The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1910-12-15

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IT'S probably fancy. whetted, by
realistic telling Of the time-worns tale
BY such as your Aunt Mary Ann" in.
sisted John Sloan. "And, consequently
the good old homestead is an INSIGHT.
ly landmark in an otherwise beautiful
town"
"All, of which doesn't get us any
nearYe to the issue of this evening""
suggested a club member who had
seemed not at all interested in the
review.
True" admitted Helen.
I'm for having the party this year in
he so-called haunted house." said
John Sloan. ut will be a novelty
the atmosphere will be spooky. enough
for any Of you and it might tend to
dlspel the idea that it is haunted and
thereby do a civic good" .tfa,ase.
suppose we decide that way &C
guessed the young man who was not
interested in ghosts, "and impose a
penalty on any member who refuses
to come. He who does not join the
crowd at the Halloween party at the
haunted house is a coward!" declared
the youth, waxing eloquent.
Here! Here!" shouted the crowd.
But the Halloween party was plan
ned and the night rolled around when,
one and all, the members assembled
at the foot of the hill in sheets and
pillow cases to mount to the old home
stead beneath the trees. The moon
shone brightly and the boys carried
lantern on their heads, lanterns fash
Toned of pumpkins.
The white-clad figures wended their
ways slowly, silently up the narrow
pathway that had once been a drive
way to the house. Now it was over
grown with brush and weeds and tan
giles OF wild vines. Katydids and tree
toads chlrruped and all the night
noises sounded weirdly near as the lit
the band climbed step by step closer to
the house they had known all their life
to be haunted. If fearful hearts beat,
beneath the white garments, no one
said so. The spirit of Halloween was
upon them.
Arrived at the old gardens, they
stood and gazed at the ancient ruin,
for that it looked, indeed, in the
queer light that sifted through the
heavy tres.
e no spooks but ourselves"
laughed the girl, indistinguishable in
her enveloping white robe.
IF your Aunt Mary could look
up here now she might see ghosts"
said John Sloan to the little lady near
him.
He believed it to be Helen Ware.
Whether 1t was or not, she did not
say. .@I, sa- 90
One by n the little group found
courage to seek the old verandas and
explore the premises. And, at, last,
when they had made merry in the old
Fashioned manner at Halloween
sports, they assembled for the picnic
supper they had carried with them.
With the weird faces of the pump.
kins to light their way, they climbed
through the only unlocked window and
spread their feast on the floor. Then
they seated themselves in a circle
around the food and proceeded to make
merry in the long silent halls.
When the last nut had been cracked
there fell over the group, so oddly as
sembled, a silence. Then, some one
asked for a story-a ghost story.
I'll tell you one," said a girl, the
voice of whom few of the young people
recognized. That it belonged to none
of the members of the club they were
certain; but there were several guests
present at the gathering.
Adjusting her pillow case the more
easily to speak, the strange voice went
on:
"This is a true story-though a
ghost story to some" she said.a
when my mother was an infant, her
parents died and left her entirely alone
in the world; but some kindly people,
having known her parents, took her
into the house and treated her like a
member of their own family. AS she
grew up she learned to love them, but
she had been told that she was an
orphan, and that it had been the pleas
ure of these friends to adopt her. The,
man and his two sisters-it was not al
man and wife who had taken her into
their home-were growing old when
my mother fell in love with a young
man who lived in the town.
1.-The old people married them.
selves, and they always DISCOURAGED
any such idea my mother might nut
forth. She did not want to hurt them
they had grown very old by the
time she was $50 she said nothing
to them Of the man she loved and
who loved her in return. Night after
night she climbed out of her little
bedroom window after the old people
had gone to bed, and met her lover.
Then. in an hour or two. she climbed
back, and the good old people
knew she had been gone.
my mother knew it was deceitfu1
but she knew, too, that the views of
life that these old people had tried IN
instill into her were not altogether the
accepted ones, and she loved the young
man very dearly. She thought 1t would