Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1872-03-28
summer. This was all that Mr.. Grover

summer. This was all that Mr.. Grover
knew,
Upon hearing this simple account, there
instinctively formed in my mind an ex-
PLANTATION, if such it can be called, of the
mysterious circumstances which had so
puzzled and disturbed us. This Doctor
Mather-this morose and unsocial man,
and unkind husband and father, as he was
described to be-this solitary collector OF
| herbs-of what deeds might he not have
| been guilty here in the seclusion of this
| lonely old country-house "They had all
three died :" and my memory reverted
with shudder to the word Poison !"
which | had heard uttered by that mysteri-
Gus voice. Perhaps murder had been
committed in this house-even in that
very office-room which had appropriated;
and this impression was deepened
upon being Informed by Mr.: Grover,
in answer to my inquiries, that
that room had in reality been
Doctor Mather's study or library, into
which no one was ever admitted; and that
he would sometimes remain in it whole
days and nights together without being
nterrupted-having his meals brought
and deposited outside the door, in the
adjoining gallery.
The office and gallery were now care
ny uS oil, Will iuC CAOCp-
ton of Mr.. Walton, who haunted it with
persistency doubtless equal to that of
the ghost itself. He was determined, he
said, to learn all that could be learned of
this mystery, and, if possible, to thor
oughly unravel it.
One evening, after rain, heavy sea-
fog set in upon the coast, and the atmos
| phere became all at once so damp and
chilly as to render fire indispensable to
comfort. AS 1 have said, the rooms were
large and airy, and were, moreover, car
petless and sparingly furnished. This
was pleasant enough in warm weather, but
inexpressibly dreary in this chill and
damp spell. The two most comfortable
apartment of the house for cool weather
were undoubtedly the nursery and the
| office-room, which were situated at
opposite extremities of the long building.
So, leaving the former to the nurses and
children, Mr.. Walton proposed that he
and Emma and I should make ourselves
comfortable for the evening in the haunt
ed room, as he now called it, mauger the
| ghosts; and, as an inducement, promised
us. hot oyster supper. The oysters were
to be had fresh out of the water, almost
at our very door, just for the trouble of
picking them up.
| Certainly the room, as Emma and
rather hesitatingly entered it, looked
pleasant and cheerful enough, with it's
pine-wood fire and the tea-kettle steaming
on the hearth. No one made any allusion
to the ghost; Mr.. Walton, indeed, seemed
to have forgotten the subject in the inter-
est of the supper, though /, and l fancied
also Emma, felt g little nervous as we oc-
casionally glanced furtively around the
room. Once or twice, also, / caught my
self instinctively looking over my shOul-
der toward the corner cupboard behind
me.
Supper over, Mr.. Walton, who was a
fine reader, entertained us with some
chapters from Dickens latest work, and
we were soon so much interested as to
forget everything else. In the very midst
of this, however, was startled by feel
ing faint breath of cold air upon my
neck, and at the same instant saw my
sisters eyes lifted with a frightened
glance toward the corner closet behind
me.
I instinctively started up and crossed
over to the other side of the fireplace.
"What is it, Louisa ?" said Emma,
nervously 81 saw the door of the closet
epen."
Mr. Walton closed his book and sat
looking attentively at the cupboard. And
it was whilst we were all thus, perfectly
silent and motionless, that sound broke
the stillness-at first what seemed the jim
Cling of phials and rattling of chains,
and then the faint, uncertain sound OF
muff1ed voices which had heard more
than once before, all coming unmistaka
bly, from the little triangular closet in
the corner.
ooh, Richard, do you hear ?" gasped
Emma, seizing fast hold of her husbands
arm. For myself, I came very neal
screaming outright.
"Hush-be quiet r' said Mr.. Walton.
And taking the lamp, he advanced to the
cupboard, threw wide open the door, and
surveyed it minutely.
1t was simply closet built of dea
boards against the naked whitewashed
walls of the room. Three rickety
shelves unoccupied and much stained
with ink and other liquids, were
all it contained. Between the lower
and middle shelves was strip of wooe
nailed against the wall, as if to cover &
place where, as we could see, the plaster
had fallen away; and beneath this striI
could be discerned part of what seemed
to be a rat-hole. Besides these, not {
thing was visible in the closet.
And yet, as live, while we three stood
there gazing into the empty closet, from
its recesses came a hollow laugh, and
low, childish voice said, plaintively:
"Ihree-aU dead-roisoned!"
Emma sank down, half swooning. Ever
Mr.. Walton's face, as I fancied, becam,
shade paler and then we heard tn,
voice again:
BURY them-grave under the magno
liza"
Hooked again at my brother-in-law
and saw his lips compress and a kind o
desperation appear in his face He ad
vanced close to the closet, put his heaC
almost within and shouted, loudly ant
distinctly:
'Who are you? Who is it that speaks?
, In answer came shrek, loud and ap
palling, ringing in our very ears. Thel
the same breath of cold air swept past
followed by the violent shutting of
/ door and grating of key in lock. w
, looked at each other aghast, but befor
: again startled by different sound-tha
of children's cries, and footsteps hurry
ing along the gallery to theroom in whicl
we were. The next moment the door burs
, open, and in rushed Momma Abbey
/ the colored nurse, bearing badly in he
arms, and followed by her assistant
Chloe, dragging the three elder childre
| after her-all the latter pale and terri
| fed, and, Freddy III particular, shriekin
shrilly
"What is the matter? What has haI
pened?" screamed Emma, forgetting he
) own recent terror in alarm for her Chi
, dren
"Oh, marsteri oh, missus!" gaspe
5 Momma Abbey, piteously, her eyes rollin
a white in their sockets, "a ghos'! A gho'
in the nurseryr'
S "a ghost %
r I'm the corner-closet in the nursery!
f heerd it! We all heerd it! Marster FREQ
4 dy was lookin' in dat closet to see if da
r was any mice in de trap what he'd set, an
Y sure's Pse alive dis minute, marster. som,
body in dat are closet hollered out, sWh
: is you? Who dat talkin' dar?' We a
= heerd it, we didp'
: Mr. Walton turned around an
: once more looked into the close
: Then, taking the tongs frol