Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1903-02-28

"Ach Mel. hat YOU forgot de place
fyou always wanted to go to and We
wouldn't led you. because il vas damp
and dark?"
That's so You mean the cellar"
Yes. yes. to be sure. You vas lost
vonst. and We couldn't flint you for a
long dime When We did. you vas
aschleep in de cellar"
well. come along Let us have look
at it," said. eagerly. The noise like a
slamming of a door had seemed TO
come from below. Perhaps l should
discover the cause down there.
On opening the door leading down
from the dining-room. a musty odor as
| sailed my nostrils.
1t is peculiar how the sense of smell
\ brings back to one old associations and
memories. / recollected that musty
odor perfectly. and ii brought back the
days of boyhood more wildly than any,
thing else had done.
We descended the stairway, and
found the cellar bare and empty. /
peered into every dark nook and cor
ner, but there was nothing which could
have caused the noise.
Nothing to be seen here, Sarah" I
| said Maybe we can find something
of interest in the old storeroom."
My grandfather, in his latter days.
had kept the village store and post
Office.
The house was built on the side of a
| small hill, so that it was three stories
high on the street side and two in the
rear.
The cellar was divided into two apart
ments by a thick wall of stone. One
apartment was used for the house SUM-
plies. The other section was in turn
divided in two, the front facing on the
| street serving as the store and post
office, the rear, a deep, cavernous, I'M
foreground room, having been used for
the storage of barrels of vinegar. mo-
| lasses. tobacco and dried fruit.
We descended the open stairway lead
| ing down to the storeroom from the
| main hall. The door was at the bot
| tom, and at first L thought it was
| locked. Upon closer examination, dis
| covered that it had only become tightly
jammed by slight settling of the sur
rounding timbers. A few vigorous kicks
soon caused it to open, and we stepped
down into the room.
The shutters to the windows were
closed, but there was above the door
| leading to the street a small transom.
Through the dust and moisture-be-
| grimed glass a few rays of light pene-
trated, producing a twilight gloom in
the apartment, but not so deep that we
/ were unable to see.
l. One of the old counters still remained
and scattered over the floor were a
few empty boxes and barrels. thought
of the white-haired old man whose form
had been so Familiarity associated with
the room, and 1 glanced over to the
corner with fancy that he was here
.still. seated behind the desk.
l. why, Where's de door gone ?r- Sarah
/ cried out, in tones of excitement
+ What door, Sarah ?'
mel, you know, you remember. Der
used to be a door to de store cellar.
I'and now dere amt any"
Sarah was right. There had been a
ldoorway, through which had stolen
many times for the purpose of filling
llmy pockets with raisins and dried fruit.
There was none now. The wall of solid
masonry confronted U.S.
1t really seemed matter of very
| little Importance, but Sarah kept up
| excited ordinations about 1t, until /
finally stopped her.
why, Sarah, i don't see anything very
strange in the walling up OF a cellar
doorway. No doubt Mr.. Sonntag. my
lawyer, had it done. L remember the
place was dark, damp and unhealthy.
He thought 1t best to have it closed
up, perhaps. There was another door
from that cellar leading outside. was
There not?"
: Eyes, right unter your bedroom vim
ldow," Sarah answered.
: We'll, that can be easily broken down
II you want to get in the place. But
| what would be the use of all that
Atroublep 1 don't want to use the cell
lar"
l. But then / remembered the noise
(which had seemed to come from be-
meath my bedroom, and the cause of
which Twas unable to discover through
,out the rest of the house.
eve might take look at the other
hdoor," I finally said, refectively.
\ We assembled the stairway and went
Faround the house. Thick vines, reach
Ing to my bedroom window, completely
thid the outside cellar door
1 parted the vines, and found again
the solid foundation wall. This door
way had also been walled up.
Sarah was SO greatly impressed by
this new discovery that her excited ex-
kclamations broke out anew, and she
Ragain began to plead with me to leave
the place.
Again sought to quiet her fears by
klaughing at her, although it did seem
la trif1e strange that my agent should
have walled up the doorways. Twas sat
isfied he had had it done, and won
dered what his reasons could have been.
kPerhaps, after all, Mrs. Snyder was
fright in affirming that there were mys-
Steries about the old house. Perhaps
Rthis walled-up cellar was the seat of
Esupernatural demonstrations, and my
Eagent had sealed it up for that reason.
81 do not intend to lose any sleep
- u