Show 10 FLOYD GIBBONS 0 I 1 adventurers club Z the ghost of the pano by FLOYD GIBBONS famous headline hunter othere OU know boys and girls every time I 1 make up my mind that A there are no such things as ghosts somebody comes along with a story that makes me a bit doubtful now it s richard bouker who throws the monkey wrench into my supernatural musings lets go along with dick and see what happened to him that wet december night in 1932 dick was a member of the Ci civilian conservation corps camp located at speedwell Sipe edwell tenn when he bad had the greatest thrill of his life he ile had been in town 15 miles from camp and had misled the camp truck and was faced with the necessity of walking the long weary mile miles back to camp now dick says that taking a long hike with the stiff shoe shoes the government issues to the workers Is not so hot but he had limped along about five miles of his way before things began to get selious it was long after sundown and he was hungry tired and sleepy and the dreary prospect of ten long weary miles over the doping eloping hills of northeastern tennessee was pretty discourage ing then it began to rain big drops fell at first but before dick had bad gone another halt half mile it came down in sheets he ile looked around him for shelter no friendly lights glimmered through the rain in this desolate stretch of country but a little off the road dick stumbled onto a deserted cabin and pushing upon the sagging door he went inside the storm almost came in with dick dick says he just made the cabin in time because as he stepped in side th storm broke in all its fury A crash of thunder startled him with its ear splitting mid suddenness denness and the flash of lightning that followed seemed to come conie right into the dust ridden cabin after him but at least he had shelter and he started to look around him as well as he could the cabin though obviously deserted for years still held some signs of hu human n habitation As he groped through the darkness he bumped into a large piece of furniture that seemed to take up most of the room he explored it with his hands and to his surprise found it to be of all things a grand planol in the flashes of lightning dick could see that the instrument wae was in a sorry condition the ivory tops of the beys keys had long since disappeared but otherwise it stood there like a silent sentinel guarding the spirit of that departed artistic soul who had brought such a fine lostau inspru ment into this desolate country A new kind of canopy for the weary traveler but dick was not in a mood to conjecture about what happened to the owner or of the piano ills ideas were more practical the roof was leaking steadily and the wide spread of the grand piano made an excel lent cover for his tired body he ile climbed under it and exhausted as he was was soo booi i fast asleep what a panacea for all our illse outside the storm howled the rain beat a ceaseless tattoo against the grimy win dow panes the wind shrieked through the trees and the thunder and lighting roared and flashed as though furious at the loss of their human vict m how long dick slept he does not know but he does know that the thing that avak awakened ened him was not a part of the storm he opened his strange eerie music came from the old piano eyes slowly to the sound of strange eerie music coming from the old piano plano I 1 maybe it was pretty but he in the mood well there theres s nothing that should frighten anyone in the sound of a piano plano and iet as he lay there trying to pierce the darkness with his eyes dick says he could feel the hair on the back of his neck actually rise in horror at first he be thought he was dreaming but the music if you could call it that was real for the life of him dick cant explain why he knew no IN ing person was before that keyboard but he says he did know it he wanted to reach out and feel the feet that should be near the pedals but he was afraid of what he might not findl he ile lay there breathlessly instead waiting for a lightning flash to prove what le 1 already knew the lightning flash came and dick dicks s worst fears were realized he ile was alone in the room curiosity conquers over ghostly fear and yet the music went on it sounded dick says as though a little child were ere practicing curiosity overcame his fear he ile drew a lone match out of his pocket and struck it As the tiny flame lit up the dim dini shadows the music suddenly ceased the match flickered so in his shak ing hands that it was hard to see but even in that poor light he saw something that made him drop the match in sudden terror A pair of eyes a few feet from his face stared fixedly at him chami dick went out that rickety door like a bat out of ladesi he forgot all about his sore feet and the rain and the storm and everything all he wanted was camp and the company of som something thing human lame a ml orning and a group of CCO workers to investigate the ghost of the piano plano they were bard boiled in the bright sunshine and by golly they brought the ghost right back with them 1 yes sir that ghost meowed me owed when they found her so they brought her back to camp and made her the mascot and you just ought to see that ghost punish a dish of cream and that boys and girls Is the story of how the ghost of the piano plano became another version of the kitten nitten on the keys 0 service |