Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1909-04-30
The House of the Black
! PATE. Ring Copyright. 1905

he was staying with Amos.
"No-o-o! Dew tell!" cackled the old
man.
Say, this is gettin' sorter kinder
close, as the darkey said when the mule
kicked him." observed Amos. This
makes five freaks 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. Youn be next
There's IA regular gang at this"
Say, Ulie," observed the squire, ig-
noring Amos, ever stop to think there
hain't been a robbery in this section for
80 years fore the Farthings come in
here? Mind yeh, I amt making no
charges, u have you thought OF it?'
ooh, pshaw, squirrel" CALCULATED Dan.
who was much bolder now he had moth
ing to lose. You've got Farthing on
the brain. There amt no honester man
in Pennsylwaney still than Al Farthing.
Nosuhi 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."
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 ndre
and fifty thousand. Money aIn't no
object up there. They've gut II 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 fellers2 Mighty little freight
comes for hin down to Spruce creek.
Then why do these store robberies be-
gin Jest the minute he gets here, and
why does the trouble no at the old
cabin taxi up at jest the same time?
Heigh? 2"
Now, that's pretty thin evidence. 1
call 1t, squire retorted Dan. Fore
/ tried to take a mans reputation away
I'd get something better than that"
ooh, no.: you don't believe nothing
about that old house! oh. not" Lem
Fisher had Strengthened up on his nail
keg. You don't believe there's some
thing strange abou hat old house?
Never seen a thing there, did yeh? Oh,
mol"
Say, Dam. Uttered another, Il
heard they measured your jumps next
morning, and some OF 'em was 2S feet
Already"
Punt yeh hand right onto the house,
didn't yeh wunst 2" A burst Of good
natured laughter echoed about the
stove.
wal, I did see someslng," admitted
| 1CiA AtSAAshNAl6AJ "a 40 Il . wv
yeh a dozen times, / lain saying it's
a ghost still. 1 run fore I knowed it..
One don't nave to be a ghost to swear
yetst." The one was that Of the man
defending his last ditch.
"Humph! You can't get out of il that
way broke in Lem in high key.
You know there hain't been no track
in there all winter. You know II.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES know o
| that awful black ring"
"Flddlesticks! Cats and q fiddle!"
burst In Amos. ''Of all the old gran
MES! I'm going up there some day and
tear that old shanty down, hide n
hinges. Darned If l amt. I'm good and
sick of all this tarnal nonsense I've
been hearin' here night and day.
Haunted house!-Oh, Lord!"
You go slow, Amos Hardin; you go
| mighty slow. We-uns knows what Yves
attacking about. Yessuhl 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 1t
with our ears. Yessuh!"
'Huh!" snorted Amos.
Now, the whole matter Is jest here"
continued Lem impressively. I'VE
might as we'll speak 1t right out as to
be all thinking about 1t. 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
q pow-wower; 1 know 1t. You can tell
that Jest by ooktn at his eyes-kinder
| sharp and beady, like q weaseIs, n
they never keep still a minute, but
they're all h time shiftin' quick's
lightning this way and that way / tell
| you-uns that amt an honest eye still.
A xJ raaln'f tall pna he dnnff knnEg
what's going on in that ole shanty. If
he amt noticed IL and hain't tried to
find out what's up, then he's a fool,
and whatever else AL Farthtn' is he
| amt no fool. or course he knows II,
and OF course he's at the bottom OF ii.
| And he's q pow-wower and a hacker
! you mind what / sayes, and you watch
out sharp how you run agin him." He
wagged his head In solemn warning.
Ii was evident that the man was in
! fearful earnest and that he believed all
| that he had said. IT was plain too that
the little circle also believed 1t. To
Amos, however, the matter was q red
rag.
"Pow-wower!' he exploded, straight
ening up and glowering about him. IF
s~omebody'd pow-wow a few brains into
your Dutch skulls Ii would be the
| greatest thing that ever happened In
this valley. / IA pow-wow jest as well
as AL Fartin' can. II he's a pow-wower
you git him down here some day, and
I'll pow-wow the pow-wow GU of him
in three minutes"
II wouldn't make a speech like that,
sub, for no amount OF money. Nosuh!"
Tile lowered his voice solemnly. I've
| saw pow-wowing I'M hacking, I have,
fore now, and you've saw 1t, Poppy
The old man 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, / could tell enough cases
| to fill q book as big as 10 awmnicks,
and Poppy here could tell yeh twict ais
many more Already. / tell you it's an
awful thing to go against a hacker
wunst, an awful thing He rolled out
| the words in sepuichural tones.
"Yessuh, he's right" chimed in Lem
| Fisher, who was the valley archives on
| things occult. what was II that give
| the oppnehmer to Katie Barndollar?
! What was Ii that drawed the lightning
on Andy Bowersock's barn2 What was
II that killed Luke Snyder'-he spoke
In a shuddering whisper-"down In
Turkey Bottom and left the great black
ring round his neckf What was 1t?
you-uns all knows what II raj And
l tell you, Amos Hardin. you watch out
still. on you run UP against Al
Farthin'. o n you dast to" A shud-
derinx silence has fallen the group.
III They were looking furtiyeiy over their