Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1893-09-02
AN AVENGING SPIRIT.

ghoStl
Springing up grasp Dalrymple by the
arm and give him raising shake He
starts up with sleepy, half frightened
look
Jack said | in an awed whisper.
''listenl There is the ghosts step This
house is haunted sure; he's coming down
stairs
Dalrymple rubbed his eyes and sprang
20 his feet Ghosts nor men had no ter
rors for 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 DO 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: its roof was all moss grown and
all approaches to IL We're grown up in
weeds and briars, No one had cared to
60 near IL in thirteen years it, last oc-
cupant was rich old man who lived in
IL only during the summer and was all
alone, For fifteen summers he lived
there. The people knew but little of
him save that his name was Caspar
Troup and that he was very wealthy
The last seen Of him about the village
was one day in August just thirteen
years before the occurrence Of the Incl
dent narrated AT 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 seq no
more. 1t was thought that he bad 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 Tronp, and the next summer the
house was not opened
The big roomy house remained all
through the year following closed mp
deserted and alone The villagers who
passed by it ut night began TO tell strange
stories of the sounds that they heard in
side, and declared that they had often
seen a light shining through the blinds.
and had heard voices moaning as II in
pain. These stories gave the house a
reputation Of being haunted. and II was
given wide berth by all at night. just
rs many other houses are in nearly every
village For thirteen years the house
sustained the reputation well and even
increased it, Ii became the talk Of the
town. and any number of intrepid youths
spoke OF spending a night in the house
and solving the mystery But none ever
did So. determined 10 see II 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 IL came TO pass that we repair,
ed TO the silent house one night just
OTTER dusk. and opening the crsakina
door entered the wide hallway. Al
was dark We lighted wax taper and
set II down in the hallway TO give us
light. We spent the first few hours oI
the night specializing about the appear.
Rnce 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 inst over our heads, II
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 God! There il was Hilenus
Horriblel
AT last mad seen ghost, In all my
most horrible freaks Of imagination
had never conlured up anything half Sc
frightful or hideous rs this It was the
figure OF an old man. who might have
been r thousand years old SO bent. i
feeble and decrepit he seemed He wa,
leaning with one hand on a cane. whitf
with the other he steitdled himself on tht
railing of the stairway But more har
rible than all was the awful gaping cut
which extended from one Of his ears Il
the other and which WAS dripping with
blood His white beard was clotted
with blood. and the long white han
which Tell in folds over his shoulder wa,
soaked with gore.
This horrible, unearthly figure cam,
down the stairway and stood before II,
staring al US with his wild maniaeal
prUtrnding. bloodshot eyes. while hi,
thin lips We're twltching nerynusly AM
the CHASTITY wound was gaping open
showing the severed windpipe
"Who-who are yon. asked Dalrym
pie IN husky voice
The creature replied in squeakin,
voice without moving his lips the voic,
coming out Of the gaping wound
IL he SAID, II am Caspar rroup
And was murdered here in this nous
thirteen years ago
-" Troup- murderedg was all
could calculate.
And this WAS a ghost!
YES, am. | am a ghost, he con
tinued in the same way a. before
but have no time to spare with you
am going to call on my murderer
Call on your murderer What d
you mean Explain yourself" Askel
DaIrymple excitedly.
Il mean what say continued til
ghost 81 was murdered in here. an
ghost and am now going to haun
the wretch who gave me that" aud b
pointed 20 the gaping. CHASTITY woun
across his throat
"Who-who killed your asked Da
rymple.
His name? the ghost asked. al
don't know that. But his fac,
Ali how many thousand times hay