Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1888-05-02

10 Weeus anu Dusnes. All inc WlnuOWs
were broken, and some of the doors
stood open. and more gloomy place
l never saw. We entered by a rear
door and found the floors rotting away
aud the plastering crumbling of. We
pushed on to the sitting room, where
the young men had stationed them
selves the night before, and here found
some blocks of wood to sit down on.
There was a doorway leading into the
front hall, but the door was gone
There was doorway to the parlor
and the door was partly open. AS we
looked into the parlor swung the door
to and fro. and knew from the move
mont that the hinges had been freshly
oiled.
When we came to inspect the cellar
we found little but cobwebs and dust
Each of us had lantern, and each in
spected for himself At one corner Of
the cellar found an old oyster can In
a queer position. IL seemed 70 be stick
ing to the floor above. but after close
examination. without, however, touch
ing it with my hands, | made up my
mind that it was held up there by a
cord. said nothing to my companion
about this, nor about another discovery
made in the front hall. At one spot,
where the plaster was off from base to
ceiling, caught sight of wire behind
the laths. This led up and down, and
the lower end was probably attached
to some object We did not go up
stairs. The front stairs had never been
finished. and the back ones were so di-
lapidated that we hesitated to trust
them with our weight. BY eleven
o'clock we had taken our seats in the
sitting room, eyes and ears alert, and
ready for any emergency. There was
no lock or catch on the door opening
into the parlor, but it was shut. The
two windows looking out OF the room
had been boarded up. We placed our
lanterns in a corner. and as we watched
and waited the room was in semi-dark-
ness and the house rs still as death.
1t must have been near midnight
when the performance opened. We
suddenly caught the faint notes of mu-
sic, and the sounds lasted for two or
three minutes was satisfied that the
sounds came from q jewsharp. My
companion whispered that two female
voices were singing, while g guitar
played an accompaniment. The music
had scarcely died away when the parlor
door opened as noiselessly as the swing
of coffin lid. Twas perfectly satisfied
that it was the work of human hands,
but was startled. | had notxold the
detective that expected to find Kelly
in the house. had simply said that l
expected to make an important discov-
cry. When the door swung open the
man started upin alarm and whispered:
"Great heavens Let us be goner'
Iput my hand on his arm and waited
tor the next move. In about minute
we heard q funk! funk! funk! on the
cellar stairs. | knew that the sound
was made by the oyster can being low
cred few inches from the floor and
drawn up again by the string, but my
companion rose to his feet, wheeled
half around, and whispered;
"Look out for yourself The cussed
thing is coming up out of the cellarr'
keep still-listen' / replied, and
when the can had ''tunked" one for
each step the sound ceased. Then the
parlor door slowly and silently swung
to. AS / have told you, l was dead
sure that all these things were caused
by human agency, and yet / felt
creeping of my flesh, and my forehead
was damp with perspiration. The de-
tective with me was as brave man as
ever took up trail, but such was the
effect upon him that his face was as
white as snow, his teeth chartered, and
he clutched me and pleadingly ex-
claimed:
IF we stay here another minute we
are both dead menu
sat down and drew him down be.
side me, and as did so the parlor door
opened again, and from the front hall
came groans and signs and dull sounds
of a struggle. knew that the wire /
had seen was being worked behind the
.laths, but my companion could stand
no more. He seized both lanterns and
started out, and had to go along or
be left in the dark. When clear of the
house he made run for the highway,
and found him on the further side Of
it when came up.
"What's the matterp" | asked.
"Good God. man, but my nerves are
all gone!' he gasped. II wouldn't
stop in that house another five minutes
for all the money in the StatcP'
Twas satisfied that all the noises had
been made by human agency. Some
one had taken possession of the house,
and had feeling that it was Kelly.
1t was just in the line with his other
sharp tricks. did not tell my COM
panion what l suspected nor what l
intended to do, but / had all my plans
laid before morning. The old house
was two and half story, and whoever
was hiding there was likely to be in
the garnet. 1t was also likely that this
garnet was reached from the second
story by ladder. If the person was
Kelly OF any other sharp fellow, the
ladder would be drawn up, OF any one
showing his head above the scuttle
would receive a rap. If 1 got squad
of men and surrounded the house the
occupant might get off by some un-
known way, or find hiding place UNI
known to us. If we failed TO find any
one the whole city would hold us up to
ridicule.
There was no window in the garnet
at the back end of the house. 1t was
hardly daylight before | approached it
from that direction, entered the place
with great caution, and hid myself
away beneath the kitchen stairs. ex-
pected the occupant of the garnet would
come down before noon, but he did not
show up. 1t was dark and gloomy
l..