The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1891-06-04
THE LINEN CLOSET.

OhAJ AOoi lOOAiio. ohO bttios
"Surely there were ten originally,
ma'am," the agent replied. "There
were ten, but the rest are boarded up.
This is simply the wing, but you have
a parlor, dining-room and two bed
rooms besides the little outside
kitchen, which is building by itself
and the rent is actually nominal"
"But the folly of boarding up six
good rooms" said the lady. "The
parlor with the wainscot and the
black marble mantel-piece."
"You know the house?" cried the
agent.
"Oh, in houses OF this sort you al
ways find black marble mantel and
a wainscot," said the lady. "And on
the other side OF the hall the sitting
room and spare bedroom, and three
bedrooms upstairs, and the linen
closet and bathroom-the long, dark
linen closet"
"The ghost always comes out OF
that" said the agent.
"Oh, hol" cried the lady. "The cat
is out of the bag, Theho ishaunt-
ed?"
eyes, ma'am," replied the agent.
at has that reputation among ignor-
ant people. But since the main build
ing has been boarded in, the figure has
never been seen by any one"
"The fgure?" asked the lady. CAL
in white like an ironing-board?'
"All IN white, but like q pretty girl
of sixteen" replied the agent. II re-
member the murder myself. My faith
err was in the real-estate business
where | am now. I was a school boy.
| / remember how the news ran through
the village that Martha Penny had
been killed by wild Jack Parker, and
| how / rushed with the crowd to see
her. ayes, ma'am, saw her lying in
| her blood across the threshold of the
linen closet"
The lady shuddered and sat down
in the large chintz-covered armchair
OF the room they had entered.
"You can 60 and play in the gar
den," she said to the little boy whom
she led by the hand. "Don't go out
of sight. Now tell me the story, Mr.
| Brick?"
Every sensible to send the child
| away" the agent said. "Well, the
facts were these: Martha Penny lived
as seamstress with Mrs. Parker. They
made her one of the family. Jack fel
in love with her. The story goes that
she refused him, and that he sale
that she should never marry any
other man. Then she declared thai
, she meant to 60 away, and she wa'
getting ready to go when she saw hin
with blazing eyes coming down TIN
passage, and ran into the linen closet
A black servant watched it all. Al
he passed the door he shot her. The.
arrested him and took him off t.
prison. But while the body was wait
ing for the Coroner it disappeared, M
one ever knew how. Mrs. Parker ha'
taken to her bed. Black Ann ha,
been afraid to sit in the room with tn
murdered girl. In the night Martin
Penny's corpse vanished.
"The jury made up their minds tina
Jack was crazy, and he was locked u
awhile, though he swore that tn
pistol went off by accident. When h
was let out again his mother wa
dead. He is quite rich man, but b
never could bear to live on his prof.
erty. He has a room at the hotel an
has let all the land At first he le
the house also, but the tenants wei
all scared away by the ghost, the
said, so five years ago he boarded Il
the main building and only let tt
wing. Every summer people hire
1t is prettily furnished, you see, wit
new things. They do say that the
hear noises in the big building, bi
: probably rats make them. And, Mr.
Smith, you don't look like a lady tht
who would be afraid Of
"M,trtha Penny's ghost?" Interrupt
ed the lady. "Indeed l am not. Poo
little Martha would do no one al
harm. / should be much more ARA
of wild Jack Parker, though he
alive"
"He's an altered man, maam
said the agent; "quite broken, thou
he is rather young in years"
an take the house, Mr.. Brick
said the widow, rising and beckoni
through the open window to her lit
boy. "And my servant and | al
little Tom will move in on Monday
They did so, and soon flowe
bloomed in the garden and at t
window, and the pretty child swu
under the elm trees or tossed his b.
on the lawn. The mother, reclining
her Mexican hammock, read or CT
cheted, or walked with her boy VIII
the day grew cool. The maid W
pretty and alert. No home i'll
country seemed less likely to attri
ghosts to itself, and Mrs. Smith, WI
questioned, always said that she h
never caught o glimpse of Mart
Penny's specter.
But though Mrs. Smith told
truth, she did not tell the VIII
truth. Sometimes at night-yes M
night-when little Tom and the mi
IL we're sound asleep, the lady wrapI
n in a double gown and with WOO
sinners on her feet, would glide {
into the hall, and there, with her
to the light partition that divided
- wing from the main building, wo
:. listen to feet that went to and frol
:, walls and means, to what seemed
e. be a prayer, and to many repetiti'
- of the name, martha Penny-Mari
u Penny" but oftenest "Martl
u alone. She never spoke OF this to {
< one, and it was plain that she felt
~ terror, but sometimes she wept bit
d, ding :: ", rs if she was very sorry Tor
phi. poor, wandering ghost.
This went on for months, until
night Mrs. Smith did strange tn
She arose i'll the middle of the nj
and let down the great coil OF
brown hair, and braided it in one br
and tied it with white ribbon.
dressed herself all in white and {