by Sean MacIntosh

With a groan, the two stu- ents threw themselves upon eir beds; they had again been fused permission to go to town. or a long time they lay there, ondering what they should do; last, maddened by their humil- tion, they decided to do that sperate deed — skip to town.

Fixed with a new zeal they se from their beds. The prefect asn’t going to pull that stunt ver on them this time! They put their coats quickly, and left the om. Darkness reigned supreme the corridors of Dalton: all the ys were in bed. Now was their ance.

With boots and overcoats in nd they made their way cau- ously down the stair, anxious to yoid the watchful eye of the pre- ct. No one came, however, and ey reached the first corridor in fety. Opening the back door, ey slid out into the darkness.

The night was dark and cold, ut, by the light of the stars, e two boys could pick their way

the railway track which was bout two hundred yards distant.

They reached the track in ety, and scrambled down over e high bank to the level road vetween the rails. The walking ere was perfect, and they strode long happily, exultant at the lhought of having deceived the prefect. The high piles of snow on ach side of them rivaled even the allest - Gagnon - in hight. The rack led right into town: A great tscape route blind to the prying he eyes of Dalton Hall.

It was not a long walk to own, just over half an hour, but n the boy’s excitement and antic- pation, it seemed longer. Once n town they both headed for the Be place; the pub frequented y students - with or without he prefect’s permission. triving at the pub, they met a few young men from town who, upon recognizing the two as Saint Dunstan’s students, invited them to sit down. Over the next few hours, the talk and beverages lowed freely and all too soon the time to return drew nigh.

As the two left the pub, only then did they realize that Mother Nature had not been idle dur- ing their festivities. A blizzard had sprung up and the wind was so strong the two needed to bend forward to walk. The snow was comming down in such large amounts that they could barely see one another. They grasped arms and forged onward through

The Ghost of Dalton Hall

the drifts and made it safely to the tracks.

It was here that they agreed to walk in single file, taking turns to plow forward; the first making a path for the second - Gagnon ahead, Arseneault behind. This arrangement went on for about a quarter of a mile and then Gagnon stumbled. It was then Arseneault’s turn to take the lead and Gagnon was to follow. They continued on for several minutes and upon reaching Blake’s, Ar- seneault glanced back to check Gagnon’s progress. He wasn’t there. Hurrying back along the path, Arseneault called out but there was no reply. Then the de- cision had to be made — Stay and look or go to get help? He could not do much on his own so he went to Dalton Hall for help.

The frozen body of Gagnon was found the next morning. He had died from exposure. As the cause of death was obvious, the authorities did not see the need for an inquest and released the body to the Rector of the Uni- versity. Rev. D.P. Croken acom- panied the body to the boy’s home in Quebec and the funeral was held a few days later. The in- cident was over. . .

A week later in Dalton Hall, things were just begining to get back to normal. Arseneault had just begun to deal with the grief of his friend’s loss, when late one night, while studying the Book of Job for his test in the morning,

there was a knock at his door. Marking his place in the text, he got up to open the door and found no one on the other side.

Looking out into the dim cor- ridor, he saw his friend’s snow- covered image near the stair. Not daring to trust his senses, he rushed forward but upon reach- ing the stair, he found the place empty. A cruel illusion of a tired and grief striken mind. Turning to go back to his room, he trod upon the spot where his friend’s image had stood. A bone- numbing cold lanced through his body and he grasped the wall for support. Quickly crossing him- self, he ran to the prefect’s room to arouse him.

Dragging the still sleepy pre- fect to the top of the stair, Ar- seneault conveyed a jumbled se- quence of events to an increas- ingly angered cleric. The stern priest attempted to quiet the young man but Arseneault’s ada- ment refusal to back down drew an ever increasing group of res- idents. Using his authority, the prefect sent the young men to

‘their rooms with orders to forget

the ramblings of a student with an over-active imagination.

This would have been the end of it had not the apparition again appeared one year later — the an- niversary of Gagnon’s death. The young man occupying the room — Arseneault having graduated — was startled awake by a loud banging on his door. Getting up

to see if it was some prank, he found no one there. Looking for the prankster, he spied a snow- covered man standing near the stair. Thinking nothing of it, he returned to his bed.

Grilling his friends at break- fast the next morning, he soon discovered it was no Earthly form he has seen the night before. Word quickly spread of Gagnon’s reappearance.

Every year since, Gagnon has returned to his room in Dalton Hall. After the renevations to the building, it was not used as a residence and therefore no reap- pearance was recorded. This, however, changed when a student working late one night on the third floor of Dalton was suprised by a knock at his classroom door. Upon opening the door he no- ticed a snow-covered man stand- ing in the hall. He called out to the figure but there was no response. After several seconds and the blink of an eye, the man was no longer there. Walking over to the spot where the man had stood, the student crossed a patch of floor that sent a cold wave through him.

It seems Mr. Gagnon’s at- tatchment to Dalton Hall is great indeed.

The above story is an au- thor’s reconstruction of the facts. The incidents described did actu- ally occur, although the author has taken liberties and altered certain details for dramatic ef- fect. Blake’s as mentioned in the third paragraph, is the present- day location of the R.C.M.P. Barracks on University Avenue. Mr. Gagnon was a student at

Saint Dunstan’s University be- tween 1923 and 1926.

’ The au- thor would like to thank Sharon Mullin-Zimmerman and Profes- sor W. MacIntyre for their gra- cious assistance in researching this story, Gerard Gauthier for his library work and also John Doucette for his expert proof- reading.

Fall Fest Schedule

Tuesday: (Wet/Dry)

Thursday October 26:

Comedy Night

See Corky and the Juice Pigs, Canada’s Number One campus comedy trio, with their spe- cial guests, Barenaked Ladies. (Wet/Dry)

Admission $3.00 at the door. Comedy at its best.

Saturday October 28:

7:00

UPEI Panthers VS. Mt. Alli- son Mounties Hockey game.

Pre-Game party at the Pan- ther lounge.

Specials and Munchies.

6:30

Vans leave for the Forum from the Barn and the residences. Free admission to the Pub for those who use vans.

9PM - 1AM

Wet/Dry Halloween Pub Music by Curfew Costume prizes. Admission $4.00, $3.00 with

costume.

David Wilcox

Advance $3.00 Wednes- day/Thursday at the Minicenter.

Sharon, Lois & Bram

National Ambassadors UNICEF Trick-or-Treat Campaign

October Is UNICEF Month

Have Your Coins Ready On

Halloween