The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1890-06-27

church clock struck twelve; an seen
it the night before. An l dom won.
der, ma'am, tho poor dead bodies
hein' dug UP and scattered around
this way. And you phase, ma'am,
you'll suit yourself ut once, for not
another week will Delin O'Rourke
live next door to clurchyard."
"Ma, ma" whispered Florence
Dillingham;, who had eagerly devour-
ed every word of the discussion, "I'm
airaid of ghosts. Della says ghosts
come utter little girls if they dom t.
"Will you husll?" said Mrs. EiIng.
ham, clnsping her hands in despair.
"Aldrich, what is this? Have YOU
sold the Maple lot?"
Sold it! Why shouldn't II" said
Mr.. Crone, who just then came in
with string ofspeckled brook trout.
"They offered me II capital price, and
I'm not IL rich man."
"But to n cemetery!"
81 don't know n quieter neighbor
than IL cemetery" said Aldrich.
"And Pm told" said Mrs. Effing-
ham, with shudder, "that some in.
ternlents have alread Y taken place!'
81 didn't suppose you'd mind it,
Aunt Dillingham;" said the young
host.
"Mind it! Why, it's semi-bar-
barous proceeding!" cried the lady.
"Do we live in II civilized country, or
do We not?!"
"Ma!" screeclled Rudolph Effing-
ham, the second son, jerking ut the
maternal skirts, ''here's a load OF
lumber at the bars, real big load.
DO you suppose that's to make the
collins out OFF"
just then Miss Clare stalked, q Ia
Lady Macbeth, upon the scene.
81 attach no importance to vulgar
superstition" said she, glaring at
Mrs. Efiingham, with whom she was
no longer ON speaking terms. cot
the dead / entertain no fear. But
the living are quite different thing.
And l certainly saw n-man, Cousin
Aldrich, prowling about these prem.
Uses last night, with u dark lantern. -
"The ghost!' squeaked Della. II
seen him, too! l did, with these eyes,
the blissid saints betune me and ali
harm! Oh! oh! obi"
"Pcace, foolish woman!" said Hal
dee. "This was no shade! 1t was a
burly thief, intent no Doubt ON mis-
chief. saw him try to open the back
parlor shutter, and then Ncighbor
Foxleys wagon drove by, and he dis
appeared MS if by magic. And Iwant
YOU to understand, Lally," to Mrs.
Cone, chat can't stand the nervous
shock of this sort of thing. My pro-
fession requires that should lie sur
rounded by peaceful calm. leave
here tomorrow
can III go wild yez," said Della. 81
can't sleep nights in a place where
burglarsis clmbin' up the trelliswork,
and poorghosts come stalkin' around
when the church clock strikes mid
night, and a whole wagon load more
comm, tomorry or next day, from
the cilnetery! Och, hone! the like of
it niver was heard heforc!"
"Ala: ma! can't we go, too? We're
afraid to stay at Blossom Hedge
any longer!" pleaded the little Ec
finglams in chorus.
And so there was q generaleXodus,
"Aldrich, is this true?" said Mrs.
Cone, when the last express load of
trunks had disappeared around the
curve of the road.
''ls what true!" You'renot afraid
OF ghosts, are you, Lallyw
"No; but"
"Don't fret, my DEAR" said Cone,
composedly. "Thc cemetery has
purchased II lot, but it happens to he
Maple Hill, four miles to the east of
us. Pm not to blame, am /, for Er.
skine Effingham's blundcr??"
but the load of lunlber?'
"Pvc sold the place to DR.. Bassett
and he's going to build a gem of a,
Queen Ann cottage. can't imagine
any pleasanter ncighbors than the
Bassetts will he: can your
"i-vcs," said bewilered lally:
"but the interments that h;l,!
already taken place there? You said
yourself"
"My dearest girl, don't you remem-
her that we buried Mimic, your pet
spaniel. under the swcet-brier bush
there? and the two canaries. last
fall?"
ooh. Aldrich, aren't you ashamed
of YOURSELF"
"Who-l? Not in the least"
But the ghosts, Aldrich? the burg
lars?"
"lIere comes Andromeda, said Mr..
Cone, with sudden assumption of
more than judicial gravity. Come
here, you false danlsel. and own up
at once what I've already been sharp
enough TO discover for myself"
"Oh, Cousin Aldrich," stammered
poor Andromcda, bIushing celestial
rosy red, and trying vainly to hide
her face behind the -ribboned
banjo in her hand.
81 am neither Della O'Rourkc. nor
the Effingham children, nor vet Hal
dee Clare" mercilcssly went on
Aldrich. "And l shrewdly suspect
that the ghost was Jack Jocclyn in a
white tennis suit, haunting the green
field beneath his sweetheart's Win
dows, and the burglar no other than
Jack Jocelyn in black, climbing up
the trcllis after Il letter which he well
knew where to find.
Andromeda blushed reddcr than
ever.
"Now, I'll have no more of this"
said Aldrich. with mock stcrnness.
Confess, young woman, at once,
that you and your love affair are at
the bottom of all this ratification
Jack .jocelyn has owned up
"Oh, AldrichH" sobbcd Andromela.
"And will you, too, turn against
me?"
Not u bit of it," said Allrich
Cone. chccrfully. "Don't iret, little
one, Jack has just told me that he
has been appointed to IL thousand
dollar berth in the general post
office, and I've written to moth
or that things are all right. He's
a jolly good fellow, and it isn't nee
essary to play ghost out in the cold
any longer.
Andromeda threw herself. weeping
with joy, into Lally Cones arms. and
the two women rejoiced together.
| Aldrich smiled.
'My plan hasn't worked so badly"
said he Saturday Night.
Elm &ui%h - N@eI~ -