Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1890-04-18

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sound with my hammer, and very soon
| found a place opposite the foot of the
bed which gave back a hollow sound.
A critical examination revealed to me
the fact that at this point a panel, three
feet long by two feet high, was loose,
and L could detect slight abrasions upon
its surface, as though it had been slid
behind the casing; but I could not
move it without breaking it, asst ap-
peared to be fastened upon the other
side. But that was o good beginning.
Upon going outside / found that the
wall in which wasthe loose panel was
toward a chamber which we had as yet
appropriated to no particular use, as its
single small window left it far from
pleasant. From this chamber next to
the outer wall of the building. and to-
ward my own chamber, opened a closet.
occupying not more than four feet of
the division partition; so that from this
closet to the opposite wall, there was
left q space of at least three feet be-
tween the two rooms-and this space
was sealed up-and it was into this
space that the sliding panel opened!
My next field of examination was be-
low; and I was not long in discovering
that the space directly beneath the
movable panel, and occupying half the
underlying area OF the dark chamber.
was also sealed up, but so adroitly cut
into by closets and cupboards that only
a we'll directed examination could have
revealed the fact. Never mind the de-
tails of my persistent search. It occu-
pied time; but I succeeded in the end.
[ found entrance into this last-named
sealed up space from the cellar, and
there I found what 1 had anticipated
l found j powerful argand burner, with
o polished concave reflector, and also
two large mirrors set at a proper angle
for throwing q reflection upward; and
directly in the line Of this reflection
was the sliding panel in the wainscot
of my chamber! I also found here a
long white robe; and it was no longer a
mystery how the ghostly spectacle had
been produced. The reflection OF the
operator below had been thrown up
through the open panel upon the white
curtains at the foot of our bed; and
these curtains had been carefully ar
ranged to perform their part in the op-
teal illusion. And one other thing I
found in the secret place; 1 found speak
ing tubes leading upward; and upon re-
turning to my chamber I found a point
at the head Of the bed where the wall
paper was perforated, and upon putting
my finger through 1 found the end Of
the tube! And thus the dreadful
whispers were accounted for.
Seth Dabney had spent both time and
money in perfecting his arrangement
for frightening tenants away from Ma
plewood, and he had hoped that for a
mere nominal sum he might in time be
able to purchase The estate; but his
hopes We're crushed when I appeared to
him with the proofs of his works in M
possession.
II he had thought to deny anything,
l very soon convinced him that I had
travelled and seen the world, and that all
attempts at further deception would be
worse than useless. To save himself
from a public trial and a certain con-
%demnation, he finally confessed to me
all his iniquity. He showed me how
he had arranged wooden troughs under
the caves, and deep down in the cellar,
in which to roll cannon-balls for the
production Of thunder; and he showed
to me other ~sreaking tubes, leading
from a single point below to various
points above, by means of which he
could cause the same voice to sound in
different parts OF the mansion at the
same time. He confessed. also, that
his wife, and his sons wife, often APP
reared to female guests in ghostly guise,
which accounted for my wife's fright
upon the landing.
I sent for Lille Atherton, and in the
depth OF gratitude for the regained es-
tate she allowed Seth Dabney and his
family to depart unwhipped Of justice;
and we heard of them no more.
And so JOY and peace came to dwell
in the old mansion. and the broad acres
Of Maplewood bloomed with renewed
beauty; and the only shock which fol-
lowed the disclosure Of Seth Dabney's
diabolism was the shock to those dear
lovers of the marvellous who had thus
lost a prop to their faith in ghosts.