The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1900-08-18
A GHOST I MET.

A GHOST | MET.
Ghosts seem to be popular just now
l hear their noiseless tread and fee
their delightful literary shudder in
books and stories not few. But once
l met ghost, and he was less pleas
ant in life than in a book.
1t was the second year of my teach
Ing school in the mountains of Ken
lucky. had come to feel much al
home. and had ridden far and wide In
the hills. Horses were at my disposal
but / broke mule to the saddle. and
rode him through Cumberland Gap, in
to Virginia and back, a hundred miles
and more. | came to prefer a mule
for long rides over the hills, but on
shorter rides ] more frequently rode q
clay-bank pony.
Early In this second year / formed
the habit Of spending an evening each
week with the teacher in an adjacent
district, and this gave me regularly
a ride home of several miles In the
dark. 1t was made at least mile
longer by the angle which the road
made down to the ford.
This extra mile l grudged most of
all, and when the water was not too
high, look short cut through the
woods, striking the creek h mile higher
up. This way was by a mere Bride
path, which led through an old field
and along ridge, and then through
a half-mile of low-growing trees,
where one had to ride carefully to keep
on his horse In the Oakland it was
dark In there.
One night I heard some animal
crashing through the underbrush
above me, and keeping near me until
reached the creek. The next week
heard near at hand the pathetic, fear
some, half-human and half-fiendish
cry Of a panther. And 80 1 took to car
rying n revolver with me, and for q
time kept the main road.
But moonlight night brought me
back to my short cut again, and Kept
1t thenceforth, even IL once or twice
the water was high enough to set nv
horse to swimming. But the longer
road, dare say, would sometimes
have proved the shorter way home.
At least, there was one time when II
would have saved me a fright and a
delay.
There was only one house on the
shortcut road, IL l may it road. 1t
was the deserted cabin belonging to
the old fields, and 1t stood not far from
the highway. A disagreeable story
was told about 1t, and uncomfortable
things were alleged to have been seen
there. These associated themselves
not only with the house, which stood
with gaping door and sunken roof and
tumble-down stick chimney, but also
with the dead sycamore-tree that stood
In the fork of the path below the
house.
In truth, the tree looked fearsome
enough at night. 1t stood out so white
and bare, SO gallows-like and so me-
nacing, that It alone might well have
been an object of fear. A ghost of
tree 1t was-rooted in its own grave.
a bleak; white tombstone of a tree.
looked at 1t as I rode under 1t, with
a certain Interpretation of seeing
some alarming thing happen there.
1t came one chill, drizzly night
There were occasional angry splits Of
rain, with long-separated and far-dis-
tant CLOVIS of lightning. 1t was shiv-
ering, creeping night, with a touch Of
something In the air that led one to
anticipate trouble. / remember dis
tinctly that my friend said to me as
left: This is the very night to see a
ghost"
think really expected to see some
thing that night. The shudder of It
was In the bones of things in general,
and I could feel it creeping into my
own. And / never doubted that the
place to see it was the dead sycamore
tree. Yet there was certain fascina-
ton in the prospect which made me
take the short cut. l did not want to
see what was there, yet i could not
bring myself TO avoid IL.
So the tree came in sight. and at the
view | started. There it stood, white
against the background of the haunted
house. butt must be mistaken, yet /
could not be-the trunk was unusually
white tonight / cast my eye along
II. The eight feet at the bottom were
SO white that by comparison the upper
part looked dark. And just as began
to assure myself, against my convic-
ton and the evidence of my senses,
that 1t was only Imagination, my horse
gave n snort and made quick turn
with me. There was no doubt about it
now. There was something there.
got my hores around to face the
situation, and as calmly as I could.
considering my own feelings and those
of the horse, inspected the frightful
object ahead. 1t was certainly a hid
eous thing.
The figure was about eight feet high.
1t had white horns, and reckless
head that bobbed about in a menacing
way. 1t had arms which made threat
ening gestures, and 1t moved out into
the path as 1 looked and stood clear
of the tree. 1 held my horse with my
right hand, and passed my left through
INV hair to see IL 1t stood erect / took
courage from the fact that 1t did not:
although why It did not could not
and cannot understand. l certainly
felt the bristling sensation that made
me want to pull down my hat.
4 d. met like 20 - Thought coward,