Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1929-04-22

yourself. I don't s'poshe the other
feller did it for fun"
There was another pause. The
ticking of the clock on the mantel-
piece suddenly became audible. The
prospective caretaker seemd more
and more impressed.
Didn't they never find him?" he
inquired.
"'E amt turned up yet" said the
junior clerk.
What about the man before
him?"
There wasn't one. for months"
why not?"
Couldn't get anyone.
"Well-the last one they could get.
What happened to him?" persisted
the visitor. I'D like to know"
He a away"
Ran away. Well, that's funny.
Did he say why?"
.Yes. e said he couldn't stick it."
well p'r'aps this other teller ran
away, too? This last feller?"
That's what we think"
"Ail right, then"
rs it al right, then? The first
Teller lived to tell the tale. Where's
the second Teller? All! There you
are. you see."
Seems a bit nasty" muttered the
visitor. But. look here! If the
first Teller lived to tell the tale,
what sort of a tale did he tell?"
The junior clerk bent forward q
little, and lowered his voice.
Its not for me to say, if you
know what I mean" answered, "but,
if you've got to know some time, why
not before than after? Coornber
'Ouse is 'aunted!'
GO on!"
eyes, you'll say Go on after
you've spent a night or two there?
There's a banging and a booming,
and the furniture gets thrown about
I'm tellin' what I've 'erd, mind
and goodness knows what else"
"P'r'haps it's not ghosts" suggest
ed the visitor. "P'r'haps it's some
thing else. There's lots Of other ex-
plantations"
"Well, If you can find another ex-
PLANTATION, p'r'hapS someonell take
the place! 'Ow'd you explain
He paused. Temptation beat him
"'Ow do you explain a 'eadless
elephant?"
"My!" murmured the visitor. 81
wouldn't like that!"
The headless elephant interfered
for a moment with the converse
tional flow. If the visitor was wor-
ried about it, so was the junior clerk.
well, but, 200 don't exaggerate a
bit?" he argued with himself. After
a short pause. the visitor remarked
that he wasn't surprised the house
remained empty, with all these
stories about; and he added the mild
comment that perhaps n shouldn't
spread the stories. That touched the
junior clerk on a raw spot.
II was only tellin' you for your
own good" he retorted. "And
any'ow, everybody knows. Why, Mr.
| Spriggs 'imself IL be the first to tel
you. z don't believe in keepin' II
back, because e hays it isn't fair tc
[ 'ooever wants to take the place
Come to that, I believe there's mre'r
one would ave took it. If the boss
admit put in is word of warnin'."
"Really?" replied the visitor
| stroking his bushy moustache. well
I don't suppose the owner'd thank
him for that"
1.-The owners in Canada" said the
| Junior clerk, land as 'e's got plenty
of 'ouses, it don't matter to i'm. It's
livin' in a 'ouse that matters, not
ownin' it,"
The junior clerk did not realize
that this was the only really wise re-
mark he had made during the inter
| view.
A diversion was created by the
entrance, through the creakins
swing doors, of a very old man. The
| old man glanced sharply at the visi.
tor, passed him, and entered a dool
marked Strictly Private"
"Was that him?" inquired the Wis.
itor.
Eyes, that's Mr.. Spriggs," nodded
the junior clerk. "But you never
stop i'm. E goes through, and ther
you go to i'm, and then you get in"
! Two minutes later. the mild mar