The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1897-05-07
THE HARDY HOUSE.

cheerily, gathering up bags and umbrel-
las as the negro porter drawled out in
his lazy voice:
"An-nis toni"
"Oh, l am so tiredp' Bess said in
such a faint voice and with such a
white, tired face that hurried her into
the fly waiting at the dingy little sta
ton.
ITO the old Hardy house, I ordered
briefly to the driver as he closed the
door, and even in the gathering dusk
Loo and noticed his start Of surprise.
Depend upon it, the house is haunt
ed!' CtAd imaginative Loo. The man
looked as if he had seen a ghost.
l 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.
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 see nothing, not even vii
lage light, so closely were we shut in
by great trees.
Loo shivered slightly.
"How dark and weird it looksp' 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
ton. 1t would have been 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, 1 don't want that what am
going to say should brighten you, but
can't noways reconcile it to my con-
science not to tell you. A ghost walks
this old rattletrap of house."
could not help laughing-her tone
was so sepulchral-but she went on
without noticing my levity, while Loo
listened with wide eyes,
1.-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 a 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 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 a low tone, as if afraid
of the ghost overhearing her:
81 can't imagine what induced old
DIR. Deering to send us to this horrid
old haunted house anyway. He might
have known
Loo" interrupted sternly, for hel
voice was beginning to tremble, and
have all a mans horror Of Mysteries,
you know well enough DR.. Deering
has been kindness itself. What claim
have we upon him, l should like tC
know, except that we are friends anC
patients Of old DIR. Cross? And you, as
we'll as l, saw the letter in which he
described this old house and said is
location made it the very place for Bes:
to recover her shattered nerves, quiet
and so near the sulphur water DR..
Cross has sent her here to drink.
And now, Anne" turning to ou
faithful old servant and friend, "yor
have too much sense, l know, to utter {
word of this nonsense where Bess car
hear it, and advise you to get it out o.
your own stupid old head as quickly a.
possible. As for me, yawning, 81 an
too tired and sleepy to sit up any longer
ghosts or no ghosts" And in a shor
time the old house was wrapped il
darkness and silence.
had been asleep / don't know how
long when suddenly felt a rush O.
cold air and heard a sound like a low
sobbing sigh,
"Oh, Kitw walled Loo under he,
breath and clutching my arm convul
sively, did you feel it? Did you heal
it? What was it,"
Il felt the wind blowing in through
broken window" l answered coura
geously, for, though was only 20 and
girl, had not been the head of tn
family 80 many years for nothing.
Anne Duty came rushing in with
sheet wrapped about her and lighte
candle in her hand, just as Bess awokt
ASKING i'm hnr Ivooly vOica what xUa N,yor