The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1912-09-21
After the
Wreck

- '"' ''c H'S"t 4. tltt GCmpSre
the drives obiiterattl. ne lawns
jungle ami the park eng, of COW or
sheep-Ied ne 70 pGl. ~ If car and
contemplate the WiiGtrFc>e Thar Law
beyond the mouldertlg s..se sra 10
curtainless lodge
7 This then, was tile .,aror House,
that Hushenstein. q itaadeJpbfa
bought for his bride. j.. !eeore they
sailed on that last tae.c 1ovaea IN
! the Cosmic. in which rrt had nor.
fshed, No wonder rl&, yong Brook.
4 lyn, his stepSon-for N.s = ghors.4in
+ vas a widow when he mi,!iorai~a
married her-shUddereG :. residence
/ therein. A haunted house for him. II
! ever there was one,
At the inn halted, crC.red dinner
and bed, for 1t was an ancient paneled
| hosiery with an attentive ana though,
/ full host.
Strange wilderness VI here" 70.
marked, as he set down i ,.queur
! Yes, sir" he replied. they ALWAYS
ask questions about IL"
Who looks after IT." asked.
Not a soul" he answered. That's
the arrangement
arrangement" said /" What do
you mean by arrangement:
With the lawyers" he explained.
All the tenants round leIe-indeed,
| myself-haye full ren. returned.
cash for cash, so long as tie manor
house is undisturbed-
| had no thought 6 adventures
/ when | put my boots outside the door
couple Of hours later. The impulse
which led me into ore came on the
spur Of the moment. Tie IN was ST.
lent. The landing like AZ inside bal
cony, commanded the hall Goor The
door Was opep-wlde Cpeb-and the
innkeeper, who seemed to he a bach
elor, was going forth carrying a bas-
ket. He turned and confronted NE,
and said to him:
Il, sir, am also gentleman. VIII
You let me accompany YOU
! resumed the boots, fo7 he waited,
making no other reply 20 my ques-
ton. Then together We issued forth.
Between gentlemen said he.
there need be no reserve. hut when
the time comes beg tia, you will not
intrude'
We carried no light. he evidently
needed none. The house lay like
great tomb.
The great doors stood wide ajar.
This surprised me, but tie inn-keeper
seemed 70 take it as matter OF
course lie led the way roiselessiy
up the cavernous stairs 10 room,
where he paused The door was again
open, a dim, Pickering light throwing
shadows that wavered above a heavy
screen. Ny companion mo!ioned ne
to stop. | waited while lie went for
ward and disappeared behind the
screen A few moments passed. Then
he appeared again and heckoned 10
me.
Il feared It." he remarked coolly,
Gle needs no more Of these cold
meals"
Indeed. he did not. found myself
looking at man lying with upturned
face. stone dead-a sight Of horror.
His hair was a foot long and his
beard, clotted red, covered his shirt,
We must bury him said the inn
keeper, and quickly, for the dawn is
near"
It never occurred 10 NE to seek an
excuse fNr this gross illegaity.
Il knew it would cone TO this, re-
marked the inn-keeper, y have pro-
vided for it
We carried the man down to the or
chard. where by a rubbish heap lay
deep hole. | cannot call II by so de-
cent term as grave. We laid our
fellow-man down there and covered
him up our spades sinking noiseIess-
" into the moist and gentle soil. so
he still lies. unknown.
Better" said the inn keerer, to go
down with the ship than I've on like
that. Poor old Hughenstein was not
bad fellow, but once IT. his life ne
pIayed the coward. We thcuShl ES
went down with the ship But he nan
got among the steerafe passengers
and slipped into one Of he first boots
that put off Among the storage folk
he remained, talking his ancestral 20
Iish. and assuming a dead mans name.
lie carried enough pare 70 hook PACK
to England. where he visited his Jaw
yers. who recognized him N spite OF
his disguise. The estate was managed
as you see. in his stepsor' lame. All
the servants We're dismissed. And the
tenants"-he paused-"had good Tear
son to prevent discoveries
and the stepson?
The man looked at me The step