Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1896-05-27
HAUNTED BY A RAT.
The Ghostly Rodent Scared ALI the Other
Rats and Mice Away.

| The Ghostly Rodent Scared All the other
i Rats and Mice Away.
II learned something new about
ghosts and haunted houses the last
time !. was down east, = said the
newly arrived travelling man to the
group of friends gathered round
him.
Years ago this house / speak of
was occupied by family of three.
First there was the father, moody
man of about 80 years, who could
see no pleasure in life since his wife
had died. He hadsa pretty daughter,
who felt the restraint put upon her
by the stern father. The third mem
Der of the family was an old serv-
ant, who had been so long employed
in the house that she thought she
was boss Of everything, including
the girl.
"The young girl fell in love with
handsome young fellow in her ia
theirs employ. The old man was en-
gagged in the East India trade. He
often sent the lad to the house on er-
rands, with the result that he and
the girl got well acquainted. The old
servant, with eyes and ears always
open, soon suspected something was
in the wind, and finally she manag-
ed to find out that the two thought
:, <,.,oo4 5oo1 90 90 o1o. o+LoT Che 1,,o,,4
with great citation to the father and
told him what she had learned That
was the end of the happy days of the
young couple. A couple of days aft
er the young clerk was sent down to
the harbor to deliver papers to the
skipper of a vessel which was lying
in wait for favorable wind and tide.
He was enticed below matches and
kept there for awhile. His bitter
protests we're of no avail. The cap
tain had received the orders from
his employer. and he carried them
out. By the time the young fellow
was allowed to go on deck the ship
was out of sight of land, bound for
the west coast of Africa. The young
girl ran away from home and was
never seen again in those parts. AS
for the young man, he died soon aft
er the vessel touched the African
shore.
"But to return to my story The
old man gave up business and lived
the life of a recluse He brooded
over his troubles till he grew to bea
skeleton. One day the old servant
found her master lying dead on the
floor of his daughters room. The
blood had ceased flowing from the
terrible wound in his neck, caused
by the razor still clutched in his
stiffened fingers. The old servant
told the story afterward, that while
she gazed in horror she saw some
thing of a light, airy nature begin
to take form upon the dead mans
breast AS she stared there she saw
it take the semblanoe of big gray
rat. Those she told the story to look
ed upon it as simply the croaking of
an aged imbecile. But there were
some who changed their minds
shortly afterward, for the watchers
by the body claimed that they saw
the specter of gray rat hopping
about upon the lid of the coffin. IN
fortunately the rat did not go with
the coffin. If it had, that house
might be a pleasant home for some
one now. But the ghost rat some
how or other came to the conclusion
that it would be a good thing to
stay, and it did. So the house is va
can't now Many different families
have occupied it since the old man
killed himself, but the rat proved |
too much for all Of them. Tt was an
impossibility to get rid of the ghost |
ly intruder. Neither dogs nor cats
cared to run up against it. The best |
ratters that could be obtained were
afraid of it and always kept at re-
spectacle distance Sticks, stones,
datirons, hammers, axes. hatchets,
stove covers and various other handy |
articles were sent in the direction of |
the creature Oftentimes they would |
seem. to hit the mark, but the rat
would keep moving leisurely along
rs if nothing had happened. At first
new tenants would rather enjoy the
sport, but it got too monotonous and
creepy after awhile, and the invaria-
Die end of it all in each case was that
the family would move out.
"There was but one redeeming
feature to his ratship-all other rats
md mice kept out of sight. There
we're many of both in the house un-
i'll the old man died, but they were
never seen afterward Buffalo Elk
press.
Boys Know Their Seasons.
We ought never to grow weary in