Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1907-06-29

note made me quite dizzy for a minute
Where did you say you found It. Mr..
Ware? Under your plate. here at the
table? Why, some one must be play
ing joke on us all"
mo doubt" 1 returned. watching her
closely. But II may prove to be very
serious joke. You see. thing of this
kind is more startling than one would
expect. I've grown rather used to II
myself. but you seem to be quite nm.
set over IT"
"oh. it's Just for the moment" said
Miss Weston. with a forced laugh II
didn't get much sleep last might and
this thing came on me so suddenly
and unexpectedly that it quite took mv
breath away"
A moment later she left the table on
some trivial pTetext. and Miss Carney
called the butler. who had left Us 70
our coffee before this conversation he
gan, aud questioned him closely as 70
the affairs Of the morning. He said that
he had laid the plates himself not long
before we came down TO breakfast and
that while he had not been in the room
ali the time he was positive that NO
one could have entered without his
knowledge.
1T looks as II you must have slim
ped IL under your plate yourself. Mr..
Ware. said Miss Carney in banter.
Ing tone that III betokened her trpe
frame Of mind There doesn't seem
TO be any other explanation. And DO
you really think the ghosts will come
back again? ] shall not let you 20 away
until they are permanently suppressed.
you may be sure"
Il know I appear 20 be guilty" re-
piled with laugh. but assure you I
am not You are merely having a taste
of the same mysterious phenomena
that I myself saw here last summer.
cannot say whether the ghosts will re-
turn or not, but I scarcely think they
Will II they do. we know where 10
go 20 discourage them"
"But how do you suppose the note
was placed under your plate?" asked
Miss Carney. in an anxious tone Il
don't ike this sort Of thing az all IL
makes me dreadfully nervous"
Il haven't the slightest idea" said.
frankly. But I am sure we viii find
out all about IL before long. You know
the other notes seemed very mvsteri-
ous at first but We soon explained
them without the slightest diflcultv.'
AS I said these words thanked my
lucky stars that I had taken the pre-.
90 keep Miss Carney In ic.
norance concerning the cigar case and
the odor Of the rags that we found in
jerks possession. For my part. the
mystery OF Carney-Croft seemed TO be
growing deeper and deeper. and yet
felt 10 my duty 20 my hostess 20 make
as light Of the matter as possible. es-
pecially in the presence OF her other
guests
After breakfast Miss Carney and I
walked down toward the river to
sether and passed the spot where Mac
Ardel had questioned jerks and the
widow
This is where you saw the ghosts.
isn't it?' asked Miss Carney. with
little nervous shudder.
Yes" I replied. and we could have
captured them. too. II we had not been
so sure that we already had bigger
game IN our hands"
Il do hope they won't come back
again" she said with a SILVER. I'm al.
most as much upset over IL as Annie
was But she is not at all we'll Mr..
Ware. Do you know. I really think she
is growing weaker and weaker every
day. Her spirits keep her up and all
that but she certainly hasn't the
strength she used 20 have"
Il suppose that is why the note ar
fected her So" I returned You re-
member. she was actually calling for
some ghostly manifestation only mo-
ment before. and yet you must have
noticed how completely she lost her
head when found the paper"
But not until she had read H." said
Miss Carney she didn't seem 70
mind IL at all until then. you know"
1T almost seemed 90 me that she
recognized the writing" ! said guard
edly. Did you ever see II before?"
handed Miss Carney the note.
which was in the flowing hand Of the
seen II on that eventful night in the
summer. She studied 1t carefully for
some time and then said;
mo. It is totally unfamiliar TO me.
] hardly think that Annie knows any
thing about IL. either. II was merely
her weakness that upset her. Mr.
Ware. You cannot realize how feeble
she is"
We returned 10 the house as the
moring mail arrived and il CHANGED to
be handed to me for distribution. AS I
sorted over the letters came across
one for Miss Weston and 1t was ad-
dressed In the now well-known hand OF
the Bruce woman and had been posted
in the village the day before. / stuffed
il in my pocket without comment, and,
when ! had an opportunity 10 hand II
to its owner, she returned my signifi.
cant glance with look of such pathet-
&c appeal that I knew she was limo
cent OF any wrong doing, and that, at
the most, she had become unwillingly
entangled in this almost unfathomable
mystery, which seemed TO grow from
hour 10 hour.
ITO ha continued