Sharp County record., 1880-05-06

piiON'Nt hs''N iNNl'N oOAAAS'AAiAirS 'oASN ANA
the orphan, whose coming into her
house she had always regarded as bit
ter trial.
1t seemed as if she had never for
given Becky for it, or for being child
with all child's thoughtlessness and
love of play. She expected more of
her than she did of her own girls, who
were older; and could never under
stand why Becky should not content.
edly settle down into the quiet, woman
ly drudge she wished her to be. Yet
Becky was only eleven years old.
The child went off with the basket,
sobbing with fear and despair at the
thought of what she had to do. 1t was
really not very dark, only deep twi-
light, on pleasant summer evening.
No doubt her aunt was right in saying
there was really nothing for her to be
afraid of; yet the sensitive, imaginative
child could not help being afraid.
The old Dimmock house stood in a
lonely lot, back from the street; it was
undergoing repairs, and Becky had
more than once been there for shay
ings, which the carpenters allowed her
to carry away.
She was not afraid when the men
were there. Oh, why, she thought, had
she not left her play, and gone an hour
before, when she could have got some
other girl to 90 with her, and have
made the task a pleasureP Poor Becky
was always doing some such thought
less thing, which was sure to provoke
her aunt, and give herself all the more
trouble and pain; yet she never could
learn wisdom.
She blamed herself a little; but she
blamed others much more. Her aunt
might have waited for the shavings till
morning; or she might have sent Tom
for them-cousin Tom. who was four
teen years old and not afraid of any
thing.
But Tom was a proud, willful boy; he
wouldn't be seen going through the
streets with a basket of shavings. His
sisters, Josephine and Laura, who were
almost young ladies, could not, of
course, be expected to do such thing;
but poor little Becky presumed to think
such errands-eSpecially after dark
belonged to Tom.
She met Tom on the street with two
other boys. He had the stump of a
cigar in his mouth, and he was talking
loud and staggering.
TOMB she called to him, implor-
ingly.
"What do you want of Tom?" he re-
torted, not deigning to turn his head,
but just putting out his chin sidewise
toward her, and putting away at his
cigar-stump in loaferish fashion.
"Please 60 with me for the shavings,
won't you? Do, Toni"
"Hi-hi-hi Tom snickered. $50
with you for shavings! that's good
joke"
"rm afraid!' she pleaded.
"Afraid, you goose! What are you
afraid of? The old house is full of
ghosts, but they never hurt anybody,
only silly little girls that are afraid of
'em; they scare them almost to death
sometimes! Hi-hi-hi! come along !"
cried Tom to his companions, putting
back into his teeth the stump, which he
had fourished in his fingers whilst
making this foolish speech.
Ghosts in the old house! Poor Becky
knew well enough that Tom never let a
lie stand in the way of any mischief or
sport of his, and she wouldn't have
minded at all what he said if she hadn't
been so frightened. But now all her
vague fears of the darkness and soli-
tude of the deserted house took shape
to her fancy, and became horrible spec
| terS.
She stopped at the door, crying desc
lately. She would not have had strength
to 60 step farther if the certainty that
it was growing darker all the while, and
that she would be whipped if she should
90 home without the shavings, had not
given her momentary resolution.
Tom had said that the ghosts scared
only little girls who were afraid of them.
Then she wouldn't be afraid. She would
be brave for once. So she nerved her.
self.
Breathless. trembling, cold shivers of
fear creeping over her from head to
foot, she mounted the steps, paused a
moment to listen in the dim entry, then
glided softly into the room where the
shavings were.
There she paused again. She could
see nothing but the faint outline of the
workbench, the bare walls, and the
windows through which the evening
light came. Suddenly she heard a rustic
in the shavings. 1t may have been
caused by prowling cat, or perhaps by
some beggar who had erawled in there
for nights lodging. But to poor little
Becky it was the rising of the ghosts,
and she really fancied she saw a huge
head, with horns and fiery eyes, starting
out of the darkness. Ali her courage,
which had cost her so much, was gone