The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1912-02-23

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the interior
Fate sometimes gets a lazy streak
on, and then things move as slow as
molasses creeping across the kitchen
floor. Young man and maiden had
somehow lodged each other for four
whole weeks when Fate woke Gp,
Then came morning when the chick
ems and ducks said 1t was going to
rain. They beat the weather bureau
at that sort Of business. Mr. Sinclair
decided not to go cunning and fish
Ing but to try his hand at toy wheel
barrow for his little niece. and Miss
Vernon decided to sit on the porch
with a rain.coat on and watch for the
automobillst.
Noon and no rain yeti The wheel.
barrow wouldn't wheel. The autoist
the only one that came along-was
an old curmudgeon who was In a
hurry to get somewhere, and he never
looked at the girl on the porch and
there was no explosion.
Two O'Clock and no rain! Mr.. JACK
yawned and swore, and Miss Kitty
yawned and didn't swear.
Three o'clock-four o'clock! Same
overcast sky-same clucking hens and
quacking ducks, but the first drop OF
| rain had yet to fall.
Hang It, but this is the very best
sort of snipe weather." exclaimed
Mr.. Jack as he shouldered his gun
and set out.
I've got a letter to mail, and III
canter to the village and back. SAID
Miss Kitty as she ordered the man
to saddle the pony.
Fate was planning A snipe or
some other bird-one is not over-par-
ticular about the species-led Mr..
Jack two-mile chase. 1t did so by
offering him about fifty fair shots, and
of course every one of them was a
miss. He had just aimed for his
fifty-f1rst miss, when drop OF rain
hit him on the nose and the long.de-
ferred downfall began to get busy.
The old Parsons house was the near
est shelter and he made for It,
The pony was galloped into the vii
lage and the letter mailed. and she
| headed for home. Half a mile from
the Parsons house, and just as it be-
gan to rain, the pony caught sight OF
log beside the road he had passed
hundred times and SHE'D at it. Out
of the saddle went Miss Kitty and
away for home galloped the pony. No
bones broken and no skulls fractured,
but no one can take flop of the sort
without few bumps and being muss
ed up more or less.
The rain was making porridge OF
the dust when the unseated and very
angry maid started for the old
house.
Mr.. Sinclair had reached the house
| fifteen minutes ahead of the girl, and
had taken seat on the rotting floor
of what had been the parlor. Five
minutes before her arrival he had
heard a queer sound upstairs, but sew
eral of the stair steps were gone and
he could not have investigated If he
had wished He heard rather than
saw Miss Kitty timorously enter the
hall, and he could not make out what
was going on,
A growing from upstairs-a patter-
ing across the fioor-a bumpety-
bump! Ghosts for two! The real
thing and no discount!
Miss Kitty screamed out and fell
down the front steps. Mr. Sinclair
exclaimed THE devili" and also
made for out of doors! He saw some
thing flying towards the highway and
he up with his gun and fired. He
/ missed. of course, but there was q
scream and the something fell down,
and the huddle was under his feet
before he made out that it was a girl
in rain-wet and clinging garments.
"Oh, Mr.. Ghost!" from the bundle.
who Is it! What is it,"
"Sir, how dare you!"
"You hid there on purpose!"
And you came on purpose!"
There was a moments silence, and
then both laughed heartily and even
in the pouring rain explanations were
entered into.
But there was surely a ghost up
stairs" protested the girl.
And will come here tomorrow
and rout 1t out"
Hand In hand, through rain and
mud and darkness. Mr.. Sinclair final
ly delivered his charge into her sis
ter's care and then went his further
way
Now, then. Miss Kitty. you have
had an adventures" accused her sis.
ter.
81 have"
"And | demand to"
"Oh, you needn't. have been
bucked off by the pony. rolled In the
mud. rained on. visited haunted
house. heard a ghost and met the man
| am to marry. That's ALL"
And next day. when Mr.. Sinclair
visited the Parsons house he found
upstairs an old cat with her tail
caught in a crack in the floor. and he
blessed her and set her at liberty.
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