Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1894-04-26

1 uecnea tner ooor u STUCK ms mre IN
Toms heart an ther poor boy staggered
across ther room an fell dead Ed slipped
through ther door, an before / could
catch him or even say q word he had
gone
"He left ther place for good thet
night an nobody round ther Pint amt
laid eyes on him since OF course 1t
went hard with Jessie, cause she liked
Tom an was by natur' mighty feelin
girl She's livin down there yet IN ther
Pint people say she's talEin care o. her
ma an amt no notion Of ever gittin mar
ried.
well, since thet night nobody would
move into thet house. Mr.. Hackney
put ther rent down low-mighty low
for such house as it was-but thet
didn'trent 1t worth cent Every night
after thet one we could hear O clatter,
groans an then fall. II never missed q
night This went on for years an years
So ther house set thar goin to rack.
"Well, last year when times was so
hard Mr.. Hackney said he'd like TO sell
it We he'd an idee he would too But
who was goin TO buy iti As ther sum-
mer went by an times got harder Mr..
Hackney would come down In his tigers
He did this regular every month, an yet
nobody would buy. In September me an
Debora got mighty blue We hedn't
been maxim nothin an was still doin ther
same
I'VE looked down in thet old sock an
found just fifteen dollars an a quarter.
Thet would pay ther rent three months
longer, providin we didn't eat nutnin
durin thet time. If we did, then we
could only count on livin in ther house
two months longer, then bein dumped
out in ther mud We didn't know what
to do. spent my time walkin ther front
gallery, tryin to scratch some sort o.
idee out o. nay head, an Debora took
ther back gallery to herself. About thet
time we kivered more ground walkin
them galleries then we he'd any idee of.
But to save my head couldn't get an
idee in it. Debora beat me there. One
evenin she flop through ther house an
say:
"Se, i got an idee.
scout with it, says L
Here tits, says she. Mr.. Hack
ney's figures gone down to $15 for thet
ha'nted house. Let's buy it an move it
up to our lot live in it an save house
rent
What about ther ha'nts?' says L
"Turn 'em out, says she. Turn ther
ha'nts inside out. See?'
"Now, wasn't thet an idee for you?
We fshed out thet sock, paid Mr.. Hack
ney for ther ha'nted house, an me an
Debora took 1t good. You ought to seen
her pullin out the nails with ther crow
bari Such a trump my Debora is any
howl We borrowed two poles, fiat and
a skif an towed it up here. In our skiff
was two sets of oars. Debora he'd one
set, me t'other, an I tell you we made
thet fat move. Then we put it up. We
turned all ther boards inside out, like
Debora said, an scattered 'em all round.
So when it was done there want no one
wall high as it was at fust 1t was for
sure turned inside out.
"One night ther ha'nts was maxim a
fuss, an I warn't payin no 'tention to
'em, but Debora sided up right close an
says right out an in tremblyfed tone,
'J-o-o-e, air you asleep?'
eyes, says l. Don't wake me-
DO you hear them ha'nts, J-o-o-e?
Yes, says 1, but they is outside
an pretty scattered One ghost foot in
this room, one in ther other, an ther
hands an feet's in ther other part O.
ther house an stand all outside. You
amt Arid Of ghost tenants, air you,
Debora? It's your idee. Debora went
to sleep, an she amt said 'ha'nts' to me
since
''Ther's a small racket round of
nights--it is SO scattered we don't mind
it"
| Fisherman Joe refilled his pipe,
glanced around over his house, and with
breath long and full Of content said;
eyes, thet was Debora's idee. Wurth
considerin, wasn't itP'-Virginia Payne
Henrichs in Philadelphia Times
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