The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-02-05
. NIGHT SPENT In
SEARCH OF SPOOKS.

spare and nervous, n of a pair who sat
smoking in room Of the Bricks" a. the stu
dents' quarters at Knox college wore called.
His companion was quite his opposite In
appearance. short and stout. with an abu nd
anos Of red curls clustering around his
rudy face.
NO" said he. II don't! How any ssnsi-
bic man can believe in such nonsense | can't
Imagine! Ghosts!" he continued. after q
pause. they are but the creation Of . dis
ordered imagination"
II never felt just that way on the sub
jsct." said the first speaker. l%eisursly blow
ing out u cloud OF smoke. II do not think
that / am inclined to bs und1ly i'm agina-
tive. but yet 1 believe shat there are
ghosts. Dr.. Johnson's argument has al
ways seemed unanswsrable to me. You
know, no maintained that there were
ghosts, because the universal testimony Of
the race runs in that direction. What
everybody says must DO 60, and where
there is . great smoke There must be some
fire."
did you ever see a ghost?' asked the
other.
we'll, I don't know that / have, and l
- sA"s = ' " l. a VCEy uu"
DANNY experience once that l shall not for
get in q hurry"
Lets have it," said the red-hairsd one.
drawing his chair closer. IA ghost story 10
just the thing for to,niRht. Perhaps you
can convert me-" he added with a laugh.
WELL" said the dark young man quite
seriously, II do not care TO convert any
body. ] am not an apostle Of ghosts. But
III tell you about it if you like. You
know my sister lives two miles or so out of
town in the old Ravery homestead. Two
years ago she wanted to 90 away on a visit
for a couple of days with her husband, and
asked me ii ! would sleep in the house, just
to be there, you know. They did not like
to leave the house shut up. for fear some
body should break in, though it was a very
unlikely thing for anybody to do that knew
anything about the placs and its reputa-
tion. for the neighbors all say
that the house is haunted. and
come about the place late in the night. l
did not know anything about its teputa-
ton at the time and readily consented to
spend the night there. My brother-in-lnw
asked me when / went out to the house in
the evening before they left whether l felt
afraid to stay alone so far from anybody. |
l laughed at the idea. But said he,
would you be frightened if You saw a
Rhost? AT that I laughed louder. and
told him what was true, that l had often
tried to find a ghost and had walked in
Rraveyards at midnight for that purpose.
and that l should be moro than gratiied If
a ghost would be kline enough TO make me
a visit. He was satisfied and went away.
leaving me 10 ms v devices. I ate n hearty
supper that had been provided for me. and
after it grew right dark saw that every
thing was carefully shut ny. and going
into the room where | was to sleep, /
t immed my lamp, and taking out a book
that l had brought, prepared to have a good
time all to myself. ] was not accustomed
to 20 to bed before midnight. and l had a
very interesting book. though perhaps a
trile weird to read under such circum-
stances. 1t was a novel, full of dark mys-
teries and hair raising episodes; and | be-
came very much absorbed in il, and sat
reading 1t late into the night. have no
idea how late. for there was no clock on she
place, at least none in tho room where |
was, and after l had sat there an hour or
two 1t would have taken a deal to persuade
me to 20 into anothe! room, even with a
think it must have been after II
when l first became conscious of q
noise that l could not explain.
The-e was quite breeze blow.
ing outside. and there were a great
trees about the house, and of course
= SSS'A Nv" ~ VAbA oi&Aihk IL 0lUQlNQ
through them at a great rate, and shaking
tho loose shuttsrB of the windows, and
whistling in the chimney, but the noise |
speak OF was quite distinct from that. 1t
was On awfully dark night. The window
Of the room where | was had the shutters
OF on; but not SO much as u star was to be
seen through it. When l glanced up at it,
it almost seemed as though tho darkness
pushed itself inside of the room, and
that tho blinds wers shut l could
~ least have seen them. But whsn
thought Of getting up to shut them ! could
afraid. ! said to myself. No. l am not.
What is there to be afraid Of?
,m not afraid of ANYTHING In,
and l am not afraid of
'hem; but if any should come, what
'ould l dor The nearest house was fully
l called; l was dreadfnlly alone. But
why should l call2 l had Leen AZ
alone on a picket post many a time.
in Il much more dangerous place than
his. so l argued with myself, but | could
rot pursuAde myself TO get up and shut shat
window blind. 1 felt a cold. nervous shiver
'reep up and down my bnck, as though a
so's hand was touching me. thought
u the skeleton that | had been handling '
'he day before in the pursuit of Anatomical
knowledge. and it mnde tho creeping shive. ,
no . decided. lifted my book to my eyes /
gam W snut Oub tue tnoOknt OF my Sltua-
on. and hn dly had l got faitly Interested =
n the story when again | heard
hat mex llicnble noise. listened
without taking my eyes off the book.
t sounded like a human voios in !
moan of distressed remonstrance. TIA 1
'nly the cattle in this harnyatd, | said to /
myself. maybe a calf that wants its mother, |
5ut 1t does not sound like that. Perhap,
TIA II cat, or a wild animal. But tke,e arc l
10 Wild animals around here. IL sounded !
gain and louder than before. | wonder IL
! can be anybody in tho road %oall,upp
asked myself, still without raising INV /
yes from the book. and with tho chill on l
ny back more decided than ever. |. oan- I
OF DO that, or the dogs would make a dis /
arbance. And then l remembered thpt \
nd heard nothing Of the dogs all ths even. \
~. i wondered whether they had uonc h
way with my brother in law, aud inst \
hen one OF them howled a dismal, mourn I
al. ha'f-tsrrihed howl. and all wns still
except that moaning. II grew 60
'ader than ever. l could not account
Or II. l tiled to abstract my attention
rom it and fix my mine on the book before
'e. but could not. l found that after
I'D read a page ! had no Idea what was 4
3out. and had to turn back and road il |
YER again. could think OF nothing but
lnt grewsome sound. which returned at
ite walls of half u minute or 10. and
gradually growing louder aud more
istinct. tried to force myself to oet mn a
nd investigate 1t. but / could not move. y
orror seemed to come over mo. aud -
ared NOT 20 much AZ turn my head. los. | :