Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1909-05-01
The House of the Black
sE=s.s:: Ring e.szes.., .,e.


the brain. There amt no honester man
in Pennsylwaney still than Al Farthing
Nosuh! You're mad at him jest be-
cause he's got a little OF your trade
still, and you've made up your mind to
ruin him wunst."
IF he's all right I want to ask you
few questions: Where does he get all
that money? / offered 'em six hundred
dollars for that little mare and they
said they wouldn't take two hundred
and fifty thousand Money amt no
object up there. They've gut it to
burn. Then where does he and one
Of his boys go lodging off to every
few days? Where does all that
store stuff come from that 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 il, squire" retorted Dan. Fore
l 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 nail
keg. You don't believe there's some
thing strange about that old house?
Never seen a thing there, did yeh? Oh,
no!"
Say, DAN" Uttered another, 81
heard they measured your jumps next
morning, and some of EN- was % feet
Already"
Punt yeh hand right onto the house,
didn't yeh wunst?" A burst Of good
natured laughter echoed about the
stove.
wal. did see somesing," admitted
Dan hesitatingly; but as l have told
yeh a dozen times, l haln't saying it's
a ghost still. 1 run fore 1 knowed 1t.
one don't have TO be a ghost to swear
yetst." The tone was that of the man
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 it,
and"-shuddering-''yOu know about
that awful black ring"
"FiddlestiCkS! Cats and q fiddle"
burst in Amos. "Of all the old gran
nles! I'm going up there some day and
tear that old shanty down, hide and
hinges. Darned if amt. I'm good and
sick Of all this tarnal nonsense I've
been hearin' here night and day.
Ha'nted house!-Oh, Lord"
"YOu go slow, Amos 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" snortcd Amos.
Nov. the whole matter is jest here. "
continued Lem imprcssively. 1--WE
might as we'll speak it right out as to
be all thinking about it. Al Farthin's )
a hacker" He lowered his voice and
looked about the room furtively, as if
some fearful creature might be lurking
in a dark corner. Hes a hacker and
a pow -wower; | know il. You can tell
that jest by lookin' at his eyes-kinder
sharp and beady, like a weasers, and
they never keep still a minute, but
they're all the time shiftin' quick S
lightning this way and that way. 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. If
he amt noticed it and hain't tried to
find out what's up, then he's fool.
and whatever else Al Farthin' is he
amt no fool. OF course he knows it,
and of course he's at the bottom of IL.
And he's a pow-wower and a hacker
you mind what | sayes, and you watch
out sharp how you run aSin him." He
waggcd his head in solemn warning.
1t was evident that the man was in
that he had said. 1t was plain too that
the little circle also believed II. To
Amos, however, the matter was a red
rag.
Pow -wower!" he exploded. straight
ening up and glOwering about him. IF
sOmebody'd pOw-wOw few brains into
your Dutch skulls 1t would be the
greatest thing that ever happened in
this valley. / can pOw-wow jest as well
as Al Fartin' can. 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"
Il wouldn't make a speech like that,
sub, for no amount of money. Nosuh!'
Tile lowered his voice sOlemnly. I've
saw pow-wowing and hacking, l have,
fore now, and you've saw it, Poppy. .
The old man mumbled a decided
MIMI huh." and nodded impressively.
Il tell YOU" went on Ulie, pow
wowing amt to be spoke of in that
way. It's u mighty serious thing, pow
wowing is. l could tell enough cases
to fill a book as big as 10 awmnicks,
and Poppy here could tell yeh twict ais
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 WAS the valley archives on
things occult. What was it that give
the oppnehmer to Katie Barndollar?
What was 1t that drawed the lightning
on Andy BowersoCk's barn? What was
it that killed Luke Snyder''-he spoke
in a shuddering whisper-"down in
Turkey Bottom and left the great black
ring round his neck? What was it?
You-uns all knows what 1t was. And
l tell you. Amos Hardin, you watch out
still. Don't you run up against Al
Farthin'. Don't you dast to-" A shud-
dering silence has fallen over the group
They were looking furtively over their
shoulders and into the dark corners.
"Yessuh. It's jest as I'm telling yeh,
repeated Lem impressively, attributing
Amos silence to acknowledgment Of
defeat. IF there's devilishness going
on in these valleys still, AL Farthine
knows it. What do you think, Poppy?
"T'ere's sOmesing strange about it,
muttered the old man absently
"Somesing strange"
Hes /. hacker; now, amt he?" he
asked eagerly.
"Um- m m -m-m- -m," the old mar
mumbled, a faraway look in his eyes
"Somesing stranger n you sink"
"You see, it's jest as l say" went or
Lem, with added confidence. There's
hacking and pow-wowing at the bot
tom of this. The devil is making his
headquarters In that old shanty since
AL Farthin' come here, and he's goint
to rave and rare up and down these
valleys till we-uns is all at our wits
end. Yessuh! Amt that so, squire?"
Begins to look that way" Things
were going in precisely the direction N
wished"
Say, you, now, darned if it don"
seem as if l was in some niger shacl
down South" The disgust In Amos
face and voice were really ludicrous
II yum 1 can't, If 1 die, belieV'
I'm listening to white folks talk
in. Now, there hain't nothing
more the matter with that OLE
| shanty up there than there i
| with the squire's old smokehouse, that
hanted with the ghosts Of 400 hog
| that's been hung in it. 1t makes m
mad clean through and through to hea
grown white men, that ought to be civ
| ilized, talkin' like a pack of nigge
| wenches. Pow-wowin' Oh, my Lord!