The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-08-02

thought saw iti' admitted the
harrased owner of Pine Cottage.
He must be a poor, harmless
Aunt Ella, let us talk of something
! else. ="
So Audrey banished all thought of
J the ghost of Pine Cottage. but the
story of poor, Tilted Benjamin never
left her mind for moment
She was occupying Dora's room,
which overlooked the nay and the in
let where the pine grove marked
grim. black shadow along the shore.
For several nights she watched until
the morning stars appeared, but she
saw no untoward signs from the pine
grove.
/ Then came a moonlight night when
all the word of Quemiss lay under the
white magic Audrey sat in the open
window, listening to the lap of waves
on the beach, barking to the myriad
never left the dark blur of the pine
| trees
Suddenly something white appeared
and slowly walked in and out of the
moonlight Was Benjamin's ghost
walking at last?
Audrey was quite fearless She
| picked up long, dark cloak and
wrapped it around her thin summer
| frock and tiptoed softly down the
stairs and out of the cottage. Lightly
she flew through the kitchen garden
and across the little orchard beyond
which was the pine grove. The wind
was blowing soft lullaby among the
apple trees, but as she neared the
pines the sound became a melancholy,
| flushing sound that rather daunted
| her brave heart.
AS she hesitated at the end of the
orchard, a church clock in the village
struck the midnight hour Here were
the time, the place and the witching
hour to meet and lay a ghost. Was
Audrey Harlow a coward to flee the
| situation now?
She slipped off her black cloak and
was revealed in the moonlight, tall,
slender young form in white. She
glided over the patch of salt grass,
her alert eyes on the pine grove.
At the very edge of the grove, with
her feet on the slipping pine needles,
something white doomed out of the
darkness ahead, paused, came straight
| toward Audrey with outstretched
hand, and would have touched her
shoulder had she not crumpled into
an unconscious heap on the ground.
1t seemed hours before she awol1e
to feel herself in the strong, warm
grasp of masculine arms. She opened
her eyes to the moonlight, the pine
grove and the face of the ghost who
was carrying her toward Pine Cot
tage.
"Oh-oh! Whatever you are, please
put me down. L can walk-really I
That's good" said a voice heartily.
Feeling little shaky yet? Just mold
fast to my arm until you feel better,
Say, you gave me a scare! I'm fright
ened out of a years growth. They
told me this grove was haunted and
came over to nose around bit. I'm
rather interested in that sort of thing
running down fake spooks and so
forth. When you came drifting over
the salt grass toward me, l felt my
| h1O0d Actually fra0ZinQ in veins
but, by JOve, when 1 saw it was only
a bit of girl who had tainted away
| as soon as 1 appeared, 1 grew quite
| brave again. He laughed reassur-
ing1y.
+ Audrey Joined in a shaky voice: 81
| came out to look for that ghost my
self she explained in turn. Your
white clothes added to the illusion
I am ashamed of myself"
She dreamed about him. that night,
tall and pale and handsome in his
white garments, his gray hair adding
to his distinguished appearance. He
had told her his name-he was John
Barr-and he occupied the chair of
psychology at a welI-known uni
versity. His hobby was the tracing
of ghost stories and the laying of all
fictitious spooks.
/ 1t took John Barr several months
to eradicate the shadow from Pine
/ Cottage, but he afterward claimed
that it was the most satisfactory
problem he had ever solved. Although
he was forty-seven and Audrey was
/ twenty-five. one day there was a we'd
no one has dared to say that Pine
Cottage is haunted by anything save
the spirit of love, for the Bars bought
it for a summer hOme--(COpyright
1915, by the Mcclure Newspaper
Syndicate.)