The Springdale news., 1888-11-23
"How long since you first saw him"


 Had he been hcrc before that timc3'
 'I have heard that he had. He has been living at the old stone house on the hill, at short periods, for several years
 II believe you sad that q young lacy was once seen within those walls ~
 Yes, sir; that was only few months ago 1 have heard that she was seen again within the last few days. Soma one discov cred her sitting on rustic seat beneath an old oaS, at q spring on the hillside, between the village and the rock house."
 Who is shc!"
 '' No one knows. She seems to be an ad- ditional mystery It is generally supposed that she is the daughter of the dark. whiskered master of the stone house."
 ''She has no resemblance to him what ever intcrposcd Allen.
 You havc seen her then"
 From the description I have had of her, she has no resemblance to him.
 No; yet parents and children are somc- times very dissimilar.a
 [" Do you think she has lived there iong"
 "No, sir, she can not have been there more than few months at most an swered Miss Hopkins s'She was never seen about the place until recently
 :" Have you ever heard of any children beng seen or heard thcrehi
 " No, sir. "
 . Do you think there are any!''
 "Thcrc are none. They would find t i.l- possible to keep child within those great walls so quiet and silent that 1t would not be seen or heard by some one, answered the schooi-tcacher.
 "Docs that -whisl1ered man make frequent trips away!''
 '' suppose he does-it is seldom, how ever, that any one ever secs him go away or come back. For weeks at q time he is not seen, and then we know he is away from the old house on the hill Thcn all of Il sud den he is discovered walking about the big house, or oven coming to the village, but making the acquaintance of no one. Some people think that he IS the chef of Il bandhtti and goes away to his rendezvous occasionally. Then there is an old mother Tiffin who believes m witchcraft. She says he is wlzard, and that the strange sights seen and strange voices heard there so often are the result of his wild incanta tions and invocations of the evil spirit. l have heard people say that they have heard screams, shric5s and wild, demoniac laugh ter from within that old house, which al most froze the blood III their veins.n
 Allen, having witnessed some of those strange sights and heard some of those mysterious noises, did not think that sho was cxaggerating them in the least. But his strong common sense told him that there was nothing supernatural in all he had seen and heard. It could all be very easily ae- counted for if properly understood. He was not @ much interested ill the house and the mystcllous sights and sounds emanating from it as in the beautiful, mysterious Bertha.
 - Do you know any thing of the young lady3' he asked.
 - No, sir, she answered, c0rtly. while an expression ilittcd over her face which he could not understand, unless it was q tinge of jealous fear.
 :" Did yoa ever hear any thing about her3'
 "On1y what l have told you,h she an swcred. She has never been seen but twice
 He could have told much more of the great stone house on the mill than any one knew had he chose to do SD, but he determined to keep his counsel to himself
 Tho conversation began to drag, and as it was growing late and she considered the young editor free from any further danger at present, Miss Lcethy Hopkins left the office. Aliens face was convuIsed with mental anguish, and, striking his desk with his fist, he said
 This has gone far enough Be it life or death, misery or happiness, Heaven or hell, 1 will probe that mystery-I will know al! before another sun rises. l will go to tho tail stranger and demand an explanation. even if he shoots me dead on his doorstep, Death is preferable to another night of mis- cry and doubt"
 With this desperate resolve fresh on his lips and cngraven in his heart he seized his hat, and leaving Toby 10 close the office, left village and hurried up the old disused road to the great stone house on the hiil