The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1874-05-07

him the will of 1873 and asked him if
he had ever seen that paper before. He
had. Chow do you recognize it p
"By private mark I put upon it when I
found it." estate when, where, and how
you found il" On January 49, 1873, at
half-past two o'clock in the afternoon,
in the blue room of the late Sylvester
Sudler's place, in the back of picture
representing the judgment of Solomon.
Mrs. Sudler, Mrs. Edwards, and Betsy
Jackson we're all three present. "What
made you look there ?" "I had re-
oeived certain information-"
"Stop there, cried Mr.. Pearce; "call
Amanda Stinson." The witness, a call,
middle-aged woman, with fierce red
head, a freckled face, and a mouth
stained with snuff Clippings innu-
merable, took the stand and gazed
wildly about her. By dint of close
questioning she managed to convey the
information that she lived across the
creek from Mr.. Sylvester Sudler's that
her boy Kite caught oysters and she
shucked them and sold them for liv-
ing. Her boy Kite wasn't exactly right,
| but was the best creeter in the world,
and wouldn't tell lie for nothing. He
was eighteen years old, but had no
schooling. She was troubled on ac-
count of Kites saying several times he
had seen old Mr.. Sudler's sperrit, for
she had taken it to be sign Kite wasn't
goin' to live long, so she up and asked
Mr.. John Fleming about it, and begged
him to see the boy, and pray with him.
She'd heard prayin' was a good cure for
sperrit-seeing. "What do you mean
| IxyA
in his ghost like arter he's dead"
death ?" "He says he has many
times, and Kite wouldn't tell lie for
nothing" "Did Kite ever go to Mr..
Sudler's house when the old gentleman
was alive ?" "Sometimes-took oys-
ters there to SELL" "Was he ever up.
stairs in the house, do you know ?"
"Who? Kite? Bless you, he never
went nowheres but to the kitchen,
never " "Call Kite Stinson," said Mr..
Pearce, and the courtroom was agog
with excitement as the ghost.seer came
to the stand. He was a tall, bony youth,
with very long arms, and a decided
stoop in the shoulders. His hair was a
straight faded yellow, his eyes pale
blue and staring, and his skin tanned
and freckled to the hue of beach sand.
After little sparring among the law
yers as to his competency as a witness,
Kite was sworn. He stood with his
great bony hands resting on the crier's
desk, his wrists half yard below the
sleeves of his threadbare linsey jacket
"a very odd-looking, unsophisticated
fellow. 1t had got towards evening,
the courtroom was growing dusky, and
the eager silence that prevailed made
the scene impressive.
"That's very strange story you told
Parson Fleming, Kite; what did you
mean by it ?" "'Twarn't the least bit
of story about it, sir, but all as true
as preachin'," insisted Kite. "I've
seed the old gentleman nigh on to a
dozen times" "Seen who % cold
Mr.. Sudler him what's gone." "Seen
him when ?" "Since his death" !"
"Seen him where ?" "No end O.
places. Out 6shin', in the bow O. my
Gunner (canoe), nights when I was
goin' to sleep, daytime at work. Lor' +,
dozen and more times. 1 seed him
onst settin' on the fence when I was at
he ev say ~UD% much li to yufR you "Tary Nary word
only nodded and beckoned kinder,
you know. "Wern't you very much
me no harm. He used to give me many
a ten cent note" What, the ghost
did?" "No, that was when he was
alive" did you ever touch him or
he you?" "Never but onst; that was
the time L telled Parson Fleming
about" swell, suppose you tell those
gentlemen about it, Kite"
"Well, I will. You see I was at the
oyster pile one afternoon q shuckin'
away for dear life, case it was cold and
the wind was BLOWN sharp, and want
ed to git done. Then see him, standin'
right front O. me, noddin' and beck min
to me at a great rate. So I says to him,
faint no use to bother me now, I'm
busy. Then he kinder frowned and
keeped on noddin'. But only shuck
my head and keeped on shuckin'. Then
fust thing 1 knowed he was standin
right over me and putin his hand on
the check handkerchief had round my
neck-here's the Handkerchief now,
gentlemen-and the hand burnt into
me like fire. So l kinder fell forred.
like on to the eyster pile and dozed of
for a minute into a dream-like, and
what I dreamt was this, gentlemen
1 was in kind of strange room here
the witness gave a graphic description
of the blue ROOM and seed tall maI
thar settin' writin' at table, and he
got up and folded the paper this way
like, and took a picter down from the
wall there he described the picture o.
the Judgment of Solomon" and tool
some boards outen the back and pu
the paper in thar, tackled the boards
on agin, and hung the picter up the
same as it was before. Then 1 didn'
see no more, but walked up, and fount
was layin' on the eyster pile, sprawlet
out. Epilepsy" said Mr.. Mackline
sotto voice. So picked up my knife
and went On shuckin', for 1 was colo
and shivery and wanted to git done
And, gentlemen, true as gospel, whel
tuck off the check Handkerchief from
my neck that night this here hole wa
burnt into it just like the print of
red-hot hand"
The courtroom was intensely silen
as Kite handed Mr.. Pearce the hand
kerchief. and Mr.. Pearce passed it t.
the jury.
"Well, Kite, have you ever seel
that tall man since whom you saw il
your dream ?" "No, SIR" "Woul,
you know him, do you think, if yo,
saw him now 2" 81 dunno, indee,
SIR" "Well, look carefully aroun'
the courtroom, and tell me If you Sc
him now."
There was a breathless silence a
Kite went methodically about his task