Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1882-01-20

i bowed, Tor she was unqueStl0naDly
right about my friendly feeling, but
wondered what was coming.
She went on: "What do you think
Of Mr.. Steele?'
Well, that was poser What did
think Of Butter-Scotch? That he was I
fool, Of course; but / reflected i
wouldn't do to tell her SO, particularly
if she was going to oh, no it wouldn'i
do at all.
"Why do you ask, Miss Humph
reys?"
81 will tell you frankly. There is .
very strong inclination on papa's par
TO buy the stone house"
eyes, | know there is"
"And | don't want him to"
MAY ask why not ~
Because it's haunted"
81 don't see how that affects Mr.
Steele he isn't haunted.
Mabel laughed. 81 don't suppose h,
is. But that isn't what | mean. | want
to know if he is courageous enough tc
go there and see if il is really haunted.
ooh, guess he's pretty brave; he
says he is, and Mr.. Humphreys thinks
SO too, | believe"
eyes, papa is 80 enthusiastic Over
Mr.. Butt mean Mr.. Steele's kline
heart and religious feeling; he thinks
he must be good man, and not easily
frightened" She looked at me square
ly. "And / want to know if he's man
fully to be trusted ="
''With untold wealth p
"No; to see ghost"
"Ah see !"
"You're brave too, aren't you, Mr.
Wolcott ?"
"You're very kind to say SO, but
assure you there never was a worse
coward than | am. I've no courage al
all-Pm all brain Now there's the diff.
ference between Mr. Steele and my.
self"
Mabel rose. Eyes, see the differ,
ence,' she said. Pm very much
obliged to you, Mr.. Wolcott, for your
good advice. wasn't sure whether he
would undertake it. Brain is a good
thing, so is courage; prefer happy
mixture" And with a pleasant little
nod she sailed off.
| never saw until afterWard what i
comparison had made-one all cour
age and no brain, and the other al
brain and no courage. | had muddled
things badly, that was evident, nd the
worst of it was that she never gave ME
an opportunity to let her know | had
not intended any disrespect to her fu-
ture liege.
All this time Sol Humphreys never
ceased talking about buying the stone
house. At last Mabel made the propo-
sition that some night we three, Ned
Butter-Scotch and myself, should &C
there and stay until morning, and il
our report was 'no ghosts" she would
not say any more against the purchas-
ing scheme; but if anything diaholical
or mysterious happened, that her father
was TO give up the idea. Our consent
being asked we cheerfuly gave it, and
as one time was rs good rs another, we
decided 10 make the experiment that
night.
Armed each with stout stick and
pillow, we advanced upon the haunted
dwelling about 9 o'clock, and were al
mitted by the man in charge, whose
headquarters we're in an adjoining
building, which communicated with
the house by a long entry, at the end Of
which was an iron door. This door was
closed and bolted after us, and We were
left to make our explorations i'll our
own way.
|, for one, did not expect to see any
thing supernatural, but Mabel's stories
we're very vivid, and | would have liked
to oblige her by seeing something un-
cannv. We had brought lantern with
us, and Butter-Scotch had very self
sacrificingly taken charge of it. So we
assembled the stairs, and made tour
Of the upper floor, then descended, and
made another tour of the ground floor,
and cellar, and Butter-Scotch considered
the exploration so thorough that he
strongly advocated going home and to
bed, and bringing in sealed verdict.
mo ghost" But We wouldn't hear Of
il. 50, having made sure that the front
door was unlocked on the inside, and
could he opened simultaneously If the
proposed ghost were disposed to be vio-
lent, or use language unfit for "ears
polite" we made ourselves as Comforta-
BILE i'll the hall as the circumstances of
no bed and an indefinite ghost would
allow.
Ten o'clock-no ghost Eleven-not
u sound Eleven-thirty-"Ned, YOU re
snoring.
"Oh, no; was thinking how
Suddenly there WAS crash some
where i'll the house.
by George y gasped Fed, we're in
for it, boys, and don't you forget it I,
l don't know how long we visited,
bat then it began again-tirst sneeze,
then kissing sound, then pail rolling
down stairs, followed by an assortment
Of dust-pans and fire-irons.
This was first-claSs. After the storm
ceased, Butter-Scotch, in a committee
Of one, proposed that we should alter
the verdict 10 ghosts emphatically,a
and 60 home. 1t was entertaining, but
20 tell the truth, he was sleepy.
In few minutes there was another
crash, and we saw something white on
the stairs, slowly and solemnly APP
preaching. As it neared the bottom, it
raised an arm; low moan came from
it, and rasping sound of by no
means cheerful character.
Butter-Scotch made for the door, and
in his excitement pushed against it in
stead of pulling, so he couldn't get out.
The ghost. seeing our fright, uttered a
shrek, and came swiftly toward u.s.
This was too much for flesh and blood
to bear, and Butter-Scotch yelled,
Murder thieves fire p frantic with
horror, and we sll three pulled and
pushed, beside ourselves with fear.
Just as the ghost had nearly rea ched
US, Ned pulled the door open, and
there was crash and rush, and be-
fore | knew what had happened the
door was shut to with bang, and I
was left in darkness in the hall, with
the knowledge that the beastly ghost
was where it could touch me If ii
wanted TO. A second of silence, and
then voice Kissed, towards r l in
dorsed that opinion heartily, but the
others were greater towards than ]
was; 1 wouldn't have kicked the light
out of the lantern, or shut the door on