The Oregon daily journal., March 19, 1904, Page 10, Image 10

GOOD STOMES FOR CHILDREN--By Walt McDougall
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JITCHTOWN MYSTERY
SOLVED BY - A STUDIOUS
5 TRANGE HAPPENINGS, FOR
.MANY ; YEARS, . KEPT THE
PEOPLE -MYSTIFIED' AND GAVE
SMALL-BOY- WHO-ACCIDENT
ALLY DISCOVERED A WISHING-
STONE AND
TAGE OF HIS
TOOK7 ADVAN
KNOWLEDGE 0
, , T7 . - . ; r iDiVi. ft -" ' rftiti,tjmmtti -t fesff ..'N -
rHE people of Franklin township had puzzled
over some very mysterious circumstances for .
many year: in fact for so long that they
had about made up their minds that they could
' not be explained except by saying that witches, wiz
ards or fairies were at work. - "
To relate all of the queer things that had hap
poned would take a whole book, but a few will suf
fice to show that very remarkable occurrences had
made the village famous for miles around and given
it the name of Witchtown.
Could one tell the true story of all the strange
things that had happened he would produce a book
. equal to the Arabian Nights; but, of course, no one ;
ever knew the trua story until Herman Wirt dis
covered the facU that led to the telling of this tale.
Long, long ago the place began to be called Witch
town. In fact, it was to many yean ago that even
the oldest grandfathers said it was long before their
time, and the strange events even then made a list
i like a city directory. VM;:
The inhabitants of Witchtown had grown so ac
r
customed to astonishing occurrences that nothing
amazed or disturbed them, for all the people who
feared or disliked fairies, elves and wizards had -moved
away ages ago,' leaving only those who looked
upon such things as quite natural So, when a new
wonder was reported, people simply shrugged their , ..
shoulders and smiled; .thinking, very naturally, that ' -. '
something would happen to them next v
' Although the village was many leagues away from
the sea, there stooct Tight in the centre of the grass
grown Common, large ship, fulL rigged, as if plow
ing .across ft green sea. Every boy in the place
played on her decks and knew each rope and spar
&b well as if -he had been born in the ship's cabin.
They swarmed up the ratlines, climbed to the very
top of the masts, fought marine battles on her
decks, were pirates, naval officers, whalers or polar
explorer by turns; set her Bails or furled them like
real seamen, weighe4 the anchor, took observations'
of the sun and calculated the latitude and longitude
like real navigators, and many boy really went to
Be a from Witchtown an able sailor, just because of
what he had learned on the Blue Dolphin. ujy . j
No one could tell whence came the ship ; it had
appeared there on the Common overnight, suddenly
and mysteriously, as everything happened in Witch
town, and there it had stood for twenty-five years. 1
- To a stranger arriving in the village it was a won
droua spectacle to. behold a ship rearing its tall
ma'sts from out a grove df great "elms and mapls
but everybody else had grown so used to it that it -'
seemed quits' natural. r.,..-;;':y :. yy- "yv'--.;-"-.. yj
Yet even franklin township people admittedUhat
the neighborhood of the mystic vessel was the most
uncanny spot of all. It was known that there the
most mysterious events occurred; something nragi-:
cal and weird invested the Common with a peculiar
spell, but no one guessed what it was. J -'
Eight in front of the ship was a large black stone,
a rounded boulder, half buried in the earth, smooth
and polished, and it seemed as if it actually was a
rock upon which- the ship had almost driven her
'bows, but stopped in time to avoid a wreck as she
sailed across the Common. This stone was called
the Thunder Stone, and it was said to have fallen
from the sky long ago when the Indiana inhabited
-that region.- " .. . ',;-? - -: y
't At any rate, the Indians, as well as the first white'
settlers, imputed a mysterious origin to it, and its
shiny black surface helped to make it interesting.
On one side it sloped away into the earth, and here
were to be seen many curious markings, carved
probably by the Indians long ago.
, " Rude, uncouth figures of men in boats, birds, deer
.',and other animals bo badly drawn as not to be
recognized, but- thechildren- had determined ex- -
actly what each one meant.
Other marks, like the letters in ancient alphabets,
were strewn acrossthe polished stone surface as ii
ueer-shaped bird's' feet had marked it when it was
soft and round; cup-like pits, too, were cut into it,
but It was impossible to imagine for what purpose.
Scientists who came and looked at it gravely said
that many a stone so marked was to be seen in every
part of the country, but none of that strange, black,
shining material It was as black as coal, but hard
as steel - --' ' . .
: On a low hill that rose anibng the cornfields just
at the end of the village was another wonder. It;
was a pie-plate, fifty feet across and ten feet deep.
, , The story told in Witchtown was that a hundred
; .years ago and more a half-witted boy who watched
the sheep for 'Squire Kuehnle had, found this gigan-"
tic plate, and in it was a mince pie that filled! it
,f rom rim to rim. He had claimed it as his own, and 1
? to the day of his death had declared that the fairies
had given it to him. ,
i Of course the pie had been eaten up, but there lay
, the plate, usually filled with water, in which lie vil
lage boys went swimming in the summer time and
fished, too, for sunfish, which somebody had long 1
1 ago placed there. ;-ycV--;."
, J ust across the road from the Presbyterian church
another marvel was to be seen. This was a well of
: fresh," sweet milk, from which the whole village was
so plentifully supplied that nobody kept a cow, and
this, top, dated back for more than a century. Al
j ways full to the brim with cold,, rich milk, nothing
was more prized by the villagers than this, well. , ;
Butter and cheese made from that milk were better
than any made elsewhere, and brought auch a price
" that the well alone would have made them rich.
, For it had been presented to the village when the
f owner died, and belonged to the township, and was
about the only one of the village wonders that really
benefited the entire place.
Opposite was the blacksmith shop. There -was
r nothing peculiar about the appearance of the
smithy, but here, too, was something marvelous. The
' blacksmith found every morning four new horse
. shoes lying on his forge, yet he never knew whence
r...
they came.
He had grown rich from the custom this queer
circumstance brought him, for thu fame of these
; ahoes was widespread,, because once fast - to a
, horse's hoof they never .wore out; so, as you may
. iningine, large sums were paid for them. They look-
el just like ordinary shoes, too, but they wera un-,
; doubtcdiy magic ones
Down the road a few atoos was the nouna of tha
. idow Oarrison, wha possessed a pair of smooth- ' .were celebrated for, their amazing learning and de
.' xi'g-irona that had eloP8gjtQ he great gyajd poy.tnwn.jy ' ' , ' y
-ry '''..V'.""' ;!;. . ' ; ""'"(' '. '''''fV-v'-:S'J'--:'',L',f -VV'"'i.:''',' '' -' "V"-? '.'-V',i'''y'',''.--,,'!'' '
THERE WAS THE
.mother. These irons were always hot, and, besides
that, they ironed all by themselves, needing merely
to be placed on the . table, when away they went
across the linen or cotton things like mad. They
acted, just as, if they were:alive
The widow was very' rich, of course, but she still
"took in ironing, as had her grandmother, who had
found these magical irons on her kitchen table one
day and never discovered who had left them there.
-"At the corner of Main street was a house which
had moving stairs, so that one never had to walk up
to the top floors. Old Mrs. Wiggins lived there, and
her Btory was that she had often and often wished
for. just Buch stairs, for she was very old and feeble.
, And lo ! one day they had been placed in her house
.while she was out on the Common trying to catch
her red hen. 1
Nothing was too-strange to be believed in Witch
town, and, of course, everybody believed her tale.
Right back of her house was a deep hollow, in the
centre of which was a pond, 'and this water was
frozen during the entire year. No matter how hot
the day; you might find boys and girls skating here
in the summer, and of tennen cutting tho thick ice.
which was frozen again next day. Flowers and
grasses grew close to the shore, and it was perhaps
the most marvelous of all the Witchtown sights.
On the back road lived Peter Gooks, the cobbler,
who owned a cheap glass lamp, which, however, was
bewitched, for it never went out or lost any oil Day
and bight it burned away steadily, as Peter toiled
or. slept, apd yet oil or wick were never renewed.
' Once little Jack Spangle, who was the worst boy
in Witchtown, stole this lamp and hid it in a culvert
under the road, but jt'was back at Peter's house
within an hour, which alone proved that it possessed
, magical qualities.
With only such wonders as these, it is plain that
the village could ba considered out of the common,
but there were many others- just as remarkable. ,
There was Silas Beach, who had a suit of clothes
that was always in the extreme of the style, making
him the most noticeable man in the place, for most
of the people dressed very plainly; but this was not
all these clothes never wore out or got soiled 1 Silas
suddenly discovered, one afternoon as.he.seas walk
ing home, that he was thus fashionably dressed, but
lie never learned how it had happ
Even when be went to New York he vras stared
at, for never had there teen such admirable clothes.
' Tailors used to stop him and inquire wherV he had
; them made, and then got angry when he explained
how they had suddenly fitted themselves to him; ' v
Now, . you must not imagine that he people
weren't constantly pondering upon the mystery of
all these strange things and always trying to dis-
i cover what caused them to happen. ' For many years
- the wisest and smartest had sought to solve the rid
dle, but no one had come nearer than guessing that
; it was' the work of fairies or witches.
In all these years there had come to be formed a
sort of uneasy suspicion that the neighborhood of
Thunder Rock was the source of many queer hap
penings, but just exactly why or how nohody could
; guess. ; (.:'". y -
The most remarkable of all the occurrences was
the mysterious disappearance of men and women,
who vanished suddenly and never returned again.
For a century this had been happening, yet no one
. could explain it, and always these people who were
lost disappeared from sight or were last seen in
the neighborhood of the ship on the Common.
; ; Nobody had ever seen anything happen; they sim
1 ply. Vanished, to appear no more, Search failed to
reveal any traces of them anywhere.' Sometimes it
was a boy or girl again it was a man r .woman
who was thus taken away; and, curiously enough, it
had long been noticed that those who disappeared
were always the ones who disliked Franklin or
were discontented with their lotr the idle boys, the
wild girls and shiftless men, although now and then
,the very best citizens had. thus been taken. It was
the greatest and most puzzling problem of all the
many riddles In the place. ;
The village school was the admiration of the
whole country,, and children were sent there from
nth tAvfiaan,i,u 4 1. umnt;- v, :i.
GREAT ANIMAL, UNCAGED,
This had been the case ever Wnce. Victor. Freis
inger had taught the school and, it was supposed '
that he possessed some secret power over children. '
He, however, knew that when he first came to teach
school in Witchtown the pupils had been the worst
he had ever handled but suddenly all had changed
and they became docile, studious and with such as
t tonishing powers of memory that it was never neces;
' sary to keep school more than half a day, as by noon
every lesson had been recited without a single error.
Out of school these same pupils were as wild,
noisy and rough as any others, which made it all bo
strange to see them so obedient, gentle and studious
within the little red-walled house. They wondered
at it themselves, but gave up to the charm, what
ever it was, without resisting, diligently studied all
the morning and then spent the rest of the day play
ing on the ship, skating, swimming, roaming through
the woods and fields with all the noise and antics of
monkeys. ' - -
Chief among these lads was Herman Wirz. First
in his class, never missing a recitation, never tardy,
and perfect in deportment in school, no boy was
" fonder of play outside.Yet he wasrperhapsr really:
more thoughtful and more observing than other .
lads, even more than many grown people are, and
. thus it came about that he solved the great problem
that was worrying the village.
Herman never came upon anything strange with
out investigating . it and thinking it over, and
he had become accustomed to seeking for causes of
things instead of merely passing them off as un
usual He-was the favorite scholar, and Mr.Freis
inger loved to walk with him in the woods and fields
or lie in the grass and discuss the queer things of
Witchtown. "... - --:---''''rM
The teacher had confessed that he had thought the
school one of the bewitched places, and admitted
that he had in his desperation and disgust at his 1
scholars' misconduct often wished for a change, but
he could not tell how it had really happened that
his school had become a model one so suddenly and
had thus remained. ; " ' w
' That his pupils loved him he well knew, and
when they asked him to play at being captain of the
ship he was delighted, for, after all, he was only
twenty-one and there's a good deal of a boy left in a'
man at that age,nd even later.' - '
He was sometimes the pirate captain, and again a
captain of a man-of-war chasing pirates and slavers,
and was aa jolly a commander as-any boy could
desire. . v
One afternoon, after .thev had grown tired -of ,
being pirates, a lad proposed that one of the crew
should be marooned, which means left on a desert
, island. So Bert Hayes was selected as the victim
and Thunder Bock as the island upon which he
was to be left. ,
He was escorted there by a guard, and when they
returned to the ship he pretended to be overwhelmed
with grief at his sad fate, yet while the boat's crew
were still climbing aboard they noticed that he had
left the rock, although he was expected to remain
there for them to return. They were angry at him
for giving in and tiring bo soon, and when they came
aboard they told the captain just what they thought
of Bert Hayes.' - '-" - . y " -1
Now it happened that Herman Win had been '
standing in the bow of the 'ship looking directly i
down at Bert, and he "knew that he had not run away
' ling I Even while Herman looked at him he melted
Bi u. .no oiiuyij viuuueu muj win nil in a iwinjc
and disappeared. Herman was so startled tliat for
several minutes, while all the boys were angrily dis
' cussing Bert's retreat, he. did not realize the full
significance of the boy's disappearance.
When all of the others had gone home in great
disgust, leaving him there .with Mr, Freisinger;4t
suddenly flashed upon him that here was the ex
' planation of all the mysterious departures that had
taken place for so many years. At first he waa in
: dined to impart his suspicions to the sehool-teacher,
'but after a moment's thought be decided to test
the matter fully before letting anybody into his con
fidence, 'y-y' -'-'Vy '-i.'.; ,.y '
' So when he had walked nearly home with Mr.
Freisinger he went back to the black shining rock.
After walking all around it, as .he had done many a
time before, but this time speculating upon its
lMffl3eLJ!Jikj!Ml3to, himself
IN THE GARDEN
. . "If it is magical, it must act upon whoever touchea
it or stands upon it, for Bert vanished when he" waa
on its top. Maybe making a wish on it causes every
thing to happen, for people have always said that
this neighborhood is queer. I've' read of wishing-"
caps and wishing-carpets and purses," but perhaps
there are wishing-stones, too. I'll soon Bettle that I"
He seated himself on the stone. 1
' "Now, perhaps, 1 am about to solve the whole
problem.. If it's a wishing-stone,". said he, "those
people who have got all the wonderful things in the
village have wished for them here and forgotten it,
; so that when they went home they were so surprised
' that they didn't remembejr where they made a wish,
'Now I must wish for something right here that I
can see, so that I can have positive proof."
He thought for a while, and then said: ; ' '
"I wish that a pond of water, deep enough to float
her, was all around the ship."
Even while he spoke he snyledfor it all seemed
so impossible, but then lie rubbed his eyes, for it
had happened! There lay the ship floating in a pond
that was just large enough to compass her. and. even
then, the gentle wind was pushing her bows against-
the grass, a few feet from him.
"Gracious!" he cried, "I was right! It is a wishing-stone.
I wish somebody could tell me how the
i shfp came here at all!" " ' '
; He heard a voice, and, turning, saw an old man
in ancient costume that seemed made of red leather,
who was bowing gravely to him. The man said :
"In response to your wish I am sent to explain
that many years ago one named Elvizar Reubens
, sat there, where you are, and, being a saijor, wished
he had a' ship. When he found this vessel there on
' the Comnion he jumped to the conclusion that he
was bewitched, and fled. the village without telling
anyone of the matter.. That is alQhere is to it."
"Well, ty's very simple," replied llerman, "and so,
I suppose; would be all of the mysterious happen
Vings." . - - .
"You are quite right," responded the'man in
leather. ' 1 -
. "But about the strange and mysterious disappear
ances t" exclaimed Herman. , ; " ' ;
"All were those who happened to, wish themselves
' away from here. Some yearned to be in a cooler
climate on hlpt nights: others; in winter, wished to
be in the tropics; all wanted t change and they
aot it." . - - J .'.- yy yvyy . i
"Goodness,! .But they must have been surprised I"
cried Herman.- V.y ' - -y :
s "They certainly were. How it happened that ncna
of them ever came back' I don't know," added-iho
old man, "I never investigated. I suppose they,
were too well contented, having had their wish ful
filled." , '
"taWeU, now that I have solved the problem, what.
, would you advise ma to do t Shall I tell everybody
about itl" aiked Herman.
"I would Jidvise you to remain silent, f o,r if it ia
known that jthis is a wishing-stone there will never
be content 6r peace in the village thereafter. All
will be constantly seeking it to wish for things.
trouble will occur frequently, and the whole world
will invade jthe place seeking for a chance to make
a wish on the magic stone. .War might even come
of it when Iforeign nations learn of its presence
here!" y , , '. . '
"111 aoon settle all that!" exclaimed Herman, "for,
shall nromttly wish the stone iA our cellar I"
That would be a very, good Idea, for then there
would be no more trouble P'.said tha old man. 'Tor it
has caused much distress, you know, in times past.
Men with families have been snatched away from
their homes where they wera sadly needed through
making a wi?h, and often nothing, but trouble has
followed a wish fulfilled." ." .
. "Then herfe goes," said Herman. "I an much
bliffed td you for explaining it all to me." '
"Well, first wish me away again or I'll have diffi-
culty in returning," said the old man, . smiling .
blandly.- ' ( v- L:, '' '
"I wish ypu back where you came from!" cried
Herman,' and the jman vanished at once. "Now I
wish this stone in the corner of our cellar," he
added, and (before he could take another breath ha
was in the (-cellar, still upon the 'stone. There he
at totidorjtig fpayhile, andrhen feeing that the
THE TOWN ITS; NAME, ACCI
DENTALLY EXPLAINED AT
LAST & 3. & & & & & & &
Thunder Stone occupied far more space than -he
had expected, he said :
"Why not make the stone smaller!" . 1 , " ,
This was instantly wished for and accomplished,
and now the stone was but two feet across! While
he was still looking at it his mother entered in great
excitement, and said: ;
., f Oh, Herman, have you noticed what had hap-
Iened! The house has grown as large as the Xo.wn
fall! ; We are at last bewitched, just as I feared 1"
, "No, I did it!" answered Herman. "Did t with"
the wishing-stone." '
- Then he told her all about it, and she promptly ,'
sat down on the stone and wished for a new rang
in the kitchen!-' ' VC;
She ran tip at once to see if she had it,' and came
. flying back to wish for linoleum ovt the kitchen floor,
rugs all over the house, more closets in each room
and-mdre windows, a new, bathtub, new curtains and
bed-lmen, and then settled down to ask for dressea
for the girla, underclothes for Mr. Wirz, o have her
rheumatism cured, a patent carpet sweeper, a horse
and carriage- new spectaojes, i then,, on second
, thought, restored eyesight, and, finally, to have her
' mother come at once from Frogtown to1 visit her.
I suppose she would have wished for hours had
she not heard her mother's voice in the hall evinc-
.'ing great excitement at finding herself there.' She
, then jumped up and ran to explain it all. - i V
When Mr; Win came home it til had to be ex
plained to him, and the way he went to work to wish
' was a marvel He had wished the mortgage off the
house, a new roof, a new furnace, a cellar full of
- coal a safe full of money and government bonds, a
stable with horses and cows, a line of trolley cars
through the village and Mrs. Wirz's mother back
home again within twenty minutes I
lie rose from the wishing-stone a rich man, also
president of the trolley line and the bank, as well
as Mayor ot Witchtown." '
Every few minutes either father or mother would
return and make a new wish as they happened to
think of something, and it was a very busy time, and
one filled with pleasure and excitement
Several weeks went by ana pretty nearly every
thing had been wished for by the Jfamilywhen one
day Herman desired big menagerie to be placed in
the corner lot ;.';:x ":, .-V:
Of course, it came at once," and he was very,
happy for some days, but then he yearned for novel
ties. All the animals were commonplace; nothing,
no matter how rare, but was there, yet after he had
grown accustomed to them they seemed very ord
inary and' he began to want some of the extinct
animals that roamed the earth ages ago, in the days
when all the rocks "were madev So he wished for
megatheriums, pteradactyls and all the other things
with names a yard long and so ugly that they made
people shiver to look at them. ,.
He was always careful to wish them into proper
cages, but one afternoon when he was looking over
his books for more he happened to be in the garden
and came upon a picture of the .Dinosaurus, and
after reading that the animal was seventy-nine feet
long, he immediately Tan into the cellar, seated him
self and wished for one without thinking of a cage
for him. -y1-.-' . : " ;"5:,'-;:. -y :-"
The Dinosaurus anneared before one could say
"Jack Robinson," filling the garden- completely,
overturning the palm trees, statues and fountains as
it tried to make itself comfortable and looking
around for something to eat. Herman ran up into
the garden, but when he saw the Dinosaurus he
leaped for the porch in terror and the animal saw
' him. ; It darted its bead toward him, but Herman
sprang indoors befoTe it reached him. ;
Because it had such enormous teeth and gleaming'
' eyes everybody thought it would devour all that it
- encountered, but it is very probable that it only ate
trees or leaves and ether vegetable food, yet I
cannot say positively, and I myself would surely
. have run away with the rest had I been there.'
It lumbered along the street, scaring horses and
dogs, as well as men and women, and into every
' open door it poked its head, seeking for something,
I know not what. It upturned trees, upset lamp
posts, stoops, fences, pumps, and , every time -it
wagged its tail it swept away something, uttering
the most appalling grunta and squeals all the time.
Seeing a haystack in Mr. TuttleV yard it pushed
over the fence and ate it up in two minutes! .
All the inhabitants of Witchtown were fleeing for
the woods now, and the terror waa beyond descrip
tion, ' : ,
Herman, I regret to Bay, did not recover from his
fricht for nearly an hour, but at a safe distance
, watched the dread creature prowl about the village
. . '1 . .' , 1 . . J J . 1. , Al ItT
uniu av last ne turnea ana upproacnea me wirz
house. ' Then Herman fled to the collar and. seating
himself on the stone, promptly wished the Dinosau
r rus back to where he came from, and then,. to the
relief of . all the . inhabitants, he suddenly disap-
; peared..;-;'-" ;j'yvy';-;.4....:':y; ,yM:' y T-;.',
Now, of course, in the light of what happened,
everybody blamed U the destruction wrought by
the animal to the Wirz family, and although Her
man immediately wished every bit of damage re-
faired at once, the occurrence left such a bitter feei
ng that Mr.' Wir felt it wherever he, went, and so
did Herman. v Nobody would speak to the family ex
cept an angry reproach, and at last one day, in
great biterncss, Mr. Win Bat on the stone and said:
"I wish the house were moved to some other and
more pleasant town." '..
- Instantly they found themselves in new surround
ings. They became my next door neighbors in this
lovely village of Atlantic' City, and that's, how I
came to know this story. But, alas for me, the cellar
was not carried along with the house and the black
stondwas left behind I yy ' y " . : V. -;f --y5
Herman took a long journey to recover it, but he
found only the cellar stripped clean of, everything
It had contained by the people of Franklin, who
thus revenged themselves for the damage they had
sustained from the Dinosaurus. Nobody ever heard
of the magio stone again, but Herman learned that
an old man in leather had been the very first one to
go down into the cellar after the house had Vanished,
and he guessed that the , Thunder Rock had been'
wished away-by him to a safe place. ' ., ' - yyy .
However, as the Wirz family is richer than any
body here, I think they do not much regret its loss,
but I would have liked to' have had just one chance
at it, fof I am sure that so nicd a boy . as Herman v
would have given as nice a man' as I the privilege'
almost without asking, WALT McDOUGAIi, '