Litchfield enquirer., 1881-01-27


 and caught hold of the chair to support me- As did so, saw the figure gradually recede from me, and the room seemed to grow sud. deuly darker. 1 am certain that left to my. self, 1 should at that moment have tainted right away, for the whole thing had been so sudden, and found me so Hnprepared, thst in my confusion forget all about the business Of the night But just as the white fgare seemed t0 be approaching the curtaiDed win dowA l. saw twog dark figures dash quickly upon 1t from behind, then 6 sharp and violent struggle, in which all three roIled on the floor, as if locked togethee4 in deadly embrace. The white 1gnre had managed to wrench oae' arm loose, and in another moment there was the sharp clIck O: pistol. Thanks ts our foreshought the weapon was harmless. By this time the noise of the struggle that was going on had brought the blacksmith and An drew up t0 my apartment, and with their help the white figure was in afew secondsmanacled aud brought forward to the light, hls white gar n.ent-an old surplice-hanging in tatters about him. He was at once known to the ma joFityof the csmpany-it was the steward! He turned his back on me with a stifled oath.
 Leaving him, now helpless, with his hands fast behind his back, in charge of the black. smith, Mir. Burrowes led the way to the house. keepers room below, the door of which was found to be locked. It was at once burst open, and. taking candle with us, weentered. The outer room was in the same condition as had seen 1t during the day, but the inner room showed the ted drawn forward, and the pan- cling of the recess which we had discovered sanding open. Nobody was there Taking the candle forward to examine the recess. MT. Burrowes found that the box had a movable bottom, in addition to that which we had dis covered, and that by it's removal an opening sufficient for one person at a time led down a tr2p-stair into the cellars below. Mir. Rnr. rowes and the joiner at once descended, taking the light with them, the rest of us waiting, as directed, in the outer apartment, or watching the lObbies that led to it In few moments l heard sudden footsteps in my bedroom, and rushing thither, found that Mir. Burrowes and the joiner had reached it from the cellars, into winch the trap-doOr led, the whole of the wo0d-wOrk of one side of the window of my room being ingeniously made to move back upon hinges like door, vet so constructed that it could not be opened by any one in the room When the steward was searched there was found on him, besides the pistols abuncb of duplicate keys which could open any chamber or other lOckfast place in the house.
 The constable having been called in from the garden, the steward. who had hitherto stood silent and sulien, with dark expression of malice and revenge upon his face, was handed over tO him, and he was instructed by his superior to convey him to the local Police office and place him in cell. The black. smith he ordered to accompany the constable, snd see thai the prisoner did not effect an es- cape.
 Meanwhile, the gardener. who, since the ''ghost" had been discovered to be but flesh and blood like himself, had become as bold as a lion, volunteered to stay in the house with US all night and help me to soothe the fears of my poor terrified children while Mir. Bur- rOwes, accompanied by the joiner, proceeded tO the house of the steward. I need not bur- den the reader with details. but 1 may men, tiOn that in answer to quiet tap at the win- dow, the door was immediately opened, and old Mrs Weevil was at once in the grip of , the officer. Sine was absolutely thunderstruck, and quite lost her presence of mind. Without telling her anything of what had happened, Mir. Burrowes asked for her son, the steward. At first she hesitated, then sad he was i'll in bed. @
 ''NO, said MT. Burrowes ''he is not in bed but he is safe enough by this time in the Police office; % you had better just tell us all about it." tAS IS F1
 At this Mrs. Weevii entirely broke down and confessed all. It is unnecessary to repeat al length what the reader can guess in great measure for himself; but the sum of her story was this: The mother, equally with her son, hated Miss ROupel for despising his addresses, and took the means we have seen in order to- drive each successive tenant out of her house. She also admitted that after the sudden death of Mrs- ROupel it was they who had spread the stories charging foul play against the daughter. In answer to question from Mir. Burr0wes, she confessed that it was she who had played the ghost on the previous evening but she had never before shown herself to any one who did not at once ice and quit the house. My attempt to get hold of her, there- fore, had 90 alarmed her that she had great difficulty in escaping and next morning had gone to her son, and told him she durst not play the part of ghost any longer, as the pres ent tenant was likely to stand her ground, and they would in that way be found out. They were both enraged at thus being at last baf. fled iu their long cherished course of malicious practices against Miss Roupel; and her son determined to take out his revenge upon me that night by first frightening me and then rebbing the house, after which they were re solved to take the first opportunity of quitting that part of the country. Their cupidity had besn aroused by the sight of some trinkets in Indian jewelfy which 1 possessed hence the design to rob me- h order to cover their pur. pose, the old hag was sent to me with the story of her son being ill and as he had se- eret means of access to the house, he readily effected an entrance after he supposed the fam. fly asleep. It was her son who had first put her upon these evil practices-had brought the old surplice from Lord B-'s house. in which either of them as occasion offered, was in the habit of terrifying the inmates, and thus depriving the innocent object of their hatred of her chief means of livelihood. - z. 2
 Mir. Burrowes did not take the trouble to ap prehend the old woman at that time but he took care that she should not leave the coun- try till after the trial of her son for housebreak ing and felony, when she had toappear against him as witness. He was found guilty and sen. to penal settlement. Mrs. .Weevil, ashamed to show her face Tn the neighborhood, depart. ed, no one knew whither. q.
 As for the ghost story, as soon as its salient points were known in the neighborhood, 1 became for the time quite a kind of heroine, everybody praising my courage and sagacity. l had the pleasure some weeks later of enter taining in the house Mrs. Richard Egerton, the former Miss Roupel, whom the neighbor. hood. conscious of unjust condemnation, re- celved with open arms. After the term of my tenancy expired the charming house let for more suitable rent, and ever since be- lieve it has formed and adequate source of income to it's worthy owners. Chambers's Journal. se s, ..-.