Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1880-02-05
CHARLEY BENNET's GHOST STORY.

CHARLEY BENNETs GHOST STORY.
at is a sin to steal pin,
As well as any greater thing"
sang little AL Smith, in loud, shrill
voice.
every good sentiment, but very poor
rhyme" drawled Hen Rowe (whose
father was poet), patting the singers
flaxen head in patronizing manner.
"Talking of stealing" said Charley
Bennett, dropping the pumpkin he was
turning into lantern, "did ever tell
you fellers about the time went down
to old Pop Robins's to steal apples, and
came back past the barn where the
horse-thief hung himself years and years
ago, cause he knew the constables-they
called 'em constables in those times
were after him, and that he'd be hung
by some body else if he didn'tp Mop
Here's a ghost story for you, then, and
1 hope it will be warning to you all
never to take any thing that doesn't be-
long to you, specially apples.
"You see, Bill Evans and were stay
ing with our folks at the hotel in Bran
blewood that summer, and about two
miles away was Pop Robins's farm.
He used to bring eggs and chickens and
vegetables and fruit to the hotel; and,
oh my! wasn't he stingyP-you'd better
believe it. He wouldn't even give
you two or three blackberries,
and if you asked him for
an apple, he'd tremble all over. A reg
lar old miser he was, with lots of money,
and bully apple orchard. Let's go
there some night and help ourselves,
says Billy Evans, one day. Dogs says
I. 'Only one,' says he; Il know him,
and so do you-old Snaggletooth. 1
gave him almost all the meat we took
for crab-bait the day we didn't catch
any, 'All right, says 1.
"But when the night we'd agreed on
came, Billy had cousins-girls-down
from New York, and he had to stay
home and entertain them. 1 don't care
much for girls myself, and was afraid
they might want me to help entertain
them too, so made up my mind to go
down to Pop Robins's alone. 1t was a
splendid night; the moon shone so
bright that it was almost as light as day.
1 scudded along, whistling away, until
got within half mile of the orchard
and then stopped my noise and walked
as softly as possible, till I came to the
first apple-tree. l Skinned up that tree
in jiffy (old Snaggletooth didn't put
in an appearance), filed my bag with
jolly fat apples, and slid down again.
But when 1 came to lift the bag up on
my shoulder, found it was awful heavy
to carry so far, and was just agoing to
dump some of the apples out, when I
remembered all of sudden that if cut
across the meadow to the plank-road, I
could get back to the hotel in little
more than half the time it would take to
60 the way came.
$50 shouldered my load, and was
nearly across the meadow before 1
thought of the haunted barn at the end
of it. 1t wasn't nice thing to remem-
Der; but wasn't agoing to turn back,
ghost or no ghost, and tried to whistle
again, when all at once that thing Al
Smith was singing just now popped into
my head, and says to myself, That's
so, Charles F. Bennett; you and your
chums may think it's great fun to help
yourselves to other peoples apples and
watermelons and such things, but it's
just as much stealing as though you
went into mans house and stole his
coat 1t doesn't seem as bad when
you're going for 'em; but when you're
coming back, up a lonely road, all
alone, at. 10 o'clock at night, lot. of
stolen apples on your back, and a
haunted barn not far off, it seems sDorse.
"All the same, / held on to the ap-
pies. And when faced the barn de-
termined I'd whistle if died in the at
tempt; but, boys, 1 don't believe any
body could have told that Yankee
Doodle from Aud Lang Syne.' L
tell you my heart jumped when passed
the tumble-down old place; but it stood
still, when, as I marched up the plank
road, 1 heard step behind me. /
around in an instant, but there
was nothing to be seen. The moon
shone as bright as ever, but there was