A GHOSTLY VISITANT.

Waikato Argus, Volume IV, Issue 278, 23 April 1898, Page 1 (Supplement)

A GHOSTLY VISITANT.

I WAS a mec.ical student iu London, attending the lecture.; at dear old Bart's and looking forward to being tho possessor of a snug little praotico which, foi family reasons, I could almost already call my own. It wanted but a few days to Christmas, 187-1, and I intended tc pass that season with my aunt in Huntingdonshire. On the 22nd I packed my bag, and in duo time arrived at Oakshott, as my relative called her house—regarding which Miss Betsy Frotwtod might have inquired "Why Oakshott?"—it being named on tho Incus a non Ittcendo principle, as there was not an oak within a mile of it. The old lady met me in tho entrance hall, and gave me an effusive greeting ; so gushing was it that, although wa were the bost of friend*, and I could always make her homo mine, I could not help fancying there must be somo unusual cause for the delight sho evinced. After supper the truth came out. " Phil, dear,'' sho said, " I'm more than glad to see you this time. You know you are always welcome ; but what you don't know is that either my intellect is failing or tlure is a—a ghost in tho house ! Yes, don't stop mo, or I shall break down ; I know I shall. It is very, verv stupid ; but I can't help it. And 0 ! Phil, Phil, my dear, dear boy—" and she burst into a flood of tears. I made some commonplace remarks to pacify her, wondering all the while what the deuce it could bo, and whether it was really a case of "a bee in a bonnet." By-and-by her lusto.ical fit subsided, and my aunt was able to give me a rational account of her trouble. It seemed that for some nights pa*t, after sho had gone to sleep, sho had been awakoned by something tugging at tho bed-clothes. On one occasion the eiderdown qaitt, and the covering next to it, had been actually pulled off, and had fallen on the floor. Naturally Miss Rachel —that was her name—wis very much frightened, but, nevertheless, oach time she got up, lit her candle, and made a thorough search of the room, diecovering nothing, however, to explain the mystery. Her door was fast locked and bolted on the inside, the shutters were securely closed, and there was not a crevice in the apartment that she had not carefully explored to see if a living bird or animal had been concealod there, but all in vain. I should state that my aunt, though , wealthy, had only a small establishment, consisting of two elderly female servants, and those I well know could bo entirely dependod upon. They slept on the first floor, at the back of the house, overlooking the garden, and the servant's quarters wero on tho storey above. The front of tho house, completely furnished should need arise, was almost always unoccupie:!, and, owing to the peculiar construction of tho building, the only other room at the back on the same level as my (Hint's, was the plate closet, whore some hundred ounces of silver, most of it antique and of great value, were stored. I had often endeavoured to persuade her to deposit this at her banker's, but sho always objected to do so, alleging that it was one of her chief pleasures to look after tho various articles herself, and to see that not a speek was allowed to tarnish their elegance. After Miss Rachel had told me her story, I fancied I could seo clearly that no supernatural agency had been at work and yet I was puzzled to account for the fact that her chamber had certainly not been entered, and that no living being had been " lying low" iri it. Tho elucidation of the difficulty was, I felt convinced, to ba found in connection with the plate closet, and I begged my aunt to allow mo to pass tho night in that retreat. After some hesitition she consented, and when bedtime camo, I mado myself as comfortable thero as I cjuld with the assitsanco of a sofa-chair, plenty of egs/s, and a modicum of—well, not water alone. My only stipulation was that my aunt's door should ha left unfastened. I must have dozed, off and on, for a couple of hours, when I was aroused by a piercing scream ; aud " Phil! Phil!" in an agonising toue, sounded in my ear*. I rushed out of the plate-room, crossed the narrow passage which separate 1 it from the bedchamber, and in a mometit was in the latter. As I entered something became entangled in my legs, and I nearly fell. But in that second, I heard a slight shuffle outside the window, and dashing open tho shutters t caught sight of a man making tracks from the end of the garden. I had my revolver in my hand, and fired, bringing down the quarry. The shot attracted tho attention of tho village polieomin who happened to bo closo at hand, and between us the wounded man, who proved to bo a ne'er-do-well of the locality, was safely housed. I then had time to devote attention to Miss Rachel, who, it may easily believed, was not a little alarmed. Bather sitisfaction in finding .that she had neither been the victim of mental malady, nor of a ghostly visitant, tended greatly to quiet her nerves, and she was completely reassured when wo discovered bow the trick had been worked. That which had caused me to stumble just inside my aunt's room turned out tj be a fine, but very r ; gid, stoel wire, one end having been split in three, and oach point bent down and sharpened, so that an exact resemblance of a bird's cluw was produced. The window and shutters being not only old-fashioned but old, had left sufficient space at the corner next to the hingo to allow this instrument to be inserted and pushed forward until the fork end rested ou tho b^d-clothes. A little manipulation enabled the man outside, who stood on a short ladder, to pull off the coverlet by means of tho claw, and then quickly to disengage and withdraw the wiro. Of course, directly ho hoard the sound of matches being struck inside, preparatory to the lighting of the candle, he vanished, only to return and repeat the operation on the following night. This was tho substance of tho confession made by our prisoner, who alleged that it was his design by these means so to work upon my aunt's fears that—as I verilv believe ho would have done, had not I fortunately succeeded in unravelling the mystery—she would have changed her sleeping apartment to the front of the house, when ho would have had the opportunity he desired, of gaining freo access to the back—including tho plate closet. On the following morning whpn I went to breakfast an envelope with a £lO note was on my plate.