Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-05-27
ALLEGES STORY.
FINDING THE sgcRsT DOOR; Or, A DAY
ALL TO MYszLY.
An Original Story CharmingTy Told By
little Girl Of
Thirteen.
For the Dispatchl

n Gay HI 10 ulyseil. -,
II was rainy, damp, and disagreeaolo
day. / WAS in the dumps, Ms my brother
would politely express it. and 1t was not
surprising considering the weather. 10
sit at a window listening to the pstterlng
Of rain-drops on the panes. and watching
the never-ceasing stream OF people, was
not very pleasant prospect for the dag
but bad to submit, for | Will here ex-
plain that my eyes had been troubling
me. in consequence Of which l could
neither read, write, sew, nor occupy my
self in any other way, so here L was, ana
here 1 had to etay. Mamma and the
children had gone to Uncle Wills, where
| delighted to go, for Uncle Will was an
especial favorite.of mine, and to go 10
his country place was always a treat, so
il was with great difficulty | restrained
nv tears when saw them setting oil so
merrily.
was, with the exception OF nanny,
the nurse and the cook, who was IN toe
kitchen, the only person in the house.
and being OF very inqulrlng turn oil
mind. determined to explore the house.
not the lower regions, however, for there
old Betty reioned supreme and would
sooner die than see any OF the young
ladies in her domain, but up IN tue
garnet | determined to go, notwthstand-
ing the numerous tales that had been
told me Of the strange sights aud sounds
that had been seen aud heard there,
and the general horror OF the
place. SO arming myself with
matches and condle | started
on my Journey. After climbing the
stairs that led to it at last reached the
garnet, where my curiosity was sadly
disappointed By finding there nothing
but few mice. who fled at my approach
and q great many co6webs; otherwise
the place was perfectly bare. After some
time CHANGED to stumble, and in doing
so fell against the wall, when, to my
great surprise, door opened exactly
where had fallen. You may imagine how
frightened ] was, and Tor one moment
l thought OF flying, but only fer no
ment, because knew that If my brother
heard OF it, | would never have any
peace, as | was always being leased
about my scariness, so trying to be brave
entered the room, which had all along
the sides piles aud piles Of dusty books. /
was now fully convinced that this was
my great-grsndfather's study, for there
in the centre of the room was his char
and desk, the latter strewn with musty
papers. Here was discovery. For this
library ny father and uncle had been
hunting for veara, but could never find,
for although my great grandfather WAS
extremely eccentric, they never
thought his eccentricity would lead
him to this All fear OF
the place had now vanished from me, and
having nothing else 10 do started for q
broom and buster and began TO dust the
books, which was very difficult task and
took quite a time. | had nearly flashed
when / heard the children's voices, and
thinking II might be a good plan | de-
cided to hide. Hastily Summing the
door | applied my ear to the crack
and listened intently for their voices,
hnt after some time they died away,
and hearing the tea-beu ring, ! start
ed to 90 down, but found that
in my haste had closed the door tight,
and that it could only be opened on the
outside. How many times | tried 1t l
cannot say. And then | took recourse
10 screaming screaming with all my
strength for help. When had waited
for some tine thought | heard voices,
but no, it was only my Imagination ;
and now the dreadful thought came to
ne that perhaps should be buried alive
here. When | thought this | nearly
tainted with terror, and for some time
could rot move but ] was re-
vived by hearing voices-real, not
imaginary ones this time. Nearer
they came, and nearer, until
1 could almost distinguish what they
we're saying, and gathering up all my
remaining strength. [ cried ont one
again. Now they heard me. And beat
ing at the door with fast and heavy
strokes, such as | could never have
summed up, the door burst open, and |
saw the tail form OF my fs;her enter.
After this remembered 10 more, for !
swooned, unth one bright day opened
my eyes and found myself III bed, and
WAS told had been there some time.
When / recovered 1 related the adytn-
lures Of that day, and after this | was
never leased, but was made quite he
roine by all. a. ID.