, 1896-11-09
THE GHOST OF WAYNE

ILL AOeA VI w n i ~
A. the small sailing yacht drifted
slowly past the blur at the entrance Of
PresQue Isle bay the two men sailing
her stood breathlessly watching the
strange lights which seemed to rise and
fall at intervals on the spot where the
old blockhouse stood in the days when
Mad An-Aony Wayne. with his troops,
was stationed at the fort and where he
Wa buried in l796. As the boat drew
close to the shore Herbert Manning, the
younger Of the men who had been striv-
ing In the semidarkness to make out
what the unusual lights were. grxsped
his companion BY the arm. exclAimins
szcitedly: Look! Look quick. capeainl
There aEs thrss psrsons on the ground
whsre The old blockhouse was burned
down. How queer they look. You can
almoss see through them. I move W
ct away from here; it makes my nesh
creep" Captain Roaa, who had . most
profound contempt for the superstitious
most Of the sailors are imbued with,
looked long and earnestly at the group
before he spoke. At first he thought per.
haps some hot headed feud was beins
settled with firearms at an hour Of the
night whom they could best elude the
vigilance Of the authorities; but, mol
The figures which could be distinctly
sven through the mist were unlike the
people Of the present day. The military
man. standing with head erect and one
hand AvtAoda1 .. 10 ;>.r;u, -.,d
looked wonderfully like the old por.
traits Of General Wayne. Standing BE-
toee him, with folded arms, was .
young man In the dFess Of . lieutenant
His fsco expressed defiance and despair.
KoeelinS before the general wa . slight
girliah. figure. with clasped hands raised
In duplication to the stern man whose
face looked hard and mezciIess in the
blue ghastly light which made tho
scene 70 weird that the captain - we'll
- his young friend began to have .
weak feeling about the knees - they
gaaed s~pellbound through the mist 1t
the unoanny pantomine. Tho woman,
who sesmingly had pleaded in vain.
suadenly springing to her feet threw
her arms around the young lieutenant,
and in that instant all three figures dis
appeared. No vestige Of the scene enact
cd remained. although the yachtamen.
straining their eyes to trace q shadow
Of what they had seen, could distinctly
80 the ground upon which the ghastly
trio had stood.
A moment later the moon, bursting
through . cloud, shone clear and cold,
showing the bleak spot where Mad An
thony Wayne had once been buried.
"Who on earth were they. captain!"
again asked the younger man with .
glance 1t the blum they were fast leav-
ing behind q their sail. answering to .
stiR breeze. carried them toward the
lower pierA II do not know, Bert"
replied tho captain with = abort laugh. |
trying to conceal the nervous feeling he |
could not shake OF. II doubt whether
It was any oae ON earth II the old
story told BY some Of the sailors BE- true
about the bluff being haunted by the
spirits Of Mad Anthony Wayne and
the young lieutenant he had shot ~ a
deserter. I imagine We have seen the
spooks tonight. I have never believed
in ghosts, but this beats me 1t is .
tribe too supernatural to suit my taste.
II will tell you the story Of General
Wayne and his ~favorite lieutenant ~ it
VA told to me BY an old resident Of
Erie. who moved there from Pittsburg
at the time Anthony Wayne died and
VA personally acquainted with tho
facts.
We all know from history that Gen.
esal Wayne was one Of the bravest and
most daring soldiers Of the Revolution, |
and a. IN Indian fighter had scarce his
equal. He did not know the meaning
Of the word fear, and IA . dixciplinarian
he was . terror to all who were under
him. Among the young officers on his
stan the Nc he liked best VA . fair |
haired youth Of ~ years, to whom he
had given leave Of absence to visit his
bride, to whom he had been married
bat . few days when no received march.
Ing orders.
He was great favorite with General
Wayne Yho SAINT him away buoyanty
happy With the permission to Esmain q
hous with the object Of his affection.
Attic expiration Of that time he Wa
10 report promptly for duty. He started
q his short journey with hearty good
wishes and capitalization Of the other
lns favored onoerA Who although they
might ehvy him, did not grudge him
he % hours' fresdom from duty. nor
he happiness before him. II seemed .
long time, but. alas, how short It wasi
"The bride. . dainty little woman IN
used to discipline of any kind. with
impesioumess % bewitchod tho
heart aud brain Of The young husband
The hours dew On unoountsd and The
oeoeral's command 10 return In 4s hoass
was uHheedsd-was actually forgotten
until four hours over the allotted TIM.
Tbsy had passed before the lisutsnant
he had disobeyed oedssA md
y Wa ahoct to retnrn and sue for pae-
Ian. trusting 10 his good standing WITH
~ general 10 influence his granting Il
IA - L. AAN- A. /