The Sully County watchman. (Clifton, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1894, 1893-01-13
IA BELLE AMERICANA. =

Pretty Katherine knit her forehead
under its thatching Of natural brown
curls and reflected profoundly. Il
don't see why" she thought, "just be-
cause it's picturesque, that mamma
wants to stay in this haunted, crumb-
ling old place, when we might be stay
ing with Kenyon's family on the other
side of the lake, in nice, new hotel.
without single ghost" and she raised
her brown eyes and looked critically
about her.
Upon her right and left lay rugged
mountains, tending toward circle, as
they inclosed valley of vivid green
and silver The silver was the glisten-
ing lake, reproducing in rich water
colors, that seemed to sink to it's very
bottom, the mountain brown, the val
ley green, the sky blue, and the morose
outline of castle whose half-ruined
turrets and towers, wrapped and
twined with leaves and vines, rose far
into the blue above.
"What are you looking at, Kath-
erine?" asked handsome young fell
low, coming brisklv toward her from
the lake-landing, where he had just
left his boat.
Il? Oh, was thinking that this
would be quite lovely place to stay
in if it weren't for an old ghost that
keeps us awake nights, rattling round
in the east tower"
"It's rats, most likely" laughed he.
"No. it's not" she disputed. "rats
don't light candles and stare at you
out of windows, with cold, white faces
and thin, long fingers"
Hum" commented the young man,
stroking his mustache to hide a smile.
IF it is as serious as that you must
raid it; put yourself into some kind of
disguise; take a candle in your left
hand, a broom in your right, then en-
ter the ghost-haunted tower, and as
the clock strikes IL at midnight cry,
Get thee gone, bold creature and it
will leave the tower never to return. !"
"You are making game of me, l
know" said Katherine, struggling her
graceful shoulders, "but am going to
raid it this very night, and tomorrow
l will tell you all about it,"
"All right" assented Kenyon, still
laughing. He was Katherine's tiance,
and staying with his family on the op-
posite side of the lake.
"Of what is thinking la belle Ameri-
caine?' asked dark young man of
Katherine, joining her upon the stone
steps that evening, as soon as Kenyon
had gone. 'Is it that she is ghost
thinking?"
Katherine deigned no reply to Phil
ippe Sardineaux, the only son of the
owner of the desiccating estate and
heir to all it's debts and decay. Since
her stay at the castle she had dexter
ously avoided his rapturous lovemak-
ing, and now, as often before, she
nodded distantly to him and fastened
indoors, while he turned away mum
bling: "By all means let mademoiselle
90 GA ghost-hunt this evening. 1t is
not for nothing that | overheard her
words to NJ. Kenyon"
Two hours later Katherine, with a
sparkle of audacty in her eyes and
half disguised by long, black surtout
of her mothers and the housekeeher's
black bonnet, carrying in one hand the
prescribed candle and in the other the
broom, started on her ghost-quest in
the best of spirits.
The castle was wrapped in stiffness
that became almost audible as the nib
bling of mice and her own tip-toeing
footsteps were heard, as she stole along
the passageway to the tower Reach
ing the tower door she pushed against
it.
1t slowly opened with rusty creak
that sounded far down the passage
way. Katherine was not appalled,.
She entered small apartment filled
with disabled furniture and unsorted
armor; then, finding that her candle
flame tlickered in the draught that
blew against her shoulders, she turned,
to see another door opening into q
room beyond. 1t stood half open.
"Ah!" she said, utterly devoid of the
nervous creeps supposed to accompany
a quest of this kind, this is more like
it," and holding her hand shieldinglv
about the fretted candle she entered
the second room.
1t was large, grewsome apartment,
walled and tioored with stone and
lighted by single narrow window of
broken stained glass, through which
both the moonlight and breeze til
tered.
Some ascetic monk must have had
his chapel here" she exclaimed. "What
dungeon-like, cold place it is", and
she shivered. Still the mysterious
wind blew upon her shoulders. and
turning once more she discovered a
dark cave-like opening in the farther
side of the stone walled room through
which the draught came that fingered
her candle flame so roughly.
At this moment distant clock
struck ~ and figure wrapped in
white, that seemed tenfold whittier be-
cause of the blackness from which it
was apparently evolved, crept out of
the opening.
"Fair intruder" said low voice, as
her candle suddenly went out and
only the faint moonlight showed how
close upon her was the ghost, "you are
here tonight in fultillment of proph-
ecy. Two hundred years ago was the
poverty and decay of this castle fore
told and in the same writing was it
foretold that la belle Americaine, with
her riches, from the new world, should
come here to we'd the heir of the cas-
tie, and redeem it from all misfortune.