The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1880-01-23
and were never heard 10 bark or growl

Odptalh James mouse, ana all the guests
STAYING under his roof generally came to
it. Miss MacWinkle had said overnight
that she would do 50; therefore, when the
company assembled, and the coffee, tea,
hot rolls, bacon, eggs, buttered toast,
rounds of beef, game, pies, ETC., were all
spread out in a tempting array, eyes
were turned towards the door, expecting
to see the heroine walk in. But Miss
MacWinkle was late. After a quarter
OF an hours delay, Captain Jaffles said
to the butler: HAS Miss MacWinkie's
maid told her that breakfast is ready?"
"FH 60 and ask, sir" answered the
servant, and he went out. Five minutes
afterwards he returned. looking rather
furried, and said: 1.-THE maid has
knocked several times at Miss Mac
Wrinkles door, and there is no answer"
'When did she first knocke" asked
Captain Jaffle. ....
"An hour ago, sir; then she came back
half an hour later, thinking her mistress
was asleep. She got no answer then /;
and now she's knocking again, and she's
beginning to get alarmed"
Everybody else became alarmed all of
a sudden. A general adjournment was
made to the PASSAGE, and Miss Mac
Wrinkles door was vigorously thumped,
but without any responsive sound being
evoked. The handle was tried, but the
door was locked on the inside. "Poor
thing, she has tainted from fright" re-
marked one of the young ladies of Is.
"A fainting fit does not last an hour;
we had better have the door forced open"
said Mrs. Jaff1e, anxiously. IF
IF we send to the village, the lock-
smith won't be here for an hour" OBJ
served the Captain. IT had better go
and get my box Of tools and do the
business myself"
The Captain hurried of, and while he
was gone, his guests, who were now se-
riously frightened. indulged in every sort
of conjecture. IT it had not been for the
presence of their hostess they would loud
ly have blamed the Captain for having
put the nerves OF Miss Mac Wrinkle to
such a strain. As it was, some of them
remarked that people ought not to be al
lowed to keep ghosts on their premises,
and that haunted rooms were only good
to hear of in novels.
Meanwhile Capt. Jatf1e returned, and
after some trouble forced the door open.
Mrs Jaffle with some ladies streamed in
and instantly uttered cries of distress,
which brought the men into the room.l
The place was empty and the window
stood wide open, thus to ling tale of
some fearful drama which must have
been enacted in the night. 1t was evi!
dent that poor Miss MacWinkle must
have received some horrible scare and
have leaped clean through the lsement.
Luckily the window was on the ground
| floor, 20 that she could not have been
much hurt by her fall; but where was
she?
The ladies looked out, half expecting
to see an inanimate form in bedgown
lying across a Aower-bed. Mrs. Jafile
had been prompt to remark that Miss
MacWinkle must have undressed and
got into bed. for the bed was in disorder,
and the poor lady's clothes were thrown
over some chairA But, indeed, Miss
MacWinkle's maid was able to corrobo-
rate the fact that her mistress had gone
TO bed, and an inspection of boxes and
wardrobe enabled her to say that, wher-
ever Miss MacWinkle might be, her at
tire must be ofS the scantest, consisting
only Of night-dress and frilled cap.
"Send off the grooms at once in every
direction. Perhaps the poor thing has
become mad from fright. Oh, dear. what
shall we dor calculated Mira Jaffle.
'Tm very sorry l asked her to sleep
here" stammered Captain Jaffle apalo-
getically to his guests, "but / had no idea
that she was timid."
"Who wouldn't he timid against a
ghost?" exclaimed one of the ladies, msv-
ing toward the door with q shudder, as If
she feared to see the sprite who had
frightened Miss MacWinkle start upsud.
denly again. The other ladies concurred,
and, after another quarter of an hour
had been expended in conjectures the
party filed back toward the breakfast
room. Appetites had not been destroyed,
though they were partly blunted by what
had happened, and Captain Jaffle re-
quested his wife to stay and do the hon
ors of the board.
He himself went to help his grooms
look after Miss MacWinkle. They
hunted high, low, far and near; they
summoned the police to assist them; they
set tie telegraph wires to work; but all
TO no purpose. Miss MacWinkle could
not be found. Thena river which flowed
near the house was dragged; but this,
again, served nothing. 1t became too
obvious that poor Miss MacWinkle must
have met with bad end. .....
Before two days had elapsed the whole
country was made acquainted with the
sinister affair, and one more was added to
tlie list Of Mysterious Disappearance"
There were some frivolous wags who did
not scruple to suggest that Miss Mac
Winkle had eloped with some adventur-
Gus swain who had obtained ingress to
her chamber by means of rope ladder,
but this ungenerous rumor found small
credence. The most common opinion
was that Miss MacWinkle had jumped
out of the window in fright, run to the
river and got drowned.