The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-02-28
THE GREEN BOX.


subject under, discussion.
1t was an ordinary, old fashioned,
round cheesebox, painted a pale green,
with a very shiny surface. On the cover,
rudely carved, evidently with a dull knife,
were the letters S. s..
"That belonged to my great-grandfa-
ther," Abigail went ON, hitching her
chair a little farther away, esasld it amt
never brought good luck to nobody, and
don't nobody have the least idea what's
in it, and they amt never likely to while
I'm a-living."
Her niece viewed the box with fresh in
terest. What do you suppose is in itS'
she queried, with just a thrill Of awe in
her voice. maybe it's empty"
"No. Uncle Gershom shook it once and
there Was things inside that ratified. He
thought it might be money, and he most
opened it, but he didn't quite, you see.
Nobody ever has
girl.
sPut it away, Abby, do. 1t can't dc
you no good, and I'll tell you why we
don't never open it any of u.s."
The girl arose obediently and, taking
OAAO IVA Il Y w 043S A1tAh So4 AOA Ia
the attic where she had found it. Her
aunt listened in a tremor as the young
feet echoed over the thin boards of the
attic floor and came down the stairs.
She breathed a sigh of relief as the girl
entered the room. "It gave me the shivers
to hear you up there and know you was
a-thinking of the box" she confessed.
you sounded SO much like Tryphena
when she got took with the notion to see
the inside of that box.
"Poor Tr~yphena!" she sighed dis1nally.
"She was the aunt whose lover was
drowned, wasn't she?" the girl asked
gently.
Her aunt nodded assent. "I might as
well begin at the beginning" she said,
'and then you'll see why"
neutrality-suspicious. had that box for
something, but what he and the grave
only knew. When he died, twas left up
in the attic, way under the caves, with a
hair trunk and lots of old rubbish, Int
nobody didn't think of disturbing it till
one day grandmother had q clearing up
fit. She was awful energetic, and she was
bound to get that attic cleared out for
onte. 1t had a terrible lot of old stuff in
it, so she began real systematic and was
going through everything.
"She'd just got round to the hair trunk
and had been reading some of the letters
in it, and just took up the box to open it,
when she heard an awful scream and went
rushing down stairs and found that grand
father had got hurt bad and they was
bringing him home.
HE was dreadful sick and didn't never
rally, and grandmother never finished
cleaning. But after he died she tried it
once, and when she came to the green box
it all come back to her SO plain she just
couldn't do any more.
sThen one day Aunt lamar was rum
maging around, and she came across the
box and thought she'd like it to keep a
hat in, and there came a dreadful big clap
of thunder, and a bolt of lightning ann
right down the chimney and numbed her
so she didn't get over it for hours. And
if you'll believe me, that lightning went
across the attic, and when it got to where
the box was it turned right off straight
and never touched it. We could tell,
cause it left a burned track, with a sharp
angle in it where the box was.
"How do you account for that?"
The girl shook her head.
tsIt just means folks nor powers nor
nothing was to touch that box. That's
what it meant,
ssWell, your Uncle Gershom tried it
once, and he was taking it over to the
light, and he run into an old lantern that
was hanging up, and it cut his forehead
dreadful, and he dropped it n >ran off
for the doctor, and the next time we went
up in the attic the box was back in it's
place again.
She paused to give emphasis to the
phenomenon.
"And then Tryphena took a notion to
open it. And just then Silas came running
over to tell us how Tryphena's beau had
got drowned. Mother went up and told
her, and she just put her head down on
she box and didn't say anything for a long
time. And when finally she did come
down we was all here, and we could hear
her feet come cross the floor just as quiet
and steady, and when she came in she
smiled at us. And-and the next morn
ing-the next morning Tryphena's hair
was snow white.n 2
Abigail rocked in silence for a moment.
mo one has tried to open it since
then,' she said, land / don't think no
body will while l can help it,"
She arose suddenly and went out into
the kitchen. Abby looked after her, and
there were tears in her young eyes.
"Say, was Great-grandfather Simpson
an awfully methodical man?" queried
Walter at supper, pausing between
mullins.
VERY 2 replied his aunt "Why?"
"And his name wasn't Solomon or
Samuel or anything that begins with 81"
mo; it was Zattu. You don't often
hear that now"
well, then, it must ber' he said on
clusively.
WHAT" Gueried Abby.
why, the box" he replied.
His aunt pushed back her chair.
II found one up in the attic" he ex-
planned, land it had S. S.. on top of it,
and I thought it might mean a sign for
dollars, so / opened it"
There was a sharp exclamation from
Abigail. She was very pale.
ssThe cover stuck like fury" Walter
continued, "and I broke three blades of
my jackknife to get it open, but I was
bound to do it, and / did"
.sWhat''- his aunt attempted to say,
while she looked beseechingly at Abby.
..Oh, just an old almanac and some
dried squash Seeds" Walter replied care
lessly. That's why he marked it S. S.,
you see-squash seeds. l took the box
and dumped the seeds on the floor"
There was a sudden crash outside and
an Irish howl as Bridget tripped and sent
the boiling teapot flying.
- 4 L. 81 - A Kill --sl