A GHOST IN THE GARRET.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3092, 26 May 1881, Page 4

A GHOST IN THE GARRET.

By MAiiY Kyle Dallas.

1 This 13 the garret floor. It's a relic of the past,' said Mrs Pettigrew , . ' They do not build such garrets now. The house is more than a hundred years old. It was my grandfather's grandfather who built it. By the way,' continued tlic lady, turning on her guest in a sharp and bird-like manner peculiar to her—' by the way, this garret is haunted.'

'How delightful! Do tell me about the ghost!' cried the young lady who had. followed her into the great room which covered half the large house.

' The ghost, Miss Walker, is a soldier, an officer who wa3 killed by a jealous husband in a duel, which took place here. Ho walks up and down, trailing his sword after him, and is said to be ac pale as death ; however, he hasn't been seen for ten years, though the servants are terribly afraid of him yet. ' They sleep,' said Miss Peitigrew, 'in that half of the garret which is partitioned off, and use the back stairs. They wouldn't come iere for the world, so I make a sort of store closet of those shelves there, and feel perfectly safe about my sweetmeats.

' Here,' said Miss Pettigrew, ' opening a little door—' here is still another pair of stairs. They lead to the orchard. It is said that that idiotic lady who caused the duel had them built that her lover might come to the garret without discovery. It may be true. It's evident that they were never buuV in the original house. Nobody ever uses them now ; and they are actually mouldering away.'

With some difficulty she moved a rusty bolt, and the young lady peeped down the rickety stairs. ' I can fancy the ghost coming up,' she said, with a lifctlo, soft shriek, as she drew back. ' How romantic!' Descending the large, well-carpeted etairs that ran clown the middle of the house, the two ladies entered the parlor, where an elderly gentleman sat waiting. The young lady then addressed him : ' The rooms are lovely, pa, and if Miss Pettigrew will let us conae, we ought to be delighted.' Miss Pettigrew gave a polite wave of the hand, which signiSed that she was charmed to receive such boarders. ' Elsie, dear, go out and get into the carriage,' said the old gentleman. ' Miss Pettigrew and I will have a word about terms.' The young lady tripped lightly away. 'f. have but one coixlilion to make, niadfim,' «aid the old g.-ntlem.-in, the instant she was gone. ' That you will take no single gentlemen boarders. , 1 1 have one, sir,' said "Uss Pettigrew, ' Mr Jeffers, seventy-five years old, and quitt; rheumatic. .

'Ah ! I don't mind him !' responded Mr Walker ' I—l mean— In fact, I have brought my daughter to this quiet place to separate her from a person who is paying his addresses to her, and 1 am afraid h? will follow us. .

' Not into this house,' said Miss Pettigrew. 'My other rooms are filled ; two families, mother, father, and children ; a widow lady and her daughter ; and Miss Budwick, principal of a school in .'

' The place will suit me perfectly/ said Mr Walker. ' We'll come over ( to-morrow morning ;' and with a bow, he trotted down the path and also took his place in the carriage.

About a fortnight from the day on which she had received her first boarder, Miss Pettigrew descended to the dining-room at an early hour, as was her wont, and in a very cheerful mood.

' This is very comfortable, indeed,' thought she to herself, ' very comfortable. Why shouldn't >. turn a penny as well as my neighbors ? Certainly my house is full of genteel people, and it's really pleasanter than to live alone.' And Miss Pettigrew regarded her well-spread breakfast table with just pride and pleasure.

' Very cornfoi-table, indeed —«Ty goodncs !' The latter portion of tlio sentence did not belong to the former. It was an ejaculation forced from her by the sudden appearance of her two servants, pale as death, hollow-eyed, and with compressed mouths, wlio, having made each a coiirtesy, ground themselves against the wall and stood looking at nothing, in a way, as Miss Pettigrew afterwards said, calculated to freeze the blood of an observer. 'My goodness !' repeated Miss Pettigrew. 'Fanny Ann and Abby Jane, what's the matter ? Is the house on fire ? ' 'No, Miss,' replied Fanny Ann. c Have you seen a ghost ? ' proceeded Miss Pettigrew. ' Yes, Miss,' replied Abby Jane. c And please, Miss, we can't sleep in that awful place no more,' continued Fanny Ann. ' If you can't put us somewhere else, we must go. We've seen him three times.' ' Three nights hand-running,' said Abby Jane. ' Why didn't you tell me before ? ' asked Miss Petigrew. 'We thought yon wouldn't believe us,' said Fanny Ann. ' Well, I believe you've seen something terrifying, , said Miss Pettigrew, 'and I'll see what I can do. Don't mention this to anybody. You'd frighten some of my boarders away, perhaps. I'll talk it over after breakfast, and I'll wager I'll lay the ghost.' Fanny Ann and Abby Jane departed, promising silence and the boarders ate their breakfast as usual. Afterward, behind closed doors, she heard this narrative : At eleven o'clock every night for the past week the girls had heard a noise in the outer garret; but the last three having been lit by a brilliant moon, they had been able to see through a crack in the door, and espied—' as sure as she was a living woman,' Abby Jane declared—a ghostly soldier in complete uniform, pacing up and down.

The first time the figure vanisliocl rapidly, The second time it was longer in going ; but on the third night they saw it enter by the disused .stairway, and heard it speak. What it said was : " Darling, j would die for you ! I would risk all to meet you !'

'We could look no longer, Miss,' said Ahby Jaue. " We thought we should take Bpasm3.'

Miss Pettigrew rubbed her nose

'This is unpleasant,' she said. ' Certainly, the ghost was an oiDcer ; and my own Aunt Lydia dec4ared that she saw him. That was before her daughter, Grace, eloped with— Good gracious ! I have it!'

' What, Miss ?' cried Abby Jane. cAn idea!' said Miss Pettegrew. ' GMrls, you may take a mattrass on the parlor floor to-night, and hold your tongues until tomorrow morning.' The police force of was not large, but that night two of its members stood concealed behind the largest apple trees in the orchard at the east of Miss Pettigrew's house. They were No. 12 and No. 14. These figures glittered on their cap-bands. Within, on the other side of the garret door, Miss Pettigrew, in a flowered dressinggown, stood listening intently. The moonlight flooded the old garret. Stern and strong of mind as she was, Miss Pettigrew felt a cold shudder run up her spine. It was now a quarter to eleven . y oon the old clock in the hall below croaked, rolled, and struck the hour. At that instant a faint creaking was heard. A door opened—not the atair door, the one into the hall —and a figure, all in white, stole in and sat down on a great box. It was very ghostly. ' Ugh !' shuddered Miss Pettigrew. 'I declare I feel scary.' Hark ! another faint creaking. The door to the mysterious stairway opened softly and a figure entered. It was dressed in a soldier's uniform. It wore a sword, but its face —its awful face, though it bore the features of a man, was of an awful ghostly white, lips and all, enlivened only by two great black eyes, that glared about them.

Miss Pettigrew shivered until the door rattled. The next instant the two ghosts ran into each other's arms. Another instant, and the stair door was opened with a bang,

and Officer No. 12 followed Officer No. 11 into the garret, each armed with a club.

' Ghost or not I'm quUo safb now,' said Miss Pettigrew, and opened the garret floor with hor lamp in her hand. 'So we've caught you,' said Officer No. 12.

'And we'll find how ghosts like being locked up in jail, , st'id Officer No. 14, as he pulled a wet handkerchief, with two holes in it from the ghost's face, and revealed a very pale human countenance, adorned by a moustache which had most carefully waxed points, and, under other circumstances, might have been very fierce indeed.

'And this young woman—your servant, most likely—shall we arrest her along with the burglar ? Do you make a charge against her, Misg Pettigrew ?' At these words the female ghost, who had hitherto done nothing but wring its hands tore from its form the sheet in which it was enveloped and revealed the faco and figure of Miss Elsie Walker, who instantly went down on her knees at the foot of Miss Pettigrew.

'He is not a burglar, dear Miss Pettigrew. Wo were neither of us doing anything dishonest. It's Captain Sliishor, to whom lam engaged. Pa woi.ldn'fc let us meet as we wished, so we had to meet as wo could, and the dress and disguise wero only assumed to save me if we wero seen by any one. Don't—don't—don't arrest Alfred for a thief, when it is only his great love for me that—that —that—' Here Miss Walker's voice failed her and she became hysterical, and Captain Slasher was heard to say, rather faintly and nervously : ' Be calm, Elsie, becalm.' ' Officers,' said Miss Pettigrew, ' I am sorry to waste your time, but will you be seated —take some boxes, pray—until I summon another person.' And Miss Pettigrew sailed from the room and l'eturned ten minutes later with old Mr Walker, hastily clad in his dressing-gown, on whose appearance the gallant captain grew pale, and Miss Elsie wrung her hands again. ' A pretty piece of business indeed !' said Mr Walker.

' Yes sir,' said Miss Pettigrew, ' pretty indeed. Here is a decent young man—in the army, , l suppose—who is driven to sneaking up back stairs into n garret to pay attention to a l-espeetable young lady who prefers to receive him in the parlor. Now if that young lady loses her character, whose fault is it, sir ? The fault of those who drove her to it. We are old, Mr Walker, but we have been yoiing. I'm single, but'—and Miss Pettisrrftw drew out her pocket lianrlkereliief—' I have a heart. I should have been somebody's wife twenty-five veurs ago if I had had the spirit that girl 'vis ; but 1 was meek and submissive—and —no matter. If you really have nothing serious against that young man, hadn't you hptfer let him marry your daughter, Mr Walker ?'

'Perhaps I had, Amelia—l mean Miss Pettigrew,' said the old gentleman.

'You angelic woman!'cried Miss Elsie, casting herself into Miss Pettigrew's arms.

' t*ir, I thank you," said Captain Slasher, who had grown red to the tips of his ears.

' I suppose no charge whatever will be made then,' said Officer No. 12, in an irritated tone. 'Oh ! no. This is not a case for charges,' eaid Miss Pettigrew. ' Good-night, then,' said Officer No , 14, turning on his heel and departing as he came, but in a huff. ' You may call on my daughter two evenings a week and see her in Miss Pettigrew's presence,' said the old gentleman to the captain. 'If my daughter were not motherless this would nob have happened.' The captain shook hands with everybody and followed the policemen. Miss Pettigrew bolted the garret door. Mr Walker assisted her. ' I thought you did not know me, Amelia 1, he said. ' You might very Well have forgotten me, I'm so dreadfully changed,' sighed Miss Pettigrew. And after these mysterious whispers they went clown stairs. There was a wedding at Miss Pettigrew's that autumn. Elsie was united to her captain in the presence of all the boarders and many friends. But Miss Pettigrew did not take boarders again the next summer. Before that time came she had changed her name, and had married old Mr Walker. ' It's rather late in life, Elsie,' said she, as she embraced her step-daughter ; ' but the fact is, your pa and I were old sweethearts, and but for the cruelty of the old folks, who broke the match, I suppose I should have been your mother in reality.' Elsie did nob discuss the question. She only kissed her and said : ' You've been my best friend, at all events, dear mamma.'

If you want to find out how little a man knows about himself and family, give him an insurance 'application' to fill out. If you want to see how little he knows about anything, put him on the witness-stand. — Burlington Hawkeye.

A woman accidentally went to church with two bonnets on her head—one stuck inside the other—and the other women in the congregation almost died of envy. They thought it was a new kind of bonnet, and too sweet for anything.

As the happy couple were leaving the church the husband said to the partner of his wedded life : ' Marriage must seem a dreadful thing to you. Why, you were all of a tremble, and one could hardly hear you say ' I will." ' I will have more courage and say it louder next time, , said the blushing bride.