The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1884-02-27

being haunted, and before long every
body believed it, the reputation of the
house was ruined, and everybody was
nervous. Pa said that haunted houses
was on q par with spiritualism, and pco-
pie of sense never took any stock In
either. He said il ever heard of
haunted house, to let him know and
he would go through it and inves-
tigate it in the dark. thought to my
self, boss, you can't fool Hennery'
and l laid for pa. That evening my
chum's cat came over to visit our cat
and when it was time to go to bed the
two cats were sleeping by the stove, and
pa told me better put the cats out doors
and go to bed. SO l took the cats up
carefully and raised up the cover to the
piany, and laid the cats down in the
Back side of the instrument, among the
strings, aud petted them, and they went
to sleep, and l shut down the cover, and
we all went to bed. Pa and ma sleep
right over the parlor, and sleep at the
back of the house. Along about 2
o'clock in the morning, about the time
cats usually get woke up and begin to
prowl around, there was faint scratch
ing of toe-nails on the strings, and
yowl, that sounded as though it came
from the sewer 1t was evidently music,
such as you get at boarding houses where
boarder practices on the piano for her
board listened, and pretty soon there
was two meous' and spit, and the
strings acted as though they were being
walked on the way n cat does when she
puts her paws up in your lap and lets her
toe nails go through your pants. l got
up and went to pas room, and ma was
setting up in bed with her nightcap off,
her hair standing right up straight, and
she was trying 30 get pa to raise up and
listen, but it wasn't pas night to listen,
and he put his head under the bed
clothes and tried to snore, but knew
pa was scared. l told pa that l wasn't
afraid, but l wished he would let me
sleep on the lounge i'll his room, and pa
raised up and wanted to know what the
row was, and Just then the cats in
together for their regular even
ing fight, and of all the music you ever
heard, that beat everything. Pa listened
and said that it was somebody next door
trying to play opera, but ma said some
thing was in the house, and l told pa
the house was haunted, and for him to
get up and investigate Pa was kind of
'shamed to be afraid, so he got up, and
all was still, and he got his pants on and
went out in the hall, and Just then the
cats got to fighting another round, and
pa rushed into the bathroom and
closed the door, and yelled for me to
open the window and holler for the po-
lice. got up and asked pa, through tho
door, if he was afraid, but he thought,
seeing he was in the bathroom he would
take a bath, and 1 told him if he
was afraid would go down and investi-
gate, because there was no haunted house
that had any terror for Hennery, and l
went down and let the cats out, and they
got on the back fence and had real So
ciable time, and after it was all still pa
came out with a towel in his hand and
tried to make us believe he had taken a
bath at two o'clock in the morning with
cold water. / don't think it is right for
a father to try to deceive his little boy
that way. Pa must have washed himself
real hard, for he was pale as ghost when
he came out of the bathroom. but he was
paler still in the morning when he found
the piano full of cat hair. He thinks the
air from the register blew into the piano" "
-PecB'S Sun