Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-08-17
DAILY SHORT STORY
THE MAJORS GHOST.

Sir Hugh CullOm, uecedSeu lie nau
been a bachelor. and the property had
fallen to relative whose whereabouts
We're not known. 1t was only a small
landed estate of about fifty acres. and
the house had hardly been habitable
| during the last five years Of the OWN
er's life. Left without a caretaker,
another five years made it little better
| than q ruin
When grounds are neglected and
| overgrown and 4 house goes to decay
1t does not take long for a rustic popu-
| lation to give 1t a bad name and con-
meet a ghost with ii. 1t was so in this
case. Once a couple of boys reported
| seeing a mans face at one of the
| lower windows, but the story passed
| for what il was worth. Only a few
people would have it that the house
was haunted. but all seemed to tacitly
agree that ii was a good place to keep
away from.
One day Major Eillaine came down
from London for weeks fishing and
| put up at the Sundial. 1t was not
i AVii5 bSfplC NAlN SSONHAp"' PO''NA A4AhH ~
! garding the CullOm house, and what
was said seemed to stick in his mind.
lie said little, but that night after sup
| per he took a walk over the highway
| toward the house and was gone for
| three hours. Next day he went to
| Tunbridge Wells and bought himself a
! revolver and box of cartridges. and
| he was absent again for the next two
| nights. Parties who recognized him
met him near the house and saluted
him. After his third visit he was found
| in the house n corpse.
At the inquest later on the landlord
| of the Sundial had an interesting
story to tell. He said that when Ma
| jor IIiuaine returned from his first eX-
| petition he called him into his bed
room and told him that he had entered
the grounds and even the house, and.
| though he was not attacked as others
| had been, he had reasons for believing
| that men We're hanging about. He pro-
posed to arm himself and solve the
mystery and bound the landlord TO
| secrecy. The landlord could not say
| whether the major visited the place in
the daytime or not, but he knew that
| his second visit at night confirmed the
| suspicious born on the first. When he
went away on the third night he was
somewhat excited, saying that he ex-
pected to meet with a lively adventure.
1t was suggested that he take one of
the county policemen with him, but
| this he would not listen to. Whatever
it was, he wanted to meet it single
handed.
1t was n dark and rainy night in
| September when the major set forth on
his trip, and he took with him candle
and matches and a flask of wine. He
| had not returned at IL o'clock, when
| the house was closed and the host went
| to bed. Some uneasiness was felt next
| day when he did not appear, and after
another twelve hours the landlord
went TO the legal authorities. For a
| day they refused to interfere, but when
officers finally went to inspect the
house they found the major lying stiff
and dead in the lower hall. 1t was at
| first believed that murder had been
done. but when the doctors came to
examine the dead man not a mark OF
violence could be found on him. A
post norton revealed the fact that he
| had died Of heart failure. The house
was searched from top to bottom, and,
| though there were traces of human be-
| lngs having been around of late, there
| were no other discoveries.
Here was a mystery within n mys-
l Il f,n -
| doctors and the officers of the law that
| the major had OvereXerted himself in
walking the two miles after a hearty
| supper, and but for his brother in Lon
| don that would have been the verdict
| Of the corOner's jury and the end of
the case. AS soon as the brother came
| Town, however, he sent for detectives
| and insisted on thorough probing
The sleuthS were at work for three
months, and il was while they were
still at work on the case that they
made the arrest of a noted burglar
,, The man was picked up almost by ac-
cident. and it turned out that he held
he key TO the mystery.
Some weeks previous to the majors
coming n country bank had been rob-
bed of a large sum In gold by two men.
They stole horse and buggy to carry
their plumber away, and the police
were batfieti for a cIew. 1t seems that
they drove to the house and secreted
their plumber in the cellar and hid
themselves in an upper room. They.
were aware of the majors first and
second visits and were prepared for
his third. With phosphorus they drew
a skeleton on the unpapered wall Of
the hall and covered 1T over with a
blanket.
When the major entered the house
and before he had struck a light the
blanket was removed and dismal
grooming INDUCED in to heighten the
effect. The soldier had proved his
bravery on many a field, but the sight
and the noises came 10 him with such