The Batesburg advocate. [volume] (Batesburg, S.C.) 1901-1911, 1907-09-06
THE OLD STONE
HOUSE.

There had been murder and n sui
eide In the old stone house. aud il hud
been shut up for twelve years. SIX
blocks away n tailor named Shaynp
had an apprentice named Bascomb.
The lad was the son of n widow, ami
though only fourteen years of nge, she
could not control him. He was ro
mantle and adventurous rather than
vicious. The tailor was practical
man. and when his apprentice showed
lack OF energy and zeal he gave him a
thrashing. lie had done this five or
SIX times when Joe, as the boy was
familiarly called quietly slipped out
one night and set out on an adven-
ture,
The mystery of the old stone house
had strongly appealed to young Bas.
comb. Just after dusk OF an evening
In May he bought candles, matches
bread. sausage and butter Of grocer
and carried them into the alley behind
the house.
There was wall twelve feet high
but back OF the florists place lie found
q board ten feet long. This he used to
get himself and his purchases up one
side and down the other. The grounds
were a tangle Of vines and shrubs and
grass, and the old house loomed up
darkly with every door and blind nail
ed There was no cowardice In the
boy. He sat down on rotting door
step and made his supper and then lay
down among the weeds and slept
soundly until daylight. When he had
10 IL fn OF hn cnf nj ly I'm in,
He accomplished the feat by climbing
60 the roof Of shed and forcing q
blind and prying up n sash. When he
was once inside, he closed the blind
again. Then he lighted n candle and
went on tour OF discovery.
From n lot OF moth eaten bedding the
boy selected the best and set up house
keeping I'm servants room in the
second story. He explored the house
TO find only grimness and dust and
darkness He slept as soundly on his
FIRST night In the old house as he had
ever done at the tailors. On the Sec
ond night he wGs awakened by a per-
eistent noise. II sounded like two
pieces OF metal being struck together
He got up, lighted his candle and pass
e' through the upper part of the
house. He found nothing to explain
the noises. Then he descended to the
ground floon He was I'm his bare feet
and moved without sound. He he'd to
move carefully, too, as the floors Had
dry rotted and become shaky. Down
here the noises came to him more
plain, and he located them as coming
from the cellar. This was q part of
the house he had not visited yet. He
did not go down now. lie had more
courage than ninety nine men In hun
dred, but he balked at that. He knew
that 1t was like dungeon down there
and II uncanny things were to be met
with 1t would be below stairs. He re-
turned to his bed and his sleep, saying
that he would Investigate when day
light came.
After breakfast next morning the
boy lighted his candle and started on
his trip. TIe had found the cellar door
fastened on his first exploration
through the house, What had struck
him as curious was that the Fastening
was on the other side. An iron he
found In the Kitchen was used as n
pry, and after ten minutes work the
door was opened.
Descending the stairs, he found below
q cellar and subcellar, ami down In
the latter were the wine vaults. The lad
might have looked for foul air on de-
scending the stairs. but there was
none. There was the blnckeSt kind OF
darkness in the cellar, with the heat
Ing apparatus and It's pipes rusted
away and fallen apart The door TO
the subcellar was also fastened on the
other side. The boy did not even stop
to wonder how the person who had
made these doors fast on tho down
side could have afterward left the
mouse. but forced the second as he had
the hrst In the subcellar were seven
large wine bins and n large square
room. The air down there was purer
than on the parlor floor. A detective
would nave paused to cogltate over
this, but the boy didn't He entered
the dig room after mousing among the
Wine bins for awhile, and there he got
his explanation Of the clinking noises
he had heard the night before
The room was the workshop OF
gang of counterfeitcrs There were
bogus gold and silver coins lying about
almost by the bushel There were
were furnace and several melting
pots. There were jars of acids and
hundreds OF pounds OF metal. There
Were table, chairs. lamps and dishes.
AT the rear end OF the room was
small door, but this was locked with
a key and could not be prled open.
Joe had seen bogus coins and heard
ah ABOUT counterfeiters. and he was
soon aware OF the Importance OF his
hnd. When he had used up a coupIe
or hours looking about. he returned
upstairs. fastening the doors behind
him as well as he could. He had no
impulse to rush of to the police ASH
matter OF fact. he remained I'm the
house for whole week longc., going
out twice at night to purchase pro.
visions before he made up his mind to
20 Dnck To the tailoring business
Ihen he went to the police. His story
wa not crpuItpd nptU o ,1,tn.lt,., - :,