The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-04-28
THE LINEN CLOSET.

The young widow who had come down
to Garland to hire a little house for the
summer had followed the agent into the
two-story cottage and was staring about
her.
"Only four rooms?" she said. ''Surely
there were ten-I mean that the house looks
larger on the outside"
"Oh, 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 parlor, a dining room
and two bedrooms, besides the little out
side kitchen, which is building by itself,
and the rent is actually nominal"
| "But the folly of boarding up six good
rooms," said the lady. 1.-The parlor with
the wainscot and the black marble mantel-
piece"
You know the house?" cried the agent.
ooh, in houses of this sort you always
fino black marble mantel and a wans-
cot," 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"
1.-THE ghost always comes out of that"
said the agent
ooh. hoI" cried the lady "The cat is out
of the bag. The house is haunted?"
Eyes, ma'am," replied the agent. "It
has that reputation among ignorant people.
But since the main building has been
boarded in the figure has never been seen
by any one"
! 1.-The figure" asked the lady. "All in
white like an ironing board?"
"All in white, but like a pretty girl of
sixteen" replied the agent. Il remember
the murder myself. My father was in the
real estate business where am now. /
was school boy. l remember how the
news ran through the village that Martha
Penny had been killed by wild Jack Parker,
and how l rushed up with the crowd to see
her. Yes, ma am, l saw her lying welter-
ing 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 go and play in the garden"
she said to the little boy whom she led by
the hand. Don't 90 out of sight Now
tell me the story. Mr.. Brick?"
Very 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 fell in love with her.
The story goes that she refused him, and
that he said that she should never marry
any other man. Then she declared that
she meant to go away, and she was getting
ready TO go when she saw him with blazing
eyes coming down the passage, and ran
into the linen closet. \ black servant
watched it all. AS he passed the door he
shot her. They arrested him and took him
off to prison. But while the BODY was
waiting for the coroner it disappeared, no
one ever knew how. Mrs Parker had
taken to her bed Black Ann had been
afraid to sit in the room with the murdered
girl. In the night Martha Penny's corpse
vanished
The jury made up their minds that Jack
was crazy, and he was locked up awhile,
though ne swore that the pistol went off
by accident, When he was let out again
his mother was dead He is quite a rich
man, but he never could bear to live on his
property. He has room at the hotel and
has let all the land. At first he let the
house also, but the tenants were all scared
away by the ghost, they said so five years
ago he boarded up the main building and
only lets the wing. Every summer people
hire 1t. 1t is prettily furnished, you see,
with new things The old stuff is all in
the old rooms, They do say that they hear
noises in the big building; but probably
rats make them. And, Mrs. Smith, you
don't look like a lady who would be afraid |
Of
Martha Penny's ghost?" interrupted the |
lady. Indeed am not. Poor little Mar |
tina would do no one any harm. l should |
be much more afraid of wild Jack Parker, |
though he is alive"
Hes an altered man, ma am" said |
the agent; quite broken, though he is !
rather young in years"
IN take the house, Mr.. Brick said the |
widow, rising and reckoning through the
open window to her little boy. And nv
servant and | and little Tom will move in |
on Monday"
They did so, and soon flowers bloomed |
in the garden and at the window. and the
pretty child swung under the elm trees or
tossed his ball on the lawn. The mother,
reclining in her Mexican hammock, read
Or crocheted. or walked with her boy when
the day grew cool. The maid was pretty
and alert. No home in the country seemed
less likely TO attract ghosts TO itself, and
Mrs. Smith, when questioned, always said
hat she had never caught glimpse of
Martha Penny's specter.
But though Mrs. Smith told the truth.
She did not tell the whole truth. Some
times at night-yes. at miduight-when
little Tom and the maid were sound asleep.
the lady, wrapped in a double gown and |
With wooden slippers on her feet. would
glide out into the hall. and there, with her
e4r TO the light partition that divided the
wing from the main building. would listen
% feet that went 10 and fro. TO walls and
means, 10 what seemed TO her PRAYERS and
o many repetitionS OF the name Martha
Penny" but oftenesr
Martha alone. She never spoke Of this
o any one, and it was plain that she felt
10 terror but sometimes she we2t bitterly
IS ii she was very sorry for the poor. wan
iering ghost.
This went on for months. until one night
,lrs. Smith did a strange thing. sac arose
Il the middle of the night and Jet down
he great coil OF her brown hair. and
braided il in one braid and tied IL with
White ribbon. She dressed herself al in
E hifA and arer her hesd threw a saua1a OF