Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-09-24
CHAPTER III
Judge OuT's Ghost Story

Doggy felt a SILVER run up her back when
L Billy Belgium said the schoolhouse was
haunted. But in a moment her good sense
came to the rescue.
Haunted houses are just bugaboos," she
declared. 81 don't believe in ghosts ="
Billy Belgium gave her a sly wink and
NODDED his head slightly toward the Bird.
She caught his meaning at once. He was
only trying to fool the Birds because of the
joke they had played on him in bringing him
back to school, just when he was rejoicing
because he was going to have two days'
freedom from books and study.
Even if you don't believe in ghosts. yolu
have TO admit that queer things happen in
lots of houses that folks say are haunte ed .
The children going to this school say they
have been hearing some very strange noises
here - said Billy Belgium. silencing any FUR
Their argument on Peggy's part with another
wink.
"Whoo. WHO'D. l. don't believe in ghosts
either" hooted Judge Owl. I've been around
a lot at night and I've never met one. But
silly persons sometimes take me for one and
l give them awful s~cares.' Judge Owl
chuckled.
Il remember one boy who was going to
brighten folks going home from a party. So
he got a white sheet and ran on ahead of
them, hiding himself in the shrubberry of an
old, tumble-down, vacant house. When the
folks came along he climbed on a stump so
that he looked about ten feet tall and waved
his arms as though he were flying. 'Ouow !
Ouow = he groaned. I'm a ghost I'm a
ghost {.
My, how those folks did yell and shrek 80
laughed Judge Owl. while Billy Belgium gig
gled out loud. They ran down the road
lickety-split, with one big fat man running
the fastest of all until he stumbled over a
stone and pitched on his stomach Then he
was so scared that he didn't wait to get up,
but went right on rolling down the hill"
Billy Belgium broke right out laughing and
all the Birds Joined in.
But that was only the beginning of the
real fun" snickered Judge Owl. 81 was In
the vacant house hunting for mice when the
yells disturbed me. I looked out and there
was the boy-ghost just hollering with laugh
ter. I put on as deep a voice as I could and
said. WHO'D. WHO'D
1.-The boy let out a yell, louder than any
of the others, and down. kerplump, he went.
tumbling off that stump. He got tangled
up In his sheet and rolled over on the ground
trying to get up. I few to a tree right over
his head and said WHO'D! WHO'D at him once
more.
yelling and yelling, Ne scrambled UP and
flew down the hill. The others heard him
yelling and saw him coming, the sheet flap
ping about like wings. They thought the
ghost was going to get them sure. and they
fed madly. All except the fat man. He
rolled into a ditch and got stuck there. Be-
fore he could get out the boy-ghost fell over
him. My, what a wild mix-up there was
then, The fat man was screaming murder,
the boy was yelling ghosts and l was boot
ing WHO'D WHO'D"
FINALLY the fat man discovered that the
boy wasn't a ghost after all. but was Just
pretending to be one. That made the fat
man mad. He grabbed the boy and gave
him a red-hot spanking. I didn't want the
boy to get too hard a walloping. so I said
WHO'D WHO'D again. The fat man dropped
the boy in a hurry, they Jumped to their
feet, and off they pelted after the others
Blue Heron now raped loudly on the
teachers desk.
school will now come to- order" he rasped
IN tomorrolc's chapter Peggy learns
that there really U a mystery about the
schoolhaAseJ