The Pascagoula democrat-star., 1893-06-09

and it was coming toward the
stairway. Nearer and nearer the
footsteps came, and faster and
faster my heart beat. Another
Great God! There 1t was! Hid.
eous! Horrible!
AT last had seen a ghost /! In
all my most horrible freaks of i'm.
aglna,ion had never cOnjured up
anything half so frigbtful or hid.
eous as this. 1t was the figures of
an old man, who might have been
a thousand years old, so bent, so
feeble and decrepil lie seemed.
He was leaning with one hand on
cane, while with the other he
steadied himself on the railing of
The stairway. But more horrible
than all was the awful gaping cut
which extended from one of hs
ears to the other and hich was
dripping with blood. His white
heard was clolted with blood, and
the long white hair which fell in
folds over his shoulder was soaked
with gore.
This horrible, nnearthly figure
came down the stairway and stood
before us staring al us with his
wild, maniacal, prolruding, blood
shot eyes, while his thin lips were
iwilching nefvously and The ghas,
ly wound was gaping open, show
ing The severe windpipe.
"Who-who are you ?" asked
DaIrymple in husky voice.
H." he SAID, II am Casper Troup.
And | was murdered here in this
house thirteen years ago"
g. Troup- murdered p was
all tha, conld calculate.
And this was a ghost!
eyes, | am. am a ghost" he
continued ! in the same voice as be.
fore. But have no time TO spare
with you. l am going to call on
my murderer"
"Call ON your murderer. What
do you meany Explain yourself 2
asked Dalrymple exci,edly.
II mean what | say" continued
the ghost. IL was murdered il
here. l am a ghost and am nov
| going 10 haunt The wretch VIII,
gave me that" and he pointed Il
the gaping, CHASTITY wound acros
his throat.
"Who-who killed youg" asket
Dalrymple.
"lIis name?' the ghost asked
"Ah, l don't know that. But hi
face! All! how many thousant
times have l caused 1t to grow
conlorted in the most dreadful az
ony, as l would appear before hin
suddenly. Before the night III
gave me this wound | used to Sc,
him hanging about the villag,
with tie other loafers. | paid nj
attention to him. But on tha
dreadful night l recognized him a
he stood over me with that shin
ing blade drawn. cried out 70
mercy, but he would not hear me
He struck the fatal blow. | lel
the keen edge OF The knife al,
then felt my life blood flown
out and my strength was going.
! Everything appeared in a mis-
to me and pretty soon all ha,
faded and | was dead. But | wa
iu another world. | could hol
communion with thousand othe
i wrOn1ed beings who had bee
transformed from life into III
ghost world. They told me merr
stories of how they At all hour
! haunted those persons who ha
wronged them in this world. Bu
IN that respect | am a peculia
ghost. have my regular haun
ing honr. l remember as my mul
derer stood over me the clock j
all adjoining room chimed iIl
hour of O'Clock, and every nigl
just at l o'clock pay my victim
he's my victim nova visit. An
, l must be going.
lie moved toward the door an
we followed.
"Do you young men want TO f'
J low a ghost upon his cheerful mi
\ sioaA' he asked.
by all means, il you will Il
s u.s." said Dalrymple.
/, III have no objection. A ghO'
/, desires no company, but you ma
: CO."
9 We followed him out throu2
: the darkness to The road that le
e past the house. He moved quicl
Is along The road and we lollowe,
t filed with a sensation l cannot e.
J. plain. With a ghost on his night
!. rounds! This was somelhir
;. strange-pasSing strange.
Over the hills we followed h
k ghostship until the village ha
t been left completely behind. II
t fields waving with their harvest
corn, were on either side.
Q Where was he goingg Who W,
Q the murderer9 These though
z fitted through my mind thou
. and times. Presently he slOpp,
Q before a large farm house.
II "This is the place." he said.
= Great heavens! Was 1t posl
. BILE!
Q knew the place well. II W
d the residence Of Captain Jam
d Standiiord, one Of the most prom
n nent lneM Of our whole vicinity.
= s'rhsa rouunf ho ir,,o - eoid n,