South Branch intelligencer. [volume] (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896, 1868-02-21
From Ire SouAern Uome .Lonrnai.
THE HAUNTED PEAR TREE.
nv o.. fNRisa srEsrs.

s''u CNSulpE hot many weeks ago, anu naI
lust after dark, apeeredi into a certain resi-
deuce, You might, lave seen half dozen
youngstcrs-vlads and lasses--who had re-
solved themselves into O. kindsof social par.
ty, and were drinking deeply into all man
ner OF innocent enjoy lnents. Prominent Il
mong them you might have noted yonng-
ster of about fifteen summers, whose silly
acii9ns -eyinced the fact that be was just
beginning to consider himself man, and
to fancy himself the great centre around
which, each iaemhor at the party desired to
revniye. And a brief pause at the open
window, would have convinced you that he
was not entirely wrong SO far as the latter
suppositlpa WIS cqpcerncd 1he ciS the re-
al centre Of attraction at the time selected
for the opening Of our story ,,,.,.trj g
,,.'Joe,' Sail a fair member Of the party
just nlentioned, addressing the hero of our
first paragraph, you need mt try to deny
it-you are afraid of ghosts
Fudge Ne afraid of ghosts Net as
you knows ,op amt. Why wouldn' I
mind to 90 and sleep all night in tic gravc-
yard 10y myself"
Oh, yes. you're brave enough, to hear
yoH talk spoke UP another; but it would
Mt mold good if put to ihG test. Now, it :
hardly dark yet, and l'llwagcr you wouldn't
% to the graveyard this minute, and 20 in
side the fcuee alone, if any one were to Of
fer YOU ten dollars
'Nothe, though he were offered the whole
town. said ;hird.
pshaw, you re all gasin, returned the
Innocent. Ia just 90 there for nothing,
and I'd as leave do it as not. If you dou t
believe it, can show you.
How :?
by going there.
Yes, yes, that VIII do for a comc-off. If
you were to start, who of US could tell af-
ter your return, that you had been any
nearer the grave yard than YOU now are !?
You would lind it just as easy, and doubt
less far more agre: cable to 80 some other
way
lic'd want some Of Us to 90 in company
with him. t. see whether or not he fulfilled
his promise
i just tell You, can 90 o}one : and if
you sly So, I'll do i. honor bright
Say exclaimed one OF the party, af-
fciing to DO suddenly taken with a ucw
iiea; i II tell you how we can make him
prove the thing. You remember the old
pear tree in the graveyard 2
All remembered it.
well, it is full of pears This season, and
they are just now deliciously ripe. Let
linn take basket aud bring lot Of pears :;
'hcn wc shall know he has been there, and
that the story Of bis fc,rs is without foun-
daiion
Poor Joe Shock in his boots at this last
proposition; but it was now too late To back
ou.. The girl lie loved hest was a member
of the lttle party, and it would never do
FIR her to know he was cownrdIy. He was
completely trapped ; therefore, the only
thing left for him was to take the basket,
prepare for the worst, and strike out.
Our readers must have seen the point
ere this. That oil pear tree, with its ripc
mcaly fruit, was creating quite sensation
among tie pear-loviug folks Of the yicir:-
~ round about especially tho male portion
0f them. They lougnd to be- eating the
pears but they dared not TO- til;e them I'm
The day tirc--Somc one might talk about
il-und as 20 ycuiurug aftr thcm iu the
NJ Git, that was not to be thought Of for a
moment. But the little party had settled
upon a plan to gotta share Of them, and now
f,r thc result
Before proceeding further with our story
we must say tothe reader that, hnI he h.cu
concealed at some point along our streets.
about thG me Joe started for the GRAVEYARD
be might have seen two dark figures. q
james would say, Passing ncar him, and 81
he had been al attention he might have
heard ia 4 lOw tone woiIs something a.
follows:
Il swae, Dick, its roffci shame 70 let
thcm pears go to waste wien thly can be-
lad So sick, just fpy the taking.
That's go, aud it's my opinion we're tho
very boys what can take 'cm. Whatirwc
do sec ghost or two They won't med
die With Us il wc don mclIlc with them
and So won't you know They can't car
The pears but wc can, y'n know. Bc.idss.
! dou't much believe in ghosts, for ! never
saw any though Poio Grmes says hs has.
ont about tho pear tree, YOU know. And
old Jane Fowler, she says the tree is haup.
ted, and was haunted afuro there was "a
grave on The bin, YOU know
All bo.h, Tom. Come with me. ola
boy, ii you want pears. Let's ~ down q.
Langley and get couple of sacks. Wen
strip the last one OF thc mcalics III and lsI
luck 90 ihe ghost as attempts TO proyoutil
Why, sir, there never was ghost seen set s.
Id pledge ny word Of that. Come slopg
my hearty never fear when Dick Fmlcv
is aith you. Tie is ready TO clean out any
thing in the ghost line that may run across
voUy track
All right When there any fun YOU
know,-or anything good to cat on hand. Tom