The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1881-02-10

alone by her mothers death, married
Mr. Egerton, a man, from a moment
ary point Of view, scarcely more eligi-
BILE than tie steward. He was lieu
tenant in the navy; but as he had
nothing in the world but his pay, they
carried out Mrs. Roupel's plan Of let
ling their house furnished, believing
it would bring them in sufficient in
come TO enable the young wife to live
in comfort while her husband was
away from her. But, as Andrew re-
marked, if this was her belief, she
must have been often 'sore pinched, y
for the house could have brought in
very little.
| thanked him for his story. Nov"
| said, you must do something more
for me. Go to the village at once.
Find the carpenter and blacksmith
Tell them | want them on important
business. There must be no delay. |
will pay them we'll for their work
Do you understand" For the old
man was staring at me as If he thought
l had taken leave of my senses.
II understan'," he answered slowly.
"But what will you be wanting with
them, ma amp"
You will know all in good time.
They must bring their tools. Now go,
Andrew-go quickly. And mind,
andrew" l added, SAY nothing to any
Gre Of your errand; and bring the
joiner and blacksmith in by the back
Ell trance, for | do not wish them to be
seen coming here to-day by every
body"
Notwithstanding these bold words,
| must confess that when Andrew
started on his message, and | was left
alone-for the ayah had gone down to
the village felt little uneasy. l
did not believe in spiritual presences,
but [ did believe in wickedness driven
to desperation. | was bidding def
ance to foe of whose resources was
utterly ignorant What if my def
ance should be taken up? Mentally,
[ felt strong enough; physically, |
was conscious Of being weak; but |
set about the performance of my house
hold duties, which occupied me fully
till the return Of Andrew.
I took him, as also the joiner and
blacksmith, into the parlor, and told
them my experiences of the previous
evening. Andrew exhibited symp-
toms of alarm; but | found the joiner
a sensible man, and inclined, after
what | told him, to take a similar view
with myself of the situation, namely,
that we We're being made the subjects
of some diabolical trickery, in order to
drive US out Of the house. He asked
about Mrs. Weevil, and If [ had ever
been in her rooms. | said | had not.
He proposed at once to visit them,
The door Of her apartments was as
usual locked; but the blacksmith had
little difficulty in successfully picking
the lock, and effecting an entrance for
us-Andrew being meanwhile sent to
keep a lookout in the garden, that no
one approached the house unawares.
There was nothing to attract atten-
tion in Mrs. Weevil's apartments. The
joiner carfully examined them; but no
means Of egress from either Of the
rooms could be discovered, save the
door by which we had entered, the
windows having iron gratings outside.
We took the utmost care that nothing
was disarranged; and any piece of
furniture or apparel which we had oc-
casion to disturb was replaced exactly
as found. Previous to this, should
have mentioned, both the joiner and
blacksmith had made particular ex-
animation of the bow-window of my
bedroom; but had failed to find any
thing to awaken suspicion in the
slightest. Our search had so far been
entirely fruitless; and was beginning
to feel more perplexed than ever, as,
after what Andrew had told me Of
Mrs Weevil, and of her sons former
relations to the owner OF the house,
I had somehow begun to connect her
in my mind with the mysterious ap-
pearances which had given it such
bad fame.
We were IN the act Of quitting the
housekeeper's sitting-room, afraid that
she might return before we had had
time to refastened the door, when |
noticed the blacksmith kDeel down on
the floor of the inner apartment. and
examine the foot of one of the bed
posts. It was an ancient Elizabethan,
with heavy faded hangings, and stood
on a floor covered with carpet, out
Of which long use had extracted al
most all traces of its original pattern.
At signal the joiner stopped down
beside him; and then observed that
the caster at the foot of the bedpost
was glistening with oil, as if it had
but recently been fabricated; and we