Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1888-08-03
Van Deckernann's Ia gain.
BY M. THEED.

place, and not long afterward our house. of
which we had only the half yearly tenancy,
WAS sold over our hcads--a circumstance
which would have concerned us very little,
mad not the new owner required IL for his
own occupation Conceive my astonish-
,nent when. under these circumstances, Mr..
Van D@kormann offered me the long unin-
habited Crdarsl | say adviSedly offered me,
for the proposition was only submitted TO my
wife after it had been talked over at consid-
erable length between us.
The fact was, Mr. Van Dcckcrmann frankly
admitted. the house during its years of dis
use had acquired bad name, and though he
believed me to have no more belief in the SUI
ucrnatura than he had himself, he had no
wish to withhold from me the knowledge of
What would, it must he confessed from the
rnlgar point of view, constitute a drawback
70 the very substantial kindness he talked of
confcrring upon me
'Nou are welcome to the house" he said,
rent free and | will have it done up for you
from top to bottom. 1t shall not cost you
Jenny piece so long MS | live and whom | am
lead and gone You will be your own land
ora, but ! am not gong to saddle You with
tunder any false pretcnscS Tho people who
AXE care of it say it is haunted 1t is TO their
ctercst TO keep others out Of it, and they
NttIt
GOOD many years in spite of it; but you may
tol-a vcbot thov saw for ,vbotevor Won thini,
+ is worth I nm NOT afraid Of Won. but
-o,,,o,, orr, ,,o,l. ,Ino, tboea noiuts and tLore
Us ,-our wifi fl, consider
yy,s OBLIGED TO confess that nv wife was
not i'm thi, ra-pert superior to the rcst of her
sex She mi -lt face n hurrlar-she would
certainly mot Willingly run the risk of col
'siou with n Ghost
Il su.pcctcd as much.n ho said cduably,
and that is why thought it better TO in
vroduce the subject in her absence should
ne sorry for her to stand in her own Highland
N yours if it can be helped, and the chances
are She would Now my own belief with re-
gard to the Ce,!ars is that there has been
some sort of knavery carried on there for
years, and INV object is TO get at the bottom
of it and TO do YOU q good turn at the same
time. We can't offer Mrs. Thurnell the house
with the ghost attached to it, with any rea-
sonabIe hope of her acceptance of it-so
much we NAV take for granted. The ques-
ion is Is it worth your while to try and
lear the coast of it before ANYTHING is said
% her nbont itln
The proposition was an odd one, to say the
east of it, but the game seemed worth
the candle, and I felt, moreover, how
old mans eyes were 1 to decline it.
What it was he wished me to DO precisely, he
was either undecided himself or did not choose
* Sell me, but | consoled myself with the re-
tiection that impostures of the sort he sus-
pected We're, as a rule, of the clumsiest, and,
TO make long story short, [ accepted the
Cedars on his own conditions My wife, who
was told nothing to disquiet her, and who
naturally, therefore, was overcome by the
generosity which was being shown us, ac-
compamed Mr.. Van Deckermann over the
mouse and was charmed with it, with the
style In which he proposed doing it up, even
WIN the on furniture slowed away IN the
attles, ana winch was to supplement our
DIV anu II was Illlaily arranged we were 10
axe possession aI Lazy DAY
i" was No., however, uhtll close upon
-nilSthas week. Wilch we were gong TO
aP'Iu' us "Su'i, WIN my "ileS father down
VI Hu'9oN' any lhinS moro was SAID OF the
private understanding between my new land
ioiu "i,G NJ my sen ii''u pet'h trying 10 over
-oihe M4TS ScIuPIes ABOUT remaining be-
nina win Ihe cnlldreh' aIter was compelled
70 ICturn 10 'he once, ana It's 'lero was an
"uhlIS 'nc SAM HtOIo ui9c'iSSloh between US
ny uu9ei''S" H''lo woman eenertiiy BeU-
-li9 '"e "'.ter VI ~ was hoC sur
t'- ~ "'',' ''.'' 'tA ''"o"u Oiu
reno mao [ecNoned upon thi' ana was
pI'Ntred YIN n suggestion III ms own inter-
81, MIS- lhHrneii might, ne Slld, make her
sell qu'le happy about me and do INN IA
~ "t the sum- 'lilie ny allowing me TO re
rcrnr =, IS su'S' lor inc lew evenings should
otherUlN nave 10 spend NY myself Inc
longer chcn, &c could not put he pehehclal to
per and to t.9 children, ana why should she
not have IL besides, n vas necessary Tor the
arriving ont Of what be ca1!ed our innocent
conspiracy against her that some snch ar
rangement should be made, To Mary 1T
seemed only - further PROOF y ms klhuilcSS
and ..,..i,'. cation. aud the invitation, the
,,-,o,,e circumstances of which were known
,l,-,,, him, ard 10 me. was accepted accord
snaIv II ,yns NOT. however, until had dined
a., G,st t.,,,a tete-a-tete. with Mr. Van
,eo,,ar,norn was made aware of what was
ID of me and shall [ confrs, that the
'.r,o,ylsd,s did dotract somewhat from my
,,',,,-,ne7t If the hest glass of Madeira hat
49,, ,,-i,,ilo,od to tastoa