The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1901-11-08
MY GRANDPA's. STORY

| ghost stories.
We had runlmaged our brains for all the
impossible things we had ever heard OF
dreamed of, and had worked ourselves into
such state OF agitation that our voices
which began to sound strange and hollow in
the big, empty kitchen, had sunk into horri-
| fled whispers
But Dick must needs break the charm
just here by declaring us to be a lot of geese
| to get frightened at such nonsense
Dick was in the high school, and we were
all inclined to look upon him with admira-
ton, but Charlie Gray took ofiense at this
sweeping statement, and accused Dick of
being the biggest coward in the company
| sit would take something more than
ghost to frighten me, let NE tell you," Dick
said, with superior air.
ooh, you can talk, retorted Charlie, "but
| lguess you wouldn' like to go home through
the graveyard tonight, any moren the rest
| OF us"
Fudge! Id as lief go through the
graveyard as the barnyard. What is there
to be afraid of in either:"
.Oh, you would, wAlld you?" said Char
lie. Prove it, then. Well go home by
the road, and wait for you in front OF the
church Come on, boys. He'll be ashamed
to back out now"
Its piece OF nonsense" said Dick, ''but
l don't propose to back out. Let me know
first what You expect me to meet there, so I
sha'n't disappoint you. Is it grandfather's
| ghost, or"
But here lie stopped. Each of us had
| heard, at the same instant, a slow step in
the doorway, and no one started more sud
denly than Dick, as we turned % see who
was coming.
4 ;or
| to see the jolly face of dear old GRANDPA Their,
as he stood in the doorway, his sides shall
ing with laughter.
'Grandfather's ghost, is it," he chuckled,
as with eager hands we seized him by his
dressing-gown and pulled him into chair.
"A story, grandpa story!" we clam
ored, ito pay us for that scare while each
of us, in the same BREATH demanded what
it should be about.
oh, please tell us ghost story, pleaded
Sally, climbing into his lap, and speaking
above the rest. "A real truly one, grand
pa-something that happened to you when
you were boy
why, Sally" interposed Dick. Just
as if grandpa knew anything about ghosts!
Tell us war story, grandpa"
We'll, YOU never found your old grand-
father at loss for an experience yet, did
you?" he answered, smoothing Sally's
curls; and guess he won't fail on ghost
story.
This little group OF scared-faced story
tellers puts me in mind of a similar COM
pany, that might have been gathered around
this same old fireplace, some 60 years ago.
Il was a smart lad at that time-smarter
in my own eyes than Eve ever been since
somewhat after the stamp of young Dick
here; and stuff and nonsense! - they
couldn't scare me with any of their Hal
loween yarns.
81 was going to be soldier, and it would
take a pretty heavily armed ghost to get a
tremble out of me.
well, we all fell to arguing about it, and
none of the boys would give in that was
any sprinkler than the rest; and before |
knew it, they were all dressing me up IN
grandsire long cloak, that reached clear TO
the ground, with a pillowcase on my head
and a lot more outandish hxings, a-starting
me off for the cemetery.
They'd laid bet that 1 didn't dare to
go there, and was just fool enough to take
it up. There was hollow down at the fur
Their end, where big monument stood, all
shut in by the trees. 1t was a lonesome
spot, but there l was to go; and just to
jacklnife with me and thrust it into the
ground behind the big poplar. All, tell
you, children, if l didn't wish myself at
home before | got halfway across that
ahurchyard!
81 began to whistle; but the sound broke
so strangely into the stiffness that had to
look behind me to see whether the voice
was really my own or belonged to somebody
else.
81 recolect there was sickly moon over
head, looking just about as pale as | felt.
An owl hooted in the woods beyond, and
; gave me such start that | well-nigh pitched
headlong over the old cloak. But | could
see the big poplar looming up just ahead,
and | determined to reach that and get
my knife into the ground, and then take
about the shortest cut for home that l
ever made
well | got to the hollow, with the big
monument staring me in the face. and,
reaching out at arms length, thrust that
knife into the ground and then started to
return
But, mercy on mel not a step could
move l struggled with all my might to get
away, but it was just as if something was
holding me to the earth by main force, and
down dropped to the ground, in dead
faint
"Oh, grandpa, didn't they come and find
your" broke in Sally.
eyes; they came after me, bringing some
of the old folks with them, as they were toe
much frightened then to come alone. But
they had worse scare yet when they came
upon me lying there, and found they could
not lift me from the ground. Now what dc
you suppose the trouble was?'
"Oh, was it ghost grandpa
''I'll tell you just what it was. | hao
thrust the big jackknife through the edge
of that long cloak into the ground. Ane
that the nearest your old grandfather evel
came to seeing ghost"
"Oh!' and Sally drew deep sigh of re
!. lief. Aren't you glad we didn't send Dicl
to the cemetery?"
Il don't see how you remember all sucl
things, grandpa said Dick, changing tn
subject. Il sha'n't have any wars to go to
: and l don't believe | shall have any expert
j l, ,p