The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1880-03-12

our days, or visit round with you,
Aunty, for want Of any other place to
60. However, when I said nothing,
twasnt quite the truth, either. Aunt
Bina, who does that old house on top o.
West Hill belong TOP That house back
in the woods. you know"
"ThatP Why, it's all falling to
pieces, John, - remarked his wife; while
Aunt Sabina only answered with q grim
"Whye"
"Well, I was thinking if it could be
had for next to nothing, as I suppose il
could, il might be worth while to take il
and fix it up. went out of the way to
have look at it. It is pretty tumble.
down; but I Judge the timbers are
sound, and I guess the outside could be
tinkered up to look decently enough.
made q rough calculation that with two
hundred dollars and giving my own time
it could be made weather-tight and
comfortable. What do you think,
AuntyP"
81 think you'd better get the idee out
Of your head jest as quick as you can. -
"WhyP" asked Tom, in his turn.
"You amt the first person that has
tried that experiment, said Aunt Sa-
bina. Fifteen years ago last Novem-
Der there was q man who took that
house. That was the last time it was
occupied. I recollect all about it. And
I don't want you and Milly to come out
like that man and his wife did,
"Fifteen years! Why the house
must have been a pretty good house
then. How did they come out?' What
do you meanP" ~
"Well, she had spell Of sickness on
her nerves. She amt ever been good
for much since, I've heard tell. And
he had run of fever. He got over his
though; and as soon as they could, they
moved away. They wouldn't even live
30 near the house as this, they said, so
long as there was any other place to 60
to-" -
"Why, what on earth-!" began
John, while Milly frightened her hold on
bis arm.
!'I'n tell you the hull story about it,"
said Aunt Sabina, gratifed by the effect
which she had produced. "You see
that house is pretty old one. Some
folks do say that it was built the year
that General Washington died. don't
know about that, but anyhow it's an
Did house. The Stanways owned it
when I was a girl; but the old folks
lied, and the darters married out West,
and the farm was let first to one and
hen to another. don't rightly re-
who they all were; but at last,
after it had stood empty two years,
'ome kind of a furriner took it. Folks
lsed to meet him in the woods, gunnin',
With a couple of big spotty dogs
,ounds, [ guess they were--and once in
! while he would come in, to trade at the
tore; but nobody knew nothing about
him or his family, if he'd got one. And
Re never said nothing about himself or
lsked any one to call up to the house;
,ut just did his tradin' and went
way. I see him once. He was
overlooking man, with black hair and
. long black beard; and his clothes
hey was kind of queer too. They
lidn't look like American clothes bit.
guess it was the second winter after
le took the house that we had an awful
pel of weather. 1t showed and friz
nd blew and showed again for most
hree months on a stretch, and the
lrifts got to be SO deep that the farmers
1--WE up breaking roads, and didn't 60
bout any more than they were obleeged
O.; SO it didn't seem any way strange
hat the furriner wasn't seen in town,
md nobody mistrusted any thing.
some boys who went off into the
woods on snow-shoes to look for stray
ow, just after the spell set in, come
Jack sort of scared, and said they had
leard the most awful bowling of dogs
lp to the house on the hill that ever
vas. But dogs are kind of noisy, you
now; and nobody remarked particu-
arly on that, either. When the spring
'ome along, and the snow melted, folks
lid begin to think that it was kind of
Lueer that the furriner wasn't seen
ound any more; but 'twan't any ones
oncern in especial and nobody took.
much interest in him. So it went on
i'll the first of May, and, except for