The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1897-02-05
THE HARDY HOUSE.

his lazy voice:
An nis-tonn'
'Oh, 1 am so tircdl' Bcss said in
such faint voice and with such u
White, tired face that I hurried her into
the fly waiting ut the dingy little sta
ton
To the old Hardy house, y I ordered
briefly to the driver as he closed the
door, and even i'll the gathering dusk
Loo and noticed his start of surprise
Depend upon it, the house is haunt
od!'' cried imaginative Loo. The man
looked as if he had seen Il ghost
gave her warming glance. but
Bcss had not needed; indeed she seemed
to have fallen into Il dozc, which lasted
until she was lifted out and carried
into the cottage i'll the strong arms of
Anne Duty.
Diminishing 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 sec nothing. not even Il vii
lage light, so closely were wo shut in
by great trees.
Loo shivcrcd slightly.
How dark and weird it looksr' she
whispered, running into the brightly
lighted front room. wiprc Anne Duty,
having deposited Bcss OH the broad. low
lounge, was already occupied III max
ing tea.
wish Dr. Cross had photographed
old DR.. Decring to meet us at the sta
ton. 1t would have been II little less
lonesome, grumblcd Loo. later on,
.la,, d..
asleep i'll the wide, low ccilcd room on
the ground floor, the only one that had
been got ready, Anne explained
II think DR.. Dccring has been put to
enough trouble for us, renting the house
and all that, i" | 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 want that what AM
going to say should brighten you. but l
can't noways reconcile il to my con
science not to tell you. A ghost walks
this old rattlctrap of IL house,
l could not help laughing-her tone
was SO sepnlchral-bu 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 10 come
near the place after dark; that lots of
folks ont late of dark stormy nights had
seen blue lights burning IL the room up
stairs, and he said he wasn't the ONLY
one that had seen Il white figure fitting
through the dark hall. though nobody
has lived in the house since. two years
ago, IL wicked, swearing young fellow
died here, crying out ut 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 Oh ahead was
piled up ont there on the porch, just as
they dumped it down, not IL stick put
i'll out of the weather? And ii blessed
thing it hash 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 i'll Il low tone, us il afraid
of the ghost overhearing her:
II can't imagine what induced old
Dr. Deering to send us to this horrid
old haunted house anyway. He might
have Known
Loo L 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, l should like to
know, except that we are friends and
patients of old DR.. Cross? And you, az
we'll us I. saw the letter in which he
described this old house and said it's
location made it the very place for Bess
to recover her shattered nerves, quiet
and so near the sulphur water DR..
Gross has sent her here to drink.
And now, Anne" turning to our
faithful old servant and friend, You
have too much sense, I know, to utter IL
word of this nonsense where Bess can
hear it. and [ advise you to get it out of
your own stupid old head as quickly rs
possible. AS for me, " yawning, II am
too tired and sleepy to sit up any longer,
ghosts or NO ghosts And in il short
time the old house was wrapped in
darkness and silence.
had been asleep I don't know how
long when suddenly felt rush of
cold air and heard II sound like low,
sobbing sigh.
''Oh, Kit!' walled Loo under her
breath and clutching my arm consul-
sively, did you feel it? Did you hear
it? What was it?''
Il felt the wind blowing in through
broken window, | answered coura-
geously, Tor though was only 20 and
.-i,l L LII ~. Inr,. tl,n l,nnI Af th.-