The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-09-29
THE NEW
GENERATION
JOAN TELLS OF A GHOST.
By JANE PHELPS
CHAPTER 2S.

JOAN TELLS OF A GHOST.
CHAPTER 2S.
| For days Margaret felt the weight
of her daughters displeasure. Neither
of them mentioned Craig Forrester's
name, but the old familiar "Mumsie'
was discarded for the formal Mother"
and in other ways Joan held herself
aloof
But someway Margaret cared less
"Of course, I should. feel awfully
silly if Joan knew about my being all
dressed up that morning, and about
the luncheon" she said to herself,
but 1 shall have to begin to assert
myself a little-as far as my age goes
l-or Joan will have me laid away on
a shelf for the rest of my life"
| Then Margaret considered. Should
! she show Joan the rose and gray
dress? What if she hung it up in the
closet with her other clothes and let
Joan find it? Craig Forester had
mired her in it; had declared she
looked like Joan's sister. Perhaps it
was wrong for her to think herself
too old to dress prettily and stylishly;
or for enjoyment. She had so en-
! joyed Forrester's call The time had
dragged with her. She was alone SO
much. Joan was so often with her
| schoolmates. =
One morning in an access of indie
pendence following night of almost
| sleepless thinking caused by Joan's
Notwithstanding she had again
said about her mothers age-Mar-
garet took the rose and gray dress
/ from the box and hung it in the closet
She put the dainty rose colored slip
pers in plain sight on the shelf the
stockings in her bureau drawer. When
this was done she breathed sigh OF
Irellef.
please get my sweater for me,
Joan ?' she asked as they sat on the
porch that afternoon. Malcolm Frost,
Clarence Tobin and Hortense Thomp-
son had walked home with Joan. All
four had raided the cake box, and
were contentedly munching little
frosted cakes. ..
Joan was gone what seemed an I'M
usually long time. When she finally
returned with the sweater and a seri-
Gus face she laid It upon her mother S
lap without a word. s---eaur>a-4
THANK you," Margaret murmured
zone would think you had seen a
ghost, Joan. Why pull such serious
face?" Malcolm Frost leased. .r
''I did see a ghost"
/ 'Tell Us about it,
at was nothing but the ghost OF
an old woman trying to seem young
i0A6 WdS oil utGSSCd III IOoC anu 3 az .
and she gave me the shivers."- The
contortion which followed illustrated
Joan's feeling altho it was an appres-
sively warm evening.
How Interestingly" Hortense ex-
claimed. "do tell us more about it.
Where was the ghost?"
In the closet"
Lets all go and see it," Clarence
lTobin suggested.
! NO" Margaret said quietly. what
Joan saw was a new dress have just
bought. The rest was all her magma
| ton
"Of course we knew she was string
ing us. Mrs. Hayden" Malcolm re-
turned. Ghosts aren't walking about
in the middle of the afternoon.
4 Wouldn't you Just love to see
really, truly ghost?" Hortense asked
lshivering delightedly at the thought.
1 Both boys launched at once into a
descrition of stories they had heard or
read about ghosts and their habits.
Joan was unusually quiet but they
were SO interested in their subject
they paid no attention, really did not
notice.
81 saw a play once where a woman
who had been dead twenty years came
back to her old home and at night
walked all about. The queer thing
about it was that altho she had been
dead twenty years she had on the same
and there wasn't a wrinkle in it,
lHortense contributed her story after
Malcolm had finished a hair raising
one concerning a graveyard ghost he
had read about.
81 thought I saw a ghost one night, IS
rClarence broke in. 81 was visiting my
aunt down on Long Island. 1t was an
lawful hot night, and my window was
open. 1t opened onto a wide porch, but
was high up so I wasn't a bit afraid.
I woke u awfully sudden, and right on
the bed with me was a great, big,
white thing moving slowly up toward
me. I tell you 1 was scared stiff! /
lshut my eyes, and pretty soon I felt
the ghosts breath on my face tried
to scream but it was a long time be-
fore I could. then let out yowl that
you could have heard a mile. My aunt
came running in, and tho ghost
Jumped off the bed. 1t was great big
white cat belonging to one of the
neighbors. You bet I shut my window
nights after that"
It should think fou would" Mar
lgaret said sympathetically And 1
idon't blame you for thinking it was a
ghost"
Neither do IT, Joan broke in. her
: intense interest in the tale had caused
: her to forget her resentment-for a
: moment.
; (Tomorrow-Margaret asserts herself. }
/ Dinner Stories