Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1886-02-03

you were in ! hurry for dinner"
Adoieful groan was my reply and Don
Eve nevsr do things BY halves In On.
tario. Don't give mp In this way Charlie,
walt I'LL you sec the Campbell ghost"
booked around FOR the yonng ladies',
but they had mysteriously disappeared. /
waited = moment TO look out over the ice
bound waters Of the wide frozen Huron,
and then followed my host into the large
low Lying farm house.
DON took Inc into the sitting room and
presented me TO a lovely white haired old
lady which he told me was his mother, and
then he led me upstairs to my room.
The Competing was very thick and we
made scarcely any noise in passing up the
stairs, and o. we passed along the upper
ball We heard q voice singing mockingly.
Surely she was taking my name in vain,
for l knew who the singer was instantly.
aCharlie, Darling, Charlie, Darling"
provokingly lang the sweet voice.
Don laughed softly and said:
THAT is Jette Jesson, she allows poor
Nell no peace Of her life."
"If 1t were only the other one now Icould
r~etalinte by singing
'oh, my poor Nellie Gray.
They have taken you AWAY.
Ireplied.
Don laughed ngain, and then led me
into a room with a glowing fireplace and we
snt down for a broiherly chat.
/ enjoyed myself finely at Null Campbell,
in no state or country Of my acquaintance
are ont door sports carried to such perfec-
ton in winter as in the Dominion, such
skating, such curling, such t~obogganing /
have never met with elsewhere.
The very first morning after our stirring
ride We found the earth was covered with q
snowy sheet and some glorious cutter rides
We had over the SNOW and ice.
1t was cruelty cold part OF the time, and
then We remained indoors and cracked
hickory nuts and w~alnuts, made moiasses
candy, sang songs, and told stories.
! found the gems of the company, to
my notion, to be Nellie Gray and Jette
lesson. the Inter q cousin of Don. They
were as different az could be, aud vet both
be pretty vivacious and desperate Airts.
We were a dozen strong when our force
was oil mustered, several young farmers
and their sisters coming in every evening
and helping us make the rafters ring, but
none Of the pretty Canadian girls could
equal Jette's big black eyes and crafty wit
ticisms. or Nellie's sparkling blue orbs,
her golden hair, her little feet, and petite
figure.
In fact If I had been Mt all egotistic I
should have imagined that these two
young ladies had each fitted her arrow to
her bow, and that her target was
nothing less than "this bleeding heart Of
mine" but there was a lingering diableric
in Jette's fine eyes which babe me beware,
and much as / admired her from very fear
OF her home thrusts, / Stunned her as
much rs possible. Nellie was my con-
slant companion, still Jette's sly jokes at
our expense were not very pleasing to me,
and sometimes when | caught her teasing
Nellie about Charlie Darling" l was really
vexed, and / resolved to be even with Miss
lesson before / left Null Campbell.
On the fourth evening after our arrival
1t was dreadfully cold, and it was decided
to stay indoors, m we oil pounced upon
Don for a rehearsal OF the ghost story"
Il suppose you all oughtto be thoroughly
conyersant with the story" he replied, "as
Tomorrow evening is the one appointed for
our dancing party at the old house. II any
OF you should meet the ghost you must not
be at all astonished."
A hush fell over us all, and I pressed
Nellie's little hand which lay within my
own, tenderly, fancying. as did so, that
1 discovered q scornful CLEAN in Jettc's
black eyes, and then Don continued:
Many years ago when my grandfather
SAes~ VIVA ACN>A " - CIV yCalDs h1N Az
father was a small boy, Duncan McDou-
ghal, who came with grandfather from
Scotland, was my fathers guardian, and
dwelt with the family in the old house
which, rs you know, stands nearer the
lake. The care OF my grandmother's prop
erty was all in this McDoughal's hands, as
well rs that Of her children.
AOne day in summer a stranger in q small
sail boat came into our little harbor, an
chored his craft, and made his way to the
old house; it proved that he too was n
Scotchman and had o considerable amount
OF money about him, with which he in
tended to buy lands near by. He was
made welcome. and decided to remain with
the family until he should make his pur-
chases, and Duncan McDoughal offered to
show him about the wilderness, the coun-
try then being thickly-wooded and very
swampy.
"They went out together several
times upon this business, but at
length there came q day when
Duncan McDoughal came home alone, say
ing that the stranger had gone on farther
than he had wished to follow him.
days passed by and the man did not re-
turn, but Mt length the little sail boat which
had been rocking in the harbor was missing
and Duncan McDoughal explained to the
ACAShtOAS t1itt IL SGuukSI Adu ICtuEncu
and gone away for good in his boat.
@When several Of these neighbors were
talking together of this one evening they
were surprised by the appearance Of Bruce,
the housedog, with some strange object in
his mouth. Calling him to them they were
Mortified to find that it was q limb from O
human being, having been gnawed off at
the knee by the sharp teeth Of the dog.
suspicion was now aroused especially as
one OF the men declared he had seen Dun
can McDoughal taking the strangers sail
boat out into the a in the night with his
own row boat tied behind it.
search was made but nothing was found,
and then it was suggested that Bruce be
tied up and not fed for three days, when
most likely he would return to the muir
dered man when let loose.
This was done, but the first morning af-
ter, Bruce was found with his skull smashed
in, and Duncan McDoughal was
4Since that time the old house and grounds
OF Null Campbell nave been haunted by
the watch dog Bruce with that human
limb in his mouth, and almost every moon
light night In summer a phantom sailboat
comes into the little harbor, gliding swiftly
along regardless Of wind or wave, but just
as it reaches the dock, it vanishes. have
seen it a hundred times, and my neighbors
here will tell you the same story"
The young men solemnly bowed their heads
in confirmation Of Don's story, and Nellie
shiyeringly asked: "And Duncan Nc
Doughal, what became of him?"
she has never been heard Of since" re-
piled Don, glancing at Nellie, I thought q
little ~anxiously.
sDo let's gel out Of these shadows" said
the little blonde TO me. Il do not believe !
shall sleep o wink 70 night"
Jette cnrled her lip and looked especially
scornful as / remarked carelessly as we
moved our chairs out into the freight:
@And ! feel, Don, that fate intends me to
exercise that ghost, or ghosts, for there
appears to be three OF them. Well do our
best to cage them Tomorrow night, won't We
Nall?"
fancied that Don liked my attentions to
Nellie, as little as Jette appeard to fancy
me, and ! began to feel some computations
a. ! thought Of how much / owed the dear
old follov after all mud I roallv had not