Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1910-09-10

tho ghost"
The bivouac was nsrve-racking. The
old house apparently had = bounteeus
rodent population and tho little beasts
scampered back and forth In the walls
with spooky gambols- Every window
In the house ratified. and the pail of
emptiness that always hangs heavily
In a deserted human habitation rested
"a dead weight--in the air.
Two blocks distant the elevated
trains rumbled DULY by. and the
morning parade of the milk wagons
had not yet begun-to touch the Wis
ions of the night with the realities Of
the day.
This is too much for me-" cried one
take breath"
The little group. all except Johnny,
arose with alacrity. He stopped alone
In the old house, and tried to keep his
eyes open and, failing wondered why
he didn't advertise the newspaper bust
ness as a cure for insomnia and accrue
cash thereby. when
What's that?" asked Johnny OF
himself. He heard with Joyous ears
a scraping and sliding in the closet OPP
posite, where he had picked up tho
gold and amethyst garter. 1t sounded
as II the Dashboard were being forci-
bly, removed, or. rather, as II someone
were endeavoring to slide II back. and
as II the beard were sticking in an un-
accustomed and stubborn fashion.
Johnny looked for a convenient cor
ner in which to duck. He couldn't Mt
into the drawers of the chifronier or
tho bureau, and the bed. stripped of
all it's coverings, even of tho mattress
and pillows. was fiat against the wall
On q chance Johnny crawled beneath
It, with one eye fixed steadily upon the
closet door,
He had not long to wait Stealthily
the door opened. and through tho crack
came a CLEAN of pocket electric
fashlight The man who was holding
the light whirled It hastily around the
room. scanning 1t closely an II to make
sure he was unobserved-
"Oh," groaned Johnny, and skunk
closer into the corner, rolling himself
still more tightly into a ball. and pull
ing his coat up over his fiery head. The
intruder walked over to the bureau
drawers and began to search hurried
ly. They were empty and at this dis
covery in each successive drawer the
man flung them shut with gesture of
disappointment.
The voices OF Johnny's returning
companions echoed through the corri-
doris and their footsteps sounded on the
stairway The intruder put out his
light and started for the closet. The
dawn was now so far advanced that as
he passed the window Johnny distin-
| guished his features clearly. He must
have been at least fifty years of age. a
rather stockily built man. of good APP
pearance, with a tired face and dark
hair, thickly streaked with gray. He
hurried into the closet and shut the
door behind him. and Johnny heard
again the struggle to slide the panel
into place.
who called, SON." asked the fat de-
tective. jocularly. as he entered thu
room. did they leave cards for the
hull of us7 Say. where is that brick
top. anyway"
! Johnny. with considerable wrigglina
and squirming. came out from beneath
the bed.
Funny how laundering much easier
| IL IN 10 get unOcr Dou imam out IRON
underneath It," he commented. rubbing
the dust from his knees.
You didn't get chased there, did
you. nowr' came the question Were
you seeing things. or what7"
II saw enough" retorted Johnny
Guess saw more than you did. and
1t didn't cost anything for the vision
either Here. Farley. let's have a
light; where's that pocket contraption
OF yours?"
Farley brought II out. and Johnny
glorying in the importance of knowing
something that the others did not, and
reveling In the curiosity and impa-
tience of his fellows, STROBE majestical-
| ly into the closet. When Johnny had
anything tucked away in his Uranium
that he was crazy to tell as other 'peo-
Pile were to hear. he pulled out to the
dimensions OF the tabled frog. That
was the time when Johnny was really
funny, and more provocative of risibil-
ity. than any OF his ridiculous
yarns.
Entering the closet he scanned Its
calcimined sides closely, running his
slender. long nailed fingers carefully
down the wall. Then he hit the base
board. The group around watched IN
tense silence.
"Oh. John, cut It out and open up
snarled CORN. CORN was one oil
| Johnnys best friends.
- -.