The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1877-08-09
mirels, who kept respectful distance a

he wore MS OLD 0resslng gown, he had
the black patch over his eye, his wig set
a little on one side, as usual. -. ~
"Walk in, walk in, gentlemen" he
said. II believe, Mr.. Undertaken, Lowe
you small bill. You are prompt in cal
ling for it, but never mind, never mind
Let me see the amount, and I'll settle it;
if not to-day, some other day" ':<
The two men drew back.
II have no bill, SIR" said the underta-
ker; "but hearing report that-thst-"
"That Peggy had seen my ghost, sup
posc," said Choker. every well, sir,
draw your own conclusions; but you de-
serve to be paid. You buried me very re-
specially, very respectfully indeed; and
your jury gave correct verdict, Mr..
Coroner. It was apoplexy. All! we'll
don't 60, don't be in a hurry"
But his visitors had retreated.
ut is Choker," said the undertaken to
the coroner; yet I buried him., and he
was dead man then.'' ..
ats Choker, but he was dead when I
held an inquest over him" said the cor
7oner.
They hurried away, and the crowd hur-
ried away. too. That day the grave was
examined. It was empty; even Chokers
coffin was gone.
After that, every one believed the story
but the clergyman and scientific gen.
tleman. The former declared that it was
wicked to believe in ghosts; the latter
that there was no such things as ghosts.
"Choker is not at the house at ALL" he
said, "and his body is in the grave,
but your imaginations have been so
worked upon that you fancied you saw
him in the house, and you believed that
you did not see him in his grave. When
a man is dead and buried that's an end of
HIM"
"Eut go to the house and see for. YOUR
self" said some. dead or alive, Croker
is there"
"Sir," said the scientific gentleman,
f neither alive nor dead can he be there.
"A body cannot burst its coffin lid, arise
rough the turf and walk about the town
as before. Nor can spirit exist without
body. If should see Mr.. Croker,
l should not believe l saw him. NV
common sense tells me that I cannot see
him, and I never allow my senses to con-
tradict my common sense. The house is
empty. There is no one there. It is all
imagination.''
However, that may have been, every
one else in Grabtown saw him sooner or
{ 'ater. The lamp burnt bright in his win
dow at night. The garden prospered un-
der his ghostly tillagc. He drew the
money at the bank as usual. As a ghost
his silent, reserved conduct seemed very
suitable to his condition. As ghost, It
seemed very proper that he should have
no friends and no kindred.
People avoided his house at night, and
boys ran scampering away when they saw
him plodding along lonely lanes by moon
light, and old folks shook their heads and
said it was curious, but there was Choker,
a fact to everyone but the scientific gen.
tleman, who, when he passed him, NUT
tered to himself: "Optical illusion" and
whether he was ghost, or man en-
dowed with the power of defying death
and the undertaken, no one felt prepared
to answer.
He was known sometimes as "Choker's
ghost" and sometimes as 'Choker that
came to" but no one doubted tor a mo-
ment that somehow he was Choker,
and the very Choker they had seen dead
subjected to an inquest, and buried
All this went on for ten good years, and
people had grown used to it, when one
cold winter morning a small note was
brought to the doctor, bearing these
words
"Come to ME, I'm ill., CHoKER.''
'Dont 60, DEAR" said the doctors wife
must" said the doctor; and went &C.
cordingly.
| lie found the door of Choker's house
OPEN, and the popular ghost himself
wrapped in blanket by the fireside.
"Come in" he said, gasping for breatl
II wasn't sure you'd come, I've been feel
ing the Inconvenience Of being superna
ural since I've been too ill to make nv
T., # a cup Of tea. Just see what is tn.
latter with me, will you'll think it i.
.rious, whatever itisv'
The doctor did his best.
, His private opinion was that Choker
;;hoever he ght be, had not long t
live.
Whether he had ever been dead hefor,
or not, he was certainly going to die DOW
"1ti is as I thought" said Chokcr, look
:. ing into his face. II knew the malad,
was incurable years ago. But the end i
at hand now, chs'
, sin the case Of any other man should
say yes" said the doctor; "but examin
, ed you once when you were certainly
dead man, and can't judge for you.
don't ask your confidence, Mr. Choker, bu
that affair is puzzle to me, though o
course I have never taken you for
ghost"
II think I'll confide in you, doctor,
said Choker, "only you must promise t,
keep my secret while I live. The nigh
before you held the inquest on old Clio
ker, I came into Grabtown. I'd been a,
actor once, and then soldier; lost a lie:
, and came here to starve or beg.
"The door of this house stood opcn
: and in it stood man. I went up t,
him.
"'Sir,' said l, they say that fellow
feeling makes us wondrous kind. You'v
got wooden leg, and perhaps know
isn't just the thing to stump over tn
country all night with
1T was old Choker I spoke to, an,
what he said was
~ don't understand about YOU
poetry, or scripture, or whatever it is. bu
l know about wooden legs. Come in."
II went in, and he gave me- suppe,
!, and bed in the garnet. We both say
that we looked considerably alike, an,
laughed over it. That night slept il
the garnet, and when awoke in the morn
ing 1 found my host was dead, and tn
house full of neighbors.
, II felt that as his death was sudden, j
was best for me to keep out of sight.