River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1880-01-29

tried, but the door was locked on the
inside. "Poor thingl she has tainted
from fright" remarked one of the
young ladies of Is.
ga fainting fit does not last an hour
We had better have the door forced
open," said Mrs. Jaffie, anxiously.
''lf we sent to the village the lock
smith won't be here for an hour" OBJ
| served the captain. 81 had better &C
and get my tools and do the business
myself"
The captain hurried of, and while he
was gone, his guests, who were nov
seriously frightened, iadulged in every
SOFT of conjecture. If it had not been
| for the presence of their hostess they
would loudly have blamed the captain
for having put the nerves Of Miss Mac
| Wrinkle to such strain. AS it was
some of them remarked that people
ought not to keep ghosts on their prem
ises, and that haunted rooms were only
good to hear of in novels.
Meanwhile Capt. Jaffle returned and
after some trouble forced the door
open. Mrs. Jsfile and some ladies
streamed in and instantly uttered cries
the room. The place was empty and
the window stood wide open, thus tel
ling a tale of some fearful drama which
must have been enacted In the night
1t was evident that poor Miss Mac
Wrinkle must have received some hor-
ril !e scare and have leaped clean
through the easement. Luckily the
window was on the ground floor, 80 that
she could not nave been much hurt by
her fall; but where was she?
The ladies looked out, half expecting
to see an inanimate form in a bed-gown
lying across a fiower-bed. Mrs. Jatfie
had been more prompt to remark that
Miss MacWinkle must have undressed
and got into bed, for the bed was in dis
order, and the poor ladys clothes were
thrown over some chairs. But, indeed,
Miss MacWinkle's maid was able 10
corroborate the fact that her mistress
had gone.to bed, and an inspection of
boxes and wardrobe enabled her to say
that, wherever Miss Mac Wrinkle might
be, her attire must be of the scantiest,
consisting only of a night-dress and
frilled cap. "Send off the grooms at
once in every direction. Perhaps the2oor
thing has become mad from fright. Oh,
dearl What shall we dor calculated
Mrs. Jafie.
"I'm very sorry l asked her to sleep
here" s:ammered captain Jaffle apollo
geticallv to his guest. "but | had no
idea she was timid."
"Who wouldn't be timid against a
gbost?" exclaimed one of the ladies
moviAg toward the door with shudder,
IS if she feared to see the sprite who
had frightened Miss MacWinkle start
up suddenly again. The other ladies
cOncurred, and, after another quarter
of an hour had been expended in con-
lectures, the party filed back toward
the breakfast room. Appetites had not
been destroyed, though were partly
blunted by what had happened and
Capt. Jaf1le requested his wife to stay
and do the honors 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 the telegraph wires to work
but all to no purpose. Then 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 the list of mysterious dis
appearances" There were some frivol-
Gus wags who did not scruple to suggest
that Miss MacWinkle had eloped with
some adventurous swain who had OBJ
tanned 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 her win
dow with fright, ran to the river, and
got drowned.
One popularity, however struck the
police who were investigating the case
viz, this: That, if the unfortunate
lady had jumped out of the window,
she must have fallen upon freshly
turned fiower-bed, and have left marks
on the mould. Now, there were no
marks; and this puzzled the detectives
not a little.
A certain member of the police
force, named TimsOt, had bee, specially
lntrustcd with the conduct of the Mac
Wrinkle case, and when all his researches
had proved Intellectual he begged that
he might come and spend q few days
in Capt. Jaffle's house and sleep in the
apartment which Miss MacWinkle had
occupied. This request was acceded
to, and the detective announced that he
would lay himself out to discover
whether there really was anything of q
ghostly nature that haunted the room
He was rather tired when he went tC
bed on the day of his arrival at Crab
tree hall, but wishing to be ready fol
action he did not undress; he simply
| threw himself on the bed with his cloths
! on, a revolver in his breast-pocket
and a lighted candle on the table be
| side him. As his eyes were about tC
close he wondered what the time was
| and half rising to take a look at III:
watch, he caught sight of a CLOCK
/ placed on a bracket in the wall jus
over the bed. There was peculiarly
about this clock. for it was surmountet
with a wooden nigcer's head, whose
tongue very red one-protrudet
| from his mouth in q hideous grlnnace
/ Mr.. Timsot's curiosity was always ex
cited by little things, as well as great, sc
he stood up on the bed to examine tn'
clock, and, doing so, he pulled the mig
GERS head to see if it were movable.
Instantly a giddiuess seized Mr.. Tim
sot. The bed gave way under his feet
| darkness encompassed him, and with /
horrible plunge he went head-over
ears into black, icy waters, which CLOSED
above him with whirling noise. Luck
liz Mr.. Timsot was good swimmer
and he did not lose consciousness; h
struck out with both arms, saw light
struggled on, and presently found him
self swimming in the river. "Ah!
said he, as he reached the shore ant
regained his foothold; sit seems al
armlet of this river runs under Crab
tree hall, ard Miss MacWinkle took tn
same bath, expect, as | did,"
This proved to be the case. A ie'
days later it was ascertained that tn
| crew of a lighter, steaming down tn
river, had picked up the apparent
Ifeless form of lady who was tioatin
down the stream in the dark. The
had picked her up, restored her to con
| ciousness and put her to bed. But a
she was found to be in high fever the.
were unable to ascertain who she wa
until she became cured, some ten day
later. Pv this time, however, the llgh
or had cot across the channel and wa