless and abandoned quarter
of the venerable building Added to these
living noises-if I may be allowed the ex-
pression-was the creaking of old rusty
hinges, the Tapping of crisp and sun-parch.
ed paper, which had been originally pasted
over some broken panes, but which had be.
come partially detached from their positions,
and now worked in and out with the
slightest breath of air. To lie awake and
listen to these nocturnal concerts was any.
thing but agreeable, particularly if the
listener chanced to be stranger.
Now these upper rooms we're certainly
never abandoned because of their uninhab.
itableness. They were uninhabitable now
because of long years of neglect, not from
mere age and decay. Why they had been
thus abandoned to decay and ruin, many
professed to know, but among the thousand
and one wild and extravagant stories, prob.
ably not one was worthy of credence. The
servants, of course, had their version of
the matter, and Minnie had listened many
winters night to their long ghost stories,
until her hair would stand on end and her
little heart grew mad with excitement and
alarm. That old Mr.. Harcourt should
know something about the history of the
house beneath whose roof he had lived for
more than half century, was quite legit.
innate inference; yet, strange to say, he
preserved an unaccountable and profound
silence whenever the subject was brought
up, which, of course, only deepened and
intensified the mystery, and gave additional
encouragement to the most extravagant in.
ferences. Minnie had frequently eudeav-
ored to draw her uncle out on this subject,
had resorted to all manner of devices and
stratagems to elicit the history of those
deserted rooms from his sealed lips, but her.
efforts were vain. Time and again had Mr.
Harcourt prohibited her from spending 80
much of her time in that quarter of the
house, but in this particular, and this
alone, was Minnie disobedient and wilful.
In this, as in multitude of instances, where
human nature is concerned, the very prohi-
bition itself, constituted the reason why it
should be disobeyed. mo admittance'
above door generally excites the curiosity
of the reader to wonder aohy the notice was
necessary, and begets within the mind a
desire to enter, which never existed until
the prohibition was made known.
The servants, too, particularly old Dinah
bad expostulated and plead with Minnie
to abandon these visits. They assured her
that ghosts bad been seen there, and prophe-
sled that one of these days, they would GER
taiuly appear to her. Very often, while
Minnie was ransacking the old closets,
trunks and furniture, the hideous combina-
tion of strange noises in the adjoining rooms,
would send a thrill of inde6nable dread
over her heart, and compel precipitate re.
treat.
| Now, under all these circumstances, and,
taking into consideration the peculiar in
Auences which surrounded her, was it, after
all, so very strange that Sir Richards plan
of action should have proved so successful {?
Certainly, human nature, unbiased by pre-
judice, will look upon the whole transaction,
consequences and all, as perfectly natural.
A parenthetioal paragraph in reference to
Barney's death, and then we proceed with
our story. The circumstances were simply
these Finding himself about to be dis
covered, and despairing of the possibility
of an escape, as Edgar gained upon him
steadily, he waited until his pursuer came
within few PAGES of him, when he sud-
denly lifted his hat from his head, flung it
over the candle in Edgar's hand, and then
attempted to escape under cover of dark
ness. Unfortunately for him, however, he
stumbled against, and fell heavily over .
box, which stood in the passage. Before
be could recover himself, Edgar had re-
lighted his candle, aud had advanced with.
in a few PAGES of the disconnected ghost,
who, growing desperate, deliberately leveled
his pistol at the face of Edgar, and fired,
the ball taking effect in the right shoulder.
Quick as thought, Edgar returned the fire.
A shrek of agony-a dull, heavy fall
and all was still as death.
Worlds would have been given could he
have recalled that fatal shot, or saved the
rash victim from its dreadful consequences
but alas it was too late now. The candle
fell from his hand, terror and alarm seized
his heart, and, with sense of guilt away
down in the feverish depths of his soul, he
fed from the scene of horror, with the full
persuasion that he had killed his rival, Sir
Richard Beverly. Barney, with an effort,