The Nezperce herald. (Nezperce, Idaho) 1900-1957, 1909-03-25
-Good heavens! what was thatyr

Uoou heavens! what was thatY"
\ Three of the men at the ~green-baiz.
{ card-table dropped their cards ant
E leaped to their feet with blanchee
: faces.
A wild screech. the screech OF a mar
: In the last extremity OF terror, still
7 echoed through the passages of the old
Cornish mansion. and made the very
marrow shrink in their bones!
The shrek ended suddenly, as
though the throat from whence it had
sprung had been suddenly clenched.
And almost as suddenly the three
men dropped Imply back into their
chairs. and gazed op~en-mouthed at
their host
he had paled somewhat. but had not
moved. and returned the stare OF his
guests with a somewhat cynical. but
obviously forced. smile.
For a few moments only the autter-
ing OF a moth against the lamnshade
broke the silence. then. laying his cards
upon the table with affected nonchal-
ance. be spoke.
You're three nice fellows to ask here
10 keep me company. / must say. why.
It nearly startled me as wen to see
you jump" and he laughed ~uneasIIy.
Il u say I expected more from
you, Robert" he added In a playfully /
reprfmanding tone. inclinlng his head
and shaking a finger towards his part
ner. a huge. broad-shouldered giant OF
q man.
I'm awfully sorry. Trevelyan,s an
swered Robert. with a laugh. now
somewhat ashamed OF his fears; "but
1t was so sudden and unexpected. Won
know And when you asked Kerr ana
Huntley and myself to stay with Jon
this old place, you didn't give us
10 understand that we were going 10
hear anything like that. we thought
pet family ghost was a fairly
harmless. respectable sort OF customer.
I shouldn't like to meet the thing.
whatever 1t was. that made that
That vas NOT the ghost.~ answered :
Trevelyan seriously there may be no )
host, as you choose to call It. for all
know- Nobody has ever seen IL. any :
ow. during all the generations nv I
amfly have lived here. All I know )
that no a who passes a night in
ne room. the door Of which I pointed 8
ut TO o last night. ever lives TO see !
And I have heard. IL one /,
Judge by the expression on the /,
lees Of those who have attempted IL,
lat the death is not a pleasant one.
: any means" r.
Then whose cry was thatYv asked el
ebert, nodding HIS head in the direc- tn
Of the o referred to, from Ia
hich the cry had proceeded
II do not wish to brighten you" an III
Tered Trevelyan; 'fn fact. II is most be
convenient that IL should have hap al
ned at all tonight, considering that bu
ten 1t Is not heard for months to-
Their ; but that was the cry OF the last tn
IN who attempted to stay in the DO
M he
1T wal during my grandfather's wa
ne, when ms father was a young fell
', that he came to grief. OLE
Father had a little party Of his duI
here. These fellows had heard tai
nut the haunted room and were ratb-
scepticaI. as you probably were I'M "
Just now so on their way to their dor
rooms n night, father took them ner
Il the door, which was always deu
<ed- woi
fathers b0undless establishment I
stood the door wide open. cha
II Is fnexplicable. as none of fba sat
would dare cross the thresh- a q
CON
Then n Of the guests. a big Cor cam
imam from a BIT farther west than aisle
, namd Tregasg1s, a man with a s.
re Of iron. said Well, an open door hea,
ms welcome, so I'm going TO pay alon
ghost a visit and. with his lighted hea,
lie in the hand. in he walked lent.
n n Of the others, for a Joke. one
the door behind him, ana be was II
in. But when they tried to open "are
icy were IN a blue funk, I can tell spra
The door would not bulge. Meth &c
+ them had locked It either. " bs
hey kicked and pushed and bang has
nut 1t was all OF no use. An this NEAR
Tregasgis had been talking To And
quietly from within. Then sud again
7 they heard a cry Of horror. then AZ
shrek that you have just heard. clam,
was all Then they got a hatchet by IL