The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-04-27


been quarrelin most all day an 'poared
like they was goin to hev it out then an
Their. Ed was dom most of ther fussin,
an Tom tryin to make him hush. Nc an
:, Dcbora sat still an listened. Their boys
got madden an madden, an presently we
heard Il big slap III thcr face an Ed say:
" Take tibet, sirp
Two knowcd he he'd hit Tom, IN i'll n
minute more Tom hit him back Then
such noiso you never hearn They fit,
fit, fit. All over ther room they scram-
bled an whacked one mother. l got
scared they was murderin an rushed over
to save EN-, but / got there too late. AS
techod ther door Ed stt.ei his knife in
Toms heart, an ther pCa,r boy staggered
across ther room an fell dead. Ed slipped
through ther door, an before / could
catch him or even say word he had
gone.
HE left thcr place for good thct
night, an nobody round Their Pint amt
laid eyes on him since Of course it
went hard with Jessie, cause she liked
Tom an was by natur' Il mighty feelin
girl. She's Twin down there yet, an ther
Pint people say she's tallin care O. her
ma an amt no notion of ever gittin mar
ried.
"Well, since tibet night nobody would
move into tibet house. Mr.. Hackney
put thcr rent down low-mighty low
for such Il house as it was-but tibet
ditln rent it worth cent Every night
after tibet one we could hear clatter,
groans an then Il fall. 1t never missed o
night. This went OH 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 idcc he would too But
who was goin to buy it? AS ther sum
mer went by an times got harder Mr..
Hackney would come down i'll his tigers.
He did this reg lar every month, an yet
nobody would buy. In September me an
Dcbora got mighty blue We hetln't
been maxim notlin an was still dom ther
same.
"Wo looked down in tibet old sock an
found just fifteen dollars an u quarter.
Tibet would pay thcr rent three months
longer, providin we didn't cat nuthin
durin tibet time. If we did, then we
could only count OH livin in ther house
two months longer, then bein dumped
out i'll thcr mud. We didn't know what
to do. l spent my time walllin thcr front
gallery, tryin to scratch some sort o.
idee ont o my head, an Debora took
ther back gallery to herself. About thct
time we kivered moro ground walkin
them galleries then we he'd any idec of.
But to save my head couldn't get an
ldee i'll it Debora beat me there Ono
evcnin she flop through ther house an
say:
Joe. got an idcc.
"'Out with it, says l.
" Hero It's, says she Mr.. Hack
ney's figures gone down to SO for tibet
ha'ntcd house. Let's buy it al move it
up to our lot live in it an save house
rent
What about ther ha'nts?' says /.
Turn en- out, says she. Turn thcr
ha'nts inside out Sce?'
Now, wasn't tibet an idoe for you?
We fished ont tibet sock, paid Mr.. Hack
ney for ther ha'ntcd house, an me an
Dcbora took it good. You ought to seen
hor pullin out the nails with ther crow
bar! Such trump my Dcbora is any
how! We borrowed two poles, a fiat and
asklff M towed it up here. In our skiff
was two sets of oars. Debora he'd one
set, me t'othcr, an l tell you we made
tibet flat move. Then we put it up. We
turned all thcr boards inside ont, like
Dcbora said, an scattered 'em all round
So when it was done there want no one
wall high us it was at fust 1t was for
suro turned inside out.
cone night thcr ha'nts was maxim n
fuss, an warm't payin no 'tcntion to
'em, but Debora sided up right close an
says right out an III tremblyfied tone,
'J-o-o-c, air you aslcep?'
Yes, says l. Don't wake mo.
Z" DO you hear them ha'nts, J-o-o-c?'
Yes, says l, but they is outside
an pretty scattered. One ghost foot in
this room, one in thcr other, an Their
hands an fect's i'll ther other part o.
thcr house an stand all outside. You
amt Arid of ghost tenants, air you,
Dcbora? It's your idcc' Dcbora went
to sleep, ;n she amt said 'ha'nts' to me
since.
'Thor's a small racket round of
nights-it is SO scattered we don't mind
it,"
Fisherman Joe rofillcd his pipe,
glanced around over his house, and with
q breath long and full of content said:
Eyes, tibet was Dcbora' IS idec. Wurth
considcrin, wasn't t?"-Virginia Payne
Henrichs i'll Philadelphia Times.