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The Ghost of Guir House by Charles Willing Beale
page 122 of 140 (87%)
the entrance was carefully covered by a scuttle in the floor of a
dark closet; and the place being thoroughly fire-proof, the family
felt unusually secure in the possession of their new retreat."

"I think I have seen the stairway you speak of," said Paul.

"Yes," answered the old man, "it communicates with the closet of your
room.

"One day Guir had left his home. He had ridden alone into the distant
hills to dispute the range for some cattle with his natural enemy,
the red man. The pow-wow had been long and trying, and it was only
with the setting sun that he had come to a proper understanding, as
he supposed, with the ugly chief who dominated the region about.

"It was midnight when he reached his home. He pounded sharply on the
door; but his good wife, who never retired without him, failed to
answer the summons. So, after repeated knocks, Guir forced the door
and entered. All was dark. An unearthly stillness pervaded the air,
and a horrid suspicion forced itself upon him while groping his way
forward to secure a light. Finding the chimney, he raked together a
few coals, which he blew into a flame, and then, with trembling
hands, lighted the candle upon the shelf above. Looking about him,
Guir's heart sank. His house had been wrecked. His pictures, the work
of years, were scattered in fragments about the floor. The windows
were smashed, and the hall starred with broken glass. Not an
ornament, not a treasure remained intact. But this he knew was as
nothing to the horrible sight which he expected momentarily to greet
his eyes. He called aloud to each member of his family, in the
failing hope that some one would answer; but no sound broke the awful
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