Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1885-12-23

! .S-too anu oAotU idnuluSS, WAS Splen-
nd playground in wet weather, whilst
the four acres of meadow gave them
capital place for cricket IN fine weather
further, there was the attraction of the
truit-garden, which was a yeritable
Eden for productiyeness.
For week or two l think nv wife
must have been too generally ecstatic to
notice that the consumption of food
and drink by our household was too
great to be satisfactorily accounted for
as the mere result of change from town
to country; but, when, in the course of
ten days, 1t was found necessary to OF.
Ter new cask of beer four servants
were all teetotalers), and when the
butchers and bakers books came to
De examined, her suspicious were arous-
I'd. Then, and not until then, did l
recall what the farmer had said about
Round Robin; SO l called him Into the
room which every country gentleman,
although the title may be but temporary
feels bound to call his study.
robin, l said, sit is very disagree
able for me TO be obliged to find fault at
such an early stage ofour acquaintance;
but my wife tells me that things disap-
pear from the larder in alarming guam
! titles"
"Dear me, sir" said the giant, with
| out moving a muscle of his setting sun
like face, that's exactly what my mas
| ter never did find fault with. Robin
he used to say to me, Il can't for the
/ life of me make out how you sustain
/ that bIg body of yours upon such mod
crate eating and drinking. Why he
would say. sir, 'I'm not half your size,
Robin, and yet 1 eat more at meal
/ than you do in dayp"
SWELL returned, amused at the
serious impudence of the fellow, sits
| incomprehenSible; but there's the fact
the meat goes, the beergoes, the bread
goes, the puddings and pies CO."
Excuse me, SIR" said Robin, ''but
have yOu asked your servants, sir?
Town servants require powerful deal
cf feeding-so my brother, who's a
Lunnon policeman. says.
MY servants" l answered, ''have
lived in my family for years, and my
wife knows almost TO an ounce what they
eat, and, as TO beer, they never touch
it,
"Weil, sir.'' SAID Robin, with the
light of a discovery on his face. ~ tell
yOu what it Isl It's an Old house, sir,
amt it? And rats and mice is uncom-
mon fond of old houses, sir. Depend
on it it's the rats and mice!'
But" L objected, rats and mice
don't drink beer!"
'No, sir; that's very true" said |
Robin. not in the least Disconnected by
what / flattered myself was clincher. |
mo, sir; but, if you'd been born and |
bred in the country. as have you'd |
know that, if there's one thing rats and |
mice like better than another, it's the /
moist wood of a beer cask, and they /
bores and bores, and the beer escapes" p"
He seemed to think that was salts
fed, because, despite all my efforts, 1 !
could not keep my seriousness upto the |
proper pitch; SO l said
"Weil, l shall lock up the larder for |
the future, and my wife shall keep the |
key.''
do, sirl'' he said earnestly. "I've |
never been suspected afOre, and, if you |
have reason to suspect me again, send |
me out of the house, and I'll go like
innocent lamb" And he waddled out |
of the room.
When the door was closed behind him |
l was obliged to give vent 10 my feel
lngS in q hearty laugh; but, all the same |
| was convinced that he was at the bot
tom of the pilIage system.
Baited traps were put in the larder, |
OF which the door was kept constantly |
locked. Still the yiands and the beer
disappeared. Cold fowls went-an /
there was not a cat in the house; cheeseS
appeared at the table with systematic
wedges cut out of them; the beer had
to be renewed as frequently as before.
Then one or two strange circumstances
occurred.
The children, who were of course all
over the house at all hours, were con-
Stantly finding out new hooks and cor
ners; and one day they hit upon a new
playground amongst the gables and
chimneys on the roof, which they insis-
ted should see. So l went up with
them to the top of the house. But when
we arrived amongst the garrets, l was
at a loss 10 perceive how We were to
proceed farther.
The children pointed out small
trap door in the ceiling, which could be
reached only by standing on an old
oaken press. 1t was so small that l,
although rot big man, could with
difficulty squeeze myself through 1t;
but. when had, and found myself on
the broad stretch of leads, was as de-
Iiphted as were the children, for before
me was mapped out a lovely panorama
stretching from the dim Bell Harry
Tower of Canterbury, on the one hand,
to the distant glitter of the channel near
Sandwich, on the other, whilst far be-
low lay the estate, with its gardens and
greenery, and the little brown-roofed
village nesting at the lodge gates.
| walked about admiring the view.
when | saw the broken fragments OF a
tobacco-pipe, an empty matchbox, and
A niece Of newspaper. This was curl
Gus, for | had never been here before
and Robin could not have squeezed
himself through the trap door to save
his life. looked about in vain for
another means of approach to the leads;
but there was none apparent. The
children then insisted upon my playing
with them at ''castles," as they called
il. a square leaden place in the middle
serving as keep" which WAS TO
defend. The keep" was not a very
solid affair, tor, when l struck 1t with
nv foot, it sounded hollow. L exam
ined it. but 1t was tightly enough fast
ened down. Then il occurred to me
as old houses are constantly being re-
Daired the workmen last engaged might
have left the relics had found; but, alas
the newspaper was dated within the
past fortnight The whole affair was
very mysterious, and for some reason
or other did not feel comfortable.
The next occurrence took place one
evening. 1 was in my "study," when
the children came hurrying in one after
another with fright depicted on their
faces.
"Oh, papal" they began IN chorus
and then stopped to take breath.
"WelI. well, - / said, not very pleas.
ed at being interrupted in the midst OF
a most telling sentence was writing,
s'now what is it?"
aThere are ghosts herer' was the re-