The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1880-10-29
the wnd Bell-nlnxer and "a Brave no,

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The wild BeII-RlnKpr aud u Brave BOY.
Aquasco is such an out-of-the-way
town that no doubt many Of the children
never have heard Of it before. 1t is in
the State of Maryland, and stands on
little hill near the mouth of Patuxent
Rdver. In the summer time no girl or
boy Of Aquasco need go to the seashore,
for salt water flows at their feet and the
same salt breeze that sweeps fleet after
feet Of white-sailed ships up and down
the Chesapeake Bay blows in the
windows Of the houses in Aquasco. The
good people of Aquasco go to bed SO
soon after supper that the whippoor-will
cries and complains without one person
to pity him, and the grllnt of the bull
frog is the only voice that answers the
whirr and ring Of the clocks when they
strike twelve, midnight.
So it was that when in the middle Of
the night of the 25th of last June, Cyrus
Wallace, an Aquasco boy, heard the
church bell ringing, he sprang out of
bed and ran barefooted into the street.
AS he reached the gate he saw men run
ming by at the top Of their speed.
whats the matter ?" shouted Cyrus,
to one Of the flying figures.
"a fire. guess" said the man.
Fire, fire, fire !" shrieked Cyrus, as
he ran after the others, and in few
minutes the whole town Of Aquasco was
aroused. Everybody was in the street
and everybody was hurrying towards the
church. Women seized water buckets
and children gathered up pals. Aquasco
had been very still five minutes before,
but now Aquasco was beside itself with
excitement
But where was the fire ? Tho first
man who reached the church put hir
hands to his mouth and hallooed to the
Top Of the bell tower, where the bell was
sun changing away. The second man
dld the same and the third called aloud
and SO did the fourth. Not word would
the person in the bell-tower answer,
ihough he rang and rang, until all
Aqlasco gathered on the grass below.
Ihe door Of the steeple is locked T.
sald one Of the mon. Nobody under
Maybe some rascal got locked in
lhere yesterday and fell asleep" said
MIR, Rankin the Constable.
No, no" replied Mr.. Westcoat, the
sexton Of the church, 81 was up there
IN the afternoon, and there wasn't any
!nody IN the tower; it's spirit of O COB
I'm, that's what it isl'' and Mr.. Westcoat
shook his head, while some of the chill
aren huddled together and hold their
breath.
Its old Tappan's ghosJ," con-
tlnued Mr.. Westcoat 'fTappan was
sexton before was, and he rang that
Dell up there for twenty years. He's
come back"
Cyrus laughed when he heard the sex
Ion say such things Cyrus knew very
wen that only towards believed in ghosts.
ne was afraid of big dogs and drunken
men, but common sense told him that
tnere was no such thing as ghost OF
creature OF the dark of any kind.
Give me the keys, said a man to the
sexton. "Tl go up and stop that ring
ing The sexton fumbled in his pocket
1,hlY to lind that he had left the keys at
nome, half mile away. Glad enough
70 get away from the haunted church.
tne sexton started home after. the keys.
meanwhile the bell still rang Every
now and then the strokes would be faint,
put the next instant would come loud
clang, as though the old bell didn't like
such mysterious work a bit The wind
was blowing stifly in the tops of the tall
oak trees, but all knew that the wind
could not ring the bell because of the
iatace-work around the belfry. While
lhe people were whispering together
around the church, Cyrus was busy look
ing Tor a way to get into the belfry be-
lore the sexton should return with th,
Keys. He knew that there was LITTLE
round window, just large enough for hin
% crawl through, some distance up th'
hae Of the tower, and when he at las
got 9 ladder that reached to this littl
window he stepped boldly up the rounds
Il bring down. that ghost before MI
Westeoat gets back" laughed Cyrus
ana the people could see him by the din
slarhght as he put his head through tn
window and disappeared.
=, cyrus found himself in queer place
~ was SO dark in the belfry that h
couldn't see where to move. He grope
nom one step to another, going up til
seeliry stairs slowly, while the soun
pom the bell above seemed to cras