The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1883-11-09
PATSY CONG's GHOST.
EY pIAcK,

'ost IDLY trailing behind it forty yards of limo
suu q phantom minnow. Indeed, the day was
muen 100 hne for proper fishing; one might as
sel nave thrown a fly over the wood pavement
AN ran Mall; it was a day rather for laziness
SUI conversation aud an inquiry into the mys-
ssties OF existence, il haply one or other of
ny companions had chanced to encounter any
:. these III thisr remote and solitary and silent
PAY OF the county But Patsy did not look like
raa pIellever, somehow &c was . small,
gny-biue eyes and there was frequently . sort
VI quiet, sardcnic humor running through his
speech, accompanied now and again by u good
nstured grin that overspread the little, pinched,
sunparnt face. Moreover, Patsy had seen the
world In former years he had tried his luck
~ america; had been employed on the Union
Pacific railway as far west as Council Bluffs;
nad had a turn at the Piltsburg iron works,
and was now returned to his native district
WIN a wide and general knowledge of man
KIND. On the other hand, his neighbor at the
oow-tim M'icahy by name-wasn nothing but
. ghost and an echo He was a small farmer
Who came down from his croft in the hills TO
ete out his living Ill this way-a characteriess,
Whlte-faced, depressed looking, amiable crea-
snre, who stared at his boots, lazily pulled at
us oar and limited his conversation to saying
right, Patsy Not wan less than fourteen
salmon did he catch that day." ''lour father
for hardly anything" ssThats true for YOU,
saw
Now, at the head OF this small lake that we
were slowly and Idly owing round and round
stood q long. low cottage situated in the middle
OF . patch of t~rees-IIac- tinted, ~leat]css birches
and sparkling dark green Shollies. In summer
no dGn0t this must he Il very charming place;
even now the situation was picturesque enough
4 still tA.1. 80 H., al. -. r....,. ~ ...--
along the curvinS shore; aud then rising far
behind into the rale blue sky the vast and
lonely and arid mouut1ins known as the Twelve
Pins OF Binabola. The preltily situated cot
hge, however, was Enthusiastically empty. The
windows were barred up; there was q look of
desolatlon around. not a sound OF any kind
oamo from that scattered grove OF birch aud
holly.
1.-THE very place to be haunted by q lepre-
ehaun, isn'tit. Pat-y!"
SIS " Barney Joyce your honor Names"
rays He ins'aatiy !rlnacious Patsy; 18th man
" :: comes 10 look after the house, Well,
! W, yeur honor wonlln't believe what II great
colder that Barney is--oh, he is the mighty
lir. colder, by the 6ra. Sure the battles he'll
fight, and the campaigns and the strataginis,
And til, generals anl The marchings, and the
counter marchings! ! niver heard iis equal,
and the diyi! u foo, has he liver stirred out of
Gnnemara"
"but when the house is empty, Patsy, isn't
there y ghost or n goblin somewhere about2
swell, islsed, the ia ries used TO como
there says Patsy, with indifference. ''lhey
used to say that, Dnt thlm ould stories are all
nonslnse"
'They're all non.inse, Patsy, thin ould sto-
ries, " says Echo at the bow.
"Did YOU eyer happen to lear what they
called the King Of the fairiest"l asked, Gu
1ioua TO know whether the Don Fierna OF the
Blackwater aud the South reigned also III these
western wilis.
But pat.uy was puzzled Then he turned to
Tin MulcaiIy, add there was Il long consuita-
tion in Irish, III tbs course of which = phrase
sounding like Piobara .Shee was twice re-
peatel
Had they II fairy piper, then, Patsyy"
'Bcgob,' says Patsy, eagerly, that was him.
The fairy piper Was the king of thin; and
nanny . one has heard him playing IN that
very house there. / name that was the ould
story, sorr, but sure It's all nonsiuse."
And now ensued a long and rambling gen
eral conversation, which need not be set down
hvre. on the subject of fairies, phantoms,
leprecllauna aud similar kittle-cattie. through
ont which Patsy was evidently anxious to show
that he had discarded all such supe%r sltions.
Was it for one who lived in an age of reason
who had worked on the Union Paciic-to iced
suoh folly? Nevertheless, Patsy was frankly
disposed to admit that strange things might
have happened-probably did happen-in
former times.
'sThere Was n power of w~itclery in this
country in the ould days" said Patsy, gravely
shaking his heal; "yis. solr. there was a
power of w~itchery in this country in the ould
days; but lis all gone away Sure the people
are turned more cunning now"
And then he added, moro gloomlly.
"Dut maybe there's more going on than we
know"
BY this time it had become pretty obvious
that Patsy's eagerness to disclaim all belief in
ghosts and witchery and the like WAS assumed
partly, no doubt, i'll prudent Difference to the
general opinion of q scientific ana skeptical
age; but partly, perhaps, because q man who
had been to Pittsburg felt bound to pose before
4 poor creature like Tim Mulcahy, who had
never left his native mountains. And so, to
find out whether Patsy might not have some
reciprocal confidence to volunteer, / told him
nv own ghost story, which isn't much of a
ghost story, after all. That a lad of thirteen
or fourteen should look in atthe open door of
adining-room and behold there a woman seated
before the ira; that he should carefully
regard her shawl and hat and gown, won
dsripg who she could DO; that he should forth
with 20 and ask the other people i'll the house
and bring them to the door oi the room only TO
discover that the chair was vacant. and that by
no possibility could any stranger have been
there and left; and then to find ii at this portent
WAS followed BY no calamity whate ver-neither
Q funeral nor a wedding nor anything-this, it
must be confessed, was a poor and weak ghost
story, which l should be ashamed to say =
word. about to the Psychical society. But it
deeply Interested Patsy; aud he Was eager to
know whether it was q real ghost; and when I
answered that it was only an optical illusion,
he remained silent for = time, aud then. re-
psated his wise aphorism-
''Maybe there's more going on than We
know"
Again Patsy was silent for . time; and
then, rather with the air of q man who is com-
PEELED to confess something against his will,
Le said: =5
'.Well, sorr, now that we're on it, will tell
you what happened to me; but l don't like
speaking OF 1.-THE less that's said the better
aud it's many the year since l tould any onethe
story. Twas nineteen at the time. Ny mother
and me, we had gone to the fair of Lstterna-
hinoh to sell two sheep; and there we were all
day, and the divil a bit could we sell the sheep.
nc matter, Patsy said my mother to me. at
pair Of new boots sl tile same, for who
knows when we'll next be in at Letter.
nahiuch from the FARM And so I bought
the pair Of boots, and mighty proud /
was Of thin, sorr, you may be sure;
and l kept them on during the evening, until
it was time for us to set ont to walk back to
the farm, for the devil an offer could we get
for the. sheep. Well, now, sorr, about tree
miles from Letternahincb, or maybe tits tree
miles and a half, there's 4 woodland . dark
wood II was t1at nlgnt, thongh. II WAS Z, moon
light night and the road as white as silver; and
SAY. J, Mother. the new boots are hurting my
feet; wait a minute now aud I'll take them on,
But she went on with the sheep; and I was sit.
ting down at the edge of the wood taking on
the boots. whin there WAS . noise and
something rushed at me from the
wood and hit me a slap md went
by. Sure hope your honor'll niver
see anything like that terr:Sle beast.
Twas in the road now, and I was up, with the
boots in one hand and . little bit Of stick in the
other; and / kept threatening 1t when it came
near to attack me. called ont to my mother,
but che was frightened too; she wouldn't look
back. Come an Patsy, come AMI abe CRIED
TO me; and l dursn't run. for fear of The
beast"
"But what was it like, Patsy?"
swell, corr, l will make you sinsible OF 1t;
though | WAS all OF a thrimble. for it followed
mo along the road, aud sometimes twas in the