The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1884-05-06

/ address him took one step forward,
4 srd % | opened my lips 70 speak the 6g-
ute disappeared. There was NO waving
| Of the curtain now-nothing 70 show that
i there had been q ghostly presence behind
it Outside the wind made fearful
! rStxet round the corners Of the house and
! aIhong the bare limbs of the elmA Occa-
sipnally the slam Of door reached my
4 esYs, telling how the wiud was going it.
Presently distinguished the tramp,
tramp Of horses feet. The stsble was
caanected with the shed, bat, strange 70
teit. the sounds were approaching the
kilchen, seemingly but . few feet away
frtm the very door, In . second more /
whs Mortified to hear . horses hoofs
stamping across the kitchen floor.
There is something awfal in such
soAnds at such an hour; for the 6st time
| felt my hair begin to rise from my scalp.
Locking around I saw the figure once
MORE at the window. The sight Of that
ghAstly face and those glazed eyes watch
inv me 30 intently drove me to decide at
oNce.
*'Speak"I cried; ARE you man or
! ghost p
There was no response emily side
Tmtvement Of the head, and the spectre
hsa disappeared again. No sound of
wSnd this time, but those ho0fs meander.
| inf here and there were more dreadful,
AUD concluded it must be some horse
thief, who meant to rob and murder me
| atsthe same time
down my bouble-barreled shotgun. cook
ed both barrels, and deliberately pointed
| it toward the window, resolved TO FIRE it
| at the first glimpse OF his ghostship, or,
/ a. | more than half suspected-horse-
| th;ef All at once there came q terrible
/ gtst that shook the whole house from
Foundation to chimney. 1t made the old
clock stop for the first time in dozen
years, roaring down the fire place, scat
FteYing the ashes about the room and half
binding me-
Il . Through the cloud of dust saw the
face again at the window. In another
second my eyes were nearly demolished
BY the report of my gun. Both barrels,
heavily loaded with buckshot, had gone
right through that west window, taking
nearly the whole sash with it, and send
jng me fiat on my back by the force of
the conclusion.
"'What's the matter, Tom? What yer
been shooting at, at this time o. night?'
were the first words heard after picking
myself up from the floor
. "There, in thei- night clothes, stood
she old folks, and right behind them, 10
the doorway, the two boys-John and
Harry. Grandfather held . candle in his
hasd, and looked at me with alarm in his
face. The boys were whimpering with
she cold.
Ghost or robbers, amt quite sure
which, replied.
Il started toward the window. On
booking out beheld the figure stretched
at full length on the ground. The sight
gave me courage.
"That ghost won't want to haunt these
parts any longer, guess said l. He
has two charges of buckshot in his body
somewhere-enough to kill even a ghost.
Hold the lantern, grandpa, while take a
close look at him.
"After placing the lantern in his hand,
Isprang through the window-frame and
was soon bending over the supposed dead
body. What was my astonishment and
chagrin to find it neither ghost or man,
but lot of straw stuffed into my great
grandfather's old clothes, which had been
used to scare crows; it had been re-dressed
and fastened to nail with long cord,
reaching from the boys room down. 1t
all flashed over my mind in An instant.
The boys, knowing my late hours, had
played the trick on me. l returned to
the house, replying to inquiries that the
corpse would lay where it was for the
present. As for John and Harry they
had no further occasion to complain of
the cold that night, for the warming they
got before they went up stairs again was
enough to last them until daylight, and
gave them a lesson that they will not
soon forget
;"Soon after went out in the kitchen
and found the old mare standing with her
head over the sink, patiently waiting for
a.drink. Her halter having become loos-
ened, and the doors from stable to kitchen
open, she had improved the opportunity
70 go on tour Of investigation.
"lhis, boys, is the sum total of my
ghott story; about as real, / guess, a. any
that happens hereabouts. never took
much stock in these shreuded images-
there is always some human agency about
them; and IS for the scare-well, don't
want to see any more ghostly' faces peer
ing In ct the windows tell YOU"