The Washington herald., 1915-12-05
(CuIyrisht, l9l5.l


of the table. a red-shaded candle
stood close by each diner and the
soft light made a brave enough show
upon the snowy napery and spotless
silver, but dispersed nothing OF the
gloom about us.
OF that party of five, four were
men-threc OF them (for | venture to
include myselD neatly groomed and
dressed with care in conventional
dinner fashion. The fourth was a
heavy figure in a dress coat with
broad satin lapelS such as | have
seen, think, in pictures OF early VIC
torian celebrities.
The woman. young. dark and CN-
ceedingly pretty. wore gown OF
shimmcring amber. cut with l'arlSIan
daring Her beautiful eyes were more
often lowered than raised. for Sir
James Leyland, our host. was unable
to conceal his admiration; his face.
tanned by his life III the bush, was
often turned TO her. Clement Ley
land, the barouet'S cousin. bore d
striking resemblance to Sir James,
but entirely lacked the latter's breezy
manner set him down for Man
who thought much and said little.
However, conversation could not
we'll flag at board boaStlng the
presence OF such a genial colonial as
Sir lanes, and such StorehouSc OF
anecdotal oddities as Morris klaw. Mr.
Leyland and myself, then. for the
most part practiced the difficult art
of listening; for Isis klaw, ! learned,
could talk almost As cntcrtalnlngly
as her father.
81 am so glad" said Morris klaw.
and his voice rumbled thundcrously
about tho room, that | have this op-
portunity to visit Grange.
"It certainly has great historic in
terest," agreed Sir James. Il had
never anticipated inhcriting the grand
old place, much less the title.
He laughed. light-heartedly, glanc-
ing at Isis klaw, and from her to his
cousin.
"Clem had everything in applc-pie
order for me-" he added, Including
the family goblin"
''Ah, that family goblin" rumbled
Morris Klaw 1T is him | am after,
that goblin!'
The history OF Grange in fact was
directly responsible FOR Morris klaw's
lLdI All Ouu llllIS
book, Psychic Angles. had recently
attracted considerable attention
among students OF the occult, and
had proved equally interesting to the
general public. Few knew that the
curio dealer OF Mapping was the au-
thor. but as Grange was dealt with
in Psychic Angles" among a NUM-
Der of other haunted homes OF Eng
| owl nd
forwarded by the publisher. had in
vited the author TO investigate the
latest developments OF the Leyland
family ghost.
| had the privilege to be asso-
ciated with Morris Klaw in another
case OF apparent haunting-that
which / have dealt with in an earlier
paper-the haunting OF the Grove. He
had courteously invited me, then, to
assist him (his own exprcssion) in
the inquiry at Grange.
I'VE shall without delay" con-
tinued the eccentric Investigator, "en-
deavor to meet him face to face, this
disturber of the peace
The Grange ghost" Sir James as
sured him, "is most gregarious ami
NAL He doesn't go in for lonely
groanings in the chapel or anything
of that kind; he drops into the bill
lard room frequently, he's often to
be met with right here in the dining
room, and OF late he's been sleeping
with me regularity"
so | hear" rumblcd Morris klaw;
$50 | hear. 1t is quaint, yes. Proceed,
my friend
Isis klaw sat with her big eyes fix
ed upon Sir James as he continued:
"Thc traditional ghost of Grange
was a gray monk, who on certain
nights forget the exact dates
came out from the chapel beyond the
orchard, carrying a long staff, walk
ed up to buttress of the west wall
and disappeared at the point where
formerly there was private entrance.
In fact, there used to be secret
stair opening at that point and COM
municating with the room. built by
remote Leyland OF the eighth
Hcnrv's time-a notorious rouc.
The last Lcyland to use the room
was Sir Francis, an intimate OF
Charles H. The next heir had the
wing rebuilt and the ancient door
walled up"
Yes. YES" said Morris klaw. 81
know it all, but you tell it well. This
is most interesting house, this
Grange. have recorded him the
gray monk, and | learn with sur
prise how another spook comes
poaching on his preserves! Tell us
now OF these new Developments, Sir
James"
Coffee and liqucurs were placed
upon the table and cigarettes lighted.
In Difference to the presence OF Isis,
| suppose, no cigars were smoked;
but the girl lighted an Egyptian Gig
arctic rroffcrcd by Sir James with
the insouciancc OF an old dcvotec OF
my Lady Nicotine.
''All sorts OF singular things have
happened" began Sir James, "since
my return from Australia. OF course,
| cannot say if these are recent de
velopmcnts. because my uncle, for
seven or eight years before his death,
resided entirely in London, and
Grange was in charge OF the house
keeper 1t is notorious, is it not, that
housckeepcrs and such worthy ladies
never, by any chance detect anything
unscemly in family establishments
with which they are associated? Any
way, when ! was dug up out OF the
bush. and all the formalities were
through good old Clement here set
Il, IL, 90 r,CbtS