The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1881-08-25
The Ghost that Billy saw.

songs, ana Trying u uaho WIG CiAA0 PtSo
pleasantly. By the boys I mean Frank
and Roscoe Wade and their "hired man"
Whose name was Jake), and Billy
Baker, one of the boys who lived in the
neighborhood.
Now Billy wasn't considered very
''bright." A sickness through which he
had passed in infancy had left him
rather weak mentally; but, for all that.
he wasn't a fool by any means. What
he lacked in that direction nature had
made up to him in another, by giving
him the strength of young giant. The
neighborhood boys dreaded to provoke
Billy's wrath, for they we're sure to get
the worst of it if he got hold of them.
He had given two or three ill-natured
fellows such "going over for getting
off their silly Jokes at his expense that he
felt quite sure they wouldn't attempt
anything of the kind in the future, and
as he held himself in readiness to resent
any similar conduct on the part OF 9th
ers, he was treated with certain kind OF
respect by the boys. Sometimes, you
know, fear will make persons behave
themselves when gentlemanly instincts,
which should prompt them to do so, are
lacking.
The conversation had turned on the
subject of ghosts.
"Do You b'leeve there are any?" asked
Billy, solemnly, of Jake.
Jake was German, and had some of
the superstitious characteristic OF his
countrymen.
eyes," said Jake, "of course I do.
NY fathers seen EN-"
At that Billy's eyes stuck out further
than ever. At last he had found. if not
a man who had seen ghost, one whose
father had, and that was the next best
thing to finding one who had seen one
himself. Coming so direct, the testi
mony to the actual existence of ghosts
seemed to him convincing enough to
satisfy any but the most skeptical.
"Whose ghost was it?" asked Billy, in
a voice of awe.
ellis Mothers" answered Jake. 'He
saw it three times"
"Three times" repeated Billy, in
whisper. "Oh, my! want he scart?"
81 suppose So" answered Jake. HE
didn't say, but Of course he was"
"I'd like to see one," said Billy, pres
entity. "Most folks get scarf, but don't
believe would. I'd holler at one if 1
see it,"
"No, you wouldn't, laughed Frank.
"You'd run; I know you would"
"Mebbe," answered Billy, thought
fully; "but guess not"
81 don't believe any one ever saw o
ghost" said Roscoe. ''They may think
they do, but it's something else."
IT never see one, but I believe in 'em
for all that, said Jake.
$50 do l." said Billy. 81 amt afraid
O. nothin'. I'd like to see zone, to see if
I'd be afraid O. that"
maybe you'll see one some time,
said Frank, with wink at Roscoe. IF
you do, you'll tell us how it looks and
what it said to you, won't your"
Yes, Billy would do that.
By-and-by Jack went out to the sheep
yard, and Billy went with him.
"I'll tell you how we can have some
fun" said Frank. Zone of us can dress
up like q ghost and give Billy good
scare. don't believe he's half so brave
az he pretends to be. He'd run, of
course, and then we could laugh at him
about getting scared when there wasn't
anything to get scared at. Let's try.
What de say?"
I'm in for it," answered Roscoe.
"You be the ghost, and I'll hide and
see the fun"
"He's going from here to the village,
and won't come back till evening"" said
Frank. "Well wait for him down by
the forks of the road"
"Now, as it happened, Billy had
changed his mind about going to the
sheep yard with Jake, and had stopped
inst outside the barn door; and, standing
there, he had heard every word the boys
said.
80 they think they're going to scare
me!' chuckled Billy. "Mebbe l would
be scarf If l see . real ghost, but Ill bet
this one won't make me run. I'll give
'em some fun, if that's what they want,
but mebbe 'twon't be as much fun for
them as tits for me" and Billy chuckled
again.
When Jake came back, Billy came
with him, and the boys supposed he had
been with them all the while. Billy had
frequent spells of chuckling over some
thing which they did not understand,
but, a. he was always queer, they
never once suspected the real cause OF
bis merriment.
When it wss about time for them to
expect Billy back from the village, the
boys set out for the scene Of their anti
cipated fun. Frank had sheet with him
with which to carry out his ghostly de-
ception. Roscoe hid himself behind .
. a 4 L ~l~<<1