The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-11-17
Ghosts in the Orchard.


Teddy, like all other boys, loved fruit;
and when he left his English school
to visit his fathers home in the island
OF Ceylon, just outside the town Of Kan
dy, he was charmed with the tropical
fruit, the delicious mangosteen, fresh
eOeoanuts, soft and creamy as custard;
bananas ripcced ON the tree, and n great
many others.
One morning he vas filed with dis
may to find the orchards nearly bare,
the boughs stripped, and no footprints,
no noises the night before, though there
must have been hundred or so of
the rOgues to do 80 much damage in
few hours. fastening to call his
father, he met his elder brother and
showed him the ruin of the fruit-trees.
Richard looked grave enough, for
this meant very serious loss to them;
but when Teddy repeated for the third
time: "Dick, who do you suppose Gid
all this misehief?' ne answered with a
smile:
"Why, ghosts, TO be sure"
"But, you know, ghosts can't rob or
chards and devour fruit. You are only
trying to fool meas if were baby?"
exclaimed Teddy indignantly.
"OIr Csylon ghosts rob orchards, as
you see"
Nonsense" said his father in dis
pleased tone as he joined the boys, II
will not have you talk such stuff 70 Ted
dy, Dick"
"But who did it, father??' asked Ted
dy eagerly.
The flying lemurs. You never
heard of them in England, but We
know too much of them here" and he
passed on.
Look at your Latin dictionary, Ted
dy," said Dick: at is the same thing"
Teddy did look and found that lemur,
or tenure, means ghost. He was very
much puzzled, bit he would ask no
more questions. He resolved to watch
that night him self; one part of the or
chari had not been touched.
After every one else had gone to sleep
he sat watching, and was suddenly
startled by seeing a great many shad-
owy forms passing silently over the
grass towards the fruit trees. They
seemed to spring into the air and hurl
them selves upon the trunks, then with
a long, flying leap float through the air
20 the next tree. There seemed at least
two or three hundred in the flock, and
it was all 50 noiseless that he was fright
ened and cried aloud for his father.
The alarm was quickly given, and
The men ran to the orchards, attacking
the marauders with guns aud Clubs,
killing a good many aud at last driy-
ing them off.
These lemurs are a family of tropical
animals of the division of four-handed
or f,ot-handed creatures, and are very
like the monkeys, to which they are
akin. except that their hind legs are
much longer than their fore legs. They
have sharp muzzles, like foxes, and Us
ually-nOt always have long tails.
As they delight toliyc in trees, eating
fruit or birds eggs and insects, it is
convenience to them to have piece OF
fish heightened from ths fore legs to
the hind ..Sas- like the flying squirrels
which tskes the place Of wings and
helps them % throw themselves into
the air qIite distance from one tree to
another. They cannot really rise from
the earth an 1 ily, but they can climb
aud jump much better on account of
this appendage, and with their sharp
claws they hold on TO the lark and
strip the fruit off,
They go in large fiocks and do an inn
mense amOunt Of mischief. There is
one kind of lemur, called lOris, that
climbs into tree without a sound, and
swiftly aud silently captures the birds,
which never dream that an enemy Is
near.
The next day Teddy wrote to an
English schOolmate:
"Odr orchards have ali been robbed
and the fruit devOured. Can you guess
who did il? Ghosts, You will not be-
lieve this, but I am telling the truth.
Perhaps if you ask our Latin teacher
he may help you to guess this riddle"