Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1881-08-10
The Bell-Ringer and a Brave Boy.

| hquuSCO lo SUCH Au Out-O1-IDe-Wa
town that no doubt many of the chi
dren never have heard of it before.
Is In the State of Maryland and stand
on a little hill near the mouth of Ps
ltuxent river In the summer time n
girl or boy of Aquasco need go to til
seashore, for salt water flows at thei
feet and the same salt breeze that sweep
fleet after fleet of white-sailed ships u
and down the Chesapeake bay blows i
at the windows of the houses in Aquas
60. The good people of Aquasco go t
bed so soon after supper that the whip
poor-will cries and complains withou
one person to pity him and the grun
OF the bull-frog is the only voice tina
answers the whirr and ring of the clock
when they strike ~, midnight.
SO it was unat when in the middle o
the night of the 25th of last June, Cy
rus Wallace, an Aquasco boy, hear,
the church bell ringing, he sprans
quickly out of bed and ran barefoote,
into the street. As he reached the gat,
he saw men running by at the top O
their speed.
whats the matter?" shouted Cyru.
to one of the flying figures.
"a fire, 1 guess" said the man.
Fire, lire, fire !" shrieked Cyrus, a.
he ran after the others. In few minute.
the whole town of Aquasco was arous
ed. Everybody was in the street ant
everybody was hurrying towards the
church. Women seized water buckets
and children gathered up pals. Aquas
co had been very still five minutes be,
fore, but now Aquasco was beside itseli
with excitement.
But where was the fire? The first
man who reached the church put his
bands to his mouth and hallooed to the
top of the bell tower, where the bell was
still changing away. The second man
did the same and the third called aloud
and so did the fourth. Not word
would the person in the bell-tower an
swer, though he rang and rang, until
all Aquasco gathered on the grass be-
low.
''The door of the steeple is locked,
said one of the men. "Nobody under
stands it."
''Maybe some rascal got locked in
there yesterday and fell asleep" said
Mr.. Rankin the constable.
"No, nc" replied Mr.. Westcoat, the
sexton of the church, 81 was up there in
the afternoon, and there wasn't anybody
in the tower; it's a spirit or goblin,
that's what it is !" and Mr.. Westcoat
shook his head, while some of the child
ren huddled together and held their
i.s'aot+rfTehs ehoss, continued
Mr. Westcoat. ''Tappen was sexton
before I was, and he rang that bell up
there for twenty years He's come
back"
Cyrus laughed when he heard the
sexton say such things. Cyrus knew
very well that only towards believed in
ghosts. He was afraid of big dogs and
drunken men, but common sense told
him that there is no such thing as a
ghost or creature of the dark of any
kind.
"Give me the keys" said man to
the sexton, '1'll go up and stop that
ringing" The sexton fumbled in his
pocket only to find that he had left the
keys at home, half mile away. Glad
enough to get away from the haunted
church, the sexton started after the
keys. Meanwhile the bell still rang.
Every now and then the strokes would
be faint, but the next instant would
come loud clang, as though the old
bell didn't like such mysterious work
bit. The wind was blowing stiffiy in
the tops of the tall oak tress, but all
Knew that the wind could not ring the
Dell because of the lattice work around
he belfry. While the people were
together around the church
Cyrus was busy looking for a way to
get into the belfry before the sexton
should return with the keys. He knew
hat there was little round window,
ust large enough for him to crawl
through, some distance up the side of
he tower, and when he at last got a
adder that reached to this little window,
he stepped boldly up the rounds.
'1'n bring down that ghost before
Mr.. Westcoat gets back" laughed
Cyrus, and the people could see him by
he dim starlight as he put his head
though the window and disappeared.
Cyrus found himself in queer place.
It was so dark in the belfry that he
couldn't see where to move. He groped
rom one step to another, going up the
'elfry stairs slowly, while the sound
rom the bell above seemed to rash
lown with tenfold clangor. He reached
he crank which the sexton turned when
.inging the bell. No one was there.
'rHello no, there, hoI I" shouted Cy-
us directly into the bells throat. But
he bells roar drowned his words. He
climbed still higher and soon sat among
he rafters above the bell. He reached
lown and felt the air around the bell.
His hand struck something. o no
hOught Cyrus. He felt the some
hing and found that it was the limb of
/ tree. Following the limb with his
land he found that the limb had thrust
tself through big hole in the lattice
work. Every time the tall tree on the
outside rocked this limb moved quickly
Onward and Withdrew again. Cyrus
aughed. He had found the ghost, for
lie knew that the end of the limb had
,aught the clapper of the bell and so
hat every time b-~ t-se was rocked by
he wind the clapper struck. He caught
he limb with both hands and gave a