Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-09-27

by means OF the Key, ana TOOK possession.
A bright fire, lit by our landlady, was
blazing in the kitchen. We had a plenti
full supply of whisky and tobacco, and we
male ourselves comfortable with oul
slippers and lounging coats, and prepared
for night of It.
"Uncommonly comfortable" said my
brother approviugly. Cad. the old lady
knows how to make fire!"
And what a CRATE! And chimney as
big as blast furnace. There is nothing
like one OF these old-fashioncd kitchens
for comfort" Ensconced in our chimney
corners, we passed the time luXuriously
enough. We had made up our minds e
sit up all night and show the ghost what
manner of men he had TO deal with.
"Well take the ghost by the horns,
said my brother. Il only hope we shan't
have to take the devil by his | was not
quite SO cOmplacent. for inherited some
thing of my fathers nervous tempera
ment However, | had company, and
there was Dutch courage in the whisky
bottle, so l kept up a stout heart. We
were very cheerful and light-hearted al
first. We talked over various bOyish es
capades: we criticised the characters OF
our friends and relations; we got the tidg'
cts, we found we could not smoke forever
without burning our mouths. Finally
the fumes of whisky and the heat Of the
fire had their inevitable effect and we be
gan to dOZe.
do not know how long l had been
asleep, but | suddenly awoke with vio-
lent start. A cold shudder ran through
me from head to foot. had an indefina-
a
terrible. rose and stretced myself and
tried TO feel at my ease. But | could not.
l touched my brother and he awOke.
Hello" he said. whats the matter:
Why, I've been asleep! What's the
timer"
"Two O'Clock" said l.
Just the time for ghost, said he with
unseemly levity "Do you know,
viii, l don't think he'll come here.
Ghosts are uncomfortable things and
don't like good fires. Get toe
much of them where they are, suppose.
Let's go and look for him"
Anything for change" said |,
although the thought of perambulatine
that great lonely mansion in the dead
of night was anything but agreeable. a
am wide awake"
so am l." said he; and taking up the
brass candlestick, he went toward the
door followed him-ClOse. We passed
along the pass age, our stealthy footballs
making a faint sound on the uncarpeted
floor We examined the rooms on the
ground floor. We heard and saw moth
ing. We ascended the stairs Every in
dividual stair creaked horribly, but that
was ali. No ghost
My brother suddenly opened the door Of
bedroom on the first floor. Instantly n
gust of air blew the candle out And as
we stood there in the icy cold We dis
timely hearl-a grOan. 1t was no fancy.
1t was a long drawn, wailing moan of in
expressible horror and pathos 1t died
away in despairing cadence. 1t seemed
like the sOrrowful lament of soul in
torment As we stood there grasping
each others hands, with our hearts
throbbiug in great pulsatiOns, it came
again Oh. the horror OF it! It seemed
to be in the room and close to us. The
cold was deathly, the silence broken only
by that weird and awful moan. Once
more it rose and fell-and somehow or
other the next moment we found our
selves in the kitchen, with shaking
limbs and ashen faces. relighting our eX-
tinguished candle. Then we looked at
each other.
That was no fancy, WILL" said my
brother
"Fancy-no," replied, my teeth chat
tering in my head. What are you going
to dor"
For my brother had relit the candle and
was moving away
I'm going to have another look, he
said
But perhaps" l suggested, "the-the
ghost extinguishes the light"
"Tll give him another chance" said my
brother coolly. Come along, you chat
tering idiot" was too shattered to resent
this unfattering description, and with a
ouaking heart | followed his foolhardy
footsteps. This time he opened the door
more cautiously and we entered with
every nerve strung to its utmost tension.
Holding the candle on high, we looked
around. Pure vacuity. And the sound
came not again.
"Poor old chap" said my brother. "He
can't stand the light Shall blow it out
again"
"If you do" said l. @But, joking
apart who is going to sleep in this room'
I'm not, for one. And this would natur ally
be the governors room"
My brother was struck.
You're right" he SAID; I'VE must get tc
the bottom Of this Well find it out
somehow. And now think We may &C
to bed. I'll just look round"
He examined the room carefully, but
there Was nothing to be seen, neither was
there anything to be heard. So we gave ul
the thing for that night and went to bed.
could not sleep wink. My nerves We're
completely unstruug. After a night of
tossing and fever, | awoke unrefreshed,
and nightly pleased to find myself in
broad daylight.
At noon that day / had to run the
gauntlet of my friends. And, l m bound
to say, | lied like Ananias. As the day
drew on, | grew more and more uncOm-
forta BILE, and fairly dreaded the ordeal
of the ensuing night As before, we
dined in town. 1t was fine night, and
we took a walk around the square before
turning in. The houses all looked cheer
full with their bright lights. Ours alone
was black and gloomy. We agreed that
at 2 O'Clock precisely We would again
visit the haunted room. There was no
danger of our going to sleep to night.
We were painfully wide awake. All
sorts of wild conjectureS crossed my mind
as we sat by the kitchen fire, waiting for
the appointed hour. Perhaps some
maniac had taken up his abode in the
house, and roved about at night uttering
that awful noise. Or perhaps some willy
person had a fancy to live rent-free and
had adopted this method of frightening
away. In any case the effect
was sufficiently horrible. The shock of
ones nervous system was the same,
whatever the cause
The whisky ebbed fast, but not SO fast
as my courage. My brother, cool and
practical, was deep in thought. He was
not likely to indulge the wild speculations
that crossed my brain. He was seeking
some material explanation Of the weird
phenomenon. At last the hour began 70
sound. At the first stroke my brother
rose and took up the candle. l had pro
ydied myself with a second candle on my
own account. We examined the rooms on
the ground floor, without success We
ascended the stairs, and paused outside
he haunted chamber The passages and