Barbour County index., 1910-12-14

as soon as possible.
It's a little present for the ianitor
n loving remembrance of his mem
ory." Tacks explained with something
that sounded like a catch in his voice.
Hasn't that boy a lovely disposi-
tion," Aunt Martha beamed on Tacks,
Ito be so forgiving to the janitor after
the horrid man had sworn at him and
blamed him for putting cat in the
dumb waiter and sending it uH to the
nervous lady on the seventh floor.
! who abominated cats and who
screamed and fell over in a tub of
suds when she opened the dumb
waiter door to get her groceries and
he cat jumped at her? Mercy how
can the boy be so generous?"
Tacks bore up bravely under this
panegyric of praise and his face wore
a rapt expression which amounted al
most to religious fervor.
What did you give the janitor.
AngelFace?" I asked.
Only just another remembrance"
Tacks answered, solemnly. 'T hap
pened to find poor, little dead mouse
under the gas range. and 1 thought
I'd farewell the janitor with it."
Aunt Martha sighed painfully, and
Uncle Peter chuckled inwardly like a
mechanical toy hen
On the train out to Jiggersville.
Clara ]. was a picture entitled "The
Joy Of Living regards to Mrs.
Pat Campbell; Ibsen please write.
AS for ma Uifb
the wheels I grew more and more a
half portion Of Clipped beef.
"Oh, John!" said Clara j.. her voice
shrill with excitement; 81 forgot to
tell you! left my key with mother
and she's going to superintend the
packing of the furniture this after
noon. By evening she expects to have
everything loaded in the van and we
won't have to wait any time for our
trunks and things!"
Great Scott!" 1 yelled. "Mavbe
you won't like the housei Maybe it's
only shanty with holes in the roof
er, 1 mean, maybe you'll be disan-
pointed with the layout! What's the
blithering sense of being in such a
consuming fever about moving the
hend1sh furniture? I'm certain you'll
nate the very sight of this corn-crib
out among the ant hills. Can't you
oack-pedal on the furniture gag and
give yourself chance to hear the
answer to what you ask yourself?"
Clara ]. looked tearfully at me for
a moment; then she went over and
sat with Aunt Martha and told her
how glad she was we were moving to
the country where the pure air would
no doubt have a soothing effect on
my nerves, because 1 certainly had
grown irritable of late.
AT last we reached the little old log
cabin down the lane, and after the
first glimpse knew 1t was all off.
The place I had borrowed from
Bunch for few minutes was a dream.
all right, all right
With its beautiful lawns and it's
glistening graveled walks; with a
modern house perfect in every detail;
with Its murmuring brooklet rushing
away into perspective Of nodding
green trees, and with the bright sun
shine smiling a welcome over all, 1t
made picture calculated to charm
the most hardened city crab that ever
crawled away from the cover of the
skyscrapers.
AS for Clara j., she simply threw
up both hands and screamed for help.
she danced and yelled with delight.
Then she hugged and kissed me with
a thousand reiterated thanks for my
glorious present.
l felt as joyous as jelly fish. Ten
legged microbes began to climb into
my pores. Everything l had in my
system rushed to my head. 1 could
see myself in the giggle-giggle ward in
a bat house, playing l was the king
of England.
l was joke turned upside down.
After they had examined every
nook and Granny of the place and had
talked themselves hoarse with de-
light, called them all up on the
front piazza for the purpose Of put
ting out their lights with my ghost
story.
figured on driving them all back
" Iuo uSpOI WITH ABOUT IOur para
graphs of creepy talk, so when 1 had
them huddled l began in a hoarse
whisper to raise their hair.
1 told them that no doubt they had
noticed the worried expression on my
face and explained that 1t was due
chiefly to the fact that had learned
quite by accident that this beautiful
place was haunted
Tacks grew so excited that he
| dropped garden spade off the piazza
and into hot-house below, breaking
seven panes of glass, but the others
only smiled indulgently and 1 went on.
l jumped headf1rst into my most
blood-curdling story and related in de.
tail how a murder had been com.
mitted on the very Site the house was
| built on and how a fierce bewhiskered
spirit roamed the premises at night
and demanded vengeance. described
in awful words the narrowing spec
| t2PlQ and all COf tho 6-i.A