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Show I _ < ip . . . FLOYD GIBBONSr GIBBONS GIBBONSAdventurers r ! 1 Adventurers/ Adventurers AdventurersClub / ' Club"A club'i1 Club . 'i1 i1 ' , . tJ { \ - df s1 "t t " ; d f ! IY7 1IY7 # 1 , "A A " Girland Girl anda and a Ghost " , . By FLOYD GIBBONSFamous GIBBONS GIBBONSFamous GIBBONSFamous Famous Headline Huntetr . I AND A A ND ' I'm Im ' certainly certl1nly : glad you didn't didnt ' drop dead , Mary Greene GreenejL\ GreenejL GreenejLthe , . \ . the night I11ght a ghost alkednght 'salkcdright \ ' walked 'salkcd salkcd alked right nght into mto your bedroom . Pull up your chairs a little httle closer , . boys and girls , turn the thelIght thelight thelight lIght down low and listen hstcn to Mary's Marys ' true ghost story . It is worth worthhstcning worthlistening worthlistening hstcning listening to . . When Mary moved moed mo\ mo \ ed out to a farm she wis W'1S W1S ' in just the sort of a mood moodth'1t moodth'it moodthit th'1t th1t th'it thit ' ' gho ghosts ! > ts like IIhe Her Iler 11cr school work hid h'ld hld ' made her ber nervous nersous nen ous and nnd sick sicklv siehl ! ) , and andher andher nndher theyI her parents decided that she needed a rest and fresh air . , bo o they theypacked theypacked theypacked packed her off In Apiil APIII , 1025 1925 , to a farm owned by friendsNow friendsNow friends friendsNow Now Mary always has had a horror of ghost stories and It Itwas itwas Itwas was ghost stories that this farmer doted on . . Mary says his bed bed- bedtime bedtime bedtime - time stones stories always 1lways told of weird happenings at midnight-of midnight of midnightofshrouded midnightofshrouded midnight - ofshrouded shrouded figures with clanking chalns-of chalns of chains-of chains chains - - of ghostly faces peering peeringInto peeringinto peeringInto Into windows-weird windows weird windows - - weird cries , , footsteps and unexplained thump- thump - . Ings on wallsOne walls wallsOne One night , Mary Marj says , after a partlculiriy partlcuhrly particulirly hair raising series of at hor- hor horror hor horror - - ror stories , she climbed the wooden stairs to her bedroom with more or orles orless orless les less fear and trembling trembllng She was nervous and nnd lay sleeplessly In bed bedwatching , watching the tbe moonbeams throw ghostly pitterns p'ltterns pltterns pitteriis ' ou on the floor . The rest restot restof restof ot of the family famlly had gone to sleep long sinceThe since sinceThe The Night Was a Deathly Quiet One . The night was one of those Intensely quiet ones , peculiar pecullar to the coun coun- country coun- coun country country - - try . Not a breath of or air stirred and the leaves on the trees In the yard yardmight yardmight yardmight might have been painted pninted for all the noise they made Once In the dis distance distance distance tance , a 11 far off train whistled and the screaming screnmlng note , as It died down downmade , made the silence all an tlie Ule the more Impressive . The grandfather clock downstairs began to strIke-Its strIke Its strike - - Its slow slow.sonorous slowsonorous . , sonorous notes sounded to the girl In bed like the mournful peal peal- pealIng pealing pealing - ing of a churchbell-toiling churchbell toiling churchbell-tolling tolling churchbell - tolling the service for the dead deadShe ! She counted the strokes cirefully C'lrefully Clrefully ' At eleven she held her breath breathand breathand breathand and hoped It would be the list hst And as she listened , , hoping against hope hopethat hopethat hopethat that the tbe hour she dreaded \ would ould not strike , a dog ho\\ ho howled holed \ led In the distance . The Witching Hour Brings Horror to Mary Mary.She MaryShe . She shivered and nnd drew the bedclothes over o.er oer . her heid he'ld held ' And as she shedidthe shedidthe shedid did-the did the - the clock struck TWCL TWELVE TWTLVIJ V Mary savs says the last notes of at midnightIn midnight In the Moonlight She Saw a Figure In Whitehad White Whitehad had hardiv bardl hardl died before she heard beard other sounds that brought brQught her heart heartInto heartinto heartInto Into her mouth In abject terror . , Each Cach sound seemed , to the terror t'rror trror { ' strick stnck- stnck strick- stncken stricken stricken - - en girl , more horrible than the other . , Stealthy footsteps were coming up the stairs Chains clankeddismally clankeddismally clanked clankeddismally dismally and In the silence of that awful night Dlght she heard plainlythe plainlythe plainly plainlythe the thump , thump , thLmp thl.mp . of a heavy object being draggedthrough draggedthrough dragged draggedthrough through the silent house . And the n awful \ ful sounds were soon upstairs upstairsi I She heard them coming comingtoward comingtoward comingtoward toward her room She sat up stiffly stilly In bed and wet her hps-dry hps dry lips-dry lips lips - dry from fromhorrorresohed fromhorrorresolsed fromhorror horror-resohed horror resohed horror-resolsed resolsed - resolved to cr crv out . . Finally rInallv rinalv ! words came but the weak , squeaky squeakyvoice squeakyvoice squeakyvoice voice sounded stnnge str'lnge strlnge stringe ' and unlike unhhe her ber own . . Whos 'Whos ' theie thele ? ' The Intruder Was "Silent Silent "Sllent Sllent " as a Ghost . " Salience bllence Silence The noises stopped but as the terror stricken girl listened listenedshe , she " was "as as sure she could hear something breathing just outside her door door.The doorThe . The door \ was as closed but unlocked and as she stared , her heart almost almoststopped almoststopped almoststopped stopped beating beatingThe The door moved movediMary movedl movedi movedlMary I IMary Mary , now beside herself , tried to scream She openedwide openedwide opened openedwide wide her mouth but no sound came from her parched throat . Stiff and rigid-her rigid her rigid - her bulging eyes staring In terror , she waited forthe forthe for forthe the worsti worst ! And it was not long in coming . . Her door slowly opened-In opened In opened - In the bright moonlight , , she saw a figure figureshrouded figureshrouded figureshrouded shrouded In"hIte'lnd In \\"hIte-'lnd "hIte hIte 'lnd lnd white-nd white nd \ white \ " - ' ind as she sat there , too tense even to faint , the thetlling thething thething tlling thing approached her bed ! Visitor From the Grave Is Too Much for Mary . &he he bhe She & took a deep breath-as breath as breath - as persons pprsons In great danger often do-and- do and doandhorrIble doandhorrible do - and andhorrible - horrible as It is to relate-Into relate Into relate - - Into her nostrils nostrlIs came the overpowering odor odorot odorof odorof ot of : the grave The Tbe slcl sickening enIng stench of deathWow deathWow death deathWowl Wowl Wow I ! That . was v.a8 va8 the straw that tbat broke the camel camels s back bach . And It Is IsnIl isall Isall nIl all that Mary Mnry remembersBut remembersBut remembers remembersBut But she the knows she must muzt have screamed because a screambrought screambrought scream screambrought brought the farmer into her room rocm on the run with a shotgun thathadn't thathadn't that thathadn't hadn't hadnt ' been off the wall since Armistice day dilY : . . 'Ihe Ihe 'lhe lhe 'the the ' minute the faimer falmE'r falmEr mimer ' sniffed the gl1ost-1 gl1ost 1 ghost-I ghost I ghost - 1 mem me'ln meln me'in mein ' ' the goat-be goat be goat-he he goat - he knc\v knc v knew kncvwhat knewwhat knewwhat \ what had happened That pet billy btlly goat of or bis his had bad gone and pulled hIs hIsstake hisstake hisstake stake and dra drawing dragging ; Ing stake stahe and chain after him , had bad come right Into tbe the tbehouse thehouse thehouse house houseMary Mary Says Ghosts Still Get Her Goat . And not only that that-BllIy that BllIy that-Billy Billy - Billy had pulled one of ot his old trlchs-robblng trlchs robblng tricks-robbing tricks robbing trlchsrobblngthe tricksrobbingthe tricks - robbingthe the clothes clothe'3 clothe3 ' ll lland line-and line and line ( -and and - and there , on bis hIs soiled solled back , trailed one of ! Ma's Mas lb's lbs ' nIce niceclean , clean bed sheets ! But that Isn't Isnt ' what got Mary's Marys Mary's Marys ' goat , . What burned her up upwas upwas upwas was that the farmer seemed more concerned about who left the theback theback theback back door open than he was about her nearly dying of frIght fright"I frightI . "I I " 1 don't dont ' dislike disUke goats any more , " \ . Miry l\.1'1ry l.11ry l .1'1ry 11ry ' en ends s her ber Interesting letter Jetter , "I I "Ibate "Ihate "Ihate Ihate " bate hate them tbem " And that goes for me , too , Mary ary . ' I'd Id ' rather ratber smell a ghost any dayWNIJ day . j-WNU j WNU ( } - -WNIJ WNIJ - WNU Service ScrvlC Servico |