The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1892-04-22
AN ANENGING SPIRIT.

the wide and silent hallway 1t Is the
ghost.
Springing up grasp Darymple by the
arm and give him a raising shake He
starts up with sleepy half frightened
look
Jack said | In an awed whisper
listen! There is the ghosts step This
house Is haunted sure. he's coming down
stairs
DaIrympe rubbed his eyes and sprang
to his feet Ghosts nor men had no ter
rors tor him. and it was for this reason
that had asked him to spend night
with me in this house, about which were
so many stories of ghosts walking at
night. and which was so much avoided
by the villagers.
And in truth the houses uncanny repu-
tation was not without foundation 1t
had not been occupied for thirteen years
and was now inhabited by rats and cock
reaches. it's roof was all moss grown and
all approaches to it We're grown up in
weeds and briars No one had cared to
go near it in thirteen years Its last oc-
cupant was a rich old man who lived in
it only during the summer and was all
alone. For fifteen summers he lived
there. The people k@w but little of
him save that his nS$s.p was Caspar
Troup and that he was very wealthy
The last seen Of HIM about the village
was one day III August Just thirteen
years before the occurrence of the Incl
dent narrated ut the beginning of this
story He was observed walking about
the place experimenting some work that
he was having done The next day the
house was shut up and he was seen no
more 1t was thought that he had re-
turned to the city, and would turn up
the next summer A few months later
younger brother of his came down and
removed the furniture and closed up the
house That was the last ever seen Of
Caspar Troup and the next summer the
house WAS not opened.
The big roomy house remained all
through the year following closed up
deserted and alone The villagers who
passed by ii at night began to tell strange
stories of the sounds that they heard in
side and declared that they had often
and had heard voices moaning as if in
pain These stories gave the house
reputation of being haunted. and it was
given a wide berth by all at night, just
as many other houses are in nearly every
village For thirteen years the house
sustained the reputation well and even
increased it. 1t became the talk of the
town and any number of intrepid youths
spoke of spending night in the house
and solving the mystery But none ever
did so determined to see if there was
anything in the many stories that had
been told. and proposed to Jack Dial
rymple that we spend night in the
house and meet the ghost face to face.
And so it came to pass that we repair
ed to the silent house one night just
offer dusk, and opening the creaking
door entered the wide hallway All |
was dark We lighted a wax taper and
set 1t down In the hallway to give rs
light We spent the first few hours of
the night specializing about the appear
ance of his ghostship and finally be-
coming wearied, we had fallen asleep. |
had scarcely gotten asleep when heard |
the footsteps as decribed above
And after rousing Dalrymple we walk
ed into the hallway
We could hear the footsteps sounding
in the hallway just over our heads 1t |
was the ghost and it was coming toward |
the stairway Nearer and nearer the |
footsteps came and faster and faster my |
heart beat Another step
Great Cod! There it was! Hideous'
HorribIe
AT last ! had seen ghost! In all my |
most horrible freaks of imagination | |
had never conIured up anything half so
frlghtful or hldeous as this 1t was the
figure Of an old man, who might have
been a thousand years old, so bent, so
feeble and decrepit he seemed He was
leaning with one hand on a cane, while
with the other he steadied himself on the
railing of the stairway But more hor
rible than all was the awful gaping cut
which extended from one of his ears to
the other and which was dripping with
blood His white beard was clotted
with blood, and the long white hair
which fell in folds over his shoulder was
soaked with gore
This horrible unearthly figure came
down the stairway and stood before us
staring at us with his wild. maniacal.
protruding bloodshot eyes, while his
thin lips We're twItching nervously and
the CHASTITY wound was gaping open
showing the severed windplpe
Who who are youY asked Dalrym-
pie In a husky voice
The creature replied in a squeaking
voice without moving his lips, the voice
coming out of the gaping wound
T. he said i am Caspar Troup
And was murdered here IN this house
thirteen years ago
rrOup murdered was all |
could eaculate
And TINS was a ghost
Yes am 1 am a ghost. he con
timed IN the same way rs before
" But I have no time to spare with you.
l am gong to call on my murderer
Call ON Your murderer What do
you mean. Explain yourself. asked
Dalrymple excItedly
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