The daily democrat. [volume] (Anadarko, Oklahoma) 190?-1908, 1908-10-07

ny HONt anu Siftp Jl.I wv
sun does. For breakfast he always
has soup and ice cream. for his lunch
nuts. for dinner egg ON toast and
breakfast food. When he swears he
does not yell II the old standard for
mula for profanity, but instead speaks
gently. beseechingly and originally, so
that those who hear his voice and
not his words think he is blessing
them. As for sleeping simply be.
cause It Is night. he considers that
merely a fad. lie always gets to bed
at eight o'clock in the morning, rises
at sin in the evening. and says he
feels better for &c..
But about the house. II had nee
been a vain place. with four lightning
rods, a kennel. a summer kitchen and
a laundry. but the kennel had gone
10 the dogs, and the rods were eaten
Ia the core with hungry rust, and the
kitchen and laundry had been boarded
M and padloclied so long that the
memory of man runncth not to the
contrary.
The outside walls were blistered nv
the sun the gate squalled IL one even
looked at il. and the lawn badly need
ed a haircut. But Fox likad the place
all the better for those reasons. and
when his furniture came he put the
cook tove in the parlor. the organ in
the bathroom, and fixed for himself a
coy chamber In the kitchen. Then
he was ready 10 begin housekeeping.
lie rose promptly at six o'clock in
the evening of the second day. ate his
breakfast, and, taking a chair. went
out and propped it against the laun-
dry to superintend the rising of the
moon. This function called for the ac-
compartment Of a quiet smoke, and
drawing a cigar from his pocket and
lighting the butt. Fox placed the other
end in his mouth and began to enjoy
II. You probably have no idea. he says.
how mach better a cigar tastes when
smoked in that manner While he
was wondering why people will insist
upon burning them the other way, the
moon-round, yellow. and looking like
the bottom of a FURNISHED copper ket-
tle-arose and started west as fast as
she could go. Fox sat watching her
until she got over his head and he
was left in the shadow OF the building
and then-a very unusual thing for
him at that hour-he grew drowsy.
When he awoke he knew II was late.
but no moro. The moon and stars had
vanished, and II was as black as the
wing of a crow.
He sat peering about. that moth
ing might escape his eyes, and with his
ears set to catch the slightest noise,
when of a sudden from behind him
and inside the laundry came most en-
trancing sounds, First, there was a
series of low swishes, like a snake
crawling across leaves, and after that
a long, soul.felt, quivering sigh. Deep
ly interested at once. he pressed his
"a against the %clapboards and lis
tened with dilated eyes to the sounds
that came from within. For a time
all was silence; then they came again,
and with them a moaning and groan-
ing, a clank and a rattle, the low scuf-
fling of feet. whispers, gibberish-
another sigh.
All night long he sat there listening
listening to those %uncanny sounds
within, and the sobbing wind and Stat.
ting sheets of rain without. Then. just
before the sun sat up in bed and
thrust one red eye above the rim of
the world, the clouds dried their eyes,
and the wind died with a gasp, and
within the room was nothing but a
throbbing silence. At this Fox threw
open the door and by the morning light
scanned the room anew.
Chairs, tubs, boiler and wringer
were undisturbed. and he could dis.
cover nothing that he had not noticed
before, except that the walls had been
covered with an oxide of chrome yellow,
evidently intended to be but an under,
coating, yet which, for some reason
had never received a covering.
Much perpleXed by the mystery, but
fully determined to meet his suffer
ing tenant face to face, Fox went fol
an electrician, who put a big arc light
IN the center of the ceiling and a push
button on the wall. Then, when night
again settled over the world with
pApoh DihAOAho oPAthdf ip AOOh Ills AIhll
INTO the room and patiently sat the
night through, hearing not so much
As the echo of a groan to cheer him
And for the four succeeding nights
he sat in similar unhappiness, but or
The hfth-just one week from the first
occurrence, a Monday-the ghost cam
again, and for an hour they groaneC
and sobbed I'm unseen c%omradeship
Then, just at one o'clock-as a rooster
crew, a cat squalled, the toads croaked
and the clanking reached its height
Fox, feeling a hang-dog shame at hii
treachery, pushed the button and IN,
room was instantly a-dazzle with light
Eagerly he swept his gaze around.
Agile as the electric current was
the ghost vas quicker. Already Il hat
vanished, riding upon the last DEPART
ing shadow. but as Fox had been care
full to lock the door. and the window.
} were boarded up, great was his won
der as to where It had gone. Scarcel.
[ believing his eyes, he went aroun,