The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1877-04-04

wife and two of the children died, and
len DR. Mather went away With the re
m aiming chil,:, leaving the place to an
agent for sale 1t WIS then rented for
time by some people, who, for reasons
known only TO themselves, would not re-
m ain their term out and, finally we
had taken it, furnished as it wSts, for the
summer. This was all that Mn Grover
knew.
Upon hearing this simple account. /
there instinctively formed IN my mind
an explanation, if such il can be called, /
| of the mysterious circumstances when 1
had so puzzled and disturbed us Inns
| Doctor Mather,-this morose and unso- \
| cial man, and unkind husband and ia /
Their. as he was Ge.cribed to be,-thls /
| solitary collector of herbs, of what deeds /
might he not have been guilty here IN 1
| the seclusion of this old country house?
ssThev had all three died ;" and my mem
orv reverted with shudder to the word
:" Poison which had heard uttered by |
that mysterious voice. Perhaps murder
had been committed in the house-even
| in that very oficeroom which l had ap-
propriated and this impression was
deepened upon being informed by Mr..
| Grover. in answer to my inquiries, that
that room had in reality been DIR. Ma !
theirs study or library, into which no
one was ever admitted; and that he
would sometimes remain IN 1t whole
days cd .>;sh'e tnrethar without beng
interrupted, having his meals DrouSu'
and deposited outside the door, In the
adjoining gallery. o,uo
The office aud gallery were now care
fully Stunned by us all, with the exceP
ton of Mr.. Walton, who haunted 1t with
persistency doubtless equal TO that 3i
the rhost itself. He was determined,
ba s3id TO learn all that could be learned
of this mystery, and, ifpossible, to thor
oughly unravel it.
One evening, after a ram, heaVy sea
, foe set in upon the coast, an the "''Ao'
nhere became all at once SO damp anu
fb;lIv ,s 10 render a fire Indispensable to
| comfort. As | have said, the rooms
! were all large and airy, and We're more
Y over, carpet!ess, and sparinglY furhlsheu.
r This was pleasant enough III warm
weather but inexpressibly dreary III
o this chill and damp spell. Inc I've
a most comfortable apartments OF the
4 house for cool weather were undoupteoly
the nursery and the Otice-room, WhlcI
:, were situated at opposite extremltieS OF
[ the long building. 80, leaving Tue -, 1oI I
ar mer to the nurses and children, MI W d
a ton proposed that he and Emma and
10 should make ourselves comfortable ~
a the evening in the haunted room, as II
Y. now called it, mauger the ghoSts; anu
d as an inducement, promised Us no
ID oyster supper. The oysters were 10 D
had fresh out of the water, almost az GU
It very door Just for the trouble OF plcKlh
he them up.
as Certainly the room, as Emma and
I'd rather hesitatingly entered H. i1oNe
1t pleasant and cheerful enough, with
i, blazing pine wood fire and the tea kett
ar steaming on the hearth. NO one mao
anv Illusion to the ghost; MIR. WaltoII
indeed seemed to have forgotten the SUI
a iect in the interest of the supper, thoug
nv + and fancied also Emma, felt hit
he nervous as we occasionally glanced III
in lively around the room. Once, or twlt
# also, | caught myself instinotlvely 100
/ ing over my shoulder toward the corn
en cupboard behind me.
Supper over, Mr.. Walton, who was
fine reader, entertained US with sol
om chapters from Dickens latest work, a
for we were soon so much interested as
,ad forget everything else. In the We
er midst of this, however, L was startled
ne feeling a faint breath Of cold air upon
I neck, aud at the same instant saw my
nd ter's ewes lifted with frightened CLAN
erv toward the corner closet behind me.
md instinctively started up and cross
re- over to the opposite side OF the II
place: oy :, II
not nervously; saw the door Of the clio
oc- open"
3, as Mr.. Walton closed MS pooA anu
and looking attentively at the cupboal
And it was whilst we were all thus, p
saw fectly silent and motionless, that sou
her broke the stillness,-at first what seen
upy the iingling of phiais and ,rattling
NV chains. and then the faint, uncert
sound of mutti9d voices which L
or heard more than once before, all com
in Enthusiastically from the little trIangu
Get closet in the corner.
orn- ooh, Richard, do you hear?" gasl
Emma, seizing fast hold OF her
tber bands arm. For myself, | came v
it near screaming outright.
once "Hush, be quietP said Mr., Wall
nae And taking the lamp, he advanced to
kew cupboard, threw wide open the d
sob and surveyed it minutely.
,ctlv 1t was simply q closet built OF {
this boards against the naked whitewas
ser walls of the room. Three rlcl
GARD shelves, unoccupied and Euoh stat
with ink and other liquids were all 1T
oked tanned Between the lower and mt
shelves was a strip Of wood ns
don't against the wall, as If to cover P
unds where, as we could see, the plaster
YOUR fallen away and beneath this strip C.
be discerned part of what seemed to
sent, rat-hoIe. Besides these, not thing
It be- visible in the closet.
ex- And yet. az live, while we
stood there gazing into the empty cl
ssion from its reoesses came a hollow la
that and a low, childish voice said plain
discs, ly:- ,u
kew, "Three all poisoned
GARD, Emma sank down, half swool
times Even Mr.. Walton's face, as fan
j yet, became shade pale; aud then we
lock the voice saying
ces of Bury them, grave under the
d ex nolia-"
had | looked again at my brother-in
but and saw his lips compress and kl
ew to desperation appear in his face. IL
n ad vanceG close to the closet, put his
above almost within and shouted loudly
eeded, distinctly:
lgular 'Who are you? Who Is II
even speaks ?"
posi- In answer came a ghriok, loud an
reality palling, ringing in our very ears.
tions? the same breath of cold air swept
followed by the violent shutting of I
armer and grating of a key in a lock.
and of looked at each other aghast, but