Lyndon State College - Northern Lights Yearbook (Lyndonville, VT)

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January 19 3 8 Ghost Or No Ghost By BARBARA ROSE Tom Drew sat before the fire doz- ing, his head on his chest, a newspaper held limply in his hand. A log rolled. He roused himself, poked the fire, and then stretched out comfortably in his chair, feet toward the blaze. It had been a hard day, what with that major operation in the morning, all those calls in the afternoon, and so many people in the office after supper. And he had missed Alice, too. Three days had seemed like three years when she was gone. She should be back soon. He glanced at the clock. Yes, any min- ute now. Footsteps sounded in the hall, and a cheery voice greeted the maid. The next minute the library door opened, and Alice came in. “Ah, there you are, darling,” she cried, coming over to the fire as Tom arose. She kissed him, then drew off her coat and threw it on the couch— “Oh, but it’s grand to be home.” Perch- ing on the arm of the chair, she invited Tom to sit down again — “Did you miss me?” “Terribly,” admitted Tom. “Tell me, did you have a good time?” “Wonderful. We did the town from A to Z. We went to Radio City, and Jack Dempsey’s Restaurant, and a mil- lion other places. But tell me about yourself. Have you been very busy? You look tired.” “Quite, but things have gone well. There’s quite a lot of sickness, but no- body seems to be seriously ill. Mrs. Preston sent her check yesterday, and I received Jackman’s this morning.” “Both while I’ve been gone! Grand! They’re big ones, too, aren’t they?” “They certainly are” said Tom, look- ing pleased. “Well,” said Alice slowly, “we haven’t any debts, and nothing to buy at present, so it seems to me, Thomas Drew, that you have no excuse what- ever for not buying me an old house in the country. You know I’m dying to have one.” “But Alice,” Tom objected, “you know that I’ve got to have the office redecorated, and some new furniture in the waiting-room. That couch fairly sags.” “That was all new last year, and be- sides, it won’t cost much to redecorate the office. No, Tom, you’ve absolutely no excuse this time.” “All right, darling. I’ll make a bar- gain with you,” Tom spoke slowly, cal- culatingly, “You mustn’t get any or- dinary old house------.” “Of course,” agreed Alice. “It must have the distinction,” con- tinued Tom, “of having an honest-to- goodness ghost, that I can see. I won’t buy it otherwise. But if you find one with a ghost, you may have it. Other- wise, I get my office redecorated, and the new waiting-room furniture.” Tom thought complacently that with such a string attached, he might as well go ahead and see the decorators. He’d like an old house, but he’d never get any time to stay there if he had it, so why------. [9]

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V E R L Y N In an instant each had a flood of questions. How? When? Where? If you look carefully you may detect a certain expression that memories bring when soldiers are asked to relate their experiences. Jimmy had that look as he shook his head and contemplated the funny, mis- shapen shrub, the crack on the second step and the uneven lawn that sur- rounded the little old house. Star Gazing By KATHRYN MUNN ‘‘Will someone tell me where you girls are going? What? Looking at the stars — oh yes! We’re to do that for nature tomorrow, aren’t we? Hey, wait a minute and I’ll go with you. “Flora, where are my mittens? Who borrowed them? Somebody must have! Oh, that’s so; I lost them last year, didn’t I? “Well, are you ready? There’s the telephone—wait a minute ’till we see who it’s for. Me! Now who do you suppose would be calling me this year? Don’t go without me. “Well, now we’re out here, where are the stars? Oh, I see it—look! Right over there! What? Well, my soul, I never saw a street light up that high before! Will you turn off that flash- light? Now — you say that’s the big dipper: perhaps if you get your mitten off that map we could find them just as quickly. If you ask me that’s the Milky Way right up there. That’s what I said — that long white streak. “Did you bring the protractor? We’ve got to measure the latitude of the North Star you remember. Well, don’t be silly. Of course I knew we had to find it first; but I thought you’d done that long ago. “Gee! Isn’t it cold here? Who’s that standing in front of Mason’s? He looks familiar, doesn’t he? Oh, you’ve found the North Star. “Well, why doesn’t somebody meas- ure it? Hold the cold cream jar steady. Don’t get the protractor in your eye, Esther! Wait! You’re looking at the flashlight, not the North Star. 45 de- grees! Let me look! You know we have to take the average. I hope I’m looking at the right star. That’s close enough — come on, let’s go. I was never so cold in my life. All right — measure it again if you want to — I’m going in. Who thought of this crazy idea, anyway?” r 8]

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V E R L Y N “Oh, you darling,” rejoiced Alice, “I knew you’d give in. I’ll find one with a ghost. Don’t you worry. And your stuffy old office can wait.” Two days later Alice left on her search. At noon she arrived at the tiny town of West Hollow. It was a small town, but it intrigued her, for the hills around it were high, and she hoped to find an old house on one of them. Taking advantage of a sign which read “Bed and Board”, Alice took ac- commodations in a comfortable old house on Main Street. At dinner that noon, Mrs. Brown in- troduced Alice to Tobias Haveless. “Tobias,” she said, “will be able to help you find your old house. He has lived all of his seventy years in West Hol- low, and during those seventy years has seen fit to pick up the story of every scandal that has happened in the vicin- ity in the last two hundred years. There are a few ghosts, aren’t there, Tobias?” “There be,” agreed the old man. “Why, up in that Gorham House I “But Tobias, that house burned down two years ago. Mrs. Trent is only interested in houses that are standing.” “Perhaps,” suggested Alice, “you will go for a ride with me after dinner, and you can show me these houses which have ghosts, and then you may tell me the stories.” “Glad to,” muttered Tobias, start- ing to eat. He did not like to be cut off short in telling one of his ghost stories. After dinner Alice, under the guid- ance of Tobias, piloted the car up a steep hill. As they neared the top, a magnificent view spread out before them. Alice gazed a moment, then turned to Tobias. “You must find me a house with a ghost, on this road, Tobias. It’s won- derful.” “There’s this house here,” said To- bias, pointing to a crumbling ruin. “Ralph Prescott’s great, great grand- father was murdered there, and the old man has ha’nted the place ever since.” “But Tobias, that place is a ruin. There’s nothing there to fix. What about this place?” Alice pointed to a lonely old square house set among towering elms, with half the world spread out at its feet. “Isn’t that for sale, and has it a ghost?” “It’s for sale, ma’am, but there ain’t no ghost in that place,” admitted To- bias, shaking his head. “I’m going to have a look at it, any- way.” Alice got out of the car. “Will you come with me?” “No, thank ya’ ma’am. I’ll stay here,” and Tobias settled himself for a nap in the sun. Alice walked admiringly towards the house. It was lovely, and with that view—if only it had a ghost—maybe Tobias had forgotten. Anyway, it would do no harm to look. She pried gingerly at one of the win- dows. It opened haltingly and she climbed in. As she stood up, the win- dow banged shut behind her. Alice jumped. A fine person she was—plan- ning to live in a haunted house, and a mere banging window scared her half out of her wits! Alice calmed herself, and looked around. This must have been the kitchen, for there was an immense fire- place with Dutch ovens. If the rest [10]