The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1868-11-06
thing 70 40, and BIC being the case,

thing 10 do, and this being Che case,
Ada was the girl to do it.
Fl We said our prayers, we set the
door aiar, we extinguished our light
and we went to bed. IN hour we
lay awake, and heard nothing to alarm
us. Another silent hour went past,
and still tine sleeping house was un-
disturbed. I had began to hope that
the night would pass by without ac-
cident, and had just commenced to
doze little and to wander into q
confused dream, when o sudden
squeezing OF my hand, which lay in
Ada's, startled me quickly into con-
sciousness.
opened my eyes; Ada was sitting
erect i'll the bed, with her face set
for ward, listening, and her eyes fas-
tened on the door. Half srnothored
with fear, I raised myself on my
elbow and listened too. Yes, oh,
horror! there it was-the soft, heavy,
unshod foot-step going down the cor
ridor outside the door. It paused at
the top of tho staircase, and began
slowly descending to the bottom.
"Adah!" 1 whispered, with q gasp.
Her hand was damp with fear, and
my face was drenched in n cold dew.
SIN Gods name!" she sighed, with n
long-drawn breath; and then she
crept softly from the bed, threw on
her dressing-gown, and won't swiftly
away out of the already open door.
What I suffered in the next few
minutes could never describe, if I
spent the remainder of my life in en-
deavoring to do so. I remember ON
interval of stupid horror; whilc lean
ing on my elbow in the bed, I gnzed
with fearful, fascinated stare at the
half-open door beside me. Then,
through the silence of the night, there
came cry.
1t seemed to come struggling up
through the flooring from the dining
room underneath. It sounded wild,
suppressed, smothered, and was
quickly hushed away into stiffness,
broken by fitful, confused murmurs.
Unable to endure the suspense luuger,
1 sprang out of bed, rushed down the
stairs, and found myself standing in
the gray darkness of the winters
night, with ratting teeth, at the door
of the haunted dining-room.
"Ada! Ada!" I sobbed out, in my
shivering terror, and thrust my hand
against the heavy panel. The door
opened with me, [ staggered in, and
saw-a stout. white figure, sitting
bolt upright in an arm chair, and
Ada standing quivering in convnl-
sions of laughter by it's side. L fell
forward on the floor! bnt before L
tainted quite, L heard merry voice
ringing through the darkness:
80, Lucy!your Aunt Featherstone
is the ghosti''
When I recovered my senses. I was
lying in bed, with Ada and my aunt
both watching by my side. The poor
dear old lady had so brooded over
the ghost-stories of the house, and
so selfshly denied herself the relief
of talking them over with me, that,
pressing heavily on her thoughts,
they had unsettled her mind in sleep.
Consequently, Illuminating on the ter
ror of that ghostly walk. she had un-
consciously risen, night after night,
and most cleverly accomplished it
herself. Comparing dates, I found
that she had learned the story of the
spirit only a few days before the
night on which L had first been ter
rified by the footstep.
The news of Aunt Featherstone's
escapade flew quickly through the
house. It caused so many laughs,
that tie genuine ghosts soon fell into
ill-repute. The legend of the weep
ing lady's rambles became divested
of its dignity, and grew therefore to
be quite harmless. Ada and I laughed
over our adventure every night dur
ing the rest of her stay, and entered
upon our Christmas festivities with
right goodwill. I have never for
gotten to be grateful to Ada for that
good service which she rendered me;
and as for Aunt Featherstone, I must
own that she never again said one word
in disparagement of the Thatched
House.
A Paving Investment.