Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1880-03-18

all falling over the pillow, and bottle
of physic and a spoon beside her on q
little table, and a pitcher of water on
the floor; and she was sort of reaching
out of the bed after the water. I sup
pose the poor thing had just lain there
and pinned away for want of help. Itwas
under her window that the dogs was
tied. used to think" continued Aunt
Bina, with a shudder, show those dogs
bowls must have sounded to her, if she
lived long enough to hear 'em, poor
creetur!
swell, the Coroner came, and they
buried all on 'em; and the Selectmen
advertised in the city papers, to see if
they could find ont any thing about the
furriner. But they couldn't, and after
q while the furnitoor was sold at a
vendue, and what it fetched was given
to the town poor. $The house was
cleaned and left open all summer; but
nobody wanted to live in it, and nobody
did live in it for more'n five years. At
last the owner Zone of the Stanway's
darters' husbands guess he was) wrote
on to let the place for nothin' to any
person who would use it and take away
the bad name it had got; for, you see,
all sorts of stories had been raised
against the house. Folks said that
lights were seen there of nights and
dogs were heard bowling; and the boys
wouldn't drive their cows that side of
the swamp, they were so afraid of the
place.
Milly had grown pale and her lips
trembled.
"Oh! John, you won t think of taking
it! Will your" she said, in pleading
tone.
"Don't be goose!" was the reas-
surfing answer. "Go on, Aunt Sa-
bina."
"Well, it was just then that those
folks I was a-telling you of was think
ing of getting married. He was Mr..
Thomas's hired man over to the Farms
and his sweetheart, she ID been Twin
out up to Canaan for quite spell. Both
of 'em had saved little money, and
when they heard of this house, with a
barn and an orchard and three acres of
medder-land a-goin' for nothin', it
seemed to them a fine chance. He was
strong, hearty fellow, and didn't care
for ghosts; SO he snapped at the offer,
and notified Ephraim Buell., who had
the lettin' of the place, that he accepted
it and stood ready to move in the first
of June. Plenty of folks warned him
but he didn't mind a word they said.
Only he warned them, in return, not to
say one word to his girl. He didn't
want silly notions put into her head, he
told 'em. So they got married and
moved in; and the woman-she didn't
know nothin' at all about the house,
except that it was a lonesome place and |
the neighbors didn't like it,and that that
was the reason it went for nothin'. Not |
a soul said a word to her about the |
furriner or the dead woman; and that |
made what happened all the curioser.
"They moved in one bright June
morning. The apple trees was all in
blossom; the sun shone; the house had
been scrubbed up clean; and it looked
likely place enough. The man and
his wife was both nightly tickled with
it. They took a room up stairs for |
sleeping, and the little room off the
kitchen, where the woman was found,
you know, they settled on for store
closet. 1t was accidental, for she didn't |
mistrust any thing about the matter, as
1 said. He pnt up shelf for her, and
she set her butter and milk and grocer
les there, and her -four bucket and
sugar-pail. ALI day long they was
busy fixing and settling the house. By
night things was pretty well in order;
and they was so tired that they went to
bed early and fell asleep to once.
.sJust before midnight the woman
woke up, and as quick as winkin' it
flashed into her head that perhaps she
hadn't recollected to put the cover on a
crock of lard which she had set in the
room below. She knew that there's al
ways plenty of mice in old houses, and
it made her uneasy; so, without saying
a word to her husband, she just got up
was full moon, and the windows hadn't
shutters, so there was plenty of
light to see by, without carrying can
die. She made her way across the
kitchen and opened the store-closet
door, and then she stood stock still and
didn't move step further, for she was
too surprised. The shelf was gone,
and all the crooks and pals and parcels
of groceries; and instead of 'em, she
saw bedstead and woman in it, sit
ting up, with her hair falling all about
her shoulders. Her eyes were shinin'
with fever and she fixed 'em right on
the woman's and made a motion to
reach a pitcher of water on the floor
down by the bed.
"It was all so natural looking and