One night, after he had taken possession of the place, Ezekiel, engaged in studying some deeds, looked up to find standing before him a queer wizened little man of ghostly appearance, motioning him to follow. The crafty lawyer, afraid only of losing money, told the apparition to go away. But the little man remained, still making his strange signs.
At length Ezekiel asked what he wanted, and the ghost replied: “To show thee where much gold lies buried.”
Gold was a bait the lawyer could never resist, but there was something so grim about the manner of his strange visitor that an unfamiliar feeling of dread came upon him, and he was unable at first to rise.
“Come,” commanded the ghost. “Gold, Ezekiel, gold.”
Ezekiel at last staggered to his feet, now quaking with fear.
“Follow me,” said the spectre in a hollow voice, and the lawyer, torn between emotions of fear and greed, obeyed.
The spectre led the shivering lawyer out into the grounds of Rosewarne and, after a long walk, they arrived at a little dell surrounded by high banks and trees, in the centre of which was a small carn of granite boulders. In the darkness Ezekiel noticed that his guide seemed to emit a weird phosphorescent light, and he was yet more terrified.
Then the spectre turned upon him and said: “Thou longest for gold, Ezekiel, even as I did. Yet I could never enjoy it; see if thou canst. Dig there. Beneath those stones is gold aplenty. Win it and enjoy it, and when thou art happiest I will come to visit thee again.” With this the strange figure gave a wild mocking laugh and disappeared in a blaze of white light.
Ezekiel Grosse recovered his nerve and ran back to the house for tools. All night he dug, and uncovered a huge pot filled with ancient gold pieces. It took him seven nights to remove them all, and when he had completed his task he found himself one of the wealthiest men in all the countryside. His ghostly visitor never returned, and after a few years Ezekiel almost ceased to remember him.
Time passed by and the world forgot the past reputation of Ezekiel Grosse. Because of his great wealth, honours and position were showered upon him. Then came a night when he was entertaining a magnificent party in his great Hall. Laughter and the sound of music and dancing made the old rafters ring until, of a sudden, the gaiety ceased as if by magic. In the midst of the Hall appeared the aged spectre.