never entered our heads. We were
too young and too simple to imagine such a thing."

CHAPTER VII.

GARBLED AND DISTORTED TESTIMONY.

So the neighbors were called in at the Hydesville house and the "rappings"
were continued.

By diligent questioning on the part of the older persons in the Fox
household and of the neighbors, the mysterious noises were made to affirm
or to deny almost anything which was suggested to the "mediums," often in
accordance with knowledge that, it had been believed, was only possessed
by a few persons.

And so the wonder grew, day by day.

Pursuing the idea that a man had been murdered in the house, the whole of
a very horrible history was obtained, and the name even of the supposed
murderer was indicated by affirmative "raps" when mentioned together with
others in a tentative way. The occupation of the victim was said to be
that of a pedler. He had $500 in money and was buried in the creek which
ran past the house.

Mrs. Underhill admits that some of the neighbors were misled and went to
digging in the creek, called Ganargua, the water of which was then very
low. But they speedily recognized the absurdity of this undertaking, and
the girls, Maggie, Katie and Lizzie laughed at them for their pains. The
bones of an old horse were found there and nothing more.

By this time the two sisters had arrived at very great proficiency in
producing the raps. Such a crude and easily detected means as the bobbing
of apples on the floor was early discarded. Often in the morning, before
they dressed, and after the old folks had left their room, the sisters
would stand in their bare feet on the floor and vie with each other in the
laughable exercise of making the "strange" noises. It was impossible, of
course, that Lizzie should not know the whole truth, although being about
thirteen years old at this time, she was unabled to imitate the "raps"
very successfully. Indeed, it is said that she was too frank and outspoken
in disposition to engage long in any deception. When the children
persisted in deluding their mother, partly for their amusement and partly
because they were ashamed to retract what had already caused so much
excitement and had drawn so much attention to themselves, Lizzie used to
break out indignantly:

"_Now, Maggie, how can you say that it was done by spirits! You know
yourself that it's all a story. It's a great shame to pretend such
things._"

Many occurrences of this desc