CLERK AND THE LAST RA\'ENS 257 



haunted, but in a sinj:;^ular way; at all events I have 

 never heard any ghost story (juite like it. At night when 

 tile air was perfectly still, a sound as of a sudden high 

 wind could he heard among the trees, travelling like a 

 whirlwind in the direction of the house but invariably 

 on coming to the house it would die away into silence. 

 The old clerk introduced me to one of his life-long 

 pals and asked him to tell me his story of the ghost. 

 The story was that when he was a young man about 

 fifty years ago, he went to the house one still dark night 

 about midnight to get some apples. There was a large 

 apple orchard between the woods and the gardens and 

 lawns surrounding the house and divided from them by 

 a high stone wall. It was in October and tlic trees 

 were laden with tempting ripe apples. Getting over the 

 wall he began hastily plucking the fruit and stowing 

 them in his smockfrock after fastening it round his 

 waist with his belt. When he had got as many apples 

 as he could carry and began to reflect that with such a 

 burden it would be difficult to climb the wall, a sudden 

 rushing sound of wind rose in the wood outside the 

 orchard and appeared to be coming swiftly towards him 

 and the house. He knew from all he had heard from 

 others that it was the ghost- wind. In a moment it rose 

 to the sound of a furious tempest though not a leaf 

 trembled, and in terror he fled before it and in spite 

 of the huge burden was on the top of the wall in a 

 moment. A cat, he said, couldn't have got up quicker 

 and he wondered how he had done it! But on the top 

 of the wall he slipped and came down on the other side ; 



