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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Times, 1889-11-15, Page 6-m+w--v- 1jAt' WM" , turn rne„sages..., • Sometimes I thila�l►' see anything for thedariCn�a$. �'�,�.�. � :..” .. •oeie . • - I'M S .A►,NTP'SC' CIRC, '� ;Eike mill oini't y� 1 wall cull you up and shat a: little, salted despairingly, Hack ! What -.,--- t} then the round about ways puts .tyre sorer►d; was Wet', faint and familiar, ego; 1 wont' .not credit even my own out of the humor. Take a vacation (lick, click elide. I listened without eeneee in the matter. The senses and yieit u$ soon. Mother will be sit . breathing," 1 atxi here, it said. Bound may deoieve, and if they imposed FRIDAY, N( VE111M11 15' 1889', glad to ego you, She's crazy about - and gagged ; tied down snything en me which vellumo I can't get an said ' her chiekeats; raising t e enormous my hands free or ear. 'Unloose me was impossible, I would utterly re- ezeiv taX$li3i, nuuaber. And eueh luck! They're til- = quickly. Nee to believe them,. A sensible said is of our curator eventide 16ays falling in the soft soap lieg or g;ruaped guy way into the abed, .educated man must reject with soon . a hallucination. It was a sheer true steady myself,'nn4 then t stammer out - 111 ister, M !stere----- Gray, if ye mann mister' ata, +opid the fearful thing, Clinging to the piling, I trade strong effort to act ou trey late asser- tion, and treat the thing before me ern tm gaca.tn g p k p all these stories of supernatural op - west, . just splendid. As for me, I've gain- to something warm and human. pearances and communisations, Like ironthroated furnace in whole ed. fifteen pounds, etc , etc. It was 4 moment's work to release Whether old tales of ghosts or modern breast It was this that lit the taotiou into -boy. Great God i 1 cried, who did' s iritualistic wonders theyare 'like Some smith Titanic wrought, where yet l? p t abide my head. 1 obtrtrued a substitute this 2 the product of superstition ; and if Great smouldering, area, the day reluctant and took my vacation in early June, She caught her breath with a pep, not mere hallucinations, are gross de- ftisd, The evening of the next day I alight- - Back to the station, elm cried. postures, working on ignorant •credu)- A clamp of oakstheir dismal branches • versed. ed. from the way train to the town Don't waste a second, We ran to sty. w " Sheer ou the sombre glow, and from the where Josie and her another lived—at gather. She caught the key and called As 1 thus delivered myself I wait creat the station where Josie !herself was a up the office 1, had spoken watts. Vii- drawing on my overcoat, preparatory, of hither hills j otlueht the seene and fixture. litany, she telegrept•ed, Wire to A— to leaving the reading room- )stet? Because thesighed A trim little figure came running cut, Station man here in plot. Call established in ant village where a autumn of any heart was hexa,toward toe. It was she. She had on. up A— by D---- G—. company were assersihled, who had Ana outh' horizon of itseky, where gleam- a plain gingham dress' and a jaunty Tco lath, the answer Acme back ; partaken themselves to felling ghost ed cap was pushed back. from her auburn Express has left A-,--- ty this, Flag stories of the most ridiculous and in - The liugering light of Hope departed, hair earwig on her forehead. She it. ` werecredible description. Taking no in - The dim, sweet sethouetts of fauoiea gave me a good hearty handshaking Josie turned and looked at me for }crest°in so frivulons a them( and the , deemed and ordered 'we into the station. an instant almost despairingly, By Youth and Leve immortal. Thus Gracious! said I;' not. much niore What shall Ido ? The special has Despair than asked. Do you have it all your- left there. The express has started. Oft Domes as autuv!n to bright eeumniers seif4 They will meet on the same track, dreamed In ardentapring, and tike the leafless Pretty often. There's a man around The scoundrels came on me just as 1 oak • ;, sonetinies, but he's a lazy sort of a had a note of the special,' so I should Whose naked limbs so piteously invoke creature, and, to tell the . truth, I make no mistake, of winter the obit). charity of snow, haven't much confidence in him. I've She adjures Death to shroud her wintry We must flag the express, I Cried,. woe. got my eye on him pretty Close.. Ire Me must ).lag both, she said. This D. Fstee H. Best in Sr. Monis Magazine. `Went off thin afternoon with a queer may not ,be all that has been done, looking eliaraoter,some stranger friend Wile speaking she had turned to A STARTLING EXPERIENCE cif his. Where they went to is a ,light the lamp and I could see how mystery; might have been fishing, pale she was. iry xaLY Trexan. though folks. don't fish in mid-day. A lantern, I said then. She hast- !' Josie McOlure vas always plucky. Every one said so, and what every one says is pretty apt to bavo some truth in it. She was plucky from the lour of her birth, when, a poor, puny post–httmoils little creature she was sent,into the world to assuage the sorrow of a half -heart -broken widow - mother— a delicate creature whose resources were slender. • Josie grew up the delight of her mother's heart, A.quick-witted little zed-hiiired termagant, some were pleased to term her, but these were,. as a rule, such of her schoolmates as led cause to,feae her just wrath for •u,iedoings of their. own. ' Big boys 'who tormented their smaller brethren and girls trbo stooped to peetty meal/ - Ames were Josie's special detestation. .But Josie's school life could not last 'as lona as that of most girls. It came uport her all at once one, day that shelled a mission in the - word, namely. to assist in providing for her- eslf and her mother. I shall "always believe that I first put the notion hi tier head of becoming a telegraph operator. She used to coma up to the depot of that sleepy village nearly Avery day on her way home from• school and watch me at my work. I was station master, train. 'despatcher and general• operator all in one. I don't think I could ever learn to send a nes-age, she said one day, .as she stood watching me. Oli, yes, yoit could. I answered. In fact, I think you'd' soou became an expert. She looked up sharply with her bright red -Hazel eyes. Whet makes you think so$ -Your quick nature and good sense. 1 said. I don't believe you'd ever lode your bead. No; I am pretty wet, Remember when Crittenden's home ran a.vay with Graeey stud me? I made Gracey drop cut over the rear of the wagon. Neither of us was' scratched. I was. tint as•cool at that moment as I am now. Graney was screaming murder. If you had a position like mine, I 'laughed. there wouldn't be much to scare yeti. It's all I can do to keep awalee-••-•seine days. I'd rather go farther West,, said Josie. , that I grew uneasy. Where could Briefly it happened to suit her,. the girl have gone I At length, as she she te,k a few lessons ee me, 1 did tint borne, 1 answered the call. gave her something of a start. Then Well, what istit'1 About the e'xprose, the went to the city and took a regu the answer came. There is no mise far course of instruction. The next I take t I hesitated).. What should I knew ahe had bean assigned to a station say' Repeat instructions. T W. is five lmndred nnilee further; toward the out for the moment. I knew duly stetting sun. • Her mother and her. that the express would come from the ;self removed at once from our midst 'West; and this woe a man talking at a reurt Jwile was Wet to me; save for a station fifty or sixty miles to the east, xpnrklieg little epistle I used to re. 1 -le answered after a moment : Matter r:sive etery week or ten clays detailing of life or death. Express will leave Iter t annus r•xpe'rletre ew. A— in ten minutes. Should switch l'yr mare 1 don't know how 1 shonld. at r—(J'osie's sthtion) and wait for have gotten oil without her letters, 1 apeeial from oast to pass;. 'Other train »timed: her so at tint. It turned blocked with freight. E'er God'a sate heel tfstity dell axed shop? tat my fix it right. No direst wire front here testi et►, litet 1 managed to keep,, awake to A—. and artteful to things as they deserved. A cold r;hill teen (very ni'. Where. S,.ve.r►tl tenure. naesett, Winter elite was Josie '1 How could t civil up the l e"d ►rlvay Anel spring moved along got!, other station 1 I made an attempt but le. .T'orsie''a letters carne regularly to got no answer. 1 waited a ,little but e;lseldeu my bosrt. no :Josie. It wan potting darker. I l felveta't :nne�lr excitement out Terre, rushed out on the platform end looked No' Indians and only are up and down There was a Atrial' shed, ..,o toll trioti r'tt.lipr No smash weenie the track: I roil over and q. ul0 eal'tit Wei iu:tuies rivr?ly. �.ot wrenched open the doors bat cpold not Now, she went on, c elle ug ret' subject with her old vivacity, it's just ened to a boat in the corner and took �it own,instructions remained illus In about half au hour till supper time. out. We:trimmed and lighted it.+. I'll give you full directions how to go ; This is the only one, she said. We the darkness. and you start at once. Walk fust and ; need two. - `Take this and go down the • The school hoarse is over half a you'll he in time. And won't mother traok—yon know, to the west, Stop mile from the village, and the road to be pleased, though!. You see, I've got the express and tell them ---that is all. is as lonely and dreary as can be, my supper herein a tin pail, 1 got to ;1 will rain to the nearest house, get . When I reached the churchyard the another lai,tern and go the other way. noon; shone out from the elonds'which 1 shuddered. had' olisetired it, revenlin the grey Suppose those men come upon you , tombstones and the ruined church, No, you, shalt not go atone: 1 will 1 paused -%t was just at Deaachnen s Burn -find gaged with solemn but g° unperturbed feelings on the peaceful Hush, she said. Go quickly.The express is most here. ••. scene. pessihility that the man who for srviet years had been mouib; erieg ii;, the grave should now he before ire es htr vias in the daya of his flesh, I- must be the ;idle) of a deceased imagina- tion. My eyes and ears were deceiving me '-- would the sense of toueh be more reliable ? Yet 1 shrank from touching it, I ramem' tiered the gruesome tale. of thefirgere meeting no resistance when attempt - to grasp what seemed solid flesh, or, . worse Mill, encountering the chill of death or the ?care bones, of a skeleton. I dared not `touch the thing, and shuddered lest it should toneh me. f It seemed about to do so, for it carne hour besides being pretty far advanced ,close up to me, and said* I had risen to depart, but as the What ails ye, malt t It's the worse preceptor of the parish youth, and—I . o' drink ye are Z' may say it without vanity! -the best • Regardless of the cruel aspersion on informed man there, I deemed it nay my eharaoter, -'.1' gasped°ut— duty to first state my opittiozx. What brought you back' here f Tak' care, maister, cried one. that Again the dreadful lrng1iter, so well tbe,boaies dinna catch you at' the remembered es old Daniel's followed churchyard. The Dsadnaan'e Burn is no by the words -- a canny spot, an' after a' we heard 1 Maybe to,meke. a place for yon womidna much like it mysel' the night. over yondert and' it poilited over into I smiled disdainfatly at his speech the churchyard. • and passed out, pondering on the he- Is it surprising that. I shuddered f nighted understandings which; des- In a. large portion of the stories I had pita the advance of the age and my heard related the ghost had come to forte! the . death of the person th whom it appeared, and this, it- now seemed, was my case. 'What a pun- ishnxent for my unbelief! Why should I,iu the pride of ►ute!lect, have denied that for which there was so touch evidence ?, 1 was a, doomed man; and stay and see the express go by all right.- 1.iinterupted her with the wish that she would allow me to remain with her. But she shook her head. No, I haven't enough• supper for two and mother's all alone. You can come back after arae if you like,though don't mind the walk alone. Haven't the slighest idea how it feels to be Afraid. Start right along now; i'ts a good mile. She give me the • directions and I set out, rather relucautly, it eaust be confessed.' The station stead somewhat above the village, the railroad wound past on an embankment, crossing a river galley on a high bridge a short distance to the west. I followed Josie's directions; went down through the village up to the road leading to her home. Mrs. Mc- Clure gave me a delightful, welcome Anda supper beyond description, We had a pleasant talk of old tinges and new. ` She spoke of Josie'e goodness and filial affection until tears carne in- to her eyes and oxine as well. Then I rose to return to the sta- tion. 181101 never know precisely what thought it was came into my mind and cause me to hasten my footsteps. i ht o'clock And I obeyed. And as 1 ran 1 - What, I cried aloud, is there here trembled at the thought of her peril.. to affright poor humanity 1 trembled so that the lantern shook, What, indeed 'I said a, voice by my . side, and looking round with a start. wholly caused by surprise, I found -I was not alone. A man in a cloait and fur cap stood beside me. No one in the parish now Wore such , a cap and cloak, batt °I .wo11 remembered. their like ?caro ago on our old. and some, what eccentric precenter,Daniel Gray, whose remains lay buried at a few yards distance. Association with the superstitions, even while repudiating their superstitious must have had a baleful effect upon me, for the sight of that figure caused a thrill—no,: not of fear—but of bewilderment—to run. through my frarne. It was the exact picture of the long; deceased Daniel. A moment's reflection convinced me with ,my little lantern swinging until I of the absurdity of imagining it any. tlitn else than an accidental reeem- bu Iran on, xe * a� Joan DIMS firm worry. Tliis was. as ,far as Sam could write, poor' boy.. Ile always 'shudders when ho speaks of that night, But it was nothing aftee all so terrible. I got the other lantern in great haste, not from any neighbor, for therb was no time, but out from behind the box in the corner, Luckily I remembered in time. Then I ran—fast as I could, hut feeling pretty shaky as I crossed the bridge on the trestles and`beard the water far below. Sang turns. pale when 1 mention the bridge, Oh and on I ran in the darkness beard a Iow hnu ming of the rails be- Mancg e. There were oilier asps and gin and saw a distant ligbt growing cloaks of the kind besides the old bright, - precentors—nay they might be the Heaven give me strength,yl prayed, identical articles, for doubtless some and stood there waving my lantern wildly. The light came nearer. I ept on swinging my lantern. 'I step- ped from the trauk, but kept on sig- nalling. Thank heaven the ligbt came more slowly, the special was stopple?, gradually—when at my ear I heard voices of suppressed rage. With a terrible oath some one seized ire and flung me with furious force upon the ground. Then I knew no more. But it was all right; the special picked nie up and dame along slowly with men out ahead.' ` And Sam, clear boy, had met the eiprese, so all was welt,. The people on the special wade mo a nice little presont though I'm sure I didn't want them to. Indeed, they made lr gree#, free otter me. I had run so far I suppose they knew it must have been exhausting, rlie Scamps who laid the plot made off but afterwards were caught. And Sam—Oh, well—Sam is my husband note ---Now Perla Mercury. supper was growing dark and no lamp lighted. Suddenly, click, click, from the table, I listened and I knew seine one ;was calling up this station' T. W.,T. W. Whoever it was calling,persisted - so Walept Gems. It seems as of grace could work to some naters better% others. When you can do somethin', either to help or hinder, it'ii a comfort. . The earth isn't no place for saints : folks here below don't know how to treat 'eta. There's-, oil:: torts of folks in the world. And it's no great use to be studyin' of 'em and gabbro.' mouth and then stopped beating, my Thercf's some water runs dreaclfol eyes and mouth openod to their full - became it's deep art' some be- est extent, niy hair rose on end, tuy esuse the' ain't no ntun's into it. tongue refused to otter a evord. The ways of providence aro dread- You don't sef>ni to care for your ful mysterious, and the wrist of it is company, said the 'apparition, with you can't neithee chnnge'am nor wee . what looked like eturiosity. into 'em,---, teaelraat. 1 I g asps4 the churchyard ptt'irig 'tri one fell heir to them, and thry were of a durable enough nature to last till now. And how ineffably ridiculous to suppose the apparition, not only of a deceased person, but of the raiment he wore, to -impute a living principle to such•substances as fur and camlet ! You'ro no' frightened poureel' ? said the 'stranger. Certainly not, I - retorted. Are you ? Me 1 he answered, with a strange laugh. No' likely, whatever I was once. Reassuring as were my cogitations my heart beat with unwanted reipidity at the tones of that voice, they were so exactly like those of the one hush- ed in death, and the import of the words, too, were surely mysterious. But, scorning .to yield to such miser• able wea•knees, I turned to the man mad said bol ly-- • You're a stranger here .1 suppose ? There was again that wierd yet familiar laugh, as be answered-- A stranger and yet no' a stranger. What do yon mean Z I'dernanded, Do ye no' ken ine, 1MMaieter Park 4' Ile turned to me, and the moon- light falling on his fade revealed, un- mistakably, the features of Daniel Gray 1 All the sensation of horror I had, with the contemptuous incredulity, lately heard described, were now ex- perienced by the to the full. My hair rosy on end, my heart leaped into my .. . - h• all 1 could now venture to hope for . was, that it would not name the day and hour. I remembered the awful precision with which the dead lady foretold, the the death, of wicked Lord Lyttletgn, and 'waited in dread for the next utterance. It' came— Oot o' that,mnan,ar►' awa' whine. My place,is doon here a bit, an' I11 jure. ,. tak' you wi' me. Horrors of horrors 1. Mine was to be the fate of the fair lneogeit, who encircled in the fieshleee arm of At.- phonso the brave, was carried alive tot the tomb. Desperation pave me a. certain cour. age, and I cried--- 1Vicked spirit, I adjure thee—but there language failed. The spectre resumed— ay, try, ye abuse the spirits nos, but ye ,.should; hue thocht afore wliat'they would do to ye, I'll never speak again of them 48 r did, I declared, a faint hope rising,►, that the visitation might be simply to• remove any incredulity, and surely that end had been aticomplrshedr. The spectre might now vanish. Far from that it sat down beside, me and said,--l'ni sorry for you, man. My fears returned in full bidet Ii my situation was such as to excits the commiseration of this disembode fed spirit how fearful it mush be i ,From a sudden impulse I cried— and can you oot help me'4 „ That I can, was the answer, hero tak' my arm, an' we'll jog alone; the- nether to PI place. 'I'll make you a, cup of strong tea.' that'll put you all; right an' no one'll' be a bit the wiser. This was puzzling. I had no ex- pectation that such refreshments a tea were to be bad in the • regions whether lie would drag me. '.Chen there'aas something to 'kindly in the tones that I took heart a little, all the mare that, when what I had dreaded happened, and the ,Apparition. laid its Metra on me, it was warm and fiesh•like Come, said the ghost, drawing my aria, within his—I wonidntt like any one to find yo here, for ye used to be good to poor Daniel. What, I cried, are you not then Dxtiiel Gray Hoot, toot, than 1 Dinne be sic a fool. 'Ye surely ken that Daniel's dead an' burned years ago. I`3n. Sandy Gray, his twin brother, free 'reside, an, hue just been appointed church officer and grave digger here. Aovtes re Mcrnssa.—Are you disturbed at night end hrokeu et your rest by a'sick child suffering and trying with pain of Cutting Teeth t it so send at, ancbandget abottle of "Mrs, Winslow's Soothing Syrup" tor Chttdeen Teething. Its valuels ineataui at.le. It wilt reltevo the poor tittle sufferer. hmmediateiy, Depend upon it, mothers • there is no mistake about it. It eures dysentery and riiarrhma, veputotes the Stoinaelt and )iotrol*, cures Wind Colic, softens the Quin*, reduces Inflammation, and gives tune and energy to the whole system, "titre. Win- slow's Soothing Syrup" for children teething 1 r pleasant to the taste and ,s the prescription of ane et tho oldest and.best female physicians and tutees to the united Statesettnd is. for sale by all drugstinas thronaliont the world, Price twenty -lire cents k bottle. Be sure and ask for "iotas, WiSlwao*'si BooTuu c Stator," and take no other kind. Edith ---Oh, det<r,I don't ktiow what . to de with myself! Josh ---Clive y+ontt self to me.