The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-03-27
THE GRANDBY GHOST.
BY LYNN r. MEEKINS.

4nSo II SutSSCu hit
D ha'nt was already in dare" said
the new member.
How'd he git in?"
Use tellin' de story-an 1 amt
'splanin' what 1 don't know"
Go on" said the president in a
hoarse whisper.
L wa readin' o. pretendin' I was a
1eadin' when all Of a suddint a mon
strous black cat rubbed his whisk-
ers agin my ears
BLACK cat worser'n a graveyard"
said the member in the far corner.
Dat wasn't all-no sub. dat wasn't
all. Fore I could do a single solitary
thing dat cat spoke right out loud and
laughed and what he said was:
Black man. you seems to be
alone"
BLACK cat said dat?" asked the pres
ident.
BLACK cat said them identical
words"
VIVA did o say?"
"Wha' did I say? VIVA I said was:
you jest wait a mint and you'll see
who's alone And wild dat L lit out
fast as my legs could carry me-"
Don't blame you a single bit" said
the president.
But dat wasn't all-no. sub, dat
wasn't ALL"
The gloom that settled Upon the club
was ueep eIOuSH, uul Tie expectation
CT more had it's effect upon the inter-
ruptions of the members. The new
man silenced them and they let him go
on with the rest of the story while
visions of ghouls. ghosts and COLLINS
filled the room.
Il run out OBJ de house and hoped
over de front fence and right. in de
mans head undah his arm. and de
head undah de arm begun a'callin' to
me and wha it said was:
BLACK man. go find my body. Black
man, if you don find my body, I'll
ha'nt you. Oh. my body, my poor body
And L called back, 1 did, Ain got
time for nobody's body 'cept my own
And I made desc here legs fly like
sIokeS i'm a racin' buggy.
II clared de lane gate at one leap but
when I reached de road, what should /
meet but de body without de head, and
shore as I'm a-telin' dis, dat body done
spoke out loud. How it did it without
its head I don't know, but it jest hol-
Tered:
"'BIack a go inc my head. Black
man, go find my head. If you don't find
my head I'll liant you 'twell your
dyin' day.
and I kept a runin' fast as eber /
could and L called back, Amt got no
U-lllS " llllu YOUR IlSdu. IIyln W save
de head I has, but what do you think?
Jest tell me what you think? Dat body
turn and come a runnin after me. And
I run faster dan eber and 10 and behold
on de top of a hill I see a mule and I
made for dat mule and I jumped on his
back and I shout, Run, mule, run and
I'll feed you On roastin' years and fod-
Ger as long as you live and den I
looked and what do you suppose I saw?
hI11a ha6 fv-n hoo6c an1 five 1ooc on6
both of desc heads turned right around
TO me and said:
There's a difference of opinion be-
tween my two heads and thus I am
fixed in one spot, but if you wish it I
can spin around for you on my fifth
leg
and I said, Spin away, Mr.. Mule,
spin away. Do somethin'.'
And we spun and spun and spun
Untwell the body dat was followin me
got tired and went on to loo for it's
head. And byme by I was throwed fiat
OH de ground, and jest den I reached
out my hand and cotched a rabbit, but
when I begun to pull him from the
brushheap he got longer and longer
and longer untwe1l he stood right up
side me and placed his front paws
right on my shoulders. and he looked
me right straight in de eyes, he did,
and asked right out:
What do you want?'
and I said, oh mister rabbit, if you
can't run and if you Won run, Jest git
out OBJ de way or git somebody WHO
will rum and ne laugh right in my
face and say. Black man, you'se turn
in white. And he git out OBJ de way
and off 1 go ober de field and I keep
a goin' and a stumblin' and jumpin'
fences and byme by I roll over another
fence right into a graveyard"
He paused as though the recollection
was O~verpowering.
"~Graveyard," repeated member to
m in whispers that seemed TO
come from their boots.
Graveyard" repeated the man. "And
s:ttin' right on one OBJ de tombstones
was de same big black cat wild a grin
in his face as wide as a saucer. And
he said to me, he did:
BLACK man. you'se a dyin' and I've
come here to dig your grave and OATS
all I kin recommember-every blessed
thing [ a member
Suddenly the story stopped. An
earthquake or a volcanic eruption could
not have ended It more quickly. The
night being sultry, the windows were
open and If the members had not been .
so deeply engrossed they could nave
looked out upon a view of roofs-they
could have seen on the neighboring
apex d DldCh OUJSCL Will 1OuT legs III
a lone tail. From a house further away
came a well-aimed missile and the
black object with a mighty yowl sprans
headlong from disaster only to and in
the full midst of the Accomac Ghost
Club.
The tragedy of the subsequent pro-
ceedings baffled description. The club
rose as n man, moved as one man,
fell down the narrow steps as one man
- Ill x-~1< ~.-~--
and groans. Rough-handed policeman
divided it into its original integers and
the doctors did the rest.
But the Accomac Ghost Club is not
dead. AS soon as the manned can walk
and when new quarters can be obtain
ed, another meeting will be held for
the presentation of a left hind foot Of
a graveyard rabbit to the North Caro-
lima member. At hat meeting. too.
William Henry Harrison Tyler Jackson