Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1873-02-14

Mr.. Walton closed his book and sat look
ing attentively at the cupboard. And it
was while we were all thus perfectly silent
and motionless, that sound broke the still
ness.-at first what seemed the jingling of
phials, and ratillng of chains, and then the
faint, uncertain sound of muf1ied voices,
I had heard more than once before, all com
log mlstakably from the little triangular
closet in the corner.
40 Richard, do you hear r'' gasped EN-
ma, seizing fast hold of her husbands arm.
For myself, cane very near screaming
outright.
"Hush be quiet" said Mr.. Walton. And
taking the lamp, he advanced to the cup
board threw wide open the door, and sur
veyed II infinitely.
II was simply a closet built of deal boards
against the naked whitewashed walls of the
roo n. Three rickety ink. stained shelves
were all II contained. Between the lower
and middle shelves was strip of wood
nailed against the wall, as If to cover a
place, where, as we could see, the plaster
had fallen away; and beneath this strip
could be discovered 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 hollow laugh, and a low, 4,
childish voice said plaintively:
"Three-sll dead-poisoned r.
Emma sank down, half swooning. Even
Mr.. Walton's face rs I antied, became a
shade I.ale; and then we heard the voice
again:
"Bury them-grave under the walnut"
looked again at my brother-in-law, and
saw his lips compress and kind OF des-
peraton appear in his face. He advanced
close TO the closet, put his head almost
within, and shouted loudly and distinctly {:
"Who are your Who is 1t that speaks9"
In answer came shrek, loud and ap-
palling, ringing in our very ears. Then
the same breath of cold air swept past, fol-
lowed by the violent shutting of door and
grating of a key in a lock. We looked at
each other aghast, but before We had time
to utter a word, we were again startled by
a different sound-that of childrens cries.
and footsteps hurrying along the gallery to
the room in which we were. The next
moment the door burst open, and in rushed
nurse, bearing baby in her arms, followed
by her assistant, dragging the three elder
children after her-all the latter pale
and terrified, and Freddy in particular
shrieking shrilly.
"What is the matter2 What has hap
pened ?" screamed Emma, forgetting her
own recent terror in alarm for her chill
dren.
ooh, master! oh; missusr' gasped
nurse, piteously, her eyes rolling white in
their sockets, "A ghost! A ghost in the
nurseryf'
"a ghost r.
"In the corner closet in the nursery
heerd It'll We all heerd il! Master Fred
dy was looking in that closet to see If there
was any mice in the trap that he'd set, and
somebody in the closet hollered out, who
are you? What are you talking about p
We all heerd it,
Mr.. Walton turned around and once
more looked into the closet. Then taking
the tongs from the hearth, he inserted them
behind the bit of board which have men,
toned as nailed to the wall, and wrenched
it away, exposing as he did so, a small ap-
erture surrounded by metallic ring.
~ have discovered the mystery at last p
he said, turning to us with smile. at is
no ghost, but simply speaking tube. Stay
here, and when you hear the spirits, place
your mouth to this and answer them"
He left the room, and in few moments
we again heard the mysterious, sepulchra
voice in the closet, only much more distinct
now, since the board had been removed.
"How are you all ?"
l summoned courage to answer: "Muct
better y and then there came low laugh
ghostly enough, certainly, to have caused
our blood to curdle, had we not been awar,
of the identity of the apparent ghost.
And so il was all explained, and the mys
terry of the haunted closet cleared up. There
was as Mr.. Walton had said, a speaking
tube communicating between the Office
room and the distant nursery-placed Their
doubtless by the eccentric naturalist, DIR
Mather, for his own convenience /; and b,
on leaving the house, had simply careless
ly boarded over the mouth of the tube, no
dreaming of or Indifferent to the conse
| quences OF this negligence.
The explanation of the various sound
heard by us In the ofilce-room Is very sim
pie. The corresponding mouth of the tab
was in closet in the nursery, precisel,
similar to that In the office. Nurse stored
in this closet the various cups, phials, anc
so-forth, used in the nursery and, to Sc
cure these from the children, the closet wa
generally kept locked. 1t was the opening
and shutting of this closet door, with tn
grating of the KEY in the rusty lock, tina
had so oflen alarmed me; and when 1t wa
tents for some special article, the noise
made and the words spoken in the close
could be heard more or less distinctly il
the Office. Also, when the closet door wa
suddenly shut to, II would produce cur
rent Of air through the tube sufficient
slightly open the loosely hung door of th
Office cupboard. Master Freddy's idea G
setting mouse trap in the closet, bate,
with poisoned food, had added much to tn
effect of the mystery; and 1t was little Ma
rys voice which had pleaded so pathetical
ly for the three victims of her brothers ex
pertinent, imploring that they might b
buried under the walnut tree.
| Mr.. Walton used to say that il was almos
pity that the secret of the tube shoul
have been discovered, and thereby 80 car
ital ghost story spoiled.
I