Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1917-01-30
CHAPTER II (Continued.)

81 oAACCACly lAdl SllASl lAC was eSA''h'
the truth, or he was first class actor
brighten me- I said.
She will you'll see he said sol
EMMY; and he rose and said goodbye
sOlemnly. He had the solemnest man
ner have ever seen.
walked down to the front door will
him; and fancied that he was lookins
pleased with himself rather as If ne
had done good days work.
"Till Saturday night" he said sol
EMMY, as he went down the steps.
went into the Office and told Jack
Scruton's tale. He howled at it. Bu
when he had grown quiet again, he
agreed with me that Scruton coulf
make trouble. The people who can at
ford house in Garthoyle Gardens are
just the very people who believe In all
those physical phenomena. They sup
port the palmist. mediums, the crystal
gazers and the clairvoyants. They have
nothing else to do. My tenants would
fuss like fury; many of them would
see ghosts in their own houses. 1t was
much better to jog along quiet with
Scruton for while, and see what did
happen, before putting the pressure on
him and getting first class fuss.
Jack could not understand why a
millionaire should stand the inconveni-
ence-why he did not clear out OF a
house in which the servants would not
sleep. had to explain to him that
millionaires love to get things cheap:
that's how they become millionaires:
and house in Garthoyle Gardens Tor
nothing would tempt any one Or
course, we discussed the question
whether Scruton was millionaire at
all. thought that he was. An ord1n-
airy swindler would be more OF
gentleman; he would never wear those
trousers with a gray morning coat.
Jack. too, thought that swindler
would have found better reason for
paying no rent-that ghost in the
twentieth century was too thin. But
1t seemed to me that the tale and the
ghost had worked very well with my
uncle.
"And after ALL I said. zone night
when was a child / saw the White
Lady come down the stairs at Garth
Royal, or I fancied did; and 1t came
to exactly the same thing.
l did not get much time to think
about the ghost, during the next few
days; letters, price lists and house Mt
tings kept me too busy. On the Wed
nesday l played polo at Nottingham.
A piercing June breeze was blowing
from the east, and there were squalls
Of drivin.gsdrlzSle, colder than sleet.
caught bad cold; and on Saturday
night 1 went to Number as hoarse as
q crow. I did not know my own
voice.
A disagreeable butler looking like a
mute. took me to Scruton. Scruton re-
ceived me as If had come to funeral
and returned his greeting with hearty
sneeZes.
II suppose you've quite made up
your mind to go through with it," said
scruton in a gloomy voice.
"Rather!" I said. "Ah-tish-u! All
tish-u! Ah-tish-u!"
Come along, then" he said; and he
led the way up stairs
He took me up to front room on
the second floor, a large room, rather
barely furnished, with two windows.
We had each candle and he said that
the electric light had not been Install
ed on this floor and he never used gas.
He paused and looked at me seriously;
then he said:
1T doesn't really matter. You won't
want much light to see her. didn't"
lie paused again, then with a sudden
.ASsle looked over his shoulder.
~ arted too, and looked over his
shoulder. 1 saw nothing. Scruton gave
. little shiver and said quickly: II
think IN be going. l don't like this
room. Good night"
He slipped quickly out of the door;
and heard him hurry along the cor
ridor and down the stairs. I felt rath
Or uncomfortable. The candle did not
1ght much of the room, but 1 set my
Delf to examine it. The walls were not
papered, but painted. There was no
0ansling; and there was not crack
the surface Of the paint. There was
no trap door in the ceiling. There was
q thick Turkey carpet on the floor and
I turned It up for five feet round the |
edges and made sure that there were
no cracks, traps, or loose boards in the
door. looked out of the windows for
in the way Of ladder from
eh0 story below and left up the blinds
10 hat in the moonlight I locked the |
door leading to the corridor and shot
The bolt that was just above the lock.
There was another door in the corner,
It the other end of the room, opposite
The bed. 1t opened into an unfurnish-
ID dressing room. The door from the
:orridor into the dressing room was
,pen: and there was no key in it to
ock It, The other rooms on the floor
we're unoccupied. Some Of their doors
we're open. some shut, none was lock
ID. I locked the door between the
lressing room and my bedroom and
hot the bolt over~the keyhole.
Well. was in quite an ordinary
DOM: and no human being could get
nto it without forcing the door.
There was no debut about that.
)sA There was nd doubt about that:
S'buld get a genuine ghost - real
O.hic phenomenon or ] should get
ling at all. OF course, l should get
ling at all.
lit l was going to do the thing prop
=. and. pulled off my coat and
p oat and collar; took warm
elg gown from my bag and put it
lay down on the bed. pulled A
K u et over me, and waited. Every
Slg was very quiet, except when I