The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-07-28

OCCaSlOn llS IeeC became sore and he lay by at tavern for two days, and then actually got ahead of him.
 While the towns were only thirty miles apart, Kelly travelled all of 100 miles in making the distance, and was twelve days about it. followed him mile by milo, and owing to severe storm was thirteen days. I traced him into the suburbs of the city and there lost him, and though I had the help of three or four local officers, we could get no further trace of him. At length we heard of person hundred miles away who bore Kelly's descrip- tion, and l was about to start after him when 1 overheared the following conversation in restaurant:
 "So the boys that went to the haunted house got scare?"
 "An awful scare. 1 guess a new ghost has taken possession"
 "What did they see or hear?"
 "Saw doors open and heard various other noises"
 "Well, it's funny"
 "Yes."
 It may seem strange to you that at once decided tbat I had located Kelly again. It was quite probable that he had known of the haunted house for years, as it's fame was widespread, and the fact of new ghost showing up just at this time made me suspicious. That night at ten o'clock, accompanied by local detective, l visited the place. It was rambling big farm house, situated twenty rods from the highway, and the ground around was grown up to weeds and bushes. All the windows were broken and some of the doors stood open, and 8 more gloomy place I never saw. We en- tered by rear door and found the floor rotting away and the plastering crumbling off. We pushed on to the sitting room, where the young men had stationed themselves the night be- fore, 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,a and the door was partly open. AS we looked into the parlor l swung the door to and fro, and knew from the movement 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. It seemed to be sticking to the floor above, but after a close examination, without, however, touching it with my hands, made up my mind that it was held up there by cord. l said nothing to my con- panion about this, nor about another discovery made in the front hall. At one spot, where the plaster was off from base to ceiling, I caught sight of a 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 dilapidated 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- darkness and the house as still as death.
 It must have been near midnight when the performance opened. We suddenly heard faint notes of music, and the sounds lasted for two or three minutes. was satisfied that the sounds came from a jewsharp. My companion whispered that two female voices were singing, while a guitar played an accompaniment. The mu- sic had scarcely died away when the parlor door opened as noiselessly as the swing of coffin-lid. was per- fectly satisfied that it was the work of human hands, but I was startled. l had not told the detective that I ex- pected to find Kelly in the house. I had simply said that I expected to make an important discovery. When the door swung open the man started up in alarm and whispered
 "Great heavens! Let us be gone r"
 I put my hand on his arm and waited for the next move. In about min- ute we heard a tunk! tunk! tunk! on the cellar stairs. I knew that the sound was made by the oyster can be- ing lowered few inches from the floor and drawn up again by the string, but my companion rose to his feet, wheeled half around and whis- pered:
 "Look out for yourself! The cus- sed thing is coming up out of the cell lar!"
 "Keep still-listenl" replied, and Vban the cap hod UtunIo1O o~~ C..