Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1897-01-28
THE HARDY HOUSE.

his lazy voice:
"An-nis-tonp'
"Oh, I am so tiredr' Bess said in
such faint voice and with such a
white, tired face that hurried her into
the fly waiting at the dingy little sta
ton.
"To the old Hardy house, - I ordered
briefly to the driver as he closed the
door, and even in tho gathering dusk
Loo and noticed his start of surprise.
depend upon it. the house is haunt
edp' cried imaginative Loo. The man
looked as if he had seen ghost.
I gave her warning glance, but
Bess had not needed; indeed she seemed
to have fallen into doze, which lasted
until she was lifted out and carried
into the cottage in the strong arms Of
Anne Duty.
Dismissing the man. Loo and I lin
gered outside awhile trying to make out
something of our novel surroundings,
but beyond the low, rambling old house
we could see nothing, not even vii
lage light, so closely were we shut in
by great trees.
Loo shivered slightly.
"How dark and weird it looksl" she
whispered, running into the brightly
lighted front room, where Anne Duty,
having deposited Bess on the broad, low
lounge, was already occupied in max
ing tea.
81 wish DR.. Cross had telegraphed
old DR.. Deering to meet us at the sta
tion. 1t would have been q little less
lonesome, grumbled Loo, later on,
when Bess had been left comfortably
asleep in the wide low ceiled room on
the ground floor, the only one that had
been got ready, Anne explained.
II think DR.. Deering has been put to
enough trouble for us, renting the house
and all that" was beginning to re-
monstrate, when Anne Duty coming in
interrupted me.
"Miss Katherine" she began in what
Loo calls her graveyard voice, "Miss
Katherine, don't want that what am
going to say should frighten you, but I
can't noways reconcile it to my con-
science not to tell you. A ghost walks
this old rattletrap of a house. -
I could not help laughing-her tone
was 50 sepulchral-but she went on
without noticing my levity, while Loo
listened with wide eyes.
"The man that brought me out with
the boxes this morning said he had seen
it, and you couldn't hire him to come
near the place after dark; that lots of
folks out late Of dark stormy nights had
seen blue lights burning in the room up
stairs, and he said he wasn't the only
one that had seen white figure fitting
through the dark hall, though nobody
has lived in the house since, two years
ago, wicked, swearing young fellow
died here, crying out at the last that he
had sold his soul to the devil for drink,
and it was burning him up.
'And Miss Katherine, honey, would
you believe it, every blessed bit of fur
niture that had been sent on ahead was
piled up out there on the porch, just as
they dumped it down, not stick put
in out Of the weather? And q blessed
thing it hasn't rained."
Anne paused at last for breath.
Loo looked fearfully around the
cheerful but rather dilapidated little
room, and, moving her chair nearer
mine, she said in low tone, as if afraid
of the ghost overhearing her:
81 can't imagine what induced old
DR.. Deering to send US to this horrid
old haunted house anyway. He might
have known
Loo" I interrupted sternly, for her
voice was beginning to tremble, and ]
have all mans horror of Mysteries,
"you know well enough DR.. Deering
has been kindness itself What claim
have we upon him, I should like to
know, except that we are friends and
patients Of old Dr. Cross? And you, as
we'll as I, saw the letter in which he
described this old house and said its
location made it the very place for Bess
to recover her shattered nerves, quiet
and SO near the sulphur water DIR.
Cross has sent her here to drink.
And now, Anne" turning to oul
faithful old servant and friend, 'you
have too much sense, know, to utter 9
word of this nonsense where Bess car
hear it, and advise you to get it out Of
your own stupid old head as quickly as
possible. As for me, " yawning, "I am
too tired and sleepy to sit up any longer,
ghosts or no ghosts" And in short
time the old house was wrapped il
darkness and silence.
had been asleep I don't know how
long when suddenly I felt a rush d
cold air and heard sound like low,
sobbing sigh.
"Oh, Kitp' walled Loo under hel
breath and clutching my arm convul
sively, "did you feel it? Did you heal
ita What was it?''
II felt the wind blowing in through
a broken window" I answered coura
geously, for, though was only 20 and q
girl, / had not been the head of the
family SO many years for nothing.
Anne Duty 'ame rushing in with q
shea wrapped about her and lighted
canetie in her hand, just as Bess awoke,
asking in her weak voice what we were
Many merchants are we'll aware
that their customers are their best
friends and take pleasure in supply.
ing them with the best good obtain
able. AS an instance we mention
Perry & Camerson, prominent drug
gists of Flushing Michigan. They
say. Eve have no hesitation j re-
comemending Chamberlain's Cough
Remedy to our customers, as it j.. the
best cough medicine we have ever
aold and q l,ua sra seixxar saAiafaa4ios, q