Saint Mary's beacon., 1886-09-02
4 GHOST STORY.
BIZ N. X. DALLAS.

cs!yed strange letter. / was from
his maiden aunt, Miss Maud Hey
wood
Come at once, it said. Il am 90
ing to die, and | want to leave you my
property. II seems right to see you
first.
Arthur had never met his Aunt
Maud, who lived by herself in a hand.
some country residence. She had in
herited it from her mother, while the
boys-her brothers-were obliged to
make their own fortunes. Arthur r
father had been the eldest, and all he
had ever said Of his sister Maud was
that something she had done in early
youth had made them all angry, and
they never saw each other, and, for
his part, never desired TO do so.
And now, when Arthur Haywood
was quite alone in the world. this
aunt had written to him. He expect
ed to find witch like old woman ly-
ing in her bed. Instead, when a
strange, black servant woman had
opened the door, he was ushered into
a room where beautiful woman, who,
in the light of the shaded lamps,
scarcely looked old at all. sat in vel
vet chair, and held ont her hand to
him.
You are a Haywood. she said.
You resemble your father, but are
not so stern. Seliln was stern to cru
city. And your mother is gone, too.
Well, she must have had a hard life
of it, unless he was kinder to her than
t. his sister.
There, don't speak. shall say
nothing but what | feel. This estate
ought to 90 to a Haywood. You shall
have it. think you will have to
wait few months. My heart is af-
fected. | shall die very suddenly.
At present l am not very i'll, but it
will be as | say.
Don't express regret. You care
nothing for me, and the estate is val
liable, and, above all | hate hypocrisy.
l have made my will in yeur favor.
Stay the last
With these words she closed Ar
thurs mouth. Then she rang the bell
and ordered supper, and afterward
dismissed her thirty year OF nephew
to his room, at nine o'clock, as though
he had been a school boy.
1t was large room at the end Of a
long passage, very handsomely fur
nished, but at the same time very
gloomy. Arthur felt curiously I'M
comfortable az he he paced the long
floor, and despite the early hour re-
solved to 90 to bed at once. A night
lamp stood upon the mantclpiece; he
lit it before he retired. The excuse
he made TO himself was that his aunt
might be taken iii in the night but
he was conscious Of a renewal of his
childish terror Of the supernatural
1T is all this talk of dying and o!
wills AMI legacics he said. Il shall
sleep il off
And, in fact, he fell asleep very
shortly. And without being disturb.
Ell 10y so much a. a dream until mid.
night, at which hour, the proper one
"a All know. for the ghost seer, he was
awakened with a start, to see at the
foot of his bed little dark woman
with fierce, bright eyes, who wore a
curious sort of white cap on her head
and dress of some gray stuff, over
which was tied a white apron. She
seemed to be nurse or a servant oi
some sort, and il was Arthur's i'm
preston that his aunt was i'll.
Have You come to call me? he
asked.
The woman came little nearer.
Yes. replied a voice, which made
his blood run cold; that woman is
dying.
My aunt eJaculated Arthur.
Your aunt, replied the figure. III
some one doesn't set TO work at once
she'll die without being hung. !
want her hung.
This is a lunatic, thought Ar
thur.
He started to his feet draping him
self in a blanket, ready TO do what
seemed best under the circumstances,
bnt the woman was gone.
He went 10 the door. 1t was fas-
tened as he left it on retiring. The
windows were bolted down. There
was no possibility of any one entering
the room. Searching it thoroughly,
he made sure that no one was hidden
there, resolved that he had had a bad
dream, and composed himself to sleep
again. wondering why inauguration
should play such freaks upon him.