The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1913-05-23
His ather S
Ghost
By EDITH V. ROSS

separated
Twenty years passed Tweed. who
was steady chap. remained in tho
place where he WIS born AshurSt
went 10 Australia From there he
wrote several letters To his friend. aft
or which the correspondence ceased.
From that time forward Tweed heard
nothing OF his friend lie did not be
lieve that AshurSt WAS dead. for If So
he would have appeared To- him, for
! Tweed was full of the idea that the
dead may come back To Ms This be-
lief WIS owing To his disposition,
which WAS easily Influenced by tales of
| such wonders
When Tweed was forty three years
Old he had II wife and three children,
the oldest Il Girl of nineteen Her ia
ther had told her of this agreement of
his youth. and she WAS at I'm age TO be
interested in it Sow aud again she
wonld ask her father if he had seen
the ghost of his friend
One spring he was called away from
home. When he returned though il
WAS very warm, rs sometimes hap
| pens In that mouth. lie WAS fond of
sleeping oIt OF doors aud considered
! IL exceedingly healthy His house
| stood in the center of II large yard and
| his front porch made excellent sleep.
! ing quarters bringing some blankets,
| he placed them on a hanging bed and
| turned in
In the middle Of the night he was
awakened by u sound There was moth
Ing TO obstruct his view of the lawn
before the house. and the moon being
~ the full and ON the meridian. he
| could see all about him ms plain as
day. The figure of man WAS coming
up the walk but with tread that was
! absolutely silent one thing he noticed
Immediately that the walk of this
approaching person was that of his
friend AShurSt. The figure came on M
10 the steps and looked mp To the hcav.
ems This threw the light Of the moon
full on his face. and Tweed recognized
Ashurst Just rs he had seen his friend
last. q quarter Of n century before II
he had grown older there was not SUI.
ticient change Ia he noticeable The
only difference in his appearance from
that remembered hy Tweed was that
his face was livid
Having gazrd few moments at the
heavens. the figure came mp the steps
with the same silent tread and on
reaching the porch turned toward
Tweed aud had taken one step when
he seemed To the latter To- he suddenly
enrolnppd in II glare of white light.
Tweed who was sitting up watching
the apparition. gave II moan and fell
back unconscious
That moan made n sudden change
in the situation Ethel Tweed rau out
OF the house aud. throwing her arms
about her father underworld To bring
him back To consciousness Father"
she cried. lit isn't ghost nj all. DO
speak To me-
The ghost advanced To assist her.
hut she motioned him away. and hc
went into the house Tweed opencd
his eyes and seeing his daughter. gave
shudder. closed his eyes, opened
them again and gasped
'IIarry's dead, He's been here
NO, father; he hasn't It's Il mis-.
take"
An electric light in the roof Of the
porch was cleaning in the fathers !
eyes He asked who turned it on
~ did. said his daughter. and. sitting
beside him on the swinging bed. she |
told him that while he was away his |
friends sou had appeared with n note
OF introduction Young Ashurst aud |
Ethel had talked of their fathers !
friendship and az the agreement that |
had been made years before Being /
young and thoughtlcss Ethel proposed |
that they should play prank upon her |
father. The young man. who was a |
few years her senior. objected. but /,
finally consented Taking advantage of |
Tweed's sleeping on the porch. he had |
chalked his face. walked across the
lawn in the moonlight then up the |
steps. As soon rs he stood on the |
porch Ethel from within. turned on the
electric light directly above him.
Tweed had by this time become so con.
WINGED that he saw his friends ghost
that lie failed to notice that the figure
was illumincd by the lamp
The next day young AshurSt called
upon his fathers friend. who. had not
his own daughter been implicated in
the prank played. might not have re-
ceived him as kindly ms he did The
young man presented n sealed letter
from his father. Tweed read il. but
made no comment He invited ASburst
to make him n visit. which was pro
lon2ed indefinitely He said that his
father had married in Australia. but
had gone from there TO England and
after short stay had taken his family
TO South America. where he had be
come coffee planter in the interior OF
Brazil When his son concluded 10 20
north TO study n profession he had
urged the boy TO see his old friend.
In time young Ashurst asked Tweed
for his daughter saying that he boped
for his own fathers consent Ia the
match
\ NO fear ~ that" replied Tweed
Tie asked for my daughter for Won in
the sealed letter he sent But he said
nothing about tho prnnk vn,, ,I,yad