The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1901-09-17

Where was he goingY Who was the
murderer? These thoughts fitted through
my mind a thousand times. Presently he
stopped before a large farmhouse.
"Ths is the place. said he.
Great heavens! Was it possible?
knew the place well. 1t was the resi-
dence of Captain James Standiford, one
of the most prominent men in our whole
vicinity.
"This cannot be true" said Dalrymple
But the ghost gave us no time for
words or thoughts.
"Follow me-" he said, and he entered
the house. Bolts and bars have no re-
straining power against a ghost, for he
pushed the door lightly aside and stepped
into the hallway. Evidently he knew the
place well. A look of delight, l fancied
came over his face as he beckoned us tc
follow him up the stairway.
At the top of the stairs he stopped be-
fore a door.
"This Is his room," he said.
He turned the knob and went In.
The room was dark but through an
open shutter q faint streak of light en-.
tered.
On bed sleeper was tossing restless
ly about. 1t was Stamford.
He moaned, restlessly turned over and
then, with a frightened start, sat up in
bed.
His eyes fell upon the CHASTITY ghost
figure standing at the foot of his bed,
looking a thousand times more horrible
than when we had first seen him.
With a loud cry of terror he sprang
from the bed and ran to the farther side
of the room. Slowly the ghost went after
him.
"Take it away! Take it away" he
shrieked. tits his face! Take it away!
Oh, God! Take it awayw
Standiford's face was so terribly drawn
and contorted by his terrors that one OF
his most intimate acquaintance would
not have known him.
The ghost went slowly toward him,
and, with a maniacal. terrified look. he
ran about the room, getting as far from
the ghost as the room would allow,
shrieking and moaning piteously all the
while.
Shrinking in a corner like cur at bay.
with his bIoodshot eyes almost ready to
burst from their sockets. Stamford held
up his hands toward the ghost and cried
out piteously:
"Go away now! Please go away! am
sorry, so sorry, and this is enough! My
God it's enoughw
But the avenging spirit did not hear
his pleas for mercy Wherever Standi-
ford went the horrible thing followed
him.
For almost an hour it went on thus,
when at last Standiford, becoming utter
ly exhausted, threw himself on the bed
and covered his face with his pillow, try
ing to shut out the hideous sight and cry
ing out in the most penitent manner.
For a moment the ghost lowered over
him and was gone.
Dalrymple and myself stood rooted to
the spot for few moments and then, re-
alizing our position, went back down the
stairway and out of the house.
This is a horrible experience" said
Dalrymple, "and horrible revelation"
We walked back home in silence, busy
with our own thoughts concerning the
novel experience of the night.
The next day met Standiford on the
streets. He spoke to me in his usual
happy manner, but | noticed dark lines
under his eyes, while he wore a sleepy
and detected look.
He was murderer, and no one but
myself and Dalrympe knew and would
ever know.
Would it do to proclaim him to the
world as such with no proof hut the
ghosts testimony and to have the ghost
summoned to court? | think not.