Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1875-04-01
ALMOST Il GHOST STORY.


Did you ever see ghost" was the
appeal.
'Wel, came deuced near it, 1 can
tell you, said young Howard.
"How near9" cried the company,
drawing their chairs to the fire.
cit was in that desolate, God-forsaken
part of New jersey" said Howard,
"near Barnegat Shoals. What with the
nature of the soil there, its barrenness
and sterility, the jagged, repelling grim
ness of the rocks, and the wild, desolate
infnity of the waters, there's something
about Barnegat that breeds an affinity
with ghosts and specters. There had
been a wreck of coasting schooner In
the vicinity, and, although the news
didn't make much of sensation in the
newspapers it brought despair and desc
lation to one heart at least-that of the
young mates mother. He was an old
schoolmate and warm friend of my own,
and volunteered to go down and see if
the body could be found and brought
home.
"When / reached there the whole
aspect of the place struck me as forbid
dinghy wild and lonely; and when, toward
the close of stormy day, poor old Jacks
body was washed ashore, stark and stiff,
and distorted almost beyond recognition,
I wasn't able to lend the fellows down
there helping hand. / was seized with
a nervous chill, and went indoors to the
brandy flask. Propped up with an arti
fetal courage, 1 went out again and
found them hauling their helpless burden
toward fisherman's hut close by. They
had flung it in an old tarpaulin blanket,
and 1 couldn't help protesting inwardly
against the rude way in which they
bumped it along through the breakers
and over the rocks.
IS thought of that tender, womanly
heart at home in the East, and the gentle
reverence that hedged about even her
every thought and feeling about Jack,
and determined there and then that he
should be taken home to her in some
shape that wouldn't appali or horrify
her.
"They laughed at me when / spoke of
a coffin, but nevertheless resolved upon
getting one, if such thing could be had
for love or money. Not that coffin is
absolutely requisite in all cases. 1t
wouldn't have mattered pin to either
Jack or myself if, tied up In the old tar
paulin, with weight heavy as destiny
itself, we were forced to the bottom of
the sea- But to a woman, a conven-
tional woman, victim to circumstance
and custom, coffin was the only thing
that could render the affair respectable,
or indeed bearable.
So passed sleepiess night and went
off before daylight In search of an old
man that bore a queer reputation about
there for appropriattng anything that
ornamental with rude knack he had in
the carpenter line. The boys told me
there was little of everything In his old
rookery, and they hadn't the least doubt
T could find even coffin there, or some
thing that might be modelled into one.
So 1t was a good league to his dwelling,
and reached there with foreboding that
my journey was for nothing but, upon
broaching the subject to him, he stated
his readiness at once to comply with my
demands.
"sBut what will you do for material ?
I asked.
''He smiled grinly, and, opening a
door that led up to a sort of loft, he
beckoned me to follow him. In that loft
there was wood readily adapted to build
ship, house, theater-anything and
everything that might be desired. Not
common wood, mark You, but wreckers'
material-paneis of French walnut, ex-
quisitely carved In bas-relief, bits of
precious ebony, of sandal-wood, of box,
and some of that delicate white pine that
exhales 2 delicious perfume. The boys
had said that he was very clever in the
carpenter line. 1 was inspired with a
sort of trust in his capacity, and his
willingness to undertake the job was
was only equaled by his determination to
be paid well for doing it.
Don't you fre, young man, said
the old skeleton. 'I'll fix it for you in
shape that'H suit. III have it as
scrumptious as nut-that is, ef ye're