Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1885-08-27

4 VI "a FRAA~ - "i&N PBo2ACAR aE0ARN
could / have been hurled into this
pltG | had paced over the whole room
and there certainly was no opening in
the floor, unless it rad been most
carefully masked. Besides this, / felt
sure that my fall had been much
greater than the distance from the
room | had slept in to the cellar. My
brain was still somewhat clouded by
the blow my head had received, and
which / thought had been struck just
before my fall, or, rather, before my
being violently thrown downward.
fortunately my pistol was still IN
my hand and the box of cartridy yes in
my pocket. | felt carefully for the
wall, placed my back against it. and,
determining to sell my life dearly if
attacked, waited q moment in silence.
All was still. Taking the box as
noiselessly as possible from the pocket
of my night shirt | reloaded the PTS
tol. Sill nothing. But | was freez.
ing. The Shiny stones beneath my
bare feet were rapidly chilling my
blood. II | fire my pistol, | thought,
| may see where lam. fired twice.
IL WdO btlft ttlidi NAlNCu Il H&u Ill
ready visited. l had only, then, fall
len some ten or twelve feet. / at
once remembered hal to this cellar
there was a door leading by an exter-
Ral flight of stone steps to the ground
in front of the in which | had
J slept. Another shot showed me the
door, on which, however, there was a
heavy, old fashioned lock without a
key. Half a dozen shots from my re
volver broke the rusted iron-and [
was free!
Covered with blood and slime. /
stood at length beneath the stars; my
head ached violently, my teeth chat
tered WITH cold, but | was freel O,
the delight of that momentl Free.
my first feeling was that it was
my duty to call some of the men and
search the house; but that could not
bring myself 10 do. No, | must not
be seen by them in such o plight, nor
must they come until | had solved the
mystery. My own outer door was 100
securely bolted to force open; but,
making my way through another en-
trance, / easily blew the lock off of an
inner doorof communication. Grasp
ing my pistol tightly l cautiously en-
tered. There, directly across the room,
was the figurel
"Bangl bangl and I sent two more
bullets crashing through it. What
ever it was it certainly was no
living thing. If not, what theu2
What or who had struck me the
blow2 What had opened the solid
floor and cast me into the pit beneath2
With eye and ear upon the alert,
ready for, human or other, | reach
ed the table where the lamp stood and
felt for match, None. But / had
some in my pocket. Ny clothes were
upon the other side of the bed. l
went slowly around, found the match
es came back to the table, and. keeps
ing my pistol in my right hand, re-
moved the globe and chimney of the
lamp, struck a light, took a hurried
look about the room, put the fire to
the wick, replaced the chimney, and
turned again TO that white mystery.
There it stood; but what it was | Ger.
tainly could not guess at. One thing
was certain, it had not been there
when went to bed. In the light it
looked like a great white box some
ten feet high, open on the sides, and
standing against the wall opposite the
foot of my bed. Taking up the lamp
! walked towards it. What is that on
top9 By heavens, it is my trunk
What do you think my ghost
VASE it was au old, white painted
dumb waiter leading to the former
kitchen My trunk had CHANGED to be
placed directly on lis top, which was
level with and formed part of the
floor. The jar and the footsteps had
loosened its old weights. / had taken
the tray of clothes from the trunk,
and the dumb~walter, gradually
loosend, had shot up-as such things
will at times do--a couple of hours
later. 1t had long been disused and
the shelving removed, When, there.
fore, l rushed at it | he'd simply fall
EN- into a hole, some three feet by
two, in the floor between the eleva>
tors sides; had struck tge bottom
board, the machine had gone down
with me. and, my weight removed,
had again risen. / had knocked my
head against some corner as | fell,
and come down very hard on the
stones paving the former kitchen,
had cut myself on some projecting
edge-for there were two pretty bad
places from which the blood still drip
ped-and that was my ghost; that
had hurled nae into that awful pit.
did you ever hear Of a ghost do
ing more2 | never heard of one VINO
coulddo half so much.
But just think, if l had gone,
bsrefooted and be~draggled, called
up my men, and lea them on to COM
bat with an old, white dumb-waiter!'