The Ghost Story.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 303, 23 December 1933, Page 2 (Supplement)

The Ghost Story.

(By ARTEMAS.)

THE two children wore in tlie nursery and, as I passed the half-open door, I heard Barbara speaking. "Tell me a story, Betty," she 6aid, in wheedling tones. "Don't he silly," was Betty's prim retort. "Can't you sec I'm busy?" Then, palpably weakening: "What kind of a story?" "Oh, you know," came Barbara's eager treble. "Something about ghosts and—and dudgeons, and 'citing things like that." There was a moment's silence. Then: "You know perfectly well that mummy doesn't like us to talk about ghosts," said Betty, with all the severity of her eight and three-quarter years. "She'd be very cross if ihe know that you'd asked me. And don't wiggle about, 'cause I can't think." There was another silence, this time longer and even more profound than the last. It was broken by a deep sigh, and th'en the story began. "Well, once upon a time there was a noble youth who hadn't any father or mother or in-laws, but only a faithful steed on whom he used to ride about the country doing brave deeds. And the noble youth's name was Derrick. "Well, ono day —it was Christmas Eve and the ground was covered with snow —Derrick was riding through a great forest, where he'd just rescued a beautiful princcss from a fiery dragon, when he suddenly saw a gloomy castle that was the gloomiest castle ho had ever seen. "So lie said to a humble charcoal burner who was sitting on a tree trunk, resting from his labours: '"A Merry Christmas, varlet. Prithee, what is the name of yonder castle?' "And the charcoal burner touched his four locks, and he said: '"The same to you, Sir Knight, and many of 'cm. It is called trie Castle of Gloom, noble sir, and

it is the horriblest place you can possibly imagine 'cause of the ghost that haunts its creaking corridors.' "'Ho! Ho!' said the knight (which ho really was, though I didn't tell you before). 'A ghost, forsooth! Metliinks 'twere well that he and I should meet.' "And, throwing a golden guinea to the humble charcoal burner, lie rode bravely up to the Castle of Gloom, whistling away as though he hadn't a care in the world. "Well, -when he got to the castle he found the front door wide open, so he went straight in. And he saw at a glance that the castle had been deserted for years. There wasn't a bit of holly or mistletoe hanging in the rooms, like there ought to have been, considering it was Christmas, and he thought he had never seen so many cobwebs about in all his life. So, seeing that he had travelled many leagues and ■wanted to be up early in the morning, he thought the best thing to do was to have his supper and jump into bed. So lie did. And no sooner had he switched off the light than who should come into his bedroom but the ghost!" There was an impressive pause rendered all the more impressive by a gasp of awe from Barbara. "Of course, ho wasn't really surprised, 'cause he remembered what the humble charcoal burner had told liinii And, besides, he had heard the ghost clanking its chains and moaning whilst lie was getting undreesed.. But lie hadn't been the least bit frightened, 'cause it's silly to be afraid of noises in the dark. "Well, the ghost came and stood at the end of the bed and pointed a skinny finger at him and started to groan t'rific'ly. And the knight knew he'd never get a wink of sleep unless he did something, so he sat up in bed and said to the ghost, 'A Merry Christinas.' "Now you could have knocked the ghost down with a feather when the knight said that, 'cause people had always been so frightened of him before that they had never stayed long enough to be polite. So he just sat down on the side of the bed and said 'A Merry Christmas' as well. "And Sir Derrick said to the ghost: " 'Are you the ghost ?' "And the ghost said: "'Yes, I am. Arid I've been haunting this castle like anything for more than a thousand years and you arc the very first person who has ever spoken a civil word to me.' " 'I can quite believe that,' said the knight. I don't know what people are coming to nowadays they are so rude. But my mother, before she was lull over by a chariot, always told me that politeness costs nothing, so if there s anything I can do for you please don't hesitate to mention it, 'cause I make a point of doing three good deeds every day, and so far I've only done two.' "'Well,' said the ghost, 'that's very kind of you, I'm sure, 'cause, as a matter of fact, just before I was slain by the wicked Norman Baron, Rudolph—'" "Kudolph Picksley is rather wicked, too," interrupted Barbara, naming Betty's bete noire. "He pulls little girls' hair." "Shut up," said Betty fiercely. "You've made me lose my phue." "It's all right, Betty. You'd just got to where the ghost'd been slain by the wicked Baroii Kudolph.'

"Well, the ghoiit said he'd hidden a big bag of gold and precious stones just before the horrid baron's soldiers had stormed the castle, and, what with shooting arrows at the enemy and pouring boiling water on them from the rammed parts, and then being killed in the end, he'd quite forgotten where he put it. And so he was doomed to return every night and search until he found it. "Now when the knight heard the poor ghost's story, his tender heart was touched. So lio leaped out of bed and started to buckle on his armour. " 'Never mind,' said he, patting the ghost's back. 'Perhaps you haven't looked in the right place. Four eyes are better than one, so I will get up and help you.' "Well, the knight and the ghost started to search the castle. And they looked under the beds and in the cupboards and in all the oak chests and things, but they couldn't find the bag anywhere. And the poor ghost began to get quite worried. "At last there was nowhere left to search but the deepest dungeons, and the ghost said he'd rather not go down there if the knight didn't mind, as there were a lot of rats and crawly things about and he had always been rather frightened of rats. So the knight, taking his sword in one hand and his crossbow in the other, said he would go himself. And the ghost waited for him at the top of the dungeon steps. "Of course, the knight had a terrible light with the rats before he killed them all. But when he had killed the last rat, he went into the furthermost dungeon, and there, what should ho see, but the very bag of gold and precious stones the ghost was looking for. So lie brought it upstairs and handed it to the ghost with a bow. "And the ghost was so pleased that he didn't know what to do. And he said to the knight: "'lt was very kind of you to go to all this trouble for a perfect stranger, and I should like to repay you for it. I've been looking for that gold such a long time that I've quite forgotten what 1. wanted it for. So you can keep it if you like. And you can have the Castle of Gloom as well, as I shan't be wanting it any more.' "Saying which, lie lifted his scraggy hands above his head and immediately disappeared through the floor. "So the knight lived in the castle, which he renamed the Castle of Joy. And lie married a beautiful princess with a lot of children, and they lived happily ever afterwards."