Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-05-22

signs of the path to
the store. Yes, see
49, "a store!" Cecil
exclaimed, ioyfully, care we near a
stOre?''
'only ruined store and plumb tull
Of ha 'nts.''
"Antsl''
Gwen, ghosts, them
ooh, 1 don't mind ghosts. They re
not half as bad as bugs"
"Don't you believe in ghostsP'
"No. Do you?''
Ally wore his stolid expression and
answered like a Scotcbman-that is. he
did not really answer at all. "Well,
papa and mamma don't neither; but
Cobbs' brother-in-law he died on &C
count of meeting up with ghost.
''Don't you think we better go to this
store?" said Cecil, loath to tackle the
subject Of Cobbs in any way. "How
far are we from homer"
''Most eight miles," answered Ally,
despondently, "three miles off the road
If we cut through the swamp by the old
cross road. LIKES not we should get
mixed up, too
''Can you find the way? Is the road
plain?"
''There isn't any road now, and the
trees have grown up SO you can't hardly
find where it was. 1t was road before
the war;"
''Then 1 should say We better go to
the store, and stay all night. We can
build a fire and start early in the morn
ing"
Alan looked about him rather wistful-
". "Say, why oouldn 4 we camp further
TApr
cane and some water?''
''But the store isn't far from here. -
"Maybe half a mile.'
''That's not far, and then wen be
under shelter. -
Ally had dismounted, and was leading
Rasmus; he stood still, kicking the loose
clods of earth with his foot.
''Surely you dom mind the ghosts, -
said CHS.
Instead of the denial that he expected,
his cousin answered, very seriously:
"Well, there is something queer about
the place. But III tell you; and then,
II you say go, ali right, ain any more
afraid than anybody else.
awe might be walking along that
way while you tell it, - suggested Cecil.
"No," SAID Ally, bluntly, 81 don't
guess you II Grave that way after have
told you; can just as well tell it here. -
Secretly Cecil determined that he
would go to the store, If only to show
Ally that he was not so easily scared; but
he sat down politely while ALLY turned
the horses. Then, seating himself beside
Cecil, resting his elbows on his knees and
his chin on his hands, Alan told the story
of the haunted store. 1t was a cross
roads store during war times, and some
guerillas had been captured and shot IN
front of the door. Their ghosts 1t was
that made the spot terrible.
"They were mighty bad men and did a
heap of numbering thus Ally ex-
planned the case-"so now they just nat
urally can t rest IN their graves, cause
they didn Z have no graves. Col. Ruth
erford just let them lay where they were
shot. Their bones are somewhere round
here, Cobbs says, what the pigs didn It
get, and he says that's how come they
are ghosts-having no proper place 20
stay in -
Cecil jumped up laughing: "Well, we
better go and see them-if they want to
show themselves.
''sit down. said Ally, ''I'm not
through yet.
"Excuse me, thought you had fin
ished." Cecil seated himself with his
usual politeness.
at sn't all talk about the ghosts, "
Ally continued. "Folks have seen these
ghosts.
81 fancy they were darkeys. -
1.-THE darkeys did see them,'' said
Ally SIMPLY, not deoting the covert sneer
at his superstition, "and they most killed
INK. Joe Collins. He didn't run off
like the others when they heard noises
and saw light in tn store. He was
right brave, and stole up to the house TO
peep inland that was all he knew. He
heard clap of thunder and saw light
nng, and the next thing he knew he was
laying on the ground and the stars were
shining. He jumped up and ran home,
and when he got home he was sick with
cramps, and he cramped and cramped
till he most died. -
ISIS that all?'' said the young skcptic
from the North, who showed no sign of
being impressed.
"No, it ism { all, - said Ally. "There
was a heap of talk about it and Cobbs'
brother-in-law-he was deputy sheriff
then and he was brave as brave, and
he lowed there might be moonshiners
there, so he and two other man went to
See, and they. went at night, and when
they gotthere3t was moonlight and the
stars were shpiag, bat theres came
powerful loud clap of thunder. And then
they saw light in the store that would
shine and then go out. And they heard
sounds like hammer or somebody,
knocking. So the other two men were
scared and wanted 70. go home. but
cobbs brother in-laws just laughed at
them and ran ahead into the house.
Then the light went OUT