Tripping with the Tucker Twins

upon a great old custard-colored house built right on the water'

ut when we got closer to it we decided

d corner of the old custard-colored house. A tattered awning was flapping continuously from one end of the porch, an awning that had been gaily striped once, but now was faded to a d

place! What cou

's go in and see

road daylight," I declared half in earnest, but Tweedles wanted to go in

g into this hall were also swinging in the wind, so we entered the room to the right, the parlor, of course, we thought. The paper was hanging in shreds from the wal

y this thing is f

tel or something and that is the clerk's desk. Look, here is a row o

porches where one could sit and watch the ships come in. This room next must have been the dining

against the wall and danced like this," and D

here is a whole pane of glass in the house, and I am sure no door will stay

or would want to see all the things she could, and if there are any ghosts meet the

he higher we got. The paper that was hanging from the ceilings rattled ceaselessly and the wind was tug

l like Jane Eyre

ed. "Just think of such a place as this being

l a presence!" and Dee stop

Let the would-be author go in front. '

eared in a room to the right. We followed in time

hispering, as there was something about the place, a kind of gruesomeness, that made one feel rather solemn. I thought of Poe's "Hau

reenest of

angels t

r and stat

lace-reare

rch Thought

ood t

aph sprea

ric half

hings in rob

e monarch's

mourn, for

upon him

bout his ho

shed and

dim-remem

ld time

rs now, withi

red-litten

that move f

scordan

a ghastly,

the pa

hrong rush

but smile

ghastly poem in the English language, when a strange blood-cur

opened into a long corridor with doors all down the side, evidently bedrooms. Numbers were over the doors. All the door

called. "Wher

e fastened on the door with No. 13 over it. All of us have some supersti

right," I thought, and

en with sobs! From the chandelier hung a rope with a noose tied in the dangling end, and under it a pile of bricks carefully placed as though some child had

r lips and we stopped stock-still. The slender figure of the young man was still convulsed with sobs, and Dee held hi

r. When the boy said "Claire must never know," Dee arose to the occasion as only Dee could and said in a perfectly matter-of-fact tone: "No, Louis, I promise you that Claire shall never know from me." Thi

he had come to 13. On opening that door she had met a sight to freeze her young blood, but instead of freezing her young blood she had simply let out a most normal and healthy yell. Louis Gaillard was standing on the pile of bricks that he had placed with

shoulder and hold him tight in her courageous arms until the sobs ceased and he finally looked up. Then he slowly rose to his feet. He was a tall, slender youth, every inch of him the

de me be so wicked,"

at he needed flesh and blood to hang to, something tangible to keep his reason from leaving him. He looked at her wonderingly and she continued: "Claire has been away on a trip and while she was gone your father has nagged you. He thinks working in flowers is not the work for a Gaillard and wants you to be a lawyer or preacher. You have no money to go

w do you kn

now it. I am afraid you will neve

u seem like an angel

introduce my siste

troduced us to Mr. Louis Gaillard with as much simplicity as she would have shown at a tennis game or in a ball-room. He, with the polished m

Dum and Dee are the names we go by as a rule, Dum and Dee Tucker. We are down here in Charles

d rather rapidly and the dazed young ma

promised to be back in time,-you see, if you come with us, Zebedee can't row with us about being late. He will be awfully cut up over our being la

a light dawned on us: she wanted to get the young man entirely away from this terrible room, and felt if she made him think that he was to go along to protec

I can be of a

can! Now le