The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-16

onod etther. This ghost Yves q friendly sort OF
ghost. Neither she nor her mother had any Of
the fear that you would naturally suppose wo-
men would feel when the boarder was around.
A few days later tMrs. Bank having In the
meantime anSwered several calls Of Mrs. Bank,
Mrs. Bank" only 10 ind that it was the boardor
calling, and not Sally Miss Sew was awakened
at about 3 o'clock in the morning by a rapplng
on the door. She heard II distinctly once, twice,
three times-and q fourth time before she was
fully awake. It sounded again. Then she
called, who IN 1T" There was no answeP.
There was no further disturbance. The next
day shs apologizod for having been 90 stupid as
to have failed 70 answer the summons when she
FIRST heard It. Miss Bank and Mrs. Bank held q
conference, They found that neither had
knocked.
Sally camo running into the room.
"Miss Banki Mise Bank,' she exclaimed.
There is q policeman in the Kitchen"
"a policeman said Miss Bank.
yes, mum. A policeman, and he don't say
nothing. He's just a-standin' and ~a-standing'."
"oh, go on, Sally" said Miss Bank. Quit
your fooling. There isn't any policeman there"
Blu there 10. 1 clare to goodness. marin.
there i. I'olare to goodness"
"Why, Sally. there isn't any policeman. Como
with me-" and with much trepidation Miss
Bank went TO the kitchen door. There was no
body in the room.
"There." she said. IT told you thoro was no
body there"
"well. I clare. there was somebody there.'
said Sally, "and IL . truthful gal and you
knows It"
"oh, Sally, you're dreaming"
"well, maybe L 10; maybe I is."
"Sister-sister"-the call was from tho second
loor.
"whet is II, mammal r. asked Miss Bank. rum
ming to tho foot Of tho stairs.
She looked up. Her mother was not there, so
she went upstairs. Half way up she stepped
aside and tho swish and tho invisible presence
went down past her. Mrs. Bank was on the
second floor. She told her daughter she had not
called. yet there had been the voice; there,
going down the stairs, had been the invisible
presence. At that very moment came Sally's
voice calling, Mrs. Banki Mrs. Banki" yet
Sally was way down collar.
Its the boarder." exclaimed Miss Bank.
Its the boarder,' echoed Mrs. Banb.
Again at night Miss Sew heard tho knocking.
This time she jumped out of bed. rushed to the
door and opened 1t. But quick as che was the
boarder had gone. and Miss Sew, who hadn't
thought Of such q thing as q ghost. made up her
mind that somebody was fooling her.
A month had now elapsed. Daily and nightly
strange things had been heard, and invisible
presenoes had formed the habit of accompanying
tho women up and down the stairs. and always
passing them on the way up and on the way
down. 1t was getting to be nerve rackinR. As
stated before. Mrs. Bank and Miss Bank were
not scared, but It got tiresome feeling that there
was always somebody or something that you
couldn't see right on top of you wherever you
went. Master Bank, who hadn't seen anything
or heard anything, was taken Ill. He had been
Ill when he went to tho house, and this was
q sort of relapse. The doctor advised that
the whole family 60 to the seashore, where
they had Q cottage Of their own. Mrs. Bank
had much in tho way Of bric-a-brac that she and
her husband had gathered in their trips all over
the world. and hence did not want to leave the
house unRuarded. 1t was necessary to leave q
servant behind. They had no;desire, either. to
take the boarder with them. They left q woman
In charge Of the house who had never heard or
seen anything wrong: who possibly had never
thought of ghosts. She asked IL she might have
for company with her in the house the child of
a relatives little girl of 12. Mrs. Bank said
certainly. and she and Miss Bank and Master
Bank started of for the seashore. happy in the
absence Of the boarder.
That very night the little girl. having been In
bed three or four hours, ran screaming from
her room. half frightened to death. Whom the
servant succeeded In Q~uieting her she said she
had seen q man como into the room and put o
pair of shoes on the floor. Tho servant took tho
child to bod with her, telling hor she had been
dreaming. Tho next night the little one was
awakened again. and. looking up. she saw dis
tinctly the same man come into the room, take
the shoes UP from the floor, and walk out again.
Again she screamed and ran to the servants
room. The servant got up. They sat up all
night from that on, and In the morning they
searched the house from top to bottom. There
was no living thing in it besides themselves.
After that night the child wouldn't stay In the
house. The servant. however. wasn't frightened
until two days later. when In broad daylight she
saw a tall man who wore an overcoat like q
macintosh pass right by her in the kitchen and
disappear through the window, which wasn't
raised. He simply came by her and went out
into space-vanished. She foil on her knees and
prayed the good Lord to save her. When she
recovered herself she FAMINE the window.
saw 1t was closed. and, after thinking of 1t q
whole day. made up her mind that she guessed
she hadn't seen anything. At all events. she
knew that nobody could have gone out of that
window.
After this until the return OF the family the
boarder was quite decent. He didn't bother the
girl. and all he did was to manifest itself or her.
self or himself in the form of an invisible pres
once. accompanying the girl up and down stairs.
And as she didn't see anything and had never
heard ghost stories, she made up her mind that
she didn't hear anything and didn't feel any
thing. But she told about 1t when Mrs. Bank
got back, the boy having recovered. Mrs. Bank
told her that she had been dreaming or that she
had a too vivid imagination.
Tho invisible presence cavorted up and down
stairs and around the house In great shape the
day Commodore Banks family returned. He
was evidently overjoyed. Evening came. Mrs.
Bank was sitting in the sitting room reading
the paper, holding IL out in front of her with her
two hands. Miss Bank was sitting near her.
Master Bank was playing on the floor with a
boy Of his own age.
"Wah-h.hi" he yelled. "Yous stop pulling my
Leg"
His companion said. 81 hain't pulling your
leg" and just then whiski went the paper out
of Mrs. Banks hand. over her head, and on to
the floor behind her. There was a spat! as II
something had struck the paper. Nobody was
near enough to touch 1t. The conduct of that
paper was extraordinary. 1t simply went up.