\
I
January, 1923,
THE MIDGET
Page 9
to snatch them away. Among those
who were filled with the sense of
vague fear was Sam Simpson, the
son of a poor farmer.
“I have seen him with my own
eyes,” he would say excitedly, while
telling of his encounter with the
headless man, as he sat with the
other members of the family and of
the neighborhood around the open
hre place at night.
In this little village nestled among
the foothills of the Appalachian
Mountains lived another farmer, who
had two very mischievous boys. Very
unlike Sam Simpson, these boys,
Tom and Jim Hawkins, were afraid
of nothing. They liked to hear Sam
tell about how the headless man,
dressed all in white, ran him all the
way from the hollow below the Haw
kins’ house to his own home, about
half a mile away, Tom and Jim
would try to listen attentively, but
they could not help laughing behind
their ears, and adding a few funny
remarks. Sometimes when all the
boys were taking Sam’s story in
through ears and mouth, Tom would
give Jim a wink and a mischievous
little grin, and Jim would have to
bit his tongue almost off to prevent
laughing out. When they would get
away from everybody, they would
laugh until their stomachs hurt.
One day Jemima, Sam’s sister,
came with news to the Hawkins fam
ily.
‘T think we are going to move to
the city,” she said with a big smile
on her face. Pa’s mos’ decided to.”
“M'hy so, Jemima? Mrs. Hawkins
asked.
“Wal, you know we’ve been wor
ried a heap since that ghost got after
Sam. Ble’ve to my soul that old
house is hanted that we live in, ’cause
you can hear all sorts of noises
nights. Mis’ Hawkin, you jest ought
to hear Bud Bridgers tell about the
luxries of the city. Why he said
they had auterbeely wagons that
run without even a horse or a oxen
hitched to ’em, n’ said the folks liv
ed in mansions, n’ must have heaps
o’ money too, ’cause the didn’t have
to do nothing but jes ring a little
bell n’ all the servants y’ min t’ look
fer, comes up. Pa said if other folks
could make money and live like that
he guess he could too. He said all
us youngens could pitch in ’n’ work
till we got started and then we could
sit back ’n’ have servants. Y’ know.
Mis’ Hawkins, that Sam’s got a good
head on his self, ’n’ pa said apt as
not he’d git in some big business.
And the best thing about the city.
Mis’ Hawkins, Bud said you never
heard tell of ghosts.”
“Something worse than ghosts
there, Jemima,” said Tom. “Why, I
wouldn’t live in the city fer nothing
on earth.”
“What in the world, boy?” she
said, almost in a rage.
“Why, ain’t you heard what Bud
said about them people he saw in
that “Eden Muzee.” He said that
they had people standing around in
there, and when you spoke to them
they wa’n’t people at all—jest
wax. But worst of all, they have a
place they call the “Chamber of
Horror,” ’n’ in there is folks getting
cut up, and hung ’n’ everything.
Don’t you spose them people does
around hauntin’ nights?”
“Lands child! Don’t scare me to
death. I’ll be afraid to go home in
broad open day light, not saying
nothing ’bout poor Sam, He’s gone
to Mullingsville to see Jim Harper’ll
move us. Sam’s up fer moving all
right. But the poor thing might not
get back ’fore dark, ’n’ its going ta
be a awful dark night I’m afraid,
Wal, I must be going. I’m so messed
up I don’t know what to ’sist on pa
to do, go to the city or stay here.”
After Jemima left, Jim and Tom
went out of the house. If you could
have seen them when they were out
of their mother’s sight, you would
have known they were planning to
play a trick on some one. Had you
been near, you would have heard
I Tom say, “If they are going
to
i move, we want to have some fun
one more time out of Sam, and this
is a good chance to scare him. He
will have to come by here and if he
doesn’t get back until dark we will
have some fun. Want it be fun to
see him trying to make that old horse
run! I bet he will leave the horse
and run for his life.”
“Yes,” said Jim, “won’t it be fun
to hear him tell about it tomorrow?
We will have the whole neighborhood
on their heads.”
Sam did not pass that afternoon.
The boys were on the watch for him.
Eight o’clock passed, and Sam had
not come. Tom and Jim were sit-
! ting quietly in the room with their
I father and mother, when they heard
j the sound of buggy wheels coming
I over the hill. Tom winked at Jim,
! and they made an excuse to get out
I of the room. When they were on
the outside of the room Tom said,
“Grab that rope and sheet, and we
will hit it for the hollow. As quickly
as they could they put the sheet that
had the rope tied to it on one side
of the road, covered it up with
leaves, then took the other end of
il
EFIRD DRY GOODS COMPANY
“ALBEMARLE’S BEST STORE’’
Ladies’ and Gehts’ High Grade Ready-to-Wear
PRICES ALWAYS THE LOWEST
.J