The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1909-04-29
The House of the Black
: PATE. Ring e.,z.,..,. 1905

{ everything took. Heern tell of it"
Dan Tressler had come up Oh business.
He was staying with Amos
man.
Say. this is gettin' sorter kinder
close, as the darkey said when the mule
kicked him." observed Amos. This
makes five breaks to my certain knowl-
edge: Snyder's Over to White Deer
Valley; the postoffice in Blair's Gap;
McCormick's on Bottle river; and two
weeks ago the store at Green Briar
creek. Better keep your y peeled
these nights, Squire. You'll be next.
There's q regular gang at this"
Say. Ulie." observed the squire, ig-
noring Amos, lever stop to think there
hain't been q robbery in this section for
30 years fore the Paintings come in
here? Min yeh. l amt making no
charges. but nave you thought of it,"
oh, pshaw; SQUIRE" calculated Dan,
who was much holder now he had moth
ing to lose. you've got Farthing on
the brain. There amt no honester man
In Pcnnsylwaney still than AL Farthing.
Nosuh! You're mad at him Jest be-
cause he's got q little OF you trade
still, and you've made up your mind to
ruin him wunst."
IF he's all right ] want to ask you a
few questions: Where does he get all
that money? 1 offered EN- six hundred
dollars for that little mare and they
said they wouldn't take two hundred
object up there. They've gut it to
y Els bass 90 nae dods a2fs III n 70 a1a ev sny
few days? Where does all that
store stun come from h a he's trying
to sell you fellers? Mighty little freight
comes for him down to Spruce creek.
Then why do these store robberies be-
gin Jest the minute he gets here, and
why does the trouble up at the old
cabin take up at Jest the same time?
Heigh?"
Now, that's pretty thin evidence, I
call it, SQUIRE" retorted Dan. Fore
I tried to take a mans reputation away
I'd get something better than that"
oh, no; you don't believe nothing
about that old house! oh. no." Lem
Fisher had Strengthened up on his a
key. You don't believe there's some
thing TRANCE about that old house?
Never seen a thing there, did yeh? Oh,
MOI"
Say, Dan" Uttered another, II
heard they measured your jumps next
morning, and some Of 'eln was 90 feet
Already"
Punt yeh hand right onto the house,
didn't yeh wunst?" A burst OF good
natured laughter echoed about the
stove.
Wal. I did see somesing,' admitted
Dan hesitatingly; but as / have told
yeh a dozen times, I hain't saying it's
a ghost still. 1 run fore 1 knowed it.
One don't have to be a ghost to swear
yetst." The o n was that of the mar
defending his last ditch.
"Humph! You can't get out Of 1t that
way" broke in Lem in high key.
You know there hain't been no track
in there all winter. You know 1t.
and"-shuddering-"you. know about
that awful black ring"
J1laSkf11S (Soto 1oI - aI1I1,.s
burst in Amos. "of all the old gran
MES! I'm going up there some day and
tear that old shanty down, hide and
hinges. Darned ii I amt. I'm good and
sick of all this tarna nonsense I've
been hearin' here night and day.
Haunted house!-Oh, Lord!'
You go slow, Amo Hardin; you go
mighty slow. We-uns knows what we's
attacking about. Yessuh! Against the
time you've been up there some dark
night and been into that house then
you can talk. But you keep still
against that time, for we-uns have saw
this with our eyes wunst, and heard it
with our ears. Yessuh!"
"Huh!" snorted Amos.
Now, the whole matter is jest here"
continued Lem impressive!y. I'VE
might as well speak it right out as to
be all thinking about it. AL Farthin's
a haexer.'' He lowered his voice and
looked about the room furtively, as If
some fearful creature might be lurking
III a dark corner. He's a hacker and
that Jest by lookin' at his eyes-kinder
sharp and beady, like q weasel's, and
they never keep still a minute, but
they're all the time shiftin' Quick's
lightning this way and that way. I tell
you-uns that amt an honest eye still.
And you needn't tell me he don't know
what's going on in that ole shanty. II
he amt noticed 1t and ain tried to
II out what's up, then he's a fool.
n whatever else Al Farthin' is he
and of course he's at the bottom Of it,.
And he's a pow-wower n a hacker
you mind what I. sayes, and you watch
out sharp how YOU run ag'in him" He
wagged his head in solemn warming.
1t was evident hat the mar was in
fearful earnest and that he believed all
hat he had said. 1t was plain too that
the little circle also believed 1t. To
Amos, however, the matter was a red
rag.
| ening up and glowering about him. IF
~somebody'd pow-wow a few brains into
your Dutch skulls it would be the
greatest thing that ever happened in
this valley. L can pow-wow jest as we'll
as AL Fartin' cam. If he's a ~pow-wower
you git him down here some day, and
I'll pow-wow the pow-wow out OF him
in three minutes"
II wouldn't make a speech ! k that,
sub, for no amount of money. Nosuh!"
Ulie lowered his voice solemnly. I've
saw p~ow-wowing and hacking, I have,
fore now. and you've saw it, Poppy.
The old mar mumbled a decided
"Mmh-huh.'' and nodded impressively.
II tell you," went on ulie, pow
wowing amt to be spoke of in that
way. It's a mighty serious thing, pow
wowing is. 1 could tell enough cases
to fill a book as big as 10 awmnicks,
and Poppy here could tell yeh twict as
many more Already. l tell you it's an
awful thing to go against a hacker
wunst, an awful thing" He rolled out
the words in sepulchural tones.
"Yessuh. he's right chimed in Lem
Fisher, who IA the valley archives on
things occult. "What was it that give
the o%ppnehmer to Katie B%arndollar!
What was it that drawed the lightning
on Andy Bowersock's barn? What was
1t hat killed Lux Snyder"-he spoke
In a %shuddering whisper-''down ir
Turkey Bottom and left the great black
ring round his neck? What was it:
You-uns all knows what it was. And
I tell you, Amos Hardin, you watch out
still. Don't o run up against A,
Farthin'. Don't you dast to- A shud-