Plainfield High School - Hermiad Yearbook (Central Village, CT)

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10 THE HERMIAD tell Hilda and Mr. Bloom, when he came face to face withboth of them. Mr. Bloom, unobserved, had been sitting in the rear of the court room. Old scout, Mr. Bloom said. You did that very clev- erly. I congratulate you. You have a job for six weeks at 3150 a week. C'mon3 we're already an hour late for rehearsal. p THE HAUNTED HOUSE ELSIE RosE CNCE there was a man who earned money by selling a house and scaring out the people who had bought it, after they had moved in. He always said the house was haunted when anyone asked any particulars concerning it. When 2 person came to buy it, he set his price and asked him to pay fifty dollars down the first thing. Everyone thought it queer that he asked only fifty dollars down at Hrstg nevertheless, they would pay it and xnove in. Theyxhardly ever stayed more than the first night, however. The hrst two or three times, he sold it all rightg but soon people began to talk about it.. Still, other people, thinking possibly that they had more courage than the rest, would try it, hut always with the same result. The man earned quite a sum of money in this way, fifty dollars at a time, during the Space of a year. At last a man came along and said. I arn going to buy that housef' Perhaps you won't like it, said the owner. None of the rest have. You knowthe house is haunted, but 'haunts' vvon't hurt anybody. ' ' ' I am not afraid of ' haunts ', said the man. I am god ing to buy that house and live there. I am surely glad of that, said the owner, thinking that the man was iust boasting and that he could scare him as easily as he had the others. ' The man paid the fifty dollars down, but he didn't move his family in He brought what things he wanted for himself and spent the nights there. He was always home evenings, too. He wanted to see how and by Whom the house was' haunted. He had heard a good deal of talk about it and he desired to find out for himself., He stayed there most every night reading or tinkering on something or other to take up his time, but no 'haunt' appeared. ' At last, one night, rather late in the evening while he was reading, he heard a noise in the fireplace. He watched a few minutes and what should fall down into the ashes but the body of a man with no head on it.

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THE HERMIAD 9 Yes, she returned, and went quickly to the desk and returned with it on a greasy slip ot paper. You had better eat your supper before you go out, said Hilda. But Milo's appetite was gone and he would not eat. He went directly to the junk peddler's house, and de- manded his violin. The peddler declared he did not have it, whereupon they both talked at once, with much waving of arms and shaking of fists. Then the peddler went into his house and came out followed by his wife and children. They all started up the street, with Milo close at their heels. Finally they came to a place where a cart was turned up- side down and junk scattered all around. A search was made for the violin, but it could not be found. Milo started for home, heartbroken. As he passed a certain block, he heard someone playing on a violin. He knew in an instant that it was his. He ran up a flight of stairs, opened the door, went in and seized his violin from the man who was playing it, and said, It be- longs to ine, ' and started running up the street, followed by the angry man shouting, Thief, thief! Milo was at length stopped by a policeman, and soon all the men who had anything to do with the violin appeared on the scene. Milo, Mr. Sabin the man from whom Milo had taken the violin. and Mr. Rubowitz, the peddler, were all taken tothe COl1ft to remain all night, and have their hearing the next morning. Milo wrote to Hilda that night, telling her that he had found his violin, and would be back early in the morning. The next morning, all three laid claim to the violin. Mr. Ru- bowitz said, I am the rightful owner I gave a lady five dollars for it. Sabin claimed it, for he had bought it froma lad who had found it. Well, said the judge, ' the only way to decide it is to see who can play it the best. He first offered the violin to Rubowitz, who said he couldn't play. He next offered it to Sabin, who grinned, took it, and played his only tune. It was hen handed to Milo, as the judge said, And now, Mr. Van Wynkoop, suppose we hear you. Milo tucked the violin beneath his chin and began to play. The ugliness vanished, and there appeared, instead, the charm of singing birds and sunshine, woods, brooks, and happiness. Evervone in the court-room listened breathless. The judge gave his decision without any hesitation, and a few minutes later Milo walked from the court room in posses- sion of his violin. He was trying to think of something to

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THE HERMIAD 11 He arose, and hauling the body out and laying it stretched out on the floor, said, 'fWell, I know there 15 more of you somewhere up there, so you might as well come down. He waited a few minutes and sure enough, down came the head. I knew you would come when you were readyf' he said, as he picked up the head and tried to fit it on the neck, but it 'didn't fit just right. All the same he left it lying there, looked at it a few moments, and went back to his reading. A little later he heard another noise. Lowering his paperand looking up, he saw a man's leg fall in the ashes as the body had done before. ' I ' Well, he said, rising, here is a leg, where is the rest of your body? ' He waited, but he heard no noise, so he went back, but as he resumed his reading, down came the body with the arms, one leg hanging to it, followed by the head. V U Well, wellf' said the man. Is ithere any more up there? Come along down if there is, I'm ready for you ! ii The owner of the house was up in the chimney dropping down these bodies which he had prepared for the occasion, and he had heard all that the man had had to say. Then he .thought he would come down himself, wrapped in a sheet. .He fastened himself to a rope, and let himself down slowly, but when he was about three fourths of the way down he slipped and fell down in the same manner as he had dropped the bodies. As soon as he landed, he picked himself up. V I Oho E said the man. I guess this is the real thing. ' By this time, the owner had come out of the fireplace and 'taken hold of the man to frighten him. To the owner's sur. prise, the man knocked him Hat on the floor and gave him a genuine beating. When this ended, the owner of the house lay perfectly quiet. When he became conscious again, he did not dare to move, afraid that if he did the man would kill him outright. He lay as quiet as possible until morning. -Then he slowly opened his eyes and said, If you will let me OE easy, I won't ever try any more tricks on you. Oh I It's.you, is it ? said the man unwrapping the sheet. He could scarcely believe his own eyes, for it was the owner of the house. VVell., said the man, fi If you are ready to lead an hon- est life, I will let you go, but don't ever try to scare anyone else. After this, the man finished paying for the house and lived there quietly, happily and undisturbed for many years.