The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-03-05
A BURGLARS GHOST.

A BURGLARS GHOST.
He was a ghost, undoubtedly As soon
as I saw him, lying at full length under
| the dropping branches of mountain ash,
with its wildly green, pointed leaves look
| ing curiously into his hooking face. |
knew that he was not a creature of solid
parts Why, as l stood, awe stricken. a
few yards away, / could see the ground on
which he was lying clear through him
He was absolutely transparent. He evil
IDENTIFY enjoyed my terror, and a sneering
smile that rippled over his whole form, from
top to bottom, proved that, in his ghostly
way, he rejoiced in his uncanny appear
ance, and would not have been flesh and
blood if he could
The cold moonlight forced it's way
through the hanging clusters of leaves that
depended from the branches of the noun
tain ash, and seemed to shed congenial
glow over the shadowy presence stretched
on the greensward. The glow was chilly,
but it suited the ghost. Your average
ghost does not appreciate cheerfulness,
either in the shape of light or heat, and
though this particular ghost differed from
his fellows in that he did not disdain the
comfort of a recumbent position, it is rea-
sonable to suppose that he preferred to
have his uncertain outlines marked by the
sad blue white hue of Luna's rays, instead
of being shown up in the rosy glow of an
early morning SUM-
came upon him quite unexpectedly
The evening was still young, but in the
late September days darkness falls over the
earth very suddenly, and large mountain
ash throws a heavy shadow. | do not
know that | had any real reason to feel sur
prised. The ash grew in the heart of q
thicket some distance from the road, and
If ghost was to be found anywhere in the
large, closely wooded grounds surrounding
Colonel Hinton's fine old mansion, surely
this was the place he would naturally
choose for his haunt. There was an ag-
gressive silence-so deep as to seem to re-
sent even the faint rustling of the leaves
of the mountain ash-prevading the spot.
The bark of the trees was rent into assures
of quaint designs, and gaped at the in
truder like mouths. Even the katydids
and bullfrogs that occasionally burst into
voice cut their remarks short as if oppressed
by the general quietude
! had often noticed the mountain ash
from afar, and had seen that its bright
green leaves waved mournfully at times
when was not aware of the presence of a
breeze. had wondered, in a careless way,
what power it was that sent the heavy
clusters sweeping to and fro as rnonoto-
nously and persistently as the pendulum
of a Dutch clock. l may have even con-
aG n ba of
natural agency in the vicinity. But never
for long. Whenever had occasion to pass
through Colonel Hinton's park my mis-
sion was one altogether distinct from the
dread influence Of mysterious causes over
grewsome objects, and the weird results of
freaks by unknown forces of the neither
world.
! went to keep love tryst.
Sweet Nellie Hinton and I had met in
the regulation way at party. We had
been formally introduced, had talked, had
danced and-had met again. l do not
know exactly how it came about, but one
lovely August evening, when her face was
very close to mine, as we waltzed-one
couple among perhaps fifty-at hop in
Chautauqua hotel, | told her that to which
Dne glance from her ever changing violet
Eyes was SuH1Cle0J RESPONSE, ana my love
had commenced.
There was no reason why we should not |
have told her father at once. The colonel !
liked me, and though / knew he would not |
relish the idea of parting with Nellie, who |
was to him wife and daughter in one, was |
sure he would not raise any objection to |
ne on the score of worldly considerations. |
Dur families were on excellent terms. But |
hen it was very pleasant to meet Nellie |
secretly in the cool of the evening under !
,he trees, with the lights of her house just /
Visible through the foliage, and to imagine /
hat all the world were against us. OF /
course it was ridiculous, but | leave it 10 /
my young lovers if it was not natural /
Love without persecution is but tame I
affair after all, and verify believe that |
should have been pleased to face opposition .
or Nellie's sake-always provided that l 4
would heroically overcome it at last.
We had never found ourselves near the
mountain ash before. There was some
Wild story atioat that the spot was haunted; |
hat an ancestor of the colonel's had one
light found a burglar in his house, and /
,eing of choleric disposition, had chased
lim into the grove and felled him dead
With one blow of his fist under the noun
ain ash. There the dead man had lain all
light with his white shirt glistening in
he dim light-for he had taken off his
oat and vest on entering the house-and
here his ghost was to be occasionally seen
yer afterward, according to popular tradi-
ion.
On this evening Nellie and had agreed
o meet under the mountain ash. as the re-
ult Of laughing remark she had made
5 to the burglars ghost. Neither of us
elieved in his existence, and we had re-
olved to meet him in his haunt and lay"
i'm forever
When saw the long. shadowy Thing,
topped short. while wave of cold, that I /
new came from the ghost, as ii he had
reathed Jelly in my direction, sent a shiveT
trough me from head 10 foot With an /
fort | recovered myself and moved reso-
ltely forward.
"Psbaw." said aloud. What a fancy"
Fancy" articulated a gurgling voice
S the ghost INDUCED in another Of those
ocular smiles that sgitated him from one
nd 70 the other. Fancy, am 1? Well,
Ike that! Ha! ha! hap'
| must say that the ghosts laugh was n
host unpleasant thing. Not that il was
bud or harsh. but it gave one the impress
ion that he laughed from force Of habie
in the flesh. and not becau Sc l.
fforded him any pleasure in his preseDg
state
Fancy, am l." he repeated