Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1889-01-11
THE MYSTERY OF THE
WINDING STAIRS.
A Southern Story.
sy ANNIE WESTON WHITNEY.

y
every energy towards building up for
zngself practice in my profession, hop
ing shortly to increase my income suf-
fieently to provide a home and support,
not only for myself, but for the dear
little woman who, during that time, as
my promised wife, constantly infused
me with fresh courage. We both be-
lonsed to families that had lost heavily
during the war, and were left at its close
with very humble portion of this
worlds goods. Neither family had
been able to do more than earn enough
sine 10 provide very moderate living,
znd at the time of which write, Annie
leighton was teaching in order to re-
1ie,e her father of the burden of her
support, and I, with something left
FROM my fathers estate, and gradu-
ally increasing income, was actually be-
ginning to look forward to definite
time for the ending of our probation.
As, in strange, mysterious way, the
mind often turns suddenly to subjects
or incidents long forgotten, but by a
strange combination of circumstances,
aboni to be brought back to
us aud become part of our
aies, so did my mind, one morning
il my Office, turn without rhyme or rea-
sci to a mysterious circumstance con-
nee,ed with the history of my fathers
Family. On what was now the outskirts
OF the North Carolina town in which I
lived, stood typical Southern house.
1t had beloned to my fathers brother,
an eccentric bachelor, who had died
suddenly just as the war closed. He
left it by will to second brother, who,
q few days after becoming possessed of
1t, had gone North, never to return, as
YET during all these years the house had
remained closed, though my uncle had
the grounds kept in perfect order. I
had heard, as child, strange stories of
the place, SINE from my father, and
<others-exaggerated ones-from the
negroes. Once I had expressed de-
sire to enter the house when an old
negro woman had looked up quickly and
said:
Now, Mars John, doan yer nebber
tempt ter git inside. Yer har II git up
an nebber come down 'slong 3 yer live.
Lor', chile. dey's tings dere wot KEEP de
ole man shct oh de sodgers time de
war. Dey seen tings at de winders up
stars night times wot makes de bones
rattle in dere insides. Longs yer sticks
ter de downstairs part OBJ de house
yers all right, but time yer gifts hart
way up dem windin' stars! Lordy,
Massey. chile, L kin tell yer. yer won't
nebber go UP agin. Yer see, while de
Old mans alvin no one amt no call ter
go up, an dey amt agoin' nuther, count
O dem windin' stars; but when he done
de Student like. we's bleeged ter go an
'sote i'm down. Me an ole Aunt Lue's
De ones dat was sent up ter see why fol
he amt cum down. Lor' bless yer,
money, time we's to dc top we jes look
axes EFF we'd ben dade an dug up, sho
nuh, an all dem wot was down stars dey
done gone an lief us, cherry livin' soul
on EN-. Mon dat, dey amt one on 'en
5e KIN pay ter go up no windin' stars
sence, nohow."
What did you see?" Iasked, eagerly
Amt seed nuthin'; we hearn it,"
Heard what?" I asked.
Dunno, ceptin' it were de wailini
an, de gnashin' O teeth en- de bad place.
How did you get back?" asked.
Dunno no mon de dade, chile"
This was all I could ever find on
IRON the old woman, and I could no
get much more satisfaction by question
inS my father. He would only &C
knowledge that there was somethin,
queer about the winding stairs AMI
.aa' my uncle, by his eccentricities, hat
peen able to work upon the fears ant
superstitious fancies of the colore.
people until they had framed strsng