Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1920-05-27
A Florida Ghost


Down here in Florida the sunsets
are as swift and startling as the for.
est fires. i came down here during
the. boom of the late seventies, and at
that time we Yankees considered an
orange grove 90 be about as paying an
investment as a gold mine. How |
sweated and toiled and-7-sometimes-+'
prayed III. ss5ss$ss :sf
I've lost al my trees twice blythe
frost. but I stay on, old and helpless,
now. hate the climate, and country.
and4the shiftless niggers, and the. yel-
lew crackers, and long for the New
Hampshire hills and rocks and Gods
sweet as. But here / am, because of
the grave, yonder, at the. edge OF. the
Lake Forty. She lies buried there, and
some day jim will dig another grave
beside hers and there won't be- any
neighDors to send flowers; or any
church choir to sing Shall We Gath.
Ell at@tIef River?" ~ ~ spAa
Fifty years ago this place had a
population of three hundred decent
white people,; after the war they drift
ed away. God knows where, and. noWs
in this entire township, there are on,
" 20 sofls-and Il niggers.
That is the old d'Antignac, planta:
6iou across the lake It is a curious
fact that my first night IN this 7.conn-
try was passed at the d'Antignac plan
tation 1t was white night. ] LETT the
St. Johns boat at Sanaretta early In
The morning and started off or foot
for Lakeville There were no railroads
In this part of the state then, and not
a team to be hired at Sanaretta, for
dove or money. vv \
With the newspaper which had CON
tanned my luncheon I busted the set
tee. rolled my coat up for pillow,
wound my watch and lay. down. to
sleep. a....~....
/ awoke with the sound Of voice
in my ears was lying upon my right
side, my back to the windows; but Il
saw that the room was filled with 3.
F0ft radiance, like the dull, glow from
many candles Suddenly little flash
Irg prism darted across the back of
the settee, then another and another
the air seemed full of them Jewels
in a shop window, with the. sunlight
full upon them, send out just such
glittering rainbow rays. turned, Slow
Gy and painfully, upon my lett side
every joint and muscle stiff and, sore
from my long tramp and hard bed; as
did so, l heard the soft rustic. Of
wOman's dress. @GafG# "t
She sat at the table FACING mea=tt a
woman in white gown, q red rose
caught at the lace at her breasts ~
Her eyes were big, and black. and
veIvety, and in the queer light of the
room her hair shown like corn silk.
She was twisting some invisible thing
about her hands and arms. Once sheT'
made "cat's cradle" of it ana the
dancing sparks and prisms flew out
from between her long fingers; some
kimes she held it as before the flame
of a lamp, or flicked it into the il, +
laughing. Such a laugh. At last sho
flung it from her, and leaned upon the
table, as though in eager conversation
with some one upon the opposite side;
Hrowning heavily, she struck heri
hands together, as in anger, and at
that instant | heard the sand muffled
fhud of a horses hoofs close to the
veranda, latch clicked sharply, a door
opened, and l felt breath of cold,
fresh air upon my cheeks.
The woman sprang to her feet, start
ing at the open inner door OF the hall,
g look of awful fear and recognition
upon her face; hurried footsteps ap-
preached; she began ringing her
hands, swaying back and forth, and
moaning piteously. Although she was
Gl.e only visible presence in the room
felt rather than saw, that there were
others, and as attempted to, rise,
there was a scuffIe, pistol shot, 9TH
er9footsteps like those of a drunken
man this time, and the awful fall OF
some heavy object. / knew that a
p;an's body lay across the threshold
OF the hall, and that this anparition
of a woman was confronting the in
visible assassin. .v~e,4:s
She fell upon her knees as if in sup
plication; once she put her hand to.
her face and cried out sharply. !
heard the faint shrek of whiplash
"a dull red mark stood Out upon her
forehead. Instantly she was upon her
feet. bending over the table, wildly
tossing unseen objects to right and left
In an agonized search for something:
or she would stand looking down at
her long white fingers, moaning and
crying in way that froze the blood
In my veins.
At last, desperately she clenched
her hands upon the cornice. laying
Ter face against them and moaning
{the first coherent words that had
heard her utter); Lost, lost, lost"
l remember flinging myself to the
floor to stretch cautious, wondering
finger toward red fluid that trinkled
ayer the hearth and it was warm.