St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1891-07-04
THE LINEN CLOSET.
"But surely there are more rooms?"

down to Garland to hire little house
for the summer had followed the
agent into the two-story cottage, an6
was staring about her.
"Only four rooms?" she said
"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
parlor, a 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
q 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.
ooh, ho!' cried the lady. "The cat
is out of the bag, The house 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"
"I'he tigure?" asked the lady. "All
in white like an ironing board?'
"All III white, but like q pretty girl
of sixteen" replied the agent. II re-
member the murder myself. My faith
er was in the real-estate business
where [ am now. | was q 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 "Yes, ma am, saw her lying in
her blood across the threshold OF the
linen closet
The lady shuddcred and sat down
in the large, chintz-covered armchair
OF the room they had entered.
"1ou can go and play in the gar
den,' 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"
Every sensible to send the child
away" the agent said. "Well, the
g.. / A l.,
asseamstress 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 90 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.
A 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 wait
ing 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 he swore that the
pistol went off by accident. When he
was let out again his mother was
dead. He is quite rich man, but he
never could bear to live on his prop
ri To Il Of ha1 ,0 tale
has let all the land At first he let
the house also, but the tenants were
all scared away by the ghost, they
said, 80 five years ago he boarded up
the main building and only let the
wing. Every summer people hire it.
It is prettily furnished, you see, with
new things. They do say that they
hear noises in the big building, but
probably rats make them. And, Mrs
Smith, you don't look like lady that
who would be afraid Of
martha Penny's ghosts" interrupt
ed the lady. "Indeed ann Poor
little Martha would do no one any
harm. should be much more afraid
of wild Jack Parker, though he is
alive"
"He's an altered man, ma'am,'
said the agent; "quite broken, though
he is rather young in years"
I'll take the house, Mr.. Brick"
said the widow, rising and reckoning
through the open window to her little
boy. "And my 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 Gro
cheted, or walked with her boy when
the day grew cool. The maid was
pretty aud alert. No home in the |
country seemed less likely to attract i
ghosts to itself, and Mrs. Smith, when
questioned, always said that she had
never caught a glimpse of Martha
Penny's specter.
But though Mrs. Smith told the
truth, she did not tell the whole
truth. Sometimes at night-yes mid
little Tom and the maid
we're sound asleep, the lady wrapped
in double gown and with wooden
slippers on her feet, would glide out
INTO the hall, and there, with her ear
TO the light partition that divided the
wing from the main building, would
listen to feet that went to and fro, to
walls and means, to what seemed to
% prayer, and to many repetitions
If the name, Martha Penny-Martha
Penny" but oftenest MARTHA"
tlone. She never spoke OF this to any
,ne, and it was plain that she felt no
error, but sometimes she wept bitter
y, as if she was very sorry for the
'oor, wandering ghost.