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Show jug over tne country lata noiu ui tne students, stu-dents, and many of them died. Some are buried in the little wood yonder beyond be-yond the college building. Some died before their friends could reach them. The horror was awful while the scourge lasted. When it ended there were almost none left at their desks, and since then no one has ever tried to start ?1m) school again. "Well, one day the dread fever appeared ap-peared here in the master's household. A young man from Texas, a bright, happy young fellow, the idol of a fond father and loving mother, was the first victim. From the first he knew there was no hope of his recovery, and only hoped and prayed that he might live until his mother and father could reach bini. "The young man occupied the room across the hall, yonder," continued the old gentleman, motioning to the room where the strange sounds had been was run ot stories aoout tne oia nouse and the people wlio fried to live in it and were driven'away by strange noises that were heard at the dead hour of night, ... .( , : .. . As soon as she came the old woman began telling her mysterious tales, and before tho first day wore away I had heard them all. ,: , . I did not believe In them very much, and so kept them to myself, not repeating repeat-ing what I had heard to my husband when, he arrived late in the evening with the last load of household goods. A few days after we were well settled down in our new home John was suddenly sud-denly called away on business, to be gone a week or more. I had never mentioned men-tioned the ghost stories to him, and so far we had had no visits from our uncanny un-canny lodger, if we had any. My sister was sent for, to keep me company in John's absence, and arrived two or three days before his departure. Ghosts were not mentioned to her, of course, as I did not care to make her uneasy un-easy or cause her any unpleasantness. The second morning after her arrival she came to me and complained that she did not like to sleep in the room which she had been given. "I don't know why," she said, "but I have such a strange feeling, and both nights have been awakened by a peculiar noise." "What does it sound like?" I asked, not without a show of Uneasiness. "I don't know, I can hardlv describe it. beard. "I began to feel very uncomfortable, and involuntarily drew my chair closer to Lucy's, as I glanced into her face, upon which was mirrored thoughts as nervously agitated as my own. "Day by day the young student grew weaker and weaker, until the end was almost come. He hoped on, however, and the doctors did all they could to save him. "One night the end came. The young man wan dying. The master and his family were gathered about his bedside, when a loud knocking was heard at the door below. It was the father and mother of the young Texas student, arrive just in time to see their darling boy alive. "They were nearly frantic with grief, and when the father came to his son's side he picked him up in his arms and, with his almost unconscious head leaning lean-ing on his breast, sat in a great rocking chair that stood before the fireplace. There he rocked him to and fro, clasped in his arms, until he died, happy in having hav-ing his longing fulfilled. "That much I know," concluded Mr. Hall. For a few seconds there was silence, no one caring to ask further about the young student. "Ever since then," resumed our visitor in a half mysterious tone, "they say his spirit comes back to his old room every night just at 1 o'clock, when he wag rocked to the long sleep in his father's arms. "They say every night a strange sound is heard in that room like the grating of a heavy rocking chair swaying to and fro under a heavy burden." After this . story every day was a ter-ror ter-ror aud every night a horror. And naturally nat-urally we did not prove very good tenants. ten-ants. Atlanta Constitution. THE STUDENT'S GHOST. V "Folks sez de place am hanted, missus. Dey says hit's de students dat comes back at night." "Nonsense, auntie, you're just too foolish for anything. You're real silly." The old darkey's words had a rather chilly effect upon me, notwithstanding I tried to throw them off lightly. "Ycs'ni, hit must be ghosts. 'Fo. de Lawd, missus, do fokes sez hit runs'," and the old auntie paused in her sweeping sweep-ing to catch the sound of a mouse running run-ning across tho floor of the loft above. Without her uncanny references to the presence of tho supernatural the old house, with its wide damp halls and musty smelling closets, would have been anything but inviting. No one had lived in it for a long time, and its bare appearance would have been enough to sugspst ghosts to a superstitious mind. All around the house the grass had grown up rank and tall, and since the old negress had mentioned it the wind seemed to moan dismally through the tops of tho greak oak trees tliat overhung the roomy old country house. I was not at all afraid of ghosts. Nobody No-body is for that matter until they see them. So I told the old negro woman to hush her silly talk, and was soon bo buried in putting things in order that I thought no more about ghosts or anything any-thing else but my household affairs. Every once in a while, though, a slight shiver passed over me, accountable to just what I don't know. Probably to the sense of being almost alone in that rambling, ram-bling, gloomy old house. We were only just moving in. The house stood a short distance from the town, within a stone's throw of what had once been a large college, where students stu-dents from all parts of the country attended at-tended in the days of its usefulness and popularity. But the man who owned the college was dead, aud it had long since ceased to resound with the subdued hum of the students' voices. The college had succumbed to the ravages of the dread scourge. The master and many of his pupils died ' witli it, and since then the old school building had had no regular occupant. We had taken the house, where the master used to live with his family and a number of his students, who could not get accommodation at the college. The old negro woman whom we had hired to clean up and help us move in had been raised in the neighborhood, and but it aourds like the rocking to and fro of a heavy chair on the floor above." "Oh, it's just because it's a strange room," said I; "you'll sleep all right tonight. to-night. If not, will change you to-morrow." ', : ' - Next morning my hister again complained com-plained of being awakened by the same strange noise exactly at the same hour about 1 o'clock. "I'll have the loft above cleared out today; to-day; it must have been rats," I said. Tho loft was cleared out, but John going away that day, Lucy's room was changed, and the matter was forgotten for the time. One evening during John's absence we were visited by one of our new neighbors. neigh-bors. In the course of conversation Mr. Hall, our visitor, referred to the old days when the college was crowded with students stu-dents and the head master lived in our house. "They say tho house is haunted since then," he said. A chill passed over me at this, but affecting af-fecting to be incredulous and indifferent indiffer-ent lest my sister should become alarmed I remarked lightly; "The idea! Did anybody ever hear of the like I" "I don't say it is and I don't say it isn't,1 said our visitor, "1 can only say what I know myself." "Haunted indeed! The ghosts must hive died before we came, I guess," said I with another chill creeping up my back, but still replying gay ly, "for at least they have not ventured in yet." I did not allow my gaze to meet mv sister's eyes for fear it might call to her mind the mysterious noises which had affected her when she had slept in the spare room. . "I can only tell what I know," went on Mr. Hall. "I don't believe in ghosts myself, but strange things happen sometimes. some-times. It was when the old college over yonder was filled with students, and when the master lived here. "A dreadful scourge which, was sweep- |