The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-08-06
NUMBER THIRTEEN.

) that may be haunted and limited the
; hours suitable for the ghosts appear
: ance. When he has appeared he may
moan, or point. or wave, or beckon,
but there is precious little else that
he may do. We resent-very prop
erly, I think-any radical Innovations
We have been to the pains to lay
down a few simple rules for the guild
iance of the supernatural, and we ex-
pect those rules to be followed.
A superficial study of the literature
of the subject has convinced me that
we are rarely disappointed. Our
ghosts have been brought to recognize
the improperly of haunting a mod
ern residence and the superior pic
turesquenesS of the gallery of the old
manor house They are at home from
midnight until three in the morning.
I gather also that they appear only
to the singularly cool and hard
headed people of splendid nerve and
no imagination who are incapable of
deceiving themselves.
! Therefore, / can quite understand the
resentment that was felt when it be
| came definitely proven that No Is, Pig
| bury Road, WadSworth, was haunted.
1t was all wrong. 1t was a new,
badly built $50 house the last place
in the world for an educated ghost. All
4 that could be said for it was that the
number was undoubtedly IS, and that
/ the general servant who left the house
screaming and refused to return left it
at midnight and was on her own con-
fesSion a Singularly cool and hard-head-
little gin at the house of a married
sister, and declined all information as
to what she had seen, combining herself
to the statement that she would not
spend another night in that house, no,
not if King Edward VII himself were
to ask her on his Bonded knees. His
majesty either did not know of the case |
or did not think it one for his direct
personal interference. In any case, the |
general servant (and it cannot be too
widely known that her name was Su-
SAM did not go back, but did go around |
to other houses limiting OF Things TOO
awful for human speech.
At this time other people suddenly re-
membered that they had always no /
ticed something queer about the place; |
with a laudable desire to get back to |
strict etiquette of the supernatural they /
spoke of strange lights, green for choice,
seen in the windows late at night l do
not know if this was good for anything,
but it was extremely bad for the value
of residential property in the neigh-
borhood. Mr.. James Milk, who owned
six houses, including No IL, in P1gbury
road. had five of them standing empty, |
and was in a state OF unsurpassed
fury.
IF I could get hold of that girl he
said, I'D wiring her neck. She ought
to get seven years. It's all stuff and
nonsense. She goes spreading her lies
about and I'm suffering for it. There's
whatever" And he set his glass down
with a bang which really seemed TO
prove it and rule a line underneath.
I'm that case said Mr.. Albert Sted-
young fellows with a very small mouth
and a silver cigarette case-"in that
case. Mr.. Milk, why don't you go and
spend a night there yourself? That
would be a facer for them. That would
soon stop the talk You'd soon get your
tenants back"
you'll excuse me-" said Mr.. Milk
firmly but 1 believe you are not a
married man."
Albert Shedding admitted his bach
elorhood.
"Then you can't be expected to
the delicate nerves of
woman. Mrs. Milk is most particular
that way. If 1 were to do what you {
said she'd go mad or perhaps drop s
dead. It's no good arguing about it, 1
She's like that
Mr. Albert Shedding pushed his Z
glass to the girl behind the bar and t
said, 81 must trouble you again. miss
Then he began to whistle. Mr.. Milk
him and grew annoyed.
Look here" said Mr.. Milk, 81 know
what you're thinking and 1 don't mind :
telling you what 1 think. 1 think you
the night there yourself
Certainly. I Will said Mr.. Sted-
ding. with pleasure" !
1t was at eleven that night that Mr.
Shedding fumbled with the key which {
Mr.. Milk had given him. He almost
hoped that the lock would not turn. I
It would be a fair excuse. His spirits '
had been falling steadily ever since
he made that rash bet. He did not r
like the look of the place; there might t
be nothing in Susan's stories or with
all that smoke there might be a little 1
fire. He had done his best to keep
himself up in the manner that tradi-
ton assigns to the Dutch. but yet he
had run down. If only Mr.. Milk had =
by some mistake given him the wrong :
key.
But the front door opened easily
A few minutes later Mr.. Shedding had
spread his rug on the bare boards of !
the desolate front room and was COM 2
hickered in a beer bottle on the floor I
his whisky flask lay by his side for o
purposes of reference, in his hand was
4 deadly revolver, with the mechan- I
ism and conduct of which he was I'M f
acquainted. C
He woke suddenly. The room was il
dark and he was sweating with horror C
What was it that had touched him?
What was the awful voice that he had 8
heard? Without one thought of his bet n
he struck a match and made a rush to =
get out of the house.
1t was daylight outside and the num- =
oer-15-was quite clear on the outer
door.
Mr.. Shedding went back into the F
house again, opened the shutters~o of the T
front room and reflected. He reflected a
that the number is easily mistaken y
for the number 3 under certain circum- Z
stances. He reflected also that those e
who expect to find the supernatural al
ways do find it. t
And at present he lives at No. 13-at e
an absurdly low rentaL-Barry Pain, in s
The Sphere. a
Newman Lost a Piano. a
County Clerk Newman lost a piano :,
n the Greenwald fire. 1t was stored in e