Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-09-29
Bv Ellis Parker Butler.

fence already so we Just let our our
legs and ran! Even Beny stopped
crying. He just turned white and
scared looking and ran; he ran so
The whole Graveyard gang was
after us now, shouting and running
and pretty soon we knew where we
were-we were on the Four-Mile road
because off in the distance. we could
see the big red building of the poor
farm. We knew that building pretty
well because it is one of the places
we kept away from because they
keep the crazy folks there. You
cut you open with knife or some-
thing.
We didn't have time to think of that
scare then. we were SO scared OF what
would happen to US If the Graveyard
kids caught US. I guess we didn't
think of the poor farm crazy folks
at all.
So pretty soon Bony began to drop
back, and we caught up with him. 1t
was laundering. and lightning hard
now and the wind was blowing the
way it does just before big storm
big whoofs that throw up the dust in
thick waves and make the trees bend
low down and shake the leavea out
of them-and, Bony was crying again
Swatty shouted at him, but we
cOuldnt near what he was saSllB' tne
wind and the thunder and trees made
so much noise. l looked back and
saw that the Graveyard kids were
right after us and then-Bony fell
down!
He didn't fall fiat. He fell half and
took half a step and then turned and
fell sideways, and when he tried to
get up he couldn't. l ran little bit
before I stopped, but Swatty stopped
short and when I looked back he was
trying to drag Bony VI, again. There
was an awful flash of lightning, one
of the kind you can't see for minute
after and then a bang like thou
sand cannon, only keener and big
tree at the side of the road just split
- in two and one-half fell across the
road l guess maybe l cried little,
but I didn't stop to do it; ! ran back
to Swatty and Bony and grabbed
hold of Bony's other arm and helped
Swatty drag him.
I don't know what happened to the
Graveyard gang. l guess they got
but we didn't think of that then. All
we thought of was to get Bony away
in a hurry. 1t was awful! The light
ming and thunder were Just glare
glare, glare! and bang, bang, bang!
and no rest in between, and the wind
was bending the trees almost down
to the ground and holding them there
stiff, not swaying. | was just beller-
ing and yanking Bony by the arm
and saying, "Oh come on, Bony! on,
come on, Rony!" over and over. Swat
ty was shouting at me all the tiHe,
but couldn't tell what he was say
ing, but he pulled more at his arm
of Bony than 1 pulled at mine, and
then I saw he was taking him Off the
road because there was a house right
where we were and lie wanted to get
him to the house.
Just when we got Bony onto the
porch of the house it began to rain.
1t didn't rain down, it rained straight
across, like the lines on writing pa
per, and it didn't rain little-it
rained all the rain there ever was or
will be, l guess. The rain came into
that porch like water shot out of a
fire hose nozzle. just swish-swash
against the front of the house and
then up to your ankles on the rotten
floor of the porch. And then. when
there was a white flash of lightning; I
saw where we were. We were on the
porch of the Haunted House!
All the kids knew about the Haunt
ed House. The way ! knew about 1t
was because we used to go out the
Four Mile Road nutting. and then we
used to see it. Anybody would know
it was a haunted house just by look
ing at it. The glass in the windows
was all gone ana boards, any ola
boards were nailed across the win
dows. and the doors were either nailed
up or broken in and hanging crooked
on one hinge. The paint was all Off
and the chimneys had toppled over
and tho bricks and mortar were all
scattered down the roof and some on
the porch roof. The shingles were all
curled up and there were bare patches
where they had blown off.
1t was a big house, two stories ana
half. and there was a porch all
across the front, but at one corner the
porch post had rotted down so that
the porch roof sagged almost to the
floor there. and tho rest of the ROOF
was all skewish. The floor of the
porch where we were was all dry-rot-
ted and some of the boards were gone,
and the grass and weeds grew up
|, through the floor everywhere. The
yard was all weeds, as high as man,
and tangled blackberry bushes and at
night. 50 Swatty and all the kids SAID,
something white used to come to the
windows and stand there, and you
could hear means. 1t was haunted
house, all right. All the boys knew
that and all the boys kept away from
it. And there we We're. right on the
porch and the rain just drowning us!
Como on. we got to get him inside
Swatty said, and no took hold of Bony
again.
I didn't want to. It was bad enough
to be on the porch of haunted
house or anywhere near 1T, but the
thunder and lightning and rain and
wind and everything made all things
kind Of different than on other DAYS. 1t
wasn't like real: it was like dreams.